I was momentarily puzzled by the back of my hand suddenly becoming hot. It was a bit too distinct of a heat to just be my imagination. Or was it?

Of all things, I felt it on the back of my hand wrapped in a gauntlet, making it difficult to check.

I stroked the iron plating attached to the gauntlet before turning my attention to what was in front of me for now. If I couldn't check it right away, it was more efficient to do what I could first.

"You said it was probably a worshiper of Envy or Envy themselves, right?"

"Yes. That Great Demon is the only one who uses a snake and a whale as symbols, so it's probably correct. Though I do not know whether the Great Demon came in person or if it was their worshiper."

Well, I don't know. Considering they approached and disappeared while piercing through the Hero's and my senses, I think there's a high chance it's the Great Demon. From the incident in Pa Enoch, we learned that a Great Demon can deceive our senses.

Or maybe a named entity on par with one—like one of the strangely irrelevant 72 Knights?

"Then the animal incident occurring in Camberer too...?"

"I am not quite sure about that. According to the literature, the Great Demon of Envy does not have the ability to command animals. In the first place, I find it hard to believe a Great Demon would personally step foot here. There is a possibility, so we must keep it in mind, but..."

"Is that so."

The Inquisitor fell into thought with a face completely different from his usual self, the face of a Heresy Inquisitor I had only seen when we first met.

It seemed he was quite furious that the demon (or worshiper) bastard had entered the Temple of all places, and that he hadn't noticed even though it came right near him.

His face, slightly tanned from the journey, turned terrifyingly pale.

"Bishop, does the Adventurer's Guild not know anything either?"

"As it is a problem concerning the entire city, we are exchanging information in real time, but they have not found out anything either. At least, that is what has been relayed so far."

Not knowing the cause didn't mean dealing with it was completely impossible, so the Bishop added an explanation that they were putting out the urgent fires by sending adventurers.

Meaning, the standard progression was probably to hunt the beasts.

"As long as there is no evidence that a demon intervened in this incident, I will remain here and search for that damn apostate."

But was the Inquisitor someone who would just sit by and watch a demon invade the Temple?

"I will join you."

And that was the same for my concept.

"I will not back down until I cut off the limbs of that fucking bug and pull out its tongue by the roots."

I abandoned this quest, grinding my teeth so hard it made a crunching sound.

Of course, a mere beast couldn't be prioritized over a demon. Unless a demon or a demon worshiper was involved in the cause of the animal incident.

[Wow, looks like they're fully determined to find us.]

Pandemonium unfolded the note brought by a crow and read its contents.

In front of him, a believer who had just brought the information was bowing their head.

[Are you sure that's really not Wrath? That temper is exactly the same, you know?]

[Are your eyes screwed up? If that guy really was Wrath, he wouldn't be fuming like that right now, he'd have blown away that whole city.]

[Ah, I suppose. As long as he had a proper vessel, a single city would be nothing but well-dried firewood to that guy, Gretchen.]

Now that he had obtained the information, it was fine.

Pandemonium casually waved his hand at the believer. The other party left the cave, deeply moved with gratitude.

Now, the only ones left in the cave were him and Moby Dick—Leviathan, who was lying down to heal his wounds.

If he had to add more, there were also the countless minerals scattered across the floor.

[Though he's been looking like a mangy dog until now because he couldn't get a single proper vessel.]

[Hmph.]

[Come to think of it, he must be annoyed too. He finally found a vessel that could endure him, but he can't even take proper control of it. Well, in that sense, are we the same since we messed up several things because of him?]

Pandemonium burned the note while watching the one still coughing up blood. Clink. The burned note didn't turn into ashes, but fell as a sparkling ore.

It was a very fine and beautiful red jewel.

[Ha, annoyed? It's rather a welcome thing. We can just kill the vessel while we're at it.]

[Killing the vessel won't kill him. You know that.]

[... That's!]

[Or, are you trying to aim for his body?]

Just like the numerous minerals piled up like a mountain in the cave.

[Arthur. He isn't leaving that guy alone for no reason, you know.]

Pandemonium picked up the jewel and checked its color and the refraction of light.

The crimson of blazing flames. It was the best one he had made so far.

[If you aim for the body instead, but end up just breaking the seal without being able to kill him... You know, right? The King won't let you off.]

[Damn it!]

