Flesh
"Huff, puff."
A rhythmic breathing.
It was the sound of Del Roan running laps around the outer walls of the kingdom.
His two comrades had set up their own personal training schedules.
Roan had followed suit, drawing up a training regimen of his own.
It was already the fifth day.
Given time to think in solitude, their words naturally drifted back to him.
Training, huh...
A yearning for strength, and a curse upon their own weakness.
It was a dilemma they were bound to face, now that they had broken free from the flow of his past life.
I brought Jane along when she should be growing stronger through research at the Magic Tower, and I dragged Erian Belgard away when she should be gaining experience by traveling the continent.
The root of all evil, Del Roan.
Yet, even if Roan hadn't brought them along, they were bound to be weak at this point in time.
Even if they work themselves to the bone now, they won't be able to match their prime selves.
He briefly recalled the past.
The fully realized mage, Debi Jane.
Her signature spell, a fireball that burned like the sun, could melt everything in its vicinity just by being held in her hand.
She can use something similar now, but...
She was still far weaker than she had been in her prime.
Next was the fully realized priestess, Erian Belgard.
The sole defender and healer of the party.
Because of that, she had carried a heavy burden on her shoulders, yet she had performed her role with unwavering resolve.
The barriers she forged by layering holy power could block even a slash capable of splitting the continent, and her miraculous healing could regrow severed limbs.
But holy power was not an infinite spring, and once it ran dry, failure had inevitably followed.
It's fine. I'm here now.
With Del Roan here—having put his past behind him to focus entirely on defense—the very nature of this Expedition Party was different from his previous life.
Once the day came to recruit the rest of his comrades, they would form a party stronger and more unyielding than anything else in the world.
So, as soon as—
Trip!
"Whoa?!"
Roan stumbled as his foot caught on something.
Snapped out of his thoughts, Roan instinctively spun around.
"Huh? What's this?"
Something that had been buried in the dirt was sticking out.
It seemed his repeated pacing over the same spot had worn away the soil.
An unexpected discovery.
Roan approached the box and immediately flipped open the lid.
"Huh?"
He had hoped for something unique, but the only thing inside was a single slip of paper.
Anxiety, suspicion.
When traveling alone, Roan tended to set such cautious emotions aside.
He immediately checked the note.
The ultimate opportunity for you, the finder of this note! Come to the pink roof in Wolf's Alley, just north of the Third Boundary, right now! Let's have a little chat ♥
It was blatantly suspicious!
An overtly suspicious message paired with an overtly suspicious crest.
Actually, this is perfect.
It was so sketchy that it made him want to go even more.
Didn't I decide to deal with things like this the moment I find them? Let's go right away.
Slipping the note into his pocket, Roan brought his run to a finish.
Inside the tavern they had chosen as their temporary lodging.
Jane and Erian Belgard were sitting at a desk, studying.
Jane was expected, but Erian was a bit of a surprise.
He had assumed she would be wandering around to expand her pool of holy power.
"Are you studying too, Erian?"
"Ah, yes. I decided to train together with Jane. We're pointing out each other's weaknesses and working to improve them."
"Hey...! Hey! Why did you tell him?! I wanted to surprise him later!"
Jane shook her head vigorously, clearly annoyed that her secret was out.
But what could she do? He had already heard every word.
Ultimately giving up, Jane grumbled that she had been hiding it to surprise him later.
Then, her eyes caught Roan as he made moves to head back out.
"What? Going out to train again?"
"No."
"Then where are you going?"
Roan pulled the note from his pocket and showed it to her.
Jane's brow furrowed at the blatantly suspicious text.
"What is this? A scam?"
"...It does look incredibly suspicious..."
"Which makes it even better."
His resolute tone reminded them of his ultimate goal.
Of course.
He wasn't just sightseeing across the continent. He was identifying dangers and anomalies in advance to nip them in the bud.
"On that note, do you guys want to come along?"
Roan asked.
He believed that even if his comrades kept secrets from him, he should never hide anything from them.
"Of course we should! ...is what I'd like to say, but I'll pass this time."
An unexpected rejection.
Since Jane had always insisted on tagging along, her refusal came as a shock.
"If I go like this, it'll just be the same as always. I'll just be freeloading off you, feeling like I was barely even there."
"And I hate that."
"I don't want to just take the opportunities handed to me. I want to do this with my own strength. So, I'll sit this one out."
"I feel the same way. I know you'll do just fine on your own without us worrying, Roan..."
They trusted him, so they would focus on their training this time.
But they still warned him to run away immediately if anything unexpected happened.
Their resolve was far more serious than he had anticipated.
Who could possibly say no to that?
And so, Roan set off to handle the matter of Wolf's Alley alone.
Soon, he arrived at Wolf's Alley.
It's quiet here.
Contrary to its fierce name, the alley was tranquil and deserted.
In the distance, a pink roof stood out glaringly.
Was it eye-catching because all the other roofs were mundane colors?
No, that wasn't it.
There's someone standing in front of it.
It drew his attention because of the lone figure standing in the otherwise empty street.
He's handsome.
A moment of pure admiration.
The man was exceptionally good-looking, easily ranking among the most handsome people Roan had ever seen in both his past and present lives.
...Not that Roan cared all that much!
His priority wasn't to admire looks, but to reach his destination.
Holding the note in his hand, Roan approached the building.
"Oh? That letter..."
The man spoke to Roan first.
His tone carried a knowing quality that left an impression.
"Ah, yes. I found it while surveying the area outside the borders."
"I see! You found it! Well, since fate has brought us together, why don't you step inside?"
"Pardon? Who are you?"
"I'm the one who left that letter. Ah, my name is Deiar Hon."
He spoke with a strangely warm, welcoming demeanor.
