Chapter 97: Farewells and Blessings

Night was falling, and the crackle of flames from the mercenaries' campfires mingled with the neighing of their tired horses.

"What do you have there?"

A nearly toothless mercenary sat down beside another man covered in scars, who was rubbing a small object with a dirty cloth.

"This?" the scarred mercenary replied with a grin. "My prize. I took it from one of the prince's guards."

He held it out for the newcomer to see. It was a gold tooth.

"Well, aren't you lucky! That'd be perfect for me!" the nearly toothless mercenary laughed.

"Don't even think about it. I found this one. If you hadn't wasted your time cutting fingers off those soldiers as if they were monsters while playing at being an adventurer, maybe you'd have found it first."

"I wasn't playing at being an adventurer!" the mercenary protested, feigning offense. "I don't take the fingers with me. I just cut them off to leave my mark on history."

"Leave your mark on history? Ha! You sick bastard, you only cut fingers off the ones who are still alive."

But at that moment, another voice came from behind them, interrupting the conversation.

"How disgusting. What did my da... the captain tell you when he hired you? No brutalizing the enemy."

"Relax, princess." The scarred mercenary grinned as he slipped the tooth into his pocket. "Old habits die hard. We'll stop eventually."

"Yeah, yeah, we promise," the nearly toothless mercenary laughed, waving a hand dismissively.

"More importantly," the scarred mercenary said as he got to his feet and grabbed Clarile's butt with one hand, "when are you finally going to sleep with me?"

"I wish for once we could find someone who wasn't human scum."

Clarile slapped his hand away and walked off, leaving the two mercenaries laughing behind her.

***

"Clarile?"

Molder's voice pulled her out of the memories brought back by the glint among the piles of ash.

"No... it's nothing," she replied, looking away from the gold tooth.

Father and daughter were still kneeling as they waited for the powerful spellcaster who had wiped out their mercenary company to finish talking to the man who had been their captive only moments before.

The two men had been speaking in low voices for a while, so every now and then Clarile found herself looking over the remains of the camp.

But just after Molder called her name, the spellcaster's voice rang out loud and clear.

"But you're right, I do look a little like Nereziel and, to top it off, I'm a necromancer. That's why I go by Nerez as an adventurer..." Then he glanced sideways at the kneeling mercenaries. "So I completely understand why you might've mistaken me for him!"

Father and daughter exchanged yet another look and shrugged.

Valerius finally rose to his feet. Keeping his head bowed, he stepped closer to Nerez and whispered in his ear.

"My god, if you truly wish to keep your ascension to the mortal world a secret, I won't say a single word."

I get the feeling you've already said it all, but it's progress...

"Fine, have it your way, but don't call me 'my god'..." Nerez whispered back.

"Of course. I'll only do it when no one else is listening."

"You're pretty rebellious for someone who considers me their god..."

"Her Imperial Majesty Mireia taught me to call you that when I was little."

Nerez couldn't help covering his face with one hand.

"I had a feeling you were like her..."

...

"What could they be talking about?" Clarile asked, shifting slightly because her legs had fallen asleep. "Do you think they'll really forgive us? And give us work despite what happened to you in the army?"

"I don't know, Clarile, but if that necromancer... Nerez, had wanted us dead, he could've killed us a hundred times over. I don't know how he knows so much about us, but if anyone can still put in a good word for me with a noble, it's someone as powerful as him."

"If we can stop being mercenaries without having to worry about you being put on trial for things you didn't do, it'd honestly be a dream come true, Captain."

"I'm not a captain anymore, my girl." Molder smiled despite everything. "Don't think I didn't hear you call me Dad a couple of times."

Clarile lowered her gaze, blushing.

"Ahem."

Nerez cleared his throat in the distance, making her look up again.

"By the way, you might not believe me, but you probably heard some of what I was saying when I spoke to the people involved..." Nerez was addressing the whole group now. He pointed at the two former mercenaries. "Those two were only hired. Later, I'll have them send you a written account of everything they know."

Valerius turned toward the pair and started walking over, though not before whispering something to Nerez.

"How could I not believe it, my god, when I saw you read their lives in the Book of Death's Soul Ledger?"

This prince from a Nereziel-hating nation knows way too much about me... It's probably Miri's doing, judging from what I just heard.

Valerius walked over to the two who had kept him bound only a short while earlier and regarded them with his arms crossed.

Molder and Clarile, still on their knees, could do nothing but lower their heads.

"I do not appreciate what you did to me, or what you did to my guard," he finally said after a few moments. "But if my go... if Lord Nerez says he will pardon you, who am I to contradict him?"

"Isn't he the crown prince of Phatar?"

Clarile leaned over to whisper in Molder's ear, and he immediately whispered back.

"Quiet, child. Just go along with it."

Father and daughter looked each other in the eye and nodded at the same time.

