Table of Contents

Color Gallery

Title Page

Copyrights and Credits

Table of Contents Page

Prologue: From Start to Contact

Chapter 1: Guiding to Reunion

Chapter 2: Departure to Transfer

Chapter 3: Contraption to Freeze

Chapter 4: From Report to Order

Chapter 5: Instruction to Report

Chapter 6: Sortie to Confess

Chapter 7: Sortie to Rush

Chapter 8: Fighting On to Indolence

Epilogue: War’s End to Its Consequences

Bonus Story: From the Notes of a Certain Priest

Newsletter

Color Gallery

Prologue: From Start to Contact

Prologue:
From Start to Contact

THE RUMOR WAS SPREADING—another raid team, wiped out. In truth, it was less “a rumor” than it was “intel gathered by the imperial army’s intelligence division”—but it was almost certainly accurate.

Shouldn’t this be a big deal, then? Loren wondered. But as far as the army was concerned, the fallen team had been primarily composed of adventurers, whom they’d never really considered part of their forces. Evidently, they hadn’t lost too many of their own, and so it had yet to become much cause for concern in the town where they were stationed.

Conversely, the adventurers’ guild was in an uproar. After all, nearly every single adventurer they had sent to join this raid team had been killed by some unknown entity. They’d taken heavy losses, and while they fervently threw themselves into a recruitment initiative to send even more adventurers to the war, there was also some talk that they’d be focusing their attentions on bringing silver-rank adventurers to the front. Loren was hearing all of this from Lapis, who had gone to eke some information out of the town’s guild.

They picked the wrong girl to mess with, Loren thought.

This unknown entity skipping around and taking out the ­empire’s raid teams was presumably Wraith, the Dark God of Wrath. To be fair, Loren couldn’t be completely certain of that fact—the kingdom also had the aid of a dark elf who had acquired the authority of lust, as well as the Dark God of Pride, who had yet to show himself. With two other dark gods waiting in the wings, perhaps not all of this was Wraith’s doing. But if you were a copper or iron adventurer, it hardly mattered which dark god you came across; you would be no match.

If they’re just marching off to die, maybe stop throwing new troops into the fray, Loren thought. But he had no way to convey these thoughts to the imperial army.

He and his crew had personally encountered Wraith, so they could conceivably explain that part of the story. But if they mentioned anything about the other dark gods, the army would wind up demanding to know how they knew so much, which was where they’d run into trouble.

Loren couldn’t exactly tell the empire that two of his own comrades were dark gods too. All he could do was pray that the empire stumbled upon some useful information before they suffered even more devastating losses. And that they managed to devise some appropriate countermeasures.

“We’ve always managed to fend off and escape from those dark gods, so it might not feel that way to us, but they really are a pain.”

Loren paused his training as he heard Lapis mutter this from a nearby bench. He was topless, wearing only pants and boots as he single-mindedly swung his greatsword.

Loren had been injured in their battle with the Dark God of Wrath. His wounds had been so grievous that he’d been incapacitated for several days. By the time he finally managed to get out of bed, his body had been dulled by a life that consisted of nothing but eating and sleeping. As soon as the doctor gave him permission to move, he’d taken up doing forms with his blade on hospital grounds to resharpen his senses.

It had been quite some time since he rose, but since that ­moment, he had done nothing but swing, swing, and swing some more. And so, a waterfall of sweat was cascading down his body, and even though they were in a town that was quite a good deal colder than their home base of Kaffa, a faint veil of steam wafted off of him.

Taking note of this, Lapis rose from the bench and handed Loren a towel that she’d prepared beforehand. He took it to wipe his face and neck.

“So, from what I’m hearing, the army still hasn’t identified any of the dark gods—apart from Wraith.”

Just like Lapis, Loren had been questioned by the army. He’d secretly discussed what to say with Lapis beforehand, and therefore concealed the fact that Wraith was a “dark god,” only reporting the things he’d seen.

Per his report, a young girl had instantaneously incinerated both the allied forces with whom they’d been traveling and the enemy forces against whom they’d been facing off. It was so absurd that he feared no one would believe him; if he added the fact that the girl was a dark god on top of that, he feared that his interrogators would start to question his sanity.

“As far as I can tell, no. However, not even I can infiltrate the beating heart of their intelligence arm, so I’m not completely certain what they’re thinking over there.”

“Not even you, huh?”

“It’s not impossible, per se. I suppose I lack motivation.”

It sounded like Lapis wasn’t particularly concerned about who won this war—empire, kingdom, or whichever. She seemed to think that even if the empire faced a crushing defeat and consequently fell, everything would be fine, so long as she abducted Loren and made off into the night. As for the rest? Well, that wasn’t her problem.

You see, although Lapis looked like an ordinary priest, she was in fact a demon, a race despised by most people of these lands.

“I’ve been far more focused on devising a means by which to meet with the army’s top brass.”

Lapis’s interests were channeled less toward the tides of the war than they were a certain general of the imperial army by the name of Juris Mutschild.

That man had once been the chief of Loren’s old mercenary company, and since the company’s collapse, his whereabouts and goings-on had been a complete mystery. This same collapse had been the very reason Loren became an adventurer in the first place.

Over the course of a recent job, his party had happened to come across another member of that old company, one who claimed that the chief was in the empire to the north. But once they actually reached this empire, they’d found that somehow, Juris had become an illustrious general. He had risen so high that Loren and Lapis—mere adventurers dispatched by the adventurers’ guild—had no way to reunite with him.

At the moment, Lapis was weighing her options. Certainly, she couldn’t just demand a face-to-face meeting with a general, but given the information they possessed, perhaps it would be possible to arrange a talk with someone in his inner circle?

She’d have to work up the ladder from there. It would take a while to reach the individual she truly intended to reach, but this little plan was far better than none at all. She was presently in the middle of sussing out just how high she could reach with a report based on the information she had on hand.

“It would be a lot easier if they tried to get in touch with us, though.”

Surely the fact that the intelligence on this Wraith girl had been delivered by an adventurer named Loren had already made its way up the ranks. It wouldn’t have been unusual for the top brass to reach out to him for more details, but they had yet to receive any such request.

I should have been a bit more cryptic when they questioned me, Lapis thought regretfully.

But as far as Loren was concerned, nothing good ever came of acting strangely and earning even more suspicion. He believed it best to simply report everything you knew as honestly as circumstances permitted.

“If you just allowed me to brute force my way through, we’d already be in the room.”

“Are you sure a priest of the god of knowledge should be saying that kinda thing?”

“Thankfully, when it comes to obtaining crucial information, my god permits the use of force.”

“What sort of priest forcibly removes guards just to meet some general?” Loren asked, at which Lapis discontentedly puffed out her cheeks.

If she wanted to, Lapis could easily slip through the army’s security to reach General Mutschild, but as long as she was acting for Loren’s sake, she wouldn’t take it that far. At least, so he hoped, as he resumed his practice swings.

Loren’s torso had been protected by a jacket he once received from an Elder—the most powerful form of vampire—but he had been wearing ordinary pants and boots, and in some places, he had suffered quite severe burns. Although he’d recovered to a degree, when he moved, he felt like he was lagging, and a dull pain throbbed through his lower half. He grimaced as he swung again.

The fact that he was still so feeble after receiving treatment from both a physician and Lapis meant that his original wounds must have been far worse. Challenging that Wraith girl head-on is way too dangerous, he thought. “That girl’s gonna be bad news if we don’t think up some countermeasures.”

“And I suppose it doesn’t seem like we can count on our own dark gods.”

Too true. Gula’s authority had been burned by Wraith’s own. This had done a number on Gula’s internal organs, and even now she was still forced to spend most of her life in bed.

Gula was also the Dark God of Gluttony, so she likely wasn’t going to die, but neither could you say she was in peak condition. That said, ordinary humans generally died if their organs were burnt to ash, so Gula’s slow work toward recovery was in fact a show of the miraculous vitality of a dark god.

Unfortunately, her party couldn’t just tell the doctors about the aforementioned smoldering innards. If they did, they would have to explain how this injury had come to pass, and furthermore how she was even still alive. Ultimately, they would need to explain Gula’s identity too. As a result, Gula was currently hospitalized for a “mysterious ailment of unknown origin” and had been left to recover with her own natural abilities sans the assistance of any outside treatment.

As for Luxuria, the massive man of hulking muscles who—though he didn’t look it—proclaimed himself the Dark God of Lust, he’d gotten away with only superficial burns. He was well enough to move around, but he claimed that any marks left on his skin would be terrible for his future prospects and continued to receive treatment for his burns.

What did he mean by future prospects? Neither Loren nor Lapis wanted to know, and they had completely removed the topic from their brains.

“So we’re the only ones who can move around properly, huh?”

“I’m not so sure you’re moving around properly just yet, Mr. Loren.”

‹Mister, you would heal up a lot faster if you just let me use my powers…›

Loren softly shook his head in response to the voice, which only he could hear.

This voice belonged to a tragic girl whom they’d met on a previous job—who’d become a Lifeless King, and who’d transferred her astral body into Loren after Loren defeated her—Scena.

Scena went on to insist: If she used her energy drain, an ability which sapped strength from her surroundings, and offered it to Loren, he could boost his natural recovery and instantly heal his burns. However, their current “surroundings” consisted of either imperial citizens or imperial soldiers, and Loren wasn’t about to permit her to devour them.

“Don’t push yourself too hard. Those burns were quite severe, you know.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet. I can tell when I move.”

If Loren pushed himself before he fully recovered, he’d only slow the healing process. Nothing good would come of it. If he tacked on the fact that he would worry Lapis, there really was no advantage to it.

I’ll just leave it at that. I’ve moved enough to prevent my body from getting all stiff, Loren thought as he wrapped up his forms.

That was when Loren noticed a doctor peering at them through one of the hospital doors that led to the yard—and beside the doctor, a soldier.

“Looks like they decided to get in touch after all,” Loren said, tilting his chin toward the soldier.

“They could have waited a bit longer, considering your injuries,” Lapis muttered. “Timing does make all the difference.” With a slight shrug, she turned toward the doorway, waving her hand with a friendly smile.

Chapter 1: Guiding to Reunion

Chapter 1:
Guiding to Reunion

THE SOLDIER WHO APPROACHED Loren and Lapis was, as anticipated, a messenger from the imperial army.

Within the reports detailing the obliteration of the many raid teams, there had been mention of a few survivors, which included Loren and his companions. The messenger brought word of a curious general who wanted to hear their stories from their own mouths.

Loren already wanted to establish connections with someone higher up in the chain of command, and so he welcomed the idea. After making the necessary preparations, they were escorted by a guide to one of the army’s local stations.

There was little choice in terms of who he would bring along. Lapis wasn’t about to leave his side, but Luxuria was unfit for the task, and Gula would worsen her injuries if she moved.

In truth, Loren considered taking Claes. This was mostly because of Lapis’s demonic nature. She generally managed to keep up her disguise as a priest of the god of knowledge, but there was no guarantee she wouldn’t be exposed. If that were to happen in this instance, she would be facing down not a run-of-the-mill adventurer but an imperial general. If they were caught out in a lie with this guy, the repercussions would be unreal. Bringing her along therefore meant preparing for a certain level of danger.

Claes, meanwhile, was an ostensibly amiable young man with a good reputation as an adventurer, and so was a more viable pick. However, he also had nothing to do with the matter that they had been summoned to discuss, so Loren reluctantly abandoned the idea.

There was always going alone, but that was never really an option. Loren wasn’t so reckless as to sit down with a high-ranking military official of unknown motives without any allies on deck. The messenger also refused to provide any information on the general who wished to meet them. Even when Loren subtly inquired, he insisted all would be revealed once they met.

He’s pretty good at what he does, in a sense, Loren thought. Providing information too freely could lead to unnecessary preconceptions and impressions, potentially influencing the course of future conversations. Rather than risking such an outcome, it wasn’t a terrible idea to meet without all that baggage.

Then again, how many people would just come running along if they didn’t even know the name of whoever was summoning them? Loren pondered the matter and concluded it had to do with a difference in status. There were common adventurers, and then there was the imperial army. They were currently in imperial territory, so it went without saying who held the greater authority.

The messenger led Loren and Lapis to a building owned by the imperial army. It was closer to a civilian home or a shop than it was to a garrison. But, judging by the soldiers guarding the structure, it was clearly a military facility. They walked in under the pall of the soldiers’ unreserved stares.

“Please wait here until the general arrives,” the messenger said.

As per regulation, they were instructed to hand their weapons to a soldier before they were led to the parlor. Although the room wasn’t exactly extravagant, too much money had been sunk into it to call it plain. As they sat side by side on a sofa, Loren was somewhat uncomfortable, while Lapis was more curious about the items in the room.

“Mr. Loren, Mr. Loren, this empire seems rather wealthy,” Lapis remarked as she fretfully looked around.

To this, Loren disinterestedly replied, “You’re talking about a whole country. Of course, the bigwigs have money.”

“No, no, it’s not often you find such furnishings in a city near the border—practically the very edge of the nation.”

Is that how it works? Loren wondered as he glanced around. But he couldn’t discern the quality of the furnishings, nor did he have the knowledge to estimate their value.

However, Lapis seemed to see a completely different world.

“They may not look particularly flashy, but everything in the room is of very sturdy construction with a harmonious color scheme and carefully selected materials. Some may consider it plain, but it costs a considerable sum to assemble so many items that all seem tailor-made to fit a specific theme.”

“I’m glad to hear such words from a young lady. You have a keen eye.”

This response to Lapis’s evaluation came from an older man.

This voice made Loren spring up from the sofa and turn to face the room’s entrance. The person standing there perfectly fit the impression conveyed by the voice.

He was shorter than Loren, but his appearance exuded far more dignity and dripped with intimidation. He wore what was likely the imperial military uniform—a thick and sturdy garment. Beneath it lay the physique of a well-trained warrior. His features were deeply carved, and he wore his graying black hair slightly long and tied behind his head. He seemed truly glad to hear praise for the room’s furnishings, but his gaze was strangely sharp.

“Are all priests so knowledgeable about interior decoration?”

“I serve the god of knowledge. My knowledge base is wonderfully broad, though at times less deep than I’d prefer.”

Loren hadn’t noticed Lapis stand up, but by the time he realized it, she was right there beside him and offering a respectful bow. In accordance with this, Loren lightly lowered his head too. But when he spoke, it was as if in a daze.

“Chief…”

“It’s been too long, Loren. When I saw your name in the report, I had my suspicions, and it turns out it was you all along. Your survival is a godsend,” he said as he slowly took his seat on the opposite sofa.

This was none other than Juris Mutschild, former leader of the mercenary company to which Loren had belonged before becoming an adventurer. Ever since the group’s dissolution, his whereabouts had been a complete mystery.

As Loren took in this face, unchanged from his memories, he felt his knees give way as he fell back down onto the sofa. Lapis gently sat beside him.

“Now then, I doubt I need to introduce myself to Loren, but I shouldn’t neglect our young lady. I am Juris Mutschild, former chief of a mercenary company and current general of the imperial army.”

Lapis bowed respectfully to Juris with immaculate precision. “My name is Lapis. I serve as a priest to the god of knowledge, and I currently work as an adventurer alongside Mr. Loren.”

“Wait, you’re actually capable of introducing yourself like a normal person?” Loren couldn’t help but blurt out.

Upon hearing this, Lapis flashed him a look of displeasure, though it quickly bloomed into a radiant smile. “Oh, how could I have forgotten? I’m also Loren’s future wife.”

“Now, Loren. What have you been up to ever since our company fell?”

“That should be my line, Chief.”

“Huh? It feels like I got casually ignored there…”

As Loren and Juris exchanged looks, Lapis found herself ­placing a hand on Loren’s shoulder and shaking him back and forth. Loren didn’t try to stop her, letting her shake him as she pleased, but Neg frustratedly raised his front legs to intimidate her into submission. Lapis continued to shake him, undeterred.

“No, no, I’m not ignoring you,” said Juris. “You know, old Loren here never seemed interested in women. Rumors in our company were that he might bat for the other team. To think, he managed to snag himself such a stylish lady.”

“Hey. Who started those rumors? I need names, everything. I’ll hunt them down no matter what it takes!”

“Now who was it? I’ve grown forgetful in my dotage.”

Juris put on the old-man act as Loren’s expression turned fierce. Had he made that face on the street at night, any weak-willed soul who saw it would have fainted on the spot. But Juris simply laughed as he lounged, completely unfazed.

“Well, most of our brethren thought as much.”

“Those bastards… Ah, whatever. Forget me. I ain’t confirming or denying anything, I’m just saying that whatever they were saying doesn’t matter anymore.”

Loren’s expression grew even more menacing as he realized he was the only one out of the loop. However, he endeavored to contain himself, taking a deep breath and attempting to change the topic.

“You learned self-control,” Juris said, somewhat impressed. “You’ve grown.”

“You almost make it sound like I didn’t have any in my mercenary days.”

“Did you?” Juris asked as if it was an honest, heartfelt question.

Loren’s face lost some of its intensity, and he slightly shifted his eyes away from Juris.

That seemed to answer the question in and of itself. Not keen on pursuing the matter, Juris continued to smile; he clapped his hands a few times with a dry, cracking sound.

It seemed the sound was a signal. The door that Juris had entered from suddenly opened, and a woman’s voice came from the other side. “Did you call for me, General?”

“Would you please prepare some tea for our guests? We have a long talk ahead of us, and it’s so bothersome to speak with a dry throat.”

“Understood.”

Loren continued to mutter what sounded like curses under his breath as he tried to maintain his calm, while Lapis and Neg did their best to pacify him. Juris watched with a warm smile.

Once Loren managed to regain his control, he attempted to get back on track. “Forget about me. Right now, I want to hear about you.”

“Well, let’s not rush into it. Perhaps the times aren’t perfectly peaceful, but you could at least wait for the tea to arrive. It’s been so long since our last meeting. How about you allow an old man his sentimentality? Or are you so unhappy to see my face?”

“Like hell I am…” Loren said as he awkwardly turned the other way.

When Loren finally settled down enough to analyze himself, he realized that he was unreasonably agitated by the sudden ­appearance of his chief. He glanced at Lapis beside him, and Neg on his shoulder, and noted that they both looked quite relieved.

“We both have much to say, I’m sure. But let us start by drinking tea and calming our minds.”

As Juris said this, a gaggle of women in maid outfits entered as though they had been waiting in the wings. They entered soundlessly, carrying trays laden with tea, among other things.

“Now then, first off, I’d like to hear your story. What brought you here today?”

The maids swiftly finished preparing the tea, only to leave the room just as swiftly as they had arrived. Loren watched their work, impressed by their efficiency. Meanwhile, as Lapis waited for the maids to leave, she delicately whispered in Loren’s ear, “Those women have received combat training.”

“They’re just maids…right?”

“They don’t move like mere maids. They also seem to be concealing weapons beneath their skirts, so I presume they’ve been trained as assassins.”

“Is that not the calling of any maid?” Juris asked, maintaining a friendly smile.

Lapis was whispering to Loren right in front of him, but she had done her utmost to keep her voice down. However, while Loren had barely perceived her words, it seemed Juris had clearly discerned them even at a distance.

“I’ve never heard of maids like that,” Loren said, not bothering to hide his exasperation.

“A maid is obliged to be by her master’s side at all times. Hence, it is only natural for such individuals to acquire the skills to protect that master.”

“You’re talkin’ out your ass, Chief.”

“Putting that aside, why don’t you just tell me what you’ve been up to?” Juris said, overpowering Loren’s protest with the might of his friendly smile.

Loren looked like he clearly had something more to say, but Lapis held him back and spoke in his stead. “Then allow me to enlighten you.”

Loren didn’t consider himself particularly eloquent. Even when asked to elaborate on his recent experiences, apart from the fact that he had dropped his mercenary work to become an adventurer, he really didn’t know what else to say. However, he did understand that Juris couldn’t be satisfied with just that.

So, he left it to Lapis. He was about to take a sip of the tea the maids had left—only to almost spit it out upon hearing Lapis’s next words.

“I’ve been going out with Mr. Loren ever since—”

“Hey, wait. Can’t you phrase that better?”

While going out might imply a romantic connection, in this context, Lapis presumably meant venturing out together as party members. At least Loren thought so. But the way she put it inadvertently—or possibly deliberately—was prime material for misunderstandings. If Loren just let it go, and Juris was left with the wrong impression, it would be nothing but trouble. Loren was therefore compelled to interrupt.

But it was like he’d gone invisible.

Juris lowered his teacup and leaned in. “Tell me more.”

“Hey, Chief!”

“Oh, yes, so the first time we met, I got this sort of, ‘I see, so he’s the one’ kind of feeling.”

“Hey, wait a second!”

“Like love at first sight? Hmm… With Loren of all people.”

“Listen to me when I’m talking!” Loren yelled and raised his fist—but he had nowhere to lower it.

If this were a cheap inn or food hall, he could slam it on the table in front of him. However, despite its understated appearance, the table currently in front of Loren was, according to Lapis, hugely expensive.

Even if it was extraordinarily well-built, Loren didn’t think it could withstand the force of his fist crashing down upon it. It would likely shatter into splinters. Doing something like that in a military facility would likely result in not only having to pay for damages but other dire consequences. Soldiers would flood in, thinking he had threatened violence against their general.

So Loren was left there, frozen, his fist shaking—while, paying him no heed, the conversation continued.

‹You have it rough, Mister,› Scena’s concerned voice resounded in his head as he slowly lowered his fist.

Loren tried his utmost to keep the contents of the conversation out of sight and out of mind. As usual, Neg gently patted his front legs against Loren’s shoulder to console him.

“I see. You’ve had a rough time of it,” Juris finally said.

Loren suffered thusly for a good long while, until Lapis had finished her explanation. Putting aside a few holes in her story—which she seemed to leave expressly to invite all sorts of misunderstandings—she laid it all out in quite a simple and digestible format. Even Loren found himself occasionally nodding and recalling things, thinking, Oh right, that did happen.

Of course, Lapis did not admit to the identities of their traveling companions, Gula and Luxuria. This left Loren especially glad he had left this part up to her.

If it had been on him to explain, Loren suspected he would have accidentally admitted something—in fact, he was certain of it. Just thinking about it is exhausting, Loren thought as he put his hand to his forehead and sighed.

“Now that you’ve heard our situation, let’s hear yours,” Loren said, turning the conversation toward Juris.

“It’s not a very interesting story, compared to yours,” Juris replied, taking a sip of tea. “After the company fell, I somehow managed to evade capture, and by the end of it, I found myself in these lands. And, well, fighting is about the only thing the former leader of a fallen mercenary company knows how to do. So, I went and joined the army.”

“I get that part. But how did you end up as a general?” asked Loren.

Juris stood at the head of a whole army—and not some no-name battalion either. He commanded the main forces. That wasn’t the sort of position you just stumbled into. Even if Juris had been born into one of the country’s renowned military families, reaching these heights would have been no guarantee. Loren couldn’t comprehend how a former mercenary had just wandered into such an esteemed position.

Juris responded with a startled look. “Well, you know. It’s precisely because I used to lead a mercenary company.”

“That doesn’t explain a thing.”

For starters, being the chief of a mercenary company didn’t come with any significant connections. Even Loren knew that much. But when Juris said this so matter-of-factly, he second-guessed himself. Did being a mercenary captain really give one the credentials to be a general?

“Well, say what you want, but…the empire’s relationship with the neighboring kingdom has been strained for a long time now. There’s no shortage of fights to join, and as long as you’ve got the chance to fight, you can make a name for yourself, right?”

“Yeah, and?”

“Well, I just kept fighting here and there without thinking too much about it, and before I knew it, I was a general.”

Juris’s nonchalant explanation almost made Loren want to yell. But as he studied the look on the man’s face—a look that seemed to doubt that any of this was really so strange—Loren thought back to his time in Juris’s company. He shut his mouth.

As Loren fell silent, Lapis spoke up. “That’s really it?”

“Well, I am quite competent,” Juris replied. He wasn’t bragging, more simply stating a fact.

Lapis’s eyes widened.

“That’s pretty true,” said Loren. “I wouldn’t argue the point, at least.”

“Is that so…?”

“I really didn’t do anything remarkable. When I was but a foot soldier, I aimed to take out enemy commanders to earn merit. Once I was given a commanding role, I just kept doing whatever the enemy would hate most. Along the way, the medals just continued to pile up.”

“You make it sound so easy…”

“Well, the chief could at least do that,” Loren conceded with a resigned tone.

“Just how much faith do you have in this man?” Lapis bemoaned.

Juris watched their exchange with a smile, but after a moment, his face grew serious. He lightly tapped the table to redirect their attention. “Well, now that we’ve heard more of each other’s stories, let’s get to the point,” Juris said. He rested his hands on the table, his fingers interlocked. “I’m here to discuss the girl you said you encountered.”

Although they had refrained from revealing anything about Gula and her fellow dark gods, they had reported that the girl, Wraith Satania, had introduced herself as the Dark God of Wrath.

After all, there was no telling who might have seen them on that battlefield, and if it was revealed that they had concealed such crucial intelligence, they would lose the empire’s trust.

As for dark gods, Loren had previously reported a Dark God of Sloth to the guild, among a few others. The guild was collaborating with the imperial army, so if the military shared this information, they would soon learn of the existence of these beings.

However, the fact that there were other such entities loitering around—specifically that Gula and Luxuria happened to be hanging out nearby, and that they furthermore could trace their origins back to the ancient kingdom—had yet to be shared. Loren wasn’t sure if the empire’s intel went that far on its own.

“It would be appropriate to think of her as a powerful wielder of fire magic, but the damage inflicted on our forces defies explanation,” Juris said.

Multiple units had been obliterated by this unknown enemy, but while the units were gone, the destruction remained. Any ­investigation of the sites consistently led to scenes of total incineration, suggesting an incredibly intense fire, but the imperial army had no idea who or what had caused it.

“It’s hard to believe a single magician could possess such power. It’s reasonable to assume she’s enhancing her ability through some special means. However, that’s not important right now.”

Shouldn’t they focus on finding out how she’s amplifying her power in order to replicate or steal it? Lapis thought.

Loren and Juris seemed to see it differently.

“The method doesn’t matter,” Loren agreed. “Right now, we just need to take her out of the equation. Is that what you’re saying, Chief?”

“Indeed. Every raid and recon team we send is utterly eradicated. We don’t have the leisure to track down the source of her power. We just need someone to get rid of her.”

“Look, I get where you’re coming from, but some things just aren’t possible. Namely, going at that girl without a plan. We really could’ve died out there. If you want us to do something about it, I’m gonna have to decline.”

“I am not so senile as to tell anyone to charge at such a dangerous foe sans strategy.”

Loren had suspected that they’d been summoned not just because they’d encountered the Dark God of Wrath but because they’d come back from the encounter alive. He feared they would be sent right back out the way they’d come to try replicating the feat.

Juris smiled wryly.

“So, Chief, you want us to do something because you do have a plan.”

“I’m glad you’re still quick on the uptake, Loren. This is something only you can do for me.”

As Juris spoke, staring straight at Loren, his tone made it quite clear that Loren had no choice but to accept. As Loren did so with a single slight nod, he could only pray that Juris’s plan would at least be a little effective against a dark god.

After discussing the matter with Juris, Loren and Lapis returned to the hospital. Their intention was to assess Gula’s condition. Loren had undergone intensive treatment before he regained consciousness, so the staff recognized him, and when he mentioned Gula’s name, they guided him straight to her room.

“Umm… I hate to ask, but could you retrieve that large man soon?” asked the young female physician who had escorted them, seeming hesitant.

“I feel real bad about this, I do, but it depends on how things go. We might need to leave him here a while longer,” Loren responded.

“He’s been such a bad influence on the other patients…”

“I know. It might be a waste of time, but I’ll give him a proper scolding.”

As Loren spoke with this shy young woman, he wondered just how hard he and his greatsword would have to smack Luxuria to keep the dark god in check.

Inside her room, Gula lay on a clean sheet, wrapped in a duvet, her gentle snores filling the air. If one were to judge her solely by how she seemed in sleep, Gula was a striking beauty with fine proportions, which were clear even through the duvet.

As they took in her sleeping figure, Loren wondered if she would ever wake up. Suddenly, along with her snores, Gula exhaled a puff of pitch-black smoke.

A burnt smell filled the room, and Lapis wrinkled her nose, swiftly walking over to the window. She flung it open and fanned the air with her hand, trying to disperse the unpleasant odor.

