Ch.100Faith and Love (1)

# Faith and Love (1)

Suddenly, Esmeralda didn’t want to go home.

It wasn’t that she preferred being outside. How could that be when she missed her hometown so much?

The reason she didn’t want to return was because of Eirene and Millia, who would probably be awake by now.

“Ugh, why am I so nervous?”

She looked like an unfaithful husband reluctant to enter his home after being caught cheating.

The fact that she was debating whether to knock on the door of her own home said it all.

‘It’s okay. I can handle this.’

She had beaten up those two, but she could persuade them.

Of course, she hadn’t completely escaped suspicion of hiding Lug, and despite that, she had thoughtlessly beaten them up, restrained them, imprisoned them, and left them with Tina—just some minor issues.

‘Shit…’

After carefully reviewing her actions, Esmeralda thought it might be better to just give up on life.

“…I’m home.”

Entering as cautiously as possible, Esmeralda tensed for a moment when she saw someone rushing toward her.

“Hey! Someone might think you’re a thief. Why are you being so sneaky?”

Thankfully, it wasn’t Eirene or Millia. Come to think of it, it was only natural for her parents to be in their own home.

Esmeralda sighed with relief while forcing a smile so her parents wouldn’t worry.

“Ah, it’s… nothing. Hahaha, are Tina and the others…?”

“Weren’t you with them?”

“Ah, we came in together earlier, but I just stepped out for a bit. Um, they might be asleep by now. Today’s training must have been tough.”

“Kids these days have so much energy!”

Esmeralda was relieved that there were no problems with her parents.

Her chatty mother.

Her quiet father who was barely noticeable.

Fortunately, it seemed the two hadn’t caused any trouble. Esmeralda held back tears thinking of Tina, who must be keeping them under control.

Friends are truly reliable.

“Ah, I’m tired today, so I’ll head in first.”

“Have you eaten?”

“I ate outside.”

“Really? Then go get some rest.”

“Yes.”

The conversation with her parents seemed to ease Esmeralda’s tension.

After spending the whole day on edge, such ordinary conversation was surprisingly comforting.

Esmeralda quickly returned to her room before losing this warm feeling.

“…I can do this.”

After steeling her resolve at the door, Esmeralda finally flung it open.

“Mmph! Mmmmph!”

The first thing she saw was Tina rolling on the floor, completely wrapped in tentacles.

Fortunately, there was nothing suggestive about it.

If anything, it resembled a spider wrapping up an insect in its web to eat later.

Thanks to this, Esmeralda didn’t have to feel guilty about her friend possibly having a terrible experience.

Of course, it wasn’t her place to decide what constituted a terrible experience.

“Let’s see.”

Esmeralda didn’t panic at the sight of this disaster.

Right now, assessing the situation was more important than panicking. There might have been an enemy attack, contrary to what she thought.

“Mmph! Mmmmmmph!”

“Wait a moment, Tina. Let me figure out what’s going on first.”

Though she appeared calm on the outside, Esmeralda was quite flustered.

The fact that she was investigating the surroundings instead of simply freeing Tina and hearing what happened proved it.

“Hmm hmm.”

According to her investigation, there had been no enemy intrusion. This was an internal disaster. The victim, Tina, was bound by tentacle magic, which had become practically synonymous with Millia.

“I see. As expected.”

And if there were holy script scribbles around Tina, the situation was clear.

Amici vitia si feras, facias tua

What did it mean?

Esmeralda didn’t know the meaning, but somehow she knew it was directed at Tina.

The reason she thought it wasn’t meant for her, despite not understanding it, was simple.

Dies irae venit

Neca eos omnes. Deus suos agnoscet

Vae victis

Deus vult!

※Quidquid latine dictum sit altum videtur

Because the mysterious phrases scrawled all over the wall seemed prepared for her.

Again, she didn’t understand the meaning.

She could only feel Eirene’s anger and malice contained within them.

It was strange. Why should she feel such emotions from text written in holy script?

After comprehensively assessing the situation, Esmeralda slumped down.

“…What do I do now?”

She really wanted to give up on everything.

***

Esmeralda, befitting a hero, was able to overcome this despair too.

Yes.

She got up from the floor.

