19. Saintess
A few days passed, and we finished preparations to return to Tronen, the kingdom where we'd been active before. While we'd stayed here to rest for quite some time, Behena had first succeeded to the countship of Soboro County and become the countess. Our party received lavish hospitality from her, along with a substantial reward.
Regina...
"U, ugh, u."
Her treatment had finished not long ago, and she'd regained consciousness. Once she confirmed her body was whole, she came straight to me to say hello. Then she explained—in her way—that she had business to attend to. So I told her to go ahead and take care of it.
"Do you have to go?"
"Ugh."
"Yeah, alright. Can't be helped, then."
It was a bit disappointing, but what could I do? If she had things to handle and places to be, I had to let her go.
"See you next time."
"Ugh, uh, ah-ugh."
"Right, take care of yourself. Don't worry about us. You watch yourself too."
And with that, Regina left. We lounged around comfortably for a few more days, and today, our preparations to head back were finally complete.
"So you're leaving now."
"Yeah, thanks to you, we got plenty of rest."
"You could've stayed longer... I haven't even begun to repay my debts to you. It's such a shame."
On the day of our departure, Behena—who'd just been granted her title and inherited the territory, despite being swamped with work—rushed out barefoot to see us off. Even after treating us to more hospitality than we could ask for, she still seemed to think it wasn't enough. She grabbed our hands one by one, her eyes full of regret as she bid us farewell.
"No, we still have to go."
It was our promise to Princess Aria in Tronen. And no matter how comfortable Behena's hospitality was here, we were ultimately members of the Adventurer's Guild. The Durumil Kingdom was dominated by the Mercenary Guild, so there wasn't much work for us here anyway.
Someone might ask why we couldn't just transfer to the Mercenary Guild and become mercenaries... but unfortunately, Bella made that impossible.
Bella was a case of someone who'd transferred from the Mercenary Guild to the Adventurer's Guild. Even though the mercenaries had tried to ditch her first, she'd beaten them to the punch, quit on the spot, and declared she'd join the adventurers instead. From the Mercenary Guild's perspective, they weren't idiots—they'd never take her back. Not even if she was an S-rank mercenary by their standards, a top-tier powerhouse. Bella didn't have the slightest intention of going back anyway.
Long story short, we had to return to Tronen.
As Behena saw us off, Bella was surrounded by her subordinates from the Red Evil Mercenaries, receiving their reluctant farewells nearby. Stepping forward as their representative was Karlson, currently acting as captain in her stead. Thanks to Behena's devoted care, he'd recovered remarkably—no trace left of the torture's aftereffects.
"My liege, you're leaving?"
"Yeah, well... gotta head back. Got that promise with that bitch Aria, after all."
"Understood. It's a shame, but unavoidable."
Karlson shook his head regretfully. Bella shrugged it off like it was nothing.
"Eh, yeah. But with you here, I can leave it in good hands."
"Yes, I'll make sure to live up to your expectations."
Karlson thumped his chest with his fist, eyes saying leave it to me.
"Pfft, 'live up to expectations'? Cut the fancy talk and act like a mercenary. Like a proper merc. And don't push yourself too hard. Like I always say..."
"Reclaiming the kingdom matters, but you value us even more. Those words are still etched in my heart."
"You cheeky bastard, interrupting me."
"My apologies, my liege."
Karlson bowed his head. Bella smirked and turned away without a hint of lingering attachment.
"Alright, I'm off. Take care, all of you. Don't go missing me or getting all sappy. I'm a married woman now, got it? If you make my husband misunderstand, I'll bury every last one of you."
"...Haha, yes. Noted."
The Red Evil Mercenaries followed Bella with near-fanatical devotion from the start. None of them would dare harbor irreverent thoughts toward their liege.
With that, Bella rejoined us, and we set off amid their cheers.
The journey back to Tronen was far more comfortable than expected. For starters, the carriage was a dream. Durumil was a wealthy kingdom with vast plains dominating its land. Even Soboro Territory, despite the mess left by Behena's late uncle the previous count, retained its prestige. As a token of gratitude, Behena showered us with rewards—including one that hit the spot for me.
