"...Huh?"

The girl's eyes, looking at me, trembled violently.

"Huh? Uh, uh? No, that can't be?"

Mary took a couple of steps back, muttering.

"B-but the people from the Sherwood Mercenary Corps said..."

The girl's wide-open eyes were filled with confusion. Her voice also trembled like a goat's.

"...."

I stared at the confused girl without saying anything.

Mary, who had been rolling her eyes and examining my face as if tracing it for a while, asked in a trembling voice.

"Are you... Sir Ashuban?"

I smiled faintly.

"That's right."

The girl's eyes widened considerably.

"B-but how...? The Sherwood people definitely said you fell from the Mist Cliff...?"

I smiled and asked.

"Did you say your name was Mary?"

"Yes, yes. That's right, Mary."

"Mary. Do you believe in miracles?"

"...Miracles?"

I explained to the girl, who had eyes like a rabbit.

"What you heard is right. I fell from the Mist Cliff with the magical beast."

"Really?"

"Of course."

"Then how... are you alive?"

"Not at all. I died once."

I crossed my arms and continued.

"Who can survive after falling from the Mist Cliff?"

"Ah?"

Mary's expression was chaos itself.

"The pathetic man who couldn't even feel mana, let alone aura, died that day. And, I was reborn with the Heavenly Demon."

"...."

"Do you understand what I'm saying?"

The girl, who had been staring at me blankly for a moment, stuttered.

"So... you didn't survive after falling from the cliff, but you died while falling and then were resurrected?"

"Exactly."

"...That's even harder to believe."

I spread my arms and looked up at the sky.

"Believe it or not. This is the miracle of the blind saint."

"...."

Mary said cautiously.

"Did you perhaps fall on your head?"

"Do I look like it?"

"A little."

"It was the same before I fell, so you don't need to worry about it."

"Ah, yes."

Was it because I made a joke that her surprised heart had calmed down a little?

Mary looked me up and down with a much calmer gaze and asked.

"Your atmosphere has changed a lot from what I remember. Your eyes are red too. Were they originally red?"

"No. They were originally charming black eyes. These red eyes are a sign of resurrection."

"Ah, yes."

"The atmosphere must have changed quite a bit too. I've been through a lot."

"A lot?"

"I went on an unexpected adventure in the world below the cliff. It was an exciting, chaotic, and tumultuous journey."

"...."

Mary stood on her tiptoes and looked closely into my eyes with her round eyes and asked.

"You really didn't fall on your head?"

"I said no."

"Yes."

"Ah, come to think of it. I take back what I said earlier."

"What did you say?"

"That it's not your fault."

Mary tilted her head for a moment, then immediately looked sullen.

"So... you were chased by the monster and fell off the cliff because of me, right?"

"That's right."

"Huuung..."

Mary made a strange crying sound.

"But you're wrong."

"...?"

"It's not your fault, it's thanks to you."

"...What?"

Mary blinked with a bewildered face.

In fact, if it weren't for this girl, I wouldn't have been seriously injured in the first place. Because the magical beast had only aimed for this girl, as if it had fallen in love.

I had tried to attack recklessly to draw its attention, and my arm had been broken from the start. If not for that, I would have lured the guy into the forest smoothly and then somehow shaken it off and waited for support.

So, if it weren't for this girl, I wouldn't have fallen from the cliff. Then I wouldn't have died once, and the Heavenly Demon wouldn't have fallen into my head and been stuffed there.

I wouldn't have learned martial arts from the Heavenly Demon, I wouldn't have gone on an exciting and unexpected journey to the Blake Kingdom, I wouldn't have met Shushruta, and I wouldn't have crossed swords with Frost.

It means that everything I experienced would not have happened.

Hans's family would have been caught while running away and the dagger would have been taken, Shushruta would have been stabbed in the back by her senior brother someday and died, Fluffy would have wandered his whole life and died on the road, the flute-playing magician would have continued to kidnap kids, Linda would have continued to poison people in search of a friend, Curtis would have become Linda