“Sob.”
“Sniff.”
After all the crying, yelling, digging their metaphorical graves, and then trying to fill each other’s up again, it seemed they had finally reached a neutral state.
They had shared a moment of intense realization. The shame and awkwardness that followed were a bonus.
“…Don’t blame yourself too much, iron wall.”
“…You, too. You’re important.”
However, despite this awkwardness, they both felt a sense of relief.
They stood tall, as if a weight had been lifted from their chests after their unexpected outpouring of emotion.
“Miss Envoy…”
“The bond between companions… sure is beautiful.”“Heartwarming indeed…”
“Ah, the youth.”
What awaited them were the lukewarm gazes of the people around them.
Both their faces turned bright red again.
“Waaaaah!!”
The first to act was Deathbringer, who had unintentionally laid bare his innermost thoughts.
“I think I’ll be fine now, so I’ll just go and see the lord!!”
“Y-You!!”
He immediately abandoned his initial goal of figuring out the situation.
Of course, his reason for that decision was that the clearing of the area had already begun while they were yelling at each other, and the Demon Knight’s complexion had also noticeably improved as the antidote gradually took effect.
In other words, he had quickly assessed that he was no longer needed here and chose to run away.
A rather shrewd move.
“Y-You’re just going to run off like that?!”
However, the Inquisitor couldn’t do that same. She wasn’t as quick-witted as that traitor, and there was a crucial reason why she couldn’t leave this place.
“The Purification of the forest…”
“It might be good to rest a bit first, Miss Hero…”
“I-I’ll do it. I can do it.”
There was something left that only she could do.
With her face as red as a tomato, the Inquisitor began to spread her light.
“Well. This was rather unexpected… but it’s good that they’ve brought everything to light now.”
Meanwhile, the Archmage, who had watched the whole scene unfold, couldn't hide her pleased smile.
Well, she had felt that something had been off about them, but she had been unable to identify precisely what it was and so couldn’t do anything about it. But now, it seemed to have finally resolved itself.
She couldn’t attribute it to anything but luck.
“Even at my age, I’m still rather clumsy with these worldly affairs…”
How wonderful it would be if one naturally acquired wisdom as they aged. However, worldly affairs, especially between people, were so very elusive.
Even though she thought her understanding of people had deepened a little after that incident, it seemed she was still the same.
“Had I known this would happen, I would have spent more of my youth outside the Magic Tower.”
After spending so much time among people utterly obsessed with Arcane theories and formulas, she sometimes found herself unable to keep up with the thoughts and actions of ordinary young people.
Moments like these made the Archmage regret that every time.
Had she experienced more in life and gotten to know more types of people, she might have been able to guide these youngsters down the right path without them needing to wander so much.
“If only I had…”
Maybe, just maybe, she could have learned how to help the Demon Knight.
Every time she recalled her latest miserably failed attempt, she regretted it. Her intentions were pure, but it had ultimately failed disastrously.
That was the first time she painfully felt her lack of experience raising or guiding children. Well, she actually felt that more often than she would care to admit.
If a certain someone knew that, they would have probably remarked, “Perhaps things turned out this way because a scholar who’s been confined exclusively to a desk tried to practice psychotherapy, which is far from your expertise.” It was a thought she lamented.
“…No, maybe I would have been of more help if it was the opposite.”
However, these thoughts didn’t last long, replaced by memories of the research she had burned herself.
However, remembering that was even more meaningless.
It had been too long for her to start regretting it now.
“That aside, you.”
“…”
“Berserk?”
“…Huh? Did you call me?”
“Yes, I did.”
It was a waste of time to dwell too long on what had already happened.
The Archmage raised an eyebrow as she noticed Berserk responding more slowly than usual.
Now that the matter with their two youngest had been settled, it was time to take care of her.
Looking after them all was an unavoidable burden for her.
“What’s the matter?”
But then again, that was why she had chosen to go on this journey with them. The Archmage prodded Berserk a little more.
“It’s nothing.”
“Then how about we get some rest?”
After dealing with the Demon Knight, she had learned a few tricks on how to get someone of that type to open up a little.
