Adventurer Life with Exiled Daughter

Chapter 66

Chapter 66

*

Right after the magical shockwave that had been pressing on my eardrums at regular intervals stopped, it happened.

I clearly heard the sound of something breaking in the distance.

Shara said something, but I couldn't hear her voice, and that's when I understood that what had broken was space itself.

Shara, with a smile, is saying something to Erika and me.

I feel more puzzled than surprised at Shara being able to smile and say something in this situation.

Naturally, I end up reading her lips.

"Look——the voice——Erika is——they say——it's fine, God——"

Before Shara could finish saying whatever it was, a shock hit me, shaking my head so much that I gave up on reading her lips.

Suddenly, I thought I heard a voice in the distance that belonged to neither Shara nor Erika.

"Grant protection to the Priestess's sword——" it said.

*

Now, about what happened after that.

Well, to put it simply, we were completely unharmed.

I think to myself, "No way," but since it's true, there's nothing I can do about it.

Shara was shouting excitedly about divine protection, and seeing the Church standing unscathed in the Demonlands, now a wasteland without a single blade of grass, I could understand why she'd say that.

In reality, though, isn't it more likely that the barrier device installed in the Church—that is, the divine relic—detected us and put up a barrier? That's what Erika and I think.

Erika even felt her magical energy being drawn toward the Church.

As just an ordinary person, not the Priestess of Light or anything special, I found Shara's talk of divine protection far less convincing than this explanation, and it made much more sense to me.

God doesn't just personally help out like that so easily.

Well, Shara was surprised that we hadn't heard that voice, asking repeatedly if we really hadn't, and Erika comforted her by saying that hallucinations can happen when you're tense.

If I may speak extremely personally, it's Erika's smile rather than any divine miracle.

Huh? You haven't heard this story? Well, the truths of the world are often hard to understand. I think the simple truth that I can do anything with Erika's smile is pretty straightforward, though.

Anyway, to be honest, even though part of the middle layers of the Demonlands got blown away in a massive anomaly, I wanted to retreat as soon as possible.

But since Erika's magical energy hadn't recovered yet, and since our original goal was right in front of us, we decided to set aside the question of what kind of miracle it was for now and rest at the Church.

Though she could stand and walk, Erika was still heavily exhausted, so I entrusted her to Shara and explored the Church.

The interior of the Church was nothing special to mention, just a very ordinary Church, but I will say that the bishop's words, "You'll know the divine relic when you see it," were true.

I don't owe them any obligation to protect it, but the bishop did ask me to keep the matter of the divine relic confidential, so I'll stay silent on the details.

I think I can at least honor that much.

After all, I mistook Shara for an assassin, so I can do at least this much for the Church folks.

Though I won't forgive them for trying to execute Erika.

Ah, I've gone off track.

After about an hour of rest, we left the Church behind.

Thinking back on it now, it's a bit ridiculous, but I was walking while dreading the moment I'd come face-to-face with the corpse of some unrelated adventurer caught up in Rainibati's Fifth.

More than the corpse itself, I hated the thought of Erika's face clouding over when she saw it.

As you know, that worry turned out to be unnecessary, since by the time we were retreating from the middle layers, other adventurers were desperately fighting off monsters that had spilled out from there.

This, too, happened because the assassins dragged Oganight out from the deep layers, so indirectly, you could say it's our fault.

Still, it's probably better to die fighting than to get caught up in Rainibati's Fifth and die.

Besides, as a result, it seems no adventurers died, and they probably earned more than usual, so as adventurers, they must have been pretty pleased.

By the time we were leaving the forest in the middle layers, we were actually fighting monsters coming back from the shallow layers, so in that sense, I wished the adventurers of Hekatai had hunted monsters a bit harder.

After all, Erika was happily firing off magic one after another, just to tell us, "Look, my magical energy has recovered quite a bit!"

Shara was more stunned than surprised, saying, "Didn't you completely run out of magical energy just a little while ago?" and as for me, I was worried because she still wasn't fully recovered.

In the end, when we emerged from the forest, the adventurers of Hekatai who had been driving back the monsters stirred and stepped back—what was that about?

Well, I was grateful they cleared the way without any unnecessary exchanges.

After that, well, it was just me, but I cleaned the blood-soaked equipment with purification magic and safely returned home.

