Let me tell you, abruptly, the story of a boy named
Cliff was currently thirteen years old, exactly the in-between age of
As far back as he could remember, he had always been in an orphanage. The orphanage in Milshion. It was the kind of orphanage that could be called a symbol of the Millis Church's prestige and authority. It had no financial worries, the children grew up without want, and were eventually taken in by foster parents. That was the kind of orphanage it was.
When Cliff was five, he was taken in by his current foster parent. An old man named Harry Grimoire. He was a man who held a high position within the Millis Church.
At Harry's home, Cliff received an elite education. In just a few years, he swiftly mastered healing, detoxification, and holy attack magic up to advanced level. He could also handle offensive magic in all elements up to intermediate level. Fire magic, he had even taken to advanced. Cliff was a genius. He was showered with praise from all sides. Everyone expected that he would surely grow into an extraordinary person.
One could say his childhood was very much like Rudeus's. But unlike Rudeus, who held memories from his previous life, Cliff grew conceited. He couldn't have become more full of himself. After all, among his teachers, there was no one who could wield magic as versatile as Cliff's. There were those who could use healing magic up to
Because of this versatility, he came to be called the Egg of a Sage. Cliff grew even more conceited. He gradually stopped listening to his teachers.
Cliff's future would be to inherit his foster father's profession. He understood that. However, at present, he dreamed of becoming an adventurer.
Why an adventurer? It was influenced by events during his time at the orphanage. Many of the orphanage's alumni became adventurers. Children at the orphanage, if no foster parents were found by age ten, were placed in a school run by the Millis Church. There, they trained for five years. Classes in swordsmanship and magic — the tools of fighting. Then they would take up professions suited to their talents. If a child excelled in academics, swordsmanship, and magic alike, becoming a knight was also possible, but most became adventurers. Hence, there were many adventurers among the orphanage's alumni.
They would occasionally visit the orphanage. They would greet their former teachers and also bring back fun adventure stories as souvenirs for the orphans. The orphans would listen, and dream of becoming adventurers themselves.
Cliff was no exception. He too dreamed of becoming an adventurer.
Of course, Cliff did not think his dream would come true. He admired it, but he also understood his situation well. As an orphan, selfishness would not be tolerated. He had been patient about it. Yes, at first.
However, the stifling life built up Cliff's frustration, and the constant praise fed his ego.
One day, Cliff ran away from home and hatched the idea of registering as an adventurer. It was a little trial of strength. Among the teachers, there were some who had been formidable adventurers in their past. He wanted to build up similar experience in his own youth. He convinced himself so, and began preparing.
With the staff he had received from his foster father on his tenth birthday, he entered the adventurer district from the sacred district. He purchased a mage-like robe along the way. He chose blue. Then to the
If he registered as a healer, the Church would find out right away. But if he registered as a mage, it would be fine. Thinking such a naive thought, he completed his adventurer registration.
Now he too was a bona fide adventurer. A grand adventure into a world he had never seen awaited. Eyes shining with excitement, he looked around. Every man there was rugged.
He could tell they were mostly warriors and swordsmen. Cliff had heard from an orphanage senior that parties were desperate for skilled mages. So, he figured, if he announced himself as a mage, he'd be invited into a party right away.
Cliff had tuned out the part about adventurer ranks. He believed that parties could be formed regardless of rank.
He was turned down as a matter of course. Bluntly turned down. Turned down again and again. By the fourth time, Cliff's patience reached its limit.
"Why?! Why can't I join a party?!" "That's what I'm saying — our ranks don't match." "What do ranks matter?! In truth, I'm strong enough to be A-rank! But I'm willing to make do with you guys!" "What did you say...? Kid, don't get too cocky. You think you can pick a fight with a mage at this range and win...?" "All you can do is wave a sword around, so don't get full of yourself!" "You little brat..."
Cliff had his collar grabbed, but he thought that if he could defeat this guy, it would prove his strength.
"Stop it. How unsightly."
The one who cut in, saying that, was a red-haired girl about the same age as Cliff.
--- The story rewinds.
Eris Boreas Greyrat had set out for the Adventurer's Guild. She walked briskly down the main street with a beaming smile on her face, the kind that was almost endearing to onlookers.
