"Where have you been?"

I returned to the Temple right after buying the thread.

Thanks to the shop being located in the lower level, the round trip alone took an hour, so my plan to go and come back secretly was unfortunately ruined.

The Archmage was sipping tea in the dining hall that doubled as a living room.

─"Did someone arrive?"

There was something like an orb placed in front of her, which seemed to be an artifact for communication. White Wind's voice leaked out from it.

"It's the Demon Knight, so don't worry."

─"Aha. He's diligent right from the morning."

Compared to my worry about being interrogated, she let it go easily. It was surprising in a way, and unsurprising in another.

After all, it wasn't exactly normal to relentlessly pry into where someone went on a holiday morning. It was just me having a guilty conscience because of the incident I caused yesterday and my other particular traits.

I crossed the living room, trying not to let it show.

This lodging was structured like a regular house with rooms connected around a central living room, so going this way was my only option to get to my room.

─"Anyway, I'll finish what I was saying. You know the mana snakes we transported earlier. It's about them..."

However, this was a bit hard to just ignore.

I stopped my hand on the door as soon as the Jahukayas were brought up. It was a topic that could involve talk about demons, making it really awkward to just go in without listening.

The Archmage noticed that and silently pointed to a chair.

RATTLE.

─"To jump to the conclusion, there are no unusual findings so far."

Instead of refusing, I silently sat in the seat she pointed to.

─"We only have four of them, so the kids are handling them super carefully and haven't been able to run any proper experiments yet."

Even though there was already tea brewed, the Archmage deliberately boiled fresh water. The well-dried tea leaves plopped and submerged into the water.

Seeing as the brewing color was different, she seemed to be making it with different tea leaves.

─"The most we've figured out is that they eat mana that's not contained in physical matter but fixed in midair, like a barrier. And that if it's within a certain distance, they can gauge the location of mana—whether contained in matter or not—and head towards it?"

Meanwhile, White Wind kept chattering away with her explanation.

─"Oh, while they said the one caught last time had a lingering scent of demonic energy, these guys don't even have that. Judging from our observations over the past few days, it doesn't seem like they harbor any demonic energy at all to begin with. Though whether they can turn demonic energy into mana is still a question."

It was such a fruitless conversation from our perspective that I wondered if I had sat down for nothing.

After all, if they didn't harbor demonic energy, there was no real reason for us to chase them. Them eating mana was a problem for the mages to sort out themselves.

"So just because they are born from a dense concentration of mana doesn't mean they all harbor demonic energy. That's at least a relief."

─"What does that matter? There's a high chance they all possess the ability to eat mana. We're going to die at this rate."

"Are we not working this hard to prevent that from happening? It will be fine."

─"Sooo annoooyyiiing."

For that reason, I stared blankly at the brewing tea. I didn't care whether White Wind whined or not, and I had nothing else to look at anyway, so my gaze was just dazedly fixed there.

But why did the scent wafting from it seem similar to the tea I liked?

"Keep up the hard work. Any news from the Great Forest yet?"

─"They're still moving into Zatab's territory, so no reports have come in. There is something the Mountain Lord told us, though... First of all, the Mountain Lord itself apparently harbors demonic energy. It said it was unpleasant, so it converted all the demonic energy inside its body into mana."

"It finds its own origins unpleasant. That is fascinating in its own way."

─"It's probably because it wasn't born in mana that had completely turned into demonic energy. It said it absorbed all the stale mana right after being born, but it was a bit weaker than actual demonic energy."

I debated whether it was truly a coincidence that she brewed fresh tea when she had already made some, and specifically brewed the tea that I was particularly fond of.

Did it show? But the Archmage shouldn't have any reason to go out of her way to cater to my tastes.

"... If that's the case, it might also explain why the Jahukayas didn't possess demonic energy. Does the degree of mana corruption determine whether they are born harboring demonic energy or not?"

─"I think so too. We'll have to check the place where Zatab was raising the snakes to be sure, but there's a high probability that's the case."

I thought it over for a long while before stopping my train of thought. Whether the Archmage was looking out for my tastes or it was just a coincidence, all I had to do was gratefully drink it.

─"I'll have them verify this again... When are you coming today?"

"Are you proceeding with the examination today?"

─"Of course we have to. Why would I delay the examination when I don't even know when you guys are leaving?"

"... I appreciate the consideration."

To summarize the conversation I roughly overheard, it just meant we were going to suffer like hell in the future, so I figured I didn't need to pay attention anymore.

