Southward Bound
The three days heading south passed in the blink of an eye. When the promised time finally arrived, I prepared to leave the Royal Capital without a trace of regret. Lily and Gerard, who had been heading to the Royal Palace for the past two days, stayed behind today. It seemed they wanted to see me off as I departed the capital for the south.
“Everyone’s here?”
“Yes, Master. We’re all gathered.”
“Good. Now, listen carefully once more. Pay close attention.”
Before leaving the Royal Capital, I decided to emphasize what lay ahead.
“The arrogant Demon God Worshippers have been driven to the brink of annihilation. But it’s not over yet. In fact, the situation has become even more troublesome than before. When their forces were strong, they could boldly step into the light, but now they’ll hide in the shadows until the very end, waiting for any opening.”
It was the inevitable consequence of our victory in the battle at the Royal Capital. There were still remnants of the Demon God Worshippers lurking in the outskirts. With their main forces wiped out in a single battle, they would burrow deep into hiding. For my disciples, tasked with finding and eliminating every last one of them, it would feel like an endless game of tag. They would have to enter the forest, dig into burrows, and hunt down rats in hiding.
“On top of that, one of the enemies escaped and avoided the battle. What that means is simple. These foes aren’t just focused on fighting, killing, and burning. They’re the type who will use any means necessary to win. That’s why you must work even harder while remaining even more cautious. A single moment of carelessness could unravel everything. That’s why I paired you up in the first place.”
Garam with Jenia, Gerard with Iris, and Daisy with Lily. I had instructed them to stay in pairs and maintain constant contact. It was to ensure organic cooperation and prevent any one of them from becoming isolated.
“Lily and Daisy will remain in the Royal Capital to maintain security. When either Garam and Jenia or Gerard and Iris return, switch places so the other pair can head east. Garam and Jenia should stay in the Royal Capital a little longer to focus on healing Garam’s wounds, then move west once that’s done. Lastly, Gerard and Iris will head north.”
“Understood, Master.”
“There won’t be any large-scale ambushes like before. On the contrary, it’ll be far too quiet. Because of that, your followers might grow complacent. Make sure they don’t harass innocent citizens. Even that would serve as good prey for the Demon God Worshippers.”
If there was no way to defeat the Heroes through force, then the opposite approach would work—undermining them through means other than strength. If public sentiment could be swayed, nothing would remain unshaken. Once the Heroes lost the people’s support, the fanatics would seize the opening.
“I’ll be heading south with Master, taking Ester and Iris with me. If anything happens, I’ll contact you, so don’t worry and focus on your missions. Got it?”
“Yes, Master!”
“Understood!!”
“We will follow your orders.”
I nodded in approval at their resounding replies. We had shattered one Fragment of the Demon God and eliminated two Demonic Humans. If we kept this pace, victory in the war would come without much trouble. Of course, I had no idea what might happen next or how events would unfold. But by my side stood Master, who had defied the laws of the world and cut down a Fragment, along with Iris, the regressor from the future who knew everything that was to come. This wasn’t a fight without odds or a gamble without certainty. It was doable. Anyone could see that we had more than enough to succeed.
“Master.”
Just as I was about to leave Daisy’s residence, Garam held something out to me.
“It’s a carriage ticket to one of the major southern cities. They’ll take you there quickly.”
“Did you get help from that limping friend of yours?”
“He mentioned knowing someone who runs a regular carriage service to the south. They mainly cater to wealthy merchants and nobles, so the carriage facilities are quite good. You can rest easy.”
“I owe him one. Tell him I said thanks.”
“I will. He’ll probably be quite pleased to hear it.”
After receiving the ticket from Garam, I turned around. Just as I was about to join Master, Ester, and Iris, who were already waiting ahead—
“Master!”
Garam, Jenia, Daisy, Gerard, and Iris all called out. I slowly turned to face them. At the same time, the Heroes dropped to their knees, bowed their heads, and raised their voices.
“We will see you again before long!”
“…Right. Let’s meet again later. You’ve all worked hard so far, so just endure a little longer.”
“We will live up to your expectations, Master! Please, please take care of yourself!”
“You all stay safe and healthy too. Ah, and if the Enemy’s Will appears, don’t rush into battle right away. Contact each other first and make sure you have the numerical advantage. Got it? Anyone who charges in recklessly will get a serious scolding from me later. This isn’t a joke—I mean it.”
“We will keep it in mind!!”
The disciples remained with their heads pressed to the ground as they answered. For some reason, a strange itch stirred in a corner of my chest. After a moment of hesitation, I decided to speak.
“Hey.”
At my call, the disciples looked up at me in unison. Seeing their faces, I slowly lowered my head.
“Thank you, kids. Truly, thank you. And…”
And.
“…I’m counting on you from now on as well.”
My disciples. My Heroes. And my hopes.