It seemed that the flames of Wrath—the same flames that had engulfed Loren’s party—were still burning away within the incorporeal stomach of Gula’s own Gluttony. Loren did not even know the location of this particular stomach. In this situation, Loren couldn’t decide whether to be afraid that Wrath’s authority was still burning or amazed that Gula’s authority had been crammed so full that it was still fueling those flames. Either way, this was no laughing matter. Her condition was not improving—it might even be worsening.

“Hey, Gula. Can you hear me?” Loren approached the bedside and softly called out. Gula slowly opened her eyes and, upon seeing Loren, struggled to sit up.

Loren gestured to Gula to tell her she could rest, but Gula waved her hand as if to say she was fine. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

“First, how’s your stomach feeling?”

“I’ve got terrible heartburn.” Gula held her chest and frowned, then let out another puff of black smoke from her mouth.

If she were a human, she would not have survived the flames still burning inside her body. This bizarre phenomenon had left her doctors bewildered. Loren was worried that Gula’s true identity might be exposed, but no matter how they examined her, it wasn’t like her physicians could really find a fire burning inside of her. Their current explanation was that all this was due to some incomprehensible power.

“Looks like you can’t really move yet. Someone asked us for a bit of a favor, and I thought I’d ask you to tag along. But probably not,” Loren explained as he contemplated Juris’s request.

Lapis seemed to think it would be all right for Loren and her to head out alone. However, Loren thought that, no matter how powerful Lapis was, he himself was just a mercenary, and more allies was always better.

“I might be able, if it ain’t too taxing. Did something happen?”

“Pretty much. How about you take this as part of the explanation?”

Reaching into his jacket, Loren pulled out a glass bottle adorned with expensive-looking filigree. The transparent glass seemed to be filled with some sort of liquid.

“Medicine? There ain’t no medicine that’ll touch my symptoms. In fact, hardly any concoction can overcome the flames of Wrath. It’s gotta be something on the level of an elixir.”

“Yeah, an elixir. That’s what I’ve got right here.”

Gula gaped at the bottle in Loren’s hands, astonished. Loren had bargained for this as a necessary expense for the mission. While a single bottle of this rare liquid cost a whole gold coin, it seemed generals of the empire kept such pricey things on hand. Juris had readily handed it over.

“Can you manage with one?” Loren asked. “If it ain’t enough, I could try to squeeze a few more from the chief.”

“You can just get another? Well, an elixir might just do it,” Gula said as she took the bottle from Loren. She uncorked it and, without hesitation, swallowed the contents.

Loren and Lapis anxiously watched, wondering whether it would really have an effect. Gula closed her eyes for a moment before, at long last, exhaling a long, thin stream of white smoke that mingled with her breath. She opened her eyes to look at Loren.

“All right. That should do it.”

“Are you really okay? If you’re still even a little hurt, I could ask the chief. He’ll probably give us a few more.”

“It’s all good. This is the top-shelf stuff, right? If I drink any more, it’ll feel like I’m adding to your debts, Loren. I can’t just go glugging the stuff down.”

“It hardly registers against the rest of the debt I’m carrying.”

“Don’t go bragging now,” Gula retorted.

Judging by that face, it looks like she really is doing better, Loren concluded with a nod.

“Personally, I would welcome an increase in Mr. Loren’s debt… But really, at this point, a single gold coin wouldn’t make much of a difference.”

“You’re ruthless, Lapis. So anyways, what’s the big job? Where’d you get the good stuff, and what do they want us to do for it?” Gula asked with a knowing smile.

So Loren explained. He started with how the chief of his mercenary company was now serving as an imperial general and went into what they’d heard from Juris.

Specifically, Juris had tasked him with acquiring a means by which to counter the entity that claimed to be the “Dark God of Wrath.” According to Juris, there was a cave north of the city where Loren and his party were currently stationed, and within it lay something that could hopefully counter Wrath’s powers.

Loren hadn’t understood Juris’s claim that only Loren could deal with this. He didn’t yet see how any of this depended on him or his party. Furthermore, it was unclear where Juris had acquired this information. However, Loren knew the chief as a man who didn’t say things without reason, so he trusted that there was something in the cave, and that there was some reason to entrust the task to him.

“So we’re headed out on quite the trek.”

“I see. And you want me to tag along?” Gula asked as she crawled out of bed and stood on her own two feet.

Loren nodded. “Strength in numbers.”

“The idea of taking a trip alone with Mr. Loren was quite enticing, but I do agree on principle.”

“Hey, looks like Lapis doesn’t really want me butting in,” Gula chuckled, at which Lapis looked away, neither affirming nor denying the accusation. Gula stretched lightly, making sure her body was in working order. “Fine by me. So how about Luxuria?”

Loren and Lapis responded with the same dark expression at almost the exact same time.

Ideally, they would leave Luxuria behind. However, the physician had only just voiced her concerns about his tenure, and it seemed safer to retrieve him as soon as possible rather than leave him to his own devices. Understandably, they couldn’t just dump him on the hospital forever.

“I’ll let him know, for what it’s worth… Not that I want to.”

“That’s a toughie. He’s a reliable fighter, to be fair.”

“Yes, but if you weigh the pros and cons, I feel the cons win out,” Lapis muttered bitterly. “Why couldn’t he have just been burned to ash in the flames of Ms. Wrath?”

Loren nodded repeatedly in agreement, while Gula glanced at them with a smile.

“Sorry, Luxuria’s actually got better defense than most any of us. Sloth’s the sturdiest, though.”

“He’s more resilient than that guy? Now there’s a surprise.”

Loren cocked his head. This was rather surprising news, given what he imagined when he heard the word “sloth.” The sloth he thought of typically implied doing as little as physically possible. What did that authority look like?

“If Sloth decides to get serious, he gains resistance to all elements, and his defenses shoot so high that he’d get off scot-free even if he was trampled by a dragon. In exchange, though, he becomes completely immobile.”

“So he’s pretty much the perfect human shield?”

“He has to be completely still, or he can’t use the authority fully. So not really a shield. There’s also a pretty nasty side effect to even it out—not that it matters right now.”

All the lying down seemed to have made Gula stiffen up. She spun her joints back and forth, bending this way and that. Eventually, those motions came to a stop and she clenched her fist. “I can fight just fine. How about we get ready and head off to that cave of yours? I’ll pass the word to Luxuria, so you two can focus on prep. How’s that sound?”

“The chief said he’d take care of supplies and all that. As soon as we decide to set out, we just need to pick it all up at the northern gate.”

Juris would arrange for absolutely everything they needed—that was just the sort of man he was. He’d apparently gotten everything in order before he even proposed the journey to Loren. The party just had to head to the designated point with their personal belongings.

“Who even is he? This Juris guy?”

“To me, he’s just an old guy who likes looking after people.”

“He sounds a lot more reliable than your average old guy.”

“Well, he might not be anymore. But that old guy used to be a mercenary captain.”

Loren’s nonchalant attitude came as something of a surprise to Lapis and Gula. They exchanged looks, sensing there was more to this story than he was letting on.

For one, Juris had aleady figured out a way to counter Wrath, and for another, he knew of an item in a cave that no one else seemed to know about, and for a third, before he even asked them to do the job, he’d made the preparations for their departure. The girls didn’t think this was the work of “just some old guy,” but the way Loren wrote it off as regular old Juris business was strangely convincing.

“Well, I guess it’s fine?” Gula said, somewhat anxiously.

Lapis, meanwhile, did not think too deeply about it. “I’ll eventually look into him more thoroughly, but I believe it ought to be fine for now,” she replied with a shrug.

Chapter 2: Departure to Transfer

Chapter 2:
Departure to Transfer

AND SO, Loren and his party headed north to Juris’s cave. They set off from the city’s northern gate in a wagon that Juris had provided, and of the group, Luxuria was especially cheerful. He even offered to drive, and so he sat on the cabman’s perch at the front, while Loren, Lapis, and Gula lounged with the cargo behind him.

“What’s wrong? You all look so gloomy,” Luxuria called over his shoulder, clad in his typically revealing attire. However, he received no reply.

If they were honest, the rest of the party would have preferred to leave Luxuria back in town, but if they’d run off without a word, there was no telling what might have come of it.

Gula had subtly suggested to Luxuria that he could stay behind, but Luxuria had instantly declared that he had completely recovered from his injuries. When he learned that Loren’s party was leaving town, he insisted he would accompany them—as if that was only natural.

The party couldn’t refuse.

Partly, they feared what horrors might come of such a refusal, but more importantly, the silent pressure of the hospital staff had become unbearable.

Loren had no idea what exactly Luxuria had done to make them so adamant that the dark god’s stay was at an end, but he couldn’t ask for details either. Not the staff, nor Luxuria.

“I’m more curious as to what’s got you in such a good mood,” said Gula.

“We’re going out together, right? It’s obviously going to be a ball.”

A chill ran down Loren’s spine at the word “we.” He scanned the area, but apart from a few travelers, there was no one with them on the road—certainly no henchmen. Luxuria was already a lot in and of himself. If he brought one of his entourage—one of those he had personally educated and indoctrinated—Loren’s peace of mind would be in serious danger.

“And as we travel together, we must of course make camp come nightfall. We’ll cozy up in the same tent.”

According to Juris, there had once been plenty of villages in the northern reach they were headed to. But in the midst of recent large-scale battles, most of these little villages had either been destroyed or evacuated. There would be no accommodations.

Loren’s mood soured as he realized they’d have to do something about the threat of Luxuria if they wanted a wink of sleep.

Gula, meanwhile, threateningly bared her teeth at the massive man. “Enough jokes. You can fend for yourself.”

“But why?! This is discrimination! Abuse!”

Though Luxuria flailed all his limbs like a sulking child, surprisingly, the wagon continued down the road without deviating from its course.

Loren assumed the horse would be all sorts of troubled, what with its reins being pulled left, right, and left again. But when he looked, he saw that while the horse’s head was indeed jerked back and forth, its course remained straight—unnaturally so. Unfortunately, it was all too easy to imagine that any one of his party members could have done something weird to the poor animal. He let out a slight sigh.

“Mr. Loren?” Lapis asked, noticing his dismay.

“It’s nothing,” he simply replied. He redirected his attention to the supplies that had been loaded onto the wagon.

Supposedly, most of the gear had been gathered by Juris, but Loren hadn’t inquired in detail about what he’d prepared and in what quantity. He trusted that his former leader wouldn’t overlook anything. Still, there was a chance, and he thought it wise to double-check, just in case.

“Well, that’s the chief for you.”

Juris had told them that it would take roughly three days to reach their destination. That meant a six-day round trip. Loren had worried that the front couldn’t hold out for that long. But Juris was confident that he could stall for at least that much time.

According to Juris, it would be difficult to win outright, but anyone could simply maintain the status quo. Loren felt it couldn’t actually be so simple to maintain equilibrium in a situation where both armies were already glaring at one another. Loren wanted to unearth this dark-god countermeasure as quickly as possible.

For a moment, he paused his rummaging.

“What’s wrong, Mr. Loren? Did you find anything indecent?”

“Indecent in what way, exactly?” Loren wearily asked as he pulled out the thing his hand had stopped on to better examine it.

It was a thick coat. Quite large as well, as it was presumably intended for Loren.

Perplexed, Loren continued to search the supplies and found two more coats, each quite a bit smaller than the first one.

“It’s not just coats…”

Loren groped around where he’d found these coats and extracted more items. He produced sturdy sleeping bags and tents, one after the next, leaving him puzzled.

The local climate was certainly colder than it was in Kaffa, but Loren’s gear was not so inadequate that he’d needed to drape a coat on top of it. The northern region did experience periods when it was covered in snow and ice, and at such times, extra layers and so forth could be necessary. However, as far as Loren knew, it wasn’t yet that season.

“Maybe I have it wrong? Is it already that time of year?”

“What are you muttering about, Mr. Loren? Oh, coats and sleeping bags? Mr. Juris is quite thorough.”

As Loren puzzled over the items he’d produced, Lapis peered at them from her nearby seat.

“Do we even need these?” Loren asked as he pinched some cloth. It was far too thick for normal camping. Not unusable, no. But if Loren were to wrap himself in Juris’s sleeping bag while lying inside Juris’s tent, it was easy to imagine finding it difficult to sleep thanks to the sheer heft.

However, Lapis’s response was not what he’d expected.

“Perhaps Mr. Juris sent them along precisely because he thought they would be necessary.”

When she put it like that, Loren was compelled to nod along. “Which means the temperature is going to drop?”

“Well, it’s hard to imagine it will rapidly plummet out of nowhere.”

But although Lapis said this, they soon learned she was mistaken.

Nothing unusual happened that first night, and Loren and his party members kept watch in pairs. They welcomed the morning without incident.

“Hey, why’d you pair me up with Luxuria? Look at us, we’re all strong enough to keep watch alone.”

“Why, of course, it was to ensure Mr. Loren was paired with me—as well as to ensure that Mr. Luxuria’s rest time did not overlap with Mr. Loren’s.”

“Well, I guess that makes sense. In short, I’m on Luxuria watch.”

“Hey? Darlings? It looks like my sleeping bag is missing.”

“Well, you’re sweltering enough as is, right? Just go find some random hole in the ground to pass out in.”

“Aren’t you being kind of mean?!”

Although the night started out with this boisterous exchange, it ended with nothing amiss.

No, the oddities came on the second night.

Gula had been on the first watch, and after she was relieved of her duties, she sent Luxuria flying with a kick after he casually tried to follow her into her tent. Loren watched on with a wry smile as he took his seat next to Lapis by the fire.

From his seat, he looked up at the sky and saw the stars ­twinkling without a single cloud to shroud them.

“Has it gotten a little colder?”

A pot of water hung over the fire to boil. Lapis scooped some liquid out with a ladle, pouring it into a cup and offering it to Loren. “It’s not just boiled water. I added some proper tea leaves.”

Loren peered into the contents of the cup. Indeed, there were tea leaves wafting about the tinted liquid.

This wasn’t how it was technically supposed to be brewed, but they were in the middle of a camping trip, and he didn’t expect anyone to go to the hassle of straining out the leaves. This has its own charm, Loren thought as he took a sip.

“We should get there soon, right?” he asked. “Maybe we didn’t need all that stuff after all.” Loren eyed one of the thick tents that Juris had packed for them.

Gula was sleeping inside of it, presumably in a sleeping bag that was equally as thick. Her body heat was probably uncomfortably high.

Because they were traveling north, the temperature had gradually dropped. The bags and tents weren’t so bad as to leave them sleepless, but they were stifling and so hot that Loren woke up drenched in sweat.

“Could it have been a miscalculation, then?” Lapis cocked her head curiously. Her eyes were on Luxuria, who was crawling into another tent now.

No sleeping bag had been provided for him, but as long as he slept in a tent, he’d be warm enough. Even if they continued north for another day, it was hard to imagine that the coats would be necessary.

Notably, when Lapis had said “miscalculation,” she had meant not only on Juris’s part but on hers. But Loren only seemed to pick up on one of these meanings.

“Well, the chief is getting old,” he said.

“If you told him that, would he yell or cry?”

Lapis imagined that if Juris heard he was being treated like he was in his dotage by Loren of all people, he could only do one or the other. The thought made her smile—but that smile soon tensed.

When Loren saw Lapis’s expression freeze in disbelief, he tried to follow her gaze upward, squinting. “What?”

At first, Loren didn’t see anything. At the very least, he didn’t think there was anything that would make Lapis stiffen up like this. However, as he continued to stare at the air, he noticed something small and twinkling in the light of the fire.

Before Loren could identify what it was, Lapis heaped more wood on the fire. She then leapt into the cargo area of the nearby wagon and began to rummage through the supplies.

“Lapis? What’s got you in such a panic?”

“It’s ice!” she cried out as she tossed the thick jacket at Loren.

She must want me to wear it, he thought, and so immediately put it on.

Once Lapis was sure he had donned it, she passed her arms through the sleeves of one of the smaller coats. “I don’t know why, but the temperature is rapidly dropping, and the moisture in the air is turning into ice crystals. Worst case, we might have a life-threatening cold snap on our hands!”

“Why so sudden…?”

The change had come with no warning, and it was so abrupt and unreasonable that Loren found himself muttering, but Lapis vigorously shook her head.

“I don’t know, I really don’t. But we must play the hand that’s dealt to us. We can put off ascertaining the cause. For now, we must prioritize ensuring our survival.”

Their kindling, dried leaves and withered branches—all their fuel consisted of what they’d brought with them and what they’d collected before they set up camp. Loren had been sure they had enough to spare.

However, if the cold snap Lapis spoke of really was coming, Loren feared it wouldn’t really be enough to keep the flames going. All of a sudden, their stacks of fuel were starting to look terribly meager.

“Hey, isn’t this pretty bad? I feel like my life’s in danger here! Is it just me?”

“You’re still better off than me! I don’t even have a sleeping bag! Let alone a coat! I may be a dark god, but when it’s time to die, I die! Are you telling me to die? Do you want me to be nothing but a frozen corpse with no one to love?!”

The cold snap that Lapis had feared struck the campsite shortly after she sensed it. As she had described, it was absolutely intense enough to threaten their lives.

Even Loren, who had hastily put on a coat, felt the cold strike like a throbbing pain on his exposed face and hands. He didn’t dare leave the campfire, and even Neg, who usually stuck to his spot on Loren’s shoulder, hastily slipped into his coat and clung to his chest to escape the danger.

Beside Loren, similarly clad, Lapis clung to his arm, shivering from the deep freeze that swept over the campsite. Though demons could be considered superior to humans in almost every regard, it seemed that they weren’t so different when it came to their resistance to the elements.

“Your body is warm, Mr. Loren. I’m graced by a gentle sense of happiness.”

“Are you really even cold?”

If Lapis’s voice was anything to go by, Loren could have sworn she was still perfectly fine, but the shaking he felt through his arm was real, and he didn’t have it in him to push her away. He scratched his head, troubled.

As for the scene unfolding in front of them, Gula, who had wrapped a coat around her sleeping bag, and Luxuria, who had been left without anything to protect himself from the cold, were making a fuss.

“How’d it get so cold all of a sudden?! Did an ice age come while we were sealed away?! Or did no one tell us this was the icy pit of hell?!” Gula protested.

“At least you have the wherewithal to know you’re headed straight to hell,” Luxuria snapped. “Not that it matters—just give me the coat already! The sleeping bag should be enough for you!”

“Shut it, fool! Who the hell would give you anything?! It’s still cold! If I take off this coat, my body’s going to be frozen solid!”

“If you’re going to freeze, then what about me? I don’t have anything! I’ll turn into an ice sculpture! Sure, I’ll be a beautiful sight, but who’s going to see me in a place like this?!”

“You’re deluded! Your statue would be treated as hazardous waste!”

Looks like they’re still fine, Loren thought.

If things were really dire, they wouldn’t be quarreling like that. If they were still mouthing off at each other, there was no need to panic. However, if this continued, things really would get pretty bad. Their campsite was exposed, with no natural barriers to fend off the elements. Though they tried to warm themselves by the fire, this warmth was snatched away by the slightest wind. Unless they could move someplace with better shielding, it would be hard to make it until morning.

Loren’s train of thought derailed when he had to reflexively grab the wrist of a hand reaching for his collar. “Hey, Lapis. What do you think you’re doing?”

The hand belonged to Lapis. It had been clinging to his shoulder not too long ago, but before he knew it, she had subtly slid it toward his chest.

“Mr. Loren, it is said that life-forms experience heightened sexual desire when faced with life-threatening situations.” Lapis continued to cling to him as she reached for his chest, and she inexorably brought her body closer to him. The look on her face was as serious as could be. “It is apparently the instinct of living things; a last attempt to leave offspring,” she continued. “Perhaps you’ll be reaching that point soon?”

“What are you on about? In the first place, how would we even do that sort of thing in this cold? Do you have a death wish?”

“You’ll be fine, Mr. Loren. I’ll be the one doing most of the undressing. By the looks of it, you still have quite a bit of room in that coat. So, if I slip in there with you, we could discreetly…”

“Wait, wait. You really are losing it!”

Lapis’s eyes were faintly hollow as she pushed her body against his. Loren pushed her back, but he knew it would be dangerous to stick around any longer. He didn’t have any leads on where to go, but at the very least, he knew they were in for it if they didn’t find a basin to shield them from the winds.

“We’re moving. Get your things.”

“Right now?”

“If we don’t, we’ll be stuck here. The horse is in danger too.”

The horse, tied to the wagon, was quiet, exhaling white breath from its mouth. It was still alive for now, but so long as they hung around in this biting cold, even Loren’s comrades were at risk of freezing to death.

In that case… Loren figured that even a little movement might raise their body temperatures.

“Hurry up. Freezing to death’s not the most painful way to go, but you don’t want to die just yet, do you?” Loren sternly told Lapis, a hint of anger in his voice. He feared that the cold had already sapped her ability to make good judgment calls.

“That’s a shame. I thought it might work if I kept pushing.”

Loren assumed Lapis would protest, but she relented surprisingly easily, following his instructions and extracting herself from him. Her light tone made him suspect she had been up to her usual mischief, but her shivering didn’t stop after she pulled away, so he hesitated to assume.

Loren decided he could determine her truthfulness later and turned to Gula and Luxuria. “Well, whatever. You two get moving if you don’t want to be left behind.”

Their argument came to a swift halt the second they heard Loren’s words. Gula, still wrapped in her sleeping bag like a caterpillar, skillfully wormed her way to the wagon, while Luxuria—so light on his feet that it was hard to imagine he was actually cold—began to pack up the tents.

The party quickly struck the camp, managed to calm down the shivering horse, and continued their northward journey.

“Still, what the hell is this? I’ve never heard of this kind of weather,” Loren asked from his seat on the cabman’s perch. He turned to Lapis, who was holding the reins next to him. After taking a look around, Lapis cocked her head quizzically.

While she could try to take in her surroundings, it was still the middle of the night. Gula had shot up a few artificial magic lights from within her sleeping bag, and they did have a sliver of moonlight to see by, but this was far from a sufficient view. Even so, with her demon’s eyes, Lapis could see through the darkness.

“I don’t understand it either,” she muttered. “In the first place, where are we, and where are we headed?”

“What?”

“Up until we set up camp, I had a rough idea of where we were on the map and was navigating accordingly. But all of a sudden, I’ve lost track of our current position. Rather, did this place even exist before we set up camp?”

This made Loren take a look of his own.

According to the Great Demon King, the essence of a Lifeless King was beginning to mix in with Loren’s soul. Thus, though he typically wouldn’t have been able to see through this darkness, his night vision had become far better than any human’s.

What his eyes beheld was certainly unfamiliar.

Before they’d set up camp, they had been moving through an unobstructed open wasteland. But now, while it was still indeed a wasteland, he could make out a giant mountainous shadow towering over them from nearby.

No matter how he compared this sight against his memories, he had no recollection of this mountain whatsoever. Like Lapis, he cocked his head. He tried to focus, but squint as he may, the mountain simply wouldn’t vanish. It was there to stay.

“Are we closer to our destination than we thought?”

There was supposedly a mountain near their destination. Juris had described the cave being at its base, so Loren cautiously suggested this possibility.

However, Lapis shook her head. “It can’t be. We have at least half a day to go.”

If Lapis said this was the case, it was undoubtedly the case. Surely the opinion of someone who always followed the map was more reliable than Loren’s vague sense of direction. However, if that was the case, the towering mountain remained unexplained.

“Well, we’ve got to check it out. Did he say anything about any landmarks to find our way?”

“He gave me this.”

Lapis took one hand off of the reins to produce a piece of paper from her pocket. It seemed to depict a pattern of sorts, and she waved it through the air. “Apparently, this amulet will react to this countermeasure to Ms. Wrath—whatever it is.”

“Why would the captain have something like that?”

From Loren’s perspective, the amulet in her hands looked like nothing more than a piece of paper covered in incomprehensible doodles. However, if Lapis was to be believed, this was an enchanted item, and it couldn’t be obtained just anywhere.

“That’s what I’d like to ask you. Who exactly is Mr. Juris?” she asked in turn.

Loren did not have an answer.

The Juris he knew was just the chief of an ordinary mercenary company. An old man who’d counted his years on the battlefield. Of course, Loren did feel indebted to Juris for raising him and giving him an education, but he considered this irrelevant to Lapis’s question.

“I do have a hunch,” said Lapis, “that at the end of this path, we will likely find a cave, and that it will be our destination. I just can’t shake the feeling.”

“Even when you don’t know where we are?”

Lapis had just said there was half a day to go, based on the map. But all too soon, she seemed to have changed her mind. Loren was quite surprised, but Lapis didn’t seem to think that her words were the slightest bit odd.

“I believe it’s precisely because we don’t know where we are.”

She sounded oddly convinced. Loren could only let out a light sigh in response.

Behind them, Gula remained bundled up like a bagworm, and Luxuria was still entirely without insulation. They both huddled in the gaps between the bags.

Chapter 3: Contraption to Freeze

Chapter 3:
Contraption to Freeze

IT WASN’T LONG before Loren found himself faced with a scene that had him wondering how it had all come to this.

The horse-drawn wagon proceeded along a straight path, but all too soon, the road came to an end at the base of the mountain that had appeared out of nowhere. And, as though this was all some bad joke, just beyond the path’s end lay the gaping maw of a pitch-black cave.

At that moment, as if expressly to make the situation even more suspicious, the amulet Lapis had received from Juris began emitting a pale-blue glow, evidently indicating that this cave was indeed their destination.

“See? Everything’s gone just as I said it would.” However, Lapis’s tone didn’t make it seem like she was particularly proud of this. In fact, her face made it clear that she was just as perplexed as he was by this unnatural proceeding.

“Do you reckon the chief’s some sort of ghost? Maybe a devil?”

“You’re seriously asking me? If you don’t know, Mr. Loren, how should I? There was nothing strange about his aura, though.”

Loren was genuinely wondering if some apparition had taken on human form, but he couldn’t recall his chief ever being anything but human. He’d known the man since he was a child, and it would have to have been quite the deception if he managed to retain a human form the entire time. Personally, Loren didn’t want to suspect him either.

“Well, if you look on the bright side, it’s good that we’re here, right?”

“At the very least, we’ll have some protection at the cave entrance,” Lapis answered as she maneuvered the horse, directing the wagon toward the entrance.

The mouth of the cave was so spacious that even if Loren swung his greatsword with abandon, the blade wouldn’t hit any of the walls. It was so large that they were able to fit the entire wagon inside.

Lapis brought the vehicle to a halt near the wall and used the reins to tether it to a rocky protrusion. After jumping down from the wagon, Loren patted the horse, which seemed relieved. Meanwhile, Gula and Luxuria clambered down from the back.

“This is the place?”

Realizing that her wormy state would make it hard to respond to threats, Gula reluctantly crawled out of her sleeping bag and draped the coat she’d wrapped around it over her shoulders instead. She shivered slightly as she hugged herself.

Luxuria was in roughly the same state. But seeing as he was a massive man in a tight, revealing outfit, this only seemed to accentuate his off-putting air. If possible, Loren did not want to gaze upon him, and he nonchalantly averted his eyes.

“If Mr. Juris’s intelligence is accurate, then presumably.” Lapis lifted the piece of paper, which was still emitting a pale-blue light, and waved it around for Gula to see.

Gula’s eyes narrowed as she stared into the depths of the cave. “Meanin’ there’s somethin’ back there that can counter Wrath.”

“Assuming it’s all true, yes.”

“Then let’s hurry up and find it. I wanna finish up quick and get out of this freezing hellhole.”

“The rock face suggests this is nothing more than an ordinary cave. It shouldn’t be too complicated inside,” Luxuria said as he closely inspected the cave wall. He slowly began to walk farther in.

If this really is the place, then Gula’s right. Rather than waiting around the entrance, it would be better to finish Juris’s request quickly, Loren thought. With Lapis and Gula at his sides, he began to follow Luxuria, who’d taken the lead.

But at that moment, Luxuria let out a small throaty scream, and his body was suddenly sent flying backward. It happened abruptly, but Loren’s response was swift.

He shoved Gula toward one cave wall while he leapt toward the opposite, positioning himself to shield Lapis.

Fortunately, the cave was wide enough for all of them to avoid Luxuria, who was thrown with considerable force. He shot through the opening Loren had created and hit the ground head-first. Then he went rolling, end over end over end, in a backward somersault, before finally coming to a stop with his bottom pointed at the ceiling.

