Volume 1, Chapter 12

Volume 1, Chapter 12

Translator: Adam Seacord

Editor: Weasalopes

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This is Snake. I see the infiltration target ahead.

Cut out the gags, will you?

The day of their infiltration mission had arrived. Hiroshi, who had been hiding out in the forest behind the Castle of Wulls since noon, had begun rapid-firing unnecessary gags with a tiny sense of reckless abandon. The party to sneak Aearis back into the Temple was comprised of Hiroshi, Haruna, and Mio. All four of them, including Aearis, were wearing capes that covered them head to toe. They were as conspicuous as could be. To make it worse, everyone but Aearis was wearing a mask.

So, how does it look?

Well, they got security’s, obviously.

Naturally, the castle was very heavily guarded, taking any straightforward approach out of their options. It would have been a different story if these guards were just for show, but the soldiers on watch duty were high in both skills and morale. It seemed firmly impossible to climb over the tall walls surrounding the castle without alarming them and make it through the courtyards and hallways without being spotted by the patrolling soldiers.

Besides, anything that required physical exertion wasn’t Hiroshi’s forte. The only skills that provide him with any modification to his Speed were Wanderlust, Advanced Sneaking, as well as Novice and Intermediate Short Sword. Save for Advanced Sneaking, all of the modifiers were negligible, putting Hiroshi far below the benchmark of 100, even after all modifiers were applied. Without Advanced Sneaking, Hiroshi would not have been able to even tag along to this mission.

So, how did Hiroshi achieve Advanced Sneaking, out of all things? Simple. It was all to avoid being detected by active monsters as he collected materials. With Advanced Sneaking, he could be excavating behind a dragon’s back without being detected. It was nuts.

Looks tough, huh?

We can’t sneak past them with Elle, at least. We could probably do it with just me, Hiroshi, and Haru…

Thought so. Not being able to use magic really puts a damper in things.

Guess we gotta fall back on that hidden path…

I agree.

Ditto.

They were told of a hidden pathway, with the stipulation that they would only use it as a last resort. Alas, Haruna, Mio, and Hiroshi decided it was time for their last resort. It was understandable that they didn’t want the enemy finding this pathway, but being spotted on their way in would be worse.

So, let’s abandon our plan A of findin’ an openin’ and sneakin’ in.

Okie dokie.

With their next move decided, they swiftly went on the move. At the moment, it wasn’t like they were anywhere they weren’t supposed to be, so they wouldn’t be trouble if they were spotted by the watchmen. There were a few things they could pick around here that could be used for food or medicine, so some people did come out here to harvest, albeit only in a pinch.

Haruna lightly tapped Aearis on the shoulder to calm her down, as she had been listening nervously to their strategy meeting. In the meantime, Mio and Hiroshi scanned for enemies. Although they could probably get away with being spotted, staying hidden was much more favorable.

「So, it’s this way, right?」

「I reckon so…」

「Here.」

Mio pointed out the location, and the other two linked it to the map they had memorized the day before. They were relying on their memory as they had already burned off the map.

「Yep. That’s it.」

「Yeah, looks like the right spot.」

「Open says me.」

With that, they expanded the opening, hidden through the roots of the trees. It was barely large enough for an average adult male from Farlane to walk through, standing up.

「Looks pretty legit. I’m startin’ to feel like we’re bona fide adventurers.」

「Sensei. We are.」

「I mean, we’ve been making our living with odd jobs, the food stand, and singing on the streets.」

「Alrighty. Y’all don’t need me, then. I’m out.」

「Sensei. Give it up.」

Even as they joked around, they cautiously proceed into the pathway, with Mio at the front.

(But for real. What have we got ourselves into with this adventurer shenanigans…?)

While he tried to keep it light and cheery with some jokes, Hiroshi still didn’t like the idea of being on this mission at all. Even as he was on alert to do his job here and now, a part of his mind wandered back in time in search of where he went wrong, or what he could have argued to get out of this mission. It was all too late for those things, but nevertheless this cowardly man wouldn’t stop thinking about it.

It all started the previous day.

「Infiltrate? Why?」

Hiroshi asked, confused by Layotte’s outlandish idea on how to get Aearis back into the Temple. Douga and Rayna were apparently assigned a different task, and were preparing for that elsewhere.

「If we bring Aearis through the front gate, she could end up in a spider’s web again.」

「…Y’all run this country, right?」

Layotte couldn’t deny the shortcoming on their part. Aearis’ absence had harmed the Alfemina Temple more than expected.

「Well, shouldn’t we look into the situation and see if there’s any other option?」

「You have a point. I suppose I shouldn’t expect you guys to infiltrate the Temple inside the castle.」

「Well, that would make us criminals, won’t it?」

「Besides, the castle isn’t a place someone unwanted could easily sneak into.」

Hiroshi and Mio both had excellent points. Besides, there would be a bigger issue on Layotte’s hands if this ragtag band could simply infiltrate the castle with no guidance.

「Our biggest issue is that almost no one knows what Aearis looks like. It’s not like we were keeping her hidden.」

「Huh? Anyone could see y’all are related.」

「That doesn’t amount to irrefutable proof.」

What a bunch of bologna, Hiroshi couldn’t help but mumble. In the world of politics, any obvious fact could be endlessly debated if there wasn’t absolute proof.

