The Scent of Lavender
Was it the effect of the lavender tea Lucia had brewed for me?
The moment I finished the cup, the anxiety I feared would linger vanished as if it had all been a lie.
Whether it was the remarkable efficacy of the tea or my improved state of mind since meeting Kir, I couldn't say.
Having finally calmed down, I realized our departure had been significantly delayed and headed outside to find Jack and Jenny waiting.
The army marching to battle the Demon King's forces had already passed through. The village was quiet once more, and Illuen was nowhere to be seen.
"Cal, are you okay?" Jack asked.
"Yeah. I'm fine."
"If it's too much, we can rest today and head out tomorrow."
"No, I'm good. Let's get moving. Sorry, I held us up."
After apologizing to Jack and Jenny, I led the way toward the sector assigned to us for our guild commission.
"Thanks for earlier, Lucia," I said quietly as we walked.
"Oh, it was nothing," she replied softly.
"That tea really worked wonders."
"I'm glad it helped. Are you feeling better now?"
"Yeah. But how did you know about something like that?"
Lucia reached into her bag and pulled out a small glass jar to show me.
"Back in my hometown, we dry lavender and various tea leaves thoroughly, then store them in glass jars like this so they keep for a long time."
"Ah... so that was the tea from earlier."
The jar she held out was filled to the brim with dried purple petals. Even though it was sealed tightly with a cork, the soothing scent of the tea still seemed to drift from it.
"Whenever I had symptoms similar to yours, I used to brew this tea often."
Symptoms similar to mine...?
Did that mean Lucia had suffered from anxiety attacks just like me?
Perhaps she didn't want to dredge up painful memories, for she fell silent. We continued walking toward our destination, the quiet between us filled only by the idle chatter of Jack and Jenny.
We walked for some time. Because our party had started late, we were the only ones heading toward the front lines. Instead, we frequently crossed paths with wounded adventurers, knights, and soldiers being carried back.
"The casualties look a lot worse than I expected," Jack muttered.
His initial confidence had withered at the sight of the stream of wounded, and his pace was gradually slowing.
"Safety comes first, always," I said. "If things look dangerous, run immediately. Got it?"
"Yeah..."
If I'd known the fighting would be this fierce, maybe I should have just acted as the Hero...
As I wavered, wondering if I should step in to support them even now, a sudden cry cut through the air.
"Squeak! Humans! Squeak! Get the humans!"
A pack of dozens of armed orcs emerged, shouting as they rushed toward our party. I had no idea how they had slipped past the other adventurer parties ahead of us, but they bore no signs of combat.
"Jack, you and I take the front. Jenny, Lucia, support us from the back. Jenny, make sure you keep healing Jack!"
"Y-Yeah..."
I wasn't worried about myself—orcs like these couldn't even scratch me—but Jack was visibly terrified, unable to even step forward to join the vanguard.
If I fought at my true strength, these orcs wouldn't last a second. But right now, I had to act like a B-rank adventurer, which meant holding back and putting on a convincing show.
"Cal... let's just retreat. There are too many of them!" Jack pleaded, his eyes darting over the horde.
But retreating was no longer an option.
"I don't think we can," I said.
"What?"
Behind us, a swarm of monsters that had no business being there was closing in. The adventurers and soldiers who were supposed to be holding the front lines were nowhere to be seen, replaced by a tide of beasts.
"H-How did this happen?! Where are the other adventurers? The knights? The Hero's party members were just here!" Jenny shrieked, losing her composure as we were surrounded from both sides.
Jack's sword trembled violently in his grip, his face pale with terror.
Lucia, however, was different.
"Cal, I'll hold the rear! Take out the orcs in front of us while I do!" she cried.
I wasn't sure if she could hold off the monsters behind us alone, but mana was already gathering in her hands. She was preparing to summon a spirit.
"Just give me three minutes, Lucia."
"Yes!"
"Jack, stay close to Jenny and Lucia just in case," I ordered.
Jack didn't need to be told twice. He scrambled over to them, raising his sword to guard their flanks.
The summoned water spirit, taking the shape of a young girl, looked around in confusion before beaming brightly at Lucia.
