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The petals drifting like snowflakes were truly beautiful.

The welcoming crowd at the dock didn’t fit into my view, with the hot cheers and applause ringing in my ears.

It was a grand welcome ceremony, but it was fitting for the Hero who would fill the darkest era with light.

The representatives from the cult, emerging from afar, opened their arms wide to greet us amidst the heat and humidity of the dock.

At first glance, they seemed like simple people gathered together, but I could read a swirling desire in their eyes.

The sticky air, infused with unnamed emotions, clung to the surroundings.

There, the Hero and the Cardinal shook hands.

—

**Episode 2 – Heroes of the Continent**

The schedule was tighter than I expected.

We dined with dignitaries, held brief discussions with Cardinals, and exchanged greetings with foreign guests who had come to visit.

It was quite rare to extend such hospitality to people who weren’t the heads of state or high-ranking officials.

The cult hosted us with the utmost courtesy they could muster for a civilian and three soldiers.

The reason we received such treatment was the special nature of the Hero’s existence.

The agent of God. The hero evidenced by history. The biggest variable in warfare and diplomacy. The meanings contained within the countless words that adorned the Hero were far from trivial. Camila Lowell and I, her companion, stepped into the cult as honored guests.

Pippin, Jake, and I were initially disoriented by the heat of the crowd, but we soon adapted to the atmosphere of the cult. We had a weighty mission at hand, after all.

In this situation, the one unable to hide her excitement was none other than the Hero, Camila Lowell.

“Wow! Frederick, this place is really beautiful!”

Though she looked like she might die from seasickness, it seemed a meal had revived her.

Camila Lowell was bouncing around with her scarlet hair dancing. Like a tourist on her first trip abroad, she was exploring everywhere, showing great interest in the cult’s architecture and lifestyle. The members of the cult guiding us received her actions not with displeasure, but rather positively.

“Hoho! Are you enjoying yourself, Hero?”

“Yes!”

Cardinal Raphael, the chief host, was among those enjoying her reaction.

Though I had been ordered to shake off the leeches clinging to the Hero, it was impossible to say ‘keep your distance from the Hero’ right in front of a Cardinal. Besides, we were in the cult’s territory. Cardinals were influential figures in these parts, and I had neither the justification nor the means to intervene.

Such playful antics would have to be overlooked. The world was already dark enough; being too harsh would lead to getting stabbed.

“Pippin, take care of the Hero. You know what I mean?”

“Understood, Colonel.”

Alright. With Pippin next to the Hero, I no longer needed to worry about that side of things.

I listened as Jake gave a brief report.

“The Hero’s current schedule involves a city tour. After this schedule, we will be assigned accommodations, rest briefly, and then attend the evening banquet. After that, there will be rest until the following morning.”

“Have you checked the guest list for the evening banquet?”

“It consists entirely of cult officials. We expect foreign ambassadors to join from the next banquet onward.”

“Right, right. Get in touch with our embassy and have them send over the details of the foreigners staying at the cult.”

“Yes.”

There’s so much to prepare.

I was beginning to wonder if I was the Hero’s companion or merely assisting the Hero.

“Well, with a beauty like that, it’s worth the effort, right?”

“Shut it.”

“Come on, Colonel, you enjoy it too.”

“If you keep that up, you might get a bullet in your mouth.”

The blond punk was chattering away and beginning to act lively. Now that I knew the Hero’s schedule, it was time to check ours.

“We’re maintaining communication with the embassy for constant information updates. It seems we have all the identities and whereabouts of the foreigners and residents from the kingdom staying at the cult.”

“Are there any particularly thoughtful individuals among them?”

“No. I don’t see any ideological criminals. Most have either moved to the Empire or a third country, so it’s hard to find them here.”

Okay.

Looks like there’s no one suspicious amongst the cult’s members.

“Colonel Clevenz mentioned there’s one agent at the embassy. Jake, drop your stuff at the lodging and meet with that person to gather some information.”

“Yes.”

“It would be odd to keep Pippin constantly at the Hero’s side. Starting tomorrow, I will directly mark the Hero. Pippin, collect information from the lodging, while you go out and meet some people.”

