Proofreader: Xemul
“I was wondering if you were the one who was giving off that strange vibe I was sensing.”
Gula, with a look of intense dislike on her face, said this in front of a light meal in the dining hall on the first floor of the inn. Luxuria, who was poking at the ham on his plate with a fork in a gesture that did not suit his body at all, responded with a look of displeasure as well.
“What do you mean by ‘strange’?”
“What on earth are you up to, sneaking around hiding your presence?”
If there was an Evil God nearby, Gula, who was also an evil god, would be able to notice somehow. But she hadn’t been able to this time seemingly because Luxuria had been suppressing his own presence. Gula thought that this might be due to some kind of plot, but Luxuria responded with an annoyed look on his face.
“I’m not plotting anything. I was just trying to participate in a commission from the Adventurers’ Guild.”
“Why do you want to get involved in someone else’s war?”
Evil Gods like Gula didn’t care much about others’ circumstances. In Gula’s opinion, if people wanted to go to war, they should just go ahead and do it on their own. She was working with Loren and Lapis simply because they wanted to poke their noses into this war, and also because she had found out that someone whom she considered to be her enemy seemed to be involved.
Since they were both Evil Gods, an enemy of Gula might as well be an enemy of Luxuria, but Gula didn’t think Luxuria had received the information about this person yet. That was why she didn’t understand why Luxuria was willingly getting involved in this war.
“I need the money.”
Luxuria’s answer to Gula’s question came as a surprise to Loren and the others.
Luxuria resumed poking at the ham and explaining the reason in a slightly reluctant tone.
“You’ve met those lovely children who became my followers in Kapha, haven’t you?”
“Didn’t you make them yourself?”
They did not just ‘become’ Luxuria’s followers, they were actively put together by Luxuria himself. They had nearly destroyed the Adventurers’ Guild, but Luxuria was talking about them as if they were just a result of natural progression. Gula glared daggers at him for that, but Luxuria seemed immune to her glare. He stabbed the ham with his fork, brought it into his mouth and chewed it thoroughly before swallowing.
“Those kids are making a good living as adventurers, but they still need money to pay for all the things they need.”
Loren wondered what an Evil God and his followers needed. But no matter how much he thought about it, all he could come up with was useless items, so he decided to stop thinking about it immediately. He had more important things to worry about.
Due to mental exhaustion, Loren was unable to refuse Lapis and had allowed her to give him a back rub in the hot spring. Moreover, they had both soaked in the warm water together afterwards, and now he was regretting his reckless behaviour even more than before. The only future that awaited him now was one where he would be completely caught up in the plans of the Great Demon King. In addition, depending on what Lapis reported to her mother the Demon King, they might be forced to retreat immediately.
“Lapis, about what happened…”
“Don’t worry. It’s not like I don’t know that I took advantage of you when you were at a low point, so I’m not going to use this as an excuse to bind you.”
Looking at Lapis, who was smiling brightly, Loren wondered how much he could trust her words. But he could not pretend that what already happened did not happen. Now he had to accept reality as it is, and be prepared for whatever would come later. And so, Loren decided to stop worrying about this matter.
“‘Times change, but you will always need money. It’s really disgusting.”
Luxuria picked up his fork again and let out a sigh, but Loren agreed with him about the money.
“I can’t send those lovely kids off to fight in a dangerous war, so I thought I’d come over here and make some money for them.”
“I already feel sorry for the enemy army.”
An Evil God was an extraordinary existence, but even among them, Luxuria was different. Everyone but Luxuria thought that the Kingdom’s army, who knew nothing about such a being, would have some very difficult time ahead.
“But even for the sake of those children, it’s still lonely to sleep alone. So, I am very grateful for your gift.”
Luxuria turned to Lapis with a smile that he probably thought was very smooth. Lapis responded with her own smile and a deep nod. But Loren, who was watching her face from the side, saw that Lapis’ eyes were not narrowed because of a smile, but were firmly closed.
“You’re welcome. Please enjoy yourself without reservation.”
Lapis said with just a hint of sweat on her forehead, but Loren thought that the situation must have been a nuisance. The people who were planning to mess with their party had to be neutralized, wrapped up in a mat, and pushed into Luxuria’s room before Lapis broke into the bath where Loren was. Thinking of the future those people would have to face, Loren felt pity for them, even though it was their own fault.
And Loren did not even want to imagine what would happen between Luxuria and those who were captured, but for the staff who would inevitably have to clean up afterwards, their fate would be so miserable that he could only give his condolences.
“So, are you guys going to go to the Empire right away?”
Luxuria’s question brought Loren back to reality from the purplish pink haze that had been filling his brain. As both Gula and Lapis looked at him for answers about the party’s plan, Loren cleared his head of all the things he had been thinking about with a single cough, then put his mind to work to answer the question.
“Yes, that’s the plan?”
“You’d better not. You should spend a little time around here.”
Luxuria’s tone was serious, and he didn’t seem to be joking. Loren’s group took a long look at him. Lapis discreetly averted her gaze halfway, but Loren pretended not to notice this and asked.
“What do you mean?”