Water Barrier
As Lucia called out the spell, Undine conjured a massive wall of water behind us, blocking the advancing monsters.
I knew the barrier wouldn't deal any real damage to the monsters, but as long as it bought me enough time to clear the orcs in front and turn around, it would be more than enough.
Slash! Slice!
"Squeeeak!"
While Lucia's barrier held the rear, I cut down the orcs one by one. I had to split my attention, keeping an eye on the water wall to ensure no monsters slipped through, making the fight look far more difficult than it actually was.
Whenever I faced an orc clad in thick iron armor, I subtly infused my blade with just enough sword qi to slice through them, making sure the others couldn't see it.
"Whew..."
Having cleared the front, I didn't even have time to catch my breath before rushing back to deal with the monsters behind the barrier. Jack and Jenny could only stare in open-mouthed shock as I wiped out the entire horde of orcs in under three minutes and sprinted past them.
Fortunately, Lucia was too focused on maintaining the barrier to notice my combat performance.
"Lucia, keep the barrier up!" I called out.
"Yes!"
I leaped high into the air, clearing the wall of water. On the other side, the monsters were packed tightly, frustrated by the barrier.
With the opaque wall of water blocking my party's view, I finally let loose. I tore through the monsters at a speed that made my previous fight look like a crawl. By the time the barrier finally dissipated, the ground was drenched in black blood, and the rest of my party came back into view.
"Cal..." Jack stammered.
"No time. We need to fall back immediately," I said, cutting him off.
I knew exactly what he was going to ask, so I ignored him and started walking back toward the village.
Still, something felt wrong. The massive army and the horde of adventurers that had marched to the front couldn't have been wiped out in such a short time. Yet, the number of retreating and wounded soldiers seemed far too small compared to the force that had set out.
"Damn it...! We were set up!"
"Curse that damn Hero's party!"
Just then, a group of limping knights retreating from the front stumbled past, spitting curses. At the mention of the "Hero's party," I instinctively stopped them.
"What happened at the front?" I asked.
"What? An adventurer? If you don't want to die for nothing, you'd better run!" one of them barked.
"Just tell me what happened."
"Can't you see? We're wiped out. Completely wiped out..."
"Wiped out? How could an army that size be wiped out so quickly?"
"Well, not literally wiped out, but we're surrounded and cut off by the Demon King's army. It's as good as over! And it's all because of that brainless former Hero's party member!"
"A former Hero's party member... Do you mean the elf, Illuen?"
"Yes! That bitch is the reason we're in this mess!"
Wiped out because of Illuen...?
What on earth had happened at the front?
"Where on earth is he..."
Illuen, a former member of the Hero's party and a princess of the Elf Kingdom, scanned every face gathered in the Rexen fief of the Horon Kingdom. Yet, she could not find the Hero, Carlos.
She knew the Hero was officially not participating in this battle, but out of sheer desperation, she had searched the area with a fine-tooth comb, clinging to the hope that he might have joined incognito.
"What? Did he really not come?"
She had checked the marching columns from the vanguard to the rearguard, but there was no sign of him. The disappointment hit her twice as hard as the hope she had harbored.
"Sigh... If only I had known..."
Faced with the reality of Carlos's absence, a wave of belated regret washed over her. If only she hadn't cast him aside so ruthlessly three years ago...
"How dare a mere human touch me? Filthy, inferior creature..."
When Carlos had been suffering from the betrayal of Saintess Emilia and Crown Prince Chris, he had sought her out. Back then, believing the Hero was no longer needed now that the Demon King was defeated, she had coldly driven him away. That decision had come back to haunt her.
She had fought so hard to stay in that party. To prevent her own incompetence from being exposed and getting kicked out, she—an elf supremacist—had swallowed her pride, seduced the Hero, and even given him her body just to cling to her position.
Yet, despite the glory of defeating the Demon King, she had failed to be chosen as the successor to the Elf Kingdom's throne. When rumors spread that the Demon King had returned, she had tried to find the Hero and even sent a party application to the Arzen Kingdom, but it was all in vain. After all, she had driven a dagger into the Hero's heart three years ago.
"Lady Illuen!"