「The other hiccup is that Aearis isn’t popular with the people. The popular opinion still villainizes Aearis. Most people think we prosecuted that servant as her scapegoat.」

「How does that translate to obstacles for this mission?」

Haruna asked.

「Easy. There are scoundrels who clamor that Aearis, who, according to their narrative, has run off to who-knows-where abandoning her duties as the Priestess Princess should not be allowed to return as a member of the royal family. The people would never stand for it, they claim. The problem is, they hold a decent amount of power. If we walk right through the front gate, the worst case scenario is them claiming that Aearis is an imposter, taking advantage of the fact that almost no one would recognize her, and moving to execute her as such.」

The group sulked a bit. Imposter? The king and Crown Prince would testify to who Aearis was. That would seem like better proof than anything.

「The Priestess Princess doesn’t hold any political power, right?」

Tatsuya asked, unsatisfied.

「That’s true, save for an event of an emergency… But under the right circumstances, she could represent more clout than the King himself. If your house is recognized as an ally of the Princess Priestess, things would go a lot more smoothly. So, while it may not benefit them directly, many people feel like it’s worth their while to stick their noses in the matter.」

Layotte responded with some backstage info of the royal family and their surroundings. Any position, with or without power, can come with all sorts of exasperating responsibilities. Even the Priestess Princess who has no power most of the time, and is replaceable… Perhaps precisely because of that nature, the responsibilities seemed to weigh heavier on her shoulders.

To boot, the new model of governing, crafted by the previous king through a revolution, had unfortunately come back to bite them. Repeatedly. The king before him had gone mad, almost overthrowing the country in cahoots with some of the nobles. As a reaction to that event, the laws established by the previous king upon stabilizing the nation heavily restricted the powers of the royal family and nobles.

As a result, no noble could easily punish a peasant, and even royalty could not eliminate a noble, no matter how much chaos they brought to politics and society as a whole, without tangible damage to the people.

Of course, they couldn’t execute Aearis simply based on an accusation of being an imposter, there was the risk that they could be taken into court. Aearis aside, the Japanese adventurers could be in for some trouble. While the royal family would do their best to keep them from being prosecuted for kidnapping and other crimes, but in the meantime, corruption would ensue. In the current system, even royalty didn’t stand a chance against the power of the masses.

「I got a question for ya.」

「What is it?」

「What’s it matter to ‘em if Elle keeps bein’ the Priestess Princess?」

「Aearis is the youngest in our family, and no one paid much mind to her. So, Ernest is just about the only ally she has, save for most members of the royal family. As soon as there was a divine calling that brought her up to be the Priestess Princess in no time, House Douga had gained too much power for some. The Dougas are a loyal family that has served the king since our nation was formed. The majority of nobles don’t want him anywhere near power.」

“Jeez, what a mess…” Hiroshi mumbled from the bottom of his heart. He really didn’t want anything to do with all this politics.

「But if that’s all, can’t the royal family and the Temple and overpower all ‘em?」

「Not likely. Even the Temple is split down the middle. Once she’s in the Ritual Room, there won’t be much opposition, but with things are going now, who knows how long it will take for her to even be allowed in the Temple through the front gate. Besides…」

「Besides?」

「The man who trapped Aearis in those spider webs could have a similar trap laid out in the entrance of the Temple.」

「So the only way in is to sneak her in?」

「That’s why I opened with that.」

The party couldn’t help but sigh in despair. It seemed irrefutable. But what madness that they had to sneak in a princess back into her home, that wasn’t seized by an enemy or anything. Bologna indeed.

「Alright. We gotta sneak in. Are ya sure the back door’s safe, though?」

「One of them, I’m not sure. But if they have discovered the other back door, we’re doomed anyway. One of the routes is a hidden pathway, known only to the King, Crown Prince, and the Priestess Princess.」

「…And you’re gonna let us in on somethin’ like that?」

「It’s worth getting Aearis back in there. Besides, no one can even use it unless a King, Crown Prince, or Priestess Princess is actually there.」

「Alright. Then let us know if there’s any stipulations to how we get this done.」

「Let’s see. Don’t use any magic. You could easily be spotted. Same goes for any magic-powered items. As much as possible, of course.」

「That’s a tough one right off the bat.」

Tatsuya pointed out. Layotte could only frown and nod.

「If that’s the case, I’m automatically out of the question.」

「Me too. I suck at sneaking around and into places and stuff like that. I’ll hold down the fort.」

Makoto declared. They both made sense, so the party simply agreed.

「So, Mio’s in for sure, then. Thinkin’ ‘bout adaptability, Haruna-san better tag along.」

「You know you’re coming too, right?」

「Huh?」

Hiroshi mumbled, taken aback by Makoto.

「You’re really good at sneaking around.」

「Sensei. You can excavate behind a dragon’s back.」

「That don’t got anythin’ to do with this mission.」

Hiroshi said, scrambling to disqualify himself from the mission. He couldn’t believe that they were conflating monsters, that only scanned for enemies instinctively, and a group of soldiers in formation, actively looking out for suspicious figures.

