Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: My Heart - 2
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My words left the Hero Party members looking flustered, but they had nothing more to say.
"Leoden General. What's in that direction?"
"That way... hmm. There's a habitat for monsters."
"Then we'll have to clear a path. Can I leave that to you?"
He wouldn't try to do absolutely nothing, right?
Under my gaze, General Leoden nodded lightly.
"It's for capturing the traitors' group, and dealing with monsters is the kingdom army's job anyway. And..."
He stared straight at Claire, who was fidgeting awkwardly.
"The Hero will help."
It was a way of saying he'd keep them from coming my way. They weren't so clueless as to miss that, so Claire and the others' expressions darkened...
But that wasn't my problem.
With the tasks assigned, all that was left was to move out. I returned to my tent and immediately packed my gear.
"Whew. So much."
By the time I stepped outside the tent with my large backpack, weapons, armor, and other equipment, Veronica was waiting. The sight of the silver-haired beauty leaning against a pillar, gazing at the red moon, was as stunningly beautiful as I'd seen in the game.
"What are you doing?"
"Just looking at the moon. By the way, what was that thing they did earlier?"
"What do you mean..."
"You know, don't you?"
"Yeah, I know. But it's a long story."
"I see... Then sum it up short. For starters, that Pale Moon hasn't been summoned yet, right?"
"Huh? No. The Pale Moon was probably already summoned to the Moon Temple. That white moon that rose earlier proves it."
Veronica's relieved expression hardened. Smiling, I patted her shoulder.
"...What happens if that Pale Moon stays up?"
"It's fine for a little while, but if it continues, the monsters will turn into Pale Beasts."
If Pale Beasts, far stronger than regular monsters, kept multiplying under the moonlight shining from the sky?
Knowing the danger, Veronica's face turned whiter than the Pale Moon's light.
"Wait, hold on. If they keep getting that moonlight? The one that rose earlier..."
"It's fine for a short time."
"...What if the Pale Moon stays up for more than a day?"
What else?
Game over.
I didn't answer, and Veronica's expression grew even more rigid.
"...We should have ended it back then."
Recalling the Baek Eun Village incident, Veronica ground her teeth.
The reason they couldn't finish off the Pale Moon Cultists back then was a lack of manpower. In other words, she was thinking it might have been possible with the Hero Party.
"Don't beat yourself up. Catching the Demon King's minions was more important at the time."
"They're an evil bunch."
"Who says otherwise?"
Everything has its order. I calmed Veronica down, and she let out a deep sigh before tilting her head.
"You're unexpected. I thought you'd curse them out too."
"What's the point in badmouthing them? It's in the past. Just let it flow."
I meant it.
Things with the Hero Party were over. I had no interest in getting tangled up over grudges or revenge.
Of course, I knew they wanted to apologize and seek forgiveness.
But what reason did I have to accept that?
I just wanted to keep doing my thing, rack up achievements quickly, and return to my original world.
"Sometimes I think it, but you're really weird."
"Wow. Only sometimes? I'm touched to tears."
As we headed outside the encampment, I spotted a new recruit who seemed on the verge of mental collapse from stress. I played my lute in front of him as he scratched his arms, starting to self-harm, to ease his tension. I felt Veronica's sharp gaze.
"Why are you staring like that?"
"...Nothing."
Boring.
***
I don't mean to dismiss adventurers, but I'd heard the Moon Temple was a dangerous dungeon.
The Sage's words were rarely wrong, so this time would be no different.
That's why Leventia left the gloomy Claire behind and cautiously stepped outside.
To speak to him directly.
If they had to go to a dangerous dungeon, she'd guard his front like before.
Of course, he'd likely refuse. Hyeonwoo barely accepted conversations from anyone but Claire these days.
Even so, Leventia felt she had to do it.
Not to earn forgiveness, but to protect him.
Not to prove her remorse, but out of pure heart.
Heading toward Hyeonwoo's tent, Leventia halted at a voice carried on the wind.
"...We should have ended it back then."
It was Veronica's voice.
The clear hostility in it was unmistakable to anyone.
Noticing it, Leventia bit her lip without realizing.
The woman deeply tied to why she'd become intimidated by the Sage.
Veronica, who had stayed in Baek Eun Village with the Sage to fight the Pale Moon Cultists, harbored considerable resentment toward the Hero Party.
And rightly so.
To Veronica, the inquisitor, the heretical Pale Moon Cultists who rejected the light were a greater enemy than even the Demon King.
