“Oh, Sir Ziel.”

“No need for the ‘Sir’...”

Next—or perhaps as the last stop before heading to the coachman's place—Ziel visited a temporary worksite near “Abbyss.”

He had guessed that the person he sought would likely be around here, but the makeshift buildings were overwhelmingly vast. With knights and adventurers constantly coming and going, it was impossible to locate anyone. As Ziel stood there at a loss, Arinate, who appeared to be in the middle of work, noticed him and called out.

“What brings you here? I heard from Lady Lililia that you're leaving today...”

“Yes, that’s right. Do you know where Klaha is right now?”

In response to the recent situation, personnel from the Central Church had been dispatched one after another. Among them was the Archbishop himself, and unlike Saint Lililia, he was highly skilled in administrative tasks. Consequently, overall command had already been transferred from Arinate to him.

However, Arinate remained in charge of directing the fieldwork, as always. Ziel figured it wouldn't hurt to ask her.

He shouldn’t have asked.

“Does anyone here know where Klaha is!?”

Her voice boomed.

It echoed across the vast workspace instantly.

And, naturally, attention was drawn to her.

It felt incredibly embarrassing.

A girl nearby, who seemed to be an adventurer, responded.

“If you're looking for Klaha, she’s probably underground right now. She should be back soon, though...”

“I see, thank you. ...There you have it, Ziel. Will you wait here? I can at least offer you some tea.”

Arinate smiled brightly. She probably didn’t mean any harm, Ziel thought. In fact, she seemed to like him, which Ziel was aware of.

After the chaos subsided, Arinate came to thank Ziel profusely.

“Thank you for taking care of our saint. I thought with her strength, she wouldn't die, but I didn’t expect her to come back saying ‘It was so much fun.’ Thank you, thank you so much. I heard from the Arcmage of the Stars that you were a splendid leader for the group. Please continue looking after her in the future. I’m counting on you. Seriously, please. Whatever happens, come to the Church anytime—”

Incidentally, regarding Lililia’s disappearance during the labyrinth exploration, it seemed that the teleportation magic circle had indeed been a hidden passage left behind by Rustie , and no blame was assigned for it.

Thus, it seemed to be 100% goodwill.

“In that case...”

“—Great Hero.”

A familiar voice called out to him.

Turning to look, Ziel saw a man with long hair tied back, a bowman—Holland, a member of “The Next Apex.”

As soon as Holland saw Ziel, he bowed his head.

“I’m sorry. I was planning to visit Godach’s hospital room too, but the knights insisted I guide them into the labyrinth...”

“Ah, no, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

Ziel told Holland it was okay and asked him to raise his head. Sensing his business was done, Arinate left the area.

“Is the exploration going smoothly?”

“Yes. It seems the labyrinth was formed from the leaking magic power of the Demon King. But thanks to you all—”

“Just speak normally.”

“...I can’t do that. Thanks to the three of you re-sealing the deepest area, it’s much weaker now. From here on, it’s just like any regular cleared labyrinth—carefully scouting its internal structure while hunting lingering small fry.”

“I heard the floor masters were all eliminated, but is it really safe?”

“Yes. The terrain isn’t particularly challenging either, so progress has been fairly easy. However, the interior is deep. Mapping it all at once is difficult, so we’re setting up base camps along the way to pave the route for exploration.”

“As I mentioned in my report, you should be careful when crossing that door. While it’s likely the remaining threats have dissipated, even a single leftover could cause trouble.”

“Understood. I’ll probably join the initial investigations, so I’ll stay vigilant. As long as I have a purpose, I plan to continue as an adventurer, no matter how disgraceful it gets.”

“Do that. In case of an emergency, having more people who can defeat Apocryphal beasts is reassuring.”

Holland nodded with a complex expression before saying, “By the way...”

“Did you come here for...?”

“...Yeah, that’s the plan.”

“I see. She was guiding with me earlier, so she should be back after finishing up. Sorry I couldn’t be more thoughtful. Since early morning, it was just me and her here.”

“No, it’s fine. It was a sudden job, right? I should have said something earlier too. I delayed it while recovering, so it’s last minute—”

While they were talking, Klaha finally appeared.

“Ah...!”

Ziel raised a hand in greeting, and Klaha rushed over in a hurry.

“I-I’m sorry! I was supposed to visit Mr. Godach’s hospital room, but...”

She bowed deeply, echoing the words Ziel had just heard earlier.

