So, thanks for your help. ...... No, I've been very indebted to you, and I've never been good to you.
That's not true. The only reason I was able to beat the dragon was because Akira fought me first, without a doubt.
I'm glad you said that ......, but I honestly don't think I've lost my confidence. It's a good thing that you're the brave one from now on, isn't it?
"No, it's not good,

　I'm sure he's joking, but somehow I think he's half serious, and Allen smiles bitterly.
　But at any rate--

Well, yeah ......, take care,

　It was goodbye.

　Behind you is the mountain with the dragon and the carriage beside it.
　but this is as far as we'll go together.

　Now Akira and the others are going to that village, and Aren and the others are going somewhere else.

Yeah, you too. ......, is this a needless worry?
No way. Who knows what's coming up?
Personally, I'd like a strong nod there: ...... No, I don't think that's necessary. It doesn't seem to be necessary.
"No, it's not. I'm relying on you as always. ...... Then again, are you sure you want to leave it to Akira and the others?
This is what I did to begin with. If you don't let me do this, then you're going to ask me what I've really done.　And, well, there's a lot going on with this guy and all that: ...... To be honest, I'm not sure what to do about it.

　With that said, Akira looked down at the figure there, clinging to his feet.
　The complex expression on its face is probably because it is not sure what to do with the child.

　The child at Akira's feet was sacrificed to the dragon, and according to Akira he picked it up.
　It was badly scarred, but now it's all in one piece (・・・・).
　But after waking up, she didn't leave Akira's side, perhaps because of all the terrible things she did.

　That's probably why Akira has decided to take the child with him.
　It seems that Akira is not engaged in anything at the moment, but is just traveling at will.
　They haven't decided whether or not they'll find a place to leave her or not, but they're sure to take her with them for now.

　The child also nodded in agreement.
　Even though that village was their home, they were sacrificed and nearly died.
　Maybe the parents are alive and well, but they understandably do not want to go back.
　At any rate, if they were okay with it, it was not for the outside world to interfere.

　Traveling with a child would normally be suicidal, but you don't have to worry about it if you're Akira.
　Although he said he was confident in his own abilities, there shouldn't be any problems with Akira's abilities.
　I think the problem is more the awkwardness of their relationship.

　However, it's also not something for others to say about.
　It is something we should explore and grasp little by little.

　You're going to be able to get a good idea of what you're looking for.

I'm sure you'll be able to find it at .......
"Phew! ...... It's just like a mother and her child.
"Oh?　Give me a break: ...... It's not a pattern. You're not even that old to begin with.
I think it looks good on you. I'm sure it's a lot of work, but good luck with that.
Please tell the people of the village that they will never be bad. Perhaps you will be able to continue to live the same life as before.
"I'll tell you, but you don't know how they're going to do it, do you?　Well, if they get out of control, I'll force them to shut up.
"Don't resort to violence if at all possible?　If you use force to restrain them, they will only grow more violent to the extent that they are restrained as soon as they are no longer strong enough. If you want to stay in that village, it would be worth considering for a temporary measure: ......
"I know. They don't have to do that, you know.

　Even though he speaks like that, maybe Akira will stay in that village if he feels the need to do so.
　Considering the fact that he went all the way to that village, there's a high probability of that happening.
　Because they didn't think they had to go in the first place.

　If they continue to disappear, the people in that village will think that they failed.
　Then they might wonder what will happen to the dragon, but if nothing happens, eventually they will think that nothing will change.

　But if I go to that village and tell them I killed the dragon, then, like Akira said, I don't know what will happen.
　Fear of being punished by the dukes, they could flee the village or even attack you for doing something that was unnecessary.
　Honestly, there are no advantages.

　But Akira still insists on going.
　It wasn't accepted, but once I told him I was going to slay the dragon, he was obligated to report the results.
　And that you are obligated to accept whatever comes of that.

　And if Allen and the others said they would go too, he insisted that they didn't have to.
　He said that he was the only one who should be responsible for what happened.

　It's a good thing that you have a good idea of what you're doing.

I'm not sure how long it will take to get there. You don't know how long it's going to take. So I'll see you somewhere else.

　With that said, Akira surrendered easily and walked in the direction of the village.
　His stride is strangely narrow and he walks at a slow pace, probably because he is thinking about the person following him.

　As he watched the scene, Allen's eyes narrowed.

...... I think it's still a good look for you.
...... Right. ...... Well, shall we get going, too?


"That's what I'm talking about. ...... Are you sure?
Of course. We were almost there for you this time, and it was only because of you that we were able to get things done. I just wanted to thank you and apologize.

　What I'm talking about is that Allen is planning to head further into the frontier, and Leeds and others will be following him.
　They have a map of this area, which is certainly helpful to Allen, who was planning to follow his instincts and walk around.

"You can't walk around unprotected in the first place, can you?　I'm sorry to say that neither I nor Akilah-dono have any spare swords.
"Well, that's true too: ......

　Unprotected means just that.
　Although there's a sword in Allen's waist, it's actually a complete decoration.
　This is because the blade is completely broken inside.

　This was caused by the blow that sliced through the dragon's entire breath.
　To be more precise, it was the slashing of the dragon's head that stopped it, but it would have been broken even without it.
　It's because it was at its limit when I unleashed it.