“What?! What just happened?!”

“Dunno, but it came pretty close. You okay, Lapis?”

“Thank you, Mr. Loren. I’m fine, thanks to you.”

As Lapis had been pressed against the wall by Loren, she looked up at him as though she was reluctant to leave this position. In fact, her eyes were somewhat akin to those of a carnivorous beast eying its prey, and Loren found himself frowning. But in his head, he could hear Scena kicking up a huge stink, demanding that he get away from her.

“Really, what was that?” Loren asked as he glanced at Luxuria, who still lay motionless. “It’s weird for someone of his size to be thrown around so easily.”

Luxuria was slightly larger than Loren, and surely he had the weight to match. Moreover, Luxuria was a dark god. The fact that he had been sent flying without any show of resistance was sufficient evidence that they had tripped over something truly powerful. But, try as he might to peer into the direction where Luxuria had taken flight, Loren couldn’t see a thing.

“You see anything, Lapis?”

“No. How about you, Mr. Loren?” she asked in turn.

Loren took another look, but despite careful study, he saw no apparent mechanisms or contraptions.

What about you, Scena?

He called to the Lifeless King within him in the faint hope that she might pick something up. Unfortunately, Scena’s response wasn’t promising.

‹I am currently sharing your sight, so anything invisible to you is invisible to me too.›

“Nope, nothing. And if we don’t see anything, I dunno how there could be anything,” Loren said, shaking his head.

After a few moments spent in thought, Lapis seized Gula by the wrist.

What exactly is she doing? Gula wondered, but it soon became quite clear.

“Upsy-daisy.”

“Hold up!”

Lapis flung her arm forward, sending Gula screaming as she hurtled through the air.

Loren took a step forward, taken aback, but he stopped just short of where Gula had been thrown. The moment she reached the same point as Luxuria, somehow, her trajectory took a sharp turn, and she was sent flying. She followed the same flight path as the dark god before her, leaving a trail of screams as she was hurled behind them.

“So she was thrown after all.”

Gula collided with Luxuria as she rolled. Both dark gods groaned as they were simply left there by their companions. Lapis ignored them as she stared fixedly at the point from which Gula’s body had been sent flying.

“Did you really just do that?” Loren asked.

“I needed to know if it was repeatable.”

Though Gula was lighter than Luxuria, she had landed in exactly the same location, which was what had made them collide. The impact had sent Luxuria tumbling even farther back, and Gula, having transferred all her momentum, was left crouching in pain. She stared up at Lapis with resentful eyes, but Lapis didn’t even seem to notice her. She continued to inspect the point the dark gods had been thrown from.

After a while, she seemed to come to a conclusion. This time, she was about to step forward with her own two feet, but Loren hurriedly grabbed her by the shoulder.

“What are you doing?”

“There is certainly something here. However, I believe I must discern whether it reacted to them specifically because they are dark gods. Fortunately, if we consider Ms. Gula, it seems this contraption will not threaten my life. I’m quite sturdy myself, after all.”

In terms of sturdiness, Loren was the most fragile of his comrades. Even though the trap didn’t seem fatal, there was still a chance of injury after being thrown with such speed, so it made sense for the party member with the highest resistance to physical damage to test it out.

However, whether he could just stand back and let this happen was a completely separate issue. Maintaining his hold on Lapis’s shoulder, Loren pushed her back and stepped forward himself.

“Then I’ll do it.”

“No, Mr. Loren. That’s…”

“If you want to continue studying this contraption, it’d be better for someone else to set it off. Keep a careful watch to see what happens.”

As Loren saw it, it was better to split the role of subject and observer rather than to have someone try to do both. Lapis was clearly a far better fit for the latter. Thus, he needed to step up and be the test subject.

Lapis seemed to have something to say, but she shut her mouth at Loren’s insistence.

“We’ll at least find out more than if I was the one watching.”

“That may be true, but…” Lapis mumbled, reluctantly acknowledging his point.

Loren waved his hand and casually sauntered forward.

It took quite a lot of force to send a person flying, but now that he knew it was coming, he was able to brace for it. Furthermore, as Lapis had pointed out, Luxuria and Gula didn’t seem to have any major injuries, and this reassured Loren of his own safety.

Thus, Loren could confidently—albeit slowly—step forward. But only a few steps in, he realized something was strange. He had passed the final point either dark god had reached. Loren thought it was about time for him to be thrown, yet he couldn’t sense any signs that this was about to happen.

After a few more steps, he was sure of it. Perplexed, he turned to Lapis, who had continued to observe with a troubled look.

“What’s going on?”

“Could it be that the mechanism only reacts to dark gods?” she muttered with a tilt of her head.

“Then why don’t you test—whoa?!”

Gula had tried to give Lapis a push from behind, only for Lapis to gracefully sidestep the attempt, having presumably foreseen it. As she got out of the way, Gula’s hands were suddenly left with no target. She continued forward, propelled by her momentum, and all too quickly, Lapis circled behind her to deliver a powerful shove of her own. With that, Gula tumbled all the way to Loren.

“Ah, but this time she wasn’t thrown,” Lapis noted as she approached Gula, who was lying sprawled out on the floor with her eyes spinning.

Loren pondered this. “Is there a limit to the number of activations, then?”

“Who knows? I can’t be certain about anything, but it looks like I’m not being thrown either. Look at me, standing right here.”

“Seems like it. Well… Thinking about it’s not going to do us any good. Let’s get going.”

“Indeed. Now, Ms. Gula and Mr. Flux, or whoever you are, let’s be off. ”

As Loren’s back grew distant, Lapis prodded Gula with the tip of her boot.

That stimulation snapped her out of it. Gula groaned at how terribly she’d been treated, while Luxuria stood, muttering his own horde of complaints under his breath.

“Perhaps the contraption turns off once a qualified person passes through it?” Lapis mused, paying neither of them the slightest bit of attention. “I can’t deny the possibility.”

Her murmur didn’t reach Loren’s ears. For some reason, that explanation really did seem to click in her head. But if that was the case, what did it mean? Lapis jogged after Loren, who had already gotten quite far ahead.

Generally speaking, caves were not maliciously designed. They were natural structures, so of course there were exceptions, but they usually had rather simple structures with straightforward paths.

In a larger cave with multiple branching paths, one might need to place markers or take notes to ensure they knew how to retrace their steps, but in smaller caves, it wasn’t especially easy to get lost.

The cave Loren’s party ventured into now seemed to have a straightforward layout as well. They proceeded along what was mostly a single straight path without the need for a torch.

Darkness could be a most troublesome thing, rendering everything invisible to the human eye. However, Loren seemed to have enough sight to discern what was where without even reaching out to Scena. He probably had his slow and steady absorption of the Lifeless King to thank for that.

“Not that I’m too happy about it…”

The more Loren took in the Lifeless King’s power, the further he strayed from his humanity. The exact outcome of this was as of yet unknown, but Loren had a feeling it wasn’t anything to celebrate.

That didn’t mean he felt inclined to drive out Scena, who would probably fade away if she were evicted. At the moment, Loren simply hoped that everything would work out and did his best not to think about it.

“It’s just a cave, from what I can see. Are we really going to find a counter to Ms. Wrath in here?” Lapis asked as she looked around.

Indeed, there were no signs that anything had ever been added to the cave by mortal hands or built within it. It was nothing but a cave, and it was hard to believe they would find what Juris was looking for within it.

“Given that trap thing at the entrance, someone’s got to have done something to the place.”

“Yes, that and the paper we received from Mr. Juris are currently our only leads.” Lapis flapped the paper between two pinched fingers.

The paper’s glow was even stronger than it had been at the cave mouth. Juris hadn’t provided any explanation, but this intensifying light likely indicated that they were approaching their target.

“It’s quite a relief that the path is straightforward. After everything else, I wouldn’t want to be stuck wandering a maze,” said Lapis.

Loren concurred. “Even if it’s a little better here, it’s still pretty cold.”

Between the cave and the coat, the biting cold was bearable, but the frigid air was a reminder of all they had endured. He didn’t want to stay long, and he certainly didn’t want to wend his way through a maze.

“But what the hell are we looking for?”

“Who knows? If it can truly resist the Dark God of Wrath, I believe it must be something that can counter her power over flames.”

“The simplest answer would be something imbued with the power of water or ice,” Gula said, joining their conversation from behind.

Gula, too, had managed to endure the cold thanks to the coat covering her usual revealing outfit. Conversely, Luxuria was inching along with his legs pressed together, his arms crossed to hug himself, a fretful and fidgeting mess.

It would have been impossible to avoid laying eyes on Luxuria if Loren turned back to look at Gula, so he spoke without turning around. “It’d have to be pretty powerful to best her, right?”

“True, true. Or else it’d just be incinerated.”

“Can we even carry something that powerful?”

The simplest answer to the Dark God of Wrath would be an artifact imbued with the opposite elemental attribute that boasted a similar level of power. This was presumably what was stored in the depths of the cave.

But, though Loren posed this question, Gula had no answer for him.

“Let’s assume it’s something we can carry,” Lapis said non­chalantly in her stead. “Otherwise, Mr. Juris surely wouldn’t have sent us to fetch it.”

“Yeah. It’s the chief. He must have thought this through…”

‹Mister, there’s a door up ahead.›

Before he could finish his thought, Loren paused at a call from Scena. He raised his eyes to look ahead.

With the Lifeless King’s vision, which allowed him to see through the darkness, he stared down the walls of the cave. Until this point, those walls had been completely natural. But there it was, just as Scena said: a clearly man-made metal door.

The others noticed it too, all stopping in their tracks.

“That seems to fit the bill.”

Not wanting a repeat of the fiasco at the entrance, Lapis stood motionless, carefully studying the area surrounding the door. But, after some time, she shook her head. Even with her enhanced eyesight and her vast, demonic knowledge, she could detect no abnormalities. However, there was obviously something behind the door, and it was hard to imagine nothing would be guarding it. With this in mind, Lapis cocked her head, wondering what to do.

Meanwhile, Loren feigned an air of indifference as he promptly stepped forward.

“Mr. Loren?”

“This time, I’ll go first. It feels mean to make Gula go in for round two.”

“There’s no guarantee we’ll see another throwing trap.”

“Well, if there is, help me out. I’m counting on you.”

The trap at the entrance had been relatively nonlethal, but there was nothing to guarantee that this one would be the same. It was entirely possible that Loren would suddenly face life-threatening consequences for his actions, but given that he had a demon and two dark gods behind him—as well as a Lifeless King within his soul—he was feeling optimistic. And so, he slowly walked toward the door.

Loren maintained his caution, prepared to handle anything—within reason. However, as he warily approached, he eventually found himself at the door, untouched.

He turned to look at Lapis, who was still waiting where she had stopped, surprise on his face. With a shrug, Lapis walked over to him and beckoned the others to follow suit.

“Nothing happened.”

“There were a few triggers, but none of them activated.”

Although Loren hadn’t noticed them, Lapis had detected several signs of movement—presumably countermeasures for intruders. However, even as Loren passed them, none set off.

“Mr. Loren, who exactly are you, and where exactly did you come from? A few things have seemed rather odd lately.”

“Couldn’t tell you. I don’t even know where I was born.”

“We might have to squeeze some information out of Mr. Juris after this. But for now, dealing with our current situation takes precedence.” With that, Lapis cautiously approached the door, taking care not to touch it.

She could make out patterns engraved into its surface. As far as she could tell, there was no handle, nor anything that resembled a keyhole. So, with no place to put her hand, it didn’t seem possible to open. After a brief inspection, Lapis turned back to Loren. “This might just open if you give it a push, Mr. Loren,” she said offhandedly.

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Well, just give it a shot. I don’t see any traps.”

For what it was worth, Loren had Scena confirm this too. The young girl manifested in his field of vision with small flut­tering wings. After she stared at the door for some time, she nodded.

Both had examined it, and neither had found any traps. Even if there were some yet hidden, there was no way he’d be able to tell by himself. So, still wary as could be, Loren gently placed a hand against the door.

“What’s going on here?”

“That’s what I want to know.”

The dark gods muttered at each other behind him. The moment Loren’s skin brushed the metal door, the door vanished, as though it had never been there at all.

He had seen this happen with his own two eyes, and yet he was completely baffled. But, as if to puncture his confusion, an incredible cold burst forth from the doorway. Lapis shrieked as she clung to him, while the dark gods let out entire wails.

Even with the coats, the cold slicing into their bodies slowed their every movement, and their exposed skin registered nothing but pain.

Loren’s body temperature was rapidly sapped away, and for a moment, he worried that he might die. However, in the next moment, the gushing winds subsided, and the cold eased. He finally caught his breath.

“I thought I was gonna be frozen, inside and out.” This was neither joke nor exaggeration. Loren truly had feared it. Lapis had buried her face in his arms as she clung to him, and he lightly tapped her shoulder. “Hey, you okay?”

Only after Lapis lifted her head did Loren call out to the dark gods behind him. Gula was shaking so hard her teeth were chattering, but she raised a hand to signal she was fine. Luxuria, however, remained completely immobile, his face drained of all color.

Did he freeze to death? Loren wondered. But then Gula endured the cold to place a hand on Luxuria’s neck; given her sad, disappointed sigh, he was presumably still alive.

“All the cold air trapped in that room flooded out all at once,” Lapis explained. “For a very brief moment, I thought I was dead.”

“Me too. Though I’ve heard freezing’s a pretty comfortable way to go.”

Loren remembered hearing someone say it was as peaceful as dying in one’s sleep. But no matter how comfortable it was, he had no intention of dying here.

For now, he decided to leave Luxuria, who couldn’t move, and Gula, who was watching over him. Together with Lapis, he proceeded farther into the cave.

“Is that what we’re looking for?”

They’d hardly made any progress before Lapis pointed at a dead end, where a curved sword with a single edge had been stabbed deep into the ground. The darkness enclosing the blade was repelled by a pale light.

Loren and Lapis approached it carefully.

“Is it a scimitar, perhaps?”

“A falchion, I’d reckon.”

“What’s the difference?”

“The falchion’s thicker and heavier,” said Loren.

Lapis looked at the blade again. The portion stabbed into the ground was indeed quite thick, and its weight made it seem somewhat difficult to wield with one hand. Pale-blue light coiled around the blade and wafted off of it. Lapis recognized it as a powerful mana of cold essence.

“This certainly seems like the counter your chief intended us to find. For now, let us call it the Ice Falchion.”

“So we need ice to beat the heat, huh? But can this thing really cancel out the power of wrath?”

“Let’s believe that it can. Your chief said so,” Lapis answered as she reached out to draw the sword. But after a second of hesitation, she stepped to the side and signaled for Loren to do it instead.

Loren couldn’t shake the feeling that it didn’t matter who pulled what out. But he also suspected Lapis was ceding ground for a reason. He walked up to the sword and deftly wrapped his fingers around the hilt.

For a brief moment, a numbing cold pain raced down his palm—but nothing more than that. With only a slight tug, he was able to draw the sword from the ground.

“This reminds me of a legend. ‘Whoso pulleth out this sword of this stone and anvil is rightwise king of all these lands.’”

“It ain’t such a big deal. Now we’ve got what we came for. Let’s get out of this freezing hole.”

Since the bare blade had been stabbed into the ground, it had no sheath to contain it. We’ll have to find a cloth to wrap it in when we get back to the wagon we left at the entrance, Loren thought as he urged Lapis outside.

That was when he heard the alarm coming from the doorway.

“You…?! What are you doing here?!”

“You must have followed us, you pervert!”

Gula cried out, true panic in her voice—though Luxuria’s take really took the wind out of Loren’s sails.

The cries of the dark gods made them rush out. Once they reached the door, Loren and Lapis were met with the two dark gods standing poised and ready for battle. They faced a lone man.

He was tall and wore a coat that covered him from head to toe, but his build was so tempered and muscular that the coat did little to conceal his figure. He stared at Loren as if the two dark gods were invisible.

The man had wavy ash-gray hair and wore a mask that covered his entire face. But the sharp eyes visible through the mask were clearly not those of an ordinary person. What really put Loren on guard, however, was not the way the man directed his gaze straight at him in the nearly lightless cave, but the purple color of those eyes.

“So that is what’s meant to counter Wrath?” the man said as he eyed the falchion in Loren’s hand. “I see. It is indeed impressive, but nothing significant.”

Loren did not dignify him with a response. Instead, he called out to Gula, “You know him?”

“This aura, and that mask… He’s the Dark God of Pride, Superbia,” Gula replied without ever taking her eyes off the man.

Loren groaned. Given the confusing means by which they had arrived at the cave, he couldn’t be completely certain, but as far as he knew, they were still in imperial territory. He had not given much thought to interference from the kingdom.

He had certainly never considered that they might meet a dark god sent to deter them.

“Surrender that sword to me. In return, I’ll let you go.”

“Do you really think I’ll give it to you just because you asked?”

Superbia had extended his right hand toward Loren, and when Loren refused, he let out a soft sigh, as though he were a teacher dealing with an ill-mannered pupil.

“Any time I spend dealing with you is wasted. And I don’t like to waste my time.”

“Don’t you see how this is gonna play out? We’ve got two of your old comrades on our side.”

“Comrades? What are you talking about?”

Loren’s words had been based on the assumption that in a fight between dark gods, the side with more had the advantage. Then he recalled that the lone Dark God of Wrath had sent them all running. I may have spoken unwisely, Loren thought.

But Superbia seemed genuinely surprised, as though he had heard something utterly inconceivable. “I have no comrades. It is quite displeasing to be treated as if we are on the same level.”

Loren barely managed to stop himself from saying, Aren’t you all dark gods? Gula and Luxuria were clearly frustrated by Superbia’s words, though they didn’t say anything to argue his point.

They were in a pretty bad spot, huh? Loren tried to speak as casually as possible. “Sorry about that. From my point of view, a dark god is a dark god. I can’t really make that kind of dis­tinction.”

“Ignorance is a sin, but I will forgive it this once. Be thankful that I have given you the chance to learn.”

“He’s on such a high horse, I think I’m going to hurt my neck,” Lapis muttered.

But Loren gestured for her to quiet down and held up the falchion. “You told us to hand this over, but we’re here on a job. Our employer won’t be happy if we return empty-handed.”

“That is not my problem.”

“Don’t be like that. How’d you even get here in the first place? I hear you’re the Dark God of Pride, but you’re not the kingdom’s lapdog, are you? Oh right, Lapis, could you hold this for a second?”

A foolish smile spread across Loren’s face.

This was unlike the usual Loren; he had the air of a common street thug. Lapis looked up at him in surprise, but undeterred, Loren handed her the falchion and scratched his head.

“This might mean nothing to someone as sure of himself as you, but this is how adventurers like us put food on the table. Failing a quest’s gonna impact our credibility, see? I value my life, but I value my wallet too.”

“Gold, is it? How much must I offer for you to hand it over?”

“Well, that depends on how much it’s worth. After all, I might be out of work after this failure.”

“You’d risk your life for mere pocket change?”

“If it’s pocket change to you, then why not offer a generous donation, sir?”

Superbia seemed somewhat taken aback. But the same could be said for Gula and Luxuria, who were both bearing witness to this conversation. They stared at Loren in bewilderment.

Though Loren stood under the intense stares of the three dark gods, he continued on in his chipper, street-smart tone—an unbelievably foreign tone, to anyone who knew him. “If you’re here on the kingdom’s orders, you gotta have a decent stash, right? How about you cough up some of your leftovers, huh?”

“As if I operate under anyone’s orders. No being in this world can command me.”

“Then why are you so obsessed with this sword?”

“I owe a debt to a human of the kingdom by the name of Magna. I have offered my assistance until I repay it.” Despite his words, Superbia seemed quite displeased with this arrangement. He turned his eyes away from Loren, who maintained a business smile while chancing frequent glances at Lapis.

From the second Lapis had received the sword from Loren, her eyes had been locked on the blade. When she noticed the looks Loren was giving her, she gave a slight nod.

“Must be an amazing guy, getting the Dark God of Pride in his debt. What’d he do?”

“He released me from my seal, no more, no less. I would have been released eventually either way, but I must still repay him for facilitating the process.”

For someone who carried the name of Pride, Superbia seemed like quite the dutiful soul.

He glared at Loren. “In fact, I’ve heard about you from Magna. You’re called Loren, yes? You seem somewhat different from what I’ve heard, but if you travel with Gula and Luxuria, there is no mistaking it.”

“I’d love to hear what he said. So yeah, I’m Loren.”

“I have no interest in your quarrel with Magna. I was simply asked to bring back something you would, in short, acquire. If you hand it over quietly, I’ll pay you for your troubles. If you refuse, you will be dealt with and I will claim it regardless.”

Loren slowly shifted his gaze to Gula and Luxuria. Luxuria remained on guard, ready to fight, but it seemed that Gula had already given up. She’d fallen out of her stance and was shaking her head at Loren. She seemed to be trying to tell him it would be difficult to resist Superbia, even with two dark gods on their side.

“Fine, whatever. Lapis, you have any issues with handing it over?”

“It is our second-best bet, but there also seems to be an issue in the make. So, how about this?”

Lapis flipped the sword to hold it in a reverse grip, mustered her strength, and stabbed it into the ground at her feet.

The entire blade sunk into the floor, leaving only the hilt aboveground. As she dusted off her hands, she told Superbia, “We’ll leave it here. Once we’ve exited the cave, it’s all yours. How does that sound?”

Gula and Luxuria seemed to have something to want to protest—how could they give up on the sword so easily? But Loren gestured them back.

“You call yourself the Dark God of Pride,” he said to Superbia. “So you’d never resort to cheap tricks like stabbing us in the back, right?”

“Not so long as you leave me to my own devices. I will wait until you have escaped.”

“How kind of you. Hey, hurry up and move out.”

Once Superbia had nodded, Loren patted the other two dazed dark gods on the shoulder and urged them to get a move on.

The question lingered: Could they really just leave it at that? But Loren continued to insist, and soon Gula and Luxuria relented to pass Superbia and head for the exit. They were followed by Lapis, and, finally, Loren, who was still somewhat wary as he rushed through.

“You needn’t be so cautious. I would never launch a surprise attack on someone so inconsequential.”

“Still, you’ve gotta be on your toes,” Loren said politely. “We can’t all be as fearless as you.”

“You really are so small? So be it. Here, your reward.” The man tossed him a single coin.

After Loren had confirmed it was gold, he tucked it away in his pocket. “Thanks for that.”

“You really must aim higher, if you’re delighted by such paltry sums,” Superbia said with a mocking snort.

Loren sent him a polite business smile before gesturing to Gula and Luxuria ahead. He seemed to be motioning for them to pick up the pace, and for his part, he broke into a jog.

As he drew up beside Lapis, he whispered, “How was it?”

Lapis gave him a thumbs-up. “All good. The rest is just a matter of timing.”

Loren nodded. Once he caught up to the dark gods, he gave Gula a push on the back and Luxuria a kick in the behind to spur them on. As soon as they spotted the wagon at the cave entrance, Lapis hopped aboard the cabman’s perch, while Gula and Luxuria were shoved into the carriage.

The rope tethering the wagon to the wall was undone, and Loren gave the horse’s behind a light smack before swiftly climbing up next to Lapis. “Get us out of here.”

“I’ll let loose as soon as we’re out.”

On Loren’s orders, Lapis took the reins and sent the wagon rolling on a rapid departure. Gula cursed and snapped as she toppled over at the sudden start, but Lapis concentrated on maneuvering the wagon as she declared:

“May thine sky of frost surge and freeze all in blue.”

“Lapis?” cried Gula.

But Lapis ignored her. “We’re speeding up. Hold on to something! Answer my call!”

The second Lapis let out this cry, Gula’s and Luxuria’s heads whipped back around, startled by the surge of mana behind them.

They were staring in the direction they’d just fled from. The direction where Superbia was still waiting.

But there was no time to think about what was going on. A freezing-cold wind beat against them, and when they focused on the cave’s depths, they saw it filling with so much ice, it was as if the air itself had frozen solid.

“What’s that?!”

“We’ll talk later! Right now, we need to get out fast, or we’ll be dragged into it!” Lapis answered to Gula’s startled cry, and she whipped the horse pulling the wagon.

With rising speed, every inch of the wagon shook and rattled. Loren clung desperately to his seat as he looked back to see the mass of ice expanding at an explosive rate. He prayed it would be enough.

Chapter 4: From Report to Order

Chapter 4:
From Report to Order

“AND WITH THAT SAID, the quest was a failure. Sorry about that, Chief,” Loren apologized in a tone that didn’t in fact sound particularly apologetic.

After fleeing the mountain, they had returned to the city and spent a night resting. The next day, Loren made his report. He had brought Lapis and Gula along, and they’d gone to the military facility where Juris was waiting for them. After giving Juris’s name to a soldier, they were permitted an audience, and as soon as they entered the room where the chief was waiting, Loren reported their failure.

After he explained the situation, Lapis and Gula were left staring at him blankly. But Juris seemed neither angry nor disappointed. All he said was, “Good work.”

“You’re taking this in stride,” Lapis said, suspicion in her eyes as she studied Juris where he sat across the table from them.

Juris shook his head. “I said I could only count on Loren for this. If Loren failed, then anyone else would have failed too. So why blame him for it?”

“Actually, what even was that place?” Lapis pressed, sounding more like an interrogator than anything. “It was hardly normal, was it?”

Juris observed Lapis for a while, then shrugged. “Who knows?” His tone was just as indifferent as before. “I’ve forgotten.”

“And you expect us to be satisfied with that answer?”

“Satisfied or not, what’s forgotten is forgotten.” Feigning ignorance, Juris turned from Lapis to Loren. “But it’s forgotten, not lost. Perhaps I’ll remember someday—and once I remember, I’ll be sure to let you know.”

“Got it. That’ll do.”

“Are you sure about that?” Lapis seemed rather put out, but Loren placed a reassuring hand on her head.

Softly, he muttered, “I’m not confident I can draw out any info that the chief doesn’t wanna talk about.”

“A little pain might loosen his lips, you know? Or a good jolt to stir up a few memories.”

Lapis was looking a little pleased by Loren’s hand, until she said something quite ominous. Loren’s and Juris’s expressions twitched in unison. Loren because he knew he had no way of stopping her if she really set her mind to it. Juris, though…

Gula found his reaction quite peculiar, given that he didn’t really know who Lapis was.

“You’re an imperial general, right?” she asked with a probing look. “Wouldn’t ya be able to stop little Lapis here if she resorted to force?”

“Likely yes. But if Loren were to work in tandem with that priest, I can’t think that I would be able to stop him.”

So that’s what you’re worried about? Gula conceded with a nod. Juris was indeed a high-ranking general, and if he called, soldiers would no doubt rush in. However, there was a limit to the number of people that could enter a confined space. Considering that limit, it certainly would be a difficult task to restrain Loren.

“But this is indeed a painful setback,” Juris sighed. “I thought that enchanted artifact would be enough to counter those flames.”

“Nothing we can do about that. Let’s just be happy we managed to neutralize Pride for the time being,” Loren replied.

A question suddenly seemed to occur to Gula. “By the way, what did you do when we were escaping?”

“I appraised the blade, transferred ownership, and engaged its enchantment at maximum output,” answered Lapis.

Noting that Gula did not seem to understand any of the words she had just said, Lapis decided a more detailed explanation was in order. She raised her index finger, swinging it left and right as she unpacked her meaning.

“That falchion wasn’t the sort of item that just anyone could use. It was enchanted so only its registered owner could access its powers. At the point that Mr. Loren drew it from the ground, he was granted ownership privileges.”

Unfortunately, Loren hadn’t had the knowledge to appraise the sword and figure out how to use it. Even Scena, with all her Lifeless King powers, couldn’t instantly unearth the knowledge required to use an unknown item. But by directly handing the sword to Lapis, Loren had somehow transferred the ownership to her.

“While Mr. Loren and Mr. Pride were talking, I appraised the falchion and deciphered how to use it.”

“Wait a minute. Before we ran, didn’t you say you’d give the sword to him? Wouldn’t that transfer it again?”

“I clearly expressed that it would be his only once we left the cave. Until then, the privileges were mine, even when the blade was stuck in the ground. As such, all we had to do was move to the exit, at which point I released the power stored in the sword just before we left.”

As a result, the cave had been sealed in ice, and although it was unclear what had happened to Superbia, he had been left in a situation that was, at best, difficult to escape from.

“I wouldn’t mind if he were trapped there forever.”