The latest-model magic carriage. It was an upgraded version of the self-driving one we'd ridden to Sierra's territory before.
"Whoa, fuck... A top-of-the-line magic carriage. And she gave us a whole one."
"Hah, you like it that much, you little shit?"
"Hell yeah, who wouldn't?"
It ran on golem horses instead of live ones, so they never tired. You just held the reins, and it went where and as fast as you wanted—no need to yank them around like with real horses. The driver's seat had climate control for heat or cold, anti-shake enchantments, and defensive spells to block incoming arrows. Of course, it guzzled magic stones to operate, making it a luxury for the rich. But Behena had pre-loaded it with a massive stock, so we were set for a good while. Refilling later wouldn't be an issue—we had no trouble getting magic stones.
"Hey, Cheong-ah. Seeing my husband this happy, I should've bought one ages ago, right?"
"This thing's crazy expensive, you know?"
"So what? Ian's thrilled."
"Bella, do you even know the price?"
"Huh? What, like a hundred gold coins?"
"...Sigh. Let me tell you how much that actually is."
Cheong-ah whispered the price in Bella's ear. Bella's eyes went wide as saucers.
"What the fuck? That's enough to almost hit half my damn goal! Forget booze—fuck booze! That's half my target amount?!"
"See? That's why you don't throw around comments like that..."
"Hey, hubby! Sell it! Let's sell that shit!"
"...Hah."
After hearing the price from Cheong-ah, Bella—who'd been rubbing her face all over the carriage in delight at its grandeur, majesty, and utility—charged at me with thunderbolt-level nonsense. Of course, once we started and I activated the driver's seat barrier—visible inside but invisible outside, super convenient—she swallowed her words quick.
"Ooh, ooh-hoo...! Hic, I won't... hic, say sell it anymore...!"
"Yeah, you better not."
"Hic, heuk...! Hak...!"
In truth, I made her swallow them by force. Anyway, thanks to the magic carriage, the trip was smooth. Bella and I took turns driving nonstop, crossing the border in under a week.
There was a brief border check, but showing the Soboro Count family seal Behena had given us as a gift got us through fast. Another week or so after that, we arrived at Hildenheim, Sierra's territory.
We headed straight for the lord's manor where Sierra was.
"Whew, fuck. Been a while here too."
"Yeah, but it doesn't look much different."
"Come on, how long were we gone for things to change?"
"Just saying."
After shaking off the stiffness from the long carriage ride, we stepped down—and Sierra burst out of the manor with an urgently desperate look on her face.
"Ian...!!"
Her face flushed beet red, like she'd bolted from her office the second she heard we were here. A mage with no great stamina, running like that. Were we that missed?
"Long time no see, Sierra."
"Ian! Why'd it take you so long to come?!"
No sooner had we greeted than she rushed right up, looking like she might hug me tight.
"Whoa, easy there, Sierra. I get you're happy to see us, but we're not that kind of close."
"Huh? What do you...?"
She froze at my words. Her eyes scanned me up and down like what the hell is this guy on about?
...Tone it down with the stare. That piercing you're full of shit look hurts.
Then, with a sudden ah, she snapped out of it, bowed her head, and apologized.
"Ah! Sorry, Ian. I got too excited."
"...No, it's fine. So, what's up?"
"It's nothing major, but... um... Ian, do you have any connection to the Holy Nation?"
"Huh? The Holy Nation?"
I echoed her words. What did the Holy Nation have to do with anything?
"Yes, the Holy Nation."
"Nah, none that I know of. Never even been there."
"Really?"
Sierra eyed me suspiciously. What the hell was going on? I nodded.
"Yeah, why would I hide it?"
"...Hah, damn. That's weird. Then why are they looking for you?"
Looking for me?
"Who's looking, and why?"
"Well... The Holy Nation's saintess is in the capital right now."
"And?"
What did that have to do with me, that she'd ask about my ties to the Holy Nation?
"But... she's..."
Sierra hesitated a moment before spilling it.
"The saintess requested Aria bring you to her immediately."
"...Me?"
Why the hell me?