Evading the Hero’s Party with Full Effort

Chapter 101

Ch.101 We’ll Verify Your Identity

A few days after touring the capital with Nekhuf…

“Then we’ll be off now.”

The time had finally come to leave the Imperial Palace.

“Hmph!”

Leah snorted as she watched me, Mia, and Nekhuf prepare to depart…

“Father Hans. If you commit any immodest acts while traveling with Miss Mia…”

Cecilia gave a faint smile and subtly showed her mace.

“Next time, I’ll really hit you on the head—so be prepared.”

“Y-yes…”

A saintess radiating killing intent—how utterly tragic!

Oh, Lord El! Your saintess is exuding a murderous aura!

“Take care, you two.”

With Scarlet’s gentle farewell, we boarded the carriage…

and thus left the Imperial Palace.

“The capital is truly magnificent.”

Nekhuf, removing his blindfold and gazing at the city with his blue eyes, prompted Nephert to nod.

“Yeah. I’ve never seen a city this beautiful in my life.”

Watching Nephert lean against Nekhuf’s shoulder, I thought:

‘Disgusting. Absolutely disgusting.’

Honestly, in the game, their love story seemed so pure and beautiful—but now it’s just cringeworthy.

This has nothing to do with me being single.

Really.

If I’d known it’d turn out like this, I wouldn’t have helped them… Did I step in for nothing?

Normally, this was the time for Nekhuf to undergo trials and taste life’s bitterness.

Ah well… I’ll endure it. He’s still a character I liked.

“Sage. What’s Pisa like?”

“Pisa is a wonderful place—vast open plains, a river flowing through the domain, and a hub of transportation.”

We were currently heading toward my fief.

Before leaving, I’d liquidated my trading house and was now traveling to inspect preparations for confronting the King of the Dead from the heart of my territory.

I’d told the Emperor and the Pope that my domain held many holy relics, consecrated oils, and other divine artifacts—so I ought to at least check on them.

“Hmm… Is there a forest there by any chance?”

Mia’s question surprised me.

“Yes. There’s a dense forest as well.”

‘Is she planning a forest bath?’

Elves love forests and mountains, after all—so I didn’t think much of it.

“Good. The children will like it if there’s a forest.”

“Huh?”

Her unexpected—and horrifying—remark caught me completely off guard.

“Ch-children? What do you mean?”

“Whaaat?! Lady Mia?! No way—you and that scoundrel?!”

Nephert gasped in shock, while Nekhuf’s face turned bright red.

Mia spoke casually, as if it were no big deal:

“What can I do? I made the Elven Vow, and he accepted it. For better or worse, we’re bound together.”

‘You mean he’d die if he refused?!’

The words rose to my throat—but I couldn’t say them.

She was staring at me with that calm, piercing gaze—a look so deadly it clearly said, ‘Keep your mouth shut unless you want your skin peeled off.’

Anyone would freeze solid under that stare… just like I did.

“Ah… I suppose that can’t be helped…”

Nephert looked at Mia with pity, while Nekhuf gazed at me with admiration.

‘It’s not like that… It’s really not.’

I never wanted this situation at all.

All I ever dreamed of was living peacefully with a kind, ordinary woman—without worrying about money.

How on earth did things end up like this?

***

That night, as we set up camp and unrolled our sleeping bags…

“Ugh…”

I struggled to remove the Arbiter’s Armor—it wasn’t easy.

“I’ll help.”

Mia stepped in as I grunted, trying to take off the lower half.

Click…

She undid the buckles, and my legs slipped out easily.

“Thanks.”

“Helping each other is only natural.”

She finished unfastening the torso clasps.

“For something called ‘divine armor,’ it’s awfully cumbersome.”

She was right.

The reason I rarely wore it was precisely because donning and removing it was such a pain.

I could do it alone—but it took nearly thirty minutes of grunting and struggling.

Thanks to her frowning but efficient help, I managed to take it off quickly.

“It’s impressive you can leap around like a squirrel in this armor.”

“It’s thanks to the armor’s effects.”

The Arbiter’s Armor negated fatigue and stamina drain—practically cheating.

And… it wasn’t uncomfortable to wear, either.

“Good. Now, hurry and eat dinner.”

“Yeah. Let’s.”

We gathered around the campfire.

Nephert served food onto wooden plates and handed them to me and Mia.

“This is…”

It’s just greens!

Bright green with fruit on top—basically a salad.

“Hmm… The fruit here isn’t very sweet, right, Nekhuf?”

“The sugar content seems lower than in our village.”

Was it because they were all elves?

How could they feel full eating just grass…?

Unlike me, Mia and Nekhuf seemed satisfied—so I stood up.

“Where are you going?”

“To the coachman. Elf food clearly doesn’t agree with me.”

I walked over to the coachman, who was grilling meat beside the carriage.

“Oh? Baron, what brings you here?”

“Could I share your meal? I’ll pay.”

