True Purpose

Fortunately, Ruben is also called the Holy Land of the Order of the Moon, so the dimension stone is not far from the city.

Thanks to that, even though it’s quite far from the Lyarde County, the journey doesn’t feel as long as I thought it would.

Of course, even so, it’s only shortened, and the distance is by no means easy, so it’s a long area that takes at least two days to get there one way.

Therefore, in the middle of the journey, Kyle and his party had to stop by a village to take a breather.

After securing a suitable lodging and gathering in one room, Vermilion opened his mouth with an awkward expression.

“It’s my first time in Ruben, and it’s quite a long way.”

“Well, yeah. It’s practically at the southern end of the Empire.”

Kyle nodded indifferently to this and unfolded the map to check their current location again.

At this rate, we should arrive tomorrow.

It seems like it was a good idea to run as hard as I could on the first day.

“But why are you suddenly trying to stop by Ruben, Kyle?”

“There’s something to confirm.”

“Confirm? Is it a story related to the Eyes of Dawn?”

In response to Anise’s question, Kyle pondered what to do, then looked at Sylvia’s face and spread a soundproof barrier around them.

I haven’t explained to Sylvia yet exactly why I’m trying to go to Ruben.

She, Vermilion, and Anise are all the same, they just expressed their intention to accompany Kyle because he said he was going.

I’m grateful for their thoughtfulness, but I can’t just drag them around without revealing the purpose.

I thought I should take this opportunity to tell them why I suddenly stopped by Ruben.

“…Actually, I heard that a large-scale investigation order has recently been issued regarding the Eyes of Dawn. But funnily enough, it seems they haven’t found a single clue yet.”

“That’s right.”

Sylvia nodded, having heard the story roughly, and Kyle unfolded the entire map of the Empire and continued to speak.

“Honestly, it’s a ridiculous story. No matter how well those bastards hide their tails, it’s impossible to not find any clues at all, even with the power of the Imperial Palace投入.”

“Someone is hiding them…. That’s what you’re expecting.”

“That’s right.”

Kyle nodded towards Vermilion, who accurately grasped his intentions.

That’s right.

If it were just a small group of a few people, or even dozens of people, Kyle would have been less suspicious.

But the Eyes of Dawn are not like that.

They are bastards with the power to shake the entire Empire.

They have such a powerful influence that they even tried to devour promising families like the Drake family and the Eleanor family.

The fact that those bastards haven’t revealed their tails yet is too unnatural.

I can’t help but think that someone is intentionally hiding their existence.

And if there is an existence or group with that kind of power, they might be the real enemy, even more dangerous than the Eyes of Dawn.

What Kyle wants to find out is about those existences.

“So, isn’t that why people predicted that they would be related to the Order of the Moon? That’s the current rumor, too.”

Sylvia added to that.

Even from a long time ago, the rumor that the Eyes of Dawn were related to the Order of the Moon has been circulating frequently.

It spread secretly, to the point where I don’t even know where it came from, but it spread so rapidly that I wondered if someone was intentionally spreading it.

This also had an impact on the decline of the Order of the Moon’s prestige.

“I thought so too at first. Although it’s been pushed back by the Order of the Sun now, it was once one of the largest groups in the Empire. Even if you look at the before and after situation, there are enough reasons to be suspicious.”

Kyle was also one of the people who believed the rumor to some extent.

That’s because the situation is too perfect, isn’t it?

The moment the Eyes of Dawn began to reveal their presence in earnest was around the time when Erze’s message continued and the response of Lethe, the Goddess of Dawn, disappeared.

If the Order, which had lost its prestige, rebelled against the Empire and tried to increase their believers in the darkness, it would be a perfect explanation in terms of narrative.

Moreover, the timing is too perfect. Scary perfect.

However, Kyle felt that this point was strange.

“But recently, I suddenly had the thought that it’s too strangely perfect.”

“…That’s certainly true. It’s as if someone is manipulating it to be this way.”

“That’s exactly the point. If this was truly the Order of the Moon’s nonsense, I thought they should at least show an intention to hide it.”

It’s because the series of phenomena that fit together so perfectly, as if the whole world was putting on a collective play to drive the Order of the Moon into a corner, rather increased the sense of incongruity.

And there was one part that spurred this suspicion.

It’s the folklore about Erze and Lethe.

“Sylvia, you said that Erze gave a message that made Lethe suspicious and disappeared, and when she reappeared, Lethe disappeared this time.”

“Yes, at least as far as I know, that’s what happened.”

“Don’t you think it’s strange no matter how you think about it? Why did Lethe disappear without saying anything about it?”

There is a typical way to frame people.

First, spread bad rumors about the person through incitement and fabrication, and then forcibly gag them.

