When I got home, the first thing I worried about was Maria.
　Because of my impulsive preparations for the operation to kidnap Rustyala, I had left her at home. Just--.

Welcome back. Master.

　Contrary to my expectations, Maria seemed to be the same as usual.
　We ate together, chatting casually as we prepared dinner.

'............'

　I discourage myself from trying to find out what's on Maria's mind.

　If possible, I'd like to postpone Maria's problem until Rastiara returns.
　Unlike Rastiara's problem, it was not a matter of death right now. There was a clear difference in urgency.

　I decide to keep my head down for now and focus on the operation to take Rastiara.

　And that night, I'm going to stay in my bedroom and spend my time endlessly practicing the new magic of the example. Sparing no time to eat, I continue to practice by trial and error until my MP is exhausted.
　At the end of it all, I'm exhausted and fall asleep like mud.


　◆◆◆◆◆ ...


　--The day of the Nativity.

　Early in the morning, before the sun has even risen, I wake up.
　It's partly due to my body's habit, but it seems that my nerves have woken me up.

　By the way, I plan to leave the house at the same time the sun rises.
　According to what Dia told me, the ceremony will end in the morning and the saint's tiara will be unveiled to the people at noon. So we'll start early in the morning to coincide with that.

　In the last hour, I go to the living room to have a light breakfast.

　--I'm not going to be able to get a good deal more than just a few minutes.

　I'm surprised.

　I'm still saying "no thanks" to Maria. And yet, I didn't expect to see her at this time. I had hoped to bring Rustiala back before she woke up.

　Maria looks at me with an expressionless face and spills out a few words.

''I knew you were going ....... Master .......

　He seemed to know everything.
　He must have been waiting for me at this time, reading my actions and thoughts. I couldn't come here and not talk about anything, so I instructed Maria.

'...... I'll be back with Rustyala soon. So, Maria, wait here.

　Maria takes it with a blank expression.
　She doesn't say anything at all.

'After that, I'm supposed to run away to a different country. Maria is--

　--What do we do?

　I'm about to ask, but then I reconsider.
　That would be like saying that Maria doesn't have to follow me.
　It would definitely stimulate Maria's complex, and most importantly, considering her feelings, I asked her what she would do here. It is too thin-skinned to ask.
　I have to tell you that we need Maria strongly here.

'-- Maria will go with you. Let the three of us run away together.

　I said it loud and clear.
　We should stay together.

　But Maria's expressionless face remains the same.
　With a blank expression, she moves her mouth.

'Escape ......?　Then this house is ......?

　Home ......?

　I didn't think the subject of home would come up here.
　For me, I have no hesitation in abandoning this house, which is only a stopgap measure. I wonder if Maria is different.

I'm sorry, but I have no choice but to get rid of this house ....... It's a waste, though .......

　I assure her I'm going to throw it away.
　Finally, there, Maria's expression changes.

'...... I don't want to.'

　He was shaking.
　Shaking and looking terribly sad.

'What?'

　I thought we were having a conversation that didn't provoke Maria. However, my response was hollow, and Maria's emotions were running rampant.

'Please don't go, master ....... Please. Please, please don't go .......

　Then Maria twists her face into a plea.

　It was the first time she had ever interfered with my actions in this way.

'Maria ......?　What the hell is wrong with you, ......?
'If you go, you'll never reach ...... again. You'll be left behind .......

　Maria's expression continues to worsen, eventually revealing an unfathomable insanity like Rustyala's sometime ago.

　I panic and try to calm her down with a gentle voice.

''No, that's why I said I'm going with you. I will never leave you. I promise. There's no way I'm going to leave Maria behind, is there?
'It's a lie. Even if the three of us ran away, I'm sure I wouldn't be there ....... Whether I'm there or not, I'm still the same ....... I don't want to be like that!
......!

　It was the kind of conversation I would have had if I were dealing with a high Rastiala. The language was a leap of faith and the conversation was not catching up.

　I am convinced that Maria is not normal and I ponder the cause of this.
　All the while, she continues to speak.

