Chapter 193

Normally, if they used a spatial holy magic carriage, it was only about a half-day’s distance from Akerandir to Gilsberg.

However, because they had had that business with the Jelsroin cult,

it was around evening when the sun was setting that Roan’s group and the Paladin merchant guild arrived in Gilsberg.

Gordon, who had dropped off Roan’s group after passing through the city gates, said with a highly apologetic expression:

“Dear me, if only those heretics hadn’t bothered us in the middle, I could have given you a proper tour of Gilsberg.”

The reason Gilsberg was their stopover was to spend the night safely, but it was also for the trade of the Paladin merchant guild.

They had to sell goods left over from Akerandir here and purchase other goods at cheap prices.

Since they had arrived in the evening, however, the Paladin merchant guild did not have the leisure to spend time with Roan’s group.

“It is fine.”

Tirmy nodded as if she understood completely.

“We are the escorts, so do not mind us and tend to your guild duties.”

“That’s right~ We can just hang out amongst ourselves!”

Espard and Yusina also waved their hands dismissively.

The freshmen, Roan and Sion, naturally went along with them.

At this, Gordon bowed deeply and expressed his gratitude.

“Thank you so much. If we hadn’t traveled with you, it would have been a real disaster. I have reserved the best rooms at an inn called ‘Jane’s Horn,’ so rest comfortably, and we will depart again tomorrow.”

The other Paladin merchant members also bid them farewell noisily.

— Thank you, Professor! Saint, Saintesses!

— Make sure to rise all the way to Saintess, Candidate Sion!

‘Anyone looking would think we are parting forever.’

Since they were only going to be apart for a single night, the fuss was on the level of a final farewell, causing Roan to frown slightly.

At this rate, it was bound to be awkward tomorrow morning instead.

Moreover, this place was near the city gates where the floating population was very large.

If they behaved so noisily, naturally,

— What? A Saint and Saintess?

— Come to think of it, isn’t that the Paladin merchant guild?

— It seems they came out for voluntary service outside the campus from Akerandir! Where, where?

it drew the attention of the surrounding people.

Roan hastily tried to push Bel, who was on his shoulder, into his bag.

[Mmph, mph! It’s stuffy!]

‘Just keep only your head out.’

[Nngh…]

There was nothing good about having an Abyss Dragon discovered in this kind of situation.

Although Bel’s existence was already well known within Akerandir, outside, a divine beast in the shape of a dragon was rare enough to make eyes pop.

He might also catch the eyes of those with malicious intentions.

Still, if he only kept his face poking out of the bag, people would probably mistake him for a common reptilian spiritual beast.

Fortunately, since Bel could still see the surroundings, it seemed somewhat bearable for him.

Roan’s judgment worked by a very narrow margin.

— Oh, isn’t that person the Saint of the Bell!

— I heard he stopped by Akerandir not long ago!

— Then that person must be Saintess Yusina, and that one must be Saintess Candidate Sion.

Most of them merely focused their attention on the famous figures in Roan’s group.

“Hahaha, nice to meet you all. Please understand that we cannot respond to your hospitality as we are currently performing an academy mission.”

“Hello~”

Espard and Yusina naturally brushed off the people’s hospitality as if they were accustomed to such situations.

— Waaaaah!!!

The ordinary citizens were so deeply moved that they shed tears just from meeting a Saint and a Saintess.

To the people of this world who had no proper entertainment, Saints and Saintesses were truly the ultimate idols.

— Saintess Sion! Welcome!

“Uh… I am still just a candidate.”

Sion, on the other hand, hesitated and tried to step backward as if this atmosphere made her uncomfortable.

*Tap*—

“Eek?!”

Roan supported Sion’s back and pushed her forward.

At the same time, he whispered in a low voice that only she could hear:

“That doesn’t matter. Whether you are a candidate or not isn’t important to them. Meet their expectations. Get used to stepping in front of people and leading them.”

A candidate for Saint or Saintess was an object of envy for the common people, not much different from the real thing.

Whether Sion gained courage from Roan’s words, she did not back down any further, even as her face flushed red.

“Ah, hello…!”

— Waaaaah!

Roan wore a proud smile at the enthusiastic cheers pouring toward Sion.

Of course, while he was satisfied with Sion’s growth,

‘this way, no one will pay attention to me!’

because he could not even imagine what would happen if it were revealed here that he was a Darc.

Fortunately, the citizens of Gilsberg had their eyes fixed on Espard, Yusina, and Sion.

— Mom, then who is that hyung over there who looks like a villain?

— Child! You shouldn’t say such things to an Akerandir student! …Uh, but he really does look like one?

Sometimes, young children who knew no better pointed at Roan and said this, but

*Glare*—

— Wahhhhh! It’s the Great Demon King!

— Oh dear, what’s wrong with you? Where are you going!

once Roan made eye contact with them, they would burst into tears and run away.

Roan’s fierce look was enough to make even a laughing child burst into tears!

‘Judging people by their looks… the future of the Empire is truly bleak.’

Not receiving attention was fine, but wasn’t it a bit too much to cry just from making eye contact?

Roan felt a wave of needless bitterness.

In any case, it was about time to wrap up the situation.

Espard stepped forward.

“Everyone! Please return to your daily lives now. And try not to mention that you saw us. It would be troublesome if news reached the enemies of Lord Hiloa!”

— Hieeeek!

— We will keep it an absolute secret, Saint!

— I wonder who on earth they are to cause such a fuss~

The citizens were terrified by Espard’s words and hurriedly went on their way.