“...Am I going to be apologized to every time I meet a party member from now on?”

“I-I’m so sorry! It must be annoying...!”

“No, it’s not that bad, but...”

Ziel glanced at Holland, who seemed to realize how tiresome it must have been for Ziel to be repeatedly apologized to by every member he met. Holland made a slightly awkward face.

"No, Well... Sorry"

"I told you, you don’t need to worry about it... Just, at least, for the two of you here, stop feeling guilty already. It’s kind of lonely when all the acquaintances I’ve made here turn into 'people who apologize every time we meet.'"

"S-sorry!"

"......"

As Ziel groaned softly, Holland let out a small laugh. "That's good enough," Ziel said to him, and Holland replied with a determined "I’ll try."

"So, by the way," Klaha finally lifted her face. "Why are you here? Do you have some business in the labyrinth?"

"Ah, well..."

It took a bit of courage to put it into words. It was something from half a year ago, just an idle exchange of words... something insignificant, easily forgotten.

"We made a promise, didn’t we?"

"Huh...?"

Klaha’s eyes went wide with surprise.

Ah, as I thought, Ziel regretted a little while looking at her. "You don’t remember, do you? Well, it was just a short conversation—"

"—You remembered..."

Tears rolled down from her wide, round eyes.

"W-wait. Wait, wait, wait. Don’t cry." Ziel hastily pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and tried to hand it to her. But she wouldn’t take it. Her tear-filled eyes looked straight at Ziel.

"You remembered..."

"Of course I did. Even while diving into the labyrinth, I kept putting it off..." Ziel reached out and gently wiped her tears. "I’ve been thinking about it. So, before leaving this town—"

"...I’m sorry." Klaha lowered her head again.

Her tears dripped onto the floor in steady drops.

"I don’t deserve—"

"You were worried about me, weren’t you?" Ziel cut her off gently, as if he already knew what she was about to say. "I heard. You provided information to the Holy Knights while the Next Apex was immobilized. And after I fell to the middle layer, you protested to Godach."

"But I didn’t do anything—"

"You did. You did everything you could. That’s enough. That’s all anyone could ask for." Ziel smiled as he said it, reassuring her that she hadn’t done anything to be ashamed of.

"So, think about it with a clear conscience. Will you join me on my journey? If the promise we made back then still stands."

He was offering to teach her swordsmanship, as he had promised on that day. If she still felt the same way—if she hadn’t changed her mind.

"Don’t worry about us," Holland chimed in. Ziel had already spoken with Holland and the members of the Next Apex in advance, asking if it would be alright to ask Klaha to join him on his journey.

No one had objected. Instead, many of them bowed their heads.

Even Holland.

—I know we’re in no position to ask this, but...

—Take her with you. Let her go...

"We’ll manage somehow. So go where you want to go. Become what you want to be."

Klaha broke down into uncontrollable sobs. Ziel spoke to her as she cried.

"Well, I may sound high and mighty, but I’ve got my reasons too." His voice carried a hint of self-deprecation. "As I’ve said before... I’m hopelessly bad with directions. With or without glasses, it’s the same. Even getting here, I had to ask three people for directions and ended up being escorted directly. There are far more things I can’t do than things I can."

Even so, he said with a wry smile, "I’ve found something I need to do. Investigate if there are any more escaped Apocryphal Armaments or Apocryphal Beasts, and recruit warriors to stand beside me in battle if the seals begin to weaken again. It’s all part of my training, but... somehow, I just feel like this journey won’t go well if I go alone."

And so, he made his request. "All I can do is wield a sword. Klaha, in exchange for teaching you swordsmanship, will you help me on this journey?"

She cried and cried, struggling to form words, but Ziel waited patiently. Finally, Klaha lifted her tear-streaked face and spoke.

"I’ve always admired... adventurers. Ever since I was a child, I dreamed of traveling far away..." She wiped her tears with her sleeve. "I don’t think I deserve it, but even so... if you’ll have me—!"

"Of course," Ziel nodded. "I’m counting on you," he said with a bow.

When she rushed out to prepare, Ziel stopped her, saying he’d get lost if she went ahead. She apologized, and he replied, "I’ll probably cause you a lot of trouble too."

After bidding farewell to the people of the town with a few parting words and making vague promises to meet again someday, the two set out on their journey together.

The sky was blue above them, and the air was fragrant with the scent of flowers carried on the wind.

Before they realized it, spring had arrived.

(End of Volume One)