The Unit to Destroy the Underworld Gate - 2The beast pierced by the spear sunk into the ground, accepting death as defeat. Along with the agonizing cries, its body disappeared like mist, and the gate closed with a heavy, scraping sound.

    The folded limbs forming the door wriggled and intertwined, sealing the entrance. Alongside the sobbing voices of several humans, the gateway to the underworld faded away into the clear blue sky.

    The remains, including flesh and bodily fluids, vanished, leaving only a black hole-like mark in the snowy field.

    Helios gently descended onto the snowfield. He bent his body to make it easier for me to climb down. I slid down his rigid and smooth scales, landing on the ground.

    My boots crunched on the snow as I ran, almost slipping on the unfamiliar snowy surface. I approached Julius, who stood in the center of the massive imprint left by the otherworldly creature, a spear thrust into the ground, exposing the dark soil.

    “Julius-san! Julius-san, are you okay?”

    Julius lifted his face at the sound of my voice, and he supported me with one hand as I seemed to almost slip on the muddy ground.

    “...Your voice is too loud.”

    I looked up at Julius while grabbing onto his arm.

    Although his clothes were torn in places and blood was seeping through, there didn’t seem to be any life-threatening injuries.

    So I breathed a sigh of relief.

    “I’m glad you’re safe... I know Julius-san is strong, but I’ve never seen or fought against a gatekeeper of the underworld before, so I was worried.”

    “It was nothing… is what I’d like to say, but without your alchemy and magic, it would have been tough. I can’t win against poison either. And, what the hell was that magic? You...”

    Since I couldn’t cling to Julius’s arm forever, I lifted myself up. Julius pulled the spear out of the ground.

    In the distance, Helios was playfully digging through the snow with his nose and tossing it onto his own body. He seemed to be having a great time and looked adorable.

    “Chloe-chan!”

    I had intended to talk to Julius about the dispelling magic I had used, but before I could do that, a deep voice calling my name caught my attention, and I turned around.

    Running towards me was a familiar face, a man I recognized.

    “Roge-san!”

    Roge Gregorio, the current leader of the mercenary group in the capital city, was a man with a wild appearance characterized by tan skin, silver spiked short hair, and golden eyes with a scar at the corner of his right eye. He possessed a muscular and imposing physique, dressed in the military uniform adorned with the mercenary group’s emblem—a hawk. Strapped to his back was a colossal sword that is about the height of his own stature.

    He took over as the leader from the previous one, if I recall correctly, about three years ago. Despite holding the title of leader, he still appeared quite young, perhaps even younger than Julius.

    I believe he mentioned being only twenty-two years old.

    Although Roge is currently a mercenary, it seems that he used to be a member of the Kingdom’s Knight Order. For some reason, he left the knight order and joined the mercenary group. This information I got was from Roxy at the cafeteria, as I haven’t personally asked him.

    And while we weren’t very close, Roge still called me ‘Chloe-chan,’ probably because I’ve performed several additional enchantments on his equipment.

    Roge seems to struggle with magic, so he asked me to add the True Anagram effect that I previously put on Julius’s prosthetic eye to his weapon, a massive sword-like lump of iron that was on his back.

    Of course, it wasn’t for free, but he was a good customer, even though not a regular.

    Behind Roge, I could see two men who were lying in a pool of blood getting up. It seems like they were unharmed.

    That’s a relief.

    “Chloe-chan, thank you for coming to help!”

    Roge, with a beaming smile all over his face and perhaps teary-eyed, embraced me. Being hugged by Roge, who was considerably larger than me, left me feeling a bit overwhelmed.

    It was like the impact of being charged by a rampaging bull—my body creaked under the muscular armor.

    “I thought I was done for! I came here to close the gate to the underworld, but it looked like I was about to die and end up in the underworld for good!”

    “R-Roge-san, please calm down, it’s alright... I’m just glad you’re safe now.”

    In a voice that seemed on the verge of tears, I patted Roge’s body gently, as if he might lift me up any moment.

    If something like that happened, I could already imagine Julius making fun of me. Even now, it felt like there was a piercing gaze stabbing my back.

    “Besides, Julius-san was the one who defeated the gatekeeper, not me...”

    “Oh, right! Julius Craft! He was terrifying on the battlefield, but there’s no one more reliable than him when he’s on your side!”

    Roge started to rub his face against mine while I was still patting him. It hurt. He was like a giant animal, intimidating.

    His voice echoing in my ears was loud and noisy.

    Julius often scolds me for being noisy, but maybe this is how it feels.

    “Ouch... Roge-san, do you know Julius-san?”

