When I returned to the cafe, the Demon King and Aila were nowhere to be seen.
When I asked the store clerk, they said they had left the cafe a while ago.
Since they had not booked any accommodation, I had no idea where they had gone.
To find out where the two had gone, I exited the cafe.
“Where could they have gone?”
“Who knows? They left without saying a word…”
Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind, and I put my hand into my pocket.
Leaving without a word means they must have a way to contact me at any time.
When I contacted the Demon King, his voice soon came through.
“We’re at the training ground rented by the intelligence department.”
Hearing the location he explained, it was to the east, not the west.
I couldn’t understand why there was an intelligence department training ground within the territory of Latnia, but I decided to head that way.
As I passed through the streets, I went by the Diana Order.
Despite being the state religion with a 2000-year history, the building looked very old.
It was the same when we stopped by; it seemed no one came to visit at all.
“Isn’t that order usually this quiet?”
“Generally, there are always a few people around. It is a bit too quiet here.”
I thought that perhaps the presence of an elf as a priest made it a place that humans avoided.
The humans of the Latnia Empire do not welcome other races very much.
The allied kingdoms within it even have formed a sense of aversion toward other races.
Since I had somewhere to go now, I continued on.
The location of the intelligence department’s training ground was uniquely situated at an inn in the eastern region.
Though there were ordinary guests using it as a regular inn, special orders would guide one to the location.
“Uh, so… does that mean food for the tail trimmed meal is also available?”
The clerk merely nodded without speaking, tidied up the reception desk for a moment, and gestured for me to follow.
The place the clerk led me to was a room at the end of the hall, a rather ordinary room.
Creak.
As the clerk gently pushed the bed, a door appeared underneath it.
When the door opened, a dark staircase leading down into the basement emerged.
After going down the stairs for a while, a wide training ground came into view.
A few people who appeared to be intelligence agents were training, and in between them, I saw the Demon King and Aila.
“Take it slow. Even if you rush, it won’t grow immediately.”
The Demon King was diligently explaining beside her.
Aila had mana on her hands and was concentrating very hard.
“So you were training.”
“Yeah. Once you gain control, the side effects of mana on your body decrease.”
“I want to train in magic too!”
“Wait until you’re better. You can’t do it in your current state.”
Isabel seemed to have said it just to throw it out there knowing it wouldn’t work anyway, so she wasn’t too disappointed.
“I’ve booked a room upstairs, so if you have nothing to do, you can rest there.”
“Isn’t there the Diana Order nearby? Don’t you want to check it out?”
“If I were a body that needed divine power, there would definitely be some symptoms even if I didn’t handle mana. Right now, I suspect it’s a lack of mana control.”
The Demon King didn’t seem to think Aila needed divine power.
Since Isabel and I had nothing to do here, we decided to check the room.
Just as I was about to go up the stairs, the Demon King called me back.
“The exit is over there.”
There was another identical staircase on the opposite side of where I had come down.
Arriving at the top of the stairs led us to what looked like a storage room.
Inside the storage room, someone large was sitting on a chair guarding the entrance.
“Please take it to the counter.”
He said shortly and handed over a box filled with groceries.
It seemed like a method to avoid suspicion since people continuously going in and out of the storage room could raise doubts.
For that reason, the hours for using the training ground during the day were set separately.
We had been lucky enough to enter as soon as we arrived.
From then on, it was explained by the clerk that entry would only be possible after four hours.
After bringing the items from the storage counter, we went up to the room the Demon King had rented.
The room was much smaller than I had expected.
There were only two beds and one table.
I laid Isabel down on one of the beds and sat next to her, pulling out a book from my bag.
“I want to read too.”
“Can I use magic?”
“I’m bored since there’s nothing to do.”
I carefully tried to cast a spell to let Isabel read the book.
“It seems this one works.”
“Looks like it.”
While looking at the book, I shifted my gaze outside the window for a moment.
The room overlooked the surrounding streets.
As someone passed by outside, a group of people started whispering.
“That person….”
It was an elf, a priest of the Diana Order.
Though she had said she couldn’t see, she walked perfectly without bumping into any obstacles.
It seemed that her claim of not seeing when we met was a lie after all.
“Do people avoid the priests of the order, by any chance?”
“No, rather, everyone seems all worked up trying to shake hands with her at least.”
The situation was entirely at odds with Isabel’s words.
Far from respect, it looked more like hatred.
Though they pretended not to show it, it was evident.
The hate-filled gazes aimed at her were clear.
Despite that, the priest returned to the order’s building without caring at all.
If Aila were to receive divine power, she would likely face similar treatment.
By the time evening arrived, our meal was delivered to the room.
Though we hadn’t ordered it, four servings of food arrived.
