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I looked down at the fallen Devil and heaved a big sigh.

I had a hard time against it in Berith, but this time, Gadius was here and it turned into a confused fight.

Taking the enemy by surprise was my specialty in such situations.

That’s why I was able to take the situation in a favorable direction and overwhelm them.

But now, I have a bigger problem… I realized I was being showered by inquisitive gazes.

“D-Did she call her Reid…”
“You mean that Six Hero?”
“But didn’t he die?”
“There was a rumor that he got reincarnated, though.”
“I have seen Nicole using threads actually…”
“Seriously?!”

I heard such voices from around. Finia was panicking quite loudly earlier.

Since it happened in the middle of a battle, the Adventurers were focused on the battle, but now that it had ended, they couldn’t help but get curious.

“Re…Nicole?”
“Don’t say anything, Gadius. It was inevitable.”

I should have expected that to happen when I brought Finia to this place.

Perhaps the fact that I defeated one in Berith was forcing some sort of self-control on her until now.

The gazes around were dyed in confusion. Because those words came from Finia, who knew me well, even an unbelievable statement had some credibility.

I doubt I could lie my way out of this situation.

“I guess this is as far as this city goes…”
“Hmm…Do you plan to leave?”
“I have no other choice, do I?”

They were already looking at me with conviction. There were no unpleasant gazes, since it was about the Six Hero, but they still contained confusion, not sure how to interact with me.

Of course, even if I remained, I wouldn’t get persecuted or anything. But I couldn’t avoid the talk about this reaching Maria, Lyell, and Cortina’s ears.

When that happens, I would find it hard to return back to Lyell’s mansion.

Lyell and Maria were amiable people, but I doubt they would treat me the same after realizing I’d been lying to them.

“I’ll probably go on a journey… and never return.”

But me aside, what about Finia, or Michelle?

Cloud was from the orphanage and had already left it. It wouldn’t affect anything even if he followed me.

But Michelle had a place and family to return to. She couldn’t keep following me on an aimless journey.

Finia was the same. She had no place to return to, but her endurance was a problem if she were to follow me to the end.

She kept Adventuring these three years, but her endurance was a little less than a human as an elven characteristic.

That said, she was still better off than me, so perhaps she could handle it.

“Either way, remaining here would be awkward. I’ll return to the inn for now. If something happens, contact me there.”
“Alright then. But if you are going to leave, leave your contact information at least. I would like to avoid losing contact with you again.”
“Yeah, of course.”

In this life, I learned very well just how much sorrow my death has brought to my comrades.

So this time, I will not just leave my comrades behind.

That said, only leaving Michelle behind would be going against that resolution.

In the end, I had to let each of them decide what they wanted to do.

While I was pondering on that, I sensed someone running my way.

I felt no bloodlust, so I didn’t reach for my katana though I stayed vigilant.

After a while, the one that showed up was the Guild’s receptionist that always welcomed me.

“Miss Nicole, I finally found you!”
“Didn’t I say I was coming here?”
“Yes, but it’s hard to find you among so many people!”

She snapped back at me, which showed that she was in a hurry.

That meant the situation was just that serious.

“Why are you so flustered?”
“The pioneer village where Lord Lyell lives is in trouble. According to the information we just received, Devils appeared there as well…”
“Devils?!”

We just defeated the Twin-bladed Devils earlier. And yet, they appeared even in Lyell’s village?

“This timing… isn’t it weird?”
“Yes, but it is a fact that they attacked. Many of them too. Lord Lyell and Lady Maria alone would find it hard to fight them off.”
“Well yeah, even if they can rival an army on their own, they are still individuals. Maxwell aside, it’s hard to fight against numbers.”
“Yes, so I thought contacting their daughter now was a must.”
“Contact huh… I see, thank you.”

Hearing about the contact, I remembered the horseman that passed us when we were heading here.

That horseman was probably a messenger soldier. Though the Guild had a way of contacting people, it was still not flawless, as it proved during the Goblin raid.

When Devil attacks were concerned, that information had to reach the capital no matter what. Thus, they also sent the information using the traditional messenger aside from the Guild.

“Gotcha. I’ll… I will head for the pioneer village too. Gadius, will you come along?”
“W-Wait, if Lord Gadius goes with you, what about the defenses of this city—?!”
“Michelle and Cloud will return soon. If you have Cloud protect the gate while placing Michelle above the walls as a canon, you can fend off most enemies.”

Michelle hadn’t fought with that Devil yet, but her skills were already beyond first-class.

It was not for a show that she was called the Bow Saint and the new hero.

Cloud didn’t stand out but his defensive abilities were already approaching Gadius’.

With that combo here, even Twin-bladed Devils wouldn’t be able to easily break through.

And even the other Adventurers must have started to come up with countermeasures after overcoming that hard fight.

Even if Gadius and I left this place, they will definitely manage it. I trusted my comrades and the Adventurers here enough to claim that.

“Please wait. Me too… Take me along too!”
“Finia?”
“I don’t want to leave your side anymore. Please!”
“Even if you say that…”

I glanced at Gadius.

Finia’s magic was very versatile, so she would be useful here for defending this city.

But she would also be very useful in the pioneering village where we have to fight against several Devils.

“Why not. If it comes down to it, I will protect her.”
“Glad to hear that. Then, okay, you can come, Finia.”
“Thank you!”

I gave a small nod back at her and turned to the Guild staff.

“So there you have it… Me…. I mean, the three of us will head out as reinforcements. Leave the protection to Michelle and Cloud who will return soon.”
“A-Alright.”

After I confirmed her acceptance, I cast the Teleport spell.

And like that, the three of us headed to the pioneer village.

Nicole accidentally uses a male pronoun a few times in this chapter and then fixes it. She usually uses “watashi” when she’s Nicole, and “Ore” when Reid, but sometime slips up. English has no equivalents and I normally narrate around it, but since it’s more significant now it’s better to mention it.