“Understood. But wouldn’t it be more appropriate for you, being a superior, to meet with the embassy folks and information agents? They will likely be of a higher rank than I am.”

Jake raised a concerned expression that seemed out of place for someone like him. It was a justified worry. The individuals staying at the foreign embassy were at the very least nobles, so he was right in being cautious.

But we had the Hero as our backing, so we didn’t care about such things.

“We’re on a special mission dispatched from our homeland, so it doesn’t matter. If anyone wants to make a fuss over rank, tell them to bring it up with me. I’ll just sort them out.”

“Wow, I almost fell in love just now. I love you, Colonel.”

“Enough with the nonsense. Stop yapping and check my schedule.”

Jake chuckled as he passed me a notebook. I memorized the details outlined by time, following in the footsteps of the Hero.

Among the calm crowd, Camila Lowell looked like a bouncy rubber ball, filled with excitement. She reminded me of a puppy going out for the first time in ages. In any case, she was brimming with energy. To an outsider, her actions might have seemed like a waste of energy. It was a somewhat annoying thought that could be seen as ‘cool,’ but what could I do? The worlds she and I lived in were vastly different.

In my world, if I encountered someone familiar on the street, I would immediately suspect them. If I saw trash casually thrown aside, doubts about whether it could be a bomb would come first.

I never used to be like this, but life transformed me. No, I seemed to have been like this in my previous life too. I was a soldier after all.

Camila Lowell, seeming curious, tilted her head as she gazed at the street decorations. She appeared to be very inquisitive. Honestly, I preferred cats over dogs. Did that mean Camila Lowell and I were incompatible? However, her outwardly sweet and gentle image didn’t elicit any repulsion from me.

What did repel me, however, was the black-haired person right in front of me—

“Huh?”

Something burrowed into my embrace. Jake’s eyes widened in shock as he stood next to me. His expression showed surprise.

My body tilted backward. The world was tilting. Even in this moment, my thoughts didn’t pause.

The approaching person thrust something into my embrace. The black-haired individual had red eyes? That was an odd feature. Though there were many black-haired people in this world, those with red eyes were rare. They seemed smaller in stature. I could hear screams from around me. Had they already escaped far away? Scanning my surroundings, the black-haired person was nowhere to be found.

My head began to spin rapidly, but I had lost track of the culprit. It was a terrorist act. The atmosphere around us turned into chaos. There was a possibility of a second attack. Was the target the Hero, or me? People were screaming in horror. I grabbed Jake by the collar as he bent down to help me.

“Black-haired! Red eyes! Protect Camila!”

“Understood!”

It wasn’t well-formed, but…

Perhaps he was a quick thinker, as he seemed to grasp my words and dashed toward Camila Lowell. Pippin was already surrounding Camila, guarding against danger.

Instinctively, I brought my hand to my waist, but my pistol wasn’t there. Damn it. I remembered stuffing it away in my luggage to be disarmed.

Amidst the screaming all around, I checked my abdomen and chest with my hands. No wounds and no pain. Thankfully, it wasn’t an assassination attempt. I released a sigh of relief, and just as I was about to rise—

A tremendous explosion occurred before my eyes—

—!!

It had happened.

It was a terrorist act.

*

“This afternoon at 4:50 PM, a bomb terror attack occurred in the heart of the cult. At that time, Cardinal Raphael and other officials were heading to their next destination after completing the welcoming ceremony for the Hero’s troupe. So far, it has been confirmed that there are seven dead and thirty-one injured. Meanwhile, the Inquisition claims that this attack was orchestrated by a dark magician…”

The announcer’s voice echoed in the dim hospital room. I lay in bed, watching the news streaming from the screen on the wall.

This world is truly strange. No airplanes or satellites, yet they have the news. It must be because magic exists here; there are many wondrous things. It’s a truly unpredictable world.

I touched my clean-shaven chin and listened to Pippin’s report.

“As of 9:03 PM, there are thirteen confirmed dead and forty-nine injured. The terror was carried out using a makeshift explosive disguised as a small package. There have been no reported casualties among the cult officials or the Hero’s troupe.”

She spoke in a deliberately calm tone. From what I heard, she had been nearby when the explosion happened. Aside from being startled, she seemed oddly collected.