Her outfit was the same as always — adventurer-style attire. Thick clothing, leather protectors, leather pants, and boots made of a thin but durable material. She wore a sword at her hip, and at a glance anyone could tell she was a swordswoman.
She was not wearing her usual hood. In the past year, she had learned from experience many times over that wearing that hood at the Adventurer's Guild got her mistaken for a mage and attracted strange guys.
Eris arrived at the Adventurer's Guild. Milshion's Adventurer's Guild stood deep at the end of the main street. Being the headquarters, it was the largest building in the adventurer district. Without being intimidated by the imposing, monumental gate, Eris stepped inside.
And upon seeing the vast lobby, she nearly crossed her arms out of reflex. It was bigger than the great hall of the mansion in Roa. Naturally, it was bigger than any Adventurer's Guild she had seen before.
If this were a boy or girl just starting out as adventurers, the sheer scale of it would make them hesitate.
But this was Eris. She was A-rank. A bona fide adventurer. She immediately began walking toward her destination.
The quest board.
That board, far larger than any other, was plastered with quests edge to edge. Eris crossed her arms and surveyed it.
Not the B-rank quests she normally looked at, but this time around E-rank. Among those, she searched for ones classified as free quests. Free quests were quests issued periodically by the nation. The pay was on the low side, but the urgency was high, so adventurers of any rank could take them. The reason they didn't appear on the Demon Continent was that there were no nations there.
Eris found what she was looking for among them.
=========================Free Quest: Goblin Subjugation / Reward: 10 Millis Copper per ear / Details: Culling of goblins / Location: East of Milshion / Period: None / Deadline: None / Client: Millis Holy Knights / Note: Be aware of hobgoblins that occasionally appear. Do not remove this quest from the board; bring your collected items directly to the counter.========================= Goblins were demonic creatures that lived near the border between forest and plain. They were humanoid and used simple weapons, but they did not understand human speech. A few of them could be left alone, but if left unchecked, they would multiply rapidly and begin attacking surrounding villages. They were, in a word, vermin.
That said, since they inhabited the forest's edge, they served as a breakwater against the demonic creatures that spawned in the forest.
Also, goblins were weak. Even a boy with only modest sword training could handle them easily. The Adventurer's Guild made use of this, offering new recruits a decent reward and using goblin subjugation as an introductory quest.
Moreover — something Eris did not know — goblins could also be used as interrogation tools against spies from enemy nations.
For these reasons, Millis did not exterminate goblins. They kept them in check, alive but controlled.
Now then. Why would Eris — an A-rank adventurer so capable that
First, Eris simply longed for it. There had been a brief time when she attended school. The boys in her class would gather and talk about something. The topic was what they would do if they became adventurers.
Start with goblin hunting, build up strength and money, then gradually push south into the Central Continent to take on high-rank quests and tackle labyrinths. It was the stuff of dreams.
Listening from the sidelines, Eris fantasized about doing the same someday. The fantasy ballooned, and she butted into the boys' cheerful conversation, telling them to include her. Things escalated, a fight broke out, and she decked all three of them.
After that, she was expelled from school, met Ghislaine, and every time she heard stories from her, her desire to become an adventurer only grew stronger. After meeting Rudeus, she dreamed of nothing but adventuring together with him. A swordswoman and Rudeus the mage. Challenging a labyrinth together, the two of them.
But when she actually set out on a journey, it was nothing like the dream. Especially Rudeus — he was far more practical and cool-headed than she had imagined. He refused to go anywhere near a labyrinth on account of the danger. If she suggested goblin hunting, he would give her a look of exasperation and ask, "What for?" Eris, too, had been a woman surviving as an adventurer on the Demon Continent. She could see no meaning in hunting goblins at this point.
But meaning aside — Goblin hunting was ranked at the top of Eris's list of "things I want to do when I become an adventurer." Even if it was meaningless, it was something she wanted to try.
That was one reason. The other reason was... a secret.
"I wonder if I can make it back before the sun sets...?"
Eris looked at the quest and calculated the round-trip time. This time it was on foot. It was still morning, but she should probably give herself a comfortable margin.
"...Hm?"
She noticed a memo posted just outside the F-rank section, beyond the edge of the board.
"'Refugees from the Fittoa Region, please contact the following.'"
