Good Friends (3)

After the resupply and rest were over, we faced an important task.

It was the reconciliation between Lena and Ashuria.

After coordinating with the hero, it seemed that Lena was regretting her recent provocation, and Ashuria was willing to apologize. As the saying goes, “Strike while the iron is hot,” we coincidentally made ourselves scarce saying we had busy matters to attend to, leaving Lena and Ashuria facing each other at the supply point.

The hero, watching the two from among the grass, carefully said:

“Um… O-old man.”

“Yes, Hero.”

Of course, the hero still couldn’t look me properly in the face. Just being next to me, her ears were bright red – how shy could she be? Feeling sorry for the hero’s appearance, I turned my head away again. I could feel her gaze on the side of my face, but I pretended not to notice.

If there’s no interest, excitement subsides. The hero’s breathing quickly stabilized, and she returned to a calm tone.

“Old man. Do you think it will go well?”

“I’m not sure.”

Even after hearing Lena’s true feelings, it was uncertain whether this reconciliation would work out well. Lena had always shown a negative view towards the church. Mille was clinging tightly to my side, gripping with all her might, and seeing the grass desperately clinging to the branches like hair being pulled out by the roots, I felt sorry for the trees.

Lena was looking around with her hands in her pockets, while Ashuria was staring straight at Lena with her arms folded. Lena awkwardly said while whistling:

“Wh-what? Why are you staring like that? Huh?”

“I know you’re having a hard time with the Black Society matter.”

At Ashuria’s words, Lena’s expression hardened. She glared at Ashuria and said:

“…So?”

Ashuria seemed a bit taken aback by Lena’s sharp response. She blinked, choosing her words, then spoke to her again:

“You picked a fight with me because you’re having a hard time, right? I understand. Don’t worry too much…”

“So, you’re saying I deliberately found fault to fight with you? That I said things I didn’t mean and weren’t true?”

Ashuria blinked, looked up at the ceiling, then sighed deeply.

“You keep saying such things about the church…”

“Ah, no!”

Mille jumped out. Startled, Mille sprang out from the grass and hugged Ashuria tightly while continuing to shout:

“Don’t, don’t fight!”

Both Lena and Ashuria looked at Mille with surprised faces. The fire of the fight hadn’t even been lit, but water had already been thrown. Lena shook her head while holding her head, and Ashuria was looking at Lena with an uncomfortable expression. In the ruined atmosphere, Lena said:

“Forget it. If you’re going to treat it like a childish tantrum, let’s just pretend nothing happened, okay?”

Ashuria didn’t respond to Lena’s words. She bit her lip, closed her eyes, then sighed deeply and shook her head. We slowly came out and moved to different positions. This time, the hero went to Lena, and I headed towards Ashuria.

---

“If this continues, it will cause problems for the operation.”

“Even if I try to understand, there’s nothing I can do if she doesn’t want to be understood.”

Ashuria had returned to a calm expression, different from what she had shown just before. But her hands were trembling slightly and her breathing was rough, indicating that she too was in an emotional state. I nodded and said:

“It can’t be helped, can it? Perspectives differ depending on where you stand.”

“Are you taking Lena’s side?”

“Haven’t I stood in various positions? When I was in the Empire, it was recorded that the war between the Empire and the Kingdom was a just war for the Empire’s territory. But they don’t say that here. Neither I nor Lady Ashuria really know what kind of life Lena has lived. We don’t know what tragedies Lena has seen around her, or what she saw and grew up with in the Black Society. She’s never told us. So Lena might be misunderstanding.”

“I’ve never thought that the church does bad things. I was an inquisitor, and I know better than anyone how cleanly the organization operates. You must know how unpleasant it is when outsiders rely on rumors to disparage the entire organization. I can’t compromise on this point.”

I felt a bitter taste in my mouth. Ashuria was taking deep breaths while stroking her Bible, and the day was terribly clear.

---

“If she was an inquisitor, she should know. What kind of things they did. How the dirty things happening in local churches are laundered in the capital, and how innocent victims are created.”