'Why ......?　Why are you helping Mr. Rastiara?　You don't like it or anything, do you ......?

　Maria questions my fondness for Rustyala.

　In other words, is this a result of jealousy?

　But Maria is a calm and patient person. It's uncomfortable for her to explode on everything like this here.

　Maybe it was because of my behavioral problems that he exploded. However, neither Rustyala nor Arti, who had seen through Maria's love interest, spoke of it as being in such a state of urgency.

　Even though it was a love affair, everyone was aware that it was a small one.　

'Why? ....... Rastiara is one of us, right?　He's the kind of guy we're going to need to explore the labyrinth from now on.
'For future labyrinth explorations ......?　From now on, where are you going to be!

　I replied to appease her, but Maria finally raised her voice and crowded me.

'If you go, I'm sure Mr. Rustyala will be saved!　If that happens, I'll see you at ......!　Same thing again!　I don't want to go deep into the maze!　You don't have to go!　If only I could live peacefully in this house, that's all I need!

　And then Maria spits out the complaints that she has been accumulating.

　But I can't admit to that. But I can't admit that to myself, because this is related to the purpose and meaning of my life. I'm going to show my intentions by appeasing her.

'Maria, calm down ......!　The only thing I can't change is that I'm going deeper into the labyrinth: ......
'Greedy!　You don't have to go to the back, as long as you're making money safely in about 10 layers, usually!　You will live happily ever after!　I like that!　You don't have to have Mr. Rustyala for that!

　Maria is loud and rambunctious.
　Clearly, this is not the usual Maria.

　I willfully walk up to Maria and clasp her shoulders with both hands. Gripping them firmly, I make eye to eye contact with her and bring back the off-topic conversation.

'We're not talking about that right now, are we?　Right now, I'm talking about saving Lastiara because if we don't do this, Lastiara is going to die and I'm going to save her. Is Maria willing to let Lastiara die ......?

　Both of Maria's eyes were moist.
　She was staring at me, tears pooling in her eyes.

　But perhaps my best efforts of persuasion have worked, and the strength that comes through my hands gradually fades.
　Then he weakly lowers his eyes and returns the words.

' ...... Rastiara-san is a good man. I don't want ...... you to die.
I know. Maria, calm down ....... We have to help Rastiala. ...... He's one of us.

　I can feel the strength leaving Maria's body.
　Now, finally, Maria is able to calm down and--

'Fellow (...) ......?　Because we're friends (・・・・・)?　Is your master willing to risk his life to save you just for that?
'Oh, ah, ......'

　The moment I affirm it, I feel an odd pressure from Maria's body.
　I have a hunch that its true identity is magical power, and I back away only half a step.

''It's not like we're friends. ...... It's a lie. I'm not going to risk my life for that reason alone, that's ridiculous. That's ...... right. It's crazy. The master wants to make a good point, doesn't he?　For him!　Master wants to look good in front of Mr. Rustyala, not me!　When he wasn't there, he was dressing up for me!

　Flames erupted from Maria's body as she screamed.
　I quickly retreat back and cross my arms, protecting my face from the flames.

　Through the gap between those crossed arms, I see Maria constructing a sword of fire.
　I'm confused as I see the obvious battle magic.

'............!

　Maria, carrying a sword of fire, wavering, approaches us.

　-- it's going to be a battle.

　It's a gut feeling, but that's what I know.
　However, without taking out the sword from my "possessions," I greet her with my bare hands.

　I'm sure you'll find that your thoughts are not up to speed with Maria's sudden change. I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on in the world.

　As I deploy my magic, I go for Maria's wrist.
　In order to hold her down, I need to neutralize the hand holding the sword.

''-- Magic 《Dimension Decisive Operation (Gradiate), Magic 《Freeze》!

　I approached Maria while using magic 《Freeze》 to diminish the flames in the room.

　With that, Maria swings the sword of fire down from above.
　I half dodge the sword of fire and go to grab the hand holding the sword of fire. However, Maria's 'eyes' were fully anticipating it.

