“You are…”
The giant mountain dwarf before me looked at me with a trembling expression, almost leaping off the sofa. Well, I can sympathize. Being the leader of an Adventurer party must be tough.
Aria, Kitty, and I cleared the Large-Scale Dungeon.
I thought I’d get a complaint from that Spirit after defeating the Chimera, but unlike humans, it didn’t seem interested in things that had already happened. Aria and Kitty didn’t have any particular wishes, and we were able to leave the Dungeon safely.
But was it really “safe”? Aria couldn’t move from the inn for about two days, and Kitty didn’t come out of Aria’s Shadow.
If even those two were like that, I was bedridden for more than five days. I ended up having to drink Aria’s special medicine again.
My six attributes have become four, and the Magic Stones inside me should be getting smaller, but I have a feeling they’ll be a bit larger than normal four attributes.
It can’t be helped since I synthesized the attributes. Still, it should be smaller than five attributes, so let’s be happy that I can be with Aria a little longer.
“Is it no good, Dolton?”
When Aria asked the mountain dwarf… Dolton of the “Rainbow Sword” that, he sank back into the sofa, glaring at her with a troubled expression.
I can’t blame him. It looks like trouble, no matter how you slice it.
After our… mainly my condition recovered enough for me to move, we first headed to the Royal Capital to the mansion of Dolton, the leader of “Rainbow Sword.”
The other members weren’t there, but Dolton was home. Aria introduced me to Dolton as a “high-ranked Magician the party had been looking for.”
Dolton was surprised, but I was surprised too… I didn’t think she was serious.
“Aria… I understand what you want to say. But…”
Dolton said, shifting his glare from Aria to me. My hair color has changed, and the dark circles under my eyes have faded quite a bit, but it seems people who know me still suspect something. He and I didn’t have much contact, but perhaps he senses the connection precisely because he doesn’t know my face?
After the battle in the Royal Capital, Aria disappeared with my body, and then brought back a high-ranked Magician a few months later. A perceptive person would notice.
“If Viro quits, our combat strength will be unbalanced. If I go on solo missions, won’t there be a shortage of Magicians with just Mira?”
“It’s true we were looking for a Magician… and Rank 6, you say? And you two cleared a Large-Scale Dungeon? What are you two thinking?”
“Not just two. Three with Nero.”
“…What kind of members are those…”
Dolton looked up at the ceiling, making the large sofa creak. He seemed more dumbfounded than troubled.
“I also think it’s a bad idea.”
“Snow?”
Aria and Dolton turned their gazes to me at my words.
Aria has thought about various things and reached this conclusion, but she lacks words. That’s a flaw we both have, having been active as individuals for so long.
“The Royal Capital hasn’t been restored yet. If I, the culprit, am alive, it will cause trouble for your comrades.”
It’s not like me to mourn the dead now, and I don’t have a shred of regret for killing my enemies. That’s why it’s impossible for me, an evildoer, to join Aria’s party.
“I’m an ‘evil person,’ so there’s a ‘way of life’ that suits me.”
I’m grateful for her saving my life, but I don’t want to stay by Aria’s side at the cost of causing her trouble.
But—
“Don’t run away.”
Aria looked at me steadily, her expression unchanged.
“Take responsibility for what you’ve done. Your life of revenge is over. You can live as you please after that. But settle things first. This party can make use of your power.”
Aria tells me to come out into the open world, instead of becoming like Serejula, who could only live by killing in the Underworld. She stood up from the sofa and stood before me, peering into my eyes as if crouching down.
“Don’t be afraid. If you stray from the path, I’ll kill you again.”
“…Yes. It would be fine if you killed me.”
The same promise as before. But the difference is, I want to die for you.
“Haaah…”
Dolton, who had been listening to our exchange, let out a long sigh and turned his furrowed face to us.
“Snow… is that okay?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
“Honestly, it’s hard to trust you. But if Aria says so, I’ll brace myself too. It’s certainly better to keep you where I can see you.”
“It’s okay. I won’t betray Aria.”
When I smiled sweetly, Dolton’s expression soured instead.
“Aria!! Keep a close eye on her! And have Gelf make a set of equipment for her! You persuade the other guys… no, find them and bring them here.”
“Understood.”
“For the time being, we’ll keep the fact that Snow is a Rank 6 Magician a secret. And her attributes too. Snow will be registered as a Rank 5 with Light, Darkness, Water, and Wind attributes. Got it?”
“That’s fine.”
Dolton is quite the hard worker. It seems he’s used to having nothing but strange members.
It seems everyone will go to the party registration together. Are they going to intimidate everyone by going together to gloss over things?
“I’m a noble, so I can’t leave the Royal Capital, which is still under reconstruction. But we still get requests. Until now, we’ve been sending whoever was available, but this time, you guys take it and leave the Royal Capital.”
“It’s true that it’s better for me not to be in the Royal Capital right now.”
When I replied, Dolton sighed again.
“…Why are our Magicians always troublemakers? While you’re at it, have Samantha teach you how the party moves.”
Ah, I’ve heard of her. The retired Magician of the Rainbow Sword, the Sand Dust Witch, was it?
“Understood. Then, can I leave Snow here?”
Aria, who had nodded at Dolton’s words, stood up again and said that.
“Oh, are you going somewhere? Aria.”
“I’m going to Elena’s place. If I explain it to her, she shouldn’t take it too badly.”
Ah, it’s true that it’s better to talk to her.
But… isn’t she angry?
When Aria arrived at the gate for those concerned rather than the main gate of the Royal Castle, the gatekeeper, who had already been instructed by the Princess and the Prime Minister to give her top priority, hurriedly went to call someone who knew her face and had her taken to the Princess.
“Aria… do you have anything to say?”
“I’m sorry…”
Aria apologized honestly to Elena, who smiled, though she looked a little thinner than the last time she saw her.
Even though Snow was resurrected, Elena and Count Melrose, the Prime Minister, had a hard time because the person involved was gone. More than that, they must have been quite worried.
“Go and be scolded honestly by Count Melrose too.”
“I will.”
Elena softened her anger somewhat at Aria’s childlike honesty, looked around, and clapped her hands lightly.
“Clear the room.”
Since Aria had been guarding the Princess for more than three years, there were no particular problems, and only Chloe, the maid, and Joseph, the butler, who knew the circumstances, were left behind.
Then, starting with Elena’s complaints, she scolded Aria here and there while talking about what had happened so far.
Elena had become the Crown Princess. Elvan’s fiancée was now only Clara, and the two had become lords of a viscount’s territory in the Dandole region. Mikhail and Rookwell had officially become close aides.
And when it came to Aria’s story…
“…It’s become a terrible mess.”
Elena pressed her brow as if she had a headache, and decided to keep it in her heart as an issue that couldn’t be made public, or rather, wouldn’t be questioned for the time being.
“As Dolton said, it’s better to stay away from the Royal Capital for a while. I don’t need a guard for a while, but I’d be happy if you could take on Shadow Unit requests.”
“Understood.”
Then the two chatted idly for a while, and as it was about time for Aria’s grandfather, the Prime Minister, to come flying in, Elena continued as if she had suddenly remembered something.
“Aria, I’ve heard rumors through the Shadow Unit that a ship of ‘Heroes’ from another continent has arrived in the Merz National Union in the north of the continent.”