About a month had passed since the commotion that had occurred in the royal capital.
　Arios' escape from the prison had been communicated only to the knights and some adventurers, and a search for him was underway.

　Of course, the search for Arios was not just in the King's Capital, it was taking place in various cities.
　Not only that, even the cities that seemed unrelated.......even the small villages were searched with an obsessive determination to never miss.

　The hand of the search also extends to the village of Fram.
　Every house will be searched.
　The momentum is such that not a single cat cub will escape.

　........But they could not find Arios and the others.



----------



　Arios and the others were in a cave near the village of Fulham.

　The knights and adventurers who were looking for them were approaching the village of Fulham.
　After receiving this information from Monica, Arios and his friends left the village immediately.

　However, they were not prepared for the long journey due to the unexpected situation.
　They haven't even decided on their next destination.

　They decided to find a place to rest for the time being, so they hid in a nearby cave.

I'm back.
Oh, Monica. You're back.
How did you feel?

　Leanne and Mina greeted Monica when she showed up.
　Monica showed a troubled expression to those two.

''It seems that the pursuer is still staying in the village of Flam. As expected, it's impossible to go through the entire country, so I think it's safe here but.......I think it's best not to move now. It's not like there aren't any patrols, and if we move poorly, we might find them. After that, I think we should wait for Aggus-sama, who is investigating this area, to return.
Well, thanks, Monica. I owe you so much for being here.
''Yes, really. We're magic-specialized, so we're not suited to explore or anything like that and we're sorry for the inconvenience.
No, don't worry about it. I will do whatever I can to help you all, Arios.

　Monica laughs, as if this isn't even a hardship.
　As if soothed by such a smile, Leanne and Mina also laugh.

　Disqualified as a brave man, driven out of the country.......
　For Leanne and Mina, who have lost everything, Monica is like a lifeline to them.

　She helped them save themselves and also actively protected them afterwards.
　It was an environment that they could not help but depend on.

'Is Aggus here yet?'

　Seeing the timing, Arios approached Monica.

'Perhaps. If you haven't come back here, that's probably what it means.
'Totally ... how much time do you spend just examining your surroundings?
What do you need to know about this place?

　Mina answers Leanne's question.

'We need to make sure we have an escape route so our pursuers don't catch us, you know. Also, I want to make sure we have water and food if possible. We've got what we've got in the village of Fulham, but the more the merrier, the better.
It's a pain in the ass... oh my god, why are we doing this to each other?
We must endure for now. One day, I am sure, we will be proven right in what we do.
Yeah, that's right. We didn't do anything wrong!

　I don't blame Arios for his sins, nor do I confront my own sins....
　Only, Leanne and Mina are distracted from reality.
　This is a bad dream and one day they will wake up.
　And the time will come when they will be able to walk the path of glory again as a brave party.

　That's what they believed.
　There was no other way but to believe it, because they were afraid to admit reality and looked away.

'Arios-sama, may I have a moment?'
Yeah, what is it?
This way....

　At Monica's invitation, Arios moved to the entrance of the cave where Lean and Mina could not hear him.
　There, Monica looked how serious she looked, and after showing her hesitation, she softly cut her off.

''About the matter of the other day, Aggus-sama........''



----------



　Outside the cave - a short walk away - there was Aggus.
　He was not alone.
　A man who looked like an adventurer was with him.

''Well Arios is in the cave up ahead. His companions are with him.
Well, there's no wonder you can't find it here.
He's a brave man, even if he's rotten. He's very strong. Have you gathered the people?
'I'd say we're looking at twenty adventurers and fifty knights.
I don't know about this.
'Indeed, it might not be enough when dealing with brave men. Adventurers are B-rated at best. But ... that's what you're here for, right?

　The adventurous man grins at me.

"You'll potion the heroes to sleep. And then we'll overpower them all at once. Even if the potion fails, we have three backup plans. I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to do anything about it.
Yeah, I'm on it. I'm going to do my job just fine. And in return I'll do my job.
I know. I'll have my superiors work things out with you.

　Let's just say...
　Aggus sold Arios and his men.
　In exchange for his own safety, he sold them information about Arios and his men, and also assisted in their capture.
　In doing so, he asked for a reduced sentence.

　Aggus had been distrustful of Arios for some time.
　I kept running out of control.
　They don't leave out their surroundings.
　The wrinkles came to Aggus and the others, and it always bothered me.

　And then........the incident in King's Landing.
　Arios' outbursts were unstoppable and developed into a national disturbance....

　As a result, he was stripped of his bravery.
　Not only that, he was also punished with the stigma of being a traitor.

　There was no way I could agree to that.
　I am not a man who ends up in this place.

　Unlike the short-tempered and shallow Arios........
　Unlike Lean, who is selfish and has no idea what to do....
　Unlike Mina, who blindly believes in God and doesn't see things for herself....

　I have the strength, knowledge and experience to continue to work in many places.
　I'm not going to have a heart attack with those people.
　And I'll do whatever it takes to avoid that.