She read that much, then averted her gaze. She had seen this same memo at the Adventurer's Guild in Zant Port, too.
Rudeus never mentioned the Fittoa Region. Eris believed it was his consideration — not wanting to make her anxious. The fact that he had split off from her today probably meant he was doing something about it. She assumed it was something too complicated for her to understand. She didn't need to think too deeply about it; Rudeus would sort it out properly, and when the time came, he would explain it to her in his own way. That was what Eris believed.
It never even crossed her mind that Rudeus might not know about this memo.
"Alright, then!"
Having confirmed the quest, Eris strode out of the guild in high spirits. All she had to do was head east and hunt goblins. With her current motivation, she would wipe out one or two nests for sure. Nothing could stop her now. A requiem for the pitiful goblins.
"I said, why?!"
A shout that suddenly reached her ears made Eris halt. It was a boy's voice. She glanced over. The boy was surrounded by men who must have been twice her height.
"Why can't I join a party?!"
The shouting boy wore a blue robe. He was slightly shorter than Rudeus, with dark brown hair. His eyes were hidden behind long bangs. His staff was not as impressive as Rudeus's 'Aqua Heartia, the Arrogant Water Dragon King', but the size of the magic stone made it clear that quality materials had been used. My family's is better, Eris thought naturally.
"In truth, I'm strong enough to be A-rank! But I'm willing to make do with you guys!"
That arrogant tone naturally put the men on edge. Even Eris, had she heard someone say that, would have punched them without a word.
"What did you say...? Kid, don't get too cocky. You think a mage can win a fight at this range...?" "All you can do is wave a sword around, so don't get full of yourself!" "What did you say, you little brat...?"
A man grabbed him by the collar, and the boy still tried to look composed. But his legs were trembling slightly, and Eris did not miss it. She began walking over and wedged herself between the two.
"Stop it. How unsightly."
If Rudeus had been there, he would have been dumbfounded. "How unsightly." A line utterly unimaginable from the usual Eris.
Eris was intoxicated with her own actions. She was an A-rank adventurer, above these angry men. A man picking on a newcomer — and she, stepping in to put a stop to it. Cool. That was what she was doing. It was essentially what Ruijerd always did for her, but she cast that thought aside.
"...Tch. Fair enough. It is pretty unmanly."
The man let go of the boy without hesitation. Inside Eris, she had already assumed she would be fighting him, so she was a little deflated.
"Come on, guys. Let's go."
The men left, and only the boy remained. Eris stood there with a composed expression, waiting for the boy's thanks.
Thank you for saving me. Who are you? Nothing worth introducing myself. At least your name? Well then, you can call me Ruijerd of 'Dead End.' She was rehearsing that exchange in her head. Incidentally, it was the kind of thing Rudeus occasionally did.
"Who said I needed saving?!..."
The boy spat those words out, and Eris's proud smile froze.
"My magic could have handled that just fine! Don't just waltz in and solve things on your own! Bitch!"
He was fortunate. After all, he had been knocked out in a single blow. And the man from earlier was still nearby.
If the man hadn't desperately held back the livid Eris, the boy would surely have lost two things precious to him as a man.
--- Eris arrived at the entrance of Milshion with a slightly sour expression. She was quick to recover her composure, but she was still in a foul mood.
Why?
"Wait! Wait, please!"
The boy had recovered from being knocked unconscious and came running after her.
"I'm sorry about earlier. I was a little flustered..."
The boy bowed politely. Because of this, Eris's sour mood stayed within the range of "slightly." The boy had narrowly escaped with his life. Then again, had he not been knocked out in a single blow, he would never have attempted the rash act of chasing after Eris.
"My name is Cliff. Cliff Grimoire!" "...Eris."
Eris had considered dropping the 'Dead End' name, then decided against it. She couldn't invoke Ruijerd's name in front of someone she had just punched without provocation.
"Eris! What a wonderful name! That outfit — you're a swordswoman, right! Please, please form a party with me!"
Cliff rattled on in the middle of the street. Eris reflexively considered knocking him out again. But she held back for the moment.
"No."
Eris turned away with a huff and started walking. Honestly, she was not used to this kind of person. Someone who still kept coming after being punched — only Rudeus was like that.
