Cold sweat started to trickle down, and my expression was a complete mess.
As I was relaying the information I had received from Camilla, the Nameless looked at me oddly.
He furrowed his brow and opened his mouth with a worried expression.
“Master? What’s wrong?”
“…Um, it’s nothing.”
But that was all I could convey.
After all.
If I opened my mouth saying, “I know that demon,” and Lucius and Elia overheard, it would be a headache for sure.
I had a bad feeling that if I let the Nameless know that the person he had met in the past was indeed that guy, something would surely go wrong.
And my inability to speak to the Nameless partly stemmed from the latter concern.
You see, didn’t he make an unpleasant face last time, saying there was a “strange smell” coming from me?
Just thinking about that moment made me shiver.
Of course, those years later, the Nameless might have forgotten that “strange smell”…
“Uhmm…”
…He must have forgotten, right?
Surely, he must have!
I had only been smelled once. There’s no way he would remember that!
In fact, remembering such a thing would be strange.
After all, I had washed myself right afterward to get rid of the smell, and it just doesn’t make sense to remember someone by a smell.
I kept nodding my head, trying to persuade myself, but…
Unease continued to swirl around my body.
The Nameless had shown peculiar behavior like locating me by scent before, among other absurd actions.
My head throbbed.
In the end, all I could do was secretly wish that “the Nameless had forgotten about the smell.”
His gaze on me narrowed, but I bravely ignored it and stared straight ahead.
…
No matter how anxious I was, it didn’t slow our group’s pace; we steadily moved toward our destination.
Thus, we arrived at the enormous snowy mountain.
“I can feel the magic from here, starting from the village.”
Elia said, furrowing her brows deeply before adding,
“…Lucius, I think the demons we have faced so far are on a whole different level.”
Feeling that we should be more cautious, Elia gently fiddled with the rosary around her neck and slowly moved to the front of the group.
I tilted my head.
“If we need to be cautious, why does she move to the front?”
I felt a bit sorry for Elia, but looking at it objectively, she was undoubtedly the weakest in battle in our group.
No, it would be an insult to compare; her combat ability was essentially nonexistent compared to us.
After all, Lucius was a Hero shouldering a grand legacy, and the Nameless and I were martial artists who had wielded swords our entire lives. How could Elia, raised to be a Saint from birth, compare?
In this context, regardless of Elia’s wish, she was more of someone who needs protection than someone protecting us.
But.
To put Elia at the front?
If something goes wrong, wouldn’t she be in the most danger?
I tilted my head in confusion and asked, my curiosity piqued,
Lucius, who had remained expressionless thus far, replied tersely, solving my puzzle.
“In terms of tracking the demons, nobody in the Empire could follow the Saint.”
“Huh?”
“And those filthy demons can’t touch the Saint.”
It was definitely something I had asked the Nameless about, but I received the answer from an unexpected person.
I turned my head and faced Lucius.
His face, which appeared devoid of expression, had a small smirk, looking rather proud of that fact.
“…Well then.”
I had nothing more to say.
I nodded with a reluctant expression.
…
Elia, who had been moving without stopping, finally paused and looked back.
“…I think this is it.”
“Got it.”
Nodding slightly, Lucius drew the massive sword he carried on his back and swapped places with Elia.
At the entrance of the gigantic cave, our footsteps came to a halt.
From there, an unsettling aura, reminiscent of Lili, seemed to ooze out, confirming that the demons were indeed present as Elia had stated.
My brows instinctively furrowed.
So… what do we do from here…?
As I slowly turned my head to look at the party, it was clear I didn’t even need to ask if the demons were there; everyone except me wore stiff expressions.
Especially the Nameless, whose brow was furrowed as if something really bothered him.
He tilted his head, wearing a somewhat bewildered expression that didn’t fit with the rest of the party.
…What’s wrong with him this time?
After all, the Nameless and I were supposed to pretend to fight and then find the right moment to let the demon escape.
Didn’t he get that?
Could it be that he was making that face to keep things appearing as natural as possible? But the frown on his face was definitely something that couldn’t be faked.
That genuine frown resembled the one I saw when I got caught sneaking his strawberries.
Quietly, I approached the Nameless and poked him in the side.
“Nameless, what’s the problem?”
He flinched at my poke and turned to me with an expression that seemed dissatisfied, accompanied by a hint of uneasiness in his low voice.
“…Master.”
“Huh?”
Looking into his eyes, I felt my body tense up and a chill running down my spine.
I swallowed hard and waited for his response.
The sparkle in his eyes gradually faded, now tinged with the color of rotten blood.
“I feel like I can smell something inside the cave that I have encountered before?”
Crazy…
He can even remember by smell.
But why is he acting so disgusted about it?
I thought I had introduced him as my friend back then.
Shouldn’t it all be fine?
Contrary to my thoughts, I found it awkward to meet the Nameless’s gaze, so I pouted my lips and turned away awkwardly before speaking.
“Is that so?”
Trying my best to sound natural, I took a deep breath as I slowly changed positions.
“First… shouldn’t we join them? Let’s go.”
“Master? Where are you going?”
The Nameless suddenly placed a hand on my shoulder, stopping me.
“Ugh—”
“How are we supposed to deal with that demon? We haven’t sufficiently discussed it.”
I turned my head forcefully to meet the Nameless’s gaze.
The corners of his mouth were oddly upturned.
“What will you do?”
Lili, why have you put me through this trial…?
Tears were nearly welling up.
Lucius and Elia want to kill the demon, Lili wants it saved, and I have no idea what that darn disciple of mine is thinking.
What on earth does he want me to do…?
A heavy sigh escaped me.
But.
That doesn’t mean I can just give up and slack off.
We can always clear up misunderstandings, right?
Steeling myself, I nodded.
And it was true; there hadn’t been detailed discussions between us.
I had been too complacent, never clearly communicating my thoughts, so perhaps the Nameless was just voicing that.
Waving my hands to ensure Lucius and Elia couldn’t hear us, I leaned in closer to the Nameless’s ear.
“Our ultimate goal is to get that demon to escape, no matter what.”
“Yes.”
“But we also must avoid drawing suspicion from Lucius and Elia.”
Honestly, it sounded quite difficult.
In some cases, we might have to leave one of them behind to assist the other.
With that heavy thought on my face, when I voiced my concern,
The Nameless closed his eyes for a moment, tilted his head as if pondering, then surprisingly spoke simply.
“Then we just need to beat the demon up a bit, right?”
“…Huh?”
What on earth is he talking about?
“The message Lili sent you was to let that demon escape, wasn’t it?”
“…That’s right.”
The corners of Nameless’s mouth lifted into a pleasant smile.
“So, it sounds like the state of the demon isn’t that important then?”
“…What does that mean?”
“Therefore, there’s no need to act; if we just give it our all and beat him up, that demon should escape on its own, right?”
“I doubt Lili would want to save someone unable to escape,” he added, smiling at me.
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