episode_0007

“…”

“…”

Irene and Jenny looked at Rebecca with blank expressions.

Thinking she was admired for her logic, Rebecca put on a triumphant expression but…

“So… how do we find him?”

“What?”

“You said you’re looking for Allen.”

“We need to find him?”

“So, how?”

“…Huh?”

Seemingly not having thought that far ahead, Rebecca’s expression stiffened.

Thanks to Rebecca speaking confidently, the two thought there must be some way, but they sighed.

“Rebecca. Thanks to you, I understand Allen’s feelings, but… a way to find him still isn’t clear.”

“Yeah. Even now, Allen must be struggling alone with guilt. His foolish nature is obvious.”

“That part… seems like something he needs to resolve himself, right?”

“?

As they were having a serious conversation amongst themselves, the priest, who had been quietly sipping tea, looked puzzled when he was singled out.

“Why? Do you think I inserted myself into this conversation for no reason?”

“Um… I don’t know where your brother went?”

“Of course he wouldn’t have told you. But there should be clues.”

The priest pondered deeply.

Although Allen hadn’t given the priest any information about where he was headed… there was one thing he could somewhat guess.

“Perhaps… he might be performing acts of kindness.”

“Acts of kindness? That’s not particularly surprising… but why?”

“The last time I saw him… I couldn’t say he was in good spirits. He was tormented by self-blame and guilt.”

“…”

“I suggested to him to perform acts of kindness even a little. It was out of a desire for him to find some peace within himself.”

“Allen…”

As Irene listened to the conversation, her expression gradually twisted.

‘Fool.’

“And… um, I’m hesitant to mention this…”

“Please say it now.”

“Yes. Your brother shed tears as he left.”

“…I wish you hadn’t said that.”

As Irene’s expression grew more serious upon hearing the priest’s words, Rebecca spoke with a disappointed smile.

Understanding Allen’s troubled heart further would only bring more anguish to their colleagues as well.

The most important thing now is to find Allen and resolve misunderstandings.

To do that…

“We need to find Allen, so should we start by asking around for someone who performs acts of kindness?”

“…We might need to start from a bit further away.”

“Why? What’s the reason?”

Rebecca expressed her confusion at Irene’s words.

With a look of not understanding why they needed to start from afar.

“If it were Allen, he would have done that.”

“…”

Rebecca looked at Irene with a subtle gaze.

‘It seems like she still hasn’t realized herself…’

Rebecca exchanged glances with Jenny.

‘She still hasn’t caught on, has she?’

‘Still.’

The two of them simultaneously let out a small sigh.

So quietly that Irene couldn’t hear.

“For now… should we try drawing Allen’s portrait?”

“Portrait?”

“Yes, if we show a portrait, it’ll be easier to find him through inquiries. Even if Allen is a fool, he probably won’t be using his real name.”

“…True.”

Snick-

Irene, thinking of Allen, smiled softly.

“…”

“…”

Seeing this, Jenny and Rebecca once again exchanged glances and nodded slightly.

As members of the Hero Party and the ones who had watched the two closest… they knew the emotions each held for the other.

People’s emotions surprisingly reveal many aspects outwardly.

Therefore, both people subtly pushed each other with content hearts and created several chances, but… there was no progress between them.

Wondering why, the two people realized.

Ah. These people… are fools who don’t even know their own hearts.

Not knowing that they liked each other was foolish enough, but not knowing that they loved each other.

After realizing this fact, the two people, who seemed like characters from a sweet romance novel, now appeared as truly frustrating fools.

Even now.

If Irene hadn’t attentively watched Allen without a care, she wouldn’t have known first to change the search area.

As even Rebecca and Jenny hadn’t thought of it… it was evident what feelings she harbored for Allen.

Yet, the actual parties involved were unaware.

By this point, it had to be seen not as a romance novel but as a comedy.

A very unfunny comedy at that.

“Let’s each try drawing Allen’s face based on our memories.”

“Okay.”

“Great.”

Requesting paper and pen from the priest, the three individuals extracted their versions of Allen onto paper from their memories.

“Now, shall we all take a look?”

The first candidate was Jenny.

Jenny described Allen’s features almost accurately but was eliminated due to her poor drawing skills.