"If not, then at least let me provide support from behind! They call me the Egg of a Sage in these parts — I'm sure I'll be of use!"
If Rudeus had been there, he would have muttered something vile at this boy who was making such an aggressive play on Eris: "What Egg of a Sage? You're probably an unfertilized egg, you virgin!" But only in his mind.
Eris did not say anything so crude. The worst she thought was: An egg, is it? Shall I crack it open and make a fried egg?
"I don't think you've ever seen a mage as good as me, Eris. After all, I'm better than any run-of-the-mill A-rank mage."
Hearing that, Eris bristled. The greatest mage in her mind was Rudeus, bar none. Rudeus was a mage whom even the great Ruijerd regarded with respect. He was certainly A-rank, but she didn't want him lumped in with "run-of-the-mill."
"Please, see for yourself!"
Then let's see, she thought before she could stop herself.
"Fine. Then keep up." "Yes!"
And so, Eris and Cliff set off to hunt goblins.
--- Seven goblins were incinerated in an instant.
"See that?! Amazing, right? A run-of-the-mill mage couldn't do that!"
Cliff looked at the annihilated goblins with an expression practically demanding admiration. The goblins had been completely carbonized — even their ears were beyond recovery.
"Really? Not impressive at all."
She wasn't putting on a brave face. Eris genuinely felt that from the bottom of her heart.
Advanced Fire Magic: 'Exodus Flame'. Rudeus had used this. He hadn't chanted some long incantation like Cliff, and the power was far greater. But Rudeus would never use that kind of magic against goblins. Rudeus would never make the blunder of destroying the ears.
Also, for the sake of testing Cliff's abilities, Eris had drawn the goblins' attention while he finished chanting. When the chanting ended and Cliff didn't say a word, she had nearly been caught in the blast. Rudeus would never do anything that reckless.
"It seems you don't know much about magic, Eris. Allow me to explain — magic in general goes from beginner to advanced and beyond, and what I just used was advanced magic, which even most adults cannot cast..."
Cliff launched into a lengthy lecture about how magic ranged from beginner to advanced and beyond, that what he had used was advanced magic, and that it was high-level magic that most adults couldn't manage.
Of course, Eris knew all this. She had learned it in Rudeus's lessons. And Rudeus's lessons had been ten times easier to understand than Cliff's explanation.
"Do you understand now? How amazing I am?"
She felt like punching him. She had been looking forward to goblin hunting, and this guy was ruining it. So Eris stood with her arms crossed in a rigid, unbending pose and said coldly: "That's enough. You don't seem like you'll be of any use. I'm going home."
If it had been Rudeus, he would have chosen a tactical retreat at this point. But Cliff could not read the air whatsoever.
"What are you saying?! I can't leave Eris to fight goblins alone!"
Before she knew it, her fist had flown. Cliff was clutching his face, blood trickling from his nose.
He immediately chanted a healing spell and stopped the bleeding.
"What are you doing?!" "Tch."
Eris clicked her tongue. She had pulled her punches because she couldn't just leave him unconscious on the plains, but it had only encouraged him.
Well, I suppose one more won't hurt. She clenched her fist — and Cliff finally noticed the situation.
"Of course, I understand! I know full well that Eris is strong. Then, let's try the forest next. Goblins don't let me show my true ability."
Cliff's words had no hidden agenda. He simply wanted to show Eris how impressive he was. But it was not, by any means, the kind of thing where he wanted to look cool for a girl he liked. He simply wanted to revel in his own strength.
"The forest is no good."
Eris said it bluntly. The forest is no good. That was something Rudeus always said. And Ruijerd agreed. So Eris simply obeyed.
"A woman like you, Eris — are you afraid?" "I'm not afraid!"
But Eris too was a simple girl. When someone put it to her like that, she was easily baited. The Boreas family could not afford to be looked down on by a nobody adventurer.
"The forest! Fine, let's go!"
And so the two set off into the dim forest.
--- "I said the forest, but Milshion's isn't much."
As she said that, Eris cut down an ape-like demonic creature called an ootan. It was a D-rank creature, but no match for Eris.
"That's right — it's no match for me either!"
Cliff defeated an ootan with intermediate wind magic as he spoke. He pushed forward into the forest with confident strides.
"Oh."
