After parting ways with the peddlers, the place we arrived at was the small but developed city of Dorfmain.

"Wow, the checkpoint is bustling."

However, just as the Deathbringer said, Dorfmain's checkpoint was crowded with people. Most of them appeared to be merchants.

That is, in the sense that they either had wagons loaded with goods or were carrying a full pack on their backs.

"Maybe because the city sits along a river, it seems like there are an unusually high number of merchants."

Furthermore, the wait caused by this had already lasted 30 minutes.

It was the first time since we broke the record in Pa Enoch.

"It was always a castle that lived off trade, but... even I didn't know there would be this many."

"Still, compared to the others, aren't we getting in rather early?"

At that moment, the Inquisitor exclaimed with wide eyes.

That was also true. In situations like this, ordinary people spent at least an hour or more. It was only taking us less time because of our special professions.

"Although we are receiving consideration because we are in a special position, we must not become accustomed to privileges."

"You are correct. It is not something to complain about."

"Good grief. Who asked to be let in early? I just said it was bustling with people."

"I said it because you seemed so regretful."

"Huh? Wow, seriously. This is ridiculous. What did I even do?"

Anyway, there were still two or three groups left before we could enter the city. Feeling bored by that, I gently stroked Frederick's neck.

It was because I was worried Frederick might act up due to the surroundings becoming a half-chaotic market while we waited.

Even though Frederick had enough guts not to be startled by explosions heard from afar, having guts and the ability to tolerate noise were two different things.

"You should mind your own business, softie."

"I am reflecting on myself plenty!"

"Really? Are you sure about that?"

"You're the one who needs some self-reflection, you scoundrel!"

'In that sense, please hold it in, hold it in.'

Looking at the tail swaying to one side and the ears pinning back, I felt like I was hugging a time bomb.

"Next, come forward!"

Fortunately, our turn came before Frederick could explode.

I stood at the tail end of our party and led Frederick.

"Right, did you hear? Lord Biryuho was..."

"Hah, of course I already heard. They call themselves a Hero, yet how could they do that to the guardian deity of the east...!"

"I heard they did the same everywhere else too? In fact... couldn't they be a spy for the demons?"

"Hey! Don't say such things! Do you want to get into trouble with the Temple people!"

Then, for a moment, the group next to us just had to bring up Biryuho as their topic of conversation.

It wasn't a strange thing. This city was close to Ednium and Camberer, and with this much time having passed, it was about time the news reached here.

"The noble lords said it themselves. In truth, the guardian deity was drying out this land. So they had no choice but to kill it!"

"Hah, who would believe that? It's not like the nobles lying is a new thing!"

"Good grief. The Temple said the exact same thing."

"The Temple is no different. Those higher-ups are all liars."

However, they were the first to have such a malicious conversation.

No, it wasn't the first time, but it was the first time such malice had been conveyed from this close.

My gaze reflexively turned toward the Inquisitor. At this distance, she would have definitely heard it too.

"What is the matter?"

"... It is nothing, Inquisitor."

But it seemed the Inquisitor had decided not to show it.

The people other than me—the Archmage and the Deathbringer—also glanced at her, but the Inquisitor showed a puzzled reaction instead.

"More importantly, let us hurry! The inspection is over!"

... Well, whatever. As long as it didn't hurt her, that should be enough. It wasn't something I, who volunteered for minimal interaction, needed to care about anyway.

"Demon Knight, will you be staying outside again this—"

"Mage."

"Ah."

More importantly, we finally entered the city. In other words, it was time we could part ways.

"... I am listening."

"How long are we staying."

Still, we had to coordinate our schedule before splitting up. It wasn't like we were parting forever.

I stared only at the Archmage with the coldest eyes possible. Catching my intention, the Archmage stroked his staff.

"We don't have any particular business here... so I think we will depart the day after tomorrow."

It was a swift reply.

"... Shall we meet at the Adventurer's Guild the morning after next? Around 7 o'clock, that is."

It even provided an exact time—the answer I wanted most.

It was perfect.

"Instead, even for a moment, the Tem—"

"Confirmed."

I replied lightly and then broke away from the party. Now that the meeting time and place were decided, there was no reason to hesitate.

As for the Archmage trying to say something... if it had been truly important, he would have run over and grabbed me, or shouted to relay it. Seeing him back off with a sigh, it probably wasn't something I absolutely needed to hear.

"Uh, uh-uh-uh..."

My hand led Frederick as we quickly slipped into the city. The Inquisitor and Deathbringer let out dumbfounded noises from behind, but that was none of my business either. I left the area in a flash.

Neeeigh.

"Wait."

I had to move quickly to find an inn that could take care of horses.

