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Just as I started vaguely thinking that maybe there was some truth to the idea that this all happened because I showed up, Noche and Khaleed shut it down immediately.

Nick, still not fully grasping the situation, grabbed Zig by the shoulder and pulled him back while looking confused.

“Nick, isn’t this their fault!?”
“Sorry, Noche. Thanks. But Zig, what’s your deal, picking a fight with her? You’ve been acting weird lately.”
“Because! The day they came, Sister was crying! I saw her crying in the dining hall! And Vade said, ‘half-beasts bring misfortune’! As soon as this one showed up, we were told to hide underground, the building started shaking, everyone’s rooms got wrecked, and Sister’s gone! It has to be something she did!”
“Hah!? Sister was crying… more importantly, Noche and the others came here to take shelter because it’s dangerous outside! Sister has to defeat the enemy attacking the city, so we’re hiding somewhere safe in the meantime—that’s what she told us too, right!?”

Honestly, it just sounded like baseless blame. Nick had apparently heard some of the situation from Sister beforehand and scolded Zig, but Zig was completely worked up.

“The extent of the building damage is a bit beyond what we expected, but the terms were already agreed upon. Once this is over, the Alchemist Guild and the knight order will handle repairs. Our patron is quite shrewd, you see.”

I had wondered why no one seemed bothered despite how thoroughly the place was wrecked, but apparently they had negotiated this—trading the use of the building as a battlefield in exchange for protection of the children and repairs to the already aging structure.

That makes sense. It was solidly built, but definitely getting old.

The Alchemist Guild is involved in all kinds of industries, and Guildmaster Sigrun is supposed to be a construction specialist. I heard he developed groundbreaking earthquake-resistant structures and high-insulation materials, sparking a housing revolution in cold, quake-prone regions.

Apparently, they accepted him here to develop new building materials using resources found in unexplored areas. Casual chatter really can be a useful source of information.

“Then why are you all defending them!? They’re half-beasts! Isn’t that the reason!?”
“That’s not the case. This situation was approved by Sister as well.”
“Cut it out already! Can’t you see the state of this room!?”
“Shut up! Nick, you and that old man are both liars! I can’t trust anyone! I’m the one who’ll protect Sister!”
“Zig! That’s enough! Calm down!”

Once someone gets like that, the more you deny them, the more stubborn they become.

I kind of get it, thanks to a con artist I used to work under in my previous life who loved teaching me “how to mess with people.”

A real piece of work—he scammed the “underground freelancers” who killed his friend, took all their money, ruined them, mocked them to the end, then deliberately got himself arrested. Right after sentencing, he applied for a pardon from the Pandora Institution and walked away completely free.

He changed his face and identity and went right back into society like nothing happened. Wonder how he’s doing now.

While I briefly drift off like that, the argument keeps escalating.

Still, it’s strange how they can act so normal with such a gruesome corpse nearby…Wait.

“The Divine Soldier’s body is gone.”
“What? That’s impossible!?”

The corpse that had been lying on the floor just moments ago had turned into something like a collapsed lump of dirt. There wasn’t even a trace left that it had been human.

I don’t know when it happened, but at this point, no one would even recognize it as a human corpse.

Khaleed hurriedly stood and approached it.

“*Analysis*… this is just soil. We’ve been had.”

He activated the spell using a talisman inscribed with an alchemical circle and spoke bitterly.

So the evidence is gone… that’s troublesome.

“Why did it turn into dirt?”
“Either it is dirt from the start, or it becomes dirt upon dying… haah …or when something dies in the state called a Divine Soldier, it turns into dirt… cough.”
“That’s a troublesome property. You mentioned earlier that its blood might have unusual characteristics?”
“Mostly intuition… cough…I think I read about a similar creature in my grandfather’s collection…”
“Old Master Haumass did enjoy collecting rare books.”
“But this is a problem. The evidence that the Luminism Church was controlling these creatures is gone…”

Sufi is giving me a look that says lying is bad, but explaining everything honestly would just complicate things, so I wish she’d let it go. Besides, Sufi barely reads rare books anyway—so please stop catching my lies from the smallest reactions.

“Oh—”
“Hey, Zig!”

The building shook again from the ongoing battle, and Nick shouted.

Zig, face flushed red with anger, bolted toward the exit.

“That is bad… ngh—”

Khaleed tried to chase after him but dropped to one knee. Honestly, it’s impressive he’s even been talking this much.

“What do we do nya!?”
“W-What do you mean what do we—”
“Damn it, I’m bringing him back!”
“Ah, Nick!?”

Before Sufi and Noche could stop him, Nick ran out as well.

“W-What should we do…”
“Damn that idiot, nya!”
“…We can’t just leave them.”

I shrugged at the two of them, still hesitating.

We’re not going to fight—we’re just bringing Nick and Zig back.

Thanks to Nick, Sufi and the others were able to enjoy their time in this city. Leaving him behind doesn’t sit right.

There’s only one real problem case anyway. It’s not something worth overthinking.

“What about you, Filia…?”
“I-I’m sorry, my legs won’t stop shaking… hic…”
“It’s fine, don’t push yourself. Stay here.”

Looks like Filia froze up right at the start. Not surprising—if anything, Sufi and Noche are the weird ones for being able to move normally against something like that.

“Khaleed, please take care of Filia.”
“Very well… but don’t do anything reckless.”
“Yeah.”

With his injuries, Khaleed can’t stop them anyway.

He gave a wry smile as I left Filia to him.

“Alright, let’s go.”
“Why are you so ready to go too, nya?”
“Alice, you stay here!”
“If we’re going to die, we die together. Not that I plan on dying.”

I’m done with calmly sending my companions into a battlefield where they might die.

“Your sister’s pretty stubborn, nya.”
“She’s always been stubborn in weird ways since she was little!”
“Mhm.”

I pushed Sufi and Noche forward despite their reluctance and chased after Nick.

The gun is loaded. The sword that seems to work on Divine Soldiers is in Sufi’s hands.

If it comes down to it, I’ll bore a hole into that woman myself. Thinking that, I let the adrenaline take over and step forward.