The refugee camp.
It was desolate.
In terms of scale, it was about the size of a village.
Or perhaps, on the Demon Continent, it might barely qualify as a small town.
But there was no vitality.
A quiet, subdued atmosphere pervaded the entire area.
For its size, there were few people.
Inside the hastily constructed log cabins, there were signs of human presence.
A fair number of people seemed to be staying there, but there was no sense of energy.
The air was stagnant.
In the center of such a refugee camp.
We headed to a place that resembled an Adventurers Guild.
"Refugee Camp Headquarters," it read above the entrance.
Inside we went.
There were a decent number of people, but this place too was gloomy.
I had nothing but a bad feeling.
"Rudeus, that..."
Where Eris was pointing, there was a paper listing the names of those who had gone missing in this incident.
Names were densely packed in small characters.
Organized by village and town, in alphabetical order.
At the very top was the Fittoa Region Lord.
Under the name James Boreas Greyrat,
it read: "Seeking information on the missing and deceased."
"Let's do that later."
"Okay."
The staggering number of dead.
And the fact that the lord's name was not Sauros.
Feeling a growing unease about both, we proceeded deeper into the building.
---
At the counter, when Eris gave her name, the receptionist immediately retreated to the back.
Then, at remarkable speed, she returned with a man and woman in tow.
They were familiar faces.
One was a middle-aged man with white hair and a beard, bearing a butler-like expression despite wearing somewhat prosperous townsperson's clothing.
Alphons.
The other was a woman with chocolate-colored skin, dressed in a swordsman's attire.
"Gilleen!"
Eris's face lit up with joy as she ran toward her.
She looked so happy you'd think she had a tail wagging.
I was happy too.
There had been no information about Gilleen, but she seemed to be doing well.
The reason no information about her had reached Paul might have been because they had missed each other over the past year.
Gilleen, too, upon seeing Eris's face, broke into a warm smile.
"Eris—no, Lady Eris, thank goodness you're safe..."
"...Enough already, just Eris is fine."
Gilleen looked happy for a while, but soon her expression clouded over.
Alphons, too, was looking at Eris with pity.
Could it be...
Anxious feelings surged through my heart.
"Eris... let's talk inside."
Gilleen's voice was rigid.
Her tail was standing straight up.
That was her face when she was tense.
Not the face of someone simply glad at Eris's return.
"I understand."
Eris, seeing that expression, seemed to grasp something.
She followed Gilleen deeper into the building.
I tried to follow right behind them,
but—
"Rudeus-sama, please wait outside."
"Huh? Ah, yes."
I was stopped.
At Alphons's words, I nodded.
Right—I was technically in an employee's position, so perhaps I wasn't allowed to listen to important discussions.
"No. Rudeus comes with me."
Eris's tone was firm.
It brooked no argument.
"If Lady Eris insists."
The corners of Eris's mouth were tightened even more than usual,
and her hands were clenched so hard they had turned white.
---
We walked silently down a short corridor and entered what appeared to be an office.
In the center sat a sofa, and at the edge of the room, a vase held Bathyl flowers.
At the far end of the room was a cheap-looking desk with no unnecessary decorations.
Without anyone telling her to, Eris sat down on the sofa.
Then, taking my hand, she pulled me down to sit beside her.
Gilleen, as always, stood in the corner of the room.
Alphons stood facing Eris and bowed in butler-like fashion.
"Welcome home, Lady Eris.
We had already received word of your return, and we have all been eagerly awaiting—"
"Spare me the pleasantries. Just tell me. Who died?"
Eris cut the butler off, her tone stronger than anyone else's in the room.
Who died.
She asked without sugarcoating it.
Her stance was right, her gaze fierce.
But I knew that anxiety was churning inside her heart.
Because her hand was gripping mine so tightly it hurt.
"That is..."
Alphons hedged.
Given this reaction, it had to be Sauros.
Eris had been her grandfather's girl.
She had imitated Sauros in everything.
If he had died, even the usually resilient Eris would be shaken.
Alphons squeezed out the words.
"Sauros-sama, Philip-sama, and Hilda-sama... all three have passed away."