Was he really that pleased that someone had found his hidden note?
The person behind the 'Let's have a little chat ♥' invitation is a guy... That's a bit awkward.
Shaking off the thought, Roan followed Deiar Hon inside.
"It's quite spacious inside."
"Yes. We connected all the surrounding buildings. We were running short on space, and we wouldn't want our guests to feel uncomfortable while we serve them."
"Serve? Is this some kind of temple?"
"Exactly!"
Deiar clapped his hands in delight, as if Roan had hit the nail on the head.
A temple inside the kingdom? Aren't they usually in remote areas?
Whether it was Sheryl or Half-Poporun—
whether they influenced the entire continent or were worshipped by a select few—
altars and temples were always situated far away from populated settlements.
"Which god do you worship?"
"I'm glad you asked!"
Deiar smiled joyfully and flung open a closed door.
Inside lay—
"...What in the world is this?"
A feast of flesh.
Flesh-colored silks draped the room.
Statues of the same hue depicted multiple human bodies fused and mangled together in a grotesque embrace.
Sculptures of humans holding each other in suffocatingly tight embraces, wearing bizarre, unsettling smiles.
Even the scent in the air was intoxicating, making one's heart race.
It was a deeply unfamiliar and disturbing sight.
As Roan frowned, Deiar placed a firm hand on his shoulder.
"Allow me to introduce us properly. We are the Feast of Flesh, servants of Lady Vivian, the Goddess of Flesh and Love."
The grip on his shoulder was surprisingly strong.
It wasn't just raw physical strength; there seemed to be holy power infused within it as well.
"To be honest, I left that letter there specifically for you."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"I heard the rumors. That the companions of the Hound wiped out a horrific band of White Mages. And that a black-haired human played the most pivotal role in that feat. I also heard that very human was currently training around the outskirts of the kingdom."
Naturally, fame always came with its share of side effects.
Even in his past life, once rumors began to spread, plenty of people had tried to use him for their own gain.
Maybe this guy is one of them.
The type who wanted to use him to elevate the name of their god.
He had dealt with it so many times that he felt absolutely nothing.
"A black-haired 'human.' To think a mere human eradicated such evil..."
But Deiar felt different from the rest.
He muttered as he stared at Roan, his focus seemingly fixed on Roan himself rather than Vivian.
Beneath eyes brimming with goodwill, a faint trace of madness flickered.
"My dear human. There is one thing I must ask you."
"...What is it?"
"By any chance, do you carry mixed blood?"
Roan raised an eyebrow, not understanding the question.
"I mean to ask if you have the blood of creatures like orcs or trolls running through your veins."
"Ah, you mean if I'm a half-breed? No."
"Ah!"
Deiar's smile widened even further.
He extended a hand as if welcoming Roan with all his heart.
"A pureblood! What a relief! Our Lady Vivian welcomes clean blood."
His words carried a strange, heavy significance.
But Roan couldn't very well spit in the face of someone who was smiling at him.
Deciding to at least hear him out, Roan shook his hand, and Deiar Hon eagerly pumped it up and down.
"Please, come further inside. We shall speak more there."
Roan nodded and followed behind him.
...I don't see any other races.
Only humans.
For a world where people of mixed blood were common, this place was remarkably homogenous.
They stepped deeper into the building, and the door shut behind them.
Roan expected the man to reveal his true colors once they were alone, but Deiar Hon's smile remained firmly in place.
"Seeing as you've come this far, you must not feel any aversion. I am glad."
There was no reason to feel aversion or anything else.
If anything seemed off, Roan was fully prepared to draw his sword in an instant.
"Then, I shall not beat around the bush. I will make my proposal immediately, Del Roan."
Wait. Did I ever tell him my name?
Before Roan could even process the question, Deiar forged ahead, revealing his true purpose.
"Shall we cleanse this rotting continent together?"
"...Huh?"
Those were incredibly sharp words.
A rotting continent.
The current state of the world, littered with the seeds of destruction.
Cleansing.
The act of crushing those seeds.
Could this man actually be someone he could reason with? An unexpected ally, perhaps?
But what followed was far from what Roan had hoped for.
"I utterly despise this continent, crawling as it is with mixed blood."
"...Despise?"
"Yes. Humans, the purest and most perfect beings, should remain whole as they are. How could they ever commit the act of mixing their blood? It is a tragedy that brings Lady Vivian to tears."
He preached on without even pausing to catch his breath.
"At some point, I received a revelation. A command to make this world clean. Ah! And then I realized! To excise the defiled lineages, leaving only pure blood to rule the world in beautiful order! That is what Lady Vivian desires! The moment I realized that, her purpose became my entire life!"
His eyes couldn't even focus properly.
Though he seemed to be looking at Roan, his gaze would occasionally drift as if staring at some distant, unseen ideal.
"But I am still lacking. I need someone who can wield true power. And then, at that very moment, you arrived! Ah! This too must be Lady Vivian's grace! Del Roan, the black-haired pureblood human—bestowing a blessing upon you shall be the prelude to the blessing that will overturn this continent!!"
Finally, his eyes snapped back into focus.
Shrouded in fanaticism, his gaze locked directly onto Roan.
Deiar spread his arms wide, stepping forward as if to embrace him.
"Receive Lady Vivian's blessing. You can become the savior of this continent. Let us build a paradise solely for pure blood."
This, too, was a form of saving the continent.
In the process of cutting away everything else, the seeds of destruction would surely be exposed as well.
...What absolute bullshit.
"So you're just a lunatic. I'm not doing any of that crap."
With a flat refusal, Roan drew his sword.
Yet Deiar didn't react at all.
Even though he likely had an idea of Roan's strength, and even though he had just been flatly rejected with a blade pointed at his throat.
He simply stood there, smiling at him.