An Eerie Peace

When I opened my eyes, I was inside a sleeping bag. It seemed someone, thinking I had fallen asleep, had kindly tucked me in. I contemplated getting up, but realizing people were talking nearby, I decided to pretend to be asleep.

“I wish Sir Judas would return to us.”

“…Is that so.”

“I am truly sorry.”

“There is no need for that.”

I’m glad I didn’t get up. I thought to myself, blinking my eyes in the dark. I couldn’t see them from my position, and they likely couldn’t see me either. I peeked at the system clock; it was still the middle of the night. I drifted back into sleep.

When I woke up, the sun was high in the sky. What? Why did no one wake me up? I looked around blankly and saw everyone staring at Raphael.

“……Did that guy do something?”

“He says he is leaving.”

“Eh…….”

Leaving? I tried to process that sentence with my sluggish morning brain.

“He did what?”

“You don’t even bother with honorifics now that I’m within earshot?”

The answer came from Raphael. I creaked my head around to look at him. He had a somewhat refreshed expression on his face.

“You’re going back?”

“The Demon King’s summoning is confirmed, and I know the summoner’s goal. There’s no reason for me to stay, is there? It’s not like you’re lacking in combat power.”

“Uh…….”

Just like that? It ends this anticlimactically? I glanced at him, thinking about the sub-quest. He didn’t seem to be lying. But really? How can a quest be completed when I haven’t even done anything substantial yet?

“I wanted to check if the Fourth Prince had designs on power or continental unification, but that’s clearly not the case. He’s quite strong, but he’s not in an environment where he can grow politically.”

“That’s true, but…….”

“Besides, I’ve made peace with Sir Judas.”

They made peace? I looked at Judas. Judas nodded. If they had reconciled, he should have looked brighter, but his complexion was still quite grim. Well, even if you clear up misunderstandings with someone you’ve resented for years, an awkward feeling remains……. Is it that? Or is it something else? Am I being too sensitive?

“Should I… congratulate you? You didn’t blackmail Sir Judas or anything, right? Like saying you’d die if he didn’t forgive you?”

“That comment tells me exactly what my image is like in your head.”

“Maybe you should manage your reputation better.”

Raphael laughed as if he’d heard something hilarious. I scowled. But it seemed Raphael wasn’t lying about leaving; he handed over the ‘weapon’ he had made from his younger brother to Judas. Judas accepted it with trembling hands.

“I’m counting on you.”

“……Yes.”

Judas sounded choked up. Seeing him clutch that weapon to his chest gave me a strange feeling. It’s like an urn, isn’t it?

“I will be waiting for you, anytime.”

“…….”

Raphael spoke affectionately. Judas didn’t answer. Raphael waited for a moment, but when no response came, he simply shrugged.

“Well then, I’m really off.”

Raphael tore a teleportation scroll. As the paper ripped, Raphael vanished.

“He’s really gone.”

“He really is.”

“Truly.”

Everyone’s reaction was the same as mine. …This is it? He just disappears like that? I fruitlessly opened and closed the sub-quest window. I wondered if it would mark as complete, but it didn’t. It seemed there was still some backstory I needed to hear from Judas.

“I mean……. I thought he’d be a huge hindrance until the very end, but seeing him disappear like this feels…….”

“Indeed…….”

“Uhm…….”

Everyone glanced subtly at Judas. Judas was still fiddling with the weapon. Azrael had a complicated look on his face. Since Azrael was usually the one who kept the weapons.

“Sir Judas.”

“Yes.”

“…Would you like to keep that weapon yourself?”

Judas looked up at Azrael with shaking eyes. For some reason, there was a trace of fear in them.

“Is it truly alright for you to entrust it to me?”

I felt uneasy at those words. This……. I don’t want to doubt Judas, but…….

Is Judas going to stab Azrael?

“It is an item related to your former lord. ……Until we subjugate the Demon King, you may hold onto it.”

“……Thank you.”

Should I stop this now? I wore a suspicious face while listening to the conversation between Azrael and Judas. However, before I knew it, the surrounding atmosphere had shifted into something like a touching tale of a great lord and his loyal knight. It felt wrong to break that by saying, ‘It’s dangerous, let Azrael keep it.’ Especially since I had no concrete evidence.