After all, what else could the preceding conversation be but a foreshadowing that both mobs that eat mana and mobs that harbor demonic energy on top of eating mana would appear.

Considering the Mountain Lord, it seemed like similar cases would pop up among intelligent beings as well, so there would definitely be an advanced problem requiring us to properly distinguish friend from foe.

"Did you hear that, Demon Knight?"

Meanwhile, the Archmage spoke as she poured out the fully brewed tea. Just because I half-listened didn't mean I hadn't taken it in as information, so I narrowed my eyes.

"The time."

─"Come whenever is convenient. It'd be better if you come during the day."

"Then it would be best if we went after having a meal today. How about it?"

Going after eating was fine by me. I nodded. The Archmage finalized the schedule with that and cut off the call with White Wind.

"Here, drink."

Instead, she offered me the teacup. I reflexively tried to take it.

SWISH.

"...?"

Or I would have, if the Archmage hadn't pulled her hand back, teacup and all, right before I could grab it.

"Take it."

Just as I was wondering what kind of prank this was, the Archmage held out the cup again. But just as I tried to take it, she pulled the cup away once more.

"... What is this."

What is this? Seriously, what is this. Archmage-nim, are you taming me right now? Are you training me like a mutt?

"Try saying thank you for once."

... I was joking, but you're actually taming me?!

"What nonsense—"

"It's because I've never heard you say thank you before."

W-W-Well, that's true. I've never actually said it because of my concept.

Caught between the pouring facts and the concept pushing back against them, I blinked. It was a natural reaction, since I couldn't exactly let my pupils waver here.

"Just say thank you. Then I'll give it to you."

But this is a bit! This is a bit too much!!

I was struck with dumbfoundedness, the ridiculousness of the situation, a deep consideration of why the Archmage was suddenly acting like this, and a wave of reality hitting me as I wondered if I really had to be doing this at my age, even if it was the fallout of my roleplay concept.

I was thrown into a maelstrom of all sorts of emotions.

"Ha."

But standing in front of all of that was my concept.

"You seem to think I'm your fucking dog."

No, my concept wasn't that of a child, and above all, why would I bend my pride over a mere cup of tea? It wasn't like I had a setting of being obsessed with food.

On top of that, while my actual self was in a stress-relieved state, my concept's current state couldn't possibly be good.

There was the constant demon issue, the bastard we encountered in the Great Forest this time, and even ending up in a fight after returning to the city because the Berserker interrupted my rest.

Was that all? My values were also provoked because of the Mountain Lord. In other words, there was no way a good reaction was going to come out.

"You must think I'm a complete joke."

So I purposely made a noise as I stood up from my seat. I naturally shaped my expression into one of immense anger. With this, the Archmage's favorability rating within my concept dropped to -100.

Of course, it wasn't like her original favorability was in the plus range to begin with.

"You seem to be under the delusion that you're holding my leash using the demon as an excuse—"

THUD THUD THUD!

Just as I was about to raise my voice, making the corners of my mouth and eyes tremble in anger, a presence abruptly barged in from outside the lodging.

The way it came sprinting at a rapid pace made it seem like it was either fleeing or preparing for an attack.

SLAM!

My leg swiftly kicked the desk—an intention to shove it away to secure some space—and I placed my hand on my sword.

"What..."

Perhaps spurred by my actions, the Archmage also raised her staff first. The door roughly swung open right as she scrambled to her feet.

If the person who entered had applied even a little more force, the door would have definitely been ripped off its hinges.

"Huff, huff."

But whether the intruder barged in roughly or not wasn't very important. The one who came in was Meat Dumpling.

A rather pale-faced Meat Dumpling.

"You..."

"I—"

If it was DeB, there was no need to be on guard. I took my hand off the sword hilt and drew back my slightly spread legs. DeB, who was leaning against the door and gasping for breath, just opened his mouth.

"I-."

"I-?"

No, he opened it and then stopped.

"... It's nothing."

Anyone could see something was up, so what did he mean by 'nothing'?

I scrunched up my brow fiercely at the sight of him mumbling and giving up on speaking. It was a natural reaction, since I couldn't ask him if he didn't speak.

The problem was that DeB had completely shattered the mood, making it awkward to continue the war of nerves with the Archmage.

In the end, I passed by the diagonally shoved desk and headed for the door DeB had entered through. The teas had all spilled when the desk was pushed back, so I also made sure not to slip on the water.

DeB, who had just caught his breath, looked back and forth between me heading out and the Archmage.

"U-Um, did something happen..."

