I'm Better Than Her
"We merely acted based on decisive evidence and testimony."
The living legend of the Ersha Kingdom, Helena Ronain, cut in with a cool, resolute voice.
The next saintess candidate Seria, the Tyr Church's proxy Arshe, and the second daughter of the great noble house Argent, Lurein—wherever they went in the kingdom, they received the utmost VIP treatment. But in the swordmaster's mansion, they were nothing more than annoying guests.
Seria spoke up.
"Lein, got nothing for you? Like the next head of the Assassin Guild or... "
"Something like the guild master's prized disciple."
"......"
Flushing with humiliation, Lein bowed her head and shuffled out of the mansion. As she walked, she thought to herself,
'I hate these girls.'
With Tanas gone, she seemed to have become the new target of their bullying. She needed to find Tanas as soon as possible... Wait, no—thinking about it, there was no reason to stick around with these girls anyway. If she found him, she'd beg to form a party just the two of them. Tanas would understand her feelings perfectly. After all, she hadn't done anything that bad, right?
Lein let out a small sigh, lost in such absurd thoughts.
'But where the hell did he go?'
A moment later, even for a swordmaster, openly kicking out people of their stature must have been exhausting—but Helena didn't hesitate. In her eyes, the girls had started looking less like heroes and more like accomplices trying to cover up an ugly truth.
"She really had no clue."
Lurein whispered softly as they were all but chased out the front gate. That meant Seria was wrong. She'd thought the swordmaster was hiding Tanas's whereabouts, but her attitude had been consistently, "Not my problem."
"Pitiful as he is, it's clear he was framed by the demon race, so he'll be declared innocent soon enough."
"Of all the..."
Seria swallowed the rest of her words and anxiously bit her nails. The moment Tanas was declared innocent, what would happen to them, the ones who'd betrayed him? More likely than not, a horrific future awaited—nine times out of ten.
'I have to find him first!'
He might be angry, but wasn't he the guy who'd play dead at her command? Amid her worry, she clung to that reliable corner of faith, quickly regaining her smile. She was far better than the girls in front of her. Even if things went south, as his childhood friend, she'd be different. Seria firmly believed that.
Where on earth had Tanas gone, though? Even when she'd entered the convent, he'd sneaked her messages. Had something happened to him? It was ridiculous to worry after stabbing him in the back, but Seria's thoughts didn't reach that far.
"......"
"......"
With nothing to show for it, the four exchanged awkward glances before heading to a high-end dessert shop near the Royal Capital. Cakes worth a lifetime's wages to commoners lined the displays, but for them, it was everyday fare.
"Sorry, but we can't let just anyone— Ah, my apologies! Thank you so much for gracing our main branch!"
The clerks rushed out in an instant, bowing left and right.
"We want to be alone today, so get back to work. Bring us a few of your most expensive items."
Lurein waved them off irritably. Settling at the most ornate table, Arshe asked sharply,
"What the hell happened?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, was the oracle really real?"
"You doubting me now? Even as proxy, you can't trust my word?"
Seria shot back shamelessly. Of course there'd been no oracle, but none of them could prove it.
"That's not it—I came to Ronain's mansion with you because I trusted you!"
Arshe eyed the saintess candidate with suspicion. Everything harsh she'd done to Tanas had been for his sake. Beating him, pushing him into danger, making him carry the gear, taking his money, bossing him around—it had all been necessary. Heroes grew stronger through trials. She'd steeled her painful heart with that belief and done those things...
'What if there was no oracle?'
The possibility had crossed her mind lately, so she stared at Seria coldly.
'It was all for you.' Surely he'd understand. They'd crossed the line between life and death together for so long. She'd done it with bone-deep resolve, swallowing her tears... What about the others?
'Especially Lurein.'
She'd seen her vent violent tastes on Tanas countless times, so she didn't think much of Lurein either. If they found him, maybe she'd suggest a two-person party. There were plenty of priests, mages, and rangers out there.
They bickered and sniped at each other for a while before irritably shoving the desserts the clerk brought into their mouths.
"What? Why are you staring like that?"
Lurein glared at Arshe.
"It's nothing."
In that moment, they suddenly realized it. These four had never been that close to begin with. Without Tanas as their center, they were strangers who could split apart at any second.
"We keep it secret for now, right?"
"Duh, why ask? If it gets out, we're all done."
The sweet perks of being the Hero Party were essential, especially for Lein with no powerful backing.
"It won't leak, right?"
"No incidents, and we've got three months tops... We have to find Tanas by then. Stretch it out, maybe half a year."
They couldn't slack off for years on excuses like illness or personal matters.
