#053 Aptitude
#053 Aptitude
The bald Adventurers' Guild master led us toward the guild.
"Um, Master. Do I really have to talk with him...?"
"Of course. You understood what I said, didn't you?"
"Well, yes, but...."
Lucius clearly didn't want to.
The bald man walked ahead, constantly glancing sidelong at Lucius and me, and I couldn't help but smile at the suspicious looks he was sending our way.
Once Lucius spoke with him one-on-one, the matter of our identities would be settled anyway.
`It's only natural for a Holy Sword Hero to hide his identity.`
There were times when someone revealed their identity, like Bareness, but right now Lucius had no reason to reveal his.
Still, it was necessary to appeal to his strength to some degree.
`Being a strong person who can kill a Sandworm in one blow is enough.`
Just a swordsman with tremendous power.
Not a Holy Sword Wielder, but someone who possessed strength rivaling a Hero's.
For now, it was best for Lucius to have exactly that level of reputation, and any annoying pests who still clung to him despite his strength could simply be left for the guild master to deal with.
`If a Holy Sword Wielder asks you to keep it secret, what are you going to do about it.`
Being that suspicious meant he was that capable.
"We've arrived. Then, all three of you, please come inside...."
"Hey, Hero!!"
".....!!"
I was momentarily horrified.
Because of the word "Hero."
Because it was a familiar voice.
And because of that—that bouncing thing running over here with a bright voice—
"Pervert!"
"Oh, Witch. This is nothing."
Before my eyes stood a pervert.
"Can you not feel the blessing of the Azure Moon Goddess?"
"...Aren't you feeling it a bit too much?"
"The stronger the goddess's power, the more safely I can protect people, so it's fine. Haha."
Bareness, the Hero who wore the flames emitted by the Flame Holy Sword as if they were her own clothing, truly possessed a talent for making people's skin crawl.
"Witch, and everyone in your party. I've heard the news. They say your exploits were truly remarkable."
Bounce, bounce.
"To bring down that enormous Sandworm in a single blow—I can't believe it! And on top of that, saving so many people—I suspect it was thanks to the Azure Moon Goddess watching over you. Hehe."
A large person like her, wearing no clothes at all and wrapped only in flames—it was beyond embarrassing; I felt like calling the guards right away and having her arrested for public indecency.
"Lucius, don't look."
"M-Master...?"
"I said don't look. At that."
Lucius had just used the Holy Sword's power.
From what I'd roughly heard of the battle situation in the north, Bareness had also used the Holy Sword's power.
`This is dangerous.`
Even now, Bareness was actively using the Holy Sword's power.
`The Holy Sword's power might be discovered.`
Perhaps the two Holy Swords might even resonate with each other.
That was a situation I absolutely could not welcome right now.
"Haha, Witch. Do I look like I'm going to eat you? Why are you so shy? You seem just as good as me—no, even better."
"Excuse me. What are you saying right now?"
"Hahaha! It's fine, Witch. You don't need to be so shy. It's only awkward at first; you'll get used to it later."
"I have no intention of getting used to it, and I don't want to get used to it!"
This woman—the gist of what she was saying to me right now was....
"Master, please calm down...."
"Calm down, my ass!! She's proselytizing to me right now, telling me to become a member of the Church of the Azure Moon Goddess!!"
Me, the Great Demon King!!
Me, Belphegor!!
How could I!!
Become a priestess of some being like the Azure Moon Goddess!!
"The door is always open, Witch. I will surely bring you to believe in the Azure Moon Goddess so that you may devote yourself even more fully to humanity...."
"I won't do it!"
"Now, now. Bareness, please calm down. Witch, you calm down too."
The bald man was looking at me with lukewarm eyes.
It was a gaze that made my head heat up considerably, and I felt irritated for no good reason.
`It's because of Bareness.`
If only she hadn't come running over shouting for no reason.
If only she hadn't approached me telling me to believe in the Azure Moon Goddess.
"First... a lot of people are gathering, so please come inside. Bareness, and everyone in the Witch's party. Since a crowd is forming, it seems difficult to keep talking here."
The bald man hurriedly opened the guild door and led us inside.
"Since a crowd is forming...."
"Of course a crowd is forming, with the Hero here like this."
"There are probably even more people who gathered after hearing about the Witch's exploits, are there not?"
"What exploits did I even do?"
"If your profession weren't mage, it wouldn't be strange to call you a Saintess, considering how many people you saved."
Bareness took my hand, her eyes sparkling brightly.
"If I had personally witnessed your relief efforts there, Witch, I might truly have fallen for you. To carry out the teachings of the Azure Moon Goddess so diligently—"
"It's different."
I had tried not to make an enemy of her, but I had to draw the line when it came to the Azure Moon Goddess.
"I didn't save people because of the Azure Moon Goddess's teachings. I saved them because it was the right thing to do."
"......!!"
Bareness's mouth fell open in surprise.
I wondered what there was to be so surprised about, and my stomach churned at having made a remark unbecoming of a Demon King.
