「Ah man.. I sure cried a lot. It’s been so long since I last cried.」

As I passed through the “3rd Holy District”, my emotions finally settled down. When I took out my handkerchief from my pocket and wiped my eyes, I realized that I wiped the young lady’s tears with this.. and emotions started swelling back up again. So I quickly put away the handkerchief.

When I entered “Block 4” using House Sillys’ crest,

「Zerry-san, you’re there, right?」

「Oops, have you already noticed? You were so bad, bocchan.」

The one who came out of the shadow of a building was Zerry, a gambling addict cat beastman who is also my travel companion.

It seems that Zerry-san was also keeping vigilant after everything that happened yesterday. She is not the kind of person who would take the trouble to watch over me 24/7. So I think it was exceptional only for today.

「Zerry-san is worse than me for peeping.. What a bad habit you have. Rather, I’m surprised you were able to sneak into the 3rd Holy District.」

「That was a piece of cake. But of course, the 2nd Holy District is more dangerous, so I don’t sneak in there.」

「Dangerous security system?」

「I mean dangerous if you get caught. Sneaking in is easy.」

「........」

Is the security system in this country that bad? Or is Zerry-san that amazing?

「What is it, bocchan?」Zerry-san asked, with a puzzled look.

..Hmm, I think it’s more plausible that the security system in this country is that bad.

「Are you thinking something rude about me right now?」

「Whenever I’m thinking about you, Zerry-san, it is mostly something rude.」

「Wha!? I am not going to ignore that! Even if you have a broken heart, bocchan!」

「H-Huh!? What broken heart!?」

「You know the one! It often appears in famous love stories where the passionate couples have to eventually part ways with each other due to different social statuses!」

「Haa.. it is not like that. The young lady is like.. I want her to grow up with love.. freedom, without being hindered by anyone. I want to protect her.. sublimely, quietly..」

「........」

Why is Zerry-san looking at me like I said something strange!?

I guess it’s my fault for trying to pull a “Solitary Gourmet” in this world. [1. TL Note: Solitary Gourmet is a manga reference.]

「A-Ahem. That was just a joke. Anyway, it’s not like that between me and the young lady. And I’m sure we’ll meet again someday.」

「Is that so? Then, bocchan, why did you drive yourself into a corner like that?」

「How do you know that Zerry-san?」

「I’m sure you’re just running away because your black hair and black eyes have been exposed, right?」

「........」

Why do you know that?! A woman’s intuition?!

「..The situation is more risky than you think, Zerry-san. Duke Ebene sent about 100 of his own troops to seize me.」

「Gee, really? Then, isn’t it dangerous for me to be with you!?」

「Hmm, but if you went on your own, you’ll be forever stuck in debt, right?」

「Don’t worry about that! I will win for sure next time!」

The thought process of an addict. This person has turned into a complete waste.

Although I was exhausted, I briefly explained the events that took place today.

「Hmm, but bocchan..」

「Yes?」

「I’m really curious about this.. If you were going to send the young lady back from the beginning, why did you even bring her away in the first place?」

「Ah, well, about that..」

「I actually feel sorry for the Earl, listening to all these.」

「Actually, I thought I had to make him go through a bitter experience at least once for his own sake, so..」

「Gee. Bocchan, you’re a demon..」

Zerry-san grimaced deeply.

「I’m also worried that I might have hurt the young lady in the process..」

「If you care about the Earl so much, you should’ve just stayed with him.」

「As I said earlier, the Earl can’t beat the Duke. It seems that His Majesty the Holy King is supporting me for now, but “black hair and black eyes”, which is said to be of the “Child of Disaster”, seems to be more taboo in the noble society than I expected. The Earl is a person who is constantly thinking about the young lady, so it seems that he did not think much about the risks associated with keeping me. Seeing the extent House Ebene went to today, I’m sure the other Duke houses would also follow suit.」

It was none other than Zerry-san who said — “Those who hold authority are the scariest.”

What she said was 100% true.

「In that case?, let’s leave the country.」Zerry-san said.

「Yes, let’s do that.」

Zerry-san’s tone is always light. Perhaps she finds it easier to live in this world by not taking things too seriously.

By the time we reached Block 6, the night sky had started to fade and dawn was upon us. When I went to Zerry-san’s inn, it was extremely messy and cluttered, so I asked the innkeep to clean it up and gave him quite a fair amount of money for his troubles. My personal belongings weren’t kept in the Earl’s residence, but in this room – all I had in a single backpack. The belongings at the Earl’s residence is the untouched salary given by the Earl. I said I’d “return” it, so I can just leave it there.

The clothes I received for my escort duty.. should I dispose of them? It’s a little frayed from the previous battle.

「By the way, do you have money for our journey?」

「..Yeah.」

When I opened the leather bag I received from Berserker – I mean, the Border Earl, I found 4 large gold coins and 10 pieces of gold coins. Do nobles usually carry this much money on them whenever they go out? I mean, the leather bag itself was silky smooth, and seemed insanely luxurious.

4 large gold coins and 5 gold coins have the same value as 1 holy gold coin, so I had received a bit more than that.

The clothes I wore when I first arrived at the Holy Kingdom felt a bit smaller, but I still changed into them. I guess I should buy some new clothes soon.

I wore a cloak on top and shouldered my backpack. The dagger I got from the Border Earl has a flashy scabbard, so I kept it in my pocket.

「It feels like we’ve returned back to four years ago.」

As I said while leaving the inn, Zerry-san, squinting her eyes in response to the morning sun, turned around and smiled at me.

「What are you talking about? You’ve become a handsome man now, bocchan!」

「..Well then, please stop calling me “bocchan”?」

「But you will forever be bocchan to me~」

Zerry-san reached out her hand and stroked my head.

..Just you wait. I’ll grow taller than you someday.

「Then, bocchan. Are we leaving the Holy City right away?」

「Nope. I will surely get scolded if we leave like this.」

I smiled and told Zerry-san of our first destination.

The inn called “Silver Citrus”.

Silver Balance should still be sleeping at this time, but I felt that, even with smoke rising from here and there, a new day for the Holy Royal City of Kruvanyu was about to begin.