“Well, I think it’ll be pretty hard for him to escape.”

According to Gula, the authority of pride was a nasty one to deal with. As long as he was looking down his nose at an opponent, his powers were automatically greater than whatever they possessed. However, at present, Superbia had been trapped there alone. With no one to look down on, he could not exercise his authority.

Whether or not he was trapped in the ice itself, he was certainly stuck in a sealed cave. He’d have to rely solely on the powers he possessed as the Dark God of Pride, with no access to the additional strength that had put both Gula and Luxuria on high alert.

“Even if it doesn’t seal him forever, it should buy us a bit of time,” Lapis mused, glad that they wouldn’t have to put up with that crisis for the time being.

To this, Juris muttered, “Honestly, he might not get out at all.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I just remembered something. That place is somewhat special, and you can’t leave it that easily. On top of that, if you used the power of that sword, it should make for quite a powerful seal.”

As Juris spoke, Lapis was about to press him for more details, but Loren gently restrained her before she could open her mouth. Juris had only remembered something. That meant everything else was still forgotten. In Loren’s opinion, it was pointless to press him any further.

He thought Lapis would resist, but she relented surprisingly easily.

“But even if that settles one issue, it does little to improve our situation. The immediate threat is that Wrath girl you spoke of. The one who manipulates flames.”

While the Dark God of Pride was certainly a threat, he was a threat that Juris hadn’t yet considered. Neutralizing him wasn’t a bad thing, but it had come at the expense of their opportunity to address the threat of Wrath.

“Do we have any other options? I know you’ve got to have something, Chief.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m completely out of options, but finding something we can enact with any speed—that’s a separate issue. The longer we take, the more havoc she’ll wreak, and we can’t stall forever.”

The situation had progressed to the point where the main forces of both armies were facing each other down. It hadn’t yet escalated to a full-scale confrontation, but this was purely thanks to Juris’s stalling tactics. No matter how talented a general he was, he couldn’t postpone the inevitable clash forever.

“As for the next best option that we can execute with relative speed, we could distribute water and ice elemental scrolls to our spellcasters and unleash a simultaneous barrage the instant she appears. However, the effect will be greatly diminished with even a second of lag, and more importantly, there’s no guarantee it will work.”

The Dark God of Wrath was indeed formidable, but she was also just one individual. It would be incredibly difficult to predict when and where a single individual might appear in the chaotic fray of imperial and royal soldiers.

A single misfire and the imperial army could suffer devastating losses. Even if they timed it perfectly, there was a chance that friendly troops would be caught in the cross fire.

“An individual equal to an entire army—nothing but a headache.”

“Hey, I’ve got a little proposal, actually.”

As Juris placed a hand on his forehead and sighed, Gula nonchalantly raised her hand.

“It can be drummed up pretty quickly, and it’ll probably contain the power of Wrath. On top of that, hardly anyone’ll die. That should cover all your bases. Want to hear it?”

“I can’t imagine such a dream could be made real.”

“Well, it’s pretty dangerous, but it is real. But if you want to hear it, I’ve got conditions.”

“Money?”

“Nah, you can’t eat money. Look, you sent us out to a cold little cave in the middle of nowhere, so I’m starving, and my body and soul are all frozen up.”

“Hmm…”

As Gula spoke in her theatrical tone, Juris removed the hand he had placed on his forehead and traced his fingers down his jawline, groaning.

However, this hesitation lasted only a short moment, as he seemed to get his thoughts in order. Tapping his palms against the table, he leaned against it, bringing himself closer to her.

“Very well. I’ll get you the best meal and lodging available. But I’ll be taking that information first.”

“You can’t just hear it out and say, ‘Yeah, on second thought, not gonna happen,’ okay? Also, make sure you arrange that for three people.”

Now that Juris was on board, Gula flashed a leering grin as she raised three fingers on her right hand. Although Loren didn’t think he and Lapis had to be included in any reward Gula received, he decided not to look that gift horse in the mouth.

Notably, Luxuria had been casually omitted, and Loren and Lapis did both notice that. However, neither had any intention of pointing it out.

“All right, three people, yes? I’ll make it happen. So, what’s this method of yours?”

“Yes, well, you see…”

As soon as he’d accepted Gula’s conditions, Juris demanded her information. True to her word, Gula divulged her counter to Wrath.

But as Loren listened from the sidelines, he found himself wondering if it was in fact feasible.

“Are you sane? Do you really think this is gonna work?”

After parting from Juris, Loren and his party members gathered at the door to a room in an inn, which seemed to be the best Juris could provide.

Once Gula made her proposal—and she even offered to personally procure the countermeasure itself—Juris followed suit and provided the fine accommodations he had promised.

This inn was usually patronized by nobles of the empire, and Loren was curious as to what such a place was doing so close to the national border that was an active battlefield. Juris explained that this battlefield had seen more than its fair share of battles in the past, and that in fact armies had been dispatched to it quite frequently. Furthermore, military service was something of an obligation for nobles, and the most prestigious of that sort often held significant rank within the army. This inn had been established to serve those high-ranking officers.

“If you’re talkin’ about me, I think I’m perfectly sane,” said Gula. She entered the room, dodging Lapis’s rain of questions as she jumped backward onto the room’s bed and sprawled out like a starfish. “Worst case, even if I can’t convince him, so long as I can drag him out in front of Wrath, it’ll work out one way or another.”

“Are you sure? Even if that’s the case, it seems excessively reckless to pit Ms. Wrath against Mr. Sloth,” Lapis said as she sat on the edge of the neighboring bed.

Loren observed their exchange from the entrance, and at length opened his mouth to voice the question that had been bothering him. “Is it just me, or are there three beds?”

“Well, yes, this seems to be a three-person room.”

“Am I supposed to sleep here…?”

“What’s the harm in that? It’s not like we bite.”

Although Loren felt the urge to argue that this was not the point of concern, he decided it was futile to resist Lapis’s argument. He entered the room, leaned his greatsword against the wall, and determined that the bed at the far end would be his. He pulled a dagger out of his bag and gently placed it by the pillow.

“Isn’t it usually the other way around?” Gula asked as she watched Loren.

But as far as Loren was concerned, there was no world in which he was the one who threatened Lapis or Gula. Conversely, he had to protect his virtue. So he ignored her, knowing that this was an absolute necessity.

Loren also couldn’t comprehend why a high-ranking officer’s room had been arranged for three people. At least, not at first. His initial assumption was that nobles would never go out of their way to stay with others. But, upon consideration, he realized that most of the nobles who joined the military were men, and it wouldn’t be totally strange for them to invite folks to sleep in their rooms.

“I guess it’s better than having one massive bed for three people,” Loren quietly muttered.

Lapis, overhearing, nonchalantly replied, “I would have been fine with that.”

If that had been the way of it, Loren would have needed to devise some sort of retaliation against Juris, who would have been the one to blame.

On the other hand, this room included a bath. And although the room was quite spacious, it naturally only had the one.

“Since there’s just the one lonely tub, how ’bout the three of us enjoy it together?” Gula proposed with a grin.

Loren frowned, sighed, and said, “Why do you figure? Either we take it one at a time, or I get in after you two are done.”

“You’re gonna waste your chance to bathe with two beautiful women? Hey, Loren, be honest. Which way do you swing? I hear that kinda stuff happens all the time on the battlefield, but I’m worried for you, you know?”

“Quit worrying about that…” Loren muttered darkly and glared at her as he sat on the bed.

There, Neg slickly descended from his shoulder to scuttle over to a spot beside the pillow, where he began to spin his threads. He was apparently crafting his own little nest. As Loren watched him skillfully use his forelimbs to shape the thread he expelled, he gently patted the spider on the back. Tacitly, he tried to caution Neg against anything too flashy.

“Hey, you could try givin’ in to desire once in a while. You’re such a monk sometimes.”

“Just don’t tease me too much, or one of these days, I’ll really let you have it.”

He had meant it as a threat, but Lapis, who was still perched on the edge of her bed, collapsed back, silently beckoning to him—as if she was saying, You can let me have it any day of the week.

Sighing, Loren covered his face with one palm and waved the other, shooing her off as he would a dog.

“More importantly, do we really have a chance of winning if we pit Sloth against Wrath?”

Loren had only ever seen the Dark God of Sloth once before, and the impression had precisely matched what one expected from such a name—a lazy man who simply found any and everything a pain. He couldn’t imagine the fellow being any good in a fight, and he certainly did not consider him a viable means to counter Wrath, who had forced his entire party to retreat.

However, Gula sounded oddly confident. “Out of all of us, Sloth’s your best bet against Wrath.”

“Where’s the logic in that?”

“Get in the bath with me, and I’ll explain.”

Loren could practically hear the smugness in her smile. He was about to immediately refuse, at which point he noticed Lapis’s silent look. He sighed. “Isn’t it usually the guy who makes that kind of demand?”

“Well, I can’t imagine you puttin’ those terms on the table, Loren,” Gula replied.

“What do you two even get out of teasing me?”

Loren had never lived a life where he was the one telling others to have a little self-control. Self-control had no place on the battlefield, and though he didn’t want to say it out loud, back when he’d been young enough to be called a child soldier, he had occasionally bathed with the female mercenaries of another company. Strangely enough, at the time, the female mercenaries had been quite delighted to have him around.

“I am driven only by the purest of intentions,” said Lapis.

“Me, I’m just curious,” said Gula.

“Don’t be so obvious about it. Show a little restraint and don’t be so shameless.”

Loren understood he was on the receiving end of positive attention from two individuals who could both be classified as beautiful women. It wasn’t that Loren was completely opposed, but his interest was reliably dampened when they were so overt.

But while he tried to get that across, Lapis and Gula exchanged a look from where they lay on their respective beds, then began to squirm.

Surely this action meant something, but to Loren, they just looked like caterpillars trying to decide which way to go.

“For what it’s worth, I’ll ask… What are you doing?”

“I am doing my best impression of modesty,” Lapis replied with a straight face.

At a loss for words, Loren stared up at the ceiling.

“But to the point,” said Lapis, “I’m not trying to lie or cheat anyone here. Why must I put up a pretense to get my true feelings across?”

“She’s right, Loren. Maybe it’s ’cuz I’m a dark god, but I feel the same way.”

“If I had an eternal life ahead of me, I could afford to dither and be as wishy-washy as I liked. But time is finite, you know?”

“Oh, but some people say the real fun’s in the chase.”

“I simply can’t agree. But if Mr. Loren says that’s what he wants, um… I could look down at my feet, redden my cheeks, bite my fingers, gradually lift the bottom of my vestments like so, and…”

“Nah, nah, you’re doin’ it all wrong. First off, you really need a shorter skirt for that. Not that I can demonstrate in this getup.”

“How about you try it with the top?”

“Top? Top?! If that rides up, I’ll be diving straight into the main event!”

Loren remained at a loss as he watched the two bicker. In the midst of it all, Scena appeared in his field of view, flapping her wings and watching with intrigue.

Loren wondered what she was so interested in, and to this, Scena softly muttered, ‹How lovely. So this is that so-called “girl talk.” I’m a little envious.›

I don’t think it is, Loren thought, though he refrained from conveying this impression to Scena. He wasn’t knowledgeable enough about girl talk to back up his argument, and anyway, why destroy Scena’s dream?

Scena had been turned into a Lifeless King as a young girl. Before that, she had been the daughter of the leader of a certain city-state. It was hard to imagine she’d had many opportunities to just banter with children her age.

I need to return her to a human body as soon as possible, Loren thought.

Perhaps this wish reached her. Floating in his field of view, she peered at his face with a touch of concern. ‹Mister?›

It’s nothing, he told her.

Then he let out a slight cough to draw Lapis’s and Gula’s attention from their bawdy conversation. They shut up immediately and turned to him.

“We’re taking advantage of the chief’s kindness here,” he said. “Kick back, relax.”

“Hey, Loren,” said Gula. “This just occurred to me, but could you come with me when I try to persuade Sloth? I know I suggested this whole thing, but I’m not lookin’ forward to doin’ it alone.”

She peered at Loren’s face as she made this request, and for a moment, Loren didn’t know what to say. But he landed on his answer soon enough.

“If he’s set up shop somewhere crazy, I’d like you to let me tap out of this one. But I have a duty to do right by the chief, so I can’t just leave it all to you.”

“Right. Whether we fail or succeed, we will need to keep Mr. Chief informed, so we’ll need to go together,” said Lapis.

Though they made their reluctance amply clear, Lapis and Loren voiced their assent, and Gula stretched on the bed with a relieved look on her face.

“In that case, let’s indulge in a meal and a bath. We’ll get all rested up before I lead you to our den.”

“One more thing,” said Loren. “I’ve got one condition—you have got to lay off of me tonight. Try anything funny, and you’ll be heading out alone.” He had to hammer the point home.

Gula’s expression clouded. She slumped in a truly miserable air, but when she weighed this demand against going to convince Sloth on her own, it seemed she had no choice but to accept Loren’s condition—though it took a while for her to reach this conclusion. Finally, she nodded.

Lapis’s eyes lit up. “Meaning tonight’s my chance.”

“If you don’t lay off me too, you’re the one getting left behind.”

“So heartless!” Lapis sat up and protested. “I could never permit you to travel alone with that glutton!”

But Loren refused to back down. Lapis whined for a while, but once she realized she was getting nowhere, she sullenly nodded.

If he’d just gotten us separate rooms, I wouldn’t be having all this trouble, Loren thought, funneling his resentment toward his chief’s decision-making skills. But at least this way, it seemed he would be able to rest at peace. Loren patted his chest in relief.

“Hey, don’t you think this is terrible?” the large figure complained while wriggling. “It’s terrible, isn’t it? I mean, it’s so terrible!”

“Shut up… The chief made a smart decision, leaving you out of it.”

The large figure was naturally Luxuria. His complaint had left Loren looking annoyed, and he gave it to the dark god straight. But Luxuria just wriggled even faster as he closed in on Loren. However, when he saw Loren clench his fist, he quickly backed away.

The day after Loren and the girls enjoyed a lavish meal in the splendid room Juris had prepared, Luxuria barged in.

Loren thought it would be a danger to public health to leave that guy outside for an extended period, so he let the man into their room. He was already starting to regret this decision.

“Why am I the only one who got left out?!”

“I’d rather die than share a room with you!” Loren said firmly.

Luxuria bit down on a handkerchief he had pulled from who-knew-where, staring at Loren with teary eyes. If he’d been a woman, Loren’s heart might have been moved, but that gesture on a guy of Luxuria’s build was just uncanny. Loren’s hand instinctively reached for his sword, which lay propped against the wall.

“Now, now, that’s all old news. How about you be the bigger man and move past it?” Gula said with a glossy smile.

Ultimately, neither her nor Lapis’s plots to seduce Loren had amounted to much. Nonetheless, she had enjoyed a delicious meal and slept on a top-notch bed, so Gula was in an exceptionally good mood.

Mind you, the inn staff had all gone pale as they watched her devour enough food for multiple dozens of people, and the invoice that would eventually make its way to Juris was bound to be truly unbelievable.

Since Loren wasn’t the one paying, however, he hadn’t dwelled on the matter for very long.

“I have the heart of a delicate maiden!”

“Sure, a terrible maiden!”

Realizing that Loren would punch him if he got any closer, Luxuria went for Gula instead, but without any warning, Gula delivered a kick so strong that he crashed into the wall.

As the entire room shook from the impact, Lapis grimaced. “I will never spend a night in the same room as the Dark God of Lust. You should give up while you’re ahead.”

“Even you, Lapis?! You’re all so mean. You’re going to give me an abandonment complex!” Luxuria protested, having recovered so swiftly from the kick that it might as well not have happened.

However, wary of another kick, he kept his distance—though his eyes remained teary in an attempt to evoke sympathy.

Loren watched it all from his seat on the edge of his bed, ­wondering if this could really be one of the entities who had brought an end to the ancient kingdom. Neg swayed in the hammock of threads he’d knit by the pillow. Soon, he clambered up Loren’s back and fastened himself to his usual spot on Loren’s shoulder.

“Anyways, we’ve enjoyed our reward,” Gula said to Luxuria. “Now it’s time to get to work. We’re gonna go to our den and convince Sloth to come back with us. What about you?”

“You’re not leaving me behind again! Of course I’m going too! Especially as, if we’re inviting them to our den, we’ll be heading straight for my mattress of love…” Luxuria said, eyes shining with enthusiasm.

“Like hell we will, idiot!” Gula snapped. “No way I’d ever let these two anywhere near that fiasco! Do you want these guys to lose their goddamn minds?!”

If it was bad enough for Gula of all people to ask that, it had to be quite a terrible place. And Loren knew he would never go to it, not for love nor money. He swore this to himself.

“But how do you plan to bring Loren and Lapis there anyway?” Luxuria asked.

With a pensive face, Gula cocked her head. “Good point. If it was just us, we could take the usual route, but it’ll be a bit difficult to get anyone else there.”

“I’m a demon, for what it’s worth. Will it be difficult even for me?”

Loren was just a human, but Lapis was a demon whose abilities were comparable to those of Gula and her fellow dark gods. But when she asked this question, Gula silently extended her hand into empty space.

There, starting from the fingertips, Gula’s hand seemed to dissolve straight into the air. When she had vanished up to the wrist, she turned to Lapis. “How about that? Does that look doable?”

“Of course not,” said Loren.

Lapis concurred. “Likewise… How are you doing that?”

Loren was a human mercenary with no affinity for magic, so he was right out—but Lapis had a profound understanding of the arcane and possessed considerable power. And after a mere glance, she had given up on ever imitating that maneuver. It seemed to be something only a dark god could do.

“What do we do about this? Hmm…”

Gula returned her arm to her side, and her disappeared hand was as good as new. Loren studied the space where she’d inserted her hand, but this yielded nothing—not with his own eyes, nor with Scena’s Lifeless King vision. He couldn’t perceive any trace of what the dark god had done.

“We pretty much destroyed all the physical gates before we were sealed up, see.”

“We could always go with our own power, so we never really needed them.”

“Were there any gates we might have forgotten to destroy?”

“Maybe. Let me try to remember.”

Luxuria crossed his arms and placed his index finger on his chin, pondering the matter. Loren and Lapis had no idea what the dark gods were talking about, and could only sit and wait for them to come to a conclusion.

After a while, Luxuria let out a long sigh. “It’s no good. We knew they’d be nothing but trouble later, so we destroyed every single one we knew of.”

“Right.”

“Umm, you two seem to know what you’re talking about, but we have absolutely no idea,” Lapis said. “We would appreciate an explanation.”

Gula obliged. The den of the dark gods had been constructed by the ancient kingdom, and while Gula didn’t know the specifics herself, it seemed to exist in a space separated from the mortal world through some arcane means.

Although the dark gods themselves could enter and exit the plane via their own power, others could only reach it by passing through gates connected to that space. However, when the dark gods waged war on the ancient kingdom, they had decided that it would be best to destroy those gates to prevent any incursions.

“Surely we missed at least one.”

“We were pretty thorough.”

The dark gods were formidable, but the ancient kingdom that made them was even more so. As Luxuria said, fearing the gates that connected their realm to that kingdom, the dark gods had been thorough in their attempt to uncover and destroy every single one of them.

“If there’s no way to get us there, then you two’ll have to head back and persuade Sloth without us,” said Loren.

If he were to be perfectly honest, Loren didn’t feel particularly compelled to go to this dark-god den. In fact, if at all possible, he would have preferred to stay away.

The name alone was quite unpleasant, and if Lust, Greed, and Gluttony were living there, he couldn’t imagine anything about it that would pique his interest. It seemed Lapis felt similarly, as she nodded several times with Loren’s words.

Gula looked quite put out with their response. “Paranoid much? C’mon, don’t be so cold.”

“Forget how we feel about it—if there’s no way to get there, then that’s that.”

Their lack of interest meant nothing if they couldn’t come along, so it was pointless to discuss. Gula pondered this again, but her thoughts were interrupted by a knocking at the door.

“Someone’s here? Were we expectin’ anyone?”

“Not that I remember… Wait here.”

Loren rose from his seat and went to the entrance, where he slowly opened the door. Peering through the slight opening was a young soldier.

Loren looked at him quizzically. In response to this look, the soldier handed over a piece of paper that had been folded and sealed. It was addressed to Loren himself.

“This missive comes from General Mutschild. He said it would surely be of some use to you. Now, having confirmed that the letter has reached its destination, I shall take my leave.” Having conveyed what needed to be conveyed, the soldier bowed to Loren and beat a hasty retreat.

Did he sense the danger contained in this room from the atmosphere alone?The soldier had left in such a hurry that Loren feared it had to be so. Holding the paper, he returned to the others, who were looking at him with questioning eyes. He sliced through the wax seal and unrolled it.

Drawn on the paper was a detailed map of the city they were presently stationed in. On the map, there was a single point marked with an “X” and a short instruction that had presumably been written by Juris.

“‘Go here,’ he says. ‘It will help…’”

After Loren read this out, he handed the paper to Lapis.

She scanned it before asking, “Seriously, who is that chief of yours? Could it be that he’s watching us from somewhere?”

“It seems a touch too deliberate to write off as pure coincidence.”

Lapis had a point. Perhaps, somewhere, one of the chief’s men was keeping them under surveillance. But try as Loren might to hone his instincts and his senses, he couldn’t feel any such presence.

‹I don’t feel anything either. Maybe it is just a coincidence.›

If even Scena said so, then maybe it really was just by chance. But the timing was so perfect…

“It’s plain suspicious, but…if we can’t think of anything else, how about we go with the chief’s suggestion and see what happens?” Loren looked to Gula to see what she thought.

She nodded. It wasn’t like she or Luxuria had any other ideas.

Chapter 5: Instruction to Report

Chapter 5:
Instruction to Report

LOREN AND HIS COMRADES left the inn and headed to the location marked on the map. There, they found themselves in front of an abandoned, dilapidated church.

The exterior showed clear signs of long-term disuse, with filthy outer walls and numerous broken windows. The entrance wasn’t even locked. The door swayed on its hinges with a high-pitched creak.

Loren struggled to imagine how anything that would help them in their current predicament could possibly be here. He couldn’t help but think that perhaps the chief had taken them for a ride. However, he could only really reach that conclusion after thorough examination, and so he urged Lapis and the two dark gods to set foot within it.

“Can Mr. Luxuria truly enter a church?”

“Hey, Lapis? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, you know, divine punishment descends upon the wicked.”

“Then why are you only warning me? Why not Gula?!”

As Luxuria stamped his feet in frustration, Lapis shot him a cold look.

Loren found himself thinking that by Lapis’s logic, demons—who were regarded as evil—were equally liable to incur the wrath of the heavens. But he didn’t dare say that out loud. He wasn’t an idiot.

“If you wanna play around, do it later,” he said. “For now, let’s get searching.”

“I am absolutely not playing around, but to the point… What exactly are we searching for?”

“Well, something. If the chief didn’t point us here for a laugh, it’s gotta be here.”

The letter had only said that something here would be helpful; Juris hadn’t specified anything beyond that. From what Loren knew of the man, it wasn’t that he had forgotten to clarify—it was more likely that he expected they’d know it when they saw it.

That said, Juris wasn’t above a little mischief, and as Loren crossed the threshold, he mulled over how to retaliate if this turned out to be a prank.

The crumbling church contained faltering pews, an altar, and little else. Perhaps there had been other furnishings, once upon a time, but with an unlocked door, everyone was free to skip inside and make off with what they wanted.

“Oh, I see…”

Loren heard Lapis’s voice from behind. He turned to see her with her hands on her chest, her eyes closed. Her head was slightly bowed.

“Lapis?”

“It seems these grounds were once dedicated to the god of knowledge.”

Loren turned his gaze toward the altar, but it was also in a state of disrepair, dirtied and broken due to neglect. He had no way to tell which god it had once been dedicated to.

However, Lapis, being an expert in her field, was positive. She maintained that posture for a good while as she offered her prayers, after which she walked past Loren and approached the altar. She examined it carefully, being cautious not to give the already-crumbling icon cause to disintegrate completely.

Not wanting to touch anything he shouldn’t, Loren opted to leave it to the professional. He squatted beside a nearby pew and kept watch.

“If this were a story, we’d find a hollow seat with something hidden inside.”

“Do you like those sorts of stories, Mr. Loren?”

“I wouldn’t say I like them… But they come in handy on boring nights.”

“A sword leaning nearby as he reads a book by the campfire. That mature look would really suit you, Mr. Loren.”

“I wouldn’t know…”

Loren couldn’t see himself from outside himself, so he couldn’t judge whether anything suited him or not. He just kept watch over Lapis, whose hands danced over the altar as she inspected everything she could find. Suddenly, she let out a confident noise as she tapped her foot on the floor, catching everyone’s attention and beckoning them over.

“Did you find something?”

“I think it might be this.”

Loren approached, and Lapis pointed to a set of colorful panels and a metal plate, which were fastened to a fixture in the back of the altar. They didn’t seem particularly concealed, but neither did they appear to be a necessary part of the altar. On closer inspection, some words seemed to have been etched into it.

“Uh… What language is this?” Loren asked.

Lapis identified it as text, due to the somewhat regular patterns of the symbols, but had no idea what it actually said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen this alphabet before…”

“If even a priest of the god of knowledge doesn’t know, is it a dead end?”

Although Loren was ready to throw in the towel, he still took a closer look, as he was curious about the letters. To his left and his right, Gula and Luxuria also leaned in to inspect them.

“Umm… How did you read this again? Morning…evening… Mm?”

“I get that it says something about the colors, but I can’t make out the rest.”

Though their knowledge was piecemeal, it seemed Gula and Luxuria had some familiarity with the characters. Lapis looked at them for an explanation.

“It’s just one of those code things,” said Gula. “One they used back in the ancient kingdom.”

“What’s it doing here, then?”

“Well…I couldn’t tell you. Anyways, the meaning changes based on the order and arrangement of the symbols. Or something like that…”

“We figured out a few while we were at war with the kingdom, so we can read a little, but we can’t decipher the whole thing.”

“Start with the color of the sky before daybreak and go color by color to the evening sky, right?”

Lapis cocked her head, wondering what to do with these two—at which point Loren left her dumbfounded by casually reading out the text from the plate. The same could be said for the dark gods. They all stared at Loren’s stoic expression.

“The chief knew how to decrypt it,” he said.

This again, they all thought.

“Hey, before we get into this, how about we all gang up and kidnap that chief of yours?” said Lapis. “Something’s positively fishy about that man. Gula’s explanation suggests it would be next to impossible for anyone to know that.”

“Maybe he picked it up somewhere?” said Loren. “And I mean, for starters, the color of the sky before daybreak is azure, so you just start from there.”

Lapis and the dark gods exchanged looks as if to say, Are we really buying this?

But Loren nonchalantly placed his finger on a faintly purple-blue panel. “Since we have to go color by color… Let’s see. The evening color should be the dark red, so that’s the endpoint.”

Loren’s fingertip traced along the colored panels, taking care he didn’t repeat anything. At length, he came to a stop on a crimson panel with the hue of the setting sun. The moment his finger stopped, the altar slid to one side, revealing the entrance to a flight of stairs leading down.

“Looks like that’s the mechanism.” Loren pointed at the stairs, not seeming particularly proud of his accomplishment.

“I think it’s impressive, but I’m rather unsatisfied,” said Lapis. She indeed looked quite irritable, but as far as Loren was concerned, they’d managed to find the path without wasting too much time. He didn’t understand what was so bad about that.

“When it comes to puzzle solvin’, usually that’s where magicians and priests get to show their stuff, right? So why’s the ­warrior goin’ ahead and solvin’ them?”

“What’s more, this bruiser can read text that escapes us!”

The dark gods expressed similar irritability, but Loren couldn’t do anything about it. And, since there was nothing he could do, he simply said, “Let’s go,” and started down the stairs.

“At times like these, it’s quite convenient that none of us need a light.”

The two dark gods could see clearly even in darkness, and Lapis, as a demon, had similar abilities. Loren should have fallen far short of them here, but as he was slowly melding with the essence of Scena, he could at least make out where things were even when Scena didn’t deliberately share her sight with him.

“We’ll have to be careful about this.”

“About what?”

“When we work with other adventurers. If we enter a cave without a torch, they’ll be suspicious.”

“I see. We might not even realize it if we grow too accustomed to doing without,” Lapis said as she followed behind Loren, sans light.

He sensed that the dark gods were following behind her as he continued down. The staircase wasn’t particularly long, and he soon exited into a straight corridor.