[Why not just capture him, vessel and all, and try keeping him like a pet? They say that vessel handles the power of Wrath quite well. He might pale in comparison to Gretchen, of course, but quality doesn't just disappear; he should be at the level of a decent high-ranking demon.]

However, when he recalled a certain flame he had encountered in the past, this redness became worthless.

Pandemonium crushed it, along with all the jewels scattered on the floor.

There was simply no red stone to his liking.

[Keep him as a pet? Bullshit. If you're going to make that kind of suggestion, say it to that Sara bastard.]

[So prickly. Even after I went out of my way to provide you a hideout.]

[Hmph. Anyone watching would think you gave it to me for free. This was exchanged for my tongue, was it not?]

[That is true, but.]

[I am different from you lots. I won't let him go like that Duke bastard who gave up because it was annoying, and I won't lose him while trying to possess him like you did.]

Is that so. Pandemonium quietly observed his nominal colleague.

[I will definitely kill him.]

And at the end of it, he reached a conclusion.

[Yeah, if possible... I'll make sure he dies by the hands of the humans he looked down on so much.]

Envy was, in the end, envy.

[It just so happens there's a suitable human right by his side, too.]

To be so blinded by an inferiority complex that he would try to shove something so radiantly shining into the mud.

[Well, alright. Do whatever you want. I need to test the waters a bit more.]

Still, since that sight was quite amusing, Pandemonium decided to just watch. Even if that guy failed anyway, he still had many cards left to play.

The Deathbringer stepped into the forest located between Baekmyo Ridge and the city.

"It seems the Boss has no intention of participating in the beast subjugation today either, huh."

The objective was the beast subjugation.

"Young Hunter, let's go quickly!"

"Yeees."

Of course, this wasn't a task he had volunteered for.

Indeed, if he had a choice, would he have chosen this job? He was someone who could track animals but lacked the ability to catch them.

It was just, right. With the Inquisitor and the Demon Knight firmly declaring a demon search, there were few actions the Archmage and he could take.

This was even more true if the Berserker, who always dragged trouble around, was wandering outside alone. She had turned her attention to the subjugation in just one day, claiming that investigations were boring.

In the end, someone had to cover for the Berserker, and there was no need to mention who was the more suitable one among the remaining people. It was him.

"... It must be nice that you can charge at wild beasts without hesitation."

Furthermore, to exclude him on the grounds that he was specialized in searching for people, there was too much alternative manpower in the city—an Information Guild existed here as well, and the Temple and Adventurer's Guild would also step up.

Right, that meant there were so many people who could replace him.

Unlike the Hero, or the Boss Knight who rivaled him, or the Berserker—who, even when causing trouble, was assigned a handler rather than being kicked out.

"Huh? What did you say?"

... Unlike them, who were in the position to hunt rather than be hunted even when wild beasts appeared.

"It's nothing."

The Deathbringer mocked himself over his current predicament of just chasing after the Berserker's tail for the second day.

It was a feeling too light to be called self-hatred, but a bit too heavy to be called a sense of shame.

For instance... He didn't consider himself a weakling, but he felt like he became an endlessly frail person whenever he squeezed in among them.

But those feelings left him feeling despondent because they weren't exactly wrong, either.

"Your expression doesn't look good. Is it really nothing?"

However, the emotions he harbored were not something he dared to reveal.

Because the worlds they lived in and their ways of living were different.

"I said it's nothing."

There was no way they could understand him, who could only preserve his life by always crawling on the ground and hiding in the shadows.

"Understood."

Should he not have tagged along? When the Archmage said he could stay in the city, would it have been better to listen to her instead of stubbornly insisting that this role suited him better and was more efficient?

Watching the Berserker turn around and move forward again, the Deathbringer felt regret for the first time in a while.

No, actually, it wasn't the first time in a while. He often, very frequently, reminisced about the past and felt remorse.

Failing to save his best friend who was like family, failing to die together with you right there, surviving and continuing to live while leaving you behind. Claiming he would become the proxy for everyone, yet having accomplished very little.

... Following them on a single impulse and only doing trivial tasks.

In fact, anyone could do this kind of work, even if it wasn't him.

"... Damn it. I don't know what I'm doing."

He had to follow the Berserker, but lethargy suddenly crept over him. The sense of exhaustion was even more severe since it was a worry he had harbored for a long time.