「I don’t know how well you are at these kinds of things, but if you can, I would prefer you to go with them.」

「Oh yeah? Why’s that?」

「For one, a party of three women can be… Dangerous, in many ways. And I know that Aearis will feel safer with you coming with her.」

Hearing this, Hiroshi looked over at Aearis. In contrast to her constructed, calm look, her eyes gleamed as if to grasp for his hand, dangling from a cliff. A well-groomed dog, sitting patiently as she only pleaded with our eyes for her master not to abandon her. Hiroshi wasn’t sure is he could keep pushing to be off the mission.

「Besides, Hiroshi.」

「Yeah?」

「You have to go out once in a while if you don’t want us to think you’re agoraphobic.」

「A craftsman belongs in the workshop… That’s where he works…」

Hiroshi refuted. In what world was a craftsman cut out infiltrate a castle?

「You know, Hiro. You’d be ruining a lot of things if you let Elle down now.」

「Sensei. It’s not cool to let down a child.」

Hiroshi’s frown cinched tighter and tighter as Tatsuya and Mio’s barrage of criticism ensued. Hiroshi glanced at Haruna to see that she was Switzerland, looking back without a word. Hiroshi guessed that, even if he had refused to go on this mission until the very end, Haruna would neither be disappointed nor blame him for it. He hadn’t spent too much time with her but enough to know that much.

「To be real honest, all I can do is make stuff. Nothin’ else. I can’t shake the feelin’ that I’ll just get in the way.」

「But we…」

「Elle’s life hangs in the balance, here. All the pleadin’ and emotions don’t justify a useless fool puttin’ on a show and gettin’ in the way. Elle’s gonna be there already, but that’s because she’s gotta. Don’t y’all think two deadweights mark a suicide mission?」

Hiroshi surprisingly well-thought-out argument silenced the members who had been pushing for him to go. Perhaps because of all the pains from his past, Hiroshi seemed to overthink situations, more than anyone in 12th grade should be. In this case, however, he couldn’t deny that a big part of him came to this conclusion because he wanted to defend his honor while still getting out of all the trouble.

「If I was just out harvestin’ or somethin’, it don’t matter. If I make a mistake, I can make up for the losses. But this won’t go down like that. Truth is, I don’t want no responsibility like that. I’m terrified of goin’ out there with nothin’ useful in my back pocket and screw up so bad there’s no comin’ back form it.」

While he was trying to get someone else to carry that very responsibility, he was sincerely considering the severity of the situation, as well as his particular skills and how he might fit into the mission. It wouldn’t really be fair to say that he was spewing all of this just to get out of a job.

「…Hiroshi-sama. I’m afraid you’re misunderstanding.」

「Elle?」

「My brother and I are responsible for anything that happens during this mission. We would never be in this predicament if I had been…Better.」

Hiroshi was quick to try and refute. Her royalty was useless when she was a ten year old child with no real power. As such, there was very little she could do on this mission. Sure, Layotte and the king may be responsible in part, but Aearis was the one who was supposed to be protected.

Although, he never ended up voicing that argument. Aearis had seen what he was about to say, and shook her head, interjecting:

「Any excuses, like my age or lack of political power, are useless in the face of our reality. Even now, I haven’t done a single thing on my own. So, please. Allow me to choose whom I entrust my life with, and to take responsibility for the result of my choices.」

「…Elle.」

「Yes?」

「You really don’t sound like a ten-year-old, now.」

Haruna let a chuckle slip out, hearing Hiroshi giving up. His reaction was the same as what Haruna, and what all of the other Japanese members were thinking.

Sure, most children in Farlane were relatively self-reliant by the age of ten. Of course, life was much harder here than in Japan, and the very near and dire threat of monsters prevented life from becoming too easy. Even so, Aearis seemed to be wise beyond her years.

When Hiroshi looked to Layotte with the intention of asking if Aearis had always been this way, Layotte looked just as surprised as the others. It seems that Aearis had grown quite a bit over the short time they were apart.

Of course, kids always grew up fast.

「So, Hiroshi-sama.」

「You’re not gonna change your mind, huh?」

「I will not. It’s not that I have any doubts about Haruna-sama and Mio-sama. Still, I need you to… I need you and Haruna-sama both to be with me, or I may be overcome with fear. And…」

「And?」

「This is just a feeling, but… Without Hiroshi-sama, I don’t think this mission will succeed.」

Adorning her authority as Alfemina’s Priestess Princess, Aearis went in for the kill. Now Hiroshi couldn’t live with himself if he were to wimp out anymore.

「…Dang it. ‘Guess I gotta shape up…」

「I’m sorry.」

「Thank yous are better than sorrys in times like these.」

This was something his counselor had told Hiroshi over and over again. Aearis might have been the one to pressure him, but it was Hiroshi’s decision to join, in the end. Besides, when asking for a favor, thanks should come before apologies. That was Hiroshi’s philosophy, anyway. Although, if Hiroshi were to ask himself if he abided by this guideline? It was fifty-fifty.

「Yes. Thank you.」

Aearis said with a brimming smile as wide as her face. Even with a few (really) long sighs, Hiroshi began to calculate what he could do to raise their chance of success, by any margin. The truth was, any equipment he had prepared would be pretty much useless. While there was no way to make their Wyvern leather armor work, Hiroshi planned to pull off some tricks that enabled them to at least bring Aearis’ outfit and the party’s weapons.