Loren cautiously proceeded along it, wondering what something like this was even doing in a church basement. Given that Juris hadn’t given them any warnings, the probability of running into life-threatening traps was low. However, Loren thought it wouldn’t hurt to be more cautious than not. That said, neither Gula nor Lapis seemed nearly as wary as they idly studied the walls and ceiling.

“It’s rather plain for bein’ so well hidden. The walls are more or less just stone.”

“There aren’t any distinctive features either, so I can’t determine when it was constructed.”

“Well, it’s pretty dry for bein’ underground. I don’t see any weathering either, so it’s probably pretty impressive.”

Loren was amazed at their lack of vigilance, but then again, this group was mostly composed of people who could handle just about anything you threw at them, so this was perhaps inevitable. As he continued forward, the corridor came to a sudden stop at a metal door.

“A lock? Or another riddle?” asked Loren.

Lapis slipped past him and approached the door, where she shook her head. “Err…no, it looks like this one just opens,” she said before giving the door a light push.

Despite the door’s considerable weight—or at least the weight it appeared to have—it didn’t look like Lapis was putting much into it. The door silently swung inward.

“I don’t detect any traps.”

“Right. I’ll take the lead.”

Loren stepped out in front again, his right hand reaching for the hilt of his sword, and his left hand pushing the door farther open. Cautiously leaning out with only his upper body, he scanned for any sign of traps or ambush.

After confirming there was nothing to see, he finally stepped in.

“How is it, Mr. Loren?”

“Fine. Nothing to see. In fact, there’s no space for anything to be in.”

He beckoned them to follow, and as they passed through the door, they found that the room beyond wasn’t particularly spacious. In fact, with only a few more party members, it would have felt quite cramped. Four walls surrounded them, and one was decorated with carvings in the shape of a gate.

“Is this what we’re looking for?”

One would expect the center of such a carving on stone to be more stone. Instead, it was filled with a light of incredibly uncanny quality, and a mere glance sent Lapis’s mind swaying. She quickly averted her eyes.

The same seemed true for Loren. After he pointed out the wall, he turned from it and didn’t look again.

But the two dark gods didn’t seem the least bit disturbed. Gula closely studied the carvings and the light, after which she exclaimed, “I guess we missed one after all.”

“It’s quite far from the royal capital, so maybe we never even heard about it.”

“So this is it?” asked Lapis.

“Yup.” Gula nodded. “This is a so-called Dark God Gate, which’ll take you straight to our den.”

“Leave it to me. I’m basically a professional with these things,” said Gula as she casually jogged up to the gate and its suspicious light.

Loren briefly considered stopping her, but Gula was acting with such confidence that he decided it was best to wait and see. Under the watchful eyes of her party, Gula strode up to the gate, casually extended her hand to the stone on the surrounding arch, and ran her fingers over the surface.

“Err, you put this part here, then you do this, then this—and that should do it.”

Gula fiddled with it for a while, then returned with a satisfied smile. She had presumably done something to alter the gate, but from what Loren could see, neither the gate nor its suspicious light had undergone any significant change. It made him wonder whether this was at all reliable, but as Gula so happily beckoned them forward, he hesitated to express these feelings.

Steeling himself, Loren inserted his hand into the suspicious light. Surely it should have met a wall, but his hand passed ­effortlessly into the light, moving farther and farther in with no resistance. Realizing it wasn’t a dead end after all, he continued forward and passed through, stepping into whatever lay beyond.

“What’s all this?”

Past the light, he found himself in quite a spacious room. However, his words were colored by surprise, as the space was nothing like what he had expected. It wasn’t easy to look at, to say the very least.

The walls were slathered in pastel pinks and purples as far as the eye could see, and the floor was a sea of countless cushions in the same pale hues. Between the cushions, intermittent white tables were piled with a multitude of colorful cakes and cookies. Loren had never seen anything like them before—perhaps they weren’t even cakes and cookies at all, but rather sweets with names he’d never heard of. This plethora of food left a chaotic impression.

Furthermore, the cushions were topped with so many cutesy stuffed animals that Loren was exhausted at the mere thought of trying to count them. Overall, the place had a uniquely soft atmosphere.

This was absolutely nothing like what he had imagined when he heard he was walking into the den of a dark god. He couldn’t even begin to imagine that the Dark God of Sloth resided here—the vibe was far too…girly.

As such, Loren froze up the moment he entered, his eyes instinctively racing this way and that. Behind him, he heard Gula’s voice. She’d seemingly followed along.

“How about that?! How does it feel to step into the den of a bona fide dark—wait, what?!”

“Hey, Gula, is this really where we’re gonna find Sloth?”

“No! Don’t look!”

Just as Loren was turning to confirm that this really was their destination, he felt a tremendous force yank him back from behind. Then came a strange weightlessness, one that told him he was being hurled through the air.

Between Loren himself and the weight of his greatsword, he was considerably heavy, and he found it odd that he could be so casually chucked. This thought was admittedly unusual, given his situation.

In short order, his back made impact, but the impact was soft, and the sensation of slender arms wrapped around his chest made clear that Lapis had caught him.

“Back so soon, Mr. Loren?”

“What just happened?”

Loren looked around to find a flustered Gula returning from the other side of the gate with a red face. Meanwhile, Luxuria was plastered to a wall to the side, having collided with it at incredible speed.

‹There’s a pretty clear footprint on Mr. Luxuria’s side,› Scena said.

From this, Loren grasped the likely course of events. Presumably, Luxuria had been the first one to try to catch Loren as the gate spat him out. But as the dark god flung out his arms to catch him, Lapis had delivered quite a serious kick to his side and taken his place. And all of it had happened while Loren was still flying through the air.

“You were in real danger there, Mr. Loren. If I hadn’t caught you, you could have ended up a big red stain on the wall.”

“That’s not… No, that’s possible,” Loren corrected himself, considering it was likely Gula who had thrown him.

Regardless of the reason, Gula had seemingly hurled him without much consideration for his body, and had no one caught him, he would have either smacked into the wall or into the floor, and either way would have done so with the full brunt of a dark god’s brute strength.

“You saved me. Thanks, Lapis.”

“If you really want to thank me, let me stay like this a little longer.” Still hugging him from behind, Lapis rubbed her face into his back.

Isn’t my sword getting in the way? Loren wondered. But if she was satisfied, so be it. For the time being, he left her to it as he turned his eyes to a red-faced Gula. “What was that about?”

“N-nothing! Just a little mistake… Yeah, a mistake!” Gula rambled in a panic.

Loren didn’t really react; he continued to stare at her as though he’d stumbled upon something quite terribly unusual.

Meanwhile, Luxuria peeled himself off of the wall and whispered, “She probably wasn’t thinking too hard when she adjusted the gate, so because she’s used to going home, she accidentally connected it to her place.”

“I get that, but how does that end in me getting tossed around?”

“Well, her little lair is chock-full of all sorts of girly accoutrement, no? The gap between her inner world and how she wants the world to see her is so wide that she must be—”

Luxuria was promptly cut off.

Loren watched in a daze as Gula charged at an incredible speed and thrust her right fist straight into Luxuria’s fairly smug face. Yet again, it seemed she had completely forgotten to hold back.

Without so much as a scream, Luxuria was blown away and once again slammed into the wall. Loren’s eyes followed Luxuria’s massive body on its trajectory through the air. He slowly turned back to see Gula, fist still extended, breathing heavily.

“One more word…about this…and you’d better be prepared for the consequences.”

“Yeah, I get it, I get it. Why don’t you connect us to Sloth before we suffer any more casualties?”

With hollow eyes, clenched fists, and quivering shoulders, Gula slowly turned toward him. Loren raised both hands in surrender, trying to keep his voice as level as possible. Lapis, meanwhile, released Loren’s torso from her grasp and waved her hands submissively while hiding behind his back.

Gula continued to stare with her deadened eyes, but a moment later, she understood that neither was keen on prying any further. She steadied her breath and returned to the gate.

As Loren watched her get back to work, he whispered to Lapis, who’d popped her head out from behind him, “Looks like this is a touchy subject.”

“Right. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“What do we do about that?” Loren tilted his head in the direction of Luxuria, who was still stuck fast to the wall.

But after taking a brief glance of her own, Lapis averted her eyes and shook her head. “I think it would be most appropriate to forget about him.”

“I guess he’ll revive eventually.”

It was like they never even considered helping him as an option. Loren and Lapis quickly agreed that abandoning him was the way to go and returned to quietly watching Gula finish her work.

Having already failed once, Gula worked much more attentively this time around. She paused at every step, carefully checking her work multiple times, comparing her work with her recollections. She took much longer. Once she had completed her second calibration, she glanced over at Loren and Lapis, her eyes sending a clear message: Don’t you dare move.

Gula proceeded to plunge her head inside the gate to take the first look at wherever she had connected them to.

“A’ight, we’re good. You can pass.”

Only once Loren and Lapis had Gula’s permission did they timidly walk past her and step through the gate.

Loren prayed he didn’t trip into anything too absurd this time, only to be greeted by a space lined with a plain cobblestone floor and enclosed with stone walls that boasted absolutely no decorations whatsoever. In the center of it all lay a man sprawled out on the barren floor.

“It’s pretty dreary,” Loren muttered, naturally comparing this sight to the previous.

Gula sent him a menacing look before striding over to the man in the center. “Hey, Sloth. Get up.”

Gula lightly kicked the man’s side with the tip of her boot, but the man being kicked showed no signs of pain and didn’t move a muscle. Even so, Gula kept at it for a while, until, frustrated by his lack of response, she finally swung her leg back as far as it could go and hammered the toes into his flank with all her might.

“Owwwwww!”

Usually, a blow like that would have left its recipient crying out and writhing in pain. Instead, the one who cried out was Gula, who wailed and clutched her toes. Her target still had yet to react. Eventually, Gula, exhausted from kicking, gave up and sank down on the spot.

“Dammit all…” A red flame manifested at the tip of Gula’s finger. “Maybe I should just burn him.”

“If you start a fire in a confined space, we will asphyxiate. I’m against it,” Lapis swiftly retorted.

Gula ground her teeth in frustration. The way she was acting, it was like she didn’t know any other way to awaken the Dark God of Sloth.

Loren gave it some thought and muttered, “How about we sic Luxuria on him?”

Sharp ears caught this murmur. The man had thus far failed to react to anything, but now he turned his head toward Loren—if only ever so slightly. “Hey now, that’s basically attempted murder.”

If Loren had been in his position, he would have run for the hills the second he heard that suggestion. He was actually mildly impressed that this was all he got from the man.

“So your sleep’s more important than your safety?”

“Worst case, I could just use my authority. It’d probably work out. So, what do you want from me?”

“Do you remember me?” Loren asked, fully expecting the answer would be no.

But the Dark God of Sloth suddenly sat up, cross-legged, to face Loren. “Yeah. Been a while, but I said I thought we’d meet again. Do you remember that?”

“Bastard, if you’re awake, can’t you at least, like, twitch or something?”

“Do I have to? I mean, Gula, I knew if I did, you’d just say something incredibly annoying.”

Despite all Gula’s efforts, she had been unable to rouse him, and yet somehow Loren had managed to do it. Gula lunged at Sloth, but he seemed to pay her no mind, as he didn’t even look in her direction. Instead, he yawned and scratched his head.

Thus, Gula responded with a barrage of merciless kicks to his front. However, the Dark God of Sloth’s body seemed rooted to the spot. He didn’t budge; he didn’t even sway with the impact of her blows.

“Can we keep talking?” Loren asked. He could tell Gula’s ­actions weren’t going to amount to anything.

But as Loren tried to move on, the Dark God of Sloth held up a hand to stop him. “I do remember you, but I don’t recall hearing your name. If we’re going to talk, that’s a good place to start.”

“I’m Loren. An adventurer.”

“Lapis. I aspire to one day be Mr. Loren’s wife. I’m also an adventurer, as well as a priest to the god of knowledge. Additionally, I am a detestable demon, Mr. Loren’s beautiful partner, and the mastermind behind various things.”

Loren stared at her tiredly. “Why all the exaggeration?”

Lapis met his gaze, unflinching. She smiled like a flower in bloom. “I don’t think I’ve said anything untrue.”

The Dark God of Sloth had demonstrated fearsome resistance to any external stimuli, and it seemed his mental resistance was strong as well. While Loren put a hand to his forehead, the Dark God of Sloth let out a slight, carefree chuckle.

“How amusing. Although I can’t possibly match all that, let me introduce myself anyway. I think I’ve said it before, but I’m Downer, Dark God of Sloth. Guess it’s nice to meet you again.”

Downer introduced himself in this easygoing drawl while ­waving his hand at Loren and his allies. Gula continued to relentlessly kick his back, but Downer didn’t even seem to feel it. “So what business do you have with me?”

“Well, you know Gula over there? She said that you’d be able to counter the Dark God of Wrath. We came to ask for your cooperation in that matter.”

Loren had initially planned to leave the negotiation to Gula, but seeing as Gula was engrossed in this kicking business, he reluctantly took it upon himself.

That said, Loren had no idea what terms he could propose to earn the assistance of a dark god. For the time being, he laid out why they’d come. Downer’s scrunched face made it very clear that he didn’t care for what he’d heard.

“Sounds like a pain. Although I admit I’m probably the guy you’re looking for if you want to do something about Wrath’s authority.”

Finally realizing that kicking Downer would get her nothing she wanted, or perhaps just giving up, Gula gave it a rest. “It’s not just that,” she said. “This bastard’s abilities would be troublesome for any dark god, but he’d be a problem for just about anyone else in the world.”

“It seems Mr. Loren would have a difficult time with him too,” Lapis said.

They’d had something of a disagreement the last time they’d met, but they knew hardly anything about Downer, so Loren had no idea why Lapis would say that.

As he cocked his head, Lapis explained, “Downer, Magna—they sound a bit similar, don’t they?”

I see—that scans, Loren was about to say. But he quickly shook his head, dispelling the notion. He couldn’t equate Downer to that troublesome black-armored fellow simply for the similarity in their names.

On the other hand, Downer, who had nearly been lumped in with a man he had probably never met before, looked puzzled. He shifted his eyes from Lapis to Loren, before turning them up to the ceiling and muttering, “I think I’ve heard that name somewhere before.”

“Forget that for now. We have to focus on the issue at hand. Gula, what’d you mean when you said this bastard—this guy’s abilities are troublesome for any dark god?”

“His authority’s called Motionless. As you can see, no matter how much I kick, punch, burn, or freeze him, he’s unaffected.”

Gula lowered a fist on Downer’s head, making a sound that made Loren genuinely concerned for him. However, Gula’s fist was the thing that suffered for her actions, and she cradled it in her other hand. Downer lazily chuckled, not seeming even a little injured.

“Physical attacks don’t work, magical attacks are useless—so authorities that deal direct damage are useless. His spirit’s basically inert as well, so lust doesn’t do a thing. He doesn’t own anything, and he thinks it’s too much of a pain to reclaim anything you steal from him—which invalidates greed. You could try envying him, but just what part of him are you supposed to envy? And how do you condescend to someone who genuinely doesn’t care? That throws all that out the window too.”

“He sounds invincible when it comes to dark gods,” said Lapis.

Although Downer did seem a little bothered by the notion of a Luxuria-shaped threat, that was presumably a matter of personal preference. He wasn’t actually going to be in any danger.

All this made Loren agree that among the dark gods, this ­fellow’s ability was unmatched.

“The thing is, the fact that he’s Sloth means he doesn’t actually have the ability to attack.”

According to Gula, outside of the abilities that came with ­being a dark god, Downer lacked any and all skills in nearly every field, from swordsmanship, to martial arts, to magic.

When they’d last encountered Downer, he had demonstrated the ability to teleport and summon slimes, but those abilities were inherent to him as the Dark God of Sloth. According to Gula, they were so basic that they were akin to a human’s ability to breathe.

“Ms. Gula, from what you’re saying, it sounds like this dark god is nothing more than a very sturdy piece of furniture.”

“You’re not far off.”

“I can’t fathom how he could counter the Dark God of Wrath.”

Wrath’s authority allowed her to cover a wide area in intense flames. Even if Sloth’s defenses were extraordinary, it didn’t mean much if he was the only one who survived the blazing inferno.

It would be a different story if the Dark God of Sloth had some means of defeating the Dark God of Wrath, but if Gula was right in saying that Downer couldn’t attack in kind, then their prospects were still pretty bad.

“Yeah, we’ll need his cooperation to demonstrate the true power of his authority, so… Hey, you feeling inclined to help us out?”

Downer glanced briefly at Loren, but he said, “If possible, I’d like to decline anything troublesome.” As Loren struggled to understand the meaning of this glance, Downer continued, scratching his head. “But, Loren, was it? I do feel kind of obliged to help him.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I’m talking about when you broke my seal. I know I only did it to ensure my escape, but I think I might have overdone it a little when I sent those slimes at you. I’m feeling…regret?”

This made Loren recall the events of Downer’s liberation. They had encountered him in a labyrinth beneath a certain adventurer-training academy. As Downer tried to flee, and Loren tried to prevent him from doing so, Downer had summoned a slime to stall Loren and give himself time to escape.

It had been quite a powerful slime. There was a high chance that any ordinary adventurer would have been killed. Apparently, this had weighed on Downer’s mind.

“Well, we were at odds at the time,” said Loren. “I don’t blame you for it.”

“Hearing you say that does take a load off my mind. But we dark gods have been quite a nuisance to you, haven’t we?”

As Downer said this, Loren glanced at Gula. Noticing his look, Gula swiftly turned away to escape his scrutiny, feigning ignorance with her back to him.

“They’ve helped me out too, on occasion,” said Loren, lending her credit where it was due.

Downer’s smile turned wry. “I’m glad to hear it—or so I’d like to say. But I’d also like to keep my past nice and uncomplicated.”

“Meaning?”

“It doesn’t quite suit me in my role as Sloth, but I’m willing to put in a bit of effort. In exchange, you let bygones be bygones.”

“That’s fine by me, but…”

While Downer had indeed put Loren in quite a dangerous situation, Loren had survived relatively unscathed. He hadn’t even remembered the experience until Downer brought it up. Loren was happy to accept this offer, though he turned to Lapis to see what she thought.

Lapis nodded. “If you’re okay with it, Mr. Loren, I don’t have much to add.”

“All right, okay. It’ll be a pain, but I guess I’ll pitch in a little… But before that, I do have another favor to ask,” Downer casually added.

Loren and Lapis immediately grew wary. They feared he’d lured them into an agreement with enticing conditions, only to take advantage of their prior agreement to push for something worse. However, to their surprise, Downer reached up from his seated position.

“Can you carry me there? I can’t be bothered to walk that far.”

“So…you expect me to carry you on my back or something?”

“You, girl—Lapis, was it? I think it’s kinda nice to rock around on a woman’s back, but I’m a tad hesitant to ask for that much.”

Is he serious? Loren wondered as he looked at Gula. Gula, who could hardly bring herself to even look at Downer, shook her head.

This was all Loren needed to know that Downer was indeed completely serious. Realizing this, he sighed. “Fine, got it. I’ll get Luxuria to carry you. Give me a second.”

“Oh my, I’m starting to forget all about Sloth. Yes, I’m getting an urge to walk on my own two feet.”

You’ve got legs, so use them, Loren thought.

As expected, it seemed that Downer could indeed move under his own steam if he chose to do so. As Downer popped up just like that, Loren found himself wondering if he could really count on this Dark God of Sloth.

They had no issues returning from the den of the dark gods. However, Loren wanted to head to Juris to report back at once, while Luxuria insisted on visiting his den as well. Putting aside the issue of time, Loren could quite honestly say that he just didn’t want to see the den of Lust. But if he told Luxuria that outright, there was no telling how he would react. So Loren tried to turn him down gently, and for what it was worth, Luxuria did give up. But he clearly wasn’t happy about it.

“Why is my den the only one we skip? You even visited Gluttony’s gaudy little hidey-hole!”

“Lust, one more word and you’ll regret it.”

“Oh… You went there? It looks like a pretty nice nook for an afternoon nap, doesn’t it?”

“You too, Sloth. I hope you’re ready for what’s comin’ to you.”

It was hard to tell if these were real threats or just normal dark-god banter. Loren still didn’t really get them, but as he looked on, he wondered if he was really up to the task of keeping them in check. A melancholy washed over him as Lapis tugged on his sleeve.

“Mr. Loren, should I fancy up my room in pastels too?”

“Why would you want to do that?”

“It is a known tactic; one increases one’s appeal by creating a gap between one’s public and private self. I never thought Ms. Gula could be practicing such a high-level technique.”

“Hey, Lapis,” said Gula. “How about we go have a little chat in that dark alley over there?”

“I thought I knew you! To think you’d pull that card, come so far. You’re so calculating! You’re playing dirty!”

As Lapis and Gula began to argue, Loren started to feel like this was all getting out of control.

Drawing his greatsword from his back, he stabbed the tip into the ground. Additionally, he asked Scena to let loose with her Lifeless King aura—just to intimidate them a little. For some reason, even Neg joined in, waving his forelimbs from atop Loren’s shoulder. This display made both the dark gods and the demon quiet down—at least on the surface.

“Let’s hurry and report to the chief.”

“That’s all well and good, Mr. Loren. But we’re in the middle of town.”

“Yeah, what of it?”

“If you’re too reckless with a Lifeless King’s aura here, you might make real trouble for the townsfolk…”

Loren hadn’t realized it until she brought it up. Indeed, this power didn’t get a strong reaction from people like Gula and Lapis, but it was a different story for ordinary folk. Worst case, it could potentially make them faint—among other things—and even if he’d done it to get this party under control, he worried he’d gone a bit overboard. Nevertheless, he couldn’t take back what had already been done.

“If you don’t want me to do it again, keep quiet and follow.”

“Your chief is going to scold you for this…” Lapis muttered as she looked out on the silent townscape.

Loren cursed to himself, thinking, Whose fault do you think this is? as he proceeded toward the facility where Juris was waiting for them.

Upon their arrival, they found personnel rushing around frantically like someone had started a fire.

“We’ve received reports of multiple faintings in this one district.”

“What on earth happened?! Whatever, just send the medical team!”

As stretchers were carried out around them and soldiers ran about helter-skelter to call on doctors and get help, Loren felt himself followed by the scrutiny of his party members. But he maintained his composure and navigated the commotion, setting a course for Juris’s room.

Because Loren had given prior notice, or perhaps because most of the personnel were preoccupied with the chaos, he reached the room without being stopped. As he opened the door, Juris greeted him:

“What do you think you’re up to? It’s a madhouse in here, and all because of you.”

“Are you stalking me somehow?”

Barely any time had passed since Loren left the dilapidated church for this military facility. Yet Juris’s words made it utterly clear that he knew Loren was the cause of this commotion. Loren didn’t know whether to be surprised or fed up.

“Mr. Juris,” Lapis said, giving him a suspicious look, “who are you, exactly? How much do you know about and just what are you up to with Mr. Loren’s mysterious origins?”

“Right, well, it’s not like I’m really hiding it…” Juris glanced at Loren’s face, saw that Loren didn’t seem particularly concerned, and so went on, “But I do think we should take our time when discussing such things; take it slow, maintain calm. And so, I’d like to task you with your next job.”

“Aren’t you gonna ask about our countermeasure to Wrath?”

“I’ll just have to leave that one to you. I trust you, Loren.”

“It sounds like you’re throwing caution to the wind.”

Juris smiled cheerfully and patted Loren on the shoulder while Loren stared back at him sternly. But Juris shrugged this off with a smile and spread a map across the table.

“Sorry we’re in such a rush, but I’ll need you at this location. This is what you might call the main battlefield.” He pointed to an open plain a short distance from the city. “The main forces of both armies will meet here the day after tomorrow.”

“A head-on confrontation?” asked Lapis doubtfully.

“Indeed. No tricks. Both armies colliding head-on. It will be a decisive battle,” Juris said confidently—perhaps overly so.

“I don’t quite understand.”

Juris sent her a quizzical look as if to say, What do you mean?

Lapis’s eyes filled with palpable suspicion as she pointed at him. “You rose all the way from the chief of a mercenary company to the general of a nation. Why would someone like you choose a simple clash over actual strategy?”

“It seems you have quite a high opinion of me. Of course, I have a reason for this.” Unfazed by the question, Juris calmly accepted her concern as a natural one. “If it were a straightforward battle, we would win even if the kingdom’s army were twice its current size.”

“Then why don’t you go and settle things nice and quick?”

“That dark god is preventing us from doing so. Despite what you may think of me, none of my strategies can overcome someone who incinerates any battalion that happens to run afoul of her.”

In other words, in order to defeat the kingdom’s army in a proper fight, they needed to remove the Dark God of Wrath from play. That was what it came down to. However, even if Loren’s party had brought the means by which to do so, if they were just randomly sent out into the field, there was no guarantee they would encounter her.

“And so, we need to create a situation that will guarantee this Dark God of Wrath is deployed. Are you following?”

“You’re deliberately planning a head-on confrontation to draw out the dark god?”

“The empire’s soldiers are wonderfully formidable. If we engage them directly, even without trickery, we will certainly have the advantage. Of course, the kingdom is aware of this, to some degree. It’s taken some doing to drag this out for so long,” Juris said with a wry smile.

“So,” said Lapis, “if our opponent knows they are at a disadvantage, they will deploy their dark god to turn the tide in their favor?”

“Yes. And if your party can do something about the dark god then and there, victory will roll right into our hands, so to speak. Of course, that won’t be the case if we lose that head-on confrontation, but you can leave that part to me.”

Juris looked at Lapis as if to say, Are you satisfied?

Pursing her lips, Lapis looked to Loren. While she was indeed satisfied with Juris’s explanation, for the most part, whether they went along with it would be up to Loren.

“What happens if we fail?” Loren asked, unable to decide quite yet.

Juris snorted lightly, tapping his finger against a part of the map that would presumably soon be engulfed in war. “I have another plan in store, but I’d rather not fall back on it.”

If he only had the one plan, then the situation would take a drastic turn once this one failed. Precisely because of this, the chief had come up with multiple backups. Loren was impressed, and his curiosity compelled him to pose the question.

“Could I know what exactly you’d do instead?”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you. There’s no telling when and where such critical information might leak.”

“Point taken.”

Loren couldn’t accidentally divulge that which he didn’t know. And if this secret strategy could deal with a dark god, the fewer people who knew about it, the better.

“Just know that there is a plan. If you determine that you’ve failed, do not hesitate to run away. You got that, Loren?”

It wasn’t so much an order as it was a reminder. Loren was momentarily surprised by Juris’s tone, but he soon broke into a hearty grin. “Never would’ve heard something like that from you back in the old days, Chief,” he said somewhat teasingly. “Did you suddenly start caring about who lives now that you’re a high and mighty general?”

“I would have been fine staying a mercenary,” Juris muttered under his breath, suddenly lost in thought.

“What do you mean?” Loren tried to inquire, but Juris simply shook his head and looked back at Loren.

“You have your orders. If you think you’ve failed, you leave ­immediately. Don’t try to handle it on your own. If things go wrong, rely on me. Do you understand, Loren?”

“Y-yeah… Well, it’ll depend on the situation, but I’ll keep it in mind.”

This strangely mature tone and bearing—this was something Loren had never seen from Juris, back with the company. It was less surprising than it was off-putting. Regardless, Juris shifted his gaze to Lapis and the dark gods behind her.

“And of course, I’m counting on your comrades to follow through as well.”

Suddenly, Juris bowed his head. Luxuria and Gula glanced at each other and nodded in unison. Lapis’s look was still slightly skeptical, but she obediently nodded as well.

Chapter 6: Sortie to Confess

Chapter 6:
Sortie to Confess

JURIS ARRANGED their transportation from the city to the battlefield. In order to launch the all-out offensive on the kingdom’s forces, Juris had to join his soldiers to assume on-site command. For the interim, Loren and his party were added to the unit that had been formed to get him there. However, it seemed that Juris was unable to provide them with cavalry horses, so Loren’s party ended up bouncing around in the wagons carrying supplies bound for the front lines.

As the general was marching out, quite a number of soldiers were going with him, so Loren and his comrades quietly slipped in among them. From atop the wagon, they observed the imposing spread of the army Juris led, each with their own thoughts on the matter.

“It’s nothing like the company,” said Loren.

This was inevitable. One wouldn’t usually compare a band of mercenaries to a nation’s standing army, but even so, Loren couldn’t help thinking it.