Snort.

"... Be patient."

On a separate note, are all horses originally like this? Trying to eat little by little, frequently?

I opened my inventory, feeling something akin to awe every time at these facts that couldn't be learned just through research. The snacks for Frederick that I had brought from Camberer were starting to run low.

It seemed I would have to go restock right after getting an inn.

That wasn't all. I had to secure packed meals, stock up on drinking water, and make heated stones again.

I mentally organized my schedule, thinking about the things I needed to do today and tomorrow. It was a relief that we weren't departing right away tomorrow.

"You!"

Right then, someone shouted. The opponent's old, worn-out Temple armor and the half of his face that was distorted by burns stood out clearly.

The former was a characteristic of a Heresy Inquisitor, and the latter was a characteristic of the individual.

"How dare one who bears demonic energy!"

But 'one who bears demonic energy', huh.

The moment I heard that shout, my mind turned cold. It was because I couldn't tell if I should consider it fortunate that he didn't call me a demon, or if I should be flustered by his raw hostility.

Well, either way, it was the same that the situation had become troublesome.

"Everyone step back if you don't want to get swept up in this!"

"It-It's a Heresy Inquisitor!"

"What is it? What's going on?"

"Right now! Put some distance if you don't want to die! And you! Contact the Temple immediately!"

So what do I do now? That person seems to have completely recognized me as an enemy... It's my first time experiencing something like this since joining the Hero's party, so I'm somewhat at a loss.

"Hah, are you waiting for me, demon?!"

"... Be grateful for your affiliation. Had it been otherwise, I would have pulled out the root of your tongue."

Of course, it wasn't like I had absolutely no track record of getting caught by Temple-affiliated people until now. That was especially true whenever I wandered the city alone, away from the party.

"Such hypocrisy from a mere demon!"

"Foolish..."

But even when I was caught like that, it never led to a fight. Thanks to all the Temple people who approached me following the directives passed down from above.

"I haven't received any—"

"Oh God, grant me the strength to vanquish evil...!"

"Hah."

For example, directives like, *'Even if they harbor demonic energy, if their hair color is split between gray and black, they carry a two-handed sword, and their right eye is covered by an eyepatch, do not hastily antagonize them and attempt a conversation instead.'*

It was the consideration of the higher-ups, noting that I was the Hero's companion and, despite harboring demonic energy, not a target for hostility.

I just couldn't tell if the target of that consideration was me, who had to explain myself every time, or the Temple people who would get smashed to pieces after mistakenly attacking me.

Anyway, thanks to those directives being passed down even to the lowest ranks, until now I had only experienced random spot checks—'May I confirm if you are the person I heard about? Ah, you are. My apologies'—but it had never escalated into a fight like this.

"Die!"

In other words, a situation like this was the very first.

Troublesome.

CLANG!

I quickly drew my longsword and parried the oncoming blade. The blade, glowing faintly as if imbued with divine power, was quite heavy.

SKRRRRK.

However, it wasn't to the point where I couldn't withstand it.

I engaged in a test of strength with our swords locked, while holding Frederick's reins with my right hand. Displeased with the situation, the guy was shaking his head and venting his complaints.

CLANG!

In the meantime, the opponent withdrew his sword. It seemed he realized he couldn't win in a contest of raw strength.

"Tch."

His eyes, burning furiously with rage, quickly took up the next stance. Thinking I would attack, he widened the distance more than usual as a bonus.

"What in the world is going on?"

"I don't know. Must be a heretic."

"A heretic?"

To me, who had absolutely no intention of attacking, it was a somewhat ridiculous sight.

"You bastard...!"

Whether he took that as an insult, the opponent's eyes burned even brighter. His gray hair, slightly lighter than mine, fluttered in the wind.

CLANG, CLAAAANG!

But it seemed he still didn't have any intention of stopping.

I clashed swords again with the rushing opponent. Left, right, down, up. The attack trajectories approaching haphazardly were a bit tricky. It was a rather novel experience in its own way.

That is, I wasn't talking about ending up fighting due to a misunderstanding, but rather the point that I had to fight while fixed in one spot.

"Whoa..."

"Is he a knight?"

"What the, why is a Heresy Inquisitor fighting a knight?"

"Who knows...?"

Of course, with Frederick positioned right behind my back, the option of dodging had completely vanished. Since I was holding the reins, it was also impossible to mobilize my right hand or move side to side.

Furthermore, using magic wasn't easy either. It'd be one thing if it was just reinforcing my body or coating my weapon, but wildly firing sword aura or magic spears would be far too threatening, wouldn't it? Innocent bystanders could easily get swept up in it.

On top of that, since it could become a source of trouble later on, I couldn't inflict severe harm on the opponent either.