The moment I heard those words, my hand was crushed.
Searing pain.
But more than the pain, my mind was reeling from the fact Alphons had just delivered.
It had to be some mistake.
It hadn't even been three years.
Right—not even three years had passed.
Well, it would soon be three years, to be more precise.
"You're... certain, right?"
At Eris's trembling question, Alphons gave a small nod.
"Philip-sama and Hilda-sama were both teleported and perished in a conflict zone.
Gilleen has confirmed this."
Gilleen nodded.
"So... Gilleen, where were you teleported?"
"To the same conflict zone as Philip-sama and Hilda-sama."
Gilleen didn't elaborate much.
She had simply found the bodies of Philip and Hilda while trekking through the conflict zone on foot.
That was all she said.
She didn't describe the condition of the bodies or the circumstances of their discovery.
But from her expression alone, it was clear that whatever she had seen had been terrible.
What exactly had been terrible, I didn't know.
Whether the state of the corpses had been horrific.
Or whether the circumstances surrounding their deaths had been grim.
Or perhaps she had witnessed something that made you want to look away.
Or heard something that made you want to cover your ears.
Eris let out a single "Hmph" through her nose.
The hand gripping mine was trembling violently.
"And grandfather?"
"...He was held responsible for the Fittoa Region Teleportation Incident and executed."
"You're kidding."
The words escaped me before I could stop them.
"Why did Sauros-sama have to be executed?"
Take responsibility for a natural disaster and get executed?
What kind of joke was that?
There was nothing anyone could have done.
Or were they saying it could have been prevented?
There had been no warning—it struck out of nowhere.
And they called that his responsibility?
"Rudeus, sit down."
"..."
I was pulled down by Eris and made to sit.
I hadn't even realized I'd stood up.
In my head, indescribable emotions were spinning in circles.
The throbbing pain made it impossible to organize my thoughts.
My hand hurt.
No—I understood too.
Even without warnings.
Even if it couldn't have been prevented.
People had died, and the fields and crops throughout the territory had been annihilated.
The losses were immeasurable.
Resentment ran deep, and someone had to be held accountable.
Someone had to be that lightning rod.
Back in Japan, whenever something went wrong, the Prime Minister would immediately resign to take responsibility.
At the time, I'd thought: if you're going to take responsibility, shouldn't you handle the situation first?
But at the same time, I'd also thought it might be a decent approach.
By stepping down, you take the people's anger with you when you leave.
Then you install someone who looks promising in the next seat.
That way, people's frustration subsides to some extent...
But it wasn't just that.
Surely, the power struggles among the nobility played a role too.
I didn't know how much power Sauros had wielded.
But he had held enough that losing his position meant death.
I could force myself to accept that.
I could, but...
Was that really the cause of the current situation?
The desolate refugee camp.
The empty headquarters.
The country didn't seem serious about rebuilding the Fittoa Region at all.
If Sauros had been alive,
or if he had been more actively involved, things might have been different.
That old man was precisely the kind of person useful in times like these.
No. That was all pretense.
None of that mattered to me.
What mattered was Eris's feelings.
When I thought about that, I simply couldn't stay calm.
Eris had no family left.
I didn't know when the news of Philip and Hilda's deaths had reached here.
Whether it had come before or after Sauros's death.
Sauros had been the last one, you could say.
They didn't need to kill him.
Not after that disaster.
Not after the Teleportation Incident.
Did they have any idea how many people had died?
Hundreds upon hundreds of dead, and the numbers didn't even seem to faze anyone.
So why go out of their way to kill someone who had survived?
After Eris had finally come home.
Ugh, damn it—I couldn't organize my thoughts. My hand hurt.
"Rudeus-sama, I understand your feelings, but...
this is the current state of the Asura Kingdom."
That wasn't a problem that could be brushed off with a single sentence.
Alphons.
Your own lord was killed.
Gilleen.
Your life was saved by that man, and they killed him.
That's what I wanted to say.
"..."
But the words wouldn't come.
Because Eris wasn't saying anything.
It was useless for me to raise a fuss here.
Regardless of the kindness I'd received, regardless of being related by marriage, Sauros was an outsider to me.
