Delusion
At the knight training ground located at the north gate of the Royal Capital of the Ersha Kingdom, a tremendous boom echoed—kuwaaaaaang!—accompanied by a swirling wave of mana.
Though it bore the name of a knight training ground, not a single knight was in sight nearby. The kingdom's knights might have grown lax in discipline, but...
"...Ugh!"
"Oops! Well, this is embarrassing... My mistake. I didn't realize the mana would make the range expand this much..."
The biggest culprit was undoubtedly the Hero Party that caused chaos here every single day.
A gray-haired man tapped the training ground floor with his staff, pushing up his glasses with a smug expression. Who in the kingdom didn't know him? His signature Divine Weapon, Kadukedus, emitted a faint glow.
Magic Hero Dmitri. True to his title, his immense mana was a given, and at a young age, he'd mastered chantless casting and triple chants... A monster always counted among the top five mages across neighboring countries.
As he smirked with one corner of his mouth, the brown-haired girl flung to the edge of the training ground by the explosion bit her lower lip hard. 'That smug bastard...!'
"......"
"Oh dear, are you angry? My apologies. However..."
Dmitri continued his theatrics like a stage actor, tilting his head with exaggerated gestures.
"As the 'Thief' handling scouting for the Hero Party, I never imagined you'd fail to dodge even a basic fireball..."
He covered his mouth and let out a snide chuckle. His behavior was far from that of the 'heroes' praised by the masses, but in a way, it was to be expected.
Hero Dmitri. Apart from his exceptional magic prowess...
"As expected from the Hero of Incompetence's party member—your skills are trash too."
...he was infamous for his ugly looks and petty personality.
"......!"
Lein narrowed her eyes and clenched her fist for a moment, but seeing his party members waiting just below the training ground, she released it. 'Tanas might lack skill... but I don't!'
She had no allies here.
"With skills this pathetic, no need to bother pitting you against my party's thief. It'd just be a waste of time."
"Well done, Dmitri."
"The dirt on my robe was bothering me... thanks."
For some reason, Dmitri harbored malice toward her. No doubt about it. 'Why? I can't think of any reason...?'
Having joined as an escort at the church's request, she should have received treatment befitting the Hero Party, but...
"......"
With sparring as an excuse like this, even the church couldn't intervene. That ugly prick was probably picking fights on purpose, knowing that.
It hurt now, but... 'Just endure a little longer.'
Two more months? Three at most. It was a temporary party anyway.
"...Haa."
Lein let out a small sigh, brushed the dirt from her limbs, and staggered to her feet. Normally, a man would hand her a cold wet cloth, but now...
'Tanas...'
She already missed him.
"Dmitri, shall we head in now?"
"The sparring isn't over yet."
"We have tomorrow too, don't we? Besides, we all need time to prepare for dinner with the First Prince tonight."
"That's right, Hero!"
Dmitri stared at his party members for a moment, glanced at the disheveled Lein, and clicked his tongue softly.
"Mm, you're right... It's filthy anyway... Fine, we'll end it here for today."
"......"
"Lein, was it? Maybe work on your skills. As expected from a commoner—nothing done right."
Infuriating words, but...
"...Yes, understood, Hero."
All she could do was grit her teeth.
"Ah... Don't take it to heart. I just can't tell lies."
Sending one last mocking glance at Lein, the Hero turned to the soldier who suddenly rushed up.
"Hero Dmitri!! Urgent news! Please enter the palace at once!"
He furrowed his brow slightly.
"What's all this commotion?"
"I was just given orders too, so I don't know the details... The letter's here; you'll see soon enough, Hero."
"Hah... Hand it over, then."
For a brief moment, fury swirled across Dmitri's sneering face.
"......Kuh!"
"Dmitri, what's wrong?"
"...Tanas... That damn bastard, screwing me over again like this?"
"......?"
Lein, eavesdropping while holding her breath, widened her eyes at the sudden mention of his name. 'Huh? Why Tanas's name...?'