But they were already feeling it—the power inside them weakening day by day. Without it, they'd be just ordinary adventurers or mercenaries scattered everywhere. Maybe a notch above, at best.
"Half a year my ass...! You think we can afford to be so casual?"
Arshe slammed the table and stood. Crack! The solid oak splintered to pieces.
"We need to get serious! Rumors are already starting!"
Since that monster attack where she'd been flung back, whispers about Arshe had begun circulating. She was more anxious than anyone—her untouchable attitude had relied on her title as Tyr's proxy and her fame as the "Impregnable Arshe." Losing her strength meant her downfall.
"We're already looking into it with people out there, so chill."
Lurein brushed it off, but shot Arshe a dirty look. Trust between them was gone. Maybe it never existed.
Their gazes at each other were as dry as looking at strangers.
'Why did I even hang with these girls?'
Without Tanas, they wouldn't have even met... And now, they were looking for him only for their own gains. Unlike Lurein, who missed him, their motives felt impure.
'No matter what, I have to find him before these bitches.'
Lurein smacked her lips inwardly and shook her head.
"Heroes, if I may—about damaging the shop..."
"Hah, how much could it even cost..."
Lein stood, tossing her gold pouch onto the floor with a thunk. Money was no object. They still had plenty. Tanas's money, of course.
As they left, Seria muttered,
"If you find anything, let me know. I have church business."
"Me too..."
"I'm out as well."
Scattering in different directions, each thought the same: I have to find him first.
Midnight before the Springfield underground treasury. A group of men appeared before the massive iron door. At the center strode a man in a flashy cloak, like a big shot.
"Heh heh... Solid intel. Father's on his deathbed, and he bolts? Blood tells, huh?"
The Gondor Viscount had come personally for one reason: the Springfield family's heirloom, the Orb of the Land. Among its many powers, it was the sole key to controlling the magic stone veins in their territory. Paranoid as he was, he wouldn't trust anyone else to retrieve it.
What's more, he'd spent years close to the Springfield patriarch, picking up the treasury's intricate locks over his shoulder.
"You with almost no mana use the second key."
"Yes, sir!"
"Hurry and open it. With this orb, eastern hegemony is mine."
Half his lifelong dream within reach. As the viscount grinned slyly—
"They really came just as you said, sir!"
Torches blazed to life. Dozens of elite soldiers and adventurers surrounded the treasury. At the center stood Frisia with a cold expression, gazing down imperiously at Viscount Gondor.
"......!!"
The viscount panicked, scanning around—escape routes blocked. Beside him, the trembling spy who'd guided them had gone pale.
"Bashinem, it was you after all."
As I stepped from the shadows and pointed, the knights guarding Frisia cried out in shock.
"Sir Bashinem! Why betray the family?!"
"How could you forget the patriarch's grace?!"
"Disgrace to knighthood!"
The spy—Sir Bashinem—shouted in horror.
"Y-You! How did you know?!"
"I said he was suspicious."
It was just an example, but he'd gotten defensive on his own. Suspicious from the start. Bashinem hung his head in despair, and Viscount Gondor brazenly changed tack.
"Oh, misunderstanding, Lady Frisia! I heard your father was gravely ill and came to move the treasures to my safe castle! All out of friendship...!"
"Shut that mouth of yours, sir! My knight has told me all your plans, sir! You vile man, sir...!"
"K-Knight? Knew my plans...?"
Frisia glanced at me. Something beyond awe flickered in her eyes, then vanished.
"I'm innocent! Pure goodwill! E-Even if your claims are true, Lady Frisia, you have no authority to arrest me!"
Caught red-handed and still squirming—it was comical.
"Oh?"
"Keh heh... I don't know who you are, but you don't know kingdom law. Release me now, or else..."
I clapped twice. A middle-aged man bearing a golden seal emerged from the crowd.
"Viscount Gondor, stop sullying noble honor further."
The official inspector—and acting judge, arrived via teleport gate in record time.
"Wh-What...! How in this backwater...!"
"If you're innocent, plead it at trial."
"Th-This! Trapping a viscount like me?!"
"Not a trap—proper law enforcement. Trial tomorrow morning."
The inspector chuckled, binding the viscount and his entire crew.
'Guardian of Springfield' - Stage 2
Perfectly surrounded Viscount Gondor and secured evidence.
Watching it unfold, Frisia leaped down and grabbed both my hands.
"Thank you so much, sir... My knight. Without you, I—no, our family would be..."
She stared at me with scorching eyes.
Frisia Springfield's Trait Added!
Negative Trait: Obsession (Minor)
"......"
Wait, had this girl's eyes gone mad?