“It will be blatantly suspicious otherwise. If you continue north, you will reach the battlefield between the Empire and the Kingdom in just one day. And when you report that you are from the Adventurers’ Guild in Kapha, what do you think will happen?”
It would take them only one day to reach their destination, but it would take those departed from Kapha about three more days. Loren thought for a moment that it would be a good thing if they could arrive early, but he immediately pushed the idea away.
“We’ll be too early, won’t we?”
If they reported that they had made the journey that would have taken about ten days even with the special transport provided by the Adventurers’ Guild in three days, no one would have believed that it was a normal occurrence.
Had this been a normal commission, they might have simply been driven away. But this was a war, if they displayed such blatantly suspicious behaviour, they might be judged to have had some kind of intention and detained. In the worst-case scenario, they could be executed without any interrogation.
“How could such an absurdity be allowed to pass?”
Loren thought it was understandable that Lapis would shake her head in disbelief. She might be a priest of the God of Knowledge, but she had no experiences of wars. Even if she had, priests had very clear identity, and were treated differently from mercenaries like Loren. Even if they behaved in a somewhat suspicious manner, the priests would only be treated with a bit more caution, and would not fall into the situation that Loren thought he would be in.
“During a war, the government officials are very volatile. Sometimes they just want to get rid of all the incomprehensible things.”
“In a war, the side that cannot keep their cool loses, right?”
“If everyone thought like that, there wouldn’t be a war in the first place.”
“It sounded like you were being very specific about the current situation on the Empire side?”
“I was. I’ve been there once.”
Loren thought that if Luxuria had been there once, it would be natural for him to know the specific reaction of the Empire. He was about to give an immediate answer when he noticed the meaning of Luxuria’s words. He stared at the Evil God, who looked as unconcerned as ever.
Noticing Loren’s gaze but did not understand its meaning, Luxuria stopped stabbing the ham.
“Wh-What is it?”
“Did you say you’ve been there once?”
“Yes, I did. If we enter the war and make a good name for ourselves as soon as possible, we might be able to get a reward from the Empire in addition to the Guild’s commission, right?”
Luxuria’s reasoning was not so bad in itself, Loren decided. If he had actually made a great achievement, the Empire would want to extract such a talented person or maintain ties with him, and would not let him return to the Adventurers’ Guild empty-handed.
In this case, however, there was something else to be concerned about.
“So, you were a fool, or, to be more accurate, you immediately identified yourself as an adventurer from Kapha.”
“Of course, I had to, otherwise I wouldn’t get paid.”
“Then what happened?”
When Loren asked, Luxuria’s reaction was blatantly different from his previous responses. His expression did not change and he did not stop poking the ham on his plate, but Loren, who had been watching, clearly noticed him turning away from his gaze.
From that reaction alone, Loren immediately sensed that Luxuria had caused something untoward, and he glared at him with almost murderous eyes.
“Answer me. It will also affect what we will do from now on.”
“I mean, they were terrible! I came here to help them, but they treated me like a suspicious person and tried to throw me in jail!”
Luxuria was furious, but Loren and the others could not help but think that the Empire’s reaction was justified.
It was suspicious enough that he had come from the distant city of Kapha so soon after news from the Adventurers’ Guild had spread, but then there was Luxuria’s appearance too. If there were people who were not alarmed by this, Loren could only think that they must be either very stupid or living saints.
“Then what? Of course, you would be taken into custody. What did you do there?”
“If you were caught and imprisoned, you wouldn’t be able to make any money. But if you escaped, the same thing would happen if your description was circulated, right?”
In terms of distinctive features, there were few people as distinctive as Luxuria. Even if someone who was not very good at describing others were to describe him, they would be able to provide information to correctly identify him. If this were to happen, it would be hopeless for him to participate in the war on the Empire side no matter how innocent he was, and he would face nothing but capture and extermination as soon as he was discovered.
Loren was struck by a frightening thought as he wondered what Luxuria might have done to prevent that from happening. Gula and Lapis looked at him curiously, but then they heard Loren’s muttering and immediately understood.
“You… didn’t have any bright thoughts like letting things cool down or give up, did you?”
“Why should I care about a group of humans?”
Evil Gods had no consideration for others’ circumstances. Luxuria’s words would have caused problems if anyone had heard them, but fortunately there was no one near them, and his answer was lost in the din and bustle of the dining hall and did not reach anyone else’s ears.
“Yeah, just like I thought. That’s why I have a vague idea of what you did.”
“What on earth do you mean?”
Lapis urged him to answer, and Loren tried to lower his voice to not attract anyone else’s attention.
“I think he probably… made it so that the troop or the fort or the base he first reported to…would cease to exist.”
Eyewitnesses were the problem. Once they were gone, no matter how suspicious Luxuria might have been, no one would know about it. It was impossible for an Evil God, who had no consideration for humans, not to take this simple but effective measure.
“To be precise, I destroyed one fort. But it should be alright. It’s a long way from here, and even though the other side took advantage of the loss, they’ve managed to recover.”
Luxuria said laughingly. Feeling like he was at his wits’ end, Loren let out a low growl. Lapis and Gula, who now understood the situation, nodded to each other in silence and both kicked Luxuria in the face as he tried to pick up another piece of ham with his fork.