"Hero, what's the matter? What's written in the letter...?"
Dmitri ground his teeth audibly.
"They caught the real culprit who murdered the Empire's princess..."
His fierce gaze swept the surroundings.
"Th-that's good news, isn't it? Why are you so angry...?"
"It would be, normally... But he was convinced one of the other four Heroes was an accomplice!"
"Is that true? The kingdom's special task force and the Three Goddess Church didn't point to Tanas as a prime suspect, did they? No way the Incompetent Hero's words would be taken seriously—"
"Haa... What nonsense are you spouting! With the real culprit caught, of course the Incompetent Hero's been cleared and released! More importantly... look at this."
Dmitri pointed to the bottom of the letter and turned to his party.
"Th-this is the Swordmaster's seal...!"
'Ack!'
Even Lein, listening in stunned silence, trembled at the word Swordmaster. Because...
The Swordmaster was a living legend.
Winning the kingdom's martial tournament at the youngest age as a woman, rivaling the Empire's Four Knights before even reaching adulthood, shaking neighboring countries with her fame. Not just that—she'd beheaded the leader of a corrupt cult plaguing the kingdom in one stroke and even drove off a giant ogre rampaging near the border...
Her feats rivaled those of legendary heroes from tales.
"How the hell did that incompetent fool convince her... To think he'd drag my name into this... Trash!!"
"There must be solid evidence, right? Then we should head to the palace immediately!"
"Let's go—follow me."
With that, they hurried toward the palace.
"......"
Lein stared blankly at the sky, slowly walking across the training ground.
'Tanas is cleared?'
Who did it? This was faster than planned. She'd meant to sneak him out and prove his innocence later...
'Wh-what now?'
He was cleared, so that was good, right? No... that wasn't the issue.
Being cleared meant the chance to help him... the chance to win him back... was gone.
"......!"
Realizing this, Lein dashed around frantically, as if her feet were on fire.
'Wh-what do I do? What to do!!'
Memories of what she'd done to him flooded her mind.
'Aah... Why is Tanas so useless?'
'Can't even do that? Why are you even alive?'
'Tanas... You think you deserve to eat at the table with us? The toilet suits you better, eating alone.'
'Unlike you doing chores every day, we're tired... Can't you at least take our night watches?'
Luckily—or so she thought...
"Hoo..."
Among the three, she'd treated him the most humanely, so she sighed in relief.
'What now?'
Tanas would return to the capital soon. In this situation, even if she explained, would things go back to how they were? To those fun days teasing him lightly on adventures...
"......Sh-should be fine, right?"
Kind Tanas wouldn't hate her, but he might be a bit disappointed? When he was framed for murdering the princess, they'd all abandoned him, even pushing for execution... In the worst case, he might see it as betrayal.
'B-but I was the best of the three... should be okay...?'
Lein slumped in a corner of the training ground, deep in thought, but no clear answer came.
'I really don't know...'
She could ask Seria later. The past didn't matter. What counted was the future they'd build.
Just treat Tanas better from now on!
Lein tried forcing her happy delusions, pushing down the anxiety bubbling like a spring, but...
"...What do I really do?"
It didn't help much.
At that moment,
"T-Tanas is cleared...?"
'How from Prisone Prison?'
'Who helped him?'
Arshe and Lurein were much the same, biting their nails anxiously, lost in thought.
The most distraught was, of course...
"H-how did this happen...?"
The cute pink-haired girl with waist-length hair trembled, clutching the letter.
She read it over and over in disbelief, but...
"......"
The contents didn't change.
Things had already veered off plan since they failed to send him to execution.
"Seria... are you okay? What's it say...?"
The party mage asked curiously, but
"Wh-why'd they handle it like this!"
"Eek!"
"...I'll head to the capital for a bit."
"Y-yes? Wh-what? Wait! Seria!!"
She heard nothing now. Her mind was filled only with thoughts of him.