In addition, there were a few tools he could prepare that could be very useful for infiltration missions. He didn’t have enough materials to make too many of them, but there were, of course, better than nothing. He acknowledge their advantage of being able to carry all sorts of tricks up their sleeves, as many as ingredients and time allowed.

「Lessee. We can’t go ‘til noon tomorrow, at least. I gotta get one more thin’ ready to meet your requirements, Lay.」

「I understand. Noon works best for us, too. They won’t expect an infiltration through all of their security in broad daylight. And in order to clear Aearis’ name, we want enough circumstantial evidence to warrant some suspicion for the man behind all of this.」

「Alrighty. Then we’ll take an early lunch and go right in.」

This mission could easily become a very long one. They certainly needed a hearty meal to keep their energy up throughout the entire ordeal.

「Let’s get ready, then. Mio, can ya make us potion holders, please?」

「Yes.」

「And it would help a bunch if ya can take the magic out of the webs in the Wyvern wings. Looks like I gotta boil a bunch of stuff.」

Nodding in response, Mio jumped right into action. Acknowledging that the party had begun their full preparation, Layotte left with a short goodbye. He had a mountain of things to take care of himself, and even if didn’t, there was little he could do here.

「What are you going to use the webs of the Wyvern wings for?」

Tatsuya asked.

「I’m going to make a Skulkin’ Cloak. We gotta be able to at least bring the clothes we’re wearin’ now.」

「You have a point there.」

Hiroshi seemed ready to deploy some more convoluted techniques to solve the problem at hand. With enough time, this man could craft anything.

「This Skulkin’ Cloak, though will just fudge any Searchin’ spells, includin’ Magic Detection. It ain’t like we’ll be invisible or nothin’. And nothin’ could conceal somethin’ like our Wyvern leather armor.」

「Still, it’s something we can’t go without this time around.」

Haruna chimed in.

「Right?」

As they continued to talk, Hiroshi produced the necessary ingredients for the cloaks, and began treating them.

「So, what can we do?」

「Nothin’ right now. Sorry. Give Elle a little more trainin’, maybe.」

「You got it.」

Tatsuya answered, and went to meet Elle. Suddenly, the workshop was beginning to bustle with anticipation.

「Nope. I can’t think of anythin’ to get me out of this.」

Remembering their conversation the day before, Hiroshi had failed to come up with any valid excuse.

「Sensei, really. Give it up.」

Mio reprimanded Hiroshi (who was clearing clouding himself with negative thoughts about the mission) with a whisper.

「I know, I know. It’s just that…」

「Just what?」

「Standin’ here for real just makes me a lil skittish…」

「When you act like that, Sensei, Elle gets nervous. Buck up.」

Mio continued to dig deep against Hiroshi’s show of cowardice. Being reprimanded by someone far younger than him has gained him back his title as Lord of the Sheep.

「I mean, he’s doing something outside his repertoire, here. Go easy on him, huh?」

「So are you, Haru. And you did an infiltration when you came to save us, too.」

「Don’t go comparin’ their sloppy defense with the guards here. Besides, we could have taken the whole lot of ‘em if came down to it.」

Still unsatisfied, Mio decided to keep her mouth shut for now. Their situation wasn’t suited for much smalltalk, and this wasn’t something that anyone wanted to keep arguing about.

And so, with a slightly tainted air between them, they quietly walked through the hidden underground pathway. They walked through the obviously maze-like path, devoting most of their attention to their short term memory and selecting the correct path as told, stepping around hidden doors and trap doors, straight towards their destination. Then:

「…Sensei.」

「What’s up? Why did ya stop all of a sudden?」

「Can you walk out front for a little bit?」

「…Sure.」

Mio proposed, abruptly. With a very bad feeling for her sudden request, Hiroshi moved up front as she said, and walked for about 5 meters. There was a sense of displacement that even Hiroshi, who didn’t have any skills for trap detection, could feel. Hiroshi as he internally shouted as himself for being overly terrified of every little thing around him, took a step forward…

「Y’all hear that…?」

Then, the strange sensation disappeared with a small, snapping sound.

「According to the map, we crossed under the edge of the church’s grounds.」

Mio explained.

「Which means?」

「I think the trap above ground reaches us down here, too.」

Haruna added.

「…So you knew there was a trap, and made me walk into it?」

Hiroshi said, glaring at them. Mio simply nodded without blinking an eye. As this conversation ensued, they marched on.

「What apprentice uses their master as bait to detect a trap…?」

「Actually, to disarm. I already knew about the trap.」

Mio retorted without a shred of guilt, which flooded Hiroshi with exhaustion. By the way, that kind of method of detecting traps (with risk of damage, of course) was a popular method when there were no Thieves or Scouts with knowledge of traps in the party. A traditional method used since the heyday of TRPG.

