Episode 16

Spirito, the capital of the Kingdom of Diabalet. It was famous not only as one of the continent’s foremost fortress cities, but also widely known as a hub of trade, distribution, and finance.

“Look at that black hair.”

“Yeah… Lagias’s devil.”

“How the hell can a villain like that walk around like he owns the streets?”

Merchants gathered for business, and as a natural consequence the Adventurers Association received countless requests—drawing in adventurers as well.

In other words, the royal capital was packed with people. And where there are people, there are mouths. Bad rumors stick in people’s minds more easily than praise, and they spread faster—whether they’re true or not.

“I heard he beats people down whether they’re friend or foe.”

“Is it really okay for someone like that to be an A-rank adventurer?”

“Guess it means his strength is the real deal.”

Over the past two years, public opinion of Lagias hadn’t improved—if anything, it had worsened.

The Fool couple were still the same corrupt pair, and there were still plenty of suffering subjects. But even more conspicuous than that was Zeke himself.

“A ducal house keeping him as their personal adventurer… are they insane?”

“If it was a lie, he’d be executed immediately. Which means… yeah.”

Zeke had racked up achievements as an A-rank adventurer exclusively attached to the ducal house—slaying monsters, guarding royals, even charging enemy soldiers from a neighboring country alone and scattering them. He was everywhere at once.

It wouldn’t be strange to call him a national hero, but the “Lagias” filter blocked that. And more than anything, his foul mouth and attitude were the opposite of a heroic image. By now, “Lagias’s brat” had become “Lagias’s devil.”

“If he just kept his mouth shut, he’d be handsome…”

“They say he’s the same age as Lord Luke.”

“I wonder which one is stronger?”

He was often compared with Luke, a knight-order squad leader. Partly because they were the same age, but mostly because they were so completely opposite.

Commoner and noble.

Knight and adventurer.

Justice and evil.

Their contrast and notoriety drew attention—though Luke was overwhelmingly more popular.

The stares and familiar gossip were nothing new to Zeke anymore, but there were two people behind him who weren’t used to it.

“In a way, I’m impressed. They can badmouth him right in front of him.”

“As fellow citizens of this kingdom… it’s shameful.”

Two women walked behind Zeke: one blue-haired, one silver-haired. Selen and Ciel glared around them, clearly displeased.

“Is this self-hatred? Pathetic.”

Zeke kept walking without caring about them at all. He didn’t even turn around, as if he had no interest.

“Oh? Do you like people like that? Then from now on, I’ll whisper insults into your ear every day.”

“S-Selen!? H-how indecent…!”

Hiroto had absolutely no idea what was “indecent” about that, but he wanted no part of it either.

“If you’re going to run your mouth, do it somewhere else. And what are you two even doing? You’re in my way—disappear.”

“That’s odd. Are your eyes on the back of your head? It’s lonely when you won’t even look at us.”

“Zeke, when you talk to someone, you’re supposed to look at their face and eyes.”

Selen was messing with him; Ciel was saying it sincerely.

To Hiroto, these two were also natural enemies—main characters who might one day trade lives with him were right behind him. It was a deeply stressful arrangement.

“Those people might come again to target Ciel, right? You and I are Ciel’s guards. There’s nothing strange about that.”

“Unnecessary. At least, no one is targeting a ducal house girl right now.”

Zeke said it like a certainty, not a possibility. Why, and for what reason, and why she was being targeted at all—Selen and the others only had fragments of information, and they needed answers.

They’d learned from Actor that Zeke was back in the capital, so they had lain in wait. Then, just as the information promised, they found him—and that led to this.

“…I’m not ‘a ducal house girl.’ I’m Ciel.”

“Hey, at least you’re still better off. I’m ‘gun girl.’ How dangerous.”

From Hiroto’s point of view, he was being followed—but to onlookers, it looked like Zeke was leading two women around. And because they were strikingly beautiful, it drew even more attention.

“That’s Lady Silver Saint, and her guard Lady Selen!”

“Why are they with Lagias? Is he threatening them?”

“Hey, don’t say weird stuff. You’ll get killed.”