“Ashuria might not know because she only worked in the capital. They say inquisitors only deal with people who have already been investigated.”

Lena turned her head at those words. Then, curling up with her legs together, she muttered:

“…Still, she must have heard something.”

The hero gave a bitter smile. Lena seemed to know deep down that her behavior was unreasonable, but she didn’t know how to resolve it. If they started arguing about evidence, emotions would flare up again, and if it turned into a verbal fight, the party would fall apart.

Right now, Lena and Ashuria were performing a dangerous acrobatic act with the fate of the party at stake.

The hero scratched her head and turned around.

Just then, the porter was coming from the opposite direction.

---

As soon as the hero saw me, she gestured towards a rock. Mille was still busily going back and forth between the two, saying something, but seeing both of them awkwardly smiling or shaking their heads, it seemed Mille’s efforts were somewhat restoring the atmosphere. The hero looked at the path stretching ahead and said:

“…I didn’t expect this to happen. I thought things were going well.”

“It’s common for cracks to form due to differences of opinion. You had a bad day, and someone played a prank. The provocation in sparring was too severe. The cracking of human relationships is generally futile.”

“…I don’t want this party to break apart like this.”

“It won’t break apart. They’re people who know how to separate public and private matters, aren’t they?”

Both Lena and Ashuria were like that. Even though Ashuria didn’t particularly like me, she did her work properly when it came to business, and Lena always finished her work with a smile and good nature. The hero remembered the two’s conduct and nodded, while letting out a self-reproaching sigh and saying:

“…I feel like I should do something, but I couldn’t do anything. I just ended up listening. It’s not like what you see in books, is it? Where people reconcile magically when you persuade them with words.”

“Listening is the best. People with heightened emotions only regain their reason after venting their feelings. Isn’t it because you and Mille are working so hard that the two of them stopped here without going to extremes? The fact that both of them are venting their emotions to you means they trust you.”

The hero’s eyes wavered. The hero, who had been laughing while making strange noises, bowed her head and exhaled, then covered her face with her palms once and shook her head. Then, with a bright smile again, she said:

“Thank you, old man.”

I nodded and looked down. The two people, having packed their things again, were preparing their luggage without looking at each other. Lena glanced at Ashuria and then turned away, while Ashuria started focusing on her Bible again.

Mille, with an anxious face, held onto Lena and said:

“You’re, you’re not fighting anymore, right? Huh?”

Lena smiled at Mille and then nodded.

“Yeah. We’re not fighting.”

Mille then asked Ashuria:

“You’re not fighting, right? You made up?”

Then Ashuria stroked Mille’s head and answered in a warm voice:

“Yes.”

Then Mille, with a bright smile again, said to the hero:

“Hero! They said they made up!”

Both the hero and I could only give bitter smiles at the thin-ice atmosphere where only Mille seemed to be floating.

---

“Lord Staufen. We’ve received a report that an unidentifiable wagon passed near the border.”

Staufen nodded and smiled. It had been quite some time since rumors started circulating that the hero hadn’t been seen in the capital. Staufen was certain that the hero was in that wagon. And the hero’s target was clearly the secret base they had planted information about.

“How are things going with the Black Society?”

At Staufen’s question, the adjutant flipped through some documents and said:

“Yes. There’s one person whose adjustment is complete, so we plan to deploy them here immediately.”

“Those guys?”

The adjutant checked different documents at the mention of “those guys.” After reading the documents carefully, he nodded.

“Yes, 80 people are on standby.”

Staufen smiled with satisfaction. The operation was progressing smoothly.

“Good. Make them realize too.”

Staufen’s finger scratched the table.

“That following the Demon Lord is the right thing to do.”

“Hahahahahahaha!”

Staufen stared blankly at the adjutant who suddenly started laughing. The laughing adjutant cleared his throat and said:

“Ah, I thought it was the timing for laughter.”

Staufen said:

“The laughter comes after the operation is over.”

Amidst conspiracy and conflict, the wagon carrying the party was speeding along.