Indeed, there had been cases where the schedules of Saints and Saintesses were leaked, leading to terror attacks by heretics and black mages.

But more than that, it was to prevent unnecessary consumption of energy.

‘In fact, it’s troublesome for everyone if this happens everywhere we go, so he frightened them on purpose.’

The naive citizens of the Empire would now avoid acknowledging Roan’s group for the most part.

“Wow~ Uncle, you’re really amazing! I should learn from you!”

“Hahaha! Yusina, if you wander the Empire, you’ll naturally get better at it too.”

Yusina clapped her hands at the suddenly quieted atmosphere and praised Espard.

But at that moment,

*Rumble*———!

The aura of Tirmy, who had been standing silently, had been unusual for a while.

Her expression, which was already like a sharp blade, grew even sharper, and the energy emanating from her became extremely rough.

“D-Darc, why is the Professor acting like that?”

Sion spoke, wrapping her arms around her body against the threat encroaching upon her entire frame.

Roan replied indifferently.

Of course, while stealthily drawing up his black mana to protect himself.

“Because this kind of commotion isn’t efficient at all. Professor Tirmy doesn’t like it.”

To Tirmy, who pursued extreme efficiency, citizens making a fuss upon seeing a Saint and Saintess were inefficiency itself!

“T-Then what should we do?”

“We just need to do our work from now on.”

“Yeah, that’s right, that’s right~”

“…?”

Sion wore an expression indicating she could not understand Tirmy at all.

Even so, they were welcoming them, so wasn’t she being too harsh?

At this rate, she could be called the Professor of Efficiency rather than the Professor of Dueling.

…Tirmy would probably prefer that title instead, if only such a subject were created.

“To think you’re still trying to understand the professors… how naive.”

“Ah?”

Hearing Roan’s pointer, she seemed to gain a slight realization.

Indeed, there was not a single person among the Akerandir professors whom Sion could comprehend.

Roan looked at Espard and said,

“Saint, wouldn’t it be best to head to the guard post first?”

“Ah, indeed, right? We should hand over the heretics we captured earlier.”

Espard also nodded in agreement.

The effect of the Bell of Eternity lasted about a week, but considering the situation of the trapped people, it was best to release them as soon as possible.

Furthermore, if they did not release them now, they would have to do so after returning to Akerandir, which meant they would naturally be handed over to Kaina.

*Shiver*—!

The moment their thoughts reached that point, Roan and Espard shuddered simultaneously.

Although they had picked the fight first, they were relatively decent heretics, so treating them like that would be too cruel.

“Now, let’s hurry to the guard post! We go this way.”

Espard walked with confident strides, acting as if this were his specialty.

‘The alley over there is faster than this path.’

However, Roan was uncomfortable with the fact that Espard was not taking the optimal route.

It was probably his intention to take the main road, but as a gamer, such inefficiency was hard to tolerate!

*Rumble*——

Consequently, without Roan even realizing it, his aura grew slightly fierce.

Yusina and Sion, who were walking side-by-side at the very back of the group, watched him and conversed.

“Sion, look at that.”

“Eek… I feel like there are two Professor Tirmys.”

“I know, right~ *Snicker*, isn’t it cute?”

“…?”

Sion looked back at Yusina with a dubious gaze.

If that was cute, then Hector could also be considered reasonably handsome.

…It was that ridiculous of a statement.

[Wow~ There are so many people!]

‘Because the city is quite large.’

Meanwhile, Bel kept turning his head busy inside the bag, finding the surrounding scenery fascinating.

Seeing that Charlotte, who was holding Roan’s hand, was doing the same, the lively streets of Gilsberg—much more vibrant than Akerandir—seemed novel to the divine beasts.

[What is that?]

‘That’s a Mystic Cone. Wizards make them, and they are toys for trickery.’

[What about that?]

‘It’s an Edrupas tree. They say business goes well if you place it in front of a shop. It’s a southern superstition that not many people know.’

[That! What about that? It smells good!]

‘Oh, come to think of it, the Shapia Bakery is on this street. It is one of the top five places in Gilsberg.’

Since everything he had only seen on the monitor was fully realized in reality, Roan excitedly explained without any hesitation.

[……How do you know all of that?]

Bel asked in a tone that seemed to say, ‘I was the one who asked, but isn’t this a bit too much?’

Judging by the explanation alone, he sounded like someone who had lived in Gilsberg for ten years.

‘……You were the one who asked. I won’t answer you anymore.’

[Ah! No, you are really smart, Master!]

He could feel the vibration of Bel flapping his wings inside the bag.

Roan found the behavior quite cute and chuckled.

“Oh, look at Roan. He smiled. Isn’t he cute after all?”

“Mmh… Ugh…”

‘What have those girls been rambling about since earlier…’

Roan walked on, ignoring Yusina and Sion chattering behind him.

*Tug*—

Right then, someone tugged at Roan’s sleeve.

“Excuse me, hyung.”

“Hmm?”

It was a grimy, dirty little boy.

“Oh, I am sorry! Hans, you mustn’t grab precious people!”

A woman who appeared to be Hans’s mother rushed over and tried to pull the child away.

Roan’s group naturally halted their steps.

Roan tried to put on the friendliest smile possible as he spoke.

“It is fine.”

“Hieeeek—! W-What! You… You are an Akerandir student, right? Looking at the uniform, it seems so… Ah! I am truly sorry!”

Hans’s mother gasped in fright and pulled the child close to her chest.

“Ugh… Scary.”

Hans also seemed a bit frightened.