If the family themselves wasn't saying anything, there was no point in me objecting.
"...So, what are we going to do?"
Eris, remarkably, didn't shout or rage. She asked quietly.
"Lord Pilemon Notos Greyrat has expressed his desire to take Lady Eris in as his concubine."
I could feel the murderous intent radiating from Gilleen.
"Alphons! Are you really going to agree to such a thing?!"
Gilleen's roar.
A bestial cry so loud I thought my eardrums would burst.
"Do you remember what that man said?!"
While Gilleen seethed, Alphons remained composed as always.
"If we consider the future of the Fittoa Region, some sacrifices may be necessary..."
"She would never be happy married to a man like that!"
"He is still of a noble house regardless. There are many examples of people finding happiness in arranged marriages."
"I don't care about precedent! Are you thinking about Eris at all?!"
"What I'm thinking about is the Boreas household and the Fittoa Region."
"And you'd sacrifice Eris for that?!"
"If it becomes necessary."
The two suddenly broke into argument.
I stared at them both, stunned.
Then I noticed that Eris had stood up.
She had released my hand, crossed her arms, planted her feet wide, thrust out her chin, and stood there.
"Shut UP!"
Gilleen's volume was so great I wanted to cover my ears.
It was the real-deal Eris shout—the kind I hadn't heard in a long time.
But that was the extent of it.
"...Leave me alone for a while. I need to think."
Hearing her subdued voice, both of them snapped back to attention.
First, Alphons left the room without hesitation.
Gilleen lingered, looking at Eris with reluctance, then left.
And I remained.
I hesitated, unsure what to say to her.
"Eris, I mean..."
"Rudeus, didn't you hear me? Leave me alone for a while."
Her tone brooked no argument.
I was a little hurt.
Come to think of it, this might have been the first time in years that Eris had rejected me like that.
"...I... understand."
I bowed my head slightly, and as I turned to leave, I saw Eris turn her back to me. Then I stepped out of the room.
Just before I closed the door, I thought I heard a quiet sniffle.
---
Alphons had arranged rooms for us.
Near the headquarters, in what was probably a refugee dwelling, four small rooms stood in a row.
I carried my belongings into one of them and Eris's into the adjacent room.
I changed from travel clothes into town attire.
I tossed the robe with its unsightly stitch marks onto the bed and left the room.
Returning to the headquarters.
I thought about talking to Gilleen or Alphons, but I couldn't find them.
I didn't have the energy to look, so I just stared blankly at the bulletin board.
There was Paul's message—the same one I'd seen countless times over the past months.
"Search the northern Central Continent."
That had been posted when I was ten.
I was almost thirteen now.
Quite a lot of time had passed.
I scanned the lists of the deceased and missing.
Buena Village's section.
Names I recognized lined the missing persons list.
But more than half of them had been crossed out.
A glance at the deceased list revealed the same names that had been crossed off.
It appeared that once death was confirmed, the name was crossed out and moved to the deceased list.
There were slightly more names on the missing list, but the deceased list was packed just as densely.
I noticed that Rawls's name on the missing persons list had been crossed out, and my brow furrowed.
I'd heard from Paul that Rawls had died.
I hadn't learned the details of his death, though.
And right below that.
On the missing persons list, the name "Sylphie."
It had been crossed out.
My heart throbbed—I could literally feel the pulse of my own heartbeat.
I thought, no way, and checked the deceased list.
It wasn't near Rawls's name.
I scanned from the top.
But it wasn't there.
Sylphiette's name was nowhere on the deceased list.
...Huh?
"Um, this name here has a line through it on this side, but it's not listed over there..."
Puzzled, I asked one of the staff.
"Ah, that means the person has been confirmed alive."
At those words, something in my chest plummeted.
I thought it would fall straight through my body and out the other end.
Sylphie was alive.
The relief that washed over me was immense.
"So, do you also have contact information or anything?"
"No, I'm afraid not. We'd need the person to come to the headquarters in person..."
"Her name is Sylphiette. Could you look into it?"
"Just a moment, please."
I asked the staff, and after several dozen minutes—
"I'm sorry, but it appears no contact information has been registered for that name."