"Witch, you seem embarrassed...?"
"Saying saving people is only natural while squirming like that... possible."
"Don't the Flame Hero and the Witch look like sisters together like that? Like the Flame Hero is the Witch's little sister."
The murmuring of the crowd was slightly irritating, but I swallowed hard as Bareness approached me somewhat excessively.
"I understand. I've misspoken again. Hehehe, why do I lose my composure like this whenever I talk with you, Witch? Let's go inside first and talk a little more."
Bareness extended her hand to me, and I took it and went inside so as not to embarrass her.
`Making an enemy of a Hero is out of the question.`
With my current specs, I couldn't beat Bareness.
If I squeezed my efficiency to the limit, I might manage a draw, but I'd either go down together with her or have to possess some random insect A passing by as my whole body burned up.
"We're not on a battlefield anymore, so how about putting on at least a top?"
"Haha, am I not wearing one?"
"We've reached a social consensus to call that underwear."
"How can it be underwear when I'm not wearing anything over it, Witch? It's just clothing. Hehehe."
"......."
`I don't think the Flame Hero in my time was like this.`
What a tragedy.
How fickle the times are—how could the descendant of the Flame Hero, who once wielded a Holy Sword in full-body armor, be a woman like this?
If the previous Hero knew that the Flame Hero was such a debauched existence, he would pound the ground in lamentation from his grave.
The Hero's aptitude was excellent, but she had become infatuated with the doctrines of a strange religious group like the Church of the Azure Moon Goddess and went around without clothes.
Mercenary King.
Flame Hero.
Pervert.
* * *
At that moment.
Malphas was regrouping his forces at a location some distance from Normance.
"SKREEECH! GAAAK...!!"
The crow soldiers were in agony.
Most of them had burns on their bodies and were crying out in pain.
They had urgently flown to the lake where the Dimensional Gate had been opened and thoroughly submerged themselves in the water, but the pain of their skin being seared by fire was indescribably agonizing.
"Damn it, damn it...."
Malphas fiddled with his burned hand and seethed with frustration.
"The operation is a complete failure...! At this rate, I can't secure sacrifices for the Demon King...!"
Attack the north, lure the humans south, then gulp them down with the Sandworm.
That was certainly the plan he had set in motion, but the northern attack had been blocked by the Flame Hero, and the Sandworm had been destroyed.
"Damn it...! My chance to prove myself to the Demon King...!"
[Things look quite difficult for you, Malphas.]
"!!"
At the voice transmitted through the Mana Stone, Malphas clenched his fist.
In his heart, he wanted to smash the Mana Stone right then and there, but the other party, unlike himself, was someone who had produced clear `results`.
[Is the amount of sacrifices to offer the Demon King sufficient?]
"...It will be secured by tomorrow."
[I heard the Flame Hero was there? How unfortunate. Why not join forces with me now and work together?]
"Shut up. I'll handle my own work."
[Is that so? Hmm.... Very well. If you insist that much, I have nothing more to say.]
The old man's voice flowing from beyond the Mana Stone carried a low sneer.
[But keep this in mind. The more sacrifices are offered, the sooner the Great Demon King's true awakening will be achieved.]
"I know...! What crossed over into the Human Realm is only the Great Demon King's flesh. I know better than anyone that summoning his soul into the Human Realm requires immense power. The Great Demon King's true power is not something like a dragon's body."
[Indeed. Even in a human body, he possesses the power to overturn the continent. ...Still, contact me if necessary. How many survivors of the `Great Fall` remain besides you and me?]
"...Hmph. Bragging just because you occupied one city. I will definitely occupy Normance."
[I wish you luck.]
Beep.
The Mana Stone call ended.
Malphas immediately rose to his feet and shouted in a loud voice to the monsters.
"Everyone rest! Tonight, when those bastards are off guard! When they're drunk on victory! We will all unite as one and attempt an aerial assault!"
FLAP.
Malphas's wings spread wide behind him, and his feathers began scattering in all directions.
"For the Demon King!!"
* * *
While the bald man and Arthur Lucius went into a private room alone together.
The Mercenary King, Bareness, looked the witch up and down as she conversed with the elf.
`Seeing her again, she really is a good person.`
The abilities she possessed.
The charisma to guide people.
Leadership.
And pride that wouldn't lose to her own.
`It seems to have grown a bit, too.`
Her pride seemed to have grown compared to when they'd last met, but the witch was fully entitled to that pride.
A hero.
She didn't act according to doctrine; she saved people because her heart moved her.
Who else could show such heroic qualities?
"......."
Indeed.
`Recommending her as a Saintess candidate might not be a bad idea.`
If she became not a witch, but a Saintess of the Church of the Azure Moon Goddess.
Surely, it would be so very beautiful.
"......Hehehe."
Bareness imagined Witch Bel in Saintess robes and struggled to suppress the laughter escaping her.
Saintess robes.
After all, they were very special clothes visible only to good people.