Ch.92The Ascetic of Kapila (5)

# Capilla’s Ascetic (5)

Esmeralda was still having an uncomfortable time.

First thing in the morning when she opened her eyes, she saw Tina’s face hanging from the ceiling, watching her.

“Mmm…”

Esmeralda stretched and got up from her bed.

“I need to change clothes…”

For once in an environment where she didn’t need to stand guard, Esmeralda staggered vulnerably to the wardrobe and opened it.

“…”

When she opened the wardrobe, there was Millia crouching inside, reading a book.

While Millia briefly looked up at Esmeralda before turning her attention back to her book,

Esmeralda gathered her change of clothes and closed the wardrobe door again.

“Phew.”

After changing her clothes, when Esmeralda opened the window for ventilation.

“Good morning, Hero.”

“Morning, Eirene.”

There was Eirene standing right outside her window with a watering can, smiling.

It was quite strange.

Especially since there wasn’t a flower bed anywhere nearby.

Well, perhaps a saintess could make flowers bloom even where there was nothing.

Esmeralda thought nothing of it as she poured water from the bottle on the table into a glass and drank it.

“Phew, nice weather.”

Being watched.

That’s how another morning began.

Esmeralda thought to herself.

‘I wonder what’s for lunch?’

Even Esmeralda had grown accustomed to being under surveillance.

So she decided not to worry about it.

Whether they watched her or not, she was innocent, so she let them do as they pleased.

She had her own problems to worry about.

‘Did someone say there are times when one must be one’s own light?’

She understood what that meant.

It meant that some answers must come from within, not from someone else’s advice.

And Esmeralda agreed with that sentiment to some extent.

At that time, Esmeralda had been quite cornered.

She had screamed and despaired in the face of the overwhelming power of the Demon Lord. So she tried to create an escape route.

Lug had done well to stop her from doing that.

“You’re thinking about Lug now, aren’t you?”

“No.”

She denied Eirene’s question.

“I think you are.”

“I’m not.”

She denied Millia’s certainty.

“Come on, can’t you just whisper it to me?”

“…I really don’t know.”

She also denied Tina’s cowardice.

Esmeralda kicked Eirene, Millia, and Tina—who were uncannily guessing her thoughts—out of her room.

Why did they all want to sleep together in this small room?

Of course, Esmeralda’s house didn’t have many spare rooms. Inevitably, some people would have to share.

But there was at least one guest room.

So if they split into pairs, it would be more comfortable, but somehow her party members were all busy suspecting each other.

Yes, even though just one of them could watch Esmeralda, they all crammed into her room because they didn’t trust each other.

Well, that was to be expected.

They were the type to only think about themselves.

“…”

Esmeralda glared at the three of them before quietly organizing her bedding.

By now they should have dropped their suspicions, but they were quite persistent.

What’s surprising is that despite using the intelligence networks of their respective organizations, they still haven’t found Lug’s whereabouts. For her part, she just wishes Lug would be caught as soon as possible.

After completing the top-secret mission of organizing her bedding under everyone’s watchful eyes, Esmeralda thought:

‘Is this no longer about defeating the Demon Lord?’

Come to think of it, it was quite a luxurious worry.

When she might be buried alive by her own party members at any moment, here she was worrying about defeating a Demon Lord whose face she barely knew.

How foolish.

Humans tend to worry about distant future problems when they can’t even solve what’s right in front of them.

“Ah, I see…!”

That was it.

“Humans are such small beings! I’ve been worrying about things beyond my station.”

Esmeralda had an epiphany.

It probably wasn’t the kind of realization Lug had hoped for, but she had a simpler side to her.

Whether the Demon Lord was strong or not, the conclusion was to solve the immediate problems first.

That seemed to blow away Esmeralda’s despairing worries.

“What are you thinking about?”

“…You’re thinking about Lug, right?”

“You look worried, Esmeralda. Just whisper it to me.”

“…”

Wasn’t a tangible despair right in front of her more valuable than an abstract one?

Esmeralda looked at the three idiots waiting right outside her door despite being kicked out, then smiled in response.

“Let’s go eat. Mom should have prepared the table by now. And after we eat, we should resume our journey.”

Yes, the purpose of this journey is…

“Let’s start tracking down Mr. Lug, whom you all love so much?”

To capture the fugitive.

***

Esmeralda’s compromise.

It was to find Lug before defeating the Demon Lord.

Only after this clear condition was set did the hero party members stop suspecting Esmeralda.

This was essentially a condition set by Esmeralda.