It was vicious. Even if Zeke was used to slander about himself and Lagias, the presence of the two women was making everything worse.

“I don’t care what your names are.”

“Oh? So you’re saying I’m free to do what I want. Then from now on I’ll call you Darling.”

“W-What!? Selen, that’s so shameless—!”

Ciel looked horrified, but again, Hiroto didn’t really get it.

He did know one thing: being called “Darling” was unacceptable. A main character calling the story’s worst villain (Zeke) “Darling” would definitely get complaints.

“You… I’ll kill you.”

“You won’t.”

Like punching a curtain—Zeke’s threats did nothing to Selen. Selen always found excuses to tangle with him and twist his words. A dangerous main character, in her own way.

Somehow, the three kept bickering as they walked. They slipped off the main boulevard and followed a side street to a small café.

“What a stylish café. Is it your favorite?”

“I like the antique feel.”

As Ciel said, the exterior looked old, but it wasn’t simply shabby—it had clearly been maintained. That kind of café.

“Hmph. Whatever.”

Zeke entered without waiting for them. Like the outside, the interior was calm. Seating was split between a counter and tables, and a man who looked like the owner stood quietly.

“Just like I imagined… it’s a nice place.”

“Yes, but… was it really okay to follow him in?”

Hiroto was thinking, A little late for that, when the owner approached.

“You’re Lord Zeke. Your guests are waiting. This way, please.”

“Hah. So there just happen to be no other customers. What a pointless little trick.”

As Zeke said, there wasn’t a single patron in the café. They walked through the cleared interior, guided to a corner table—where two nicely dressed middle-aged men sat in plain clothes.

“It’s been a while, Lord Zeke.”

“I’ve heard plenty about your exploits.”

They were Knight Order men: Brink Hartmann and Stork Lark—two regimental commanders.

“Sorry to summon you so suddenly.”

“If you’re going to apologize, don’t do pointless things in the first place.”

Even before regimental commanders, Zeke didn’t soften his attitude. Outside of the Lagias couple, this was his default.

He sat without waiting to be prompted, facing the two men across the table.

“Lord Zeke… the ladies with you are…?”

A dazzling silver-haired woman, and her blue-haired guard. Brink and Stork immediately had an idea who they were.

“Ignore them. They have nothing to do with me.”

“Oh? You won’t introduce us? Then I’ll just introduce myself.”

“…Selen. These two appear to be Knight Order personnel. Most likely regimental commanders.”

Ciel—though an illegitimate child—was still from House Astera, and had seen them a few times at public functions. She remembered their faces.

“My apologies for the late greeting. As you said, we are with the Knight Order.”

Brink and Stork stated their identity, and Ciel and Selen followed with their names.

“Your usual manner is fine. This isn’t an official setting.”

“Then I’ll do that. We came to speak to Lagias.”

“…Should we step out?”

“No, it’s fine. Actually, it’s something I want you two to hear as well.”

The conversation moved on as if Zeke weren’t even there.

The owner brought chairs, and Ciel and Selen sat.

“Enough preamble. Can we get to the point?”

“Hmph. For once, you understand. Start talking.”

Stork and Brink exchanged a look and then checked the surroundings again. There was no presence of anyone else, but their caution was obvious. Tension filled the air.

“There’s unrest inside the Knight Order—no, it’s more accurate to say inside the national military.”

By “national military,” Stork meant the kingdom’s official armed organizations—Knight Order, Mage Corps, Royal Guard, and so on. Private domain armies and adventurers didn’t strictly fall under that definition.

“A portion of the national military that should protect the country and its people… is being interfered with.”

In all his fifteen-plus years since joining the order, Brink had never felt this kind of wrongness before. And now that wrongness was turning into certainty.

“Lord Zeke—no, you two as well. The village disappearance case you investigated recently. Officially, it’s said the Knight Order received a report about it.”

“A report? That’s a strange way to put it.”

“That case was never conveyed to us—at least not to the people it should have been.”

A whole village vanishing overnight. Sometimes villages were abandoned due to disasters, but this wasn’t that.

“So even the regimental commanders… possibly an even wider range—never received the information.”