　Selling out your people is the worst thing you could do?
　I don't care.
　For what it's worth, human beings are always the prettiest of all.
　If there is a situation where you have to sacrifice one of you or someone else, no one else will help you.
　So there is nothing wrong with this.
　It's a legitimate act.

　Aggus was thinking about that in his mind.
　He sold Arios and the others and thought it was a legitimate right to save only himself.

　........Was it because he was thinking like that?
　He was not alerted to his surroundings and was late in noticing Solee,.

''Gigavolt!''

　With a powerful voice, a thunderbolt rushed through the air and shot Aggus and the adventurer who was with him.
　His entire body was in intense pain and he was unable to stand and fell.

''Gu........What, what is........?
Aggus I'm sorry to hear that.
What...?　Ah, Arios...!

　Arios appeared out of the darkness.

　Arios wasn't the only one.
　Leanne, Mina and Monica were with him.

'Monica told me. 'I heard you were trying to sell us out?'
How could you...
'Do you want to ask me how I came to realize that?　Mr. Aggus was very cautious and took his time in preparing for this. I didn't notice it at first either. But........I have a very dependable person on my side.
''d*mn... but the siege should be complete by now. I didn't think we'd be able to escape...
Um... siege, like the guys who were surrounding us?　I would have let them die, though?

　Leanne says simply.

'Leanne's not lying. This one, too, because Monica told me about it. It looks like they were going to take us by surprise but we just took them by surprise in reverse and wiped them out.
'Stupid...'
'You were going to drug us and take us by surprise, weren't you?　In other words, they knew that with simple force, it wouldn't matter how many small fish like that were gathered. Then ... what would happen if we took them by surprise ... don't you think we don't need to think about the consequences?

　Aggus is completely speechless.
　In his mind, why?　The words were repeated.

　How did this happen?
　Where did I go wrong?
　What led to that was.....

　Aggus's gaze turned to Monica.

'It's you ... you!
"Hmm.

　Monica laughs coolly as she meets Aggus' strong gaze.

'Arios that woman is dangerous!　

　The blade sticks in Aggus' hand.
　The one holding that sword is........Arios.

''Are you begging for your life at this point in time?　Would you stop this pandering and make a show of it you tried to sell us out. You betrayed us. This is unforgivable and it's time for you to be judged now.

　The pain of a pierced hand makes Aggus realize that death is at hand.

　I don't want to.
　I don't want to die here.
　I want to live still.
　I am not a man to end up in a place like this!

　Aggus managed to move his lightning-burned body and tried to crawl away.
　However, there was someone to block it.

''Earthbound!''
Holy Arrow!

　Leen's magic entangled Aggus' entire body....
　Mina's magic pierced through my leg as if it were a no-no.

''Lean, Mina.......wait, I.......!
I'm really sorry to disappoint you but you're just trying to sell us out or something. Do you want to die here?　Agus you don't need it.
That sin, nothing but death will no longer be able to atone for it. For our future, Aggus ... be our bread and butter here.

　Aggus felt desperate as his former comrades gave him a cold look.
　Still unable to give up on life, he pleaded with Arios.

'I....I'm sorry!　So, no more...!
Oh dear, you don't look good Aggus, you're my enemy. You know what the enemy does. You know what they do, don't you?
Wait, no!　I am, I am...!
I'm sorry.

　
　He even carried sadness with him.

　Being stripped of his bravery and losing everything....
　Still, he thought he had only his friends left.

　But it was an illusion.
　Aggus was about to betray them.
　That made me more sad than angry.

'Goodbye, Aggus,'
Wha...?

　Arios gave him an icy look and went straight to chopping off Aggus' head.
　Aggus's head rolled.

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

　Arios stared at it with a complicated look on his face.
　That sword was wet with blood...
　Or perhaps it was like tears.

　But ... the fact that Arios had put his own people in his hands does not change.
　It does not disappear.
　It is recorded as something certain.

　In that moment, body and soul ... and their souls were completely depraved.



----------



　He said he would clean up after the bodies and Monica stayed where she was.
　Arios and the others returned to the cave and began to prepare to move.
　Although they dismissed the pursuers that Aggus had prepared for them, it was safe to assume that the information had been leaked elsewhere.
　That's why I decided to leave the cave immediately.

''Hmph.......Thank you for your efforts, Aggus-sama. Thanks to you, I was able to stain Arios-sama's soul.''

　Monica smiled with satisfaction as she looked down at Aggus' corpse.

　It wasn't Arios or Aggus who had set everything up.......it was Monica.

　It was all a lie to say that she didn't know anything about her pursuers.
　Monica has Reese and other demons on her side, so she almost always knows about the movements of her pursuers.
　She also knew about Aggus's betrayal.

　However, he dared to leave it alone.
　I left it at that in order to have my companions killed by Arios' hands.

　And then........everything went Monica's way and Arios fell.
　So this is what it's like to not stop laughing.
　Grinning and smiling, Monica........
　Despite his well-rounded appearance, he looked like a ridiculously evil demon.

''Hmph, now we are ready. Fufufu, ufufu.