Aruki’s gathered Holy Weapons members alternated their gaze between the leader who appeared after a long time and Kail, wearing an expression of bewilderment.
That guy, why is he here? Their expressions blatantly revealed such thoughts.
Kail let out a dry laugh as he looked at the Holy Weapons members glaring at him.
“Criminals indeed, someone might think I’m the perpetrator.”
“…How many members do you think got beaten up by you? Who’s the real perpetrator here?”
“Who was it that kidnapped someone else’s wife? Seriously, they commit crimes and don’t even realize what they’ve done wrong. I really want to beat them up.”
*Crack* As Kail cracked his knuckles while saying this, Kaines and Hephaestus each grabbed their weapons.
A situation on the brink of explosion. The one who stopped them was none other than Aruki.
“Both of you stop. The leader is watching. Don’t act rashly.”
“Aruki- Aren’t you angry? After disappearing for months, he suddenly shows up acting like the leader…”
“Don’t belittle the leader.”
Seeing Aruki’s fierce eyes, Kaines let out a sigh and put down his weapon. He had just remembered what kind of person she was.
A psychopath with severe leader dependency syndrome. A fanatic who treated the leader’s words as if they were law. There was no point in trying to reason with someone like her.
Kaines subtly turned his head to look at the leader, Feyna.
“Then let’s ask the leader directly. Leader- What have you been doing that you’re only showing up now?”
“—I was busy.”
“Does being busy justify…! Do you know how many of our members died because of that guy you brought!?”
“I know. That’s why I brought him.”
Merlin, pretending to be Feyna, pointed at Kail with his staff and spoke.
“I’ve formed an alliance with this guy. An alliance where he’ll help us with this mission. The price is amnesty for all the crimes he committed so far.”
“Do you think we’re the type to fear some petty laws? Leader? Were we ever like that?”
“We might not fear the law, but I certainly do.”
As Kaines was speaking, Kail interrupted the conversation with a sneer. It was understandable that Masters didn’t fear the law. Kail himself was the type who never cared about such things from the start.
However, the reason Masters didn’t care about the law wasn’t due to any special reason. It was simply because the law couldn’t fulfill its function. In other words, the principle of punishing those who break the law couldn’t be applied to Masters.
No rope could bind a Master, so how could they possibly fear something like the law?
“If you participate in this mission, I’ll forget all the disrespect you’ve shown me.”
“…What do you mean?”
“All those kidnappings, academy terrorism, and various other things you did before—I’ll forget all of it.”
In other words, the reason Masters broke the law was that there was no way to punish them. Put differently—if there was someone who could punish them, then even Masters would have no choice but to follow the law.
Kail possessed enough military force to serve as that deterrent. The ability to dominate against an Aura Master.
After hearing his words, Kaines maintained silence for a moment before cautiously looking at his comrades.
“…I agree.”
“Hmm—then I do too.”
“What’s with you two? You agreed so readily?”
And then, Jerry, who had been quietly keeping her mouth shut, spoke up, causing Hephaestus to glance at her and cast a vote of agreement. With two out of four voting in favor.
The remaining one was the leader, or rather, Feyna—who would obey even a command to die if it came from the leader—so effectively, only one person remained: herself. At this point, stubbornly refusing until the end would be nothing but foolishness.
“Are you sure there won’t be any incidents later, like you attacking us?”
“As long as you don’t commit any crimes first, or attack me again.”
“…Fine. I agree.”
With Kaines’ agreement, all members of Holy Weapons confirmed their participation in this mission. Kail smirked, thinking he had gained a useful meat shield.
* * *
Finding Merlin was easier than expected, but finding Rizelotte proved more difficult than anticipated.
Searching for a free-spirited sorcerer with no acquaintances was bound to be challenging. Especially if that sorcerer was capable of hiding their tracks perfectly using advanced magic.
Ultimately, Kail had no choice but to seek help from the Empire. More precisely, from his friend.
“A beautiful woman with purple hair… You do realize it’s impossible to find someone based solely on that description, right?”
“That would normally be true.”
“Yeah, normally it would be.”
