Norbu.

"Lady Megrielna, this will be our last village.

　It was Lord Baharun, one of Princess Megrielna's guards, who told her so.
　He was the one who had been Princess Megrielna's bodyguard since she was a child.
　Although he wasn't her bodyguard, he was the one who drove her back and forth between the village where we lived and the royal capital.

'Thank you for your service, Baharun.

What a shame.

　It's strange to see her behaving in a way that is not normal for Megri-san, but as the original Princess Megrielna, this is normal.
　The situation of Princess Megrielna is that even her words have to be limited so that her own identity is not exposed.
　Knowing what her 《last》 will be like, I feel the resentment of having to take away her freedom to this extent.

''It's okay, Norbu.

　And Princess Megrielna, sensing my state of mind, gives me a small smile.
　If it's true, it's my job to wipe away my anxiety like that.

Princess Megrieluna, it's a small thing, but in this village, we should eat as lavishly as possible. I have some sweetness in the food we bought in the town we stopped in before.

　That's about as good as it gets.
　And I don't know how much decent food you'll get when you enter the land of corrosion.

'Thanks Norbu. I'm looking forward to it.

It's the least I can do.

"...pfft, giggle.

　Suddenly, Princess Megrielna lets out a small laugh.

Princess Megrielna⁉︎.

Because, Norbu, you're like a stranger.

'No, no, that's because Princess Megrielna is royalty now, and I have to use the appropriate language as a subject.

It's always been fine.

That's not going to happen!

Hmmm, Norbu is a hard man.

That's my role.

　In this situation I'm not the only one who can speak the way I usually do!

Nothing, Your Highness, is that all right?

　It is former Earl Russell, who is accompanying us as an escort.
　He is also famous as one of the kingdom's leading swordsmen.

You see. The only people here are us old men with a short life expectancy, after all.

Hey, hey, what about young Master Norbu?

Oh, so you're one of us, Mr. Norbu!

That would be different.

""Hahahahahahahahaha"

　The ones who laughed happily like that were all of you who accompanied Princess Megrielna as her bodyguard, as well as former Count Russell.
　Former Commander Ibuka, who was discharged from the Kingsguard, Honorary Baron Albrea, the former head of the court magician, and former Viscount Bren, who had experienced many battles in the forts along the border.

　All of them have top-notch fighting skills and have fought off demons and bandits along the way without a hitch.
　They had been active in their respective fields until recently, but they stepped aside to join Princess Megrielna's ritual guard.

　The Corrosive Earth Purification Ceremony performed by Princess Megrielna was a top-secret project.
　As such, the ritual escort must also be someone who can be trusted.
　Not only do they have to be trustworthy, but they also have to be top-notch in their ability to reach the farthest reaches of the danger zone.
　I can't help but think it's a bit extravagant to dispose of such a man of ability as a disposable asset for a one-way journey that will never return.

　You have received orders from His Majesty the King, but you don't have the sorrow in your faces as you go to your deaths.
　On the contrary, they even have the air of a man going for a short walk.

"Aren't you all terrified? We're heading to the farthest reaches of the corroded earth, a dead place where we will never return alive, right?

　They behaved so naturally that I couldn't help but ask questions.
　Aren't they scary?
　But they laugh away my question.

"We've done what we want to do with our lives, haven't we?

Well, my son takes care of the rest, and I have no regrets.

If your destination is the farthest reaches of the Corroded Earth, it must be the perfect place for your final adventure. I'm still a former A-list adventurer, after all.

　The Honorable Baron Albrea chuckles as if he misses the past.

'Pull it out, your A-rank is like a souvenir from your retirement, isn't it?

'Haha, but it will still be more effective against the demons of the Corroded Earth than your sword.

'As they say, you must be careful not to run out of energy before your magic.

　The content is the sarcastic argument, but the way they talk is more like a light-hearted smackdown than a hatred of each other.

'Well, what. It's not a bad end, if your last role in life is to serve your country. Don't worry about it too much.

　Their words and their eyes showed their concern for us as we were young and on our way to our deaths.

'We have arrived at the village, sir.'

　The carriage slowly comes to a halt as Sir Baharun, who had not joined the conversation until now, calls out to it from the gohja stand.

The carriage slowly comes to a halt, "You will be staying in the village for today. However, since we don't have a place to stay, we'll probably have to rent the chief's house.

　As he said this, former Viscount Bren led the way to the chief's house.

''So I guess we'll just wait here until Bren comes back?

　I get out of the carriage and secretly stretch out.
　As expected, it's quite difficult to keep riding in a rocking carriage.
　And since it's only a top-secret mission, you can't get into a very luxurious carriage.

''Ha, it would have been easier if I could have flown.

That won't be enough to keep Baharun and his friends around.

　Princess Megrielna, who continues to act as a princess, is also stretching out as if she was indeed elaborate.