So it was natural for her to hate the Hero Party for leaving to chase the Demon King's minions instead of fighting the cult.
And it was natural for her to feel fondness for the Sage, who stayed in the village to aid the church against the cultists instead of supporting the Hero Party.
Leventia couldn't step out from the shadows.
It was natural she had no excuse against Veronica badmouthing them.
This was karma for their sins.
Leventia slowly bowed her head.
If she'd been there with him then.
If they'd fought the cultists instead of chasing the Demon King's minions.
If she hadn't felt jealousy and inferiority toward the Sage, but only fondness like that Veronica...
It was in the past, irreversible.
The sharp blade of regret forged after the Sage left began carving into Leventia's heart again.
Clutching her chest in that excruciating pain, just as she turned to leave...
"Don't beat yourself up. Catching the Demon King's minions was more important at the time."
Hyeonwoo's voice caught the blade stabbing her heart, and Leventia looked at him without thinking.
'Why...?'
Realizing Hyeonwoo was defending them, she lowered her hand from her chest.
Silently, from the darkness, she gazed toward the Sage illuminated by the light.
'Why do you...?'
You should curse us too.
You should attack us too.
You're the one who suffered the most from our mistakes.
And yet you still...
Like that, Leventia could only watch from the shadows, a monster yearning for the light, as the Sage walked away.
***
Wilkes and Lark were already fully geared up.
The werewolf boy shaman Wilkes, in light armor with a cape and staff.
Lark, with his black ebony lute painted dark and a microphone for performers at his side.
Beyond them, a unit was assembled to clear the path to the Moon Temple.
"I'll head toward the church side."
"Hmm..."
"Why?"
As Veronica moved to go that way, I stared at her. Under my gaze, she fidgeted awkwardly and tilted her head slightly.
Her delicate silver hair swayed in the night breeze, revealing her pale face.
"Don't get hurt."
"...Ha. Who are you telling that to?"
Veronica whipped her head away and strode roughly toward the holy knights. By the time she quickly donned her robe and gripped her mace tightly, three figures approached from the encampment.
"Now that the Hero Party's here, let's move out. Adjutant, the encampment's yours."
"Yes, sir!"
There was so much prep for moving. Accounting for things not in the game made it take unnecessarily long.
Sigh. If it were just me, I could teleport, but that's not the case.
"...If I'd been there, I could have used Warp."
Claire muttered regretfully, and I shook my head. Puzzled by my response, she widened her eyes.
"No need to blame yourself."
Even in the game, Warp couldn't reach the Moon Temple's location. No reason to let Claire self-blame over something pointless.
At my words, she floundered in surprise before slightly lowering her head.
"Th-thanks."
"I always just state the facts."
"...Yeah. You've always..."
"Alright. Let's go."
As Claire's mutter continued, Veronica called out a bit louder. Nodding at her words, I gripped my staff and headed toward the adventurers.
"Whoa. You're kinda scary."
"What? Scared of monsters? What a coward. Don't sing about death or whatever from now on."
At my mockery, he narrowed his pointed lizard eyes before shaking his head.
"You said you only know what you know, and you really only know what you know."
What?
The detachment clearing the path to the Moon Temple proceeded without major issues. Midway, monsters, Pale Beasts, and Pale Moon Cultists attacked, but the unit's strength crushed their resistance like dry twigs.
"If I play and sing, we could catch them faster!"
Lark, under my management, let out a lament, and I broke into a cold sweat.
We'd reach the Moon Temple soon, and while we raided it, we couldn't let the guarding detachment's morale plummet.
"Whoa, whoa. Famous singer. How about resting your throat? The main show is later."
"Tch. What a shame."
He fiddled with his microphone, then hung his head and muttered.
"Fights with monsters are so boring. I just wanted to let them hear my song."
If you sang, they probably wouldn't fight—they'd all chase you.
I just forced a smile toward him, so full of confidence.
No need to crush morale with brutal facts.
Patting his back was my reply as I headed to the front of the detachment.
"Scouts report a strange building beyond that hill."
As expected of General Leoden. Already prepared.
I pierced the darkness and climbed the hill, and there it was.
A white building guarded by dozens of beasts and a Pale Moon Cult unit.
A grotesque structure emitting a soft glow like the moon from my original world.
The Moon Temple, capping the Pale Moon event.
Just clear that, and one big thing's done!
I descended the hill immediately. Claire, waiting for me, hesitated before forcing a smile.
"Something good happen? You look nice when you smile..."
Good?
Yeah.
The process to escape this world is steadily progressing.