See? We didn't do anything wrong, right?

So let's stop making such difficult faces, okay, Senior?

*

"Boss, that's just impossible, you know."

Merceja, sitting across the table, said that while letting out a sigh.

"What's this about Rainibati's Fifth? That's not something that should just be out in the world like that. Using it to assassinate an individual must be a first in history. I thought you weren't the type to just live a quiet, secluded life, but making history less than two months after being exiled—honestly, I think that's a bit much."

Knowing about Rainibati's Fifth, I'm impressed that he's indeed an adventurer hired by the Prime Minister.

That said, the sharpness of his logic is pretty impressive too.

"And what's all this commotion about, anyway?"

Merceja said, looking around.

By the way, it's now noon, two days after returning from the middle layers of the Demonlands, and the location is a temporary table set up on the street by a diner for adventurers on Hekatai's main street.

Merceja arrived in town yesterday for regular contact, and today we're reporting on recent events during this contact meeting.

And the surroundings, in a word, are a festival uproar.

Drunken citizens and adventurers are singing and dancing everywhere.

"For some reason, when we returned to Hekatai, the news that we had gone to retrieve a divine relic in the middle layers of the Demonlands had spread throughout the town."

"......And since you guys successfully brought back the divine relic, that's why there's this festival commotion?"

Yes, exactly.

For some reason, the rumor that we had gone to retrieve a divine relic had spread throughout the town.

And since the source of the rumor was the Church—or rather, the bishop—it's being treated not as a rumor but as plain fact. On top of that, when we safely returned the divine relic to the bishop, it was announced grandly, which makes no sense to me.

Weren't we supposed to handle this discreetly? Is this okay, Church? This is a huge scandal.

"Well, once the Church announces it, there's nothing you guys can do about it."

I nod to Merceja, who said that while sipping tea, agreeing that this isn't my fault.

Then Merceja leaned in close and lowered his voice.

"So? From what you've said, Boss, even if this Sister Shara is in the clear, doesn't that mean the Church......or rather, the bishop, isn't necessarily in the clear? After all, aside from that Sister, the only one who knew about your actions that day was probably the bishop. Announcing it so publicly—couldn't that be a way to obscure things and cover something up?"

I shrug in response to Merceja's question.

"I did think that too, and while I was at it, I tried to probe Shara a bit."

On the way back from the Demonlands, I explained our situation to Shara.

That is, Erika is Erika Solnzari, falsely accused of assassinating the Priestess of Light and exiled from the country.

And that someone is targeting her life.

To sum it up, Shara was furious.

"Is the Church in Faltarl full of idiots too?" she said.

Since she was angry, I thought if I probed her, something might slip out. When I mentioned I still had doubts about the bishop, she got just as angry at me as she did about the Church in Faltarl.

"According to Shara, this designated request to retrieve the divine relic—apparently, on the very night they requested it of us, the matter had already reached the lord."

Probably because I didn't lower my voice, Merceja straightened back up.

"And the next day, a request for cooperation was sent to the Adventurer's Guild through the lord, it seems."

"What's with that inconsistent behavior from the bishop?"

Merceja let out a dumbfounded sound.

"Even though he said it'd be bad if the public found out or something, since the difficulty of the request was what it was, he apparently wanted to provide support to the extent that it wouldn't become too public."

In other words, by informing the lord, who has strong ties with the Adventurer's Guild, he intended to support us using reliable adventurers.

Of course, the bishop couldn't have predicted that Erika would head to the Demonlands with just one day of preparation, so we didn't end up receiving any of that support.

And by the way, the bishop trusted people's ability to keep quiet a bit too much.

"So, what you're saying is, on the day you received the designated request, the lord knew, and by the next day, through the Adventurer's Guild, everyone who needed to know already knew?"

When I nod back, Merceja sighs and shakes his head.

In other words, the number of people who knew about our movements was far greater than imagined. Considering how the rumor spread, it's ridiculous to even try counting them.

Naturally, narrowing down who the assassin is, or who leaked information to someone plotting an assassination, is incredibly difficult.

"And well, with something like Rainibati's Fifth showing up, realistically, it's unlikely the Church is trying to assassinate anyone."

If the Church had obtained something like Rainibati's Fifth, or if they had the means to obtain it.