"I see."
Either she hadn't settled down anywhere,
or the person who found her had updated the list without including her contact details.
Or it could have been a simple omission, though I preferred not to think about that.
There was a high probability that Sylphie had survived.
For now, I wanted to rejoice in that fact.
Of course, I still worried.
For instance, about her hair color.
It was a slightly different shade from the Supard Race, but still green.
According to the Human God, the curse only applied to the Supard Race,
and in Buena Village, she hadn't been actively bullied by anyone other than the children.
But there was no shortage of heartless people in the world.
Somewhere, she might have been taunted about her hair and left crying.
No—according to Paul, Sylphie could use Healing Magic chantless.
That was only secondhand information, but it suggested she already had enough power to survive on her own.
Maybe, like me, she was working as an adventurer somewhere.
She had also learned etiquette from Lillia, so she could get by anywhere.
Or perhaps she didn't know her family was dead and was still searching for them.
Actually, if she had survived the Teleportation Incident, that possibility was even more likely.
I could only hope she hadn't ended up as a slave or anything.
For now, I crossed out the names of Lillia and Aisha.
Rudeus's name already had a line through it.
It seemed a report had been received that Eris was heading this way,
and my information had been included as well.
Among Paul's family, only Zenith Greyrat's name remained.
So she still hadn't been found.
Next time the Human God appeared in my dreams, I'd ask.
---
Eris still hadn't come out of her room.
This was probably the first time the ever-resilient Eris had been this troubled.
After a long journey, she had finally returned to her hometown,
only to find no family to greet her and no warm home to come back to.
Even the indomitable Eris might be shattered.
Maybe I should go back and comfort her after all...
No, I'd wait a little longer.
With that thought, I decided to head back to the building where I'd stored our things.
I'd planned to do various things once I got back, but I couldn't think of what.
Maybe I'd just rest for a bit.
---
Just as I was about to leave the headquarters, Alphons called out to me.
In a room within the refugee camp headquarters, I was made to sit in a chair.
Across from me sat Alphons, and to my right sat Gilleen.
The reason the two of them were seated was probably because Eris wasn't there.
Unlike me, they understood the proper master-servant hierarchy.
"Now then, Rudeus-sama, if you would be brief, I'd like you to give your report."
"Report?"
"Yes. What you've been doing these past three years."
"Ah, right."
At Alphons's request, I recounted the past three years.
Being teleported to the Demon Continent and meeting Ruijerd.
Registering as an adventurer and earning my way while traveling.
The incident in the Great Forest.
Encountering Paul and the Fittoa Region Search Party in Milishion, where I first learned the true extent of the situation.
Heading north while gathering information, and the incident in the Kingdom of Siluone.
Meeting Orsted at the Red Dragon's Lower Jaw.
I kept it extremely concise, focusing mainly on matters involving Eris.
Alphons listened quietly, but at the end—when I mentioned parting with Ruijerd—he suddenly spoke up.
"...That escort of yours, has he returned home?"
"Yes. I owe him a great deal."
"I see. Once things have settled down, I was thinking of recommending to Lady Eris that we formally offer him a token of gratitude..."
"He's not the type of person who would accept such a thing."
"Is that so."
Alphons nodded, then quietly met my eyes.
They were the eyes of an exhausted man.
"Now then, Rudeus-sama...
the only ones who remain in Sauros-sama's service are ourselves."
"...What happened to the other maids?"
"Given that they haven't returned, they likely either died or went back to their hometowns."
"I see."
So those cat-eared maids were all gone too.
Some of them might have returned to the Great Forest, but...
"It's lamentable—being cared for by Sauros-sama, and yet..."
"In the end, the connection was only one of money, wasn't it?"
When I said that, the slightest twitch crossed Alphons's poker face.
It might have been harsh, but that was the reality.
"I debated whether to include someone as young as Rudeus-sama in our ranks...
but if you're capable of such measured responses, there should be no problem.
You protected Lady Eris and safely delivered her here.
In recognition of that achievement, I authorize your induction into the Boreas Greyrat family's retinue."
The retinue.
So that's what this gathering was.
