【We are sorry. Due to our shortcomings...】

After taking an appropriate amount of sleep, it was noon.

The Archmage checked on the people who had been pacing outside, unable to bring themselves to enter during that time.

If it weren't for the barriers she had painstakingly set up before going to sleep, at least one of them surely would have sneaked in.

That much was obvious just from seeing their excessively apologetic expressions and the way they subtly peeked past her.

There was no worry evident on their faces to suggest they were concerned about the Demon Knight's condition. Thus, they were definitely conscious of the child.

Well, looking purely at the circumstances, it wasn't too strange. Due to their failure in management, the child of someone executed for treason had attacked a guest.

But looking beneath the surface, it was different. The child had clearly escaped with someone's help, and targeted the Demon Knight in the process. And this happened on the very night the Demon Knight had friction with the Chief of this land.

It was too sloppy to be called a plan, but too suspicious to be a coincidence. And the Archmage had absolutely no intention of overlooking this subtlety.

Even if this wasn't the Chief's scheme in the first place, if they cared about the child's safety, they shouldn't have sent her here.

Since the Demon Knight had granted the child an opportunity, she had a reason to protect her.

【It is fine.】

【Um, the child is...】

【We will dispose of her as we see fit.】

【Excuse me?】

Was it a bit laughable for the victim to not only forgive the perpetrator but also protect them? But what could she do? She had already said it.

She laughed dryly, declined their offer for a meal, and closed the door again.

She had already realized that the Chief of Bigabol had scammed them, and now harbored suspicions of him instigating a murder. She would not accept any favors if possible.

【Ugh...】

Right then, the child staggered up. As light lingered in her yellow eyes, they became a vivid gold, exactly like flowing honey.

【Oh!】

Checking where she had been lying and what was covering her, the child soon began to fidget. Her flushed red cheeks made her look just like a child her age, giving off a warm feeling.

【Would you like something to eat?】

She had refused all meals from outside, but she had some snacks prepared in advance. She offered them to lighten the mood. The child felt awkward but did not refuse.

【... Um, that person... is it okay not to wake him up?】

【It is fine.】

Eating was important, but there was no need to go as far as waking a sleeping person just to feed them.

If anything, he needed to sleep more.

Whether it was an aftereffect of the poison, he had been sleeping more these past few days, but his sleep duration was still far too short compared to the average.

"No... Was the one who slept the least the Berserker? Anyway, these warriors."

【Pardon?】

【It is nothing. Eat.】

Regardless, it was fine for the Demon Knight to sleep a bit more. She did not disturb the Demon Knight's sleep.

Though, when he still hadn't opened his eyes by the time the sun was high in the sky the next day, she did think something might have gone wrong.

'Get angry. Get angry at all the unreasonable suffering.'

'This is enough burying your head in the sand. Isn't it about time you got furious?'

'You must be tired of falling for such obvious lies too.'

'Aren't you resentful toward those who made you get blood on your hands?'

'The child who stabbed your heart is right in front of you. She tried to kill you. How can you forgive her?'

'No more escaping from reality...'

「 ▲ Sleep for 1 Hour 00 Minutes ▼ 」

「 ▲ Sleep for 1 Hour 00 Minutes ▼ 」

「 ▲ Sleep for 1 Hour 00 Minutes ▼ 」

.

.

.

"...ight."

Dreamless sleep was more comfortable than expected.

"... Knight!"

The system that allowed me to fall asleep right away without tossing and turning, even when I wasn't tired, was also useful. No, it was practically the best.

"...mon Knight!"

If this were reality, stress would have kept me up, but here I could somehow sleep comfortably at the very least.

"Demon Knight!"

But sleep had to end eventually. It was time to return.

"... What is it."

I slowly opened my eyes and assessed the situation.

Having repeatedly fallen asleep and woken up, I didn't know how long I had slept. Seeing how thoroughly hoarse my voice was, I figured I must have slept for more than half a day.

"... Are you alright?"

"I asked what it is."

How long did I sleep? I checked the presence in the surroundings, wondering if she woke me up because of something urgent. There was nothing special.

"... Um, it's nothing. More importantly, aren't you hungry?"

Still, seeing the sunlight seeping in, it seemed to be daytime. Since I thought I fell asleep around dawn, waking up in the daytime seemed pretty average, but...

If that were really the case, the Archmage wouldn't have such a terrified look on her face. On top of that, my Satiety stat had dropped way more than I expected.

Did I perhaps sleep for more than a day?

"It's time to eat, so I tried waking you."

If that really was the case... I slept much more than I thought. It was miserable to go off on a tangent while half-asleep every time I woke up, so I just spammed the system feature, only to make this kind of mistake.

My mistake.

"I won't force you, but... if you have an appetite, have at least a little."

But what could I do about what had already happened? Since my Fatigue had been reduced to 0, it wasn't exactly a bad thing.

I just accepted it and joined the table. I worried a little about breaking character, but quickly put that aside.

It was an act that didn't fit my concept, but still, it was right after getting stabbed near the heart.

Wouldn't they just brush it off as an aftereffect? Honestly, at this point, it seemed stranger to complain about breaking character or whatever.