Luxuria, who sat at the back of the wagon some distance from the others, murmured, “So many burly men…”

He let out a feverish sigh, both hands on his cheeks. Perhaps this gesture would have been somewhat permissible coming from a young girl. However, when it came from an imposing man like Luxuria, who also faintly blushed, Loren found himself wondering if he could possibly find somewhere else on the wagon to situate himself. The answer was an unfortunate no.

“Ms. Gula, can’t we discard that toxic substance somewhere?” Lapis asked in all seriousness.

“Lapis, you have no idea how much easier my life would be if I could do that…” Gula’s response was not promising.

Even if they were to abandon him somewhere, Loren couldn’t help but feel he would only cause more trouble wherever he was dropped. And that, after causing someone else a whole bushel of trouble, he would somehow make his way back to them anyway.

“That aside, this is quite the army. They seem to be using good equipment, and the soldiers look well trained; you can see their competence even at a glance.”

“I don’t know how seriously to take that when I hear it from you, Lapis.”

As a demon, Lapis possessed powers incomparable to that of a human. Even if she praised someone for their strength, Loren couldn’t take her at her word. But as Loren gave her a wry smile, Lapis cocked her head.

“Should I start saying ‘strong for mere humans’to make it clearer?”

Loren raised his index finger up in front of his lips.

The person assigned to drive the wagon was just another soldier of Juris’s army. He hadn’t boarded yet, as they were still waiting on final preparations and orders before departure. But there was no telling who could be listening.

“In all honesty, they look pretty strong to me,” said Gula. “The kingdom must have quite the outfit too, if they’ve stuck it out thus far.”

“I haven’t seen the other side yet, so maybe,” said Loren.

Whatever he said, Loren expected the kingdom’s forces fell somewhat short of the empire’s. If they had been of equal quality, then the kingdom would have been able to drive the imperials back with the aid of Wrath and Pride. But that had yet to happen, and so it was reasonable to think that adding the dark gods into the mix had only put them on equal terms.

“Well, we shouldn’t take them too lightly.”

This was a matter where errant assumption was a matter of life and death. A bit of caution and a bit of cowardice were the order of the day. And just as Loren reached this conclusion, the marching order blared out, and the imperial army slowly began to move, setting course for the decisive battle with the kingdom.

“Wow, this is a breeze.”

The journey was perfectly safe and uneventful.

The sheer number of people marching meant both beasts and monsters avoided them. Moreover, the bandits would have been complete fools to try something with such a mass of soldiers. There was nothing to hinder their progress.

Of course, since this battalion included the general, the safety of the road had likely been confirmed by scouts or the like well ahead of time. The trip was so laid-back and boring that it was actually rather delightful for the Dark God of Sloth.

The surprise came when they arrived at the camp on the front lines.

Unloading was finished nearly immediately after their arrival, but as the soldiers were hard at work, Loren’s party had nothing to do until the battle began. They decided to take a casual stroll through the camp, only to come across a rather noisy gathering. Their curiosity quickly lured them toward the source of the clamor.

“Amazing! Is that Waargenberg’s prized adventurer?”

“He’s already been promoted to silver—rumor has it that he’s just short of gold. I can definitely see it.”

“I guess good women flock to heroes like him.”

All the high praise made Loren use his tall stature to take a peek over the heads of the crowd. But when he saw the individual at the center of it, he found himself narrowing his eyes.

At the center of the circle stood a red-haired young man and three women. It was the adventurer Claes and his comrades.

Although the three women seemed to be incredibly embarrassed, Claes—somewhat bashfully—accepted the praise with a smile. At the sight of this, Loren recalled a certain tidbit of information. As he recalled, Claes was an adventurer receiving support from Waargenberg; this was the nation where Loren’s usual home base of Kaffa was situated. As for whether he was a prized adventurer, Loren had to cock his head at that one. But that was certainly how some people saw him.

Nevertheless, what on earth was this commotion about? Loren was about to glance around to get a better grasp on the situation, but Lapis tugged at his sleeve before he could.

“What’s wrong?”

“I can’t see. What’s happening?”

Lapis was significantly shorter than Loren. The people surrounding Claes were imperial soldiers, all of whom looked to be taller than her as well, and it must have been hard to discern the situation from her eye level.

“It’s Claes.”

“Did he get here ahead of us?” Lapis asked as she slickly clambered up Loren’s back. She planted her hands on his shoulders and leaned her body over his head. She wasn’t particularly heavy, but he did hope she wouldn’t climb too high in that position. From above, it seemed that Lapis’s eyes had met with Claes’s. She took one hand off of Loren’s shoulder and waved. “He noticed us.”

“Let’s get out of here before it becomes a bother.”

“Too late. They’re already headed this way.”

Before Loren could ask why Claes was approaching them in the first place, the lady knight Leila emerged, having parted the crowd to reach them. She was followed by a priest, Laure, and a magician, Ange.

As for Claes, Leila dragged him along by the collar. He struggled and squirmed, but Leila seemed completely uninterested in his distress.

“Why, if it isn’t Loren! You came at just the right time. We need to talk. Let’s find a nice place to sit and chat—yes, immediately!”

“This reeks of trouble, but…fine. Let’s find somewhere out of the way.”

Loren didn’t want to get involved if he could help it, but Leila’s desperate expression made it hard to decline. He reluctantly agreed to join Claes and his group.

From the parting crowd, he could hear voices asking after him and his party, but Loren decided to just go with the flow. He promptly lowered Lapis off of his shoulders and called for Gula and the other dark gods to follow, swiftly making his retreat.

“Sorry, I owe you one. Do you know a place where we can take a moment?” Leila quietly asked as she lined up in lockstep with Loren.

“The chief might,” Loren nonchalantly replied.

“If that’s what you’re looking for, there’s a large tent on the eastern side of the base you can use,” said none other than Juris. “There are some snacks and drinks inside, so I hope you’ll be able to take your ease in there.”

It wasn’t like Loren had actually expected a response, but on top of that, Juris appeared with such perfect timing that Loren had to wonder if he had been waiting for his cue. Furthermore, once he had imparted this message in passing, Juris sailed right off into the distance.

They did not even have a chance to reply. The group watched Juris shrinking back in disbelief.

“Mr. Loren, is he really human?”

“I’m starting to have my doubts.”

But regardless of Juris’s true identity, it was a relief to be pointed toward a designated rest area. There were still many unanswered questions, but they put them aside for the time being and started off for the large tent.

“So, what happened?”

Whenever they paused along the way, the soldiers would flock around Claes’s party. The atmosphere was consistently friendly, and it was clear they hadn’t done anything wrong, but Leila always picked up the pace as if to escape the crowd, so there had to be something going on.

“If you want the official story, we participated in some skirmishes with the kingdom and performed well.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad. Did you take a commander’s head or something?”

“Have you heard the stories of a magician who handles flames great enough to sweep away entire battalions?” Leila said in hushed tones.

Though surprised, Loren made sure it didn’t show as he nodded. “Yeah, I’ve heard.”

“We encountered her and sent her packing.”

Leila’s words came as quite a shock to Loren and Lapis. Despite their various efforts to find a means to counter Wrath, if Claes’s party had already managed to do so, then the Dark God of Sloth that they were dragging around was no longer necessary.

Worried that the wasted effort might upset the lazy god, Loren glanced at Downer. However, Downer’s eyes seemed to be practically sparkling at the prospect of not having anything to do.

Looks like I worried for nothing, Loren thought with a sigh. “If that’s true, that’s incredible,” he said to Leila, thinking they deserved the praise. “You guys must be a match for an entire battalion, then. No wonder the soldiers are so hyped.”

However, Leila’s response was bitter. “I would not be experiencing these emotions, nor would I be running away from their praise, if we achieved this accomplishment by respectable means.”

What could have happened? Loren wondered.

Lowering her voice to a whisper, Lapis asked, “Pardon me if I’m mistaken, but I’ve heard that the magician of rumor is a girl. Did you perhaps only manage to chase off your opponent because she was female?”

“How perceptive of you! Then I don’t have to explain!” Leila’s emotions were getting the better of her, and she could no longer keep her voice down. She scrubbed her hands through her splendid blond hair as she vented her frustrations, leaving it quite the mess. “We managed to chase her off once, but there’s no way we can do it again! She was literally spewing fire in her rage! But now everyone knows we did it the once, and we will undoubtedly be sent out to face her the next time she appears! I’m still young! Too young to be burned to death!”

Seriously, what did you do this time? Loren thought as he looked at Claes—who, although only temporarily, had made the Dark God of Wrath retreat. He was still letting himself be dragged along, laughing weakly, evidently unrepentant for whatever mess he had caused.

“So what did he do this time? Your resident pretty boy?”

The tent Juris had prepared for them had one large collapsible table, several chairs, a variety of snacks, and some tea. Loren was a tad disappointed that nothing was alcoholic, but this was presumably due to the coming battle. As he pressed Leila for details, he sipped the tea that Lapis poured for him and took a bite of some dried meat and fish.

Leila had dragged Claes all the way to the tent, only to toss him aside the moment they entered. Glancing at Loren, she fell into a seat across from him and accepted a cup of tea from Lapis.

After taking a sip, she said, “We joined the imperial forces only recently, and we were immediately sent to the front line to take part in a minor skirmish. That was our job, and it would improve our reputation with the army, so, of course, we agreed.”

“Come to think of it, you’ve got Waargenberg breathing down your neck. I’m surprised they let you come here.”

Despite being an adventurer, Claes enjoyed the direct support of the Waargenberg Kingdom, who thought very highly of his abilities and hoped to cultivate his talents. In times of emergency, he was paraded around like a hero and expected to perform great deeds on their battlefields. It was awfully strange to see Waargenberg lend him out so easily.

“That’s simple. It’s to cut costs,” Leila explained.

According to Leila, there was little advantage in lending a favor to a faraway empire. Perhaps it would be useful in the future, but most likely not. If Waargenberg had been asked to deploy a military force, they would have refused or even ignored the request outright.

However, sending an adventurer was a relatively low-cost affair. On top of this, if they could declare they were lending out one of their most esteemed talents, they could make the empire feel as if they owed Waargenberg quite a debt. Any accomplishments that the adventurer happened to achieve would only bolster the impression.

“This was an incredibly cost-effective way to earn the empire’s favor, so they urged us to head out.”

“My condolences, I guess. But, hey, the imperial soldiers are practically giving you a parade. Means you’ve already done something, right?”

“That brings us back to the battlefield.”

Claes and his party had been assigned to a team with other adventurers, and in the course of its patrols, that team had encountered a unit from the kingdom. They’d ended up fighting entirely by chance. Initially, the well-trained imperial soldiers, with the support of Claes and the other adventurers, had gotten the upper hand. However, everything changed when a rogue agent arrived on the scene.

The Dark God of Wrath—whom the imperials still assumed was just a magician with a particular gift for flames.

“That’s when this dimwit here realized something—that the mage in question was a woman.”

“I don’t wanna believe it, but…”

“She was quite a beauty,” Leila said bitterly as she glared at Claes. “He whipped out a pickup line with incredible speed.”

Claes, seeming completely unperturbed, was indulging in the food and drink as he chatted with a disheartened Ange and Laure. However, sensing Leila’s intense stare, he sent an awkward smile her way.

“That’s where it all fell apart. Despite the risk to life and limb, our idiot here approached the mage, spewing cringeworthy line after line, doing his damnedest to charm her.”

“If the world still works like I think it should, isn’t that the kind of behavior a soldier would sneer at? I mean, I guess it takes a lot of guts to go seduce a woman right in the thick of the fray, but…I wouldn’t praise him for it.”

“Luckily for him, most of the soldiers had fled from the roar of the flames—and the threat of the magician.” Leila sighed deeply and ruffled her blonde hair, clearly bending under the strain.

Loren couldn’t do much but pour more tea into Leila’s empty cup, trying to help in his own way.

After wetting her throat with the fresh tea, Leila continued.

“From a distance, I’m sure it looked like this sex fiend was just trying to persuade the enemy magician to consider mercy. It didn’t help that the attacks came to an abrupt halt once he started making eyes at her.”

“Yeah… They got to that girl pretty young, and she’s pretty sheltered,” said Gula. “I bet she’s never been hit on before. She probably froze up in confusion.”

“She was so innocent and pure,” said Luxuria. “Just the most adorable girl.”

The dark gods provided commentary from a short distance away, barely listening. Next to them, Downer was nodding off with complete indifference.

Loren ignored them. “If that’s all,” he said to Leila, “I don’t see why the magician got so angry. Maybe the timing could’ve been better, but it’s not generally considered so off-putting for a man to try charming a lady.”

The act of seduction in and of itself didn’t deserve to be seen as such a bad thing. Of course, you had to throw the context out the window to say something like this, but if Wrath hadn’t enjoyed the behavior, surely she could have just turned him down. It shouldn’t have made her lose her temper so explosively.

“Did he keep pushing after she rejected him? That, I could understand.”

“Oh, if only she had rejected him. But no, of all things, this insatiable libido demon actually managed to win her over with his sweet nothings.”

‹The things she’s calling him are getting worse,› Scena noted with a wry smile.

I don’t blame her, Loren silently responded as he urged Leila to continue.

“The magician was on the verge of giving in. She almost joined our side! However…Claes already has me and the girls, right?”

It was then that Loren suddenly realized the problem. As Gula and Luxuria said, the Dark God of Wrath was an inexperienced maiden, and she had nearly fallen for Claes’s wiles. That was one thing. But this nearly lovestruck god had all too quickly become privy to the fact that Claes already had himself a whole harem. When Loren thought about it in the full context, he started to under­stand what had happened.

“Ah… No wonder she snapped.”

“Personally, I’m starting to feel a mite bad for Ms. Wraith,” Lapis mused.

Leila nodded gravely. “As a woman myself…I certainly can’t say I don’t understand how she must have felt.”

The ice-cold look Lapis turned on Claes sent shivers running down Loren’s spine, even though he wasn’t the target of that stare. However, the actual target was, somehow, perfectly fine. Claes merely scratched his cheek with a somewhat bashful look.

“Once the magician realized she was being strung along, she went beet red.”

“I’m surprised you weren’t killed then and there.”

Loren could only imagine that if she had been a tavern maid, Claes would’ve been slapped silly. Considering she was in fact the Dark God of Wrath, he wouldn’t have been surprised to hear she’d burned alive everyone in sight out of pure frustration. Seeing as that hadn’t happened, he had to assume that Claes was the luckiest man alive.

“She shouted, ‘If I ever see you again, you’re done for!’ and ran off. Well, the soldiers were probably too far away to hear.” Here, Leila’s shoulders dropped. She seemed exhausted. “From a distance, it would have seemed like Claes persuaded the magician to lay down arms—and though he didn’t completely win her over, he managed to get her to retreat. Once we returned to camp, we were suddenly praised as heroes who’d saved the team from obliteration. If they hear about this in Waargenberg, I don’t think they’ll ever stop laughing,” she concluded. “Can’t we do something about this man? He only thinks with the brain between his legs… What on earth was he thinking, skirt chasing at a time like that? And how did he almost succeed? I’m getting white hairs just thinking about it.”

“That’s rough, buddy. And that’s about all I can say. But if you hate this so much, why don’t you just quit?”

Not that Loren thought it could be that simple. Unlike the other two members of Claes’s party, Leila was a knight, and though she was probably sticking around for more than one reason, she had presumably been ordered by her liege lord to accompany Claes on his journey.

She has it hard, Loren thought.

But though Leila looked utterly exhausted, she defied all his expectations. “There’s a reason I can’t just quit. Of course, my oaths as a knight also factor in, but there’s more to it than that.”

“Are you a hopeless romantic or something? I think there should be a limit to that, even so.”

“Well, yes, that’s also true… But in short, I cannot imagine I’ll ever meet a better man than Claes.”

“That’s quite the obsession you’ve got there. What’s so good about him?”

Despite all her lamentations, it was no exaggeration to say that Leila held Claes in the highest regard.

Maybe he’s actually a pretty good guy when I’m not looking, thought Loren.

But the thing Leila so firmly praised was: “His face!”

“Huh…?”

“I admit it: I’m terribly superficial. I don’t want to be anywhere near a man whose face I don’t like—not for a single second. In that sense, you’re not so bad-looking yourself, Loren, but Claes’s face is in a league of its own.”

“U-umm, thank you?” Loren replied stiffly, not knowing what else to do.

The rest of his party was similarly stymied. Lapis froze, while Gula and Luxuria stared at Leila in disbelief. Only Downer was spared the shock, as he was already soundly asleep, sprawled out on his chair and showing no signs of movement.

This statement had come as quite a shock.

“Claes’s face is basically exactly my type. I could meet any number of men from now ’til Judgment Day and I doubt I’d ever encounter a better one. If he could only…only tamp down his womanizing tendencies by, oh, say, 10 percent…”

While Leila dove into her passions, Loren averted his eyes from her. His gaze strayed toward Ange and Laure, who didn’t seem particularly surprised by this confession; perhaps they already knew. They did seem to sympathize with the shock that had obviously taken root in Loren’s party. They turned their faces away, their eyes wandering.

The atmosphere in the tent had taken a strange turn, and as Loren wondered what he could even do about it, the tent flaps lifted, and for some inexplicable reason, Juris popped his head in.

“Make sure you get a good rest today. We’ll be launching our assault early tomorrow morning.”

“Chief, where were you spying on us from this time?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. In any case, I’ve said my piece.”

With that brief exchange, Juris left just as abruptly as he had arrived.

What a confusing situation. For the time being, Loren decided to give up on thinking about the plethora of things that bewildered him and to focus instead on the impending clash with the kingdom’s army.

Chapter 7: Sortie to Rush

Chapter 7:
Sortie to Rush

EARLY THE NEXT MORNING, the imperial army set out before the crack of dawn. Loren and his party members had no idea what formation they were supposed to be part of. They had not been informed.

“I guess when I look, I have a vague idea…”

The adventurers had mostly been assigned to the infantry units. They’d been told it was because they weren’t as skilled at handling horses as the cavalry, but in reality, there simply weren’t enough horses to go around.

“Horses are expensive to maintain, after all,” said Gula.

“Just like you, right?” Luxuria snarked.

“What was that, Claes Jr.?”

“Oh, don’t lump me in with him, you pit of yesterday’s leftovers. Or do you want me to get you riled?”

Their staring match was interrupted by Lapis. “You’re both burdensome relics of a troublesome kingdom. Can’t you keep it down?”

The dark gods exchanged glances and slumped, dejected. Lapis ignored them to turn her gaze toward Claes’s party. Claes himself was walking alongside Loren’s party, carrying Downer on his back.

“If only I was carrying a girl…” Claes grumbled. Downer had been fastened to a wooden rack furnished with ropes that looped around Claes’s arms.

“If Mr. Downer was a girl, I would never let you touch her,” said Lapis. “I wouldn’t want to risk hearing about an inexplicable pregnancy once the war is over.”

Claes withstood Lapis’s ice-cold gaze, his good-natured smile never faltering. He seemed entirely unaffected. Astounded by his thick skin, Lapis gave up and turned back to Loren, who was walking beside her.

“If we weren’t told about the formation, the chief must think we don’t need to know,” Loren said.

“Yes. Even if we did know, I suppose there isn’t much we can do to contribute.”

If Lapis and the dark gods were to get serious, then their contributions would absolutely turn the tide, but they weren’t about to reveal their identities with so many people around. As such, their abilities were limited to whatever seemed appropriate to their setting. Thus, Lapis was forced to raise her hands and declare that there wasn’t much a mere priest could do.

“Although it’s also possible he just doesn’t trust adventurers all that much.”

“Even if that adventurer happens to be you, Mr. Loren?”

“If it were just me, maybe it’d be different. But here, I’m just one of the many. He can’t single me out.”

Giving someone special treatment was a great way to stoke unnecessary tensions in a group. With that in mind, Loren thought it had been a little careless of Juris to prepare that tent for their discussion. Whenever possible, he wanted to avoid all cause for concern.

“If we don’t know the formation, we won’t be able to respond to any change of strategy. That said, our job is pretty simple.”

As Loren said, the war itself was a matter best left to the soldiers and their generals, like Juris. At present, Loren’s party had one singular duty—to survive. And should the Dark God of Wrath appear during the battle, they were to act accordingly. That was all.

“He said he doesn’t care if we run away if things take a turn. We’ve got it easy as long as the dark god keeps her head down.”

“Is this what it was like when you were a mercenary?” Lapis asked, her interest piqued.

Loren shook his head. “Mercenaries, you see, have times when we just can’t run away.”

“But mercenaries are motivated by money, right? What else could keep you there?”

“It’s more like when we’re prevented from escaping. Occasionally, employers treat us like expendable pawns and block all escape routes. After all, mercenaries tend to crawl out of the woodwork as long as you wave your purse around.”

Proper soldiers took a considerable amount of time and expense to train and sustain. By contrast, mercenaries ranged wildly in skill level, but they could easily be procured so long as you had the funds. Moreover, if the mercenaries were injured, that was their own responsibility. Also, unlike soldiers, you didn’t have to keep them on hand at all times, so they were understandably seen as far more disposable.

“I’ve been through it a few times myself, and it’s the worst. You’ve gotta slip through one side—be it enemy or ally—all on your own. And neither’s waiting to give you a warm welcome.”

“Seeing as your chief is the commander this time, it doesn’t seem like you’ll have to worry about that.”

“Yeah, the chief’s the last guy I’d expect that from.”

Loren and his comrades chatted back and forth until the imperial army arrived at the plains that Juris had chosen for the decisive battle.

Lapis gazed absently at the imperial soldiers, who quickly began to set up their encampment. “Now that the imperial army has turned up and set up camp, how can they guarantee that the kingdom’s army will come too?”

“The chief must have set something up,” Loren said noncommittally.

“I just leaked the fact that I personally would be here,” Juris replied.

Loren was duly startled by Juris’s sudden appearance. Beside him, Lapis muttered something under her breath while staring at the general, who had the smiling face of a child reveling in a successfully executed prank.

“He snuck up on me? A mere human? He managed to take me by surprise without any terrain advantage? That’s ridiculous… But it’s true, I didn’t see him until the moment he spoke…”

Lapis must have been genuinely startled, as she continued to mutter with a blank stare. Loren casually tucked her behind him as he asked Juris, “So just revealing your location’s enough to get the kingdom to come running?”

Juris silently pointed into the distance. As Loren gazed in the direction of his finger, he made out a vast stretch of figures gathering on the other side of the dimly lit plains. Not quite knowing what to say, he simply shrugged.

“Good going, Chief.”

“It seems our preparations will not be wasted,” Juris said teasingly with a triumphant expression.

Loren raised his hands in surrender. “Then how about you try predicting when that magician’s gonna appear?”

“That’s a difficult one,” Juris grumbled, folding his arms.

No, before that, how is it acceptable for the army’s commanding officer to be loafing around with us? Loren wondered.

Juris stared at the enemy army for a stretch before shaking his head. Turning, he said, “The only thing I can say for certain is that she’ll be deployed when they’ve lost ground, at precisely the place they’ve suffered the greatest loss. But battle is unpredictable. Even I can’t tell you when the moment will come. If I had such a gift…”

At this, Juris seemed to suddenly remember something that made him hold his tongue. Loren was about to ask what had made him clam up, but before he could open his mouth, a gaggle of soldiers rushed over to Juris.

“General! What are you doing here?! The battle is about to begin!”

“Everyone’s been looking for you!”

“Oh, my apologies. I’ll get right back to my station.”

The soldiers surrounded him to prevent his escape and whisked him away. He was treated rather roughly, for someone of his rank. That said, having Juris wander off just before the fight kicked off would cause the soldiers nothing but trouble, so Loren couldn’t help but sympathize with them.

“Anyway, Loren!” Juris called out from within his soldier escort, “I’m leaving that matter in your hands! I shall do whatever it takes to win the war on my end, so once the plan comes together, I’m counting on you!”

“Just hurry and go. You’re gonna give your bosses a heart attack.” Loren waved his hand like he was shooing away a dog.

Soon, Juris was out of sight. Loren snorted lightly as he gazed at the kingdom army setting up camp on the opposite end of the plains. “Good grief,” he said, frustrated. “I can’t tell if he’s thorough or if he’s lost his mind…”

“He’s very thorough, in my opinion,” Lapis said flatly. Like Loren, she was watching the kingdom’s army.

Loren had nearly missed her mutter. After a moment of thought, he was compelled to ask, “About what, and to what extent?”

“I believe he planned that exchange precisely so the soldiers would cut him off and drag him away at exactly the time he desired,” Lapis said casually.

Loren was about to brush it off, but his expression tensed as the implications of this statement slowly dawned on him. “You’re joking, right?”

“If I was, it wouldn’t be a very funny joke.”

Between Lapis’s tone and lack of denial, it was clear that she was perfectly serious. Once again, Loren found himself looking off in the direction where Juris had disappeared.

He would never know how Juris had managed to slip away from the rest of the top brass, but not only had he done that, he had arranged for his soldiers to come fetch him right when he needed them to cut off his conversation. It was a testament to his profound meticulousness and exhaustive preparations.

“That old man is a shrewd one. You don’t find people like him too often, not even among our kind.”

“That’s high praise from you, Lapis. The chief would be delighted to hear it.”

To be deemed shrewd by a demon would undoubtedly be a compliment for someone in Juris’s position. However, Loren had no intention of revealing Lapis’s true identity, even to Juris. For now, it was just high praise coming from a priest of the god of knowledge, though Loren could see Juris being quite pleased even with that.

“Mr. Loren, I would like to clarify one thing. Priests of the god of knowledge are not known to be especially shrewd.”

“Since when can you read my mind?”

“Your face is an open book.”

Loren instinctively covered his face with both hands. Lapis couldn’t help but chuckle. However, her expression sobered as the wind of battle grew near. She smelled iron on the breeze.

And so, the battle began.

In this large-scale clash between armies, the archers were first to move.

Infantry units stood at the fore, advancing cautiously with spears and shields in hand, while arrows rained down from above in an attempt to hinder their advance.

Most arrows missed their marks or were blocked by shields held overhead. However, some unfortunate souls found these measures insufficient as arrows slipped through the gaps and pierced their flesh. They fell with cries of pain and shock.

Among the adventurers accompanying the infantry units were, of course, magicians. They raised protective magic to shield their comrades. However, this magic had limited effect, covering only a small fraction of the vast battlefield.

As the distance between the armies shrank, thrown stones joined the flying arrows. Infantrymen picked up rocks from the ground and hurled them at the enemy. This stone-throwing cost little to nothing while proving surprisingly effective as a tactic.

“How dull,” Lapis muttered where she stood in the middle of this battlefield of martial and geological warfare.

Next to her, Loren used the flat of his greatsword to deflect anything that seemed like it might hit him or Lapis. He frowned.

“Why aren’t the magicians on either side attacking with magic?” Lapis asked.

“Well, in battles important enough to see a king or emperor take part, you might see them accompanied by a magician with that kind of firepower,” he replied.

Magicians weren’t exactly common. Becoming one required a level of knowledge and skill beyond what was demanded of most professions. Unlike soldiers, who could fight reasonably well once they had weapons and armor, a magician’s training required time and funding. And even if they were well-trained, they couldn’t necessarily wield magic that was effective on the battlefield right out the gate. They certainly couldn’t be sent to the front lines with any speed.

“Normally, they only deploy a handful to defend the main camp. You’ll rarely see them this close to the front.”

“I can see some among the adventurers, though.”

“Yeah. But, after they’ve used their arrow wards and a few offensive spells, they’ll run all out of arcane oomph and have no choice but to retreat.”

The magicians who became adventurers were of a slightly different breed from those who belonged to nations. They called themselves “magicians” while only being able to cast a handful of elementary spells, which left them vastly inferior to their arcane cousins who were affiliated with the state.

Since both called themselves “magicians,” the true meaning of the word was often up for grabs. In short, any magician who was being deployed in a military capacity was at least comparable to a silver-rank adventurer.

“I don’t know if this is accurate, but the ones who hold the title of court magician are said to rival even gold-rank adventurers. If those guys just casually sashay out to the front lines, we’ll be dead before we know it.”

“In that case, I shall focus on my priestly duties.”

In a chaotic battle of magical blasts flying back and forth, Lapis could have discreetly slipped in a few spells of her own. However, given the current circumstances, it was obvious that even a single stray spell would attract undue attention. Reluctantly, Lapis abandoned the idea of a little arcane chicanery.