"I would now like to convene a meeting of the retinue. Is that acceptable?"
A meeting.
Before the Teleportation Incident, these had probably been held without me, in rooms I wasn't privy to.
Gilleen likely hadn't been part of them before either.
Now there were only three of us,
but there must have been a time when many retainers had gathered for discussions like this.
"Certainly. What's the agenda?"
I asked without wasting time on pleasantries.
After all, Sauros and Philip were both gone.
Who else could there possibly be to discuss.
"Lady Eris."
See?
"To be specific, I'd like to discuss Lady Eris's future."
"Her future?"
Let me think.
Eris had returned to her hometown.
But there was nothing there.
No family, no home.
She couldn't go back to the life she'd had before.
"Yes. Lady Eris's future."
"Sauros-sama and Philip-sama have certainly passed away,
but the Boreas household itself hasn't been destroyed, has it?
Surely they'd provide at least a house to live in?"
"Lord James is the type to be concerned about appearances,
and he would likely refuse to take Lady Eris in."
James—Eris's uncle.
The current lord.
If memory served, he was the one who had won the power struggle against Philip.
If appearances mattered, then yes, he probably wouldn't want to bring in someone who acted so un-noble.
Her etiquette was vague at best, making her difficult to treat as a noble's daughter.
Moreover, he supposedly had Eris's siblings in his household.
Plus several other cousins.
It wasn't hard to imagine Eris causing problems with them.
He wasn't soft enough on Eris to take her in knowing problems were inevitable.
"If she were to be taken in by Lord James,
it's questionable whether she'd even be treated as a noble...
Lady Eris performing the duties of a servant girl is unthinkable.
Therefore, I must respectfully decline that option."
At these words, I nodded.
Right. Better not go that route.
Even if Eris had mellowed considerably,
her fierce temperament remained.
She hadn't grown enough to refrain from striking back when looked down upon.
"Next, Lord Pilemon Notos Greyrat has expressed that if Lady Eris has nowhere to go upon her return,
he would very much like to take her in as his concubine."
Pilemon—my uncle. Paul's brother.
The current head of the Notos household, if I remembered correctly.
Old man Sauros had apparently disliked him...
He was the one at the root of the earlier argument.
Looking at Gilleen, she had her brow furrowed and her eyes shut tight.
"It wouldn't necessarily be a bad arrangement, but there are also dark rumors about Lord Pilemon."
"Dark rumors?"
"Yes. Recently, there are rumors he's been trying to ingratiate himself with Darius Silver Ganius, the Senior Minister who has rapidly gained power."
What was dark about that?
Nobles were all kinds of people, and it was hardly unusual for someone in power to try to curry favor with someone even more powerful.
"Lord Darius is someone who has risen to prominence over the past few years.
He was instrumental in supporting the First Prince and driving the Second Princess out of the kingdom."
Hmm.
I didn't understand. The First and Second meant nothing to me.
All I knew about royalty was about as much as you'd pick up from morning calisthenics.
"Lord Pilemon had originally been part of the faction supporting the Second Princess..."
"And with her exile, his influence has plummeted?"
"Exactly."
That made sense.
Basically, his side's boss had lost, so now he was trying to switch to the winning side.
"Then isn't that fine? What's the problem?"
"Rudeus-sama, do you recall the kidnapping incident from some time ago?"
"Kidnapping incident?"
"The one where actual kidnappers abducted Lady Eris."
The one I'd helped uncover.
"Behind those kidnappers was Lord Darius."
"Oh?"
"Lord Darius visited the Fittoa Region on one occasion,
and it is said that from the very first moment he laid eyes on Lady Eris, he became quite taken with her."
"Taken in a... sexual sense?"
"Naturally."
So he'd taken a liking to her and asked Sauros to hand her over, and when that was refused outright, he'd tried to kidnap her.
A truth revealed years later.
Or rather, it had probably been known at the time.
They simply hadn't made a fuss because the other party was too powerful.
Why had Sauros refused?
...Because he hated Darius?
The old man sometimes made decisions based on personal feelings like that.
Well, what criteria he'd used didn't matter now.