"Thank you very much, Your Highness! And thank you very much, Lord Nerez!" they exclaimed in unison as they prostrated themselves on the ground.

Just Nerez is fine...

***

The four of them mounted some of the horses, let the rest go, and made their way along a road they found.

"What was that town called again?" Nerez asked, covering a yawn with one hand.

"Entemas," Clarile replied from behind them, riding alongside Molder. "Though according to our scout's reports, they've been having quite a bit of trouble with bedirs lately. I'm not sure leaving the prince there is a good idea."

"Now you're worried about my well-being?" Valerius grumbled as he rode beside Nerez. "Weren't you threatening me with those very same bedirs just a few hours ago if I tried to escape?"

"Your Highness, in my humble opinion, that was us looking out for you too," Molder replied, smoothing his unruly beard, which matched his equally wild hair.

"I don't know how you can say that with a straight face..."

"No fighting," Nerez called back without turning around, like someone leading a line of small children.

Going by age alone, that wasn't far from the truth. Strictly speaking, though, the age difference went in the opposite direction.

"Of course, Lord Nerez," Valerius answered at once.

The two former mercenaries bringing up the rear merely swallowed. Anything Nerez said sounded like an absolute order to them.

"Hey! Wait!"

!!

Perhaps out of mercenary instinct, Molder and Clarile immediately put their hands on the hilts of their weapons when they heard someone calling from the forest.

"Relax. You're not kidnapping anyone anymore, remember what we discussed," Nerez said casually. "Besides, those weapons aren't much use to you anymore."

Only then did father and daughter remember that barely anything remained of the blades of Molder's sword and Clarile's daggers. Looking rather dejected, they took their hands off the hilts.

"Wait!"

That voice sounds strangely familiar...

And sure enough, much to Nerez's surprise, the person who emerged from the bushes was none other than Jeanne.

"Nerez?!"

"Someone you know, Jeanne?"

Three adventurers emerged behind her.

"Yes! I know him from Tessa's inn! Nerez!" Jeanne replied, then turned toward Nerez and gestured at her companions. "These are my party members: Darien, Sorales, and Kiel!"

Sorales, the tall man in glasses and robes who had asked the question, greeted him with a nod, while Kiel, a lean but athletic young man who used daggers like Clarile, waved cheerfully.

But Darien, the handsome knight in armor with a shield, simply stared at Valerius, dumbfounded.

They're all pretty handsome... but would it be rude to think they're pretty stereotypical too? They look like they stepped straight out of one of those romance games for women.

Jeanne finished the introductions with a smile. "But it really is a surprise running into you out here!"

"Same here. When I ran into the innkeeper this morning, she said you'd gone out on a pretty difficult quest," Nerez replied as he dismounted to talk to her. The others followed suit.

"Not as difficult as that dragon a while back," Jeanne laughed. "But yeah, a bedir nest near Entemas has been giving the town quite a bit of trouble for a while, so the guild asked us to clear it out while the other adventurers thinned their numbers from outside... or at least, that was the idea..."

Don't tell me...

"Looks like someone beat us to it," Kiel, the young man with the daggers, explained. "It was quite a sight! A complete massacre! In fact, we wanted to stop you and ask if you'd seen an army around here..."

"W-well... maybe it was other monsters..." Nerez suggested, averting his gaze. "A fight over territory or something like that..."

"Highly unlikely," Sorales replied, adjusting his glasses. "They were all missing their right hands, most likely cut off as proof for the guild."

"Though the strangest part was that all the hands were scattered outside the cave, along with the battered body of the bedir chief," Jeanne added, one hand on her chin. "It's almost as if they killed them just for fun..."

"I'm sure it wasn't for fun!" Nerez exclaimed, trying to defend himself. "I mean... that'd be pretty strange, wouldn't it? I'm sure they had their reasons... Though what do I know..."

"Could be..." Jeanne nodded to herself before looking around. "By the way, Nerez, what happened to your party? Ilyra? And that new girl, Cerys? I don't recognize any of these new faces..."

"Ah, right. Where are my manners?" Nerez said, glad for the change of subject. "These are..."

"Your Highness... Prince Valerius!" Darien finally exclaimed after several minutes of silence. "I heard you'd been kidnapped!"

So much for the story I'd rehearsed in case I ran into anyone, just to avoid getting dragged into even more trouble...

"Darien, I was wondering when you'd finally close that mouth of yours," Valerius laughed, hands on his hips. "For the son of a duke who had the audacity to become an adventuring noble, you're surprisingly easy to impress."

Jeanne, Sorales, and Kiel exchanged glances, unsure how to react.

"Your Highness, this is no time for jokes!"

"Relax. I managed to escape my captors. Do I look tied up to you?" Valerius replied calmly, resting a hand on Darien's shoulder. "While making my escape, I ran into these second-rate adventurers, who aren't even registered with the guild yet, and Lord Nerez, who offered to accompany me."