Eris suddenly made a sound.
"What is it, Eris?"
Cliff approached her happily. Eris made no effort to hide her displeasure. She crossed her arms, spread her feet about shoulder-width apart, lifted her chin, and looked down at Cliff.
"Do you know the way back?" "I don't."
Naturally, Cliff had not bothered to figure out any such thing. He had acted on a sudden whim and had brought nothing suited for venturing into a forest.
"So we're lost," Eris said matter-of-factly.
Cliff fell silent. And his face drained of color before her eyes.
"Wh-what should we do?"
Eris remained composed. Therefore, Cliff assumed she must have some kind of plan.
But Eris, too, was inwardly alarmed. If anyone found out she had gotten lost in a forest, the two of them would be exasperated. They would ask how she had ended up in a forest over a goblin hunt.
She would never let it show, of course. A lady of the
"Cliff, fly up and check the town's direction from the sky." "That's impossible." "Rudeus could do it." "Rudeus? Who's that?" "My teacher." "Wh-what?!"
Eris took a breath. Arguing was pointless. What did Ghislaine say to do when you got lost?
Right — gather tree branches and light a fire. The smoke would rise into the sky and be visible from a distance.
But who would go gather them?
Ruijerd had said he had business. Rudeus too. No one would notice.
"..."
Unconsciously, Eris had crossed her arms, pursed her mouth into a pout, and was standing rigid. She closed her eyes and thought hard. Ghislaine had told her: it is when you are anxious that you must be calm.
That was why she never panicked, no matter the situation.
"E-Eris, what do we do?" "There must be other adventurers in this forest." "R-right, we can ask them for help... Let's search!"
Cliff was about to dash off in a panic. But Eris did not move. Ruijerd had taught her this: in times like these, do not move. Stand still and search for presences.
He had also taught her how to search for presences. Even without a third eye, she could sense sound, air, and the flow of mana. Eris was still unskilled at it, but she practiced every day.
"Eris...?" "Be quiet!"
Eris took a deep breath and, eyes still closed, sharpened her senses. The sounds of the forest. Leaves rustling against each other. Beasts moving. Insects buzzing. And — faintly — the sound of swords clashing.
"I found them. Over there."
Decisive and immediate, Eris walked forward without hesitation.
"What? What did you find?!" "People. They're over there." "How did you —?!" "I searched for their presences." "Did you learn that from your teacher too?!"
Eris paused for a moment to consider the question. Ruijerd, a teacher? He was a teacher, perhaps. Not to the same extent as Ghislaine, but he had taught her many things. A teacher — no, calling him a master would not be amiss.
"Yes." "That Rudeus person sounds incredible..." "Hm? ...Yes. Rudeus is incredible."
Without understanding why Rudeus's name had suddenly come up, Eris pressed on.
--- They emerged from the forest. The instant they did, they saw a carriage overturned in the middle of the road.
"Get down!" "Ugh!"
Eris reflexively grabbed Cliff's head and slammed him to the ground. Then she crouched herself and assessed the situation.
"...".
Six people were standing. One was a knight in full plate armor, including a helm. The knight leaned against a tree with her back, sword at the ready. Around her were five men in black. The men in black had her surrounded.
Three corpses lay nearby. All wore armor. The same armor as the besieged knight.
The men in black were slowly tightening their encirclement.
The difference in combat strength was obvious. And yet, why was that knight not fleeing?
Looking closely, behind the knight, at the base of the tree, a girl was crouching. Her face was streaked with tears, twisted with fear and despair.
"Eris, that armor — it's the Holy Knights!" Cliff whispered urgently.
Eris's heart pounded. The Holy Knights. She had heard of them. One of the three knight orders of Millis.
The Cathedral Knights, the elite unit that governed Millis's domestic defense. The Didactic Knights, who spread the teachings of Millis throughout the world and carried out mercenary-like work to make its authority known. And the Temple Knights, the very synonym of terror — inquisitors who condemned heretics.
Each order wore distinct armor. The Cathedral Knights wore white plate. The Didactic Knights wore silver. The Temple Knights wore blue.
Even from a distance, that unmistakable azure armor. There was no doubt. The one being cornered was a Temple Knight.
"Do you people understand who this person is?!"