I flicked a gold coin—and his eyes lit up.

“Of course! It’s a great honor to serve the renowned Baron Hans!”

He spread a blanket before me and patted the ground, gesturing for me to sit.

“Please, sit!”

“Excuse me.”

And so, dinner began.

Eating meat made me feel human again.

***

Roy de More, the King of the Dead, walked through a vast wheat field, a longsword in one hand, Cardinal Davinus at his side.

Closing his eyes with a bitter, self-mocking expression, the King murmured:

“So… Heirn truly came to this?”

“Yes. This is Heirn, as it was a thousand years ago.”

The King shut his eyes, lost in memory.

His beloved wife. His only daughter.

Young Roy had fallen for the beautiful queen at first sight.

She, moved by his sincerity, agreed to marry him—and they enjoyed a blissful honeymoon.

Back then, he felt he had everything in the world—even the Emperor envied him.

When she became pregnant, his happiness doubled.

He was truly happy…

until that day came.

After giving birth to their cherished daughter, the queen…

fell victim to childbed fever.

“Darling… darling…”

She lay burning with fever.

Priests tried to heal her—but her unique constitution resisted Divine Light, and treatment failed.

“I love you…”

With those final words, she passed away.

The King opened his eyes, now glowing red.

“Fine. I’ll see them both soon enough.”

He raised his sword high—channeling all his rage toward the world into the blade.

A dark violet light erupted—a cursed, murky radiance pouring from the steel.

“I have returned! Rise, all of you!”

Clang!

He plunged the sword into the earth—and a pulse of violet fire spread through the ground.

BOOOOM!

The earth trembled, cracked open, and violet energy shot in every direction.

“Heirn! Rise again!”

The ground collapsed inward, soil sinking into a deep crater.

Thick dust swirled—

revealing ruins of ancient buildings, scattered bones from some long-forgotten battle, and rusted weapons caked in mud.

As the dust settled, the grandeur of a long-lost kingdom emerged.

“Rise! My soldiers! The time for vengeance—your vengeance—is at hand!”

Scattered bones slowly reassembled.

“I shall grant you His grace! Rise, all of you!”

Thick, violet liquid dripped from the tip of his sword.

“Be reborn in His amniotic waters, my soldiers!”

The viscous fluid gushed endlessly, flooding the sunken earth.

“Hahaha! Krahahaha! Rise! Awaken from your slumber!”

The King laughed wildly as figures emerged from the sticky ooze—

not mere bone fragments, but complete human forms.

Uncorrupted skin. Intact armor. Weapons in hand.

They looked almost alive.

Cardinal Davinus stared in awe.

‘Has he truly resurrected them?’

But he quickly shook his head.

‘No. He is the God of Death. He would never defy the natural order with true resurrection.’

Death came equally to all.

To reverse it would contradict his very nature.

Calmly, Davinus observed the risen.

Their violet eyes were vacant, expressions hollow.

‘So… they have no souls?’

Indeed, their blank stares were anything but normal.

The slowly rising soldiers and knights wore grotesque, empty expressions.

“My soldiers…”

The King watched them with tearful joy.

Davinus sensed a flicker of madness in him.

“I’ve missed you all so much.”

Overcome with emotion, the King continued:

“Praise our God for our return! To our true God! Lead the charge to drag the false gods from the heavens and slaughter them—for our eternal life and paradise!”

“WAAAAH!”

A soulless roar echoed through the ruins of the ancient palace.

***

After a week of carriage travel—

at the end of a long, tedious journey—we arrived.

“We’ll reach Pisa soon.”

At the coachman’s words, I looked around—and recognized the familiar landscape.

“We’re here.”

“This is it? The Sage’s domain?”

We saw villagers farming in wheat fields and several carriages passing by.

“Yes. This is Pisa.”

Though technically a small barony, Pisa was famously one of the most valuable lands in ‘Destiny’.

Fertile soil, rivers and streams, and mineral-rich mountains in the rear—

aside from its formerly low population, it was perfect.

Now, thanks to my policies, the population had grown richly—

and Pisa collected more taxes than most earldoms.

“Sigh… Did I sell the trading house too hastily?”

I’d liquidated it in a panic to escape—but now I felt a twinge of regret.

The trading house earned more than the barony itself.

I could’ve reinvested trade profits into the domain and used the barony’s resources to amplify the trading house’s influence.

“Come to think of it, I heard the Sage was the greatest merchant in the Old Continent.”

“Is that right?”

I shrugged casually at Mia’s question—and she asked:

“Did you use your knowledge from the game for that too?”

“Yes. I couldn’t even become the world’s richest man without it.”

“I’m curious about your world. It’s astonishing that a game could simulate reality so precisely.”

“It’s not as magical as it sounds. It relies on a device called a computer.”

As Mia and I talked—

the carriage stopped.

“Halt. We’ll verify your identity.”

We had finally reached Pisa’s gates.

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