Chapter 60

You know what? Let’s head to town!

Much to my surprise, the hero hadn"t antagonized me to the point of no return . She was friendly and open-minded enough to see past her prejudices and hold a proper conversation . Actually, that"s not quite right . It"s more like she"s just too innocent to really doubt my intentions .

Though I"d always wanted to ask her about humanity as a whole, the truth of the matter was that, at first, I wasn"t actually all that keen on letting her intrude on my territory for too long . Heaps of hesitation came when I considered the idea . There seemed to be far too many risks and barely any reward, so I"d actually planned on turning her away . But Illuna had convinced me otherwise .

The first thing the young girl had said to me after coming out of the bath was that I could trust the hero because she was a good person . For one reason or another, Illuna"s instincts were remarkable . She was able to tell apart things that would cause her harm and things that wouldn"t at a glance . Without a word from me, Illuna had been able to point out dangerous monsters and steer clear of them the one time she accompanied me into the forest . If even Illuna was willing to testify that the hero was harmless, then there was no reason for me to believe otherwise . In fact, I trusted her instincts so much that I more or less completely let my guard down . Thanks to our resident vampire, I decided to let the hero stay overnight before asking her about the human world the next morning .

Her answers were informative . They told me that I had a fair situation on my hands .

From her responses, I immediately derived that the church bore a wide sphere of influence . They were so influential, in fact, that they had their own private military unit, an order of holy knights . The mastermind behind the incident, however, was able to get the church into a situation in which it either couldn"t or didn"t want to deny his request, be it through money, political pressure, or some other facet of influence . Though the church was powerful, the wire puller was even more so—especially seeing as how he"d even managed to mobilize an army .

I kind of want to say that I"m probably up against an entire country or something similar, but that doesn"t really seem quite right . There"s something… off . The driving force behind both the army and hero incidents seemed a bit… lacking . The mastermind"s methods were needlessly convoluted . It"s almost as if the guy"s going out of his way to leap through hoops .

The force that"d come knocking on my doorstep just the other day was a bit small for an army, at least compared to what it could"ve been . I mean, it"s possible that the mastermind just underestimated me because he kinda lacked intel, but there"s always a chance that he"s just r.e.t.a.r.ded . I think I"m going to be leaning closer to the needless hoops theory though, since he did at least kind of learn from his mistakes .

The fact that he sent the hero was a huge improvement . She was basically stronger than the entire army all on her own . In fact, there was a fair chance that she would have defeated me had she not been such a scaredy cat . My stats were higher than hers, but I"d yet to be trained in combat . I was a total s.h.i.+tter that didn"t have the technique or combat experience to make use of his talents . That, however, was his only improvement .

Sending the hero alone is kind of a pretty big risk . Like, I know the dude"s salty and probably doesn"t want to spend any extra resources since I just blew up his army, but you"d think he"d at least give her a few companions or something . Like, he"d just be totally s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g himself up the b.u.t.t if he lost the hero just "cause he didn"t provide her with enough support .

Of course, the most optimal solution would have been to send the army and hero together . If the mastermind was acting on the country"s orders, or in a position to give them, then it didn"t make sense for him not to have his forces boldly march on the forest, regardless of purpose . And that was all the more true if he truly was working towards a cause as "n.o.ble" as retaliating to restore his or the villages" honour . No matter the case, it simply did not make sense for the hero and army to be sent independently of one another .

I mean, if he"s got the ability to get the army to abide by his will, then whoever"s out to get me should at least be a good bit higher up in government, right? You"d need some serious influence to pull off a stunt like that… Or at least I think you would . Blech, I really need to go to a place with more humans so I can learn more about this world"s people .

Fortunately, I had just the right person to consult standing right in front of me . I had just escorted her out the castle, so I decided to break the silence .

"Oh yeah, I"ll be having you show me around . "

"Huh?" The hero stared blankly for a few seconds before realizing that I was talking to her . "Uhm… I"m not really sure I know what you mean . "

"You know how you"re "bout to head back?"

"Yeah, I"mma tag along . "

"Huh?" The hero blinked a few times while staring at me as she tried to process what I"d just said .

"I"ve been wanting to hit up a human village for quite some time, and this is as good a chance as any . So yeah, thanks in advance . "

"Huh!?" Again, the hero blinked . She was so shocked by my sudden declaration that she didn"t know what to say .

"Ah, yes . That is right, Yuki . I would like to bring to your attention that I will be joining you . " The next person to speak was Lefi . She and all the dungeon"s other residents had gathered in front of the castle . I"d already told them my intentions a bit earlier on in the day, so they all came to see me off .

"Wait, you are?" It was my turn to blink . Lefi hadn"t said anything about joining me when I first informed her of my decision . This was my first time hearing about it . In fact, the only one that had expressed their wish to join me was Illuna . I wanted to entertain her request, but I couldn"t . I was confident that I could protect myself even if my ident.i.ty was exposed, but I somehow doubted that I would be able to keep the both of us safe at the same time, especially since taking her along doubled the risk of exposure . Leaving her here with Leila and Lyuu was the safer choice by all means .

"What? Have you a reason to refuse?" An intrepid smile surfaced on Lefi"s face as she stared me down . It"s almost like she"s daring me to say no .

"Nah, not at all . In fact, I"d be happy to have you join me . I"m just a bit surprised is all . I didn"t think you"d be interested . "

Having Lefi come with me is rea.s.suring . Her being there makes even the worst case scenario a h.e.l.l of a lot easier to deal with .

"Y-You are happy?" Lefi"s cheeks blushed a pale pink, but she quickly dispelled the awkward atmosphere with a cough . "I have only chosen to accompany you because I know now that your nature renders you far too soft on women . It would bother me if you took too long to return because you were infatuated with a human . My purpose is merely to keep an eye on you . "

"Yup yup! I know, right! You gotta work hard, Lefi! Do your best!" Wait, was that Illuna that just said that? Is that why she wanted to join me in the first place?

"Very well . I shall endeavor to ensure Yuki does not lose his way . "

I couldn"t help but smile wryly as the two conversed . They clearly didn"t trust me .

"Yeah, yeah, I get it . Anyway, take care of the house while I"m gone, alright guys?"

"As you wish, My Lord," replied Leila .

“You betcha! We’ll keep this place nice ‘n safe while yer out, Master!” added Lyuu .

“Iunno why but hearing you say that makes me feel super worried, Lyuu . ”

“Huh!? What gives!?” Lyuu was so shocked that her jaw dropped all the way to the floor .

"I"m just kidding . " The exaggerated expression prompted me to laugh as I responded .

"Come on, you know I trust you guys . Otherwise, I wouldn"t be relying on you guys as much as I am, you know? . Rir, I"m leaving you in charge of defense . Destroy any enemies that show up without exception . And you too s.h.i.+ . Do your best to protect everyone while I"m out, "kay?"

My two pets each responded with their own affirmations . Rir nodded faithfully, while s.h.i.+ happily bounced around .

"Alrighty then . I"ll see you guys in a week . " I bid my farewells to everyone present, including the three wraith girls waving from one of the castle"s windows .

"I too shall soon return . "

"Okay! Have a great trip guys!" said Illuna .

"Do stay safe," said Leila .

"See ya!" said Lyuu .

The hero, the only person present not caught up in the "bon-voyage" themed ambiance, voiced a bit of pitiable, idle complaint that she was no longer able to hold back .

"Uhm… does my consent just not matter…?"