* * *[ Ord Zenbel ]* * *
"Hmmmm..."
Ord Zenbel, the fourth finger of the Exorcism Reversal Society, closed his eyes and let out a low hum. The connection with his summoned beast that had been sharing his senses had been cut off due to the beast's death.
The Knight of Betrayal, Brunhilde, had not only betrayed her homeland and the hero's party she had been a part of, but also swiftly betrayed the cooperation offer from the Exorcism Reversal Society who had newly extended their hand.
Literally an incarnation of betrayal living to betray?
It was a situation Ord had not anticipated.
Although he had dispatched a doppelganger as a stand-in in case of any danger, the danger he had envisioned was only being discovered by other enemies before encountering Brunhilde.
Not Brunhilde herself deceiving him and launching a surprise attack.
The current Brunhilde was a wanted criminal without any place to rely on. He couldn't even imagine that she would refuse the offer from those in the same situation as her.
'Damn it, to choose betrayal in that situation. What on earth was she thinking...?'
It was a betrayal that didn't make sense common-sensically. The lifeline extended by the Exorcism Reversal Society was all that the current Brunhilde had to rely on.
If she rejected even this, there were only two fates awaiting her.
Either going into hiding in some remote mountain valley where no one could find her and living quietly as if dead for the rest of her life, or being eventually caught after persistent pursuit and executed.
Brunhilde must have understood such prospects too. If she could think at all, she should naturally have taken the offered hand.
Not using the extended hand as bait to blow off the doppelganger's head.
'Was she a woman without any thoughts at all...? No, that can't be. A woman who was a former kingdom knight and a member of the hero's party, how could she be that stupid...?'
Ord let out a deep sigh.
They say that when faced with an excessively perplexing situation, one can't even get angry. He felt like anger was being pushed to the back by the sense of disappointment and bewilderment.
Losing the doppelganger didn't matter at all, but failing to recruit Brunhilde was an extremely troublesome matter.
The plan to persuade her to join their forces and use her to eliminate Heid had half-failed before it even began.
Still, this failure was somehow recoverable.
Having Brunhilde would have made things a bit easier, but luring the Rhine Kingdom's army to the trap was entirely possible even without her.
The real problem Ord faced. The reason he couldn't help but sigh with disappointment was...
'...Was it because I left the persuasion to the doppelganger? Too much information was leaked.'
The doppelganger dispatched as his stand-in had carelessly blabbed most of the operation plan to the other party.
An act of folly that Ord himself could pride himself on never having done.
However, the doppelganger mimicking Ord made such a rash mistake despite perfectly reading and reproducing the original's memories and thought patterns.
A fatal mistake that could potentially ruin the entire operation in the worst case.
In fact, this was because the order Ord had given to the doppelganger was "Find Brunhilde and persuade her well to bring her in as an ally."
The top priority for monsters controlled by his power was to fulfill their master's orders.
Because Ord had ordered the doppelganger to recruit Brunhilde, the doppelganger tried to persuade Brunhilde even while taking the extreme measure of exposing the plan.
Ord himself would never admit that this situation occurred due to his ambiguous order.
Anyway, it had happened, and cleaning up the mess was left entirely to Ord himself.
The conclusion Ord reached to resolve this emergency situation that could potentially derail all plans was...
'...Keep my mouth shut.'
Surprisingly, it was to do nothing.
Not mobilizing all remaining monsters to find and silence Brunhilde, nor reporting this to other executives, but simply keeping his mouth tightly shut and remaining silent.
It was truly a conclusion befitting an Abyss Priest.
'Reporting will only make my position awkward. It's better to prepare to escape in advance and quietly slip away if the situation goes wrong.'
An attitude with no trace of camaraderie, treating even allies as competitors and thinking only of saving oneself.
...Well, it was a natural conclusion from Ord's perspective.
The executives of the Exorcism Reversal Society, even though they were fellow Abyss Priests, had a relationship where they would immediately turn on each other at the slightest opening.