She smiled faintly as she answered my questions.

“I lost my parents to a terrorist act when I was young.”

“…I’m sorry. I should have been more cautious.”

“It’s alright, Colonel. Are you injured? I heard you were attacked.”

“Yeah. At first, I thought I was stabbed, but it turned out I wasn’t hurt.”

“That’s strange.”

She set aside her report and sat in the caregiver’s chair. The news was filled with interviews of survivors from the scene, along with censored information.

As I listened, it seemed to carry little substance.

“Is Jake okay? He seemed quite startled.”

“Neither of us was injured. However, it seems Camila Lowell and Cardinal Raphael were shaken.”

“Of course they would be startled; a bomb just exploded right in front of them. Has anyone come to visit?”

“People from the embassy came, but when I asked, they said they were still assessing the situation and had no information.”

Hmm.

“What does the cult say?”

“The Inquisition claims it’s the work of a dark magician, but I met with an official who seemed unaware. It feels like media manipulation.”

Well, it made sense. If a bomb exploded right in their own territory, they’d be the most suspecting party.

Speaking of which, a dark magician’s media manipulation. I believe Colonel Clevenz mentioned something similar. I should relay that information along.

“The Information Agency doesn’t know. The Inquisition doesn’t know. What are the Empire or other countries saying?”

“The other countries sent ambassadors to deny any accusations. They seemed genuinely unaware as well. The issue is the Kien Empire, which has yet to provide an official response.”

“Aren’t their covert operations handled by the Imperial Guard HQ?”

“Communicating with headquarters, it’s been noted that even the ambassador from the Kien Empire does not have any guidance at the embassy. However…”

“Go on.”

“Activities by Imperial Guard agents within the cult’s territory have commenced.”

So, they are on an intelligence operation without revealing their answers.

Something feels off.

“Be cautious for a while. Avoid getting entangled with the Empire folks. And ensure no leeches cling to the Hero.”

“Understood, Colonel Frederick.”

“Oh, and have you tracked down that black-haired individual who fled?”

“We’re currently searching for them, but we have yet to yield any results.”

“Got it. Pippin, you should rest too.”

Pippin saluted and exited the hospital room.

In the dim hospital, I fell asleep, only to wake up when night had arrived. The clock read 9:30 PM, and the news was merely babbling nonsensical information like a parrot.

TV. Actually, I’m not sure if TV is even the right term. Regardless, I switched off the news and leaned back against the bed, closing my eyes while organizing the information.

According to Pippin’s report, it seemed others had suffered quite a bit too. Cardinal Raphael fell into a coma but had awakened, and Camila Lowell was struggling mentally. Jake and Pippin felt the same strain; Pippin’s tone had turned rigid.

“….”

A bomb terror. Makeshift explosives disguised as a package. An explosion on the streets.

The suspects remain unknown. The targets are the Hero or the Cardinal.

Given the bomb went off without either of them in the blast radius, it looks like it was a timing bomb.

The terrorists must be people who knew our schedule and precise timing. In other words, those capable of analyzing our timetable.

Honestly, I suspect this might be the work of someone within the cult more than the Empire.

And the black-haired thug who attacked me right before the terrorist act…

The Empire remains silent. Countries deny any accusations. Intelligence agents are active within the cult.

There’s no further information.

“…Damn it.”

A bomb terror within just one day of being at the cult. In broad daylight too.

Surely, such bomb explosions didn’t occur inside games. At least not in the scenarios I’ve experienced.

When I think about it, it’s always been like this.

Cardinal Raul, who should have been in the cult, was busy doing nonsense in the royal palace, and Priest Lucia had to face all sorts of schemes alone. The Magic Tower was caught up in fierce disputes over succession issues. The team meant to be the Hero’s comrades changed from four to five. And now, a bomb terror too.

I have no idea how the storyline is turning. I can’t pinpoint where things went wrong.

My head felt as if it were in complete disarray.

While rummaging through my things as if trying to grasp a lifeline to untangle these complexities…

-Knock, knock.

“…Who is it?”

“It’s me… Camila Lowell.”

The Hero had come to visit.

 

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