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“The road is unusable? How could it be? The weather has been good recently, so I don’t think it’s due to weather conditions. If it was due to demon beasts, there should have been a notice to that effect as well.”

The clear, refined, calm yet refreshing, flawless soprano voice echoed through the ground floor window of the Adventurer’s Guild.

Though not particularly loud, it was likely she had received training in diaphragmatic breathing. Despite containing a hint of confusion, her voice was surprisingly clear, reaching the ears of the guild staff, adventurers, and all visitors present for various reasons. Moreover, her manner of speaking was unquestionably aristocratic—belonging not to the level of wealth or gentry but to a high-ranking status beyond that.

Intrigued, the priest Cestlavie glanced over to find a tall girl, seemingly around 15, standing with her shoulders slumped at one of the counters.

“—”
Somehow, the moment he laid eyes on that girl, his heart raced. Simultaneously, a sweet, nostalgic sensation bubbled up within him, tinged with a sense of longing. A noble…she must be an aristocrat’s daughter.

The fairness and freshness of her skin, the refined mannerisms indicating proper education, and her long hair cascading down to her waist… No doubt, she belonged to a lineage of pure blue-blooded nobles, far removed from a poor priest like himself—a member of the aristocracy.

Her features seemed to lie somewhere between beautiful and cute. She was currently dressed casually in a plain mini dress, knee-high boots, and a wide-brimmed hat adorned with a rose corsage, almost as if she were a living embodiment of a rose. But once adorned in a ball gown for a ballroom event, six out of ten would likely turn their heads at her transformed beauty.

―No.

Upon that thought, Cestlavie shook his head. This attire suited her better. Overdressing with embellishments would be unsophisticated for her.

“Well…your Ladyship, we would provide you with a proper explanation any other time, but…truth is, well, the situation is unclear even to us…”

Perceiving the girl as someone of importance, a middle-aged staff member approached from behind, lowering his slightly balding head, and offering an apology.

“? What do you mean the situation is unclear?”
“W-, well, the thing is… the caravans and travelers who are scheduled to have passed through the road in the last couple of weeks have gone missing, so, umm…”

She had a bewildered look as the middle-aged staff member, appearing genuinely sorry, explained the situation to her.

The staff members were being overly cautious since the other party was a noble, but from what the young priest saw from the sidelines, the young lady remained polite and natural, displaying ample courtesy. However, for those who saw her through glasses tinted in the color of “nobility” —which was almost everyone in the room— even her simple “why” question sounded like an unreasonable, unjustified anger towards the staff.

(Oh man—fine, I’ll do it.)

The divergence between the two parties was far surpassing pity and felt comical instead. Cestlavie wasn’t one to meddle in other people’s affairs, but he was probably the only one who could bridge the situation. Besides, if the road was indeed unusable, then he’d be in a huge problem as well. There was also another thing that he wanted to confirm directly with the young lady. With all those reasons, Cestlavie decided to take the matter into his own hands.

“—Excuse me, may I have a moment?” Fully aware that his approach made him look like a dubious character trying to solicit a helpless damsel into a weird religion, Cestlavie made sure that he had his usual absent-minded persona on.

As he was approaching the counter with a brief greeting, there was a collective puzzled look directed at him. However, the middle-aged clerk, upon seeing Cestlavie’s attire, seemed to recognize him as a clergy member, showing a hint of relief. On the other hand, the noble-looking girl—she appeared to be in her mid-teens from a distance, but her innocent features made her seem more like an early teenager—seemed unable to ascertain Cestlavie’s identity, tilting her head slightly in mild confusion.

While indeed his robes were tattered and of poor quality, no one in this country would fail to recognize the attire of a clergyman belonging to the Saintess’ Church. She could be a foreigner…with that in mind, Cestlavie broached the topic with expectation and anxiety in his heart.

“Excuse me, I overheard that the road ahead is closed. I was also planning to head to Silent through this road, so being halted here would pose quite a challenge. Not just for me, but for everyone else, including this young lady here. It might cause confusion if we’re all unaware of the situation. I understand it might be limited information, but could you please explain what’s happening?”

Looking into the eyes of the person he was speaking to, Cestlavie calmly urged. Finally, the middle-aged clerk, who seemed to have regained his composure, took a deep breath and nodded.

“…you’re…right. Let me explain based on the information we currently have.”

Appearing composed, he glanced at Cestlavie, the young girl, and the other curious onlookers before slightly adjusting his posture and beginning to speak.

“—the incident traces back to a week ago. A wagon belonging to a merchant from the neighboring village, which was supposed to arrive in this town within three days, went missing. Consequently, the recipient of the goods brought the investigation request to our guild.”

As he spoke with a serious expression, the cherry-blossom-colored-haired girl sitting across from him lightly nodded in Cestlavie’s direction. Encountering her excessively innocent and radiant smile, he momentarily hesitated in deciding on an appropriate response and settled for a vague nod.

♢♦♢♦♢

If I knew this would happen, I would have taken the normal land route to Cilento.

Walking alongside my familiar, Vier the Sirius, on the well-trodden road, I couldn’t help but regret my decision. Ahead of me was Cestlavie, a young priest—I heard he was the same age as me, which would make him an adult, and yet he looked underdeveloped overall. He was slender and had a generally stunted appearance.

His black, unkempt hair was trimmed carelessly. His face wasn’t half-bad on a second look, so perhaps his constant absent-minded expression hid its true values. He seemed to be pretty famous, as the moment he named himself, the people in the guild immediately recognized him as the ‘Child Prodigy.’

“…”
“…”

We’ve been walking together in silence for an hour, and this silence was starting to get to me. If it were Luke or Bruno, they would talk to me even if I kept quiet. But him…I don’t know if he was just taciturn or if he had other reasons, but he rarely ever opened his mouth since we left the guild. Even when I spoke up to him, he only responded minimally.

I’m pretty sure speaking is the lifeline of business for clergymen. Is he really okay not speaking at all? He’s so silent I’m getting worried.

(…Luke said he’s entering the country northbound on a magic sailboat, while Eren, Bruno, and the others should be heading towards Cilento through the road southwest, passing Aulantha Frontier County, meaning they must’ve passed the borders by now..)

The thoughts of my friends came up in my mind. I looked up at the blue sky through the trees along the road. We are heading for the same place, yet here we are, separate.

I didn’t want to go by the land route since passing through Aulanthia Frontier County sounded like getting myself into unnecessary trouble (after all, the people who wanted me dead were there), but I also didn’t want to take the sea route since I’d be trapped in a boat with various noble families with no place to escape. In the end, I decided to take the shortcut using the Shift Portal to a southern region, a place I registered during my journey with Regina, and continued with a Teleporter gate, and that wound up with me getting roadblocked together with Vier.

The reason behind the roadblock is unknown. All we have are reports of merchants and adventurers going missing.

Here I thought I was being smart and circumventing trouble, and yet I ended up jumping into the middle of it. I could always turn my back on the commotion and get on Vier’s back and fly away from here, but as a qualified adventurer now, and considering I have some degree of leeway, I know that leaving this incident behind me would give me sleepless nights. So, I decided to go to the Guild halfway through my journey and force myself into the investigation as per request.

I was treating this casually since I could always escape to the sky anytime… but it was beyond my calculations when Priest Cestlavie told me he’d accompany me because “I have urgent business through this road, and it’s within my capabilities as an adventurer.”