If they couldn’t find Lug, they would follow Esmeralda for the rest of their lives.

If Esmeralda didn’t want that, she had no choice but to cooperate in finding Lug.

So this was Esmeralda’s gambit. They had to accept it.

“Hey, Esmeralda. When you’re done eating, could you take this to Mr. Embolado who just moved in?”

“Mr. Embolado? That’s unusual. Someone moving to this rural area.”

“What’s wrong with this place?”

The details about Esmeralda’s hometown are shrouded in secrecy.

This is because various organizations including the Celestial Church, the Magic Tower, and the Eye of Truth made an agreement to prevent any trouble from arising in the hero’s environment.

If her hometown were to be attacked because she was the hero, it would restrict her activities.

It was something that had to be kept secret.

That’s why Esmeralda had to refrain from returning home as much as possible, and even when she did come, it was usually after thorough information control.

As a result, her hometown remained unchanged from before.

If it were a complete backwater, people with rural fantasies might visit, but being a medium-sized rural town, things like people moving in from outside were rare.

“I rarely see him, and I think he doesn’t eat properly. I saw him today and he looked gaunt. Even today, he just bought meat in the village, so I think there might be a problem with his diet. Here, vegetables.”

“Hmm…?”

Esmeralda stuffed the sandwich from breakfast into her mouth and accepted the basket from her mother.

It was somewhat suspicious, but she could check it out herself.

Nothing could be hidden from her anyway.

If this person had discovered her identity and come looking for her, it would be good to check out this middle-aged man who had supposedly just moved in.

“I’ll finish this and go then.”

“No, you need to eat at least three. You’re at an age when you’re still growing. And with your activity level, you need to eat this much. Oh, should I stop by Sunshine Restaurant on the way and buy some salad dressing? He might not like vegetables, so with a tasty dressing…”

“…”

Esmeralda looked at the two huge sandwiches on her plate with a nauseated smile.

From the vegetables for the new resident to the amount of food on her table.

Rural hospitality seemed unchanged.

***

What Lug needed for his purpose.

The immediate problem to solve.

Make Five accept Extra’s existence.

Lug’s answer to this was simpler than expected.

‘Neither of them is evil by nature.’

Extra might flit around like a bat, but he had a cause as someone from Abaddon.

Five might be harsh on his subordinates and have a nasty personality, but he hated lies and had firm principles.

Listing it out like this, they did sound like villains, but…

Lug thought that neither had crossed the line yet.

That line being the selfish mindset of harming others solely for personal pleasure or greed.

Extra had a cause.

Five had beliefs.

And while they might harm others for these, they could also save others.

Yes, if a sword is a typical weapon that harms people, is the problem with the sword?

It’s with the person wielding it. So Lug just needed to wield these two demons properly. Not to harm, but to save.

And Lug thought reconciling the two would be simple.

‘They can’t really be unable to tolerate each other.’

They just needed to know what kind of people they really were.

Fortunately, Extra didn’t seem to have any particular feelings toward Five, so it seemed like he just needed to teach Five what kind of man Extra was.

Yes.

“Let’s go to the village and have a drink first.”

A place for dialogue.

For sincere conversation, alcohol was necessary.

This was Lug’s principle, but…

“I don’t drink.”

“I don’t drink either.”

“…”

Unfortunately, there was a critical problem: both Extra, who looked like a heavy drinker, and Five, who seemed like he would fit with wine in the background, didn’t drink.

“…Then let’s at least have some beverages.”

It was still fine.

The important thing was getting to know each other through conversation, right?

Lug believed in his conversational skills honed over thousands of years.

Of course, Lug had spent more time alone than with others.

Asceticism is inherently lonely.

But Lug didn’t seem to think about that as he confidently led everyone.

“Do you even know the way?”

“Please guide us, Colonel. Take us to a delicious restaurant around here.”

“Sigh, idiot… Follow me. There’s only one restaurant here.”

Extra eventually sighed but led Lug and Five.

In such a small village, one might wonder if a restaurant was even necessary, but that’s precisely why a restaurant in such a place had to be special.

It must be delicious enough for rural people, who mostly self-sustain, to visit regularly.

Extra had once surveyed this village under his second disguise identity, Embolado.

“The restaurant here is called Sunshine Restaurant, and its special sauce is excellent.”

He had done so to assess if it was suitable for hiding Five, but he couldn’t help but feel good about the delicious restaurant he had accidentally discovered.

So, with inner anticipation of his companions’ reactions to his secret gem of a restaurant, Extra led them all and…

“…Lug?”

“…Hero?”

They encountered the hero party.