　Immediately, she reaches out her other hand, which is covered in flames, and grabs my hand to block it.
　The flames burn my hand and I go rigid.

''--Heat!

　Taking advantage of the gap in her rigidity, Maria tries to slash up the flaming sword.

　However, it slashes through the air without a second thought.
　In close combat with the sword, Maria has absolutely no chance of winning. With all the strength in my status muscle, I unleash Maria's hand and turn behind her.

　Maria is unable to keep up with the speed of my movements, and furthermore, my arms are taken and my hands are passed behind my back. As it is, I fall down with Maria, and while pressing her to the floor, I check her status with 'gazing'.


[Status]
　State: confusion 4.23


　There's no doubt about it.

　Maria is not normal. It's also losing her sanity due to the effects of external factors.
　It's hard to believe that she's living a normal life and her confusion has built up to this point. She must have been affected by magic or a skill.

　I think back to the person in my memory who might have done it, and I scream as I hold Maria down.

'Maria, listen to me!　Have you met a knight named Palinkron or something like that lately!
Palinkulon--?
'The knight who sold you in the slave market sometime ago. He looks at you like he's observing people, a little taller than me, dressed like a merchant, a suspicious one!
'Such a ......!　That's not the point: ......!

　Maria tries to burn me from below by spewing more fire.
　I strengthen my magic 《Freeze》 and withstand it.

'Maria, didn't you fall under some kind of spell!　You're impossibly confused!
'Magic ......!　Confusion ......!

　I'm going to spend all of my magic power on the magic "freeze" while staying close to them.

　Fortunately, I've been practicing the magic 《Freeze》 since yesterday, and my control of the cold air is perfect. It weakens Maria's flames and even takes away the heat that lit up her body.

　Literally letting her head cool down, I convince Maria to calm down.

　That method was unexpectedly effective.
　Along with the cold air, Maria's strength drains from her body and she becomes calmer.

'Yes, calm down ....... Slow down, take a deep breath and calm down .......

　Maria repeats her deep breaths, though wildly, as I instruct her to do.
　Then, when Maria's body has completely cooled off, she shows signs of coming back to herself.

'What ......?　What, is that ......?
'Are you okay, Maria ....... Have you calmed down?


[Status]
　State: confusion 0.44


　Maria's confusion disappeared as she lost her heat.

　That leads me to suspect that Maria's flames were the cause of her confusion.
　If that's the case, the most likely suspect is - the Arti who taught it to her.

　However, I don't believe that such forceful measures are effective. This kind of thing is not good for Maria. Even if I were to support Maria's love life, it's too far off the mark.

　Even if my life was the objective for some reason, it's obvious that a force as strong as Maria's would be able to seize it like this.

　I grit my back teeth, unable to determine Arti's purpose.

''S-Sorry ......!　How dare I: ......!

　Maria sees this and continues to apologize underneath me, sullenly.

'It's okay. I know. I know I said some things that weren't in my mind because of the mess. You don't have to apologize: ......'

　As he says this, he is about to retreat from Maria's top and feels the morning sun coming through the window.

　Seeing this, it occurs to me that the culprit in this is aimed at sabotaging Lastiara's rescue.

　However, it was only yesterday that I thought of doing the rescue myself, and only Maria, Dia, and Arti know about it.

　After all, is Arti ......?

　But that doesn't mesh with the purpose. Arti shouldn't have anything against Rastiara.

'Excuse me, excuse me, excuse me, excuse me ....... Master ......'

　Maria keeps apologizing while I'm guessing.
　In the meantime, I need to calm her down.

'You don't have to apologize. More importantly, are you okay?　From the looks of it, though, the confusion has died down considerably.

　I pat Maria's head and check her self-consciousness.

'Yes, I'm not at all ...... anymore. I'm really sorry, I'm ......

　Maria seems to have no idea what happened. But the memory seems to remain, and she continues to apologize for what she did anyway.

　She is calming down.
　With this, she should be able to at least be able to stay at home.

　But (...) --

　Intuitively, though, I have a bad feeling about this.