That would be a far bigger commotion than just a piece of a divine relic being left in the forest of the Demonlands.

At worst, it could lead to war between countries and Churches across the continent.

"Hmm, well, I suppose so. Even setting aside the kind of people who turn humans into demons, the combination of the Church and Rainibati is just too dangerous."

Merceja makes a face as if to say, "Good grief."

"So? Did you find out anything on your end?"

As an adventurer walking down the street notices me and raises a bottle of liquor in a toast, I casually return the gesture while asking Merceja.

"No, nothing in Faltarl. I consulted with the Prime Minister as well, but......"

"But?"

"They tried to mobilize the knight orders of the marquis family after learning an assassin was targeting them."

I could easily imagine the Prime Minister's face turning bright red.

Well, they were stopped by everyone in the household and gave up, Merceja says with a distant look in his eyes.

"By the way, why is it that since earlier, adventurers passing by keep trying to shake hands with you, Boss, or toast with you, or even treat you to drinks?"

I answer while downing my fifth—or was it sixth?—ale.

"Just imagine it for a bit."

Suddenly, a massive horde of monsters spills out from the forest of the Demonlands, with such ferocious momentum that even the adventurers who had ventured into the forest hurriedly retreat.

The adventurers who were in the Demonlands must have thought this.

This is bad, it might be a repeat of what happened sixty years ago.

Sending inexperienced adventurers to the town as messengers, the adventurers on the scene hurriedly construct a defensive line.

The adventurers' spirits must have been utterly dismal.

After all, it was the start of a battle with no end in sight.

The whims of the Demonlands were a constant, but even so, a massive horde of monsters spilling out from the forest like this was far from ordinary.

The hastily formed united front, however, held its ground despite everything.

By the time reinforcements hastily gathered from the town arrive, a massive explosion occurs in the forest of the Demonlands.

The makeshift battle line and its makeshift chain of command were on the verge of collapse, teetering on the edge of total chaos, but they still pulled through.

Incredibly, the massive horde of monsters begins to retreat.

Seizing the moment, they push the battle line forward—whatever that explosion was, they can think about it later.

The adventurers did it; finally, the monsters flee back into the forest.

A victorious roar rises, and the adventurers' excitement reaches its peak.

Then, from the forest, two adventurers and a sister emerge, cutting through the horde of monsters.

Suddenly, someone mentions a rumor they heard in town—that there are adventurers who received a secret request from the bishop.

Apparently, it's about retrieving a divine relic left behind in the forest of the Demonlands or something like that.

Then the stories start pouring out—I heard about it too, they're a male and female adventurer from Faltarl, the man is an apprentice of that "Kindhearted Barbara," and they set out for the forest of the Demonlands today to retrieve it as quickly as possible, or so they say.

Before long, a single story takes shape among the adventurers.

The forest of the Demonlands bared its fangs at the adventurers who came to retrieve the divine relic, but undeterred, they pressed on into the deep forest, found the divine relic, and reclaimed it; somehow, through some mysterious power of the divine relic, they swept through the forest of the Demonlands, and the monsters, struck with fear, retreated back into the forest.

In other words, adventurers just like us pulled off something incredible.

"What the heck is with this weird vibe?"

Merceja says with a face like he's trying to suppress a headache.

Honestly, I don't really get it either.

But from what I heard from Shara, this is apparently how it's being spun among the adventurers in Hekatai.

Adventurers are mostly people who had no other options, so they decided to risk their lives and make a living through violence.

In short, they're generally not the brightest.

With an easy-to-believe story circulating, and the bishop publicly announcing the retrieval of the divine relic, among the adventurers in Hekatai, we're now being treated as heroes.

It's probably something like, "Our fellow adventurers accomplished a great feat, yeah!" or some vibe like that?

It's quite different from the vibe among adventurers in Faltarl, so I'm not sure how to react.

Merceja lets out a deep sigh as he speaks.

"I thought you, Boss, of all people, would try to live without standing out."

"I did intend to do that, though."

"You intended to?"

"I realized it was impossible for someone like Erika Solnzari to avoid standing out."

Merceja glares at me with half-closed eyes as I shrug.

"You should've realized that before getting caught up in something that made us heroes in less than two months, Boss."

I avert my eyes from Merceja's words and wave at Erika and Shara, who are walking toward us.