"Lord Pilemon would most likely, upon taking Lady Eris as his concubine,
find some pretext to hand her over to Lord Darius.
It appeared that Lord Pilemon viewed Lady Eris as nothing more than a possession."
So Darius was one of those perverted nobles.
Apparently they were common in the Asura Kingdom.
If he was after Eris, his taste wasn't entirely terrible.
His taste in other things was terrible, but not in that regard.
"Then we decline."
"No—I personally find Lord Darius distasteful as well,
however, Lord Darius is currently the most influential figure in the royal capital.
Lady Eris would face some hardships, but her status and treatment would be guaranteed."
"But..."
"If it were only a matter of minor whims, Lord Darius would likely indulge them.
For instance, establishing pioneer villages for the displaced people of the Fittoa Region..."
I see.
If she became the woman of someone in power, she could leverage some of that influence.
That said, I really didn't want Eris to become the possession of a pervert like that.
"Any other options?"
"Other nobles would most likely consider Lady Eris...
With Sauros-sama and Philip-sama gone, Lady Eris holds virtually no value as a noble's daughter."
Value, value...
Was that really how it worked?
In my eyes, Eris was more than valuable on her own...
"What do you think would be best, Rudeus-sama?"
"Before I give my opinion... could I hear Gilleen's thoughts first?"
Caught off guard by the sudden question, I deflected with a vague answer.
I hadn't organized my thoughts yet.
"I believe Lady Eris should simply be with Rudeus."
"With me?"
"You are Paul's son. Zenith is also a prominent noble in Milishion.
If your identity and bloodline are clear, you should be able to become a noble in the Asura Kingdom."
I wasn't so sure about that.
I didn't think I could.
I looked at Alphons.
"It wouldn't be impossible.
Paul-sama has earned merit through this incident, and by leveraging that,
we could potentially make Rudeus-sama a noble.
However, becoming someone who could manage the Fittoa Region would be difficult.
I don't believe Lord Pilemon would permit Paul's son to hold such power.
Furthermore, regarding Lady Eris marrying into a position of influence,
neither Lord Darius nor Lord James would be pleased."
Probably true...
Well, at least I had a rough idea of things now.
Alphons's thinking was focused entirely on the restoration of this territory.
"If that's the case, Rudeus should just take Lady Eris and run."
"What about the Fittoa Region?"
"You figure it out."
Gilleen's words were dismissive.
She and Alphons fundamentally didn't get along.
"Shouldn't Lady Eris rule this land that Sauros-sama loved?
Isn't that the very fulfillment of our deepest wish?"
"That's only your wish—don't lump me in with it.
All I want is for Lady Eris to be happy."
"And you think running away with Rudeus would make her happy?"
"At least more than being married off to Pilemon."
"And what about the people of the region?"
"That's not my concern. Lady Eris was never expected to take on such responsibilities in the first place."
The two of them held fundamentally opposing views.
Let me sum it up.
In short:
Alphons wanted Eris to inherit what Sauros and Philip had left behind.
He wanted her to govern this land.
For that, he was willing to have her endure even the whims of a perverted noble.
Gilleen didn't care about any of that. She wanted Eris to be happy.
For that, she was willing to throw away power and family name and have Eris elope with me.
Personally, I leaned toward Gilleen's perspective.
It was emotional.
After all, the girl I'd protected all this way becoming some pig's possession? No thanks.
Well, I didn't know if Darius or whoever was actually a pig.
But all things considered, running away with Eris was still the better option.
I didn't care about power in the slightest.
But I could partially understand what Alphons was saying too.
The idea of Eris carrying on what Sauros had done.
I could at least comprehend that line of thinking.
I just couldn't agree with it.
Well, either way—
"This isn't getting us anywhere," I muttered.
The two who had been arguing looked at me.
"What do you mean?"
At Alphons's question, I answered.
"In either case, the one who decides is Eris.
No matter how much we talk here, it means nothing.
Instead of that, let's find something more constructive to discuss.
Isn't there anything else?"
Alphons stared at me, dumbfounded.
Gilleen, too, fell silent.
"If not, I'm going to get some rest."
That was the end of the day's meeting.