　But it's also true that I'm running out of time. The sun is already beginning to rise.
　If I miss this moment, Rastiara is in danger.

　I make a choice, crushing a bitter bug.
　A choice I will probably regret for a long time to come.

Maria, I'm going to go get Rustyala now. I'll be back soon. I'll be back soon.
'Ha, yes ....... If the master decides to do so, then of course .......

　Horribly, Maria was honest.
　She seemed to be atrophied by the turmoil that had preceded her.

'Until then, Maria will wait in this house. Lock the door and never let anyone in.
No one?
Yeah, me too. I'm gonna break in through the window. No one comes in the front door.

　Just to be sure, I tell Maria.

　If truth be told, I would like to leave it with someone I can trust. But I can't think of a suitable person.
　I thought about asking her to wait for me at the bar, but now I have more strength in Maria than in the manager.

　I had no choice but to make Maria wait at home alone.
　Probably, the retaking of Rastiara is a blitzkrieg.
　It should be fine for that short time.

''I understand. No matter what happens, no one will be able to get in!

　Maria senses what I'm thinking with her 'eyes' and swears not to contact anyone. There's a certain intelligence in those eyes, and they're not crazy like they were earlier.

　This should be fine .......

　I'm also worried about Maria, but Rustyala is about to die. The urgency of the situation compels me to take Rastiala.

Well, I'm off to ....... Maria.
...... Yes, have a good day. Master.

　I turn my back to Maria and start moving.

　I hurry out of the house and run towards Hoosier's.
　I had no choice but to run, even if I had to shake off the look on Maria's face as we parted.

　I take a large stole from my 'belongings' and wrap it around my neck, covering my face up to my nose. I know it's useless, but I hide my physiognomy as best I can. Those who can see it, but those who can't can't understand it. That's the ideal.

　We drive through the town of Wald in the morning glow and cross the border into the Hoosiers.

　Even though it's so early in the morning, there are a lot of people walking around in Hoozjaz.
　All of them must be participants in today's Nativity celebrations. They are all walking towards the cathedral with a buoyant look on their faces.

　The week-long pre-festival has prompted people to feel their best. From parents and children to old couples, everyone is talking about the anticipation of the Nativity at the cathedral.

　I weave my way through these people and run as fast as I can towards the cathedral.

　On the way, I apologize to the people whose shoulders I bumped into.
　I apologize in my mind for what I am about to wake up.
　I run through the main street of Hoosiers.

　And then I go through the numbered numbers, lowering the number in order - I'm almost to the single-digit number. When I get to this point, I can see the cathedral.

　I run down the main street, checking out the cathedral with my eyes, and I can sense a strange magical power rising up beyond it.

　It's not from the cathedral.
　Outside of it - I'm there.

　Mixed in with the crowd, there is one man standing in the middle of the main street.

　The man was staring at us.
　Hein Helvirshine.
　He was a knight of the wind with his short gold hair dominating.

　I can't ignore that.
　Among the many knights that would be waiting for me, I can't ignore this person alone.
　Slowly lowering my running speed, I get in front of Hein-san.

　Before I knew it, a crowd of people had broken up.
　The air that Mr. Hein and I exude makes the people around us avoid us.

　Mr. Hein-san was dressed similarly to the last time I saw him. But he was unusually dirty. He was covered in mud, slashes were everywhere, the hem was frayed, and his clothes were torn here and there.

　The two rings that were on both fingers are the only two left.
　The sword also seems to be missing one of its parts.

　I don't need to look at his status to know that he has wounds all over his body.
　The wounded man, Mr. Hein, slowly approaches me and says, "You're here at last.

'You're here at last, Mr. Christ: ......

　Mr. Hein was waiting for me.
　He must have been convinced that I would pass through here today, at this time.

　What does that mean?
　Are we here to keep you from passing?
　Or is it the other way around?

　Of course, I am convinced that I am right about both.
　As far as I know, he was the only one who had tried to drive Rastiara out of the country before this day.

　So I proceed without hesitation.
　I get close enough to reach him and face Mr. Hein.