Lars. You're not really going home, is that a serious statement?

'Yeah, I'm not going back to the village. It doesn't matter, I have to be stronger than that!


　Seeing her childhood friend who assured her with a serious face, Ilaria raised her voice as if she couldn't help but think.


''That's not true!　A plague in our village is 'such a thing'!　It's where our family lives!


　Lars slouches away as if pushed by Ilaria's spirit of speech.

　The fact that he faintly lowered his face is proof that he feels at least a little guilty about his words and actions.

　Seeing this, Ilaria tries to say more words to make Lars retract his previous words.

　At that moment, a red shadow quickly intervened between the two men.

　It was Miroslav.


''Ilia, please calm down. Even though it is a plague, the cause is already known and a special remedy has been created. Lars knows that too, so there's no need for you to leave right now.

Just because there's a cure doesn't mean it hasn't done some damage.


　Ilaria stared at Miroslav with a sharp gaze.

　These days, Ilaria had a no small grievance against Miroslav.

　It's about Lars, of all people.

　Ever since he had lost to Sora in the match for the Lunamaria, Lars had clearly been lackluster. For Lars, who had never experienced a setback that seemed like a setback before, the earlier incident was too big to divide and too heavy to forget.

　The number of cold looks and ridicule he received within the guild increased.

　Lars' drinking had obviously increased, and Ilaria had been urging him to get up to speed, but every time, Miroslav always got in the way.

　Miroslav didn't blame Lars for his weaknesses, but instead took his complaints and spoiled him as much as he wanted to.

　To Ilaria, it was the same as the act of letting a child who wanted to eat candy eat as much candy as he wanted.
　The child would be happy, but it was not good for the child's health. An adult would have to take the sweets away from the child in a heartbeat, but Miroslav does not do that.

　Even when Ilaria warns him, he just smiles and says, "It's hard on Lars too.

　For this reason, Ilaria and Miroslav's relationship has not been going well in recent years.



　Then, a plague breaks out in the Canary Kingdom.

　The cause of the strange disease, which occurred mainly in the basin of the Kale River - a river that originated in the forest of Titis - was a serpent king (basilisk) that appeared in the forest.

　To be precise, it was not caused by the basilisk itself, but by the venom of the sea rot caused by the appearance of the basilisk.

　It is obvious that if the basilisk appears in the forest, the water source of the basilisk, the water in the rivers will be invaded by the rotting poison.

　It was not easy to eradicate the rotten sea that had developed in the depths, and it was the source of many diseases in the towns and villages in the Kale River basin.

　And one of those villages included the hometown of Lars and Ilaria.

　Ilaria said to Miroslav in front of her, and to Lars behind her, with anger in her eyes.


'Even if we have a special cure, there isn't enough of it to reach every sick person in the country right now. There's a chance that those who are not strong enough will not be able to make it in time. And even if they do, it will inevitably take some time for their bodies to get back to normal. What about working in the meantime?　It's not just the fields. If there aren't enough people to protect the village, it's possible that magical beasts and bandits will come after you.

Well, it's entirely possible.

'Yes!　That's why we have to leave!　Lars, dear, aren't you worried about your family!

Of course I'm worried about you!

What if?

But I can't leave now!


　Lars' shout made Ilaria's face slump this time.

　Although Lars is a big fan of emotions, he rarely yells at others to their face. At the very least, Ilaria had been yelled at by Lars more times than she could count, including as a child.

　As she looked at Lars' face, which was breathing heavily with a haha, Ilia's brow naturally wrinkled up between her eyebrows.


''........Why can't you just leave?''

You know what I mean!　There's no way I'm going to be able to leave the ole' Ishka with Luna as a slave!　Even if it's only for a few minutes, I'm getting the backhandedness of a big a**h*le who used a party member as a betting chip. On top of this, there's no way I'm going to turn my back on Sora and run away from the city!

　We're going to our home village where the plague has struck, right?　There's no way anyone could have run away from Sora when they saw that--


　Ilaria was about to say no, but Miroslav's happy voice interrupted her words.


You can't say it's not there," he said. I don't know what kind of trick that man used to get his hands on the wyvern, create a clan, defeat the gryphon and Scylla, and increase his fame. Rumor has it that he has ties to the Slavers' Guild, and was instrumental in defeating the Basilisk and creating the elixir. His outspokenness is unparalleled in comparison to what he used to do. If that man sees Lars leaving Ishka and spreads a good rumor...''


　Miroslav said, and Lars bit his lip hard.

　The red-haired wizard continues.


'I'm sure they know we are trying to get Luna back. I don't think they'll pass up an opportunity to get rid of us. Lars is right, we shouldn't let the man have an opening now.

That's the way it is, Ilaria.


　Lars nodded at Miroslav's words, as if to say my intentions.


We shouldn't move now," he said. And besides, there's Aunt Sailor in the village. I think they can handle it without us.

Can you handle it?　Do you think your mother alone can take care of all the sick people, who may be in the dozens?　There's no guarantee that Mom herself isn't sick, either.


　It was a familiar face, a merchant, who told Ilia about the plague in her hometown.

　According to the merchant, his mother Sela had been fine until the time he left, but there was no chance that the merchant had fallen ill after he left the village.

