Is it the return of the Demon King or the harbinger of a cataclysmic event that has brought the vanished mine back to its rightful place?　With those rumors running through Grandle, we bought some food, a few high-grade potions and a large amount of magic potions just in case, and then we left for Meratni.
　The route to Meratni was different from when we came, this time we had to go through a barrier, but the title of S-class healer seemed to be in effect, and we succeeded in getting through.
　Since Nadia and Lydia are from Brange, I told them that we would be heading to the Holy City from that direction via Grandre.

　And there are other things that are different from when they went to Grandre.

　The master and Lionel as the guru, with Keti and Kefin in front, and me, Esther and Nadia behind the carriage.
　This arrangement was what Lionel thought would be the most efficient when we got into battle with demons and bandits.

　It was only after the demons actually appeared, but it was certainly because of the detection system skills, so they could be instructed to look over the entire area and not be taken by surprise from the left and right rear.
　Well, most of the time, I had to fight with Keti and Kefin to weaken the demons, and then have my mentor and Lionel defeat them and raise their levels.
　They had traded the roles they had been playing in the Maze of Intrigue.

''My level has gone up again. Going up this high reminds me of my rookie days, man.'
''I would have chosen the adventurer if I could have...''
　The master talks about his rookie days, which makes him happy, but Lionel never talks about his time in the military.

　Maybe this is the difference between opposing demons and opponents.
　Well, I'm sure his master also slayed bandits, but Lionel was in the Imperial Army, and that was in the position of a general, so he wasn't only slaying evil.
　Since he was the one who initiated battles under the orders of the state, even if fighting was his profession, Lionel's character of slaying evil people made it a very mentally difficult job, I can imagine that it was a very difficult job.

''Bu-lu-lu,''
　I think I was thinking while I was riding, and he got mad at me for telling me to focus on Forenoire and keep riding.
　I apologized for yesterday and he forgave me.
　I thought Forenoire was an adult, and I had said before that Lydia was a spirit of light, but I didn't know when Forenoire had given me her blessing.

　So our relationship isn't people and spirits, the relationship between people and horses remains the same, we're still buddies.

　If it's not going to change, sometimes it's my heart that's going to change.
　I stopped thinking about it yesterday, wistfully. However, when I think about the future, I'm almost crushed with anxiety.
　The inability to use holy attribute magic, the inability to stop by the village and heal patients, the frustration and frustration of not being able to use holy attribute magic, the frustration of that frustration and frustration...no, let's not pretend to be a good person and make excuses.
　I've been wanting people to praise me and thank me, and before I knew it, I'd come to desire it.
　And I guess I'm afraid of being blamed for losing my abilities, instead of being thanked by people.

'Boo-ruh,'
　I huffed at the sound of Forenoir's voice.
　Apparently he was about to be trapped in a whirlwind of thoughts again.
'Sorry about that. I'll switch it up and do my best.'
　That's right.
　I could have helped my mentor and Lionel.
　And it's not like all hope is lost, you can hang on.
　I stared ahead I decided to go on, even though the carriage was in the way, and ended my two month long expedition to Grandle.

　What awaited us when we arrived in Meratni was a sermon by Garba-san and Gurugar-san.
　In the guildmaster's room of the Adventurer's Guild, it was just me, Master, Garba, and Gruger, and we explained in detail what had happened in the past two months.
　As soon as I started explaining, I felt a tremendous amount of anger begin to leak out of the two of them, but they listened to me carefully until I finished my explanation.

　Then the sermon began.
'Brod, what the hell are you doing here!　Getting a leave of absence to train Luciel, if it wasn't for Luciel fighting the demons and evil gods, he would have died and disappeared into this world!　And Luciel, you're you too. You're not just a healer, you're the representative of all healers, but it's your apprentice's job to stop your stupid master. What are you going to do if you lose your abilities by using the forbidden arts!
　No one blamed me, but Mr. Gruger scolded me for it.
　Of course I'm scared, but my body is getting a little lighter.

''That's what it was about, no matter how much I called out to you with my magic ball, you didn't answer........ Brod, you're in your position........no, the Adventurer's Guild doesn't matter at this point, at a hundred steps. More importantly, have you forgotten your promise to us?　We retired from adventuring at a young age for what?　You're trying to bring it back to its original form in the Adventurer's Guild, which was founded to protect those who can't fight by training many adventurers!
　Mr. Galba bared his emotions and grabbed his mentor by the collar.
　Master doesn't make eye contact with Mr. Galba until he's done.
''Brother, Brod's level is so low right now, it's dangerous.
　Saying that, Grugar-san grabbed Garba-san's arm and made him remove his hand from Instructor Brod's collar.

''I did almost give up once... but since Luciel-kun came to the Adventurer's Guild, the adventurers of Meratni have gradually grown stronger, and the requests from the residents have increased and crime has decreased. In a few years, this city has become very bright. Hey, Brod, I know you're important, Luciel. But if it was foretold that you would die, wouldn't you have at least consulted us for a word?
I'm sorry.
　That was the only thing the master said.
　Seeing his master's bowed head, Garba sighed loudly.
　He must have felt that blaming him further would only make him feel better.

