With Monica's guidance, Arios arrived at a small town in the south, far away from the royal capital.

　In case you're wondering, the city is named Fram, but it might be more accurate to call it a village.
　Although there are many buildings, most of them are private homes and there are no commercial or entertainment facilities.
　There are no other distinctive features, just a cafeteria that serves as an inn for the town's residents.

　However, being in the countryside was a plus for Arios.

　The events in King's Landing would be known to many people...
　The notoriety of Arios the Brave had reached this country town.

　However, due to its rural location, no one came face to face with Arios in person.
　We were able to stay at the inn without anyone noticing Arios's true identity.
　After checking in, I moved to my room...

Oh, Arios!
Thank God you're okay.

　Leanne and Mina were in the room.
　There was also Aggus in the back.

Leanne, Mina and Aggus. Why are you guys here...?
We were in jail too, but Monica's friends saved us.
Like Leanne said, I was helped by Monica's people.
Aggus, you want one too?
...Yeah, yeah.

　After all this time, Arios remembered to wonder.
　It wasn't so much distrust as....
　A mildly uncomfortable feeling, like a small fish bone stuck in his throat.

　Monica was a knight in the service of the country, and since she was under the king's edict, she should have a high status.
　And yet, she was willing to abandon that position to help herself.
　What are his intentions?
　And who is this person who is helping Monica?

　A lot of things are bothering me, but...
　Arios abandoned his thoughts for once.
　His body was exhausted from being kept in prison for so long.
　He couldn't stand and sat down on a chair set up in the room.

'You guys got help from Monica too...'
Does that mean Arios is Monica?
Yeah. You saved me from a close call. I owe you a debt of gratitude.
No, of course not. I'm on the side of Lord Arios.... No, I'm on the side of Arios and his friends. This action against Arios and the others was unjustified and could not be overlooked.
'Right, right?　We're not doing anything bad.
'There is no such thing as a problem with what Arios, a brave man, does. He must have had some deep thoughts that we couldn't even imagine.

　At this point in time, Lean and Mina refused to admit that they were wrong.
　Even though Arios was leading the plan........
　There was no remorse for their complicity in bringing the innocent Rain down and using unwarranted force.

　These women didn't really think they were guilty of it themselves.
　They didn't think for one second that they were guilty.

　They did not face up to their sins, but ran away if it was inconvenient for them to do so.
　If he was questioned, he would retort and try to cover it up with force.
　And then he thinks he has solved the problem and is over it.

　I'm sure the bill will be paid for that someday....
　We continue to distract ourselves from that reality.
　They continue to pretend not to notice.

　Like Arios, the girls were falling away.
　Seeing them, Monica laughs.
　She laughs very contentedly.

　However.

　There was only one person who had a different idea.

''Arios one thing about King's Landing, why did you do that?''

　Aggus gave Arios a stern look as he questioned him.

'If you wanted to talk about it, I explained it to you before we executed it, didn't I?　Rain is a pain in the ass and will eventually get in our way. We'll get rid of him before then. It's quite simple, isn't it? I'm sure Aggus would agree with me on that one.
'I certainly agree with you about getting rid of Rain. But. I haven't heard of killing another adventurer for that.

　Arios gave a small cluck of his tongue at Aggus's accusatory words.
　These days, Aggus had been interfering with Arios' actions for some reason.
　This irritated Arios.

　The leader of the party was not Aggus, but himself.
　A mere warrior, Fuzzy, would dare to interfere with a chosen brave man....

　The brainiacs who can only shield themselves should listen to what they say meekly, like a doll.
　To his companion, Aggus, Arios really thought that way.

'Arios is clearly the cause of all this. He is being judged by the king for going too far in killing adventurers. Do you understand?
Well it turns out that everyone is okay. I don't mind.
Not good. We've been disbarred from the heroic party. What are we going to do now?
I'm the only one who's brave enough to do it. You're just an extra, Aggus. Can you just stop talking like you own the place?

　Arios and Aggus' gazes collided and sparks flew with the beehive.
　Seeing this, Lean and Mina panicked.

Hey, let's not... let's not fight about this stuff, okay? Okay?
'Arios, Aggus I think it's time for us to pull together and get out of this crisis.
Well that's true too.

　Aggus pulled back honestly.

'Well I guess I went a little overboard too. Forgive me.

　Surprisingly, Arios also withdrew honestly.
　The apology that spilled out of his mouth was genuine.

''.........Hmph.

　Looking at Arios and the others, Monica seemed to be enjoying herself.
　What did their faces indicate?
　If they had been able to realize what Monica was thinking at this stage, the fate of Arios and the others might have been different.



----------



　Night.
　Called by a letter, Arios went outside the inn.
　When he went around to the back, he found Monica looking out at the moonlit night.

'Arios-sama, I'm sorry to call you outside.

　Monica noticed Arios and bowed her head with a smile.

'It's fine. I don't mind this much.

　Arios responded in a generous manner.
　Having been helped by Monica, Arios had a reasonably soft attitude towards her as well.

'So ... what's going on?　If you're going to summon me to a place like this, do you want to keep it a secret from everyone else?
Yes, that's right.

　Monica gave a gentle smile as she continued her story.
　That smile was like the Virgin......and the devil.

''As for what we're going to do.......before we talk about what actions we're going to take, there's something I'd like to suggest to Arios-sama.
What do you propose?
Let's get rid of Mr. Aggus.

　Monica said, still smiling, as she smiled the same way.

'What does that ... mean?'
'It means exactly what it says. Mr. Aggus seems to be alienated from Arios-sama. It's like he's holding a fire, and it's imperative that it will become a problem if it continues. Then I thought it would be better to deal with it before it happens.
You want me to kick the party out?
No. As I said, I think it's best to get rid of them.
It's...

　Arios choked on his words as he guessed what Monica wanted to say.
　Although Arios is the embodiment of the word "selfish", as expected, he has not fallen so low as to put his hands on the member he has been with for many years.
　We almost confronted each other earlier, but that doesn't mean we would be stupid enough to kill them.

''Well Monica. I'm grateful to you. You have helped us out so many times. I don't know what I would have done without you.
''I am only acting for Arios-sama.......for the sake of the heroes.
'I may be right to accept your words like that. But to kill Aggus, I can't believe you'd kill him...

　Arios was stripped of his bravery.
　He was sentenced to death.
　He lost everything he had.

　And the only thing left for Arios to do is.....
　Friends.
　Aggus, Lean, and Mina.
　They're the only ones left.

　I can't afford to lose them.
　I can't do that.

　It was then that Arios remembered Rain.
　He thought back to Rain's image of his fellow comrades.

　Arios's bad feelings about Rain were unchanged.
　However.
　Just now, just for this moment, he felt that he could understand a little bit of Rain's feelings about taking care of his companions.

　But.........

Even if ... even if Mr. Aggus betrays Lord Arios?
What did you say?

　Monica spilled out a devilish whisper to shake Arios' mind.