Asking them directly wouldn’t give you a straight answer. You had to be subtle.
“Berserk’s fine.”
“But didn’t you fight the Skyflow Tiger just now?”
“Hah, you call that a fight? Norda warriors don’t call that kind of thing a fight. That was a hunt.”
Then again, yeah. Although she had somewhat developed a knack for these things, getting a real answer out of them still wasn’t easy.
“A failed hunt.”
The Archmage’s gaze became ambiguous.
“Still, thanks to you stopping the intruder at the end, the damage was…”
“Wizard, open your eyes properly. That wasn’t stopping it.”
“…Just because you let it go doesn’t make what you did meaningless.”
“That’s not what Berserk meant… Hah, forget it.”
In the meantime, the same thing happened when they told her, “Don’t beat yourself up, it’s not your fault.” Just like before, Berserk, who seemed to be about to say something, ended up keeping her mouth shut.
“If that’s not what you meant, then what?”
“You don’t need to know, Wizard. It’s Berserk’s problem.”
If she knew the reason, understanding her would be easier. She sensed that instinctively, but ultimately, she never got an answer.
Berserk remained silent despite her repeatedly asking. It was a pretty effective way to avoid this conversation.
“I understand. But if there’s a problem, you can speak to me anytime.”
Pushing her more would only be counterproductive. Judging as such, the Archmage dropped the topic.
* * *
“Madam Archmage.”
“…Yes?”
Then, someone else approached.
He was a fellow wizard, more proficient than her in healing magic, who had taken over the Demon Knight’s treatment.
“We’re ready to move the Demon Knight.”
“That’s good news. Is he okay?”
“Thanks to the antidote, it didn’t become too serious. All he needs now is rest.”
Fortunately, it appeared the Demon Knight’s condition hadn’t worsened.
She turned her gaze from the creation of the protective barrier—for what remained of the Skyflow Tiger’s corpse—she was supposed to oversee and looked to the Demon Knight.
She saw him lying quietly on the ground, ash and embers flying around him.
“So, to provide him with a safer environment, we want to transport him to the Temple in Ednium…”
He was just being loaded onto a stretcher.
“Erm, Madam Archmage?”
“…Go ahead.”
However, how he was being transported somehow resembled a monochromatic painting.
Even while answering the Temple staff, she compared the scene to old famous paintings in her mind.
Was it even appropriate to associate a living person with classic paintings or scenes from old books? Was it right to compare a young man to objects so ancient that they could crumble at any moment? Such fleeting questions came to mind, only to quickly disappear again.
This time, it was because another person from the Temple approached her.
“Have you come to report on the tracking status?”
“Yes. However… I think we’ve completely lost them. They said they would look for a bit longer, but…”
“Tell them there’s no need to blame themselves. We didn’t expect anything from the start. Also, let them know they needn’t push themselves so hard.”
“I’ll tell them to stop and return after their final search.”
“Okay.”
Their target was presumed to be a Great Demon. Even if it wasn’t, considering how well-prepared it was, it was unlikely to have left any traces.
So rather than being disappointed by their failed tracking, the Archmage tried to gauge the impact of this outcome.
Would they revive the other Great Demon? Or would they absorb the Skyflow Tiger, giving birth to an even stronger Demon?
Either way, it wasn’t good news. Even if the Demon Knight and the Hero could handle it, they would still have to take some damage.
“…Is the young lord we evacuated alright?”
“Some people we presume are citizens of Ednium came and caused a disturbance, but before we could do anything, the young lady of Camborough stepped in and subdued them all.”
“…Are they really fine?”
“Young Lady Camborough is unharmed. Young Lord Ednium has also been cured of Demonic Erosion and declared that he would resolve this matter himself, so it doesn’t appear this issue will escalate further.”
“That’s good, then.”
The Archmage briefly wondered who those idiots who had caused the disturbance were but decided not to ask any further.
If they could resolve it themselves, that would be enough. There was no need to interfere.
“The barrier is complete!”
“It seems things are finished on this end as well. Now all we have to do is wait for the forest to be Purified.”