For me, who had always fought aggressively based on speed, this was truly nothing but newness.

"Hah-ah!"

More importantly, this bastard, don't include the horse in your attack range. What sin did the horse commit?

I frowned at the opponent, who, taking advantage of the fact that I wasn't making the first move, didn't hesitate to use stances with large preparatory motions.

If nothing else, the thrusts and downward strikes were really annoying.

Because their attack range was unusually long, I absolutely couldn't dodge them, but when I tried to counter, the trajectories were either tricky or the force applied was far too excessive.

Still, using my head in my own way, I held the sword in a reverse grip like a tonfa and somehow managed to endure it along with my forearm... but it was still putting a strain on my wrist. It was starting to ache.

"Die—!"

"Know your place."

Eventually, after parrying about three thrusts and suffering two downward strikes, my patience reached its limit as well.

The magic I had infused to prevent the sword from breaking or bending swelled several times over, dyeing the blade black.

'Should I kill him?'

SLICE!

"—!"

The shallow impulse faded, and the opponent's sword, which had been executing a two-handed downward strike, was sliced away like soft tofu. Whoosh. The severed piece of the blade spun in a circle and plunged into the ground behind me.

The opponent's eyes widened.

"Not yet...!"

But even so, he didn't seem ready to give up. Honestly, I'm getting a little sick of this.

"It's not over yet! You damn demon!"

Well, um. Being thorough with Demon Contractors is good and all, but isn't taking it this far a bit much?

It'd be one thing if I couldn't hold back my anger and started attacking. By now, even he should have realized that I was going easy on him.

I barely held back a sigh as I looked at the man whose professional spirit was far too thorough.

I never got picked on at any other time, but for this to happen right when I was practicing social distancing from the Hero's party, my sense of futility was only compounded.

Whether distancing myself from the Hero's party and this fight were truly a coincidence or inevitable, feeling aggrieved was feeling aggrieved.

CLATTER.

In the midst of that, the opponent dropped his sword entirely and clenched his fists tightly.

I don't have much experience in unarmed combat though. Anyway, it was a problem if the opponent was working too hard.

"Stop right there. It is your defeat."

However, thank heavens, there was no longer any need for that. Thanks to the Berserker intruding on this fight.

"Or do you intend to be a foolish and petty wretch who does not know how to admit defeat?"

Since when had she been watching this fight? Who knows.

Since it was my first time in this type of battle, I hadn't paid attention to the surroundings, so I really didn't know. Also, if the Berserker made up her mind to conceal her presence, she was on the harder side to find anyway.

"This guy is a Demon Contractor! What do you know...!"

"Are you a fool? Had he set his mind to it, not only you but everyone around here would already be dead."

"I'm not talking about martial prowess...!"

"If not martial prowess, what is there to discuss?"

Setting that aside, the Berserker trudged forward and wedged herself between the opponent and me. The gazes of the people who had backed away in a circle were now focused on her. The Berserker didn't seem to care in the slightest.

Her wrinkled eyes coldly stared down my opponent.

"Whether one harbors demonic energy, magic power, or divine power inside, power is power. Just as a sword and a mace differ, and magic and blades differ, yet they all share the ability to kill a person."

"That's sophistry—"

"Therefore, no matter what its core consists of, a strong person exercising patience can in itself serve as a certain proof, you weak, petty thing."

"...!"

That was, how should I put it. It was a little unexpected. Since she was normally the embodiment of hearty boisterousness, I hadn't thought she could harbor such a chilling aura.

"What, what do you even know..."

"Demon Knight!"

In the midst of that, another voice cut in. A booming and honest voice.

"I came because I heard there was a disturbance...!"

It was the Inquisitor.

"Let's go."

Brrr.

If the Inquisitor was here, the incident was practically over. Because there would be nothing that struck home as directly as a statement from the Hero.

Moreover, since I fought quietly, there was nothing to clean up afterward. As for the witnesses, they weren't a problem I could solve anyway.

So it would be fine to leave. Under that calculation, I slipped away from the spot just like that. I didn't forget to grumble inwardly about what kind of sudden misfortune this was.

"Where are you going!"

"Hah. You are no warrior."

"Let, let go of me!"

"Wait, Demon Kni—, gasp. Berserker? What is going on? And you are...?"

"Those clothes are of a Heresy Inquisitor... Sister, this is perfect. Arrest that man right—!"

"Pardon? Did the Demon Knight do something?"

I guess the one fortunate thing was that the people parted like the Red Sea to make way for me the moment our eyes met.

I walked comfortably through the parted crowd. Please, I just wanted to find an inn quickly and rest already.

I'm exhausted.