“Exactly. The information is being intentionally suppressed.”

Stork’s certainty, and Brink’s grave expression—both made the severity palpable.

“Given the nature of the case, the Knight Order or Mage Corps should have handled it.”

“If the ducal house hadn’t moved, what would’ve happened…? You could look at it that way. But I think the opposite. It felt like they deliberately maneuvered things so the ducal house would move.”

Actor had ordered the three to investigate. He seemed to have noticed the Knight Order and Mage Corps moving sluggishly—but if they’d been led on purpose, the implications were far larger.

“The chain of incidents that began at Apion. Especially the attacks on the capital and the entrance exam—too many things still don’t add up.”

Stork, who had led the operation that initially began as security for a lords’ conference, had continued investigating even two years later.

“A barrier covering the entire capital. A summoning circle that called monsters. That wasn’t something human hands alone could accomplish.”

“Power mediated through magical devices. Around the circles there were many old stones that appeared to be magical tools. Lord Zeke, you saw them too, didn’t you?”

After the “Apion curse” uproar, the capital had been under strict security.

And yet there were no records of such items being brought in through checkpoints that should have been stricter than usual. Which meant either they were accidentally missed—or intentionally let through.

“Wait. The way you’re saying that… it’s like—”

“There’s a traitor inside the national military. Given the situation, it’s almost certainly true. I want to deny it, but…”

Ciel swallowed hard.

Her life had already been turbulent for someone still in her teens. But she had never imagined betrayal inside her own country.

“The entrance exam too—there’s no other explanation than information leaking from our side.”

“We sent a reinforcement unit after predicting the enemy attack. That information was known only to a small handful as well.”

It could be read as an operation that outmaneuvered the enemy—except in the end, the enemy outmaneuvered them instead. It had nearly become total annihilation.

“It is strange. It’s too convenient for the enemy. And if they wanted holy magic, they could’ve simply targeted Ciel alone.”

“They’re confirming something. Or searching for something. I can’t shake that feeling…”

Behind Brink’s firmness, anxiety flickered. Selen caught it—Brink was worried about something else, too.

“Recently, the Knight Order received a report: an aquatic monster that shouldn’t exist there was sighted in a forest region.”

“…A scouting squad we sent out has confirmed it. The report was accurate.”

The provincial cities of Westen and Osten lay southeast of the capital. Abnormalities were confirmed in the forest between them.

“…That’s pretty far from the capital. It’ll take time for reinforcements to arrive.”

“About that reinforcement… the Knight Order decided not to dispatch any. The Mage Corps likely won’t either.”

Selen understood in an instant. This incident was connected.

“Why? Monster outbreaks follow certain rules. This is clearly abnormal.”

“The higher-ups’ policy is that the dispatched squad can handle it… even though it’s not something three people should be taking on.”

“The squad leader is Luke Hartmann—the one the country’s been talking about.”

Everyone’s gaze shifted to Brink. Even Ciel and Selen—usually in the capital—knew of Luke, and the shared family name made the relationship obvious.

“Now it all connects. Like Ciel was targeted, that squad leader is being targeted too. And timing-wise, he probably took that entrance exam, didn’t he?”

“Correct. The perfect stage has been set to target Luke. It’s reasonable to think they dispatched Luke’s squad and arranged for them to be isolated.”

Now the shape of Brink’s worry was clear. Even a regimental commander was still, ultimately, a parent.

“We get it—he’s in danger. But why bring this to Zeke?”

“Lagias and Luke know each other. And more importantly, we can’t move. …I know it’s selfish. But we want you to lend us your strength.”

They wanted Zeke to act in place of a Knight Order that couldn’t. Stork and Brink’s request was unofficial—personal, not organizational.

All eyes turned to Zeke. He’d listened without interrupting.

His stance—survive, no matter what—had never changed, and would not change. For Zeke (Hiroto), there was no other option.

“Just to confirm—are you done?”

The two men nodded. There was nothing more.

“I see… then it’s simple. I don’t care. Whatever happens to you is none of my business.”

Even if a main character died, Hiroto’s objective wouldn’t change.