    “Yeah, I was from the Knight Order, you know! So of course, I know him. We’ve crossed paths on the battlefield before. But I didn’t want to die, so I ran away at that time!”

    As Roge confidently admits to running away, the two men, presumably from the same mercenary group, standing behind him, frowned as if their heads were hurting. They shrugged and let out a sigh.

    “Every time the Black Prince came flying in with that dragon, heads of soldiers would roll. It was terrifying. I thought there was no way we could win, so I ran and hid. Good times.”

    While still holding me in his arms, Roge nods in agreement.

    I wonder if he’ll let go soon; it’s starting to feel uncomfortable.

    “Hm? By the way, why is Chloe-chan with Julius?”

    “Roge-san, it’s difficult to talk like this, so please let me go.”

    “I was on the brink of death in the snowy mountains, and an angel appeared before me! I couldn’t help but want to embrace her! I realized that I could die at any moment and wanted to live without regrets. So I just want to embrace the beautiful woman in front of me! Is that okay, Chloe-chan?”

    Roge boldly voiced his desires.

    While being called beautiful is not unpleasant, I still want him to let go soon. We’re not that close, and being embraced by him wasn’t particularly exciting. My impression is mostly that he’s muscular. S?a??h th? N0v?lFire(.)n?t website on G??gl? to access chapters of n?vels early and in the highest quality.

    “...Shut up. Let go... Chloe, let’s go home.”

    Julius spoke in a lower tone than usual.

    He seemed quite irritated. Julius has a short temper, so I needed to wrap up the conversation and leave before he got seriously upset. We just made up, so I didn’t want to start another fight again.

    “No need to be so angry. This is just a grateful hug for surviving, there’s not a hint of impure intentions. Looks like Chloe-chan’s guardian knight is quite quick-tempered, huh?”

    Reprimanded by Julius, Roge finally released his hold on me.

    Due to the tight embrace, my apron dress had become disheveled, so I lightly brushed it off with my hands.

    Then, to create some distance from Roge, I took a step back.

    I ended up right next to Julius. When I looked up at him, he had a clearly displeased expression, furrowing his brow as he glared at Roge.

    I think it’s not good to glare so intensely at someone you’ve just met.

    “He’s not my guardian knight. Julius-san is my, well...”

    “Slave.”

    Julius bluntly completed my sentence.

    “Well, something like that.”

    That’s true, but when stated so clearly, it felt a bit unsettling.

    Although being partners seemed to be out of the question, it wasn’t like he was my guardian knight. Julius himself said that he was fine with the term ‘slave.’ Maybe he wanted to maintain the relationship built on the purchase with money and didn’t want it to be disrupted.

    Thinking about it—I couldn’t help but feel a bit distant.

    “Chloe-chan, what’s that? Sounds suspicious,” Roge said while covering his mouth with his hand and blushing.

    “I-It’s not like that…! Anyway, Roge-san, why were you in a place like this?”

    I decided to change the subject, as I didn’t want to be asked further questions about my relationship with Julius.

    “Why? Because I’m a mercenary. Lately, it seems like underworldly gates have been appearing all over the Astoria Kingdom, and extermination squads are being dispatched to various regions. So, considering the danger in the northern demon mountains, I, as the captain, personally went there. But my subordinates were dropping like flies, and I couldn’t see myself winning alone. Just when I thought I might die, that’s when Chloe-chan and Julius came to my rescue.”

    “I see. Despite your reputation for being very strong, Roge-san...”

    “Yeah. I’m indeed quite strong, but it was my first time encountering a three-headed demon like the Cerberus of the Underworld, and I wasn’t prepared for it. As I was about to get close, the ground rotted beneath me, and I couldn’t move after inhaling its poison—it seemed impossible to get close.”

    Roge said with a cheerful laugh.

    The two men referred to as subordinates had expressions of irritation. Since Roge chose them, they must be quite strong themselves. In the first place, to reach the summit of the northern magic mountains, they would have to confront the monsters inside the caves too.

    Just reaching the summit needed a considerable amount of strength.

    However, the Cerberus of the Underworld seemed to be even stronger. It was impressive that Julius managed to defeat it. I should treat them to something delicious today as a token of appreciation.

    “How long are you going to keep talking? Our business is done here, right?”

    Julius, visibly annoyed, handed me the materials dropped by the Cerberus, which he seemed to have picked up without me noticing.

    “Look, Julius-san, these are the Three-in-One Hearts, Underworldly Fingers, Nine Lives Poison, and the Abyssal Chains! We did it! These are all top-grade items!”

    “That’s good to hear. Come, Helios.”

    Julius called out to Helios, who was playing in the snow.

    Then, he lifted me up, effortlessly hopped onto Helios’s back, and took off into the sky.