The reason I was heading south, to a place other than where I had come from. Now that the disciples were paired up and the Royal Capital also required attention, even Master and I had to move so the disciples could have a bit more breathing room. The Fragments of the Demon God were beginning to appear in earnest. In that case, we too needed to conserve our strength in preparation for any unforeseen circumstances. I couldn’t keep forcing obligations only on the disciples while making them run around. That was why I also had to start moving in earnest.
There were a few other reasons for heading south as well. Ester still needed a bit more refinement, and Iris required even more time than Ester. To focus on training the two of them, a quiet location was necessary. The mountain where I originally lived was out of the question since it would be hard to stay informed about the situation. While other regions were crowded with citizens, making things difficult, the disciples had mentioned that the south was relatively quiet, so I chose it.
Lastly, there was one more reason. I also needed to receive instruction from Master regarding that new technique.
“By the way… Master. May I ask you something?”
“What is it?”
“Is something the matter?”
“…What?”
“Your expression doesn’t look good.”
Master, the Heavenly Demon, sat in the carriage gazing outside. Her expression seemed strangely stiff today. Because I had never seen her make such a face before, it stood out even more clearly.
“…It’s nothing.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes. I was simply thinking that you seemed quite reluctant to part with your disciples.”
“If I may answer that, I’m fine. After all, we’ll meet again later, won’t we?”
“You’re right. This is only a brief farewell. We’ll meet again when we face the enemy.”
After saying that, Master turned her gaze back to the window outside.
“….”
It might not be the case, and it could simply be my own needless worry, but for some reason, Master’s complexion looked far too poor. It wasn’t that her color was bad, but rather that the shadow of worry seemed deeply cast over her.
“Master…”
I tried to call out to her once more but decided against it. If there was something, she would tell me someday. Perhaps she simply needed time to sort through her thoughts right now.
“Master.”
At that moment, a very small whisper reached my ears. It was so faint that even I, sitting right beside her, could barely hear it.
“What is it, Ester?”
“Are we… going south?”
“Yes. We’ll go there and deal with any monsters or Demon God Worshippers that appear. And whenever we have time, I’ll look after you and Iris as well.”
“Ah…”
“What’s wrong, Ester? Is there a problem?”
“N-no… It’s just that… um…”
Ester hesitated, debating whether to say it or not. Then, squeezing her eyes shut as if she had made up her mind, she parted her lips.
“I-it’s my first time… traveling… with Master…”
Even just saying that, her voice grew smaller starting from the word “traveling.” By the time she reached “first time,” it was so quiet that I had to strain to hear it. Anyone watching might have thought the two of us were going on a honeymoon.
“Master. Once we arrive in the south, will you start searching for their traces right away?”
Iris, who had been sitting quietly across from us, asked the question. Whether we would search for the Demon God Worshippers like hunting lice or drive them further into a corner by dealing with monsters. Until now, all the disciples had used one of these two methods. But now, both approaches had become awkward to employ.
Most of the Demon God Worshippers had already been wiped out in the battle at the Royal Capital. There might be survivors, but they would definitely hide as deep as possible. Not only because of the Heroes, but because of the worst precedent of attacking the Royal Capital. The Demon God Worshippers who had been secretly active among the citizens. To the citizens who had been tormented by monsters and demonic beasts, the protection of the Demon God must have seemed incredibly sweet. It might have appeared as the only escape from a fear greater than death itself. However, the Royal Capital incident had made it clear that this wasn’t the case. Fanaticism was ultimately just fanaticism, and the demonic beasts were not apostles of death but mere monsters. With the royal family, the church, and even the citizens’ public sentiment turning against them, any Demon God Worshipper in their right mind would naturally try to hide.
“Once we arrive in the south, I plan to quietly assess the situation first.”
“Really?”
“Those rats are already terrified. If we poke around their holes, they’ll burrow even deeper. That would only make it harder to eliminate them. Instead, we should show them a small opening and dangle the bait. The moment those rats lose their fear and stick their heads out, we snatch them up.”
“Hmm… You’re right, Master. That does seem like the best approach. In fact, compared to other places, the south is relatively ‘quiet.’”
Iris emphasized the word “quiet” in a subtle tone. From her experience, the southern part of the continent had been somewhat better. Of course, that was only true for the time when the Royal Capital had fallen. Now that the attack on the Royal Capital had ended in complete failure, the Demon God Worshippers might instead flock to the south, where the land and mountains were good.
- It wasn’t only the Fragments of the Demon God that had defied causality. -
- Ironically, it might have started with the Heroes themselves. -
Many things had changed because of Iris’s regression, and there was a possibility that something had twisted as a result. That was why we had to be even more careful and prepare even more thoroughly.
“Master. While I was in the Royal Capital, I happened to hear about a really nice lodging in the south. How about we go there? Hm? Hm? Master?”
“….”
Meanwhile, I couldn’t figure out why only Iris seemed so excited.