　Now she is acting as a princess, but what she is wearing is neither a dress nor armor, but rather a costume that resembles a church ceremony outfit.
　This is a sacred holy robe used in ceremonies to calm the corroded earth, and is said to be made from a very rare material to increase the success rate of the ceremony.

　Nevertheless, the villagers look strange.
　In the villages we've visited so far, people in the village would be wary of strangers and would look at us, but this village doesn't have that problem at all.
　But in this village, they don't have the time to pay attention to us.

　When I was wondering about the state of the village, former Viscount Bren came back.

I have an arrangement with the village chief. It has been agreed that he will let me use the room at the chief's house.

Good work, Master Bullen.

　But former Viscount Bren looked somewhat dubious.

''What has happened to you?''

No, it's a little weird.

"What's so weird?

　When Princess Megrielna and I nodded our heads, the former Baron Bren told us of a rumor he had heard from the village chief.

'You already know that this village is the closest village to the Corrosive Land,'

Yeah.

Yes, sir.

Because of its location, the village regularly checks to see if any stragglers that have escaped the corroded earth are hanging around, and how close the encroachment of the poisonous swamp has come to the village.

　The explanation was understandable.
　As long as the Corroded Earth was encroaching on the surrounding land, they had to escape before the village was swallowed up.

''But a few days ago, I heard that the Corroded Earth suddenly disappeared.

Annihilation will be on its way.

What does that... mean?

'They say that the poisonous swamp literally disappeared and returned to its original earth. In an instant, without any warning.

"...and...

　When Princess Megrielna and I hear that story, we look at each other.
　Even though there are no words, all we can see in each other's heads is one face.

(Lex?)

(Is that you, Mr. Lex?)

Are you sure about that?

　As a reminder, Princess Megrielna checks with former Baron Bren.

''Yes, a few villagers have gone to confirm that there is no doubt about it. They said that the poisonous swamp had disappeared from the place where the corroded earth would normally be visible, and that the corroded earth had disappeared beyond the horizon.''

'How far did the villagers check?'

'They're just commoners. They aren't too far from the village.
But even so, they say that the land of corrosion is definitely disappearing.

　Then again, what comes to mind is Lex-san's face.
　Does this mean that Lex-san somehow intended to do something about the corroded earth after we left the mansion?

I just have one thing that bothers me.

What's bothering you?

'Yes, the villagers claim to have seen a goddess as the corroded earth disappeared.

"Goddess?

　We looked at each other again.

(Huh? (Isn't that Lex?)

(Isn't that Mr. Lex?)

"It is said that when the goddess descended from the sky and landed on the corroded earth, she blotted out the corroded earth with her divine light.

Divine light...?

　What does this mean?
　Being a woman, it doesn't seem to be Lex-san, but even so, I don't think other people can handle the corroded earth that the country has been unable to control for hundreds of years.



A saint?

''Yes, the Holy Kingdom, where the Church's headquarters is located, has a Foca-sama who has been certified as a saint. Since Foca-sama is also an S-class adventurer, perhaps she used some kind of sacred magic newly developed by the church to purify the Corroded Earth.

'You're an S-class adventurer from the Church.......Baharun, what do you think?'

　Princess Megrielna asks for Lord Baharun's opinion.
　

''Well, if the goddess in question is from the church, I don't believe she hasn't consulted with the state. And if that was the case, I suspect that Princess Megrielna would delay her schedule for the pilgrimage.

　Certainly, Lord Baharun's idea is not wrong.
　Because if the Church had found a way to do something about the corroded land, Princess Megrieluna would still be the adventurer Megri, right?

''Then, the only thing I can think of is that the means proposed by the church were considered unreliable and only good if they were lucky enough to succeed.

　I speculate that former Commander Ibuka, who led the Kingsguard, was in the heart of the country and did not tell us from the thoughts of His Majesty the King and the bureaucrats.

'Indeed. I wouldn't bother to tell them how to do something that has a low probability of success and make them feel wet.

　Everyone else seemed to have come to the same conclusion.
　And then.
　Suddenly, a bright light gushed out of the sky.

What...?

" " " " " "

　As we are startled by the glow of the sunrise, Lord Baharun and the others draw their swords and immediately alert the surrounding area, surrounding Princess Megrielna in a protective manner.

''It's the goddess! It's the light of the goddess!

''Goddess!''

　And the villagers around me were prostrating themselves to the light.

'That's the light of the goddess...?

　It looks like that light is the goddess of light.

Let's go.

　It was Princess Megrielna who said that.

''Princess........''

"We don't know what's going on. But there's something else going on that involves the Corroded Earth.

　Indeed, the light was occurring in the direction of the corroded earth we were supposed to be heading, because that was the direction the light was occurring in.

'Then we'll have to go check it out. As the one who has come to quell the Corrosion Earth, what is happening...''

　The expression on Princess Megrielna's face as she told me this seemed to be that of the silent adventurer Megri-san I knew so well, not the face of the talkative princess during her travels.