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I met the long-awaited party of heroes.

However, Cecilia was currently in quite a bit of confusion.

The cause was none other than those two bickering right in front of her.

“Is this the Ice Palace? It’s huge! I thought since it’s in the North, it would be a hick town or something.”

“Ophelia, excuse me. And please stop looking around like a country bumpkin. It looks cheap.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

From the moment they arrived in the capital of the Ice Palace, Saint Ophelia Meredein and Hero Elliot had been engaged in such mindless chatter.

Cecilia found herself questioning the significance of such a conversation devoid of productivity.

After all, their discourse was far too frivolous for a saint and a hero. To her, having been raised thoroughly as a knight, a hero should naturally be an exalted and grand figure.

Yet, how did Hero Elliot appear to her now?

“Ophelia, look at this.”

“What is it?”

“Red-Light District.”

“What kind of place is that?”

“It’s where women spread their legs for men. Sometimes, a pretty boy spreads his legs too.”

“Ugh.”

Wasn’t it a heinous act to show a saint a red-light district?

“Then, Elliot, have you ever… uh, been there?”

“Hmm… why are you asking that?”

“Well, I… I’m just curious…”

“What if I say I have?”

“….”

At that remark, the saint looked as if a heavy weight had just dropped on top of her head.

“Hey, no way, right? That’s a lie, isn’t it?”

“Why are you so flustered? Laila said that most mercenaries my age gain their experience with women in such cheap places.”

“You shouldn’t be doing that!”

“Is that so? Why shouldn’t I?”

“…Well, you… you’re supposed to….”

“Be with Ophelia…?”

The saint couldn’t finish her sentence and lowered her head in shame.

Cecilia clearly saw Hero Elliot smiling smugly at her reaction.

Right here was a hero who brought tears to a young girl’s eyes yet wore a victorious smile.

“…Reprobate.”

Of course, she had no choice but to mutter such a thing.

Cecilia couldn’t accept the fact that this man was the hero chosen by the divine.

Thus, she turned to inquire from a bystander.

“Um, Sir Albrecht. I have a question.”

“Yes. I have a rough idea of what the question might be, but please go ahead.”

“What is the relationship between those two?”

At Cecilia’s question, Albrecht traced the mark on his cheek and replied with a wry smile.

“Well… it might be better to view it as a relationship like a married couple.”

Of course, Albrecht’s answer did not convince Cecilia.

So she also asked Azar, who had a similar acquaintance with her.

“Golden Lion, what about those two…?”

“Father and daughter, perhaps.”

Azar’s answer was equally fruitless.

In the end, Cecilia had no choice but to guide them to the Ice Palace while gripped by an unsettling feeling in her heart.

In the meantime, she asked Emily Barried, the apprentice of the Archmage.

“Hey, what’s the deal with the hero and the saint…?”

“Can’t you tell just from looking at them?”

Emily’s eyes sparkled as she said.

“That love-hate, or rather, love-trembling relationship!”

“…What does that even mean?”

“Romance!”

Cecilia fell silent.

The apprentice of the Archmage.

She too was an individual who wasn’t entirely normal, similar to the hero and the saint.

*

“So, you said it was just a joke.”

“Shut up. You deceived me.”

Ophelia’s anger just wouldn’t subside.

She thought it would be funny to tease her a bit since they could see the red-light district, but she never expected such a strong reaction.

Who would’ve thought Ophelia would almost bring tears to her eyes?

“Ophelia, I’m sorry. Please calm down.”

“I told you to shut up.”

A fist flew toward me, but with such a short reach, it was meaningless. I merely tilted my head back to avoid it.

“Don’t dodge!”

“So, am I supposed to just take it?”

“You bastard, you deserve to be hit!”

As Ophelia flailed around, I quickly grabbed her side.

She went limp like a cat caught by the scruff of its neck.

“…You.”

Finally, Ophelia spoke with a slightly wet voice.

“About what I mentioned earlier, that’s a lie, right?”

“…Are you talking about the red-light district?”

“Yeah, that.”

“Yes. Why are you asking something so obvious?”

Of course, it was true that mercenaries often frequented such places.

However, I had never used them myself.

It wasn’t that I lacked desire, but simply that I found it unsettling.

“Hey, Poppy. Don’t you ever go there?”

