Chapter 22

Chapter 22

It's Embarrassing, So Let's Take It Off Quickly

Calling it a journey to Septimoa sounded grand, but in reality there was nothing particularly remarkable about it.

It was far removed from the sacred pilgrimage people might imagine, or the romantic adventures found in novels.

At most, we encountered starving wild beasts or filthy bands of thieves.

For ordinary people, either would be a threat worth risking their lives against.

For our group, they were little different from pebbles underfoot.

So the journey was monotonous.

Walk while the sun was up.

Once dusk fell, find a nearby village.

If that wasn't possible, sleep outside.

Night in a medieval world was simply too dark to travel safely.

Of course, if time were tight we'd have to keep moving after sunset, but we still had plenty of leeway.

“Ah, camping on the very first day. What shitty luck.”

Unfortunately, we ended up camping from the first night.

“Don't you do this all the time in the Demon Realm anyway?”

“I still hate it.”

I wasn't particularly picky about where I slept.

But obviously I'd rather sleep under a roof with a bed and warm food than curl up beneath a tent with a single blanket spread across hard ground.

“True, I agree. At least it's still cold enough that there aren't any bugs.”

“That's true.”

I nodded at Leonid.

Disgusting insects were camping's greatest enemy.

At one point, I'd wondered whether fighting countless grotesque demonic beasts in the Demon Realm would dull my disgust toward ordinary insects.

It hadn't.

The disgusting nature of bugs existed on an entirely different axis.

Damn, how many times am I going to use the word disgusting just thinking about them?

Ugh.

Disgusting.

“Let's hurry up, finish setting camp, and eat.”

“Yeees, Sis. All this walking has my stomach sticking to my spine.”

We grumbled while quickly setting up camp.

Nobody was exempt.

The more hands helping, the faster we'd finish.

Besides, I was the only woman in the group and therefore used a tent alone.

I preferred preparing my own sleeping space anyway.

Once the temporary campsite was finished, we ate a simple dinner.

All that remained was sleep.

But before that, one thing had to be decided.

“All right. You all know this already, but it's time to assign night watch.”

We had set up warding sacred arts, but guards were still essential.

No sacred art was perfect.

There were always gaps, and someone needed to be awake to respond immediately if an emergency occurred.

“First, we'll exclude our elderly and frail old Bartolomew—”

“Saintess.”

“...Actually, no. We'll choose fairly with everyone included.”

The old man shot me a murderous glare, so I changed course immediately.

I was trying to respect the elderly.

Why was he angry?

Fine.

If that's how you want it, everyone gets included.

“Drawing lots is annoying, so I'll just decide. I'll take first watch, so the rest of you can get some sleep.”

To demonstrate leadership through personal example, I volunteered for the first shift.

“No, that's cheating.”

Hans complained in a sulky voice.

“You're doing this again? Aren't you tired of it by now?”

Judas shook his head.

“As I always say, abuse of authority is not admirable.”

Always-serious Griffith spoke solemnly.

“Come on, Sis. That's a trick even recruits wouldn't fall for. Let's just draw lots fairly.”

Leonid looked completely unimpressed.

...These bastards.

Instead of being moved by my self-sacrificing attitude, you're nitpicking?

I volunteered for the hardest watch of all—the first shift. (It isn't.)

How could you possibly object?

At least E-Eric hesitantly muttered, “Wouldn't it make sense for the Saintess to go first...?”

Good.

E-Eric.

From this day forward, I'll call you Eric.

“Saintess, stop trying anything strange and do as the Vice-Captain said. We shall draw lots.”

My attempt to use Eric as an ally and force my plan through collapsed under one sentence from the old man.

In the end, we gathered twigs and drew lots.

The order came out as follows...

Cassian, Hans, Griffith, Judas, Leonid, me, and the old man.

“GRAAAH!”

A disastrous result.

I collapsed face-first onto the ground in despair.

How the hell did I end up with that kind of order?!

Come to think of it, whenever we drew lots for night watch in the Demon Realm, I'd never gotten a good slot.

Maybe I'm destined never to gamble.

“My, how unfortunate.”

“Sis, after trying to cheat, this is exactly what you deserve.”

“Pfft.”

The Holy Knights snickered at my misery.

I raised my eyes and glared around at them.

My gaze lingered longest on Cassian.

My own turn was bad enough.

But Cassian got first watch?

Absolutely unacceptable!

“...Would you like to switch with me?”

Cassian flinched beneath my murderous glare and asked cautiously.

