Frillite, who was staring at Cloud in silence clasping her hands under the cheek, finally thought it was time for her to wrap up.

Since Cloud was showing no signs of waking up from the sleep.

She helped Cloud out of the room.

‘Which one is Cloud’s room?’

As soon as she left with him, she faced a problem. Frillite didn’t know in which room was Cloud staying. Just when she was contemplating whether to just lay him down in the spare room.

She saw a woman with short blue hair walking down the dark hallway, visible through the faint lighting of a candle.

Frillite knew the woman’s identity.

She was one of Cloud’s teammates.

‘Her name was Neria, I guess,’ she thought.

Neria was looking around, restlessness showing on her face. She had a reason why she was doing this in the middle of the night.

During the day she had listened to Cloud and Frillite betting on a drink. It meant that the two of them were going to have a drink, and Neria, who was worried, went to check on Cloud in his room.

Cloud was not in the room.

Because of which, Neria felt anxiety rising inside her and she was out looking for Cloud.

“You?”

Neria was startled by Frillite’s voice and turned her head. As soon as she saw Frillite, and Cloud leaning on her, she gave them a wide eye, before hurrying forward to check on Cloud’s condition.

“Cloud, are you alright?”

“Yes..? Yes..”

Cloud opened his bleary eyes, sighted Neria, and then closed them again. He was looking more drunk than she had expected. Gladly, she found him quick. The thought passed Neria’s mind.

“Are you Neria, Cloud’s teammate?”

Frillite questioned suddenly. It was then that Neria regained the consciousness of the surroundings and turned her attention to Frillite.

Frillite was dressed in white shirt and long black trousers, unlike when outside, where she wore her silver armor. She was dressed in plain clothes, but maybe because she was the one wearing them, she looked strangely pretty.

The saying that the clothes made a person wasn’t holding true in this case.

For, a person was making the dress more beautiful.

Neria’s eyes narrowed slightly.

It was not because of jealousy over Frillite’s beauty. She was dissatisfied with her casual attire, or with the casual way she got along with Cloud.

“..Yes, that’s right.”

Frillite looked at Neria’s expression, and felt puzzled inside for a moment before continuing what she was saying.

“That’s good. Now can you tell me where Cloud’s room is? I want to bring him there, but I’m facing trouble because I don’t know where his room is.”

“Is that so? No problem.”

Neria supported Cloud with his empty shoulder.

“I will take Cloud. Frillite-sama, please go and have rest.”

“Well? No, it’s fine. It’s also my responsibility that I let Cloud get drunk, I can’t burden you. Just tell me the location of his room and I will take him there.”

Neria shook her head.

“If Frillite-sama does do that, when Cloud wakes up next morning he will be shy about the experience.”

Cloud, and shy?

Frillite’s expression became strange.

“I don’t think so, but..”

“He will be.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because Cloud and I are childhood friends.”

“Well?”

Frillite’s eyebrows twitched.

She couldn’t understand why, but Neria’s words made her feel uncomfortable. Neria, unaware of her feelings, went ahead with her own words.

“And Cloud is the hero of our party. It is also my duty to look after him.”

Right.

Now Frillite realized at least a little where this discomfort was coming from.

She remembered the words Cloud had murmured in a pub in a village west of the Empire, near the border.

– Sorry.

– If only I had done a little better, you all..

At the time, Cloud missed his teammates who had left him in tears.

He attributed everything to his own shortcomings.

She left Cloud because Neria thought him to be incompetent. And now that the tables had turned, she was pretending to care for him.

Frillite abhorred Neria’s hypocrisy.

Frillite’s heart wanted nothing more than to scold her out loud then and there, but she couldn’t.

No matter what Frillite thought, Cloud had accepted Neria again. Neria was Cloud’s teammate, and what she was doing now was a very natural act of taking care of her own teammate.

There was no reason for Frillite to intervene. So she withheld.

“Where is Cloud’s room?”

“As I said before, Cloud..”

“I asked. Where is Cloud’s room.”

But she couldn’t hide the anger in her voice.

Her anger made Neria quiver.

“..Thank you, once again for your kindness, Frillite-sama. But Cloud..”

“Neria. What is your last name?”

“..I have no last name.”

She was a junior baron.

When Neria was recognized as a knight, she was given a noble title alongside. Since knight is just a title and cannot be hereditary, she was not granted her own land.

Before she defeats the Demon King and is recognized for her work and receives a real title, Neria was just Neria for now.

“Right. Dame Neria, I won’t ask again. Where is Cloud’s room?”

She added ‘Dame’ to Neria’s name.

Unlike before, the tone held authority. In other words, this was a command, and not a request.

""

Command of the next ruler of the Duchy of Perdiac.

How many people on the continent can reject it? At least in this kingdom, there were only a handful.

And Neria wasn’t counted among those handful. She told Frillite the location of Cloud’s room.

“Then I will be taking Cloud. I have no intention of doing anything bad, so don’t worry and go back. Dame Neria.”

“..right.”

Frillite supported Cloud to his room. Looking at the back of the two figures moving away from her, Neria bit her lips tightly.

* * *

A few days had passed since Behemoth’s subjugation. Except for Frillite, the other three hero parties had not left the Duchy of Oler. It was because Duke Oler, who was trying to make a connection somehow, was persistently holding onto them.

The treatment wasn’t bad either, so his party hadn’t taken their leave until now.

‘But we will have to leave soon.’

Behemoth was already subjugated.

The implications of which were quite large.

After the death of Behemoth, the demons—they will begin to attack in earnest.