“I’m worried that we may be placing too much of a burden on Miss Envoy.”
“We have no other choice. Should this miasma get carried by the wind to the village, it’ll be disastrous.”
If not for that, they would have prioritized Purifying the Skyflow Tiger’s remains to ensure it couldn’t get possessed by a Demon as it had not too long ago.
“It would take far too long with the priests’ Divine Power.”
“I’m ashamed.”
“It’s not your fault. Despite being on this journey with them, haven’t I also failed to accomplish anything?”
Of course, even now, many priests had rushed here immediately and were working alongside the Inquisitor.
But as she had said, their difference in ability was much too stark. It would take less time for the Inquisitor to Purify the entire forest and return than for dozens of priests to Purify the Skyflow Tiger’s corpse.
“Having such irreplaceable power is truly a tiresome thing.”
In the end, the Archmage could only lament this matter.
Why hadn’t God allowed everyone to save the world together?
Why had He made it so only a few people had to bear the burden of all?
“There are so many hands around that could have helped carry this weight.”
Had that power been given to everyone, those few wouldn’t have needed to do everything on their own.
That was her lamentation.
* * *
Fortunately, what remained of the Skyflow Tiger’s corpse wasn’t taken away by anything.
There had been no further attacks while the Inquisitor Purified half the Great Demon’s Negative Energy.
So the Inquisitor burned the Demonic Energy with great ease, leaving only the enormous corpse of a tiger.
“Hah!”
“What is it?”
“What’s the matter now, iron wall?”
At that moment, the Inquisitor realized a certain matter.
“I-If I do this, the Demon Knight won’t be able to use any part of this corpse, will he…?”
“…Ah.”
“Oh no.”
Since the Demon Knight could have crafted some equipment with these parts, she should have left some trace amounts of Demonic Energy inside them.
Realizing her mistake, the Inquisitor once again fell into self-loathing.
“I-I messed up again…”
“No, no one thought of this…”
“…But what could he have made of these parts anyway?”
“L-Like boots, or bags, maybe gloves… Some type of leather product, right?”
“Well, sure, but doesn’t Mister Knight always end up destroying his clothes while fighting? Unless they have some kind of auto-repair enchantment, he might not even bother using those new clothes because they’re inconvenient.”
To keep her barely maintained self-esteem from cracking again, desperate attempts to comfort her with excuses ensued.
“But in that case, there’s also a problem with distribution, right?”
“Is there really anything to divide up? The Demon Knight almost killed it on his own.”
“Well, the Temple put in a lot of effort trying to locate the Skyflow Tiger, and then there are those who suffered because of it. Not that compensating them is our responsibility.”
But after barely resolving this incident, another problem cropped up: who would get ownership of the remaining corpse? It was a rather important question that needed answering.
“Since the Skyflow Tiger’s capture was done entirely by Miss Envoy and her companions, our city won’t dare to covet it.”
However, unlike what happened in the West, the distribution went smoothly.
Back then, there had been a heated debate over this matter due to the ships, soldiers, and other forms of support provided, but now, there was little reason for anyone to interfere.
On the contrary, looking at this whole incident in detail, there were quite a few parts for which they would need payment. Because of that, neither Ednium nor Camborough even attempted to claim a share.
That was the moment when the Hero’s party had sole claim over the Skyflow Tiger’s corpse. Even then, the Demon Knight’s share exceeded half of it.
“Berserk declines. I’m unworthy of taking anything.”
“Me as well…”
“Same for me… I’m to blame for not protecting the corpse well enough.”
“I’m not shameless enough to demand a share either, but… Inquisitor, didn’t we talk about this?”
With the others giving up their shares, the Demon Knight somehow ended up with the whole corpse, not just more than half.
“Though he probably won’t be able to use it because of the Purification.”
“…I-I guess so.”
“Ah, seriously, don’t start crying! You’re not that kind of person!”
“I did it again…”
“I was the one who messed up, okay?!”
Of course, it was still unclear whether this would hold any meaning to the Demon Knight.
After all, if he couldn’t even touch it, it was nothing more than trash to him.
____
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