　But his target was not only his master.
　That's what Galva-san laughed at when he looked at me.
　I thought I saw the devil's smile that Walrabis was talking about.

''Luciel-kun, when you get your Holy Attribute Magic back, I'll have you take my training as well, so I won't say anything for now.''
'Yes, sir. Please instruct me if you do.
　...My mental tolerance is supposed to be X, but I get chills just thinking about my postponed training.
　Still, that was when I was relieved that he wasn't going to shoot his mouth off any more.
　I know what I meant by my earlier smile.
''Yeah. I knew you were honest, Luciel-kun. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make your life easier. That's just what you say so passionately.
'Galba?　That's not fair.
　Yes. He began to ramp up what Master wouldn't say to his face against me.
　Master tried to grab Garba-san's mouth, trying to cover it, but was stopped from behind by Gruger-san, who was also grinning.
　I wouldn't be able to shake him off now because of the status difference.

　I didn't know my master thought that about me but then I know that there are two more gazes similar to my master's gaze in front of me.
''I also have the utmost respect and trust in the three of you.
　If my teacher was my father, I had a feeling that Garba-san and Guruger-san must be looking at me like a younger brother, watching me grow up and treating me like I was their age.

　When I told him that, I felt that Garba-san finally changed from a scary smile to his usual gentle smile.
'Brod heard that you, Luciel, were in Yenis, and that you had built a school, so he was willing to retire as a guildmaster in the future. And he had set a new goal to make sure that every child, noble or commoner, could go to school.
...Could it be that it was quite a bad time?
'Well. I didn't expect that Luciel-kun was involved in an event that would affect the world. As expected, we'd be surprised as well...
'Yes, of course...'
　Well, usually you don't have to live with the word reincarnated dragon or demon race.
''I don't have a dark face. Now, Brod, I've actually accumulated quite a bit of work, so I can't let you follow Luciel-kun. Besides, you don't want your apprentice to see your weakness, so you'll have to wait patiently until your master comes back to life.
''Let me and my brother deal with Brod and get your holy attribute magic back as soon as possible. If that doesn't work, don't cringe, I'll set you up to be an SSS-level adventurer, so come back properly.
　Garba-san and Gulgar-san were kind, after all.
'Luciel, that's why I can't teach you anything for the time being. But I'll definitely be back as Luciel's teacher, so be diligent.
Yes, sir.
"If you have a problem, call your demon ball and the three of us will work to solve it.
Good luck with that.
"Luciel, don't give up. We'll see each other again.
''Master, please don't force yourself to charge the demon.
　We shook hands stiffly and we said our goodbyes.

　Thus it was decided that our master would leave the party and we would leave Melatni for the night to hide.
　In the midst of all this, it was Lydia who first noticed something strange about Estia.
'You don't look well, do you?'
I'm fine.
　But his face had turned blue.
''Well I can't heal right now, and I have no choice. I'm going to the orphanage.
　I had to decide that and take him to the orphanage.
　As expected, I couldn't make her drink a very bad potion, even though it wasn't a battle.

　I took the lead and as I advanced, I saw the blood drain from Estia's face.
　I rushed into the orphanage as quickly as I could.

'Hey, is the Director there?'
'What a racket.
　I wanted to ramble on about what the hell was going on for the moment, but I held back and suppressed it.

'I'm sorry, but I'm a bit depleted of magic and can't use it, so you'll have to see me instead.
That's absurd. But I think that's all right. Who do you want me to see?
Esquire this is the girl.
Hmm. Well, come on in.
　That's when I led him to the chair, Esther and the dark spirit switched places.
'The cure is good. Do you have a family ... a daughter?
　Botacouli was surprised when he grabbed my hand, but he turned his head towards me and glared at me.
''Well I didn't tell you anything. Estia, are you okay?
Yeah. More importantly, what about your family?
It hurts. My wife is dead. My daughter was ill at the time and I couldn't cure her. So I asked the Imperials who developed the secret potion to cure her, and once I saw her get well, they said I had made her a slave and I couldn't see her. I still keep looking for him.
...right. No need for therapy.
　The dark spirit walked out.
'I don't see the point. I'm leaving the price on the table.'
　I put down my five gold coins and followed the dark spirit out, and the dark spirit was waiting for me.

''What the hell is wrong with you?''
I'll tell you why when Esther settles down. For now, let me go to the Holy City.
　The dark spirit that spoke so that only I could hear it seemed to have no time to spare.

''We'll be traveling at night, but we'll continue to force our way through. You all need to stay alert.
" " " " " " "
　We thus left for the Holy City under the cover of darkness.
　Even in the dark, the presence of lights made it not difficult to run.
　Plus, the horses' boss, Forenoire, was taking the lead in pulling me along, and the others seemed to be calmer.

　I was wary of riding at night on the road, but the relationship between Botacouli and Estia kept getting stuck in my head.