Ord himself had poured criticism and mockery on Ariane for the reason that her subordinate was captured by Heid and leaked confidential information.
Because of that incident, Ariane had to step down from her position as second-in-command of the Reversal Society.
Thinking that such criticism and questioning would now be directed at him, he simply couldn't bring himself to report this truthfully.
And two days later.
At a meeting where the Abyss Priests gathered, Ord reported that he had succeeded in tracking Brunhilde but failed to recruit her due to her excessive caution.
He received some mockery even for that, but it was something he could sufficiently endure.
Since he didn't mention a word about the plan itself being leaked, Ord's own position within the organization remained unshaken.
It was fortunate. Only for Ord himself.
* * *[ Hilde ]* * *
The next morning.
The sight that greeted my eyes when I woke up was the face of a girl lying like a doll using my right arm as a pillow.
With her long eyelashes gently closed, and my left hand firmly grasped in both of her hands, pressed lightly against her slightly parted lips.
She was sleeping so soundly that just looking at her made me want to smile.
You know how when you see a small animal like a baby cat or dog lying flat on its back asleep, you can't help but smile because it's so cute just to look at?
It was kind of like that feeling.
Really, when she's this docile... honestly, she is cute. Like a little angel from a manga or game.
Though at night, she's on a whole different level of fallen angel.
"Ugh..."
I let out a faint groan as I slightly bent my stiff body to stretch it out, and carefully pulled out my arm to sit up, trying not to wake Friede.
Since leaving the cave could be postponed a little, I thought I'd leave her be to sleep a bit longer without waking her.
"Mmmnnn..."
Of course, even that careful movement seemed to disturb her deep sleep, as Friede's eyelids trembled slightly and she turned over as if sleep-talking.
"Don't go... Please... don't abandon... stay... by my side... Miss Hildeee..."
...What kind of sleep-talking is this girl doing? Anyone who heard this would think I was some parent abandoning their child and leaving.
"Haah..."
I sat back down beside her and let out a faint sigh.
Listening to her sleep-talking, pleading not to be abandoned while waving her small hand, made my heart feel quite unsettled.
How should I put it, like looking down at an abandoned dog trembling in the rain?
Should I call this pitiful, or say it looks pathetic? No, come to think of it, aren't those the same meaning?
Anyway, ignoring it and leaving her be felt like something was pricking my heart.
Not just me, anyone would feel the same.
Seeing a girl who looks as young as a little girl whimpering not to leave her, and ignoring that as if you didn't see it. That would be the collapse of all human compassion.
Of course, Friede isn't a fragile child but a hero who swings around a huge greatsword, but compassion is usually more affected by outward appearance than reality. I was no exception.
"Alright, alright. I'm here. It's okay."
Therefore, I carefully lifted Friede's head onto my thigh, and whispered softly while stroking her head as if to comfort her.
"Don't abandon..."
"Don't worry. Where would I go, leaving you behind? I won't leave. I won't abandon you either. Never again. So relax."
A kind, gentle, and affectionate consolation enough to even change the content of the dream the other person was having.
After whispering like that a few times, Friede's slightly furrowed expression brightened considerably. To the point where a small smile appeared on her lips.
I looked down at that face and smiled.
I wondered if my true calling wasn't in the service industry. With this level of service ability, wouldn't I have been able to dominate any field I applied to?
If I could have left comments in this tone even to that chronically ill writer, maybe I could have prevented his hiatus.
Thinking about it again now, I feel like my share in that writer choosing to suspend his series might be about 30%.
No, 20%... no, no. Let's make it 10%.
30% is too much, isn't it? Surely.
Anyway, after stroking Friede's head like that for a while, it wasn't long before her eyelids slowly lifted.
"Mmnnn..."
Golden eyes that looked as if they were made by melting gold gaze up at me with a blurry look.
After a few seconds of this. Friede, who had blinked a couple of times, grinned and stretched out both arms to cup my face.
"Hildeee..."
Then, muttering my name in a voice still heavy with sleep, she pulled my head down and kissed my cheek.
It was a moist morning.