"I thought it would be a bad move to accept any more favors from the Chief, so I only prepared a meal with what I have. As a result, the spread is simple... is that alright?"

Meanwhile, the Archmage made a slight excuse while setting the table. The difference from our last meal was severe, so I wondered why, but it seemed there was a reason.

Make sense. If I were her, I wouldn't want to accept favors from a crazy bastard who is a domestic abuser and threatened the lives of children, either.

I'd rather just eat rice mixed with soy sauce than get anything else from that bastard. Yeah, absolutely.

In that regard, this much was perfectly fine. The spread might be simple, but how could I complain about a meal someone else cooked for me?

Besides, even though I'm a bit of a picky... eater, there was at least nothing worth being picky about on this table.

I accepted and ate the soup made by boiling grain powder without a word of complaint. As if understanding my meaning perfectly despite my blunt words, the child had also stayed in her seat.

Perhaps they had gotten quite close while I was asleep, as the two of them seemed fairly chummy.

"Um, I was thinking we should set off soon... Would it be better to rest a bit more before going?"

It's good if they're close.

With a slightly dazed mind, I shoved the soup into my mouth. Through the grogginess, the Archmage's words traveled through my ears and reached my brain. Only after mulling it over twice did I understand what she meant.

Are we finally going to meet the Mountain Lord? Or did she realize the Chief was trash and just decide to scrap the Mountain Lord business and everything else?

Personally, I'd prefer the latter, but since this is a Magic Tower quest, it's probably the former, right?

"I don't need to."

I convinced myself of that and gave a moderate reply. If she was being considerate because she thought I slept so long due to my injuries, there was really no need.

My condition wasn't bad enough to delay our departure, after all.

"Really... Mm. I understand. Just don't overdo it. It's not like resting will cause any problems."

That might be true, but my concept had to allow it.

I mechanically emptied all my soup. The hot soup seemed to warm my insides, but the subtle chill didn't go away.

【Um... what were you talking about...】

【Ah, it is nothing. It is about what I told you yesterday, Akata.】

【Ah...】

Even if the surrounding air was warm, no matter how hot the food I ate was.

It was a chill brought on by a sorrow that would never disappear.

"Then let's set off now. Pack everything we need to..."

... Still, I had to get a grip. I wiped away the thoughts threatening to go off on a tangent again and fixed my expression.

My concept doesn't show a weary heart at any moment. Because that's my SWAG... or was it S-W-A-Q? Suddenly I'm confused about the spelling.

CRASH!!!

But seriously, making me focus elsewhere like this?

I scrunched my face, thinking it was really too much even if it was the flow of the quest.

Sure, I understand incidents escalating from something trivial to a massive scale, but back-to-back events like this are a bit much, aren't they?

This is already the third explosion I've heard since entering the Great Forest! If you milk a pattern this much, players will get sick of it and call it boring!

"... This place really never has a peaceful day."

Look at that. Even the Archmage has a look of absolute disillusionment on her face.

I grumbled inwardly that the scenario writer was stealing their paycheck.

Of course, I didn't actually think that. From what I looked up, they have a ton of work to do over there.

【What was that sound...】

【Akata, you stay here for a moment.】

While the Archmage briefly comforted the child, I opened the door and went outside. My eyes narrowed quickly as I looked around to grasp the situation.

CLANG CLANG CLANG!!

【It's an attack!】

【The Zatab bastards are here!】

I had half-guessed it from the roar, but no matter how I looked at it, it was an attack, right?

"Zatab must really be overflowing with troops..."

I gave a dead-eyed stare (inwardly) as I watched the people running toward the village entrance.

Coupled with the Archmage's words, not only was it definitely an attack, but I could tell the attackers were the Zatab tribe.

Right. Those bastards who made me work my ass off when I was at the Serhang tribe.

They were an incredibly belligerent tribe. Poking around in all directions just because it's the time to elect the Great Chief of Katana or Katina or whatever. Is it okay to use political checks like this?

"We have no reason to get involved in this fight anymore. We'd be better off..."

At that moment, the Archmage rubbed her temples, deep in thought about something.

"They're the ones who scammed us first, so there's no need for us to say goodbye. Let's just use this opening to slip away."

Because she skipped too many steps, it was an absolutely absurd thing to say from my perspective.

Excuse me. I won't understand if you say that without explaining the foundation. What scam?? Wait, was that kid really an assassin sent by Atart??

"What are you talking about."

I asked rather irritably. Even if my concept was to be indifferent to my surroundings, I had to ask about this.

Of course I did, since the word 'scam' came up. My concept doesn't let me live with being taken advantage of.

"Ah... I forgot you didn't hear."

The Archmage apologized, saying she seemed to be getting forgetful in her old age—though from my perspective, my memory seemed worse than hers—and briefly explained what happened yesterday.

After hearing it, my takeaway was that Atart was a truly massive son of a bitch.

I had a bad feeling the moment I learned he was a domestic abuser, but even the quest conditions he gave us were a scam? This bastard was rotten from the start.

'Shouldn't I kill him?'

Shouldn't I seriously kill him?