“Yeah.”

“Why? That Samuel guy is going for it.”

“He’s dirty anyway. But not me. If I ever went there, I’d probably end up with mushrooms down there.”

“You’re really something strange.”

“The talking lizard is weirder.”

One of the worst things about this medieval land was hygiene.

Ophelia had grown up well and was always fresh, so she was fine. But women from the red-light district didn’t even brush their teeth, and that place was hardly clean.

It was a major issue for someone like me who lived in a modern world with advanced public health studies and bacteriology.

“…So why didn’t you?”

It was indeed a bit awkward to answer Ophelia’s question truthfully.

So, I decided to add a plausible reason.

“Well, you see… I’m a bit of a chastity advocate. A very devout knight.”

“Hmph… nonsense.”

Ophelia snorted and brought her head to my chest.

“You’re no saint; you’re just a rascally libertine. I must keep you on a tight leash.”

“…Do as you please.”

Fortunately, it seemed Ophelia had calmed down a bit.

Just as I was straightening her tousled bangs, I felt a burning gaze.

It was Cecilia seated opposite us.

“Um… ahem.”

Cecilia cleared her throat to draw our attention and continued.

“It seems we will be arriving soon.”

“Oh.”

At Cecilia’s words, I looked out the window and saw the imposing castle.

The scenery they had shown in the game.

Literally, the Ice Palace.

A castle made of ice.

*

“Welcome. Though it’s a bit hasty, I hope you won’t consider what I’ve prepared lacking.”

The leader of the Ice Palace, Tsar Ryudmila, was a person with proper common sense, unlike the leaders I had met before.

Of course, it was a modest affair compared to the banquet prepared by the Great Forest or the Empire, but I knew just how difficult it was to prepare such a banquet in the desolate North.

Thus, I lowered my head graciously in thanks.

“Unexpected…”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I didn’t expect you to adhere to proper etiquette.”

As Cecilia muttered in surprise, I frowned.

Just how badly did they perceive me?

Of course, unlike me, Ophelia maintained her usual rudeness even in front of the Tsar of the Ice Palace.

“Wow… is this what we’re supposed to eat?”

I slowly gave Ophelia a light smack on her head.

“Hahaha. The saint is truly free-spirited. They say a new breeze is blowing through the Cathedral of the Saint; is that why?”

“A new breeze my foot. It’s just a gathering of old fogies.”

“Hmm, I won’t condone any such complaints. The Cathedral contributes quite a lot to the budget here in the Ice Palace.”

The Tsar didn’t seem to care much for Ophelia’s egregious remarks. Rather, she was a true leader who could dismiss them lightly and return to the main topic.

“So, Hero, you wish to move North through the Ice Palace?”

“Yes.”

“And the reason?”

“I want to kill Plague Lord Vermina.”

“…Oh.”

A glint of interest appeared in the Tsar’s eyes.

“The Plague Lord has been a nuisance to the Ice Palace for decades. Her activity has increased quite a bit in the last ten years. Perhaps it coincides with the Demon King’s appearance.”

As she brought the goblet to her lips, she narrowed her eyes and evaluated us.

“My people have sacrificed thousands to that witch. If we include those who haven’t died but have been rendered useless, it might double. What do you think is the reason I haven’t personally torn that vile witch to shreds, Hero?”

“…Hmm. Perhaps it’s difficult to enter because of the Erosion Zone…?”

“That’s true. But to be a true leader, one must know to make sacrifices for a greater cause.”

The Tsar sighed and gestured to Cecilia.

She slowly rose from her seat and drew back the curtains of the window.

“The biggest reason lies within.”

“Within?”

“Look outside.”

At her words, I turned to look beyond the open window.

I grimaced.

Beyond the castle, a fiery beacon stood erect.

At first, I thought it was a mere torch, but as I looked closer, I realized it wasn’t. That was a corpse skewered on a spit, the impaled body emitting bright red flames.

“…What is that?”

“What do you think it is? It’s a corpse.”

“What kind of corpse?”

As I asked in a somewhat chilly voice, the Tsar set down her goblet.

Then, she shared a story I had never heard before.

“Hunting.”

“Hunting?”

“Hunting Possessors.”

“…”

At those words, my eyes widened.

Not just me, but Ophelia was startled enough to drop her spoon.

 

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