Only when she spoke could they tell: the cornered knight was a woman. The men in black exchanged glances and let out a soft laugh.
"Of course we do." "Then why?!" "No need to explain." "You people — are you the Pope's faction?!"
Eris could not follow their conversation. But she understood that the sinister men in black were about to kill that girl. Eris placed her hand on the sword at her hip. Cliff caught her doing it.
"W-what are you going to do, Eris? This is clearly bad news. That girl is a Saint — they say she's a candidate for the next Pope. Which means those men in black must be an assassination squad in the service of the Millis Pope himself. They're all seasoned fighters. Even I wouldn't stand a chance..."
Eris did not even wonder how Cliff knew so much. All she cared about was that if she did not help, that girl would be killed.
And Eris was a member of 'Dead End'. She could not face Ruijerd if she abandoned a child. Rudeus too was always saying that, going around helping people.
"Let's slip past without being noticed..." "It's no use. They've already spotted us."
Eris knew. One of the men in black had noticed them when she knocked Cliff down. She didn't know what the men in black were thinking. But regardless, she intended to seize the initiative.
"Cliff, hide over there!" "E-Eris!"
Eris drew her sword and burst forward. The men in black scattered in an instant. But — "Too slow!"
Eris's closing speed far exceeded what the men in black had anticipated. Sword God Style Advanced Technique: 'Silent Flash'. A technique ranked below 'Light Flash', it left absolutely no sound of the blade cutting through the air. Under Ghislaine's and Ruijerd's tutelage, Eris's swordsmanship had grown considerably.
Her blade entered one man's shoulder, split his ribs effortlessly, and cut him clean in half with a diagonal slash.
Eris did not flinch at the sensation of cutting a human for the first time. She turned her blade toward the next opponent. The men in black moved to encircle her. But Eris was faster still. Ruijerd had thoroughly drilled her on movement when surrounded by multiple enemies. Many demonic creatures also attacked in packs. The key was to cut them down before they completed their encirclement.
"Haah!"
One of the men in black was mown down in the blink of an eye. The others wavered. Eris's rhythm was irregular — slash after slash came from outside their perception, without telegraphed windup. They could barely dodge while focusing solely on defense, let alone while trying to do anything else.
But the men in black were professionals. Sacrificing one, they completed the encirclement. Two of them lunged at Eris in staggered timing. Fast. But not as fast as Ruijerd. They did not have the coordinated top-and-bottom attacks of Pax Coyote's pack on the Demon Continent.
Slow.
"Those daggers are coated with poison! Watch out!"
The knight, who had been shielding the girl with her own body, shouted as she moved. From outside the encirclement, she charged at one of the men. From her movement, Eris predicted the subsequent actions of the men in black with precision, spotting a gap in the encirclement. She was certain she could win.
At the same moment, she cut one down. Two remained.
"Damn it — fall back!"
One of the men in black shouted, and the two pivoted on their heels to flee. But Eris was not the type to be sloppy in the finish. In a flash she caught up to one and drove a sharp slash into his back. His upper and lower halves separated, organs scattering as he fell.
The other vanished into the distance across the plain without once looking back.
"Hmph!"
Eris let out a single huff. With one flick of her blade, she flung off the blood. Outwardly, she was her usual self. But her heart was hammering.
When she thought about it, this was her first real combat against humans, and her first time killing someone. Moreover, their daggers had been poisoned. A single hit would have been fatal. She had no one like Rudeus or Ruijerd to watch her back. She had rushed in without thinking, but had it not been for that female knight, she might have died.
But Eris did not let a word of that show. She sheathed her sword and turned to the female knight.
"I'm sorry. I let one escape."
At those words, the female knight was a little taken aback. A girl who had not even reached adulthood had fought her way through a life-or-death melee and was acting completely composed about it.
Without removing her owl-shaped helm, the female knight pressed her fist to her abdomen and performed the formal salute of a Millis knight.
"I am in your debt for your assistance." "As long as the child is safe."
Eris did not return the salute. Recalling Ruijerd's manner, she said brusquely: "I am Thérese Latreille of the Temple Knights. You appear to be an adventurer — may I have your name?" "I am E—"
Eris was about to give her real name when she stopped short. No. That wasn't what Rudeus did.