I momentarily clenched my fists tight, then went 'whoops' and relaxed them.

No matter how much of an irredeemable piece of human trash the guy was—the kind that couldn't even be recycled, let alone sorted—killing him violated human rights. Mostly my human rights.

After all, dirtying my hands just to dispose of that trash was too insulting to my hands.

And solving everything with violence was a bad attitude in the first place.

However, the fact that the bastard was a criminal who needed to be isolated from society didn't disappear.

Leaving the victims to simply watch since I had no room to intervene made my lips tremble.

If I were following my concept, I should be thinking about what to do in this situation, but my personal feelings kept adding up, leaning towards beating the crap out of him. I shouldn't live like this.

"Um, are you perhaps..."

My expression must have looked pretty foul. The Archmage broke out in a heavy sweat—she didn't actually sweat, but she looked like it—and spoke to me.

【Damn it, the magic!!】

But the timing was off. Another roar echoed out, followed by an explosion. Unlike before when I was inside the building, my view was open now, so I could see the process much better.

"They're going to breach."

It was a very accurate assessment. All the Priestesses here had joined the rebellion, so they lacked the manpower to counter the enemy's magic.

That is, aside from the Archmage, who was here as a guest and de facto mercenary, right?

【Honored guests!!】

Look at that. Coming running right at us.

The Archmage and I scrunched our faces at the people running over. Of course, it wasn't that we had been acting too leisurely. We might call it explaining and agonizing, but we had been standing outside for less than a minute.

But so what? Spotting someone and calling out to them isn't only possible at close range. That was all it was.

【The traitors have brought in Zatab. Please, help—】

【I am sorry, but I do not think we can.】

We hadn't even reached a conclusion yet, but the Archmage coldly shot them down. It felt like she made a hasty decision in case I actually went to kill Atart... but only she knew the truth.

【We have received word from the Magic Tower. Our own situation has become urgent.】

【At this rate, we will be slaughtered!】

【I am also truly saddened that I cannot help.】

The coldness in her tone was like the frozen plains of Siberia.

【Why...!】

【I am sorry. As for the child, we will handle her ourselves, as I said yesterday.】

On a separate note, I pondered whether to go and beat the crap out of Atart right now, but decided to let it go, figuring Bigabol would fall at this rate anyway.

There were too many things tangled up in this situation to just jump in and say Atart is a bad guy. Damn it all.

【... The Chief left a message, solely in the event that you refused the request.】

Damn it all.

"If you refuse to come, we will lose anyway. So I will kill all the children in the village. 【That is what he said.】"

A true son of a bitch doesn't stop at just one evil deed.

"Ugh, shit. We finally got here, and why is this place a shitshow too..."

"A fight! A battle! The Berserker wants to join in!"

"Hold it in, Boss Fighter. I mean, why do you even want to join a fight that only brings losses in the first place??"

Until now, the number one person in the Deathbringer's life who wouldn't listen and couldn't be reasoned with was the Demon Knight. But ever since the Berserker joined, that ranking had been wavering slightly.

This guy was genuinely fine normally, but the moment a fight was involved, he lost his mind.

The Demon Knight lost his mind over demon-related subjects and was impossible to talk to normally, so he was still number one, though.

"I clearly joined to find more fights. But every time, you only tell me not to fight... You are liars..."

"I never said that, though."

When he said he was joining, the Deathbringer had just gone 'Uh, okay, guess you're joining.' He had never actually stepped up to persuade him to join.

Shirking responsibility like that, the Deathbringer brought the item White Wind had given him to his eye.

It was an item that allegedly allowed one to see presences beyond walls by detecting the energy that any living creature naturally possessed... While it would be helpful when planning infiltration routes, it was horribly inconvenient for finding people.

Because everyone just looked like their outlines had been traced and colored in with various colors—

"Oh!"

They said magic users would be easy to find, so was this what they meant?

If an ordinary person's color was so faint that they were hard to distinguish from the background, magic users were to the extent that their colors were deep and much more clearly visible.

And as for the Demon Knight and the Archmage...

"There's no mistaking this."

The energy they possessed was so massive that they didn't even take on a human shape. No, even if the Archmage's outline was blurry, she still had a human shape, but the Demon Knight was just... just...

It looked like that space had been carved out in a sphere. As if not even allowing observation.

"But why are they coming this way..."

Are they perhaps planning to participate in this fight? No, well. Since the Mountain Lord is involved, it wouldn't be strange if they cooperated, but hadn't they decided not to get involved in politics if possible?

"... Young hunter."

Then why—

"Get down."

In an instant, the Deathbringer gasped at the weight crushing his body. It was because the weight of the muscles he felt above him was much heavier than expected.

But that was nothing compared to the scene that unfolded next.

---!

The moment a wave that couldn't even be called a sound shook heaven and earth, his hood and hair flapped like crazy. It was a wind pressure that would have given him a rough time if the Berserker hadn't held him down.

"What the hell..."

And then he saw it. Above his head, the densely grown trees that had been stretching out had vanished without a trace.

Just as half the castle in that city on Montata Island had been reduced to dust, leaving only a small portion of the bottom.