Really?

If you did, I might raise my opinion of you just a tiny bit.

Like an ant's tear.

“Hey, hey. Don't do that, man.”

But Leonid stepped between Cassian and me.

“You're going to be taking night watch all the time once you start entering the Demon Realm. Are you planning to switch with Sis every time? No, no. If you keep indulging her, she'll develop bad habi—GAAAAH!”

BOOM-

I drove a knuckle bomb straight into Leonid's head while he was still spouting nonsense.

Leaving him trembling face-down on the ground, I smiled brightly at the Holy Knights.

The surroundings immediately fell dead silent.

“Leonid was too tired, so he went to sleep early. Anyone else want to be next?”

“...”

Sadly, there were no volunteers.

“G-Good night!”

After hesitating for a moment, the Holy Knights hurriedly offered their goodnights before dragging the fallen Leonid into the tent and scrambling inside to avoid collateral damage.

Once the old man went in too, only Cassian and I remained outside.

With the crackling firewood behind him, Cassian silently took his place in front of the campfire.

“Hey.”

“Yes, Saintess.”

“Don't even think about doing anything weird.”

...Is it really okay to leave night watch to this guy?

I'm seriously uneasy.

“I'll remember. Please rest without worry.”

“It's precisely because it's you that I can't relax.”

“...I apologize for being inadequate. I'll become strong enough to deserve the position of Hero candidate as quickly as possible.”

I had nothing in particular to say to that.

After letting out a faint sigh, I entered my tent and lay down.

But sleep wouldn't come.

I tossed and turned for a long time and only managed to fall asleep after hearing Cassian switch shifts with Hans.

The third day of the journey.

The trip had been strangely peaceful.

We were mainly following mountain paths, so you'd expect to run into bandits or wild beasts, but the surroundings remained utterly quiet.

If there was one problem, it was that because the timing kept going strangely wrong, we'd camped outdoors all three nights.

“At this rate, aren't we going to sleep outside all the way to the capital?”

“I heard in the village we passed earlier that there's another settlement about half a day's walk from here.”

“Really? Then we can sleep somewhere comfortable tonight.”

I chose to put my faith in Leonid's words.

It was a little past noon.

If we kept walking steadily, we'd probably reach the village by evening.

“Everyone, let's pick up the pace. Let's sleep under a roof tonight.”

“Yeees.”

We continued along the mountain road.

Before long, a steady drizzle began to fall.

It brought thick fog with it, gradually obscuring our vision.

At this rate, we'd be forced to camp again.

Fortunately, the village Leonid had mentioned came into sight.

“This is troublesome. I didn't expect the fog to thicken this quickly.”

But the fog grew denser by the moment until it swallowed the village completely.

At least there was a road.

Otherwise we'd have been stuck sleeping outside in this miserable rain and fog.

I sighed in relief and followed the path.

Before long, an old wooden sign emerged from the mist like a ghost.

“...Sodom? Must be the village's name.”

Leonid, walking at the front, inspected the sign and muttered.

I stared at it in horror.

Who the hell names a village Sodom?

“Sodom? That's a fucking ominous name. Who named this place?”

“What's wrong with it? Sounds perfectly ordinary to me.”

Ignoring Leonid, I walked closer to the sign.

It looked like whatever had originally been carved there had been violently scraped away, with the current name added only recently.

“What was its old name? Judging by the marks, it looks like they changed it recently.”

“No idea. They erased it so thoroughly I can't make it out.”

“...Damn it, I've got a bad feeling. Should we just camp?”

“The village is clearly only a short walk away. Why would we suffer outside? You're the one who said you wanted to sleep under a roof, Sis.”

“But...”

Something felt wrong.

Whenever my instincts started blaring warnings, nine times out of ten something troublesome happened.

“Saintess, the fog is thickening and the rain is growing heavier. I believe entering the village would be the wiser choice.”

“...Yeah. You're right, old man.”

Once Bartolomew joined in, I finally pushed down my unease and nodded.

If there really was something wrong with the village, checking it out was also our duty as people who served the gods.

We pushed through the fog and reached the village.

A crude wooden palisade made from roughly lashed logs surrounded it.

“Ugh...”

The moment the village came into view, nausea twisted my stomach and a sharp headache stabbed through my skull.

I staggered and groaned.

“Saintess, are you all right?”

Cassian lightly caught me and supported my body.

“...I'm fine. Mind your own business.”

I shoved away his support and clutched my head while blinking.

