Episode 12.1

"Welcome back."

"Yeah."

"Aah! Shira-san. You're finally back."

"How have you been, Eda-chan."

"Uhohho"

"You too Jericho, long time no see. Lookie here, I got dried fruits of all kinds for you."

"Hohhoo--"

Come to think of it, how long has it been since Eda met Shira in her Shira form, thought Lecan, but he couldn't recall.

"I was just about to have some tea. Care for a cup?"

"Shira-san's tea is so good, I love it."

"Eda."

"Un?"

"Has your speech mannerism changed?"

"Un. I feel like I don't have to force myself anymore."

"Force yourself?"

"Like, I don't have to try so hard to speak like how an adventurer should, you know."

(So that weird way of talking was made up.)

(Dunno why she thought that would make her like an adventurer.)

Shira's tea was good.

A deep taste that takes your fatigue away.

"Looks like it went well huh."

"You knew about it, Shira-san?"

Lecan and Eda went straight to this house after leaving the temple.

And yet, Shira seemed to be aware of the events that occurred in the temple already.

"Just that. The not forcing you part is a trick, y'see."

"You're right. The vice temple head never said anything about not trying to invite me over again after all."

Lecan was a bit amazed to hear Eda said that.

Her noticing that fact means she's got a proper understanding of what transpired.

"Lecan, you did really good there. Well done."

"Yeah."

"But, demolishing Zogus Idol at the end was a bad move."

"Yeah."

"Thanks to that, you'd have to provide your service for free. Nine times at that."

"Yeah."

"You're an idiot, aren't you."

"...."

<TLN: If you're reading this novel at any other site than Sousetsuka.com you might be reading an unedited, uncorrected version of the novel.>

"Shira-san, do you not get compensation working at the orphanage?"

"Lecan won't be in this case. It's a service not a work, y'see. By having Lecan provide a service at the orphanage for free, it signifies his respects toward the temple."

"Is that so. By the way, where's Nike-san?"

"Nike is away from town for a while to take care of something I need her do."

"Shira. One thing's been bothering me."

"What is it."

"Was there really a need for me and Eda to go to the temple? If we just told them about me being a Dungeon Conqueror, and that Nike and Shira would leave the town if I and Eda did, wouldn't that take care of things?"

"Lecan."

"Yeah? What's up, Eda."

"Nike-san may have said that she would leave the town if you and I did. But Shira-san never said that. Vice temple head did say she would yeah, but Shira-san never told us about that, you know."

"You."

"Un?"

"When did you get so smart."

"Eda-chan. That's because Nike told my circumstances to the vice temple head. Lecan, that wouldn't work."

"Why wouldn't it."

"That wouldn't have stopped priest Casis from trying. Because it'd be like he's barred from trying to solicit a <Recovery> user that he found. Were that to happen, he'd grope around for your and Eda-chan's weaknesses, pick quarrels, and just generally harass you two at every opportunity. Don't you hate and is poor at dealing with those subterfuges?"

"I hate and am not good at dealing with it."

"Doing it your way would leave us with a mess to deal with behind the scene, and that'd be a pain. Hence, going about it directly by angering him and revealing his guilts, to then wrecking it was best."

"So you knew that letting me go would anger the guy, and made him disclose his guilts."

"Naturally, of course. You're someone who doesn't care about priestly honor and stuff, while Casis was the type of priests who won't forgive anyone that doesn't revere him. He definitely believes adventurers to be nothing but trash. That's precisely why you were belittling him from the outset, no?"

"I see you had made a prior arrangement with the vice temple head."

"That old hag's pretty lazy despite her capability, y'see. But since this was the perfect chance to put the sniveling rat in cage, she agreed to cooperate. That said, despite his many misdeeds, priest Casis has made many contributions to the temple as well as having many personal connections. It'd be tough cleaning up the mess."

"Shira."

"What is it?"

"There's a spell <Sharp Hearing> among perception type magic, isn't there."

"Oh there is."

"How far away can you hear sounds with it?"

"Ordinarily, it's only good enough for listening in the room right next to yours. But if you're in a desert with nobody else around, it can be used to hear from thousands of steps away."

"Suppose it's cast by the best mage in history, can it listen to conversations in the temple from here?"

"If that mage has an accurate grasp of the temple's location and shape, it might just be possible."

"I see. By the way, you think priest Casis get banished."

"Why'd you do something so dangerous. You wouldn't want to let that thing out of your sight, you know."

"Does that mean he's gonna get confined in this temple until his last."

"Most likely yep."

"Right. I wanted to ask you something."

"Hee?"

"I managed to shoot dozens of <Flame Arrow (Veyart)> all at once."

"I saw that."

"What?"

"It's been so long since I saw something so ridiculous like that. Were you planning to shoot down stars or something?"

"But I have no idea how to shoot it right. I just can't form the image. Please teach me the ropes."

"Humm. That huh. Well, I guess it's fine. I'll tell you how before long. More importantly, let's talk about what you two will be doing from here on."