“I didn’t order this.”
“It’s provided according to the number of people at the designated time.”
Since this was an inn mostly used by the intelligence department, it seemed such services were available.
Leaving the portions for the Demon King and Aila, Isabel and I began to eat first.
“I’m out of medicine.”
“What medicine?”
“The kind for wounds, both for applying and taking.”
“Didn’t you stock up quite a bit?”
Isabel showed me an empty medicine bag.
Since wounds on her body still remained, it certainly seemed like more medicine was needed.
“I’ll go buy some later.”
Having become somewhat familiar with the geography of the east, it would be easy to find a shop selling medicine.
However, I thought I would wait until the Demon King and Aila returned, as leaving Isabel alone might make her run out.
In the end, I couldn’t go out to buy the medicine.
It was simply too late when the Demon King and Aila returned.
By that time, all the stores had already closed.
Instead, the Demon King inspected Isabel’s wounds and discreetly cast a spell to relieve her pain.
“Why does she try to move around whenever she gets the chance?”
“She says she’s used to pain.”
“Then even though she’s still young, she must be a bit tough.”
Isabel’s body was filled with horrible scars everywhere.
Marks from being beaten, and cuts from a knife, etc.
“Good thing I reduced her pain, or she wouldn’t have been able to think straight otherwise.”
Juan’s attack had only been once.
There was no way such wounds could have been caused by sheer strength alone.
“External wounds are fine. But she has taken some serious damage internally.”
“Is she going to be okay?”
“Do you think I would tell her not to move around for no reason? Still, the medicine she had on her helped quite a bit.”
The medicine that I thought would be useless was surprisingly helpful.
“It’s late now, so just sleep.”
“Aren’t you going to sleep?”
“I’ll be fine all night.”
Though he said that, like every other time, he would probably fall asleep as soon as morning came.
When morning arrived, I prepared to head outside.
Aila’s magic training was planned for the afternoon when the Demon King would wake up, so I decided to leave Isabel in Aila’s care for now.
I took the books from my bag and left the inn with an empty bag.
I distinctly remembered that the shop selling medicine was a little far from here.
The shop I found while racking my brain was closed.
There was a sign on the door that said, “Closed today.”
Aside from here, I couldn’t think of any other shops selling medicine other than the Lakeside Hut.
Since it wasn’t far, it was close enough for a stroll.
As I headed towards the lakeside, the atmosphere around me changed to a very unpleasant feeling.
The voices lowered as people whispered amongst themselves.
Their overt attitude was irritating.
Suddenly an elf priest passed by me.
I had heard that a person who couldn’t see has heightened hearing.
So she would undoubtedly be aware of what the people around her were saying.
“Hello.”
“Uh, um, who are you?”
It seemed she didn’t remember me from the brief encounter in the order’s building.
When I brought up the conversation of the day before, she seemed to realize who I was.
“It would be best if you don’t talk to me out here if you can help it.”
“Why not?”
“People don’t like me very much.”
“I’m not from Latnia, so I don’t really care.”
“Oh, I see.”
She had a look of someone who understood something on her own.
“By the way, where are you going?”
“To the lakeside.”
“Alone?”
“Yes.”
While it is possible to find specific buildings or locations within the city, it was curious how a person who couldn’t see could get to the lakeside alone.
Since our destinations were the same, I cautiously followed her from behind.
“Why are you following me? If you’re worried about me, I’m fine, you know?”
“No, I have some business there too.”
“Then please don’t follow suspiciously from behind and come alongside me.”
As I stood next to her, she gently grasped the sleeve of my arm.
“It’s nice having someone to guide me.”
“Were you really able to go there alone?”
“Of course.”
“Sorry, but you were about to go in the opposite direction just a moment ago.”
She was precisely heading towards the western Kant region.
The path to the lakeside was between the west and the east, so it wasn’t technically wrong.
“The western path is lively, making it easier to find my way.”
I began to speculate how she navigated.
Using the noises around her to orient herself.
As I pondered whether it was possible to assess the surroundings through sound, I caught her as she tripped over a stone she had not noticed.
“Watch where you’re going… Ah, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’ve fallen often in the past, so I’m used to it.”
She lightly tapped her foot against the stone.
“Why does this stone always seem to be in the same place every time I clear it away?”
“You cleared away the stone?”
“I’ve removed it every time I stumbled over it, but it’s always here when I come back. It’s a peculiar stone.”
Surely the stone cannot move by itself to remain there.
Someone must intentionally be putting it back.
The stone was about the size of one and a half adult fists.
Someone either very mischievous or a childish adult was likely behind this.
“Speaking of which, we don’t even know each other’s names. I’m Ririan.”
“I’m Epiro.”