["I had intended to offer my blood as the last..."]

["It is not a matter for you to interfere in."]

["There's no need to be so guarded. I'm just trying to help. Honestly, isn't it annoying? That the dim-witted Priest, that frustratingly stifling child, is a more useful person than you."]

On top of that, recently...

"Hah..."

In the end, the Deathbringer slumped down on the spot. Since it was a forest with quite thick fog, there was a possibility of losing her if he didn't hurry to chase after her, but that thought remained just a thought.

What filled his mind instead was a person he did not wish to see fall off a cliff, but could not reach out and save due to his own incompetence.

They were his admiration, his mirror, and his future.

"Really, what is there even for me to do here..."

It was proof that while he could exact revenge, he could not become someone who saves something.

"Should I leave."

After deliberating, the Deathbringer proposed another alternative. The thought was that if there was nothing he could do anyway, simply leaving altogether wouldn't be a bad idea.

"Staying here is just a waste of time anyway..."

Of course, the tasks he accomplished in this party were things others could do. On the other hand, he had something only he could do—revenge.

So if he just left this party to the others and departed, if he did that.

"Young Hunter!"

The moment his thoughts reached that point, a booming voice pierced through the forest. Under the sunbeams shining through the fog, her platinum blonde hair shone exceptionally brightly.

"Take this!"

"Eh?"

Along with a handful of wild raspberries handed to him.

"Didn't the Young Hunter like sweet things?"

"Well, I do like them, but."

Even so, just out of the blue?

"Then there's no problem. Take them!"

It was bewildering, but he lacked the physical strength to refuse the wild raspberries that were handed to him so unilaterally. In the end, the Deathbringer's palms were filled with wild raspberries.

Perhaps she had crushed them a bit while bringing them over, as a few were squished and leaking juice.

"... Where did you even get these?"

"The Berserker has her ways!"

He was bewildered, but having already received them, there was no reason not to eat them.

With a reluctant expression, the Deathbringer popped a wild raspberry into his mouth. The fully ripe fruit was sweet and refreshing.

"Did you get some energy back?"

"Yeah, I guess..."

It was so absurd that all the thoughts making him feel lethargic were completely blown away.

He didn't know if he could really say he got his energy back, but since what was draining his energy had vanished, she wasn't exactly wrong either.

Going from 0 to 1 is +1, and going from -1 to 0 is also +1, isn't it.

"Then that's settled. Let's go!"

The Deathbringer stared blankly at the Berserker, who was heartily slapping his back until it stung, and eventually let out a chuckle.

The Demon Knight would hate it, but he figured it wouldn't be too bad to have such a simple person in the party. Even if she was hard to control.

"Ah, right."

"What is it this time? Did you forget to cut off the prey's ears?"

"Not that, Young Hunter."

"Yes."

"Do not stray from the Berserker's side if possible."

"...? That goes without saying. The Mage Boss already asked me to anyway. Told me not to leave you alone."

Since there was a precedent of the Temple intruder approaching him, he couldn't leave her side due to the possibility that they might approach again.

Of course, going by that logic, just the two of them coming out together was dangerous enough, but...

The opponent had the ability to enter and leave the Temple without anyone knowing, didn't they? Considering that, it was equally dangerous no matter where they hid. Even during their first encounter, if the opponent had made up their mind to kill him, he would have been murdered without even being able to resist.

Didn't the Archmage know that in the first place, which was why she simply told him to follow the Berserker? Because his combat power was significantly lower, making resistance meaningless, and the contract side of things ultimately depended on his own heart anyway, so hiding him would be useless.

Anyway, for these reasons, he absolutely must not stray from the Berserker.

Him being alone for a moment just now out of lethargy? That couldn't be helped, so it shouldn't count.

As for the case of leaving the party, well, his value came from the fact that he was a member of this party, so the calculation was that they wouldn't go out of their way to mess with him after he left.

"Is that so? Then that's fine!"

Whatever, this person sure says some random things.

The Deathbringer scratched his head and followed the Berserker.

However, right.

Due to their eye levels having a whole head's difference, he failed to notice. The sight of the Berserker's amber eyes glancing at the sky behind them as she gripped her halberd in vigilance.

WOOOOO.

The whale that had been hiding among the clouds ascended upwards again.