And she freed Tina, who had given up struggling from exhaustion.

“Phew! Sorry, Esmeralda.”

“What happened?”

“Eirene seemed to be having a nightmare, so I tried to turn her body, but then everything went spinning and…”

“I see.”

“I never thought the kind Eirene would do something like this…”

“Y-yes…”

Esmeralda realized.

Come to think of it, Tina didn’t know anything. Even at this point, when she should have caught on, she was still taking her companions’ acts at face value.

That’s why she was vulnerable.

In Tina’s mind, Eirene was still just an innocent girl.

Even after seeing her go berserk with Millia just a few hours ago, she hadn’t noticed her true nature.

In a way, it was unavoidable.

Usually, when Eirene lost her mind and went wild, Tina was also drooling and thinking only about what to do with Lug. Since they only thought about themselves, she might not have noticed.

So despite many clues being present, she ended up being caught.

Esmeralda continued speaking, trying hard to defend Tina.

“It seems like there’s a lot I need to explain… but first, let’s chase after those two who escaped.”

“T-two people? They left over an hour ago! Isn’t it too late even if we go now?”

Tina tried to dissuade Esmeralda with an unusually passive attitude.

It’s not surprising that she developed fear toward the two after experiencing this.

It ended relatively well because Tina was used to getting beaten up after going berserk on various occasions. If Eirene had experienced something like this, she would have fainted and been unable to get up.

“We’re probably not too late.”

Catching people who left an hour ago was honestly difficult.

Moreover, the distance from here to the cabin was less than an hour’s walk, so they could be even further by now.

But Esmeralda was confident.

“Those two won’t cooperate properly. They’re probably holding each other back right now.”

Both wanted Lug exclusively.

It wasn’t something they could share.

Well, from Eirene’s perspective, she might be willing to concede the demon blood flowing in Lug, but unfortunately, Millia wanted all of Lug.

So they wouldn’t reach an agreement.

“If we go now, we’re not too late. So let’s go right away!”

Esmeralda immediately threw herself out the window, which seemed to be the escape route Eirene and Millia had taken.

“…I really don’t understand what’s going on at all!”

Though Tina had experienced a series of world-shattering shocks today and still had no idea what was happening, she followed Esmeralda as usual, sobbing.

***

Esmeralda and Tina, who had jumped out the window instead of using the door to avoid worrying their parents, immediately began tracking the two.

Fortunately, with the archaeologist Tina present, such tracking was relatively simple. Absolutely not because she was a thief.

For a scholar who values every little detail, having a wide field of vision is a natural virtue.

“They turned that way! They haven’t split up yet, and they went left!”

Shashashak!

Tina moved through the countryside almost without making a sound. Although her movements resembled those of an assassin or thief, it was actually an archaeologist’s technique to avoid triggering traps.

“Great! Well done, Tina! You’re truly our party’s best thief!”

“Haha! Right? I may be lacking in combat, but I’m confident in this!”

Esmeralda praised Tina while gripping her holy sword.

It seemed she had no intention of resolving this through words either. The hero had become accustomed to solving problems through violence.

Lug, who hoped for dialogue with the Demon Lord, would lament if he saw this.

“Esmeralda!”

“I see it too. Damn… looks like they’ve already done it.”

Following behind Tina, Esmeralda soon discovered a devastated forest. The result of two magic users fighting.

Just seeing the broken trees and craters scattered everywhere revealed how fierce their battle had been.

It’s surprising that the villagers hadn’t noticed.

Or perhaps they had cast sound-blocking magic or barriers even in this situation?

“E-Esmeralda? T-there…”

Esmeralda, who had been gathering information from the surrounding devastation, turned her head at Tina’s trembling voice.

“This can’t be…”

And Esmeralda, too, couldn’t believe her eyes at the sight before her.

“Millia lost?”

“You’re not at all surprised that they fought…”

Seeing that her first reaction to the bloodied, collapsed Millia was that comment, Tina was starting to realize that Millia and Eirene didn’t get along.

Of course…

“Ugh…”

“She even left her alive instead of killing her?”

“Esmeralda, I’m really curious—how exactly do you see these kids?”

No matter how hard she tried to understand, this seemed a bit too much.