In order to counter incitement and fabrication, it usually takes several times the effort, and even if you can’t do that, there’s no way.

You’ll just be buried in rumors and disappear.

Kyle felt that the relationship between Erze and Lethe was exactly like that.

“Kyle, you don’t mean….”

“Yes, that’s right.”

When Vermilion couldn’t continue speaking with a dumbfounded expression, Kyle nodded with narrow eyes.

I can’t say for sure yet.

But there are enough reasons to be suspicious.

That’s why I came to hear the answer.

From the Goddess of Dawn herself, not anyone else.

And what this meant was simple.

“Maybe the Order of the Sun, or even Erze, is behind this. That’s what I’m thinking.”

The heavy words he spat out instantly calmed the air in the room.

＊＊＊

That night, Kyle and his party returned to their rooms after dinner.

To be exact, they split into two rooms and finished preparing for bed.

Originally, the men were going to use one room and the women were going to use the other.

But somehow, Sylvia and Anise strongly opposed this, so Kyle and Sylvia ended up using one room, and Vermilion and Anise ended up using the other.

Kyle scratched his cheek awkwardly, regretting that he should have spent more money to get four rooms if he had known this would happen.

“Kyle, should I turn off the lights?”

“Y-yeah.”

Nodding to Sylvia’s quiet voice, Kyle lay down on the bed and closed his eyes tightly.

I wasn’t really sleepy, but I thought that was the only way to escape this awkward atmosphere.

But someone didn’t seem to want that, and a quiet voice echoed in the darkened room.

“Kyle, aren’t you cold?”

“I’m okay. Why? Are you cold?”

“Yes, a little…. I think there’s a draft coming in.”

“Hmm….”

The good rooms were all full, so I had to get a slightly cheaper room, and it seems like the wind is seeping in a little because of that.

When Sylvia’s voice trembled slightly, Kyle wondered what to do.

Then, Sylvia’s mouth opened again.

“So, I was wondering if it would be okay to sleep next to Kyle?”

“Next to me…. You mean share a bed?”

“Yes. The bed is quite big, so I think it would be okay for two people to sleep in it.”

“No, that’s a bit….”

Kyle showed a difficult expression at the unexpected suggestion.

No matter how comfortable he has become with small skinship with Sylvia, it was quite difficult for him, who has a conservative value system, to suddenly be told to share a bed.

Besides, even if the bed is said to be big, it was obvious that if two fully grown men and women were to use it, they would have to stick their bodies together.

“I’m sorry. I guess it’s a nuisance, right?”

“It’s not a nuisance, but….”

He was about to refuse, thinking that he shouldn’t allow this, but when Sylvia tried to return to her bed with a dejected voice, he felt sorry for her.

He already felt sorry for not being able to get her a good room, and this only added to his guilt.

In the end, Kyle surrendered and said, slightly pushing the blanket aside, “Okay. One night will be okay.”

“Really? Thank you, Kyle.”

To this, Sylvia came toddling over to his side, as if she were a child playing in a flower garden, without the dejected voice she had a moment ago.

But there was a problem.

“…Sylvia?”

“Yes, Kyle.”

“Um, it’s a little uncomfortable if you’re doing that.”

“But it’s warmest to stick our bodies together like this, right?”

“No, even so….”

Instead of turning her back, Sylvia was looking at Kyle and gently hugging him.

Thanks to that, he kept feeling something squishy that he shouldn’t feel on his chest.

Kyle was just resentful that he had to wage a war with the opposite sex in the middle of the night, but he didn’t know what to do because Sylvia’s logic wasn’t wrong either.

In the end, he had no choice but to turn his back and face the wall to avoid eye contact.

“Kyle is surprisingly shy.”

“…Isn’t it that you’re too unaware?”

Kyle was dumbfounded when Sylvia laughed and spoke to him as if he were cute.

In a state where he was dressed as simply and thinly as possible to go to sleep, where would there be a man who could properly face her when she was bumping her audacious body against him?

Rather, he thought it was amazing that Sylvia was doing such a thing without even being aware of it, but she immediately denied it as if to say what are you talking about.

“That’s rude. I’m aware. I’m doing it because I’m aware.”

“……?”

To this, Kyle had to struggle to interpret her words, blinking his eyes.

She’s doing it because she’s aware, what does that mean?

Is it because she wants to show off her superior development?

It’s natural for women with pretty faces or good bodies to have their own pride, but I didn’t know that Sylvia had that side of her too.

Anyway, Kyle, who ended up sleeping with her unexpectedly, had to stay up all night.

He thought about picking Sylvia up and putting her on the opposite bed after seeing her fall asleep, but he couldn’t do that because he was worried that she would wake up cold in the middle of the night.