「Hey, Mio-chan.」

「What?」

Slightly taken aback by this inhumane method, Haruna timidly asked Mio:

「Are you sure that was okay?」

「Disarming the trap? Or using Sensei as bait?」

「Both.」

「It was safe to use Sensei. There wasn’t another way through, and a high-level craftsman wouldn’t trip a magical trap unless it’s at a ridiculously high level. A normal spell-wielding player could use an Ultimate spell against him, and it would just fizzle because of his high Magic Defense and Magic Resistance.」

Hearing Mio’s nonchalant answer, Haruna and Aearis were quite taken aback. Haruna was aware that, if the caster’s Intelligence was lower than the target’s Constitution by a certain margin, any low level spells would fizzle the instance it hits the target, without producing any effect. However, she only thought this would apply to Novice spells. She had never considered that Advanced, or even Ultimate spells could be fizzled.

They were shocked by Hiroshi and the other craftsman being at that level itself, but also by Mio, who casually used that fact to throw her master into a trap with no remorse. They had to admit that Mio had some serious guts.

「As for disarming it, there just wasn’t another way through.」

「Um, couldn’t it have been a trap to protect this pathway?」

「Impossible. Besides, it felt different from the spells aligned with Alfemina. She is the goddess of time and space, after all.」

Mio concluded with confidence. As a Scout, she had to learn this kind of arcane knowledge.

「If ya knew that much, why didn’t ya disarm it yourself before ya throw me into it?」

「It wan’t that weak of a spell.」

「…But throwin’ your own master into it…」

Hiroshi grumbled lethargically.

「Um, Hiroshi-sama. Are you all right…?」

「I mean, it didn’t hurt me none, so I guess there ain’t no use complain’ ‘bout it.」

Even though they hadn’t even reached the main event, Hiroshi already felt unusually exhausted. Although, there was no time for that, either.

「So, since we blew up that trap, we gootta rush don’t we?」

「Probably.」

「Then let’s get goin’.」

Complaining would get him nowhere. Hiroshi concluded (with brute force and his high Constitution) that he couldn’t change the way his apprentice treated him, but he could decide to be productive. Internally, Hiroshi would be grumbling Why of all people do I got to do this… While desperately maintaining face around Aearis.

「We have been expecting you. Thank Alfemina you’re all right…」

Once they had passed the indescribable structure of the hidden pathway directly into the Temple corridors, there was an old man wearing an impressive outfit. He didn’t exude any obsession to worldly things (as you might expect to be at a high-ranking position of a religious organization) but instead carried an air of solemnity about him. He certainly seemed like the type to have accumulated a lot of good karma through his years.

「I’m sorry to have worried you, Head Priest.」

「I have heard what was happened. I’m so, so glad that you’re safe…」

The Head Priest began choking on his words, overwhelmed with emotion. Aearis gently took his hand in hers. This old man seemed to be one of the very few people Aearis could trust wholeheartedly. Quietly, they celebrated their reunion for a moment, before:

「Excuse me, but I need you two to hold off on the emotional reunion scene until a little later.」

Haruna interjected, saying this with effort and a forced sense of formality. The fact that she volunteered herself to be the bearer of bad news in these situations showed how likely she was to be the type to take on all sorts of burdens without anyone seeing it.

「Of course. My apologies.」

Reminded of what must be done, the Head Priest sprung to action. Hiroshi and Mio observed him intently.

What do you guys think?

Can’t feel any affliction on him, at least.

He wasn’t lying when he said he was worried.

Hearing Mio’s and Hiroshi’s report, Haruna sighed in relief, internally. All in all, the Head Priest didn’t seem like an enemy, at least.

「Somethin’ I wanna ask ya.」

「What is it?」

「You don’t mind us normies comin’ with y’all?」

「Exceptions and accommodations should be made during dire situations, no matter the rule. Besides, we have had a divine sign for your arrival. No one here will have any objections to your presence.」

The Head Priest mentioned some real talk (albeit while maintaining his solemnity). While the party was thankful that a person in his positions wasn’t too much of a stickler for their doctrine, but there was still the lingering doubt for either the consequences of the bending of rules, or the existence of the said rules themselves.

「A temple is simply the place where our goddess provides us with guidance and protection. A priest is merely the harbinger of those things. Dogma and doctrine written by man are meaningless. If they contradict the will of our goddess… If they come in the way for the people to receive our goddess’ blessings, then they shall be abandoned.」

Perhaps catching the look of the party, the Head Priest continued to say things as if to criticize his own organization, with the same sense of solemnity. His core belief seem to have protected him from the reputation of a corrupt religious figure while being a realist about these situation to prevent the organization from becoming too rigid and falling apart.

「So, what’s next?」

「The Ritual of Purification. Myself and the High Priests below me have all prepared for it.」

「How’s that gonna clear Elle’s name?」

「It’s simple, really. Aearis-sama simply performing the purification in the Ritual Room, from which Katrina-sama was rejected, will be proof enough that Aearis-sama has the necessary talent as the Priestess Princess. Also, the affliction of the mineral veins have become too severe for Elena-sama to handle, even at her best health. Aearis-sama is the only one who can turn this around.」

In other words, just by performing her duty, she would have saved the country. A worthy accomplishment. The disinformation regarding her character aside, her ill reputation as a failed Priestess Princess seemed easily reversible by providing some results.

The Head Priest lead them through a pathway that exemplified timeless simplicity for a while, before they arrived at an opening. While the structure was sound, this large space lacked decoration. On the north end of the space, however, there was a large door engraved with ornate detail, in stark contrast with the pathway they had passed through and the room they were in now. Judging from the powerful purification barrier on the door itself, they could assume that the Ritual Room was located through that door.