Then I saw the fog shimmering with a bizarre pink hue.

...What the hell is this strange fog?

Is no one else noticing anything?

“Hey, Leonid. Doesn't the fog look weird to you?”

“What do you mean?”

“It's pink. Like the demonic energy used by those Lust bastards.”

“What? What are you talking about? It's just ordinary fog.”

“Ugh...”

Another wave of pain struck my head, and I squeezed my eyes shut.

When I opened them again, the fog had returned to ordinary white.

No matter how many times I blinked, it stayed that way.

What the hell?

Did I imagine it?

“Are you all right?”

“...Yeah, I'm fine. Leonid, go talk to the guards. If a bunch of armed knights walk toward them through this fog, they'll be nervous. We'll wait here.”

“Understood.”

Leonid nodded and walked toward the entrance.

“Stop! Who goes there?!”

Leonid intentionally rattled his equipment as he approached.

A rough voice cut through the fog.

“Don't touch your weapon! One more step and you'll be treated as an intruder!”

Of the two guards at the gate, the taller one leveled his spear threateningly at Leonid and shouted.

“We are Holy Knights and priests of the Eris Order. The fog has grown thick and the rain is coming down, so we're seeking lodging for one night.”

Leonid raised both hands slightly over his head to show he had no intention of fighting.

But the guard apparently remained suspicious.

Without lowering the spear aimed at Leonid, he slowly approached.

Once he drew close, his gaze stopped briefly on Leonid's chest.

The Eris Order emblem was engraved clearly on his breastplate.

Only after confirming it did the guard's rigid expression relax and his spear lower.

“Ah, you're from the Eris Order. My apologies. The fog was too thick to identify you. Are those your companions behind you?”

“Yeah. Seven besides me.”

“Come in. Apologies for the discourtesy.”

Leonid gestured toward us.

We slowly approached the village.

“Welcome to Sodom. Please rest comfortably here tonight.”

The guards smiled warmly and pushed open the wooden gate.

Contrary to my worries about the ominous name, I could sense no demonic energy inside.

Instead, a faint, gentle divine power filled the village.

The headache crushing my skull disappeared, replaced by a refreshing sensation spreading through my body.

Maybe there's a decent Order operating here?

With that thought, I was just about to step inside when two spearheads crossed in front of me.

“...What is this?”

Leonid and the old man had passed without issue.

Why stop only me?

I raised an eyebrow and looked at the guards.

“A woman?”

“...?”

Yes.

I'm a woman.

What, never seen one before?

I stared incredulously at the guard who had said the word.

“Even if you're from the Eris Order, we cannot allow a clothed woman into the village.”

“What?”

For a moment, I doubted my ears.

Did I hear that correctly?

They couldn't allow a woman wearing clothes into the village?

What kind of insane bullshit was that?

“Women are simply tools meant to serve men, aren't they? It's only common sense that they remain unclothed so men can use them whenever they wish.”

“...?”

The sheer creativity and novelty of the bullshit coming out of the guard's mouth left me speechless.

“Sis, what are you doing?”

Just as I regained my senses and was about to curse him out, Leonid, already inside the village, stopped and looked back.

His face was full of confusion.

“Even for a Saintess, does it make sense for a woman to try entering the village while wearing clothes? Hurry and take them off.”

“What the fuck did you just—”

I started to curse, then stopped and looked around.

Cassian.

The Holy Knights.

Even the old man.

Every single one of them was looking at me with firm, cold eyes.

“Hey... Why are you all looking at me like that?”

Overwhelmed by an inexplicable pressure and fear, my voice trembled as it slipped between my lips.

“Take them off immediately.”

“...Old man, why are even you acting like this?”

For a moment I wondered if everyone had planned some elaborate prank.

But their expressions were completely serious.

Seriously?

They're telling me to take my clothes off?

Do all these bastards have a death wish?

Agreeing with nonsense like that, seriously...

Seriously...

Seriously...

Why had I been taking such an obvious truth so seriously?

How dare a woman wear clothes in front of men?

That's rude.

No wonder the old man is staring at me so sternly.

Wearing clothes is so embarrassing.

Let's take them off quickly.

“I'm sorry. I must have lost my mind for a moment.”

How embarrassing.

To think I'd been dressed so rudely.

I should hurry and throw off these irritating scraps of cloth and serve the men of the village.

Just imagining it filled my chest with excitement and happiness.

Smiling sweetly, I raised my trembling hands toward the buttons.