"'Ruijerd of Dead End.' Believe it or not, I'm of the Superd Tribe."
At the mention of the Superd Tribe, Thérese's expression hardened. Eris didn't know it, but the Temple Knights advocated the rejection of demon races. Naturally, Eris bore none of the Superd's characteristics, so Thérese softened her expression.
Not giving her real name and instead claiming membership in a race the Temple Knights disfavored — Thérese interpreted this as meaning she and her companions did not wish to become deeply involved in this matter, or in the broader situation. She had rescued an important person and demanded no reward. Thérese found that admirable.
"I see. Understood..."
Thérese stared intently at Eris's scowling face, committing it to memory.
Then she whistled. From deeper in the forest, a horse came galloping. It was the horse that had fled when the carriage was overturned — it had returned, just as trained. She lifted the girl onto the horse and mounted up herself.
"If you are ever in trouble, invoke the name of Thérese, Temple Knight!"
With those parting words, Thérese rode away. Eris watched her go in silence.
And the boy — who had been so paralyzed with fear behind a tree that he could not stand — could only watch the knight riding away and the fearless red-haired swordswoman seeing her off, as though witnessing a scene from a fairy tale.
--- A certain priest of the Millis Church had fallen in love with a woman of the Small People race. Their child grew up and married a woman. And from that union, Cliff was born.
When Cliff was born, the priest was in the middle of a fierce power struggle. Cliff's parents were caught up in it and killed. To keep his grandson away from the conflict, the priest placed Cliff in the orphanage temporarily. Then the priest won the power struggle and became Pope, and took Cliff in.
In other words, Cliff Grimoire was the Pope's grandson. Only a very few within the Church knew this.
As for Cliff — he understood very well who had been behind the attack. The girl was the trump card of the Archbishop's faction, with whom his grandfather was currently embroiled in conflict — a Saint said to possess the power of a miracle. He had even met her before. How she had ended up in that place, even Cliff didn't know. But he knew the men in black all too well. They were the very teachers who had instructed him. He knew that they handled that sort of work.
And he knew their strength. He had sparred with them many times, and he had never won a single round.
Yet Eris had treated them as nothing. It had been a razor-thin victory in truth, but in Cliff's eyes, she had overwhelmed opponents he couldn't beat even standing on his head.
Before he knew it, Cliff was looking at Eris with eyes full of admiration.
As she walked toward town with an exhausted expression — this woman would surely become someone incredible. And as he thought that, these words overflowed from him: "Eris, please marry me!" "What?! Absolutely not!"
Eris made a face of immediate disgust and answered without hesitation. Cliff could not believe she was refusing a proposal from a genius like himself. He wondered why. He reflected on the conversation he'd had with her today.
That was it — the matter of a certain teacher. She kept saying "my teacher, my teacher." The name was something like Ru... Ru...
"Rudeus."
The moment that word surfaced and he spoke it aloud, Eris turned around.
"What kind of person is this Rudeus?"
A few minutes later, Cliff would curse himself for having asked.
He had thought Eris was quiet, but nothing could be further from the truth. Put her on the topic of a person named Rudeus, and no one could out-talk her. She spoke with unabashed pride, all the way from the plains back to the Adventurer's Guild. And the expression on her face was unmistakably that of a girl in love, with content that was nothing but lavish praise. It was more than enough to make Cliff jealous.
"...I should be getting home now."
Cliff was aware he wore a disgruntled expression as he said it. Eris still seemed to have much more she wanted to say, but when Cliff said he was leaving, she gave a perfunctory wave, as if to say "oh well."
"See you."
That offhand manner was in stark contrast to how passionately she had been talking about one person just moments ago. Cliff watched her back in silence until it disappeared from view.
This man Rudeus, who had so charmed this strong, beautiful, perfect Eris — Cliff pictured the unseen Rudeus in his mind as he returned to the Church, where he received a stern scolding from the people who had been searching for him.
And as a result of this incident, the power struggle within the Church intensified, and the Pope — fearing for Cliff's safety in Milshion — relocated his grandson to another country. But that had absolutely nothing to do with Eris.
--- As for Eris, upon returning to the inn and seeing Rudeus looking dejected, she promptly relegated the day's events to a dusty corner of her memory and forgot all about it. But that, too, is another story.