「This is it. I apologize, but I must ask you all to remain here.」

「Okay.」

「My money’s on someone trying to cause trouble while y’all are in there. We’ll play watch duty for a while.」

「Search and destroy anything that’s afflicted?」

The Head Priest acknowledged their response with a nod. He seemed to contemplate Mio’s aggressive tone for a bit, but seemed to have decided to let it alone. He gestured for Aearis before taking another bow at the party and disappearing into the Ritual Room. After the party watched them leave, they looked back towards the opening, when someone suddenly called to them:

「No outsiders allowed here. Didn’t you see the sign?」

「What’s up? Fellow outsider.」

Hiroshi stroke back with a dismissive tone at this man, who was so nondescript that one could easily forget his face the moment they looked away from it. They had no reason to play nice with a man who was exuding far more affliction than the Wyvern.

They were in the house of the Goddess of Time and Space, after all, so all transportation items and spells can’t be used here, even the transportation spell used by Layotte. Judging from the fact that the Goddess herself would be the only one allowed to transport here, this man must have walked through the other back door. Actually, the party couldn’t deny the possibility that this man used his incredible lack of presence to simply walk in through the front.

「Did you know that sneaking into a temple calls for a very strict punishment?」

「So you’re in big trouble then, ain’t ya?」

「So, I can teach you guys a lesson, no problem.」

Disregarding Hiroshi, the man concluded their little conversation. Stripping the Skulking Cloaks off, the party stood on-guard. While firing off enough spells to keep his distance, the man starts preparing a spell far too powerful to cast in a place like this.

「Who uses that kind of spell in a tight space like this…?」

Haruna mumbled as she kept the man on his toes by firing off some precise bolts with Aura Bird. In a situation like this, it was Hiroshi’s job to charge, and there was no point in Haruna getting any closer, which meant that her job was to keep attacking from a distance.

The man’s quick-fired spells landed straight into Hiroshi, who was now charging at the man, and promptly fizzled without showing any effect. These Dark spells, by the way, were filled to the brim with affliction, had a trajectory that was hard to read, and a direct hit to an ordinary human would cause some serious damage in all sorts of ways, but having it hit a single target before scattering had render them useless for attacking the group. Apparently, at his Magic stats, he couldn’t penetrate Hiroshi’s Magic Resistance with spells of this level.

「You guys were so aggressive, I didn’t have a choice. I was just trying to subdue these attackers. They were the ones who used the big spell.」

「…Childish.」

Mio responded, firing off arrows in a dancing trajectory.

「Who can prove that it was me?」

「Not what I was talking about.」

Without understanding what Mio was saying, the man dismissed her as a basket case (with utter lack of self-awareness). He went to activate the large-scale destructive spell he had been preparing. An immense amount of magic was conjured, about to tear into this world.

「Too bad! Even if you guys survive, you’ll be the criminals who destroyed the Temple!」

「Too bad for you.」

Mio said coldly as she shot another arrow at the man. Blocking the arrow, the man looked puzzled. Immediately, he noticed that something was off.

「Why won’t my spell activate!?」

「Sensei’s in your range. No way that little spell would activate.」

「What!?」

The wide-range of the spell had ironically become its downside. If there was a being within range with enough resistance to overpower the spell itself, even if that being was at the edge of the range, the entire spell was fizzled. In order to push through Hiroshi’s Magic Resistance (even if Hiroshi was naked) a top-ranking player would have to use at least an Intermediate spell.

「You’re goin’ down!」

Hiroshi immediately assaulted the man (frozen from shock) with a Smash attack. He turned the blade of the axe on him rather than the butt, going in for the kill. Instinctively throwing up a barrier, the man gets thrown into a pillar.

「I ain’t done!」

With another Smash attack, Hiroshi slammed the man against the wall, and swung in one more time on the rebound. Even though this was a Novice skill, relatively easy to fire off consecutively, its delay should not have been short enough for Hiroshi to chain off one into another. This only worked because Hiroshi had the length of the delay drilled into his muscle memory, and that the enemy hadn’t recovered from the surprise of having his Ultimate spell fizzled.

「Argh! Knock it off!」

His superior attitude had left him entirely, as he no longer concealed his irritation and jumped in for a counter blow to push Hiroshi back 3 meters. However, Hiroshi didn’t seem to take any damage, and easily landed on his feet. Although it was mostly in the easier dungeons, he had played the tank many a times in-game. Even though he didn’t have many skills that boosted his Speed, he had enough prowess to stay on his feet after being blown away.

「Not bad for a bunch of criminals, but don’t expect that little princess to get anything done.」

「Guess you’ve played a trick or two on her. Don’t expect ‘em to work.」

Before Hiroshi could finish, a bright light emanated from the Ritual Room.

「…What have you done!?」

「Simple. Just cured all their status conditions when we saved ‘em from Piaranork.」

Hiroshi answered matter-of-factly, as the man witnessed the unthinkable: a successful ritual. Then, the man glared down Hiroshi with hatred. At the time, Hiroshi didn’t pick up on any spell other than the one Aearis cast to put everyone in a coma, but he decided that they really didn’t know what kind of status conditions Aearis could be affected by. So, he crafted the most powerful status condition healer he could make with the ingredients he had.