Bellion chuckled as he examined the composite sketch Kail handed over. Someone that beautiful would surely stand out, but the Empire was vast, and there were many people.
Especially if she was using magical means to conceal her identity, finding her would be even more arduous.
Of course, that was under normal circumstances.
“I’ll order copies of this composite to be distributed everywhere in the Empire—cities, towns, anywhere there are people.”
Currently, they were preparing for war against the Evil God Cult. The Empire was capable of actions unimaginable during peacetime.
Forcing citizens to search for someone or ordering the creation of something were examples of such actions.
“What if she’s living somewhere without people?”
“That’s unlikely. Didn’t you say she lived alone in the forest for hundreds of years? Someone like that wouldn’t choose to be alone again now.”
“True.”
Bellion’s reasoning was sound, so Kail was certain Rizelotte would be somewhere in the Empire or Kingdom cities. And if that was the case, it meant she could be found eventually.
After issuing orders to his subordinates, Bellion returned to face Kail.
“So? Why did you ask for this?”
“The Master needs her.”
“Not for the war, it seems… Are you planning to form a special squad?”
“You catch on quickly. As expected of royalty.”
“What? You’re serious?”
Bellion, wide-eyed as if unable to believe his own words, stared at Kail for a moment before cautiously asking.
“…What about the odds?”
“I don’t know. But judging by the fact that they defeated the Holy Kingdom, they’re definitely not ordinary.”
“They’re the Evil God Cult. Nothing they do should come as a surprise.”
“Exactly. That’s why I’m going to gather everything and everyone I can use.”
That was the reason for gathering Masters. He had considered charging in alone and wiping them out… but life was unpredictable.
Kail was no invincible being. Just as an Aura Master couldn’t claim invincibility against Aura Experts or lower-ranked soldiers, even Kail, who surpassed Aura Masters, could still die fighting lesser opponents.
Not to mention, the Evil God Cult had the Evil God itself. The ‘Goddess’ summoned through the sacrifice of the Apostles’ lives.
“I see…”
“Yeah. Oh, Bellion. Can I ask you one thing?”
“What is it?”
“If I die… make sure Yuri doesn’t marry anyone else.”
“What? Normally, people would ask the opposite, like ‘forget me and be happy’…”
“No… Thinking that Yuri might flirt with another man while I’m rotting in my grave makes me feel uneasy…”
Some might call it pathetic, others might say it’s obsessive—but Bellion silently nodded without saying a word.
He decided not to criticize his friend who was risking his life to defeat the Evil God.
That wasn’t what he should say.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take full responsibility and prevent it.”
“It also means don’t get any ideas yourself.”
“Am I the type to hit on my friend’s wife!? Never!”
Laughter erupted.
* * *
It wasn’t long before Rizelotte was found.
To be precise, she revealed herself first.
“—It’s been a while, child.”
“Ms. Rizelotte.”
“…Has something changed? You seem different somehow.”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s your imagination?”
Reuniting with Rizelotte, Kail exchanged pleasantries and caught up on various topics—where he had been, what he had done, places he had traveled.
When Kail mentioned that he had married and Yuri was pregnant with his child, Rizelotte was utterly shocked.
“M, Married…?”
“Yes, with Yuri.”
“P, Pregnant too… and here I am, still single at this age…”
As Rizelotte sank into despair, feeling overwhelmingly defeated as a woman, Kail waited patiently for her to recover before finally speaking.
“Ms. Rizelotte.”
“Hmm… What is it?”
“Would you be willing to die for me?”
“…Is that a confession? From a guy who already has a wife?”
“No, it’s not a confession.”
Kail explained the current situation of the Holy Kingdom. It had been occupied by the Evil God Cult, and the Virgin Saintess had been kidnapped. If the saint fell completely into the hands of the Evil God, it would result in the Evil God fully descending into this world.
There was no need to explain what would happen to the earth if a madman intent on killing everyone and possessing them descended.
After listening to Kail for a moment, Rizelotte let out a deep sigh.
“I’m still not getting any rest even at this age.”
“Your words mean…”
“If we don’t do something, everyone will die, right? Then how can I refuse?”
With Rizelotte on board too.
Kail realized that his special squad was gradually coming together.