　Ilaria had pointed this out to him, but Lars was only optimistic. Or maybe he was just stubborn.


It's going to be okay. Aunt Sarah is more advanced than us. She can even use recovery magic and is not easily defeated by disease!　Anyway, I got a good request from the guild earlier. It's a request from a nobleman to exterminate the Gryphon, and since the previous party failed, I asked Parfait-san to make a special request. If it succeeds, it will help restore the honor of the Falcon Blade. You can also connect with the nobles, so you can ask them to give priority to the special medicine.

"Lars!


　At Lars' strangely buoyant words, Ilaria raised her eyebrows and yelled at him.

　In response, Lars' shoulders shook loudly with a jolt.


''You're going to let Mom alone carry the burden, and in the meantime, you're going to go slay the gryphon, which may or may not succeed!　There could be family and friends suffering at this very moment!　You can at least see that this isn't a time to make a bet or two!

But if we succeed, we'll have a cure-

If I succeed?　Do you really think the gryphons can kill us now that we don't have Luna!

But you can!　The guy from Sola was able to do it all on his own. If the three of us work together, we can definitely win!

"Four days to Mount Skim, no matter how fast we get there!　From there, it will take two days, no, three days to get to the high peak where the gryphon lives. Even if we were to successfully defeat the gryphon, how many days would it take us to return from there with the head of a demonic beast in our arms!

It's...

'The medicine doesn't arrive in the village until a month from now?　Or in two months?　Can you assure me that nothing will happen to the village in the meantime?

I can't do that but I can't just run away from here.........


　As Lars tries to remain in Ishka, Ilaria tries to shout more anger at him.

　Just before that, Miroslav gently grabbed Ilaria by the shoulder.


'Please calm down, Ilaria. I understand that you are worried about your mothers, but raising your voice here won't solve anything.'

But!

I know, sir. Depending on the state of the disease, this could be a race against time, don't you think? That's why I have a suggestion.

...Proposal?

Yes, sir. I have a suggestion. First of all, Ilaria should hurry back to her home town. Your mother will be relieved to see her daughter's safe face. The more people who use recovery magic, the easier it will be for her to bear. You're going to be able to use Sauzaar's name to obtain at least one bottle of this special medicine. Even if your mother were to be stricken with a plague, this will prevent the worst from happening.

Can you do it?　I heard that right now, no matter how much money you have, you're still not keeping up with the goods.

I'll do it. It's times like these that our daily investments live on. And Lars.

What?

The request you've been given to kill the gryphon. I'll be working on this one in parallel.


　Miroslav says, and both Lars and Ilaria look at him in surprise.

　Lars opens his mouth as if in a panic.


'What?　Me and Milo going alone?

No, that is indeed reckless. Unlike the plague, the Gryphon's are not time-sensitive, and we need to recruit temporary party members. I have a plan for this as well but I'll explain it to Lars later. For now, our priority is to secure the special effects. Please make preparations for Ilaria while you're here, too.


　Hearing this, Ilaria's gaze turned to Lars.

　Lars seemed to notice it, but he let his gaze wander in the air and refused to make eye contact with Ilia.

　--Ilia let out a small sigh and turned to Miroslav.


'All right. Please, Milo.

I'll take care of it.


　Hearing Miroslav's reply, Ilaria immediately got up and left the room.

　She could be sure that if she stayed here, she would raise her voice again.

　Therefore, Ilia did not know about the conversation between Lars and Miroslav that took place after this.







'....Hey, Milo. I guess I should go back to the village after all...?　No, we should go home. Ilaria was pissed, too.

'Yes, I suppose so. To Ilaria, Lars must have seemed thin-skinned. Of course, I won't stop you if you want to go home. But...

Hmm, what?

'It's about Sola. Since it's that man, it's inevitable that Lars will make a bad reputation for running away. Besides, if you return to the village with the request to exterminate the Gryphon, in the worst case scenario, you'll be charged a penalty against the nobles.

I want you to say no to that right now.

''Even if it's a request from a nobleman. Considering Parfait-san's character, she must have told her client immediately that the Falcon Sword had accepted the request. If he refused the request to accept it once, it would definitely cause the other party to displease him. If that happens, they may not only obtain a special medicine, but they may even be interfered with.

Uh-huh. I'm not sure if I'm taking the job fast enough.

'I know how you feel. You couldn't stand still when you heard about that man's recent activities, could you?　The fact that you tamed the wyvern, the fact that you defeated the gryphon, Scylla and the warwolf, all of these are things you suddenly want to believe. Moreover, giving him a name like 'Bloodstain Sword', which is similar to our 'Falcon Sword'... he's really an annoying guy.

'Absolutely!　And there's Luna as a member of that group. That girl, Seal, must still be treated badly too........!

'You're right. I will do everything in my power to free you both. You are the only one who can do that, Lars. So it was never wrong for you to accept the request to exterminate the Gryphon. Nor would you be wrong to decide that you can't go back home now. Don't worry, Ilaria will understand. I'm just a little upset because I'm worried about your mother right now.

"...Is that right?　Do you understand?

Yes, I'm sure he'll understand. So, for now, don't be afraid of being misunderstood and stick to your original intentions. Don't worry. Everything will be fine in the end...