Judas’s eyes grew red. …I don’t know. I’ll just have to protect Azrael myself. Even if something happens, there’s nothing I shouldn’t be able to stop. Even if Judas stabs him, I can just heal him. I turned my gaze away, feeling bashful. Everyone else must have felt similar, as our eyes kept meeting.

“Ahem, cough…….”

Only the sound of awkward throat-clearing echoed inside the clock tower.

Once Raphael was gone, our party’s pace became significantly faster. The danger had also decreased. It felt like we were just taking a stroll through the neighborhood. Not that it was much different. Of course, there were some battles.

“Can’t you just kill them all for us?”

“You guys have gotten bold, haven’t you?”

“No one is a hero in the face of death.”

“You guys respawn anyway.”

“It still hurts.”

I scowled. Killing them all wasn’t hard. But I was handling the battles by whittling down most of the health and letting the knights take the final blows.

“This is power-leveling. You know? I’m doing this so you guys can get experience. Later, when you go back and say you went to subjugate the Demon King, you need to be able to tell the story convincingly.”

“He is right.”

Azrael nodded at my words. I wasn’t sure if he actually agreed with me or if he just agreed because I was the one speaking, but regardless, I looked at the knights triumphantly with my supporter at my back.

“Hear that? The Prince says so too.”

“Yes, yes. If you say jump, we jump.”

“I’m doing this all for your own good.”

It’s not like I’m doing this because I’d feel bad if I worked hard while you guys slacked off. I didn’t say the last part out loud, but John seemed to catch on as he narrowed his eyes.

Still, it wasn’t just about my feelings. While these monsters gave me negligible experience, it seemed to be quite a lot for the knights, as their levels were steadily rising. Everyone’s health and mana had increased compared to the start. It would be helpful for Azrael if I raised them well, so it was a win-win. With my protection magic wrapped around them, they hardly got hurt anyway.

“Hmm…….”

Still, what worried me a bit was that everything was going too smoothly. I thought Raphael was there to balance the difficulty, but why is it so easy now? It was so much easier than the difficulty I had first anticipated that it made me feel uneasy.

Azrael was acting as the guide, the monsters were weak, the subtly intimidating Raphael was gone, and the backstory of the Demon King’s summoner had been revealed. All that was left was the battle with the Demon King, but judging by this atmosphere, the Demon King didn’t seem like he’d be that strong either.

It’s too smooth. There were a few moments where it felt like something big was about to explode, but they all turned out to be nothing, leaving only boredom. The quest will end once the Demon King is dead; I wonder if there will be a follow-up quest. I let out a wide yawn. Meanwhile, Levi, who was fighting a monster, let out a yelp.

“Andrealphus!”

“Ah, sorry!”

After I cast a light heal, the knights refocused on the battle. It feels like I’m running an auto-battle and just staring at the screen…….

Truly, it was an eerie level of peace.

The peak of this peace came during mealtimes. After parting with Raphael, I would clatter around and pull cooking utensils out of my inventory at every meal. Naturally, the knights were delighted by mealtime. Even though preparation took quite a while. Even Saul and Levi, who were older and relatively more principle-oriented, were the same. Whenever they weren’t on the scouting team, they would linger around me while I prepared food.

“I see it every time, but it truly is remarkable. How on earth do you pull such things out, kid?”

“If you’re a mage, this is basic.”

“You say that every time, but do you think I’ve never seen a mage before?”

I shrugged at Saul’s comment. Since the inventory function was something every ‘The Hunters’ user possessed, I had nothing else to say.

“Even if you say that now……. You’ve seen me use attack magic plenty of times. I don’t get why this is more surprising.”

“Plenty of people use attack magic. Though, granted, not incredible attack magic like yours.”

“It’s because lifestyle magic was highly developed where I lived.”

“I truly cannot understand it.”

“What?”

“No matter how developed magic is, why carry an oven and a hearth just to eat outside? Using preservation magic would be far more efficient.”

The answer came from Simon. I whipped my head around to look at him. Startled by the momentum, Simon leaned back.