The zombie archers did not make any aggressive moves without Alice's orders.

And when Cyril performed the miracle of the Turn Undead, all of them collapsed at once into motionless corpses.

All that remained was Alice, lying on the ground, bleeding to the point where there was no hope of survival.
As I stood in front of her, the beautiful wizard looked up at me from the ground with hatred.

'You tricked me. ...... A mage with missile deflections can't possibly have a single magic missile. ...... And how did you see through my trap? ......?'

'You've been using them. It's a wizard eye spell.'

'No ...... way, you're a wizard ......! How can you be such an adventurer ......?

'I'm tired of hearing that question. Freedom of choice.'

'......I see, so you're a weirdo. ......I thought I was most of the time, but there are all kinds of people in the world. ......But ......'

Alice, with the last ounce of strength she could muster, took a sheaf of papers from her pocket and held them out to me.
The edges of the paper were wet with blood, but the inside of the paper, where the words were supposed to be written, was still legible.

'If you are also a wizard, you will understand the value of my research. ......? Now, take this to the academy and publish it. Spread the word about my work. This research is filled with the lives of those who sacrificed their lives.

'......! You're just talking out of your ass, ......!

Satsuki, who was listening nearby, approached the dying Alice and grabbed her by the chest, but I put my hand on Satsuki's shoulder and shook my head.

I put my hand on Satsuki's shoulder and shook my head. Then I accepted the bundle of papers Alice held out to me.

'Oh, hey, Will. ......! What are you ......'?

'Yes, that's it! Now take that to the academy! And the name of this genius, Alice Flamelia, will be etched forever in the history of necromantic research!

While Satsuki was confused and Alice was frantic, I...

I walked to the wall with the bundle of papers and lit it with the flame from the lamp that was there.

'What's ......?

Alice was stunned.
While she was doing this, the fire on the bundle of papers gained momentum and began to burn.

'You idiot! What kind of idiot are you? Aaah, aaah, ......!

Alice crawled frantically towards me with such force that I wondered where she had the strength left.

But her persistence didn't bear fruit, and before she could reach me, the bundle of papers burned to ashes.

'Oh, oh, oh, ...... my, my life is ......'.

Alice looked up at the fluttering ashes and wept.
I say a few words of encouragement to her, as if the light of her life had already run out.

'Your research may indeed have brought about a breakthrough. But I don't see the good in it, and I'm not going to help you with your dream. It's my will, it's my justice.

'You, you bastard, ......! I'm going to hate you, I'm going to curse you, I'm going to kill you. ...... ohhhhh ......!

With that scream, Alice and Kotori lost their power and fell apart.

Afterwards, Cyril prayed a simple prayer over the corpse and consecrated it.
This way, Alice's grudge would not come back as a ghost.

I looked over at the three girls and said.

'Let's go home. I need to talk to Irene about what to do after this.

With that, I left without waiting for the girls to follow me.

Then Cyril came running up beside me and poked me with his elbow.

'You look like you're really upset. Why don't you have a drink with me and tell me what's on your mind later. I can at least listen to you.'

Those were words of concern to me.
I heard it and took a deep breath.

'...... No, it's my internal problem, and it's something I haven't fully digested. I'm not at a point where I can talk about it.

But Cyril sighs loudly, as if in disgust.

'That's why. I'm getting to know you better and better. ...... Maybe you're even more stupid than I thought. You should rely on others a little more. Don't try to take it all on yourself.

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

He lectured me.
Reminds me of my mother when I was a child.

'...... Okay, I'll think about it.'

'Hmm, good.'


...... Why do you do that?

'...... I'm not sure that's a good idea.'

'Oh, you're always doing that to Mee, aren't you? How do you feel?'

'It's complicated.

'Of course it is. It's complicated.'

I felt so embarrassed that I had to remove her hand, but Cyril still smiled and followed beside me.


I'm sorry.


'Welcome back! I knew Will and the others would be fine, but I'm glad you're okay. How did it go?

When I returned to the city, Irene greeted me with these words.
I explained the whole story to Irene, for what it's worth.

Eileen listened to me, and at last her face became ashen.
Then she turned to me and said.

'Good work, Will. I'm sorry you had to go through that. I'll take care of everything afterwards, so just get some rest.

'Yeah, ......? You sure you don't want me to help you?

After all, Irene doesn't like brain work.
I thought it would be best to at least give her some support, but...

'You know, Will. You're looking pretty terrible right now, you know that? Don't worry about me, worry about yourself. Go back to your lodgings and get some rest. That's an order from your employer.

Irene put her hands on her hips and said in an authoritative tone.


Oh my god, Eileen's worried about me too.

'...... Okay, I'll do that. You're right, I'm a little tired.

It seems I'm not doing so well right now.
I took Irene's advice and decided to rest at the inn that day.



We went to a tavern and started drinking, even though it was not yet evening.

I revealed my innermost thoughts to Cyril there and then.
I wondered what my father would have done with Alice's research if he had been there.
Or if I hadn't known Filia and had been friends with Alice, what would I have done?

Was what I did right?
Was it right or wrong?
I told Cyril these useless stories, pouring them out from within.

There was no answer.
Cyril didn't have an answer either.

But Cyril did not deny my thoughts, but listened quietly and accepted them.
When I commented that I felt like a follower of the Goddess of Mercy, she replied, 'Only for now.

There was one more thing that she said that left a deep impression on me.
She listened to all of my inner thoughts and said.

'It seems irreverent to me to judge whether your decision was right or wrong. I think it's very difficult to talk about the pros and cons of it. But if there's one thing I can say, it's that I support your decision. So now you and I are accomplices.

Cyril smiled wickedly and held out the little finger of his right hand.
In my drunken momentum, I also held out my right pinky finger and performed a mysterious finger cutting with her.

As I looked at my cut finger, I muttered to myself.

'...... Can I have one too?

'Hmm, what is it?

'For the first time in my life, I think I understand what it's like to be drowned by a woman.

When I said this, Cyril paused once and then began to chuckle.

'I'm flattered. Would you like to try drowning in it?

'...... No, thank you. I'm not sure I can come back.'

'Oh, you're so reasonable. One more word and I would have drowned for sure.'

'...... You look like a very scary witch to me now. I don't think you're a Holy Order.'

My comment seemed to hit the spot, and Cyril began to chuckle in earnest.

Meanwhile, across the table, Satsuki and Mee were happily joking with each other.

Seeing this, I felt a little relieved.
I was a little worried about Satsuki's mental health, but thanks to Mi, she seems to be okay.

I suddenly think.
I wonder if Cyril and Mee are the true leaders of this party.
They work in the shadows, so they don't stand out, but it's because of them that everything seems to be coming together so well.

No, that's not it.

It's not just them.
Everyone is supporting everyone else.
Even Satsuki seems to be uninhibited, but her cheerfulness and openness seems to be giving us all a sense of well-being.
It's hard to imagine the party without Satsuki, and what I can somehow imagine is a less relaxed and more formal look than the current party.

With these thoughts in mind, I ate and drank.

When it became late, Irene, who had finished her post-processing, joined the party, and things got rowdy.

And that's when my consciousness was caught up in a whirlpool of confusion.



That's how my last adventure as an F-ranked adventurer came to an end.

In the midst of all this, what I felt was...

Being an adventurer is hard work, but it's fun.