“Next, is it my turn?”

The second candidate was Irene.

Irene… drew Allen so handsomely that it was excessive, leading to her elimination.

“This is too much.”

“Severe.”

Honestly, Jenny and Rebecca acknowledged that Allen was handsome, but not to this extent.

Rebecca was the last.

Her drawing was the most objective, but it didn’t evoke the feeling of Allen.

Thus, all three were eliminated.

For a montage to be accurate, carrying around a picture that didn’t resemble Allen in any way was an impossible task.

“I… I also tried drawing.”

With those words, the paper placed by the priest depicted a man frighteningly similar to Allen.

“!”

“!”

“My goodness!”

Having had no expectations and not even being asked to participate, the three individuals expressed their astonishment with wide-open mouths.

“How is it?”

“It’s excellent. Thanks to you, a great montage was made.”

Rebecca grabbed the montage drawn by the priest.

?

However, the priest didn’t let go of the paper.

Knowing that applying more force would tear it, Rebecca looked at the priest with a puzzled expression.

“Why are you doing this?”

“There are many people around here who need help these days.”

“Huh?”

“I heard that vicious monsters have been appearing around the village…”

…”

Rebecca glared at the priest.

The priest, with an indifferent expression, calmly stared back at Rebecca.

After a long staring contest between the two, Rebecca surrendered.

“Sigh… Fine. I’ll take care of the monsters.”

“Thank you.”

Only then did the priest release his hand from the paper, and the party could finally obtain Allen’s montage.

“What kind of blackmail through drawing is this priest up to.”

“Haha, I understand that as a promise to handle ‘all’ the monsters.”

“… Priest?”

“Well, it’s almost time for Mass.”

…”

…”

…”

Finally, the three individuals realized what had happened to them.

They had been tricked!

***

“We have arrived, Lord Warrior.”

“Thank you.”

When the hero party was drawing Montaju of Allen, Allen arrived in a new town.

Intentionally choosing a place quite far from the previous town, it took a long time, but Allen didn’t mind.

“…?”

The moment Allen stepped into the entrance of the town, a strange energy was captured by Allen’s senses.

‘This energy… feels like a curse.’

Having suffered from curses himself, Allen could easily distinguish the aura of a curse.

Why does he feel a cursed aura in this small town?

Allen wondered as he slowly looked around the town.

‘It seems to be just an ordinary small rural town…’

After looking around for a while without finding a reason, Allen gave up and was about to go find lodging when once again, the cursed energy was sensed by Allen.

“…?”

Turning his head to look in the direction his senses pointed, Allen could only make a puzzled expression.

It was because a young girl with still red hair was standing there.

‘Is that girl the source of the curse?’

“Hey.”

“Eek…!”

As Allen took a step closer to examine more closely, the shivering girl quickly ran away.

“…”

Observing the retreating figure of the girl intently, Allen realized that she was wearing tattered rags.

Although he didn’t know what was happening in this town, Allen was concerned about the girl.

“… It’s over.”

“Finally…”

“…”

The hero party, pranked by the priest, eventually had no choice but to deal with all the monsters around the town.

It was a grueling three-day march, but they finally succeeded.

“… If it took 3 days, Allen must have gone further.”

“Don’t worry too much. He wouldn’t have gone that far.”

Occasionally muttering worried words while hunting monsters, Irene and her companions tried to cheer her up with kind words.

Now that all the monsters have been dealt with, they can soon go find Allen.

“We’ll inform the priest that we’ve exterminated all the monsters and rest in the village for a day before leaving.”

“You want to rest another day?”

“… To copy Montaju.”

“I see.”

Irene nodded in understanding.

Rebecca let out a very small sigh again.

‘At first, it was sweet and nice, but why does it feel so suffocating now?’

Resentment towards Allen surged anew.

Why did he run away without properly talking, acting like a coward?

“Shall we go back to the village then?”

“Yes.”

“I want to go back quickly and take a bath…”

As they returned to the village, Irene looked up at the sky.

The starlight that adorned the night sky was truly beautiful.

“We’ll find him soon, right?”

“Of course.”

“We’ll find him soon. How smart he is if he’s smart.”

“… I guess so.”

With a slight smile, Irene headed towards the village with her comrades.