「I think we’re getting an audience. What are you going to do?」

The man turned around to where Haruna gestured, where a few nobles, with a monk and knight in tow.

「What took you so long? We have intruders.」

「We just received word that someone was attempting to disrupt the ritual.」

Layotte answered with a straight face to the man’s bold-faced lie.

「Then why don’t you take care of that.」

「I will.」

As soon as Layotte had spoken, Julius swing his sword at the man, without so much as an indication before he sprung into movement. Despite having penetrated his barrier and cut open a large gash through his shoulder, the man appeared to be in no pain. The few nobles who witnessed this started accosting Layotte and Julius, and the room suddenly grew cacophonous.

「Have you lost your mind? They are the intruders, over there.」

「Now that you’re here, you’re an intruder, too. Besides…」

「The Goddess Alfemina has already given a divine message. These people were chosen by Alfemina, and as such, belong here at the Temple.」

「Oh really? You have proof for that?」

「Don’t exert yourself, Lord Barold. With how afflicted you have become, the ongoing Ritual of Purification must be agonizing.」

「Where are all these outlandish ideas coming from? Who’s afflicted now?」

「Stop talking, you miserable man.」

As the man continued to weasel, a girl emerged and shut him down.

「Elle-chan…?」

Haruna uttered, hesitantly. Her face, hair style, and body shape all looked just like Aearis from before. Even her clothes were the same. But her silver hair and blue eyes now shone in blinding, shimmering gold. Most of all, her attitude had changed from that of a friendly puppy to that of holy authority.

「I am sorry to have keep you waited. Hiroshi-dono. Haruna-dono. Mio-dono. Thanks to the three of you, this land has been purified.」

「…Who are ya?」

「Hiroshi-dono. You know who I am.」

Someone spoke, wearing Aearis. When she said this, the party understood. The Goddess herself had arrived.

「How much more will soil this land?」

「I think you’re the one who’s soiling this land.」

Facing the Goddess, the man didn’t back down but instead threw back brazen words of insult. Without batting an eye, the Goddess ignored him.

「Hm. The land may be purified, but the affliction remains. One more job to do here, then.」

The handful of nobles, who had been intimidated by the Goddess’ glance jolted in terror. Without paying any mind to their reaction, the Goddess released another round of powerful, purifying light.

「Agggghhhhh!」

「Stop! Please stop!」

「It wasn’t! It wasn’t my fault!」

As soon as the light hit the nobles, they began writhing in agony. As the party watched in shock, the Goddess continued:

「Now, this is about as much as my priestess can handle. Hiroshi-dono. I entrust her with you.」

「Hold on now, why me?」

In response to Hiroshi’s dismay, the Goddess only smiled, knowingly.

「Now then, Hiroshi-dono. Haruna-dono. Mio-dodno. Please give my regards to Makoto-dono and Tatsuya-dono as well. When the time is right, I should be able to tell you everything.」

「I’m askin’ ya, why ya trustin’ me with Elle?」

Still ignoring Hiroshi’s question, the Goddess left with some quasi-prophecy, purposefully putting on the show of a spirit leaving Aearis’ body. As they witnessed the Goddess’ form, exactly as described in legends, the holy air scattered out of the room.

「Guess she’s gone… After ignorin’ me.」

「What just happened…?」

Hiroshi and Haruna both stood there, mouths agape, still thinking of the Goddess who came and made a mess for the mortals to clean up. Watching them, Aearis stood with a smile as she was unsure what to say.

「In any case, ya did it.」

「So you’re job here is done, right, Elle-chan?」

「Yes. The affliction has been purified.」

As Aearis said, the affliction (that had been built up too much for a single castle) had now cleared completely. Affliction compiled every day, so if nothing were to be done, there would be enough piled up to affect the day-to-day. But now that the official Priestess Princess can come and go through the front, that shouldn’t happen again.

「True, this land may have been tainted…」

「Ugh! You’re still alive!?」

「You little weasel!」

Turning to the source of the voice, the man standing on a beam near the ceiling, halfway abandoning his human form, glaring down at the party, full of hatred. It seemed that the Goddess’ purification seemed to have severely damaged him, enough that he could no longer maintain his human form completely. Still, the fact that he didn’t die from it made him closer to a cockroach than a weasel.

「But if I purify the tainted priestess, this land will be pure again.」

He mumbled on, activating some sort of spell. On instinct, Hiroshi started running towards Aearis, but he was a split-second too late. A void open below Aearis’ feet, swallowing her whole, and transporting her into the man’s arms in the blink of an eye.

「Now, priestess. Repent and serve the righteous god!」

He declared, and concentrated a massive amount of affliction in the palm of his hand, which was obvious a curse, and tried to inject it into Aearis’ bosom. At the very last moment before the mass of affliction was about to touch Aearis, it dissipated with a snapping sound. It seemed like the man didn’t put enough power into it to push through the protections applied to her priestess robe, sword, and undergarments. They would never discover this fact, but, if it wasn’t for the underwear Hiroshi crafted (risking his life, according to him) Aearis may not have been protected here. Just like Mio suspected, the 30% difference in quality between Hiroshi and Mio’s craft was not negligible.