As Loren and Lapis carried on with this rather carefree conversation, Gula and Luxuria were similarly relaxed. The tense air of the battlefield had Claes and his party on edge, but with Downer still strapped to Claes’s back, it was difficult to maintain such gravity.

“Umm, Ms. Lapis?” someone called out to Lapis from Claes’s party. It was Ange, the magician. “Claes didn’t seem bothered by it, so I missed my chance to ask, but that man, Downer. Isn’t he the one from the—”

“You have the wrong person,” Lapis cut in before she could even finish.

For a moment, Ange faltered, but she soon regained her composure and tried again. “No, I’m quite sure—”

“You have the wrong person,” Lapis insisted. “If I may, the sense of déjà vu you are presently experiencing is entirely misplaced. You have never met Mr. Downer before, nor do you know anything about his past.”

“H-huh?”

As Ange let out this bewildered sound, Lapis seized her shoulders and slowly brought her face closer and closer to the girl’s, locking eyes.

“They say that everyone has at least three doppelgangers in the world. Perhaps Mr. Downer looks like someone you’ve met before—but in fact, he is someone else entirely. You understand, yes? Doesn’t that make sense? What you’re feeling now is just a trick of your imagination.”

“My…imagination…”

“So if Mr. Claes says something similar, you must correct his misunderstanding. Do you understand? Please repeat after me. It is just a misunderstanding.”

“It is…just a…misunderstanding.”

Loren stared, startled by the somewhat vacant tone in Ange’s voice. Lapis noted this from the corner of her eye, but she continued smoothly.

“Very good. Did that clear things up?”

“Huh?! Ah? Umm…yes. But what was it I misunderstood again?”

Ange tilted her head as she returned to Claes’s party, and Loren turned to Lapis, who smiled and waved her off.

“You can hypnotize people?” he asked tonelessly.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Loren sent her a suspicious look. “You haven’t done that to me, have you?”

“I wouldn’t have so much trouble if I did.” Lapis sighed deeply. “It’s just a little parlor trick. Doesn’t work on strong-willed individuals like you, Mr. Loren. Besides, if it did work on you and I were so inclined to use it, you would be all over me, moaning, ‘Oh, Wapis, I wuv you so vewy much,’ by now.”

Loren instinctively took a step away. “Is that what you’re into…?”

Looking a touch offended, Lapis smiled at him, eyes bright. “It’s just a hypothetical. I wouldn’t enjoy seeing you like that either.”

Loren deflected another arrow with the flat of his sword and realized it would be dangerous to follow this topic any further.

As they spoke, the distance between the two armies diminished, and now the soldiers at the vanguard began to engage each other with their spears. The soldiers wielded considerably long pikes, which they not only thrust forward but also swung to smack away enemy spearheads. The enemy responded in kind with their own thrusts and swings.

Clanks and thuds echoed as soldiers clashed. Even more unlucky souls were torn open by enemy spears or knocked out by the blunt force of their swings. Soldiers dropped one after the next.

“It’s almost time for us to get going. I’ll pitch in a bit.”

Both armies were starting to show signs of faltering. As the fight escalated, close-quarters combat between the infantry would kick off, and depending on the situation, other troops would enter the battlefield.

Once the cavalry rode in, it was a bad time to be a foot soldier. Loren wanted to get something done before that happened. With a tight hold on the hilt of his greatsword, he dashed for the front, weaving through line upon line of soldiers.

The world ahead was a forest of clashing spearheads.

Thinking along the same lines as Loren, a few adventurers tried to slip through the soldiers to reach the enemy. The lucky ones managed to make it through the gaps, while the less fortunate ones were pierced by counterthrusts. The unluckiest of all were struck dead on the spot.

In the midst of this, Loren forcibly swung his greatsword, aiming for the array of spearheads pointed straight at him. In a single strike, the kingdom’s spears were crushed like twigs, and a swathe of kingdom soldiers were sent staggering by the impact.

On his return swing, Loren cleaved another swathe of soldiers in two, their lower halves collapsing under their own weight, their upper halves dancing through the air like this was some surreal dream.

“What’s with that guy?!”

“H-he’s cutting through people like paper…”

The kingdom’s soldiers were shocked still. Loren continued to advance.

With his extraordinary strength, he swung his absurdly large sword with a sweeping motion. This blow claimed several more lives, their upper halves flying in pursuit of the first batch of deceased.

“He wields that stupidly large weapon like it’s nothing…”

“Raise your shields! Don’t let him swing!”

Surely, they thought, such an enormous weapon could only be swung so indiscriminately by means of brute force and momentum. Its might was bolstered by its unfathomable weight. If they could just stop it once, it would take Loren a great deal of time and strength to get it going again. The kingdom soldiers flung up their shields to blunt Loren’s slashes, praying that would stop him in his tracks.

Under normal circumstances, this might have worked.

Unfortunately for them, the man before them was Loren, and the weapon in his hands was of rather questionable origin, in that it had originally belonged to a demon lord.

“Try me!”

Paying no mind to the soldiers braced to meet him, Loren swung his greatsword even harder. The blade shimmered ever so slightly—and the next soldier who attempted to block the attack was bisected, shield and all. Following on from this, Loren sliced through three more, then four.

Upon seeing this, someone exclaimed, “A cursed sword… He’s wielding a cursed sword!”

These words spread across the kingdom’s army like a wave. Loren’s surroundings erupted in chaos.

“A sword that can slice straight through shield and armor! What the hell kind of blade is that?!”

“Hey, keep your distance from him! If you get too close, you’ll be slaughtered!”

“Move! Out of the way! Get me out of here!”

“Fool, quit shoving!”

“Call in the cavalry! Get the knights!”

Screams and shouts filled the air. The kingdom’s soldiers panicked, trying to put as much distance as possible between themselves and Loren. They dropped their weapons, each soldier scrambling to be the first to get away. As they exposed their backs to Loren, he shrugged.

“Grow some backbone,” he grumbled.

‹Personally, I think I understand how they feel, at least a little,› said Scena.

A massively muscular soldier who could unleash unblockable strikes? If any ordinary soldier encountered such a person on the battlefield, they would have no choice but to flee.

“The enemy lines are crumbling!”

“Push forward! Don’t let them escape!”

The imperial army saw Loren’s disruption as their opportunity to surge forth. The fleeing kingdom soldiers, fearful of Loren’s fighting prowess, were unable to resist, and they were further overwhelmed as the imperial army advanced through the breach that Loren had created. The fleeing soldiers were stabbed and slashed from behind, their corpses littering the battlefield.

A formation can be pretty fragile once it’s been breached, Loren thought. But he didn’t let his guard down. The Dark God of Wrath had yet to reveal herself, and he had heard someone call for the cavalry.

“Cavalry’s are a pain. They’re fast,” he said as he continued his advance.

Even though Loren possessed formidable strength and exceptional stamina, cutting through the shields and armor of some ten soldiers had exhausted him somewhat. He had also called on a touch of the greatsword’s powers.

Scena was aware of this, and though she didn’t stop him from pushing onward, she quietly began to drain the life of the nearby kingdom soldiers who still drew breath—and got to work converting it into usable energy for Loren.

Chapter 8: Fighting On to Indolence

Chapter 8:
Fighting On to Indolence

THINGS TOOK A TURN a while after Loren charged into enemy lines. As he continued to swing his greatsword left and right, reducing his foes to chunks of meat, Lapis—who had been watching from behind with a grin—suddenly turned her attention elsewhere. As Loren landed a finishing blow on a soldier who he’d slashed but failed to kill, she called out to him.

“Please direct your attention over yonder, Mr. Loren.”

Loren raised his gaze. He cocked his head; there were fewer corpses on hand than he’d thought there were. But when he saw Gula some distance away, looking oddly satisfied, he realized what had happened. However, Lapis put a hand on his shoulder and directed him in the complete opposite direction.

“Not that way; that way.”

“It better be important. I’m kind of preoccupied here.”

There were still plenty of soldiers that needed to be dealt with. Despite his best efforts to cut down any foe that stood before him, they faced more foes than his blade could hope to slice. He didn’t have the luxury of worrying about the battlefield outside of his immediate surroundings. But Lapis forced him to focus on a point quite far away—where a pillar of flame shot into the sky.

Loren stared at it blankly.

“Incidentally, Mr. Loren. Do you remember why we’re here?”

“Oh… Right, countermeasure, something, something. I haven’t been on the battlefield in so long, I forgot all about it.”

“All right, now please tell me what that fire means?”

“It means that the Dark God of Wrath is out and about, right? What a hassle. Do we need to go all the way over there?”

The rising pillar of flame was quite far from where Loren and his party members had made their dent. He checked his memory to make sure the fire wasn’t anywhere near the empire’s main camp before sighing in irritation.

“Why’d she have to strike all the way over there? We’ve done so much damage, she could easily have justified coming to harass us.”

“Is that what you were aiming for, Mr. Loren?” Lapis asked, stifling her smile. This made Loren stumble over his words.

Before the battle began, Juris had told him that the Dark God of Wrath would appear wherever the kingdom’s forces were at the greatest disadvantage. Loren had thought that if he created that situation himself, he could lure the dark god into the open.

Not that he wanted to meet her or anything. It would be more to prevent the dark god from attacking the camp where Juris was stationed. Though Loren hadn’t said a word about this, it seemed Lapis had seen straight through him.

“Do you know why she chose that point?” Loren asked.

“Oh, that’s simple,” said Lapis. “You, Ms. Gula, Mr. Luxuria—and Mr. Claes, for that matter—have been working so hard that the kingdom decided to concentrate its forces here. That left them vulnerable at other points, and so they lost ground there first.”

“What is the kingdom even thinking?”

“Don’t ask me.”

At a glance, the truth of this was self-evident. Gula and Luxuria were effortlessly demolishing the kingdom’s forces, and even with Downer awkwardly strapped to his back, Claes was steadily cutting down kingdom troops one by one. Also, the rest of his party was supporting him, though there was no apparent decrease in the number of soldiers surrounding them.

This meant that a significant number of soldiers had joined the fray from elsewhere. Consequently, the weakened points in the line had been the first to fall.

“Anyways, we need to get moving.”

Even though they were in the middle of a battlefield, the Dark God of Sloth, whom they’d brought to counter Wrath, was lazily nodding off in his place on Claes’s back. As far as Loren could see, Downer was struck by the occasional arrow, as well as the spears and swords of soldiers who sliced at Claes from behind. But neither he nor Claes suffered any injury.

“Claes! Can you break through?”

“It’ll be tough! I could manage if I could get this guy off my back, but if not, then I’d like a little help!”

Unlike Loren, Claes didn’t break through his opponents’ defenses with sheer strength. He targeted the gaps in their defenses to wound them, whittling down their strength until they could no longer fight.

Due to his fighting style, he couldn’t just bull through an obstruction like Loren could. Additionally, he was shouldering Downer’s weight, which put him in an even worse position.

“I guess it’s up to me, then.”

Even if they broke through the soldiers surrounding them, they still needed to navigate the ongoing struggle between the armies to reach that pillar of flames.

In that case, it was up to Loren to stand at the fore and clear the way. Loren swung his greatsword, cutting down another few soldiers as he yelled, “Claes! Get moving! Follow me!”

“Got it!”

Once Claes responded, Loren turned his feet toward the flames. Though a little disgruntled that he hadn’t called out to her too, Lapis followed on his heels, while Gula and Luxuria took up the rearguard, urging Claes and his party members on.

As they moved, the distant front of the imperial army was thrown into chaos. Since part of their forces had advanced deep into enemy lines alongside the adventurers, the enemy’s forces had concentrated on that threat, making for an easier battle elsewhere. However, everything changed when the fire magician attacked.

“Tsk, can’t believe those jerks dragged me all the way out here. To work such a delicate beauty as myself to the bone—goddamn.”

A crimson cape fluttering in the breeze, and flowing, silky blonde hair—as always, she was a charming vision of a girl. But though her voice was darling, the words that fell out of her mouth were jarringly coarse.

Despite the fact that nothing in her proximity seemed especially flammable, she was ever surrounded by a roaring waist-high ring of blazing red flames. Outside this ring of fire, several presumably once human figures were in the process of being turned into hardened black charcoal as they writhed in pain.

Wraith, the Dark God of Wrath, stood at the center of this scene, surrounded by both the imperial and royal battalions. She glared at the empire’s forces with frustration.

“First the huge guy, then the pretty boy. The imperial army always manages to tick me off. How about you just shut up and turn to goddamn ash?”

“Th-this girl… She’s the magician who controls flames,” an imperial soldier muttered—until, with a glance from Wraith, he became a human torch. He screamed, rolling on the ground to extinguish the flames, but this fire could not be smothered. It continued to envelop him until he was no more than yet another lump of hard black charcoal.

“Who are you calling a magician? Don’t go lumping me in with those scrubs.”

“Y-you! You’re from the kingdom, aren’t you?! Do you know how many of your own people you just killed?! And you call yourself—”

“Shut up. Stop talking.”

It seemed that Wraith had burned more than imperial soldiers when she made her appearance. With a single glare, the kingdom soldier who tried to condemn her for it suffered the same fate as his imperial counterpart.

“My job is to burn whatever gets in my way. I’ll hunt down imperials, but I’ll let the kingdom run—plain and simple. If you don’t wanna die, then get out of my sight!”

Despite her apparent youth, her intimidating snarl made the kingdom’s soldiers lose their composure and beat a hasty retreat.

The imperial army tried to advance to give chase, but Wraith stepped before them.

“Quit making this harder for me!”

As the imperial soldiers raised their weapons, a crimson wall burst to life in front of them. They panicked and balked, but by then, it was already too late. With a swing of Wraith’s arm, the flames surged forth like a tidal wave, swallowing dozens of soldiers whole.

The air was filled with the smell of burning flesh and echoed with the screams of roasting soldiers. As Wraith took it all in, she let out a disdainful snort. She seemed terribly uninterested.

The soldiers who had not been engulfed by the wave of flames staged a counteroffensive.

“Don’t get too close! Attack from a distance!”

“Arrows don’t work! Bring out the crossbows!”

Since wooden weapons were instantly incinerated, the soldiers quickly resorted to loosing iron bolts with their crossbows. The crossbows were swiftly hauled out, the bolts loaded, and a wave of soldiers knelt to take aim.

“You’re not completely stupid, but your ideas are terribly dull.”

Meanwhile, Wraith did not move from her spot. She just stared at the soldiers aiming crossbows with an expression that conveyed extreme boredom.

“Pay her no mind! Shoot to kill!”

The order was given, the bolts were let loose—each on a trajectory sure to pierce Wraith’s small frame. Though the imperial soldiers doubted this would be enough to kill her, they expected to inflict at least a modicum of damage.

However, a fair distance before these projectiles reached her, they were uncannily deflected, their trajectories swerving in midair. Not a single one grazed her body; they all flew off course.

“What was that?! Magic?!”

“With this much heat, the air’s bending and warping. There’s no way any projectile can hope to fly true.”

In retaliation, Wraith waved her hand, and multiple trails of flame tore along the ground. The flames ran up the knees of the still-kneeling soldiers and engulfed their bodies.

The imperials toppled, rolling in a desperate bid to extinguish the flames. As they went down, Wraith finished them off with a fiery explosion. Despite the grim scene, their imperial comrades tried to mount a resistance. At the sight of their defiance, a vicious grin spread across Wraith’s face.

“You’ve got guts, I’ll give you that. If you’re gonna stick around long enough for me to vent my frustrations, then let’s have a little fun. We’ll all burn together!”

These ferocious words, so at odds with her appearance, sent terror racing through the imperial soldiers. As they froze in fear, Wraith readied herself to take a step forward, still wearing that same smile.

But at that moment, two knives hurtled at her head from the side, taking her by surprise.

“Dammit! I thought I had her, but she blocked.”

Loren had thrown not one but two carefully aimed daggers at Wraith’s head as he dashed onto the scene.

These daggers were not his personal weapons; he had borrowed the sidearms from the waists of a few nearby imperial soldiers. Two surprised soldiers stared at Loren, only then realizing that they had been pickpocketed.

“You again? You’re a real thorn in my side.”

Loren’s daggers had indeed aimed straight for Wraith’s temple, despite the flames warping the air. However, they’d bounced off of a barrier that Wraith had erected in advance and tumbled to the ground.

Wraith frustratedly stomped on these daggers, flames erupting from her feet. The blades glowed red as they melted like candy and crumbled away.

“Burn up already!”

A swing of Wraith’s hand was accompanied by a burst of even more flames.

Loren managed to protect himself with the flat of his greatsword. The flames dissipated against it, merely sliding along the surface of his armor. However, the soldiers beside him weren’t as fortunate. They didn’t even have the time to scream, igniting where they stood.

Loren watched them from the corner of his eye as he brandished his greatsword once again to take a swipe at Wraith. Such a massive blade was entirely disproportionate to the smallness of its target. As the girl watched the blade cleave through the heated air and flames, she clicked her tongue. She dodged out of the way while flinging more fire at Loren.

Knowing that he wouldn’t hit his mark, Loren drew his sword back just in time to deflect the flames thrown at him. The residual heat scorched his exposed skin, making him grimace in pain. Nevertheless, he swung again.

“Dammit! I guess these little flickers won’t be enough to cook you.”

“Quit throwing them all over the place!”

Even if Wraith was a dark god with the gift of fire, Loren suspected it would take her a moment to summon the power to burn everything in sight. He wasn’t about to give her that time. His blade swung without stop as he pursued her, trying to close in, but while he occasionally caught the hem of her clothing, her petite build and nimble feet kept him from landing a clean hit.

“Ah, you bastard! You tore the edge of my skirt! What are you gonna do if that ruins my cute look?!”

“Your cute look went right out the window the moment you started burning people alive, so don’t worry about that!”

“Hey, I’m super cute, goddammit!” Wraith protested, looking a tad offended.

“Save your bullshit for the afterlife!”

Loren continued his relentless assault undeterred. Either he took her out with his own attacks, or he stalled long enough for reinforcements to arrive.

Loren hadn’t forgotten his previous confrontation with Wraith. Ideally, he wanted to avoid facing her directly; however, dashing across the battlefield had proved to be a challenging task for Lapis, Gula, and Claes, who were not accustomed to such environs. Before he knew it, Loren had found himself well in the lead.

He could have simply waited for the others to catch up, but he didn’t have it in him to just let Wraith continue her reign of incandescent terror. Reluctant though he was, he had no choice but to step in.

If only the first dagger had killed her, Loren thought. But from what he’d seen of Gula and Luxuria, he was painfully aware that dark gods weren’t the sort to up and die from a single surprise attack.

“How could you say I’m not cute? That doesn’t even make sense!”

Infuriated by Loren’s words, Wraith prepared to release another wave of flames. But just before she launched her attack, a sudden impact struck her directly in the face. With a small, cute shriek, Wraith was sent tumbling backward.

This had presumably been the work of Force, a blessing priests could call upon.

Loren didn’t even look back to see where the attack had come from as he shouted, “Lapis?”

“Sorry, Mr. Loren,” she responded—just as he’d expected. “It was a bit of a struggle to get here.”

Lapis couldn’t help but stand out on the battlefield, between her white vestments and captivating appearance. This, unfortunately, drew more attention from the enemy soldiers, which had resulted in her arriving later than Loren.

Even so, despite busting her way through swarms of enemy soldiers, Lapis’s clothes and hands were entirely unmarked by blood or dirt.

“You okay?”

“Yes, that was nothing. Besides, Ms. Gula took care of it for the most part, so it wasn’t an issue for me.”

“What about Claes’s party?”

“It seems that when a pretty boy runs around with someone on his back, and with three women on his heels, he tends to attract even more attention than me.”

Lapis put a hand to her eyes to shield them from the sun and looked back in the direction she had come from. But Claes was still nowhere to be seen in the swarms of enemy soldiers.

Loren chided himself for not escorting them as he smoothly dodged a fireball from Wraith. “Could you go and get Claes? Or at least the guy on his back?”

“Claes?!”

Loren’s question had been directed at Lapis, but it evidently reached Wraith’s ears. And, just as one would expect after hearing Leila’s story, her expression twisted with rage as the flames surrounding her intensified.

That was stupid, Loren thought in frustration.

After glancing in the direction she’d come from, Lapis turned back to Loren. “Can you hold out that long?”

“We’ll just have to see.”

Wraith evaded a swing that Loren had unleashed to keep her in check. Even in her enraged state, she seemed to understand that Loren’s weapon was a very real threat, and she refrained from recklessly charging.

She continued to keep her distance while unleashing hellfire, and though Scena kept up a constant stream of energy drain from within Loren, it was unclear if it was having any effect. Loren gave it a moment of thought—without Lapis’s assistance, would he really be able to hold out until Claes reached them?

“You’re friends with that jerk?!”

“I get why you’re angry—and I agree he’s the problem. I’m not even gonna argue with you on that one. In fact, I think it’s kind of a shame that you didn’t burn him to a crisp the second he tried to lay one on you.”

“So you do understand.”

Wraith’s anger seemed to subside a tick as Loren wholeheartedly acknowledged her point without defending Claes in the slightest. The flames weakened along with her mood.

Lapis took note of this, silently patted Loren on the shoulder, and turned to race back into the fray.

“What, is she going to fetch reinforcements? Do you think you can strategize your way out of this?”

“Who knows? Why don’t you wait and see?”

“Maybe I should be asking if you think you can hold me off long enough for those reinforcements to arrive?”

“Won’t know until I try.”

As Loren adjusted his grip on the greatsword, Wraith casually advanced. But she was soon thwarted. At first, Loren failed to understand what had stopped her; as Wraith tried to step forward, she suddenly lost her balance, stumbled, and fell forward, crashing face-first into the ground.

Loren’s eyes widened at this unexpected turn, but the sight of a small figure dancing about near Wraith’s feet told him all he needed to know.

It was Neg.

The spider had used his threads to firmly affix Wraith’s foot to the ground. When did he get over there? Loren thought as he watched Neg skitter up Wraith’s body, expelling a copious amount of webbing. Wraith still didn’t seem to know what was going on.

It was a common misconception that spider silk burned well. In actuality, though it was possible to melt it in part, the web itself wouldn’t catch fire. Capitalizing on Wraith’s confusion, Neg had managed to skillfully use his threads to wrap her up, leaving her prone and immobile.

Realizing her predicament too late, Wraith released flames from all over her body, trying to break free, but Neg’s sturdy web was not so easily overcome. On top of this, Neg had wrapped her body in several layers, ultimately trapping her within a sturdy cocoon.

Once finished, Neg bounded up Loren’s leg and body, then back to his usual spot on Loren’s shoulder, where he raised his front legs in a triumphant pose as if to say, How do you like that?!

“It’s a shocker, honestly. You’re pretty incredible,” Loren praised him. He wrapped his greatsword in cloth and stabbed its tip into the ground before patting the spider on the back, making Neg quiver in delight.

At Loren’s feet, there now lay an elongated white cocoon that stood approximately as high as his waist. It occasionally emitted muffled shouts, and, at times, flickers of flame escaped through the gaps in the threads.

Though Loren didn’t know how Neg could have stored so much material in his tiny body, he couldn’t deny the reality before him. This cocoon would keep Wraith restrained, at least for a while, and as far as Loren was concerned, that was all he had to know. The details were secondary, and they could wait.

Naturally, he considered piercing the cocoon with his blade to finish Wraith off, but he feared carelessly damaging the cocoon might let her break free. This would ruin all Neg’s efforts. Furthermore, the threads Neg produced were incredibly sturdy, and Loren didn’t feel he would be able to stab through them well enough to kill her in a single strike.

“Release me! Get me out of here! Dammit, I’ll just burn these godforsaken—they’re hot?! The threads are melting! They’re melting all over meee! Hot!”

Judging by the screams, Wraith was trying to worm her way out the only way she knew how, but in melting her restraints, she’d turned the interior of the cocoon into so much fiery ooze.

Even if only temporarily, Neg had managed to entrap a dark god. It just served to remind Loren that for all Neg looked like a small arachnid, he was indeed a formidable monster with his own powerful capabilities.

“I’m grateful to have you as an ally. You saved me there.”

‹I did my best too, Mister!›

“Right, I’m grateful for your help as well. I might not have been able to handle this on my own.”

As Loren expressed his gratitude, he could sense a somewhat bashful energy.

I really need to get her back into her original human body, he thought as he surveyed their surroundings. It seemed enemy and ally alike had fled from Wraith’s flames. The surrounding battlefield had been reduced to a deserted wasteland.

Leaning against the sword he’d stabbed into the ground, he decided to take a short break.

Loren waited there a good while. Wraith continued to release flames within the cocoon Neg had spun, and it seemed that the threads were melting; Loren was beginning to see the red of the flames leaking through.

Now and then, Neg jumped from Loren’s shoulder back to the cocoon to reinforce it. However, it appeared his reserves were running thin. Eventually, he returned, utterly exhausted, and did not move again.

Now that Wraith, the source of all the flames, was trapped in a cocoon, the surrounding fire had lost much of its momentum. This had led enemy and ally soldiers to converge around Loren again.

Nervously anticipating the moment when Wraith would burst free, Loren swung his greatsword, mowing down any enemy soldiers who approached as he waited for Lapis and Claes to reach him.

“This isn’t gonna last much longer,” Loren grumbled as a particularly large gout of flame erupted from the gaps.

A fissure large enough for an arm to wriggle through split the cocoon’s surface—though it didn’t seem like a whole person could fit yet. From it, he heard Wrath’s angry tirade.

“You piece of shit! Incineration’s too good for you! You’ll wish that was all I did after what you’ve done to me!”

Loren hesitated. Given the size of the fissure, he deduced that the cocoon had been burned for so long that it was practically paper-thin. If he thrust his greatsword through the gap now, he might deliver a lethal blow.

But if he failed, he would only enlarge the fissure, shortening the time until Wraith escaped. The situation would rapidly deteriorate, and he would gain nothing from his impatience.

But still… Loren mustered strength to his grip on the greatsword’s hilt—just as he heard the voice he had been waiting for.

“Sorry, Mr. Loren! Did I keep you waiting?”

“You kinda did. But you made it in time,” Loren responded as he kicked away a nearby kingdom soldier.

Behind Lapis was Claes, skillfully wielding his longsword to cut down approaching foes as he neared. He was, of course, accompanied by his three party members.

“You still have the guy?!”

“He’s still in one piece, somehow. And hey, who even is he? I think I’ve taken a few good hits to the back, but he doesn’t seem to be hurt at all.” Claes nodded as he lowered the man from his back to the ground.

Downer, the Dark God of Sloth, slowly descended from Claes’s wooden rack, stretching his neck this way and that as he took a lazy look around. It was like the surrounding commotion didn’t even register as he waved at Loren. “Were you waiting for me?”

“I was. It hasn’t gotten too bad yet. But enough of that. Can you really do something about her?” Jogging over to Downer, Loren pointed at the cocoon. Even more crevices now ran down its surfaces, and it was beginning to spout flickering tongues of flame.

Downer looked at it closely, not even a little nervous. “What am I supposed to do with some cocoon?”

“Not the cocoon. What’s in it. Wraith’s trapped in there,” Loren explained.

Come on, is it that confusing? Loren wondered as he closed in on Downer. But to be fair, from Downer’s perspective, he had arrived to find a random giant cocoon lying on the ground. Of course, he had no idea what was going on. It just didn’t feel like Loren had the leeway to be irritated with him.

Downer approached the cocoon curiously, bringing his face close to inspect it—and at precisely that moment, the cocoon burst open from within.

“Finally! Dammit! The hell is up with that thing?! It took so much effort to burn, even with my flames!” Wraith exclaimed.

She’d emerged like a butterfly from a chrysalis. Now, she struck an imposing stance, eyes filled with anger. She looked almost exactly as she had before Neg sealed her away.

Claes, however, just couldn’t help himself. “She’s all kinda covered in white stuff,” he muttered under his breath, almost as if unaware that he was even speaking. “Almost like…she was just…you know?”

Loren looked at him wearily, and Lapis sent him a chilling glare.

But this seemed to be so typical that his comrades didn’t even really react. At most, they glanced at him with mild irritation.

Downer, meanwhile, had retreated a few steps when the cocoon burst, and now he burst into laughter. “Exactly! You’re so right!”

“Don’t you dare laugh! The threads inside melted all over me; what else could I have done?! Do I look like I’m enjoying this?!”