　The World's End draws out the power of the sword, but if you want to, you can draw more power than the limit.
　The only way to achieve such recklessness with just a hard sword was to sacrifice it.
　That's why you didn't try to do that until then, even though you were able to do it.

　The other reason is because it required extreme concentration. ...... So I really liked the situation.
　You don't have to think about the rest.

But there is a way to do without.
But it's still a problem, isn't it?　And while we were forced to go along, we ended up dragging our feet. This is also the reason why Allen's sword was broken, and we have an obligation to make amends. When I say apology, I mean that as well.
Hmm, but the revelation is over, right?　Then I feel like I should go home: ...... and don't you have to report about the village?
No, it's not a problem when it comes to reporting. I've brought my communication mages with me.
"That's another good idea to prepare ...... or is it natural, considering the identity of Leeds?

　A grimoire is a common name for a tool that allows you to do magical things.
　They allow you to talk to people at a distance without time lag, but naturally they are very expensive.
　All of them take alchemists months or even years to make, so they require far more gold than even potions.

　It's the kind of item that is impossible for an individual to have, but if the princess is going to travel, it's probably impossible for her not to have it.
　You're going to be able to get a good idea of what to expect when you visit .......

　It's not that I don't want to continue traveling with Leeds and the others.
　It's not that I don't want to continue traveling with them, it's just that they're busy considering that she's the first princess, and the fact that she was attacked.

　I'm sure it's safe to return to King's Landing rather than staying in such a place where help will not come from anywhere else for a long time, and I still think it's better to return quickly than to leave Allen and others to worry. 　

...... No, when it comes to this, it's safer to stay here. That's just the way it is.
I'm sure you're right ...... and I'm actually not too busy. I don't think it would be a problem for me to be here for a while.
If you think about it, it's probably safest to be with you.

　I feel like there is still a risk of being unsafe in that sense because Allen is a man, but I kept my mouth shut, thinking that if I said something poorly, the air on the road would only get worse.
　It is almost certain that they will go together, so there is no need to do such a thing for nothing.

　That's why you haven't asked for more information about the attack.
　I'm sure the girls have many things going on, and if there's a need, they'll tell you.

　Thinking about that, I let out a sigh.

...... Well, okay. It would be helpful to me if you would go with me, too. That's fine, then.
I feel like it's more like we're in a position to ask for help.
No, it's me asking. The map, the carriage, and the contents of this (・・・・) would not have been possible without them.
As far as this goes, you could have done it without us, couldn't you?
You could have done it, but not in this quantity, right?

　You say and look at the carriage, but you can't see inside.
　But once they see it and know what's inside, most of them will shrink back or even try to take it away.

　It was packed with dragon material.
　When I walked away from that mountain, I came down with as much as I could carry.
　It's a bit of a mess inside because it's packed so tightly into a place that was originally meant for people to sit, but it's packed with a good amount of it.

　As you would expect, most of it was left on the mountaintop because it couldn't be brought back, but since the more valuable parts were selected, this alone will provide enough money to live not just for a lifetime, but for several generations to play with, and even if you just bring some of what's left over, it will be quite a bit of money.
　I've told Akira to tell the people in the village about it as well, so they should be able to collect it if they want to.

　Incidentally, Akira also took a small amount back with him.
　Most of them were shoved into the carriage because they would get in the way, or rather because they were not doing anything, and tried to leave them all behind, but as expected, I let them take the ones that weren't too bulky because I couldn't do that.
　Although it is a small amount, it was a particularly valuable part of the body, so if you sell it, you can get enough money to play with it for the rest of your life.

　Since it's Akira, he probably wouldn't do such a thing, but...

Well, let's go for now.

　You can talk all you want on the way.
　The next time you get to a place where people live it will take ten days, so much so that you need to worry that you won't run out of things to say.
　Don't increase the chances now.

　Anyway, so we got on to the driver's platform and...

"Allen, Mr. Allen. ......!

　And that's when Leeds stopped me with a voice that was a little different from his previous tone.
　If you turn around and tilt your head to see what's going on, you can see a pensive look on Leeds' face.

"Well, that ...... 'thing' is ......

　There were no specific words, but that was enough for Allen to figure out what Leeds was going to say.
　This is something that even Allen had thought about, but dared not say it out loud.

　But it wasn't just Allen.
　Akira was also concerned about it, but dared not speak out until the end.

　Why was Akira, who should have been badly injured, alive and well?


　And most of all, how could that child who had lost all of his limbs become all of his body?

　Both Allen and Akira knew the answer to that question.
　They knew, but they did not ask the question.

　It's the same as what happened with the attack.
　It's clear that there was some reason, and it's because he knew that that he didn't dare to ask.

　Therefore, what Allen would do is obvious.
　He said nothing and shrugged his shoulders.
　That was the answer.

...... Ah.

　When Rees saw that, he looked both relieved and guilty.
　The relief was because he hadn't been asked anything, and the guilt was probably for the fact that he was relieved about it.

　With a wry smile on his face, Allen says the same words as before, "Let's go.

Shall we go?
...... Yes, you do. There's no need to rush, but we also need to figure out where we're going to sleep today. We can't just sit here and talk about it forever.
...... Yes, yes. Shall we go?

　Then the three of us sat down on the gyoja-dai and the carriage began to move slowly.
　Somehow, looking back at the mountain that was moving away...

　--A "saint," huh?

　Thinking of the words he had never said, Allen let out a breath filled with mixed emotions.