「Dancing…!」

「Elle! Don’t ya play that card, yet!」

「Elle! Purification! On the max!」

Hiroshi stopped Aearis from activating the special ability of her sword, Mio chimed in with what she should do instead. Obeying Mio reflexively, Aearis activated Purification, with maximum power. The Purification spell struck the man directly as he was taken aback from having his affliction evaporated, burning him to the core.

「…How insufferably annoying!」

Forsaking his human form (and his joking attitude entirely,) the man snarled. Glaring at Aearis, who had gained a good distance between them even on the constricting space of the ceiling beams, and pounced towards her to finish the job.

「Elle!」

「Coming!」

Hiroshi called out right before the man reached Aearis, and Aearis jumped off the beam without hesitation, as the man’s attack rips through the space where she had just been standing. Hiroshi caught Aearis with ease, and produced something from his coat. Aearis was staring at Hiroshi with intimate, shimmering eyes.

「We’re takin’ her for now!」

After glancing at the Head Priest and Layotte to see that they had nodded in response, Hiroshi activated the item in his hand. In an instance, despite no activation of a transportation spell, all four members of the party disappeared from the room. Even the Skulking Cloaks were no longer strewn about on the floor. They must have gathered them somehow. Hiroshi had used The Legendary Thief’s Last Trick (dubbed the Super Jammer among craftsmen) a disposable item that disabled any and all detections against the user’s party, albeit for a very short time (30 seconds, max). As demonstrated here, even when the user was right under someone’s nose, or even being touched by someone, they could no longer sense the existence of the user.

「What!? Where did they go!?」

「Take it easy. I know them well. When the time is right, they’ll be back with my sister.」

Layotte said.

「Are they…!?」

Asked one of the allied nobles. Layotte ignored it, and looked around.

「Now we have to prepare to bring them in. Our first stop, I suppose, is hunting down the demon that got away.」

Layotte continued, giving out orders for their next move. As soon as the man’s attack had missed Aearis, the soldiers had initiated an attack against him, but despite what appeared to be an unimpeded assault, the man had disappeared with a blinding explosion. When the dust had settled, all that was left was a broken window. The man was nowhere to be seen.

「Yes, My Lord.」

Everyone there knelt in obedience to Layotte’s orders. And so, the nation of Farlane had dodged a critical bullet, thanks to the help of a party of outsiders.

By the way, Hiroshi had kept Aearis in his arms during their entire escape from the Temple grounds, and…

「H-Hiroshi-sama!?」

「Elle-chan! Give him some space right now!」

After they had fled back to the workshop with a special Transportation Stone, Hiroshi was in a dark corner of the workshop, covered in his own vomit, convulsing from his color-drained head to toe.

If anyone was wondering what Douga and Rayna were doing in the meantime…

「I suppose they don’t know where we are, do they?」

Douga said.

「Jeez. Did they really think these guys could pull off sneaking into the Temple?」

In front of the hidden pathway (the one that they presumed had been discovered by the enemy) Douga and Rayna had taken down a sketchy-looking gang that clearly worked for the other side. Since sending an entire troop to guard the location could cause an unnecessary scene, Layotte had assigned Douga and Rayna, two of the most skilled warriors in the country.

「Still, you’ll have to give these young men credit for summoning a pack of Cerberuses, instead of, say, Hellhounds.」

「Only three of them. And what’s the point of that if they can barely control them?」

The two of them remarked, as if to say the ordeal wasn’t thrilling enough for their liking, as they looked at the three Cerberus corpses, and the dozen or so Summoners they’d slain without putting up much of a fight themselves. Watching this, the Summoner who had (just barely) survived attempted to flee in a state of terror, and was suddenly engulfed in a pillar of black flame. Upon closer inspection, all of the corpses had also been burnt to crisps.

「They won’t give us a chance to take prisoners, huh…?」

Rayna remarked.

「Even if we were to capture them, it would be difficult for us to hand them over to authorities. In a way, they saved us the trouble.」

「That’s true. What should we do with the bodies, then?」

「If we bring them back, they could produce some useful materials.」

「We kind of teared them to shreds, are they still salvageable?」

Rayna pointed out, to which Douga responded by contemplating for a moment. On average, by the way, a Cerberus was often more formidable than a Wyvern. Ordinarily, they would only appear in the Hell-themed dungeons, and while it was one of the weakest creatures you could face off there, that was only because the other monsters around them were ridiculously overpowered.

Looking up at the corpses of the three-headed canine, still looming taller than a horse, Douga tapped his shoulder with his shoulder with his spear (far larger and heavier than anyone could expect him to wield) and slightly regretted if he had gone too wild. On his other hand, he was holding a towering shield (also ridiculously gigantic). Despite his age, Douga maintained an impeccable physique. Combine that with his massive equipment, and most would run away at the sight of him. What was more impressive was that he moved so fluidly with them.

「It’s been a while since I got to play outside. I think I got carried away. Well, if we get them back, they’ll figure it out.」

「Sounds good to me. No sense in making any decisions ourselves when the most materials we could identify are hide, meat, bone. And fang and claw, I suppose.」

「Very well. Let’s chop them up and throw them into our bags.」

Nodding in response, Rayna began separating the corpses by body parts. After all, they were beginning to think just like Hiroshi and Haruna when it came to things like this.