The state of Wraith, her teeth bared in rage, was indeed evocative of what Claes referred to. Not that it had anything to do with what Claes and Downer were thinking. This was the result of her battle with Neg’s threads. Nevertheless, the sticky substance now covered her clothes, hair, and face. She was in quite a miserable state.

“This hot sticky stuff is ruining my good looks, goddammit! I’m never gonna forgive y—wait, Claes?! I didn’t see you there!”

As Wraith tried to peel off the strands, her face disgusted, she noticed that Claes was among the figures surrounding her. Her legs caught on the remains of the cocoon, which made her stumble. And when she stumbled, she fell toward them. Thanks to this, Claes thought he was the target of a new attack. Remarkably, of all people, he chose to hide behind Loren.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, come on, Loren! We’re close, aren’t we? How about you help a guy out?”

“Close? Hardly! Like I’m gonna defend you after what you did to her!”

Loren tried to extricate himself from Claes, but Claes seemed to be using his Boost gift, as he continued to resist, his raw strength even rivaling Loren’s. They ended up in a rather undignified grapple.

Wraith, who was left on the sidelines, gritted her teeth as she made to take another step toward them.

It was at that moment that she noticed Downer chuckling nearby.

“Gah! Downer?!”

“It’s been too long, Wraith. You’re as fiery as ever.”

Downer took a step forward, and Wraith a step back. Her face was visibly stiff. It was clear for all to see that, although Wraith wasn’t exactly afraid of Downer, she did not want to deal with him.

“What are you doing here?!”

“Well, Loren asked for a little favor. It’s a hassle, yeah, but I’ve been brought here to deal with you.”

“You of all people?! Why’d it have to be you?!”

“Hey, I’m just about the only person who can deal with your flames. Well, me and Envy, if she gets serious. I don’t think Loren made the wrong call.”

“Dammit!”

Wraith cursed and, to the surprise of all, actually tried to run away. However, the attempt proved futile. Sure, she was still hindered by the remains of Neg’s threads, but she was a dark god, and if she did her damnedest, some monster’s web wasn’t going to stop her. And yet her legs moved so slowly that everyone on hand found themselves wondering if she was really a dark god at all.

“You see, my authority, Motionless…it doesn’t just affect me. It affects my surroundings as well.”

“Y-you stay away from me!”

Wraith’s legs wouldn’t move, no matter how she willed them to. Her expression twisted into a scowl, and she threw more flames at Downer.

The temperature spiked as her flames flew straight for the Dark God of Sloth. They never reached him. Instead, they lost speed, lost force, and dissipated midflight.

“Organic, inorganic, doesn’t matter. And there’s this strange other bit, you see. When things start moving slower, their temperature starts dropping too.”

The words of Sloth made alarm bells trigger in Loren’s head. He was unsure of the nature of the danger, but he grabbed Claes by the collar and called out to Lapis and the rest, who were still watching.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this! Move out!” he cried—only to find that his own feet were carrying him far slower than anticipated. At least now he understood the source of his growing sense of peril.

Although Downer’s attention was on Wraith, somewhat lessening the impact on everyone else, his authority seemed to influence absolutely everything within its range.

“Once I activate it for real, I have a hard time controlling myself. But what’s the harm? Spending an eternity slacking off in an utterly unmoving world. Doesn’t that sound like the best?”

As Downer’s strangely clear voice resonated in Loren’s ears, he glanced over his shoulder. Downer was stooping down and peering into Wraith’s face. Wraith’s legs were completely frozen, and she could hardly move a muscle.

There were still kingdom soldiers nearby, but their resistance to Downer’s authority was even lower than Wraith’s; they stood like lines of inert, inorganic dolls.

The fiery blaze vanished, replaced by a white something that slowly spread across the ground and the bodies of the soldiers. Upon seeing this, Lapis cried out from beside Loren.

“Everything’s starting to freeze!”

“Hurry! If we get caught, we’ll end up just like them!”

Until Downer appeared, Wraith had blazed with absolute confidence and determination. Now, even from a distance, Loren could tell she was on the verge of tears. She could no longer move so much as a single finger.

With a gentle smile, Downer softly brushed his palm against her cheek.

Something about this made Loren understand that they had to focus on escaping as soon as possible. He turned forward again, dragging Claes in his wake—though the boy seemed to be protesting something or another—and running with all his might.

Yet again, Downer’s voice reached his ears.

“Rest in peace. Ah, I envy you. Right now, you’re experiencing true and perfect sloth.”

An immensely cold wind hit his back.

As Loren ran, he tried in vain to focus solely on moving his feet forward, forward. But he couldn’t help but wonder: Would he and his comrades be able to escape the range of Downer’s authority?

Epilogue: War’s End to Its Consequences

Epilogue:
War’s End to Its Consequences

NOT LONG AFTER Downer neutralized Wraith’s authority, the kingdom’s army was forced to retreat in the face of the empire’s relentless assault.

The imperial soldiers had always been superior. The kingdom had only managed to scrape by with Wraith’s power. Now that they had lost her, they could no longer defend themselves against imperial might. This led to an inevitable conclusion.

Before, the kingdom had been the one to declare war on the empire. Now, the empire was giving chase, none too keen on letting their foe get away. Imperial forces hounded them deep into kingdom territory—but the adventurers were kept out of this battle.

The adventurers had offered their initial assistance in the name of helping the empire, which had been invaded. But once the tides of war shifted from defense to offense, this cooperation came to its natural end. The adventurers were to return to their bases in their respective towns and villages.

Despite this, Loren and his party remained in the city that the empire had used as its base of wartime operations. This was partly to interrogate Juris about Loren’s origins. Loren himself didn’t seem to care much, but Lapis was extremely curious, and Juris had never outright refused to speak on the matter. He said he would tell them more once everything had settled down.

This didn’t quite go as planned.

“General Mutschild has taken command of the force pursuing the royal army. He is presently stationed with the army on the front lines,” reported the soldier that Juris had left to hold down the fort.

When Lapis heard this, her face was devastated. But by then, it was too late.

If she still wanted to interrogate Juris, she would need to chase him all the way to the front lines, and if she did, she would be caught up in the ongoing war between the empire and kingdom whether she liked it or not.

“Well, if he wants to talk, he’ll get in touch eventually, right? This is the chief we’re talking about.”

“Are you really all right with this, Mr. Loren?”

Loren thought this over. Eventually, in a rather hesitant tone, he replied, “Let’s say I was someone particular, someone with a history I don’t know. Would that change how you treat me, Lapis?”

“That’s a question I didn’t expect.” Lapis looked genuinely surprised, but even so, she had her answer quickly enough. “Perhaps if I suddenly learned you had murdered my entire family, it would. But fortunately, my parents are still alive and well, so that’s not a concern. So, no matter what we learn, Mr. Loren, you’ll still be Mr. Loren.”

“Then isn’t that good enough?”

“That sounds rather nice, to be honest. Yes, very nice indeed.”

Between Loren’s question and her response to it, Lapis seemed to find herself in quite a good mood, and that seemed to be the end of it.

However, one issue yet remained: the matter of Wraith, whom Downer had incapacitated on the battlefield.

Downer’s authority had completely consumed a portion of the battlefield in ice, and all the kingdom soldiers caught up in it had perished. Loren found himself thinking that even if someone could be revived from that experience, they would no longer be properly human. Understandably, the only survivor was Wraith.

As expected of a dark god, once Downer’s authority faded and the surrounding temperature returned to baseline, she simply thawed out from that completely frozen state. She had been unconscious at the time, but still alive.

Wary of what might happen if they left her unattended, Loren and his party had opted to carry her off alongside Downer, who had fallen asleep.

Incidentally, as far as casualties to Downer’s authority went, most of the imperial soldiers who had seen Loren’s group make a break for it had fled alongside them. Most had thus been unaffected, and though an unlucky few had failed to make it, a far larger number of the kingdom’s soldiers had been loitering about when the authority went into effect. After the power lifted, they had been left as cold, white sculptures of ice.

“Dammit… I lost… Release me…”

Wraith was terribly dejected after regaining consciousness, her personality a total one-eighty from what it had been on the battlefield.

There was no telling when she might use her power to manipulate flames, so Wraith was bound securely while she was stowed in a military facility on the city outskirts. The ropes were interwoven with thin metal threads to ensure she couldn’t burn through them so easily.

She sat cross-legged in the center of her cell, a sullen look on her face. For some strange reason, Loren’s party had been given final say on what was to become of her. This was by order of General Mutschild—or at least, the soldiers said so. But Loren couldn’t stop thinking, Why us?

“Is this really okay?” Loren asked as he looked through the iron bars at Wraith. The soldiers had led him and his comrades to her cell to see her.

Lapis cocked her head, and Luxuria shrugged.

“Downer’s gift is pretty nasty,” Gula said as she peered into the cell.

For some reason, Claes was there too. He had happened to be present when they were informed about Wraith, and no one in Loren’s party had been able to stop him from tagging along. However, they couldn’t quite talk about dark gods when he was on hand, and so they had explained their authorities away as gifts—the same sort of power that Claes possessed.

Isn’t that a stretch? thought Loren. But Claes had accepted it without question.

“To put it simply, his gift drains the motivation of everyone and everything within range. Once you’re sapped of motivation, you just stand around and do nothing. And, once everything grinds to a total halt—well, you saw what happened.”

“And he comes out unscathed, thanks to his ridiculous resistance, huh? That’s scary stuff.”

Downer—the one who’d caused this phenomenon—had made it sound like he had completed enough work to last a lifetime once the job was done. He had requested a bed and was currently crashed in a room in the same inn where Loren’s party was staying. There, he remained in deep slumber.

Loren had initially suspected this might be a consequence of using his authority, but according to Gula, it was just Sloth being Sloth. He wasn’t supposed to work, and since he had worked anyway, he had somewhat weakened his power. He would need to indulge in indolence before he could fully recover.

“So she’s still under Downer’s influence, is she?”

“Yup, that’s about right. She’ll probably be like this for a while.”

Loren couldn’t even fathom what absurd consequences might result if Downer’s authority were put to extensive use. After all, it was nearly impossible to defend against. Apparently, even arcane defenses came to naught, as the spell itself would lose momentum and be nullified. Once his authority was activated, Lapis said even a demon like her had no choice but to flee.

The only silver lining was that Downer was indeed the embodiment of Sloth. He hardly ever moved on his own, and he had no interest in attempting to pursue anyone who ran from him.

“Dammit all to hell… I’ll remember this… You’ll regret what you did to me…”

“It’s pretty impressive that she’s still so toxic under Downer’s influence. That’s Wraith for you.”

Loren contemplated what to do about Wraith, who continued to cuss at them despite her lingering lethargy. Executing her on the spot was probably the simplest and safest way to go about it, if they wanted to avoid any future trouble. Though he would usually have expected this to be tricky due to her resistance, now that she had lost all motivation, he felt it would be rather easy to strike her dead.

However… Loren’s gaze shifted to Gula. He suspected that Gula wouldn’t look too kindly on an attempt to execute a fellow dark god. He could sense an unspoken plea coming from her as she stared into the cell—to spare Wraith’s life, if nothing else.

He considered leaving the judgment to Gula, but that didn’t seem right either. After all, once she regained her vigor, Wraith would likely be far beyond anything Gula could handle.

“Hey, Claes. You tried to seduce her, didn’t you?”

“It’s just a man’s duty to seduce adorable ladies, you know.”

Claes’s response came promptly and resolutely, which made Lapis and Gula glare at him harshly.

Luxuria, meanwhile, looked rather impressed. “This kid’s got promise.”

“He’s a baby Luxuria?” said Gula, “I’m shuddering in my boots.”

“Can’t we just bury them all somewhere?”

Loren ignored all these takes, thought it over, then made a proposal to Claes. “In that case, could you look after her for now?”

Lapis and Gula shot him wide-eyed stares. Luxuria, however, clapped his hands together as if to say this was a brilliant idea.

“I don’t mind,” Claes replied without missing a beat, his expression unchanging. “Uh, should I?”

“No, please wait, Mr. Loren,” Lapis said hurriedly, desperate to put a stop to this. “This man tried to seduce Ms. Wraith and was nearly killed in the process.”

Loren pointed at Wraith in the cell. “Sure, but he also almost got her to back down, right? If they actually talk things out, they might get along surprisingly well.”

“B-but, err…”

“I’m definitely not gonna look after her,” Loren said. “And even if we wanted to kill her, I mean, look at her. I’d definitely lose sleep over that. In which case, let’s just leave her with someone who has a chance of reining her in. Make him be those reins. That sounds like our best bet.”

Moreover, Loren argued, despite everything, Claes was already skillfully managing three female comrades. Even if that number ticked up to four, he could feasibly keep up with the demands.

Notably, the root of this argument lay in the fact that it would be too much of a pain to handle themselves. Thus, Loren wanted to abandon the matter entirely and leave it to Claes, who seemed good enough when it came to women. Not that he was going to say that aloud.

Seemingly having read his mind, Lapis leaned in to whisper, “His party is going to resent you for it,”

In a similarly hushed voice, Loren replied, “It’s their fault for saddling themselves with him. It’ll be a good chance for them to throw in the towel.”

If Claes managed to sway Wraith, his party could expect a significant boost to its combat capabilities. It wasn’t like they didn’t stand to gain anything. And even if that hadn’t been a factor, Loren knew that Claes would never refuse to take in a girl like Wraith.

“It seems like she’ll be stuck this way for a bit. Please get her in your pocket before she gets out of hand.”

“Leave it to me. We may have had some unfortunate misunderstandings the first time around, but if we earnestly and thoroughly talk it out, I’m sure she’ll come around,” Claes answered with a needlessly radiant smile.

Loren looked rather relieved to have that matter sorted out.

Lapis cocked her head, wondering if this was really going to pan out. After Loren patted her on the shoulder, he turned to Gula to see what she had to say.

Gula offered a slight nod.

“Hey, Wraith. It’s up to you whether you buy what he’s selling,” Loren said. “If you decide you hate him, then go to Gula instead. You know how to contact her, right?”

“Don’t order me around…”

“It ain’t an order, it’s a request. Anyways, you lost to us once, so I deserve your attention. You get me?”

Knowing she would be stubborn if he was too forceful, Loren purposely framed it as a request. This made Wraith stare at Loren’s face through the bars. She thought it over until, exhausted, she finally gave a reluctant nod. “Fine.”

It was unclear how binding this verbal agreement would be—but looking at Wraith, Loren felt she wasn’t going to completely disregard it.

“All right, that should wrap things up,” Loren said, trying to keep his tone as cheerful as possible. This was a happy ending. “Let’s head back to Kaffa. We need to do some real adventuring from time to time—and earn some money while we’re at it.”

“You have a point—not that it would even put a dent in your debt,” Lapis retorted gently. “Don’t you think it’s about time you gave up and settled down with me?”

The reminder of the magnitude of the debt he carried made Loren’s expression grow dark. He prodded Lapis’s head as she sent him a wry smile.

Bonus Story: From the Notes of a Certain Priest

Bonus Story:
From the Notes of a Certain Priest

SOME SAY THAT WAR is the only means by which the small and finite creatures known as human beings may rebel against their creators. This sounds kinda cool, but in reality, it is a rather pitiful argument, one that makes the gods lament having ever created beings that would engage in such foolishness.

Well, regardless of how much the gods may cry, humans will never bid their wars adieu. If that were even slightly possible, the world of humans would have known peace a long time ago.

The gods aren’t as all-knowing and all-powerful as people make them out to be—they have been known to make mistakes.

This might sound strange, coming from one who serves a god. However, the god I serve presides over knowledge, and some see war as a prime means by which to significantly advance technology. I can’t help but think that when the other gods were sketching out the blueprints for humanity, my god secretly snuck in the seeds of war.

I get the feeling he’d be willing to go to such lengths for the sake of knowledge—and here I am, a faithful believer holding such thoughts in my head, who has not been struck by lightning. Perhaps this is proof that I’m not too far off.

Anyway, we were in the middle of a war between an empire and a kingdom, and I had absolutely no interest when it came to who started what, or what justifications each side might have. Nations are constantly squabbling with each other no matter where you go, and I just knew our efforts here would amount to nothing more than an eddy in that tide.

In the end, even if some nation happens to end up on top, the moment the Great Demon King decides to lean on the scales even a little, the world will be done for. It is all utterly meaningless.

I do think every human out there ought to bear witness to His Majesty once in their lives. In fact, I’d be impressed if they continued to fight after seeing him…

Well, I suppose there are demons who know about His Majesty and still stir up trouble. Perhaps the humans will persist, regardless.

But let us set aside these inconsequential matters. Our objective was to meet Mr. Juris Mutschild, former chief of Mr. Loren’s old mercenary company and now a general of the imperial army. Upon meeting the old general, I got a vague feeling that he was far more competent than he let on. I mean, he had to be quite skilled even to lead that one mercenary company. But not long after the company fell, he shot up the ranks to become an imperial general.

Shouldn’t there be a limit to how competent one man can be? Was it always that easy to become a general?

And what did Mr. Loren mean when he said, “You’re actually capable of introducing yourself like a normal person?” I don’t think I’ve ever tried to introduce myself like a strange person, but if that was what he wanted, I figured I would happily oblige. So I twisted the truth—just a wee bit.

I didn’t expect them to just ignore me. That was too much.

Mr. Loren has been so sour for such a long time. When, oh, when, will he finally turn sweet?

Oh, also, it is perfectly common sense for a maid to receive combat training. You should know that, Mr. Loren! I mean, you went to the Great Demon King’s castle, didn’t you?

After we exchanged information, Mr. Juris made a request. He would provide the means by which to counter the girl annihilating the raid teams with her fire magic, and he wanted us to use that countermeasure to deal with her.

Of course, the girl in question was actually Ms. Wraith, the Dark God of Wrath. However, the report we submitted to the empire said nothing about “dark gods,” so it was understandable that they just saw her as some girl.

If I had indeed described her as one of the dark gods that have existed since the days of the ancient kingdom, perhaps the country might have taken responsibility for her itself, but it was equally likely that they would simply question our sanity for making such outlandish claims.

I’ve grown quite numb to the whole thing, since I’m always hanging around another dark god. But to put it mildly, the fact that such a being is just casually wandering around outside can only be described as fundamentally wrong.

Our little slice of the world, where the presence of a dark god is treated as unremarkable—well, it’s definitely abnormal. However, as abnormal situations become routine, they just become a normal part of your everyday life.

Humans are creatures of habit.

Leaving that aside, in order to obtain this Wraith counter­measure of Mr. Juris’s design, we joined forces with the dark gods Ms. Gula and Mr. Luxuria and made off for the designated destination.

The region we were trekking through was already quite cold, but along the way, we were suddenly hit by an unnatural chill that brought us nearly to the brink of death.

I will refrain from delving into the details of what I did and said during this time. In retrospect, I blush and wonder why I behaved that way, but I felt as if I had been backed so far into a corner that it simply had to be done. Please understand. Normally, I would never resort to such crude tactics…

I still have a lot to learn.

Looking back on it now, it is quite clear that the environment started to become strange precisely because we were nearing the item we were searching for. Thus, the chill. But at the time, I didn’t understand how we had come to be in such a situation. The unknown is capable of inspiring incredible fear, and I thought that if I failed to act, I would only come to regret it.

Fortunately, I was dealing with a gentleman like Mr. Loren. If I had been swept up in the situation and done something regrettable, I doubt I’d be able to look him in the eye, and diving into such an experience—without the proper mood or timing—would only leave us traumatized.

Perhaps the space itself was distorted. I did get the feeling Mr. Juris knew all about it. Regardless, even though we were walking blind without knowing where we were, we somehow managed to arrive at the cave with little difficulty.

Inside the cave, we came across an unexplained phenomenon. The dark gods were repelled by some unknown force, but as soon as Mr. Loren stepped across the threshold, this force ceased to exist.

Mr. Loren’s history is truly a mystery.

I cannot say with absolute certainty that he was the key to this deactivation, but for whatever reason, it feels quite natural to assume so. This may just be my bias but…who knows?

Additionally, there was a door farther within the cave, likely installed to impede intruders. As soon as Mr. Loren’s hand touched it, the door disappeared as though it had never existed.

At this point, I’m finding it very hard to believe that Mr. Loren is just some random mercenary from who-knows-where.

And on top of all that! Behind the door, we found an enchanted falchion emitting a biting chill. Ordinarily, such things are locked away and are fiendishly difficult to obtain, but at Mr. Loren’s touch, this, too, came effortlessly loose from its resting place.

Seriously, who exactly is Mr. Loren…?

As I pondered these things, I heard the voice of the dark gods who we’d left behind. This heralded the appearance of the Dark God of Pride, Mr. Superbia.

His abilities are apparently formidable, to the point that even if the Dark Gods of Gluttony and Lust, Ms. Gula and Mr. Luxuria, came at him together, he could fend them off.

However, it turns out Pride is a relatively easy personality to handle. Since he looked down on us from the start, a word or two of praise was enough to make him grow rather complacent and terribly easy to fool.

Conversely, what makes the Great Demon King terrifying is that, despite all his immense power and the fact that he might seem frivolous at first glance, he is fundamentally unshakable. Though perhaps comparing the two is a mistake.

As it was true we would suffer significant damage if we engaged in a proper battle, we used the falchion we’d just obtained to freeze Mr. Superbia in the deepest depths of the cave. This did mean we failed to fulfill Mr. Juris’s request, but our lives were more important.

The authority of pride, it seems, cannot be exercised without someone for him to look down on. This meant that Mr. Superbia was no longer a threat, but at the same time, we had lost our means of countering Ms. Wraith.

As we fretted over what to do, Ms. Gula proposed a solution—in exchange for proper lodging and meals. According to her, the Dark God of Sloth, Mr. Downer, would be an effective weapon against her wrathful brethren.

We’d actually met Mr. Downer before, and honestly, I didn’t think that he had much of a chance against Ms. Wraith. But considering Ms. Gula’s unusual confidence in her claim, I thought there was a possibility.

However, Ms. Gula mentioned that convincing Mr. Downer would be difficult on her own, and so off we went with her, to the place where she and her fellow dark gods reside when they have nothing better to do. The den of dark gods, as she calls it.

While Ms. Gula and her ilk can easily travel from the den to and fro, it was evidently not so simple for Mr. Loren and myself. As Ms. Gula thought over how she could take us there, a letter arrived from Mr. Juris—almost as if he had timed it for that exact moment.

The letter included a marked map and a message saying we would find something helpful if we went to the indicated location. It felt less like Mr. Juris was predicting our every action and far more like he was observing us from somewhere.

But it wasn’t like we had any other leads, so we followed the letter and found ourselves in a dilapidated church, which had originally been dedicated to the worship of the very same god of knowledge in whom I put my faith. There, we found a code left behind from the days of the ancient kingdom.

Even the dark gods struggled to decipher it, but Mr. Loren read it as easily as anything. When I asked him, he simply said that Mr. Juris knew the code and had taught it to him.

Honestly, just who is that man, really…?

What’s more, Mr. Loren effortlessly solved the puzzle in accordance with the code. When did he become the brains of our operation? That is supposed to be my role. It’s rather unsettling to see my job snatched away from right under my nose.

With these conflicted emotions, we proceeded on and found the passage that would lead to the home of Ms. Gula and her brethren: a Dark God Gate that had somehow eluded the dark gods, avoiding detection and thereby destruction.

Ms. Gula masterfully connected the gate. I did not see the first location she led us to—the location from which Mr. Loren, who entered first, was ejected with incredible force. I hastily dove to catch him.

What’s this about Mr. Luxuria?

Well, I do vaguely remember kicking something out of the way… But ought he not to realize that he has it coming if he ever thinks he can just go ahead and embrace Mr. Loren?

I have also committed a crucial fact to memory: that Ms. Gula’s dwelling is terribly dangerous—life-threatening even. Although I did not lay eyes on it myself, I find myself wondering if it could truly be that embarrassing.

But as long as the person concerned considers it embarrassing, then embarrassing it is. Let’s not dwell.

Once the gate was reconnected, I passed through to find a black-stone room, wherein we found Mr. Downer sprawled on the floor.

I thought it would be quite difficult to enlist the aid of someone crowned the king of sloth, but Mr. Downer was surprisingly cooperative. He mentioned feeling somewhat regretful for ­siccing those slimes on us the last time we met.

He was also pretty mindful of the fact that the other dark gods had caused nothing but trouble for Mr. Loren… What’s with him? Of all the dark gods we’ve met, he seems the most sensible by far.

Anyway, Mr. Downer agreed to help if we let bygones be bygones. Mr. Loren wasn’t too bothered by our past experiences, and if that was all it took to gain Sloth’s assistance, he happily accepted. We returned to the city with Mr. Downer in tow.

There, we kicked up a bit of a ruckus, which led Mr. Loren to use the intimidating aura of a Lifeless King in the middle of town. This caused a bit of an incident in turn, but we reported to Mr. Juris regardless.

I tried to inquire about Mr. Juris’s identity, but he deflected the question, saying something about how the battle with the kingdom was drawing near. He wasn’t wrong—we did need to do something about that. So with little choice, we reluctantly set out. And there, we stumbled into a reunion I was not looking forward to.

Mr. Claes was lending his aid to the imperial army. Putting aside his…quirks, Mr. Claes is a competent adventurer. But even for that, he was being praised rather more than he deserved. As for why this was, he apparently had managed to fend off Ms. Wraith.

If true, this was indeed impressive. But the devil was in the details.

Mr. Claes is a terrible womanizer, and he happened to indulge this inclination right in the thick of battle. It seemed he tried to hit on Wraith.

Astonishingly, he nearly succeeded.

However, upon realizing that Mr. Claes was already involved with three other women, Wraith flew into a rage and fled in embarrassment. The imperial army had misunderstood, assuming instead that Claes had managed to convince an enemy magician to retreat.

This was business as usual for Mr. Claes. But it was Ms. Wraith’s innocence that really saved the day.

Also, regarding Ms. Leila, the knight who always accompanies Mr. Claes: Even if her interests are shallow, I think she should take his personality into further consideration.

And so, the battle between the empire and kingdom commenced. Mr. Loren seemed to thrive on the battlefield.

The way he indiscriminately and efficiently mowed through enemy soldiers was a sight to behold, but he did so well that the kingdom decided to concentrate its forces on him. This left them shorthanded elsewhere. Ultimately, the kingdom’s defenses first fell apart somewhere rather far from us, and that was where Ms. Wraith made her appearance.

During the time it took Mr. Claes—and subsequently Mr. Downer, who was on his back—to reach Wraith, it was actually Mr. Neg who held her at bay.

I knew Mr. Neg was fairly formidable for a spider, but I’d underestimated him. After all, I’d never imagined he could restrict a dark god, even if only to an extent. If I’m not careful, I could easily find myself ensnared in his cocoon.

He truly is a worthy companion for Mr. Loren.

With all the time Mr. Neg bought us, Mr. Downer finally reached the scene and faced off against Ms. Wraith. His authority, Motionless, is truly outrageous. It saps the motivation of everything within range, causing everything to grind to a halt.

Apparently, this power affects everything, living or not. The world quite literally froze around Mr. Downer.

Not even Ms. Wraith’s flames were exempt. There was nothing she could say, nothing she could do. The world was reduced to so much frozen, unmoving ice.

I can’t imagine any way to defend against it.

Of course, it also freezes Mr. Downer, who is at the center of it all, but with the incredible resistance he possesses, he seems able to operate just fine, even in places where the air has frozen solid.

Conversely, Ms. Wraith was rendered powerless, and the kingdom’s forces, whose inferior quality had been bolstered by her presence, could no longer withstand the imperial assault. They were forced to retreat.

As for what happened after that: Ms. Wraith somehow survived being hit by Mr. Downer’s authority. While she was still feeling rather drained from its effects, we entrusted her to Mr. Claes in the hopes that he could persuade her to join him before she snapped out of it.

Mr. Loren said he couldn’t kill someone who looked like a young girl—at least, not while she was completely powerless. And Mr. Claes should be able to win her over. Probably.

Even if he fails, Mr. Claes will be the one on the receiving end of the resultant chaos. I’ve decided not to worry about it.

Now that that’s settled, we can return to Kaffa and get back to our adventuring.

Eh? Am I perhaps forgetting something…?

Umm… What was it again?

Well, if I can’t remember it, it can’t be very important. If it is, I’ll recall it one of these days.

In any case, let’s just leave it at that for now.