Molder and Clarile let out a sigh. Being passed off as second-rate adventurers was considerably better than being identified as his captors.

"Though we're pretty terrible adventurers," Molder admitted, mussing his hair even further.

"That's true," Clarile agreed, her fingertips pressed together. "Lord Nerez is going to introduce us to a former client so we can change careers..."

"I only just found out Darien is from a noble family, and now I've run into an actual prince too... What an eventful day!" Jeanne exclaimed, clasping her hands together. "But Nerez, are His Highness and those two adventurers also in on that inside joke with Ilyra about calling you Lord? Should I do it too?"

"Just Nerez is fine... Would someone listen to me for once..."

Jeanne tilted her head, puzzled.

***

"So Prince Valerius will be coming with us... Are you sure, Nerez? There might be a pretty big reward for getting him to safety," Jeanne asked inside a tavern in Entemas. "Ah! Forgive me, Your Highness! I just talked about you like you were some kind of object!"

"Don't worry, young lady. Friends of Lord Nerez are friends of mine!" Valerius replied, raising a tankard of mead in a toast. He seemed to be enjoying this newfound freedom from his usual protocol.

"You're quite young yourself..." Sorales remarked under his breath, careful not to offend the prince by contradicting him.

"That's the spirit, Your Highness! Another tankard over here!" Kiel called, slinging an arm around the prince's shoulders.

I feel like the day started with drunks and ended with them...

Nerez pressed a hand to his temple and let out a heavy sigh.

To his surprise, Darien, his head in his hands, sighed in perfect unison with him.

The two looked at each other and shared a moment of mutual understanding.

"Yes, I'm sure," Nerez finally replied. "Not long ago, I got a reward far bigger than I deserved. Besides, I only ran into the prince by chance. You'll be the ones escorting him. Molder, Clarile, and I will head out on our own in the morning."

The two former mercenaries paused mid-bite and mid-drink long enough to nod, their mouths too full to answer.

Besides, this can count as an apology for stealing their quest...

"Well, then it's settled." Jeanne nodded with a laugh, then gave Darien a hard slap on the back. "Darien, just because you're a noble's son doesn't mean you get out of your duties in the party! But precisely because you're a noble's son, I'm putting you in charge of the prince for the trip! Nobles should understand each other, after all!"

Darien let out another heavy sigh that night.

***

The next morning, Nerez stepped out of the inn in Entemas for some fresh air while he waited for Molder and Clarile.

Despite how hectic the previous day had been, at least no one had invaded his room during the night, so he'd managed to sleep in peace.

"Lord Nereziel."

But with the night over, so was his peace.

"Valerius, what are you doing awake this early after everything you drank?"

"My god, please do not underestimate the training my body has undergone to resist poison. The Church of the Sun would have killed me long ago otherwise."

"I'm not sure whether that's reassuring or worrying, to be honest..."

As Valerius approached, however, the look in his eyes grew serious.

"My god, if it is not too much to ask, would you grant me your blessing before we part?"

Nerez watched him for a few moments. To Valerius, it looked as though Nerez was evaluating him, trying to decide whether he was worthy of such an honor.

In reality, Nerez was only trying to understand what he'd just been asked.

I don't know what effects it might have. Miri is an apostle; Kayrus and the Soulwardens came about through skills; and Erebion, Avelle, and Drazira are all different cases. I don't know which of them really count as recipients of a blessing. This would be the first time I've used it on a person... But apparently, Miri brainwashed Valerius from a young age. It's the least I can do for him...

"All right." Nerez let out a long sigh. "But whatever you do, try to be responsible..."

"Of course, my lord! I would never forget my responsibility to you!"

Why do I feel like we're not on the same page?

Valerius knelt before Nereziel.

The sooner this was over, the sooner Nerez could get out of there. He rested a hand on Valerius's head and activated the skill.

[Divine Blessing]

Soon, a radiant darkness like a universe filled with stars enveloped Valerius. He accepted it without flinching.

It looked much like what had happened when Miri became an apostle.

This time, however, Nerez didn't have to do anything else. He didn't have to choose a skill to share or anything of the sort. In that sense, it was much like when he had used the skill on the netherite that held Erebion's soul.

Within moments, the star-filled darkness vanished.

Valerius rose to his feet, clenched his fists, and nodded to himself.

"My god... I feel like a hero of antiquity, from the age when Eryndea itself came into being and the gods walked among mortals, forging their domains..."

"That's good... I'm glad... So this is our farewell, then."

"Indeed. Do not worry, my god. With this power you have granted me, I can finally destroy this kingdom from within!"

"..."

...

"Excuse me?"

"Empress Mireia and I are already moving forward with plans to turn Phatar into another province of the empire!"

...

Miri!