Yeah, something did. But you can hear the explanation from the Archmage.

I completely walked past DeB with my expression rigidly hardened.

Where to go? Well. It was about time to eat, and I couldn't exactly eat in that situation, so I figured I could just find a reasonably tasty place, grab a bite, and head to the Magic Tower.

I'll order and eat everything I want without walking on eggshells.

"Did something really happen??"

Deathbringer hurriedly asked, comparing the Demon Knight's face from the morning—which hadn't looked to be in a bad mood at all—with the face that had just passed by him.

He wasn't exactly in a good mood himself, but seeing the Demon Knight wearing such a scowl made his own anger completely vanish.

"It was just like his usual self. I merely made a slight mistake. More importantly, you seem to be the one with a problem."

"W-Well, there was."

He had just said it was nothing, but that was only because the Demon Knight was there. It was because his instincts had judged that he shouldn't tell him.

But was meeting the Demon Knight's vicious glare head-on quite a shock? He had forgotten every sentence he had prepared in his head.

Deathbringer wiped away sweat, unsure whether it was from running or from the Demon Knight's murderous aura.

"What did you actually do to make the Boss so pissed off? He seemed fine up until earlier."

"It's nothing much. Aside from him... not liking to mingle with us, he tends to endure quite a lot, does he not? I do not know whether that is because he is conscious of the demon or if he simply loathes exchanging words with us."

"And so?"

"Still, he seemed to have softened up a lot lately... so I tried to take the first step to test that distance and slowly establish a proper relationship. As you can see, it ended up like this. It seems it was still too early."

"Boss Mageee..."

After hearing that, it wasn't a huge problem.

He didn't know exactly how she had taken that first step to make the Demon Knight so furious, but wasn't it something they had to go through eventually anyway?

They were a group brought together by aligned goals, but a dynamic where everyone walked on eggshells around the Demon Knight was undoubtedly a bit deformed. Even if they couldn't be perfectly equal, a change was definitely necessary for normal, mutual communication to take place.

"More importantly, are you alright? Were you perhaps attacked by someone?"

"An attack... probably not. I think."

"You think?"

Now that his worries were gone, only his own problem remained. Deathbringer scratched the back of his head under the Archmage's gaze.

"Because I didn't suffer any direct physical harm."

"... Not suffering physical harm is not identical to not suffering any damage. What happened?"

Well. How should he explain this?

Deathbringer recalled the person he had encountered earlier, and the words they had spouted.

["Have you never felt resentful about your glaringly inferior combat power? Have you never felt disillusioned with yourself for following him out of admiration, only to be completely useless?"]

"... I don't know."

He replayed the words that the pitch-black tongue had carved into his ears.

["You don't need to be so wary. I'm just trying to help you. Honestly, isn't it annoying? The fact that that ditzy Priest, that incredibly frustrating child, is a more useful person than you."]

"It's just, just..."

["But I can help you. If you wish for it, I can help you as much as you want."]

"Just..."

["Yes, I can make you even stronger than the Hero. If only you want it."]

Those were words of poison, far more potent than the poison he had brought back from the Great Forest.

"Hah, shit."

The more he ruminated on it, the more pathetic his own situation felt.

Knowing this, Deathbringer shook his head vigorously and squeezed his eyes shut.

"I think I was just bewitched by a demon. I don't know if it was really a demon, though."

"What do you..."

"It's just, the words they spouted had exactly that kind of vibe. Like a swindler... or something like that."

"Just what kind of words did you hear that..."

"It's nothing much. They just left after spouting crap like asking if I was jealous of the Hero, or saying they could make me strong."

And in the first place, he wasn't stupid enough to fall for something like this. He wasn't thoughtless enough to hide something like this, either.

It was definitely foolish that he had been so flustered he didn't even think to attach a shadow to them, but he wouldn't lend a hand in some shady business after being fooled by sweet talk like that.

"They knew that you were a companion of the Hero?"

"Yeah. If not for that part, I would have just figured they were a swindler. But it was just too suspicious. On top of that, the sword even reacted, right? Whether it was an illusion or what, I even felt like I saw something like a whale."

Of course, yes.

Even he couldn't possibly confess that he had been even slightly swayed by that offer.

"... This is no ordinary matter. For now, let us keep this a secret from everyone. If they hear about this, they are the type of bunch to abandon this hard-earned rest and rush right out."

"Ye-ep."

The Hero, who was born a Hero and was always unfailingly upright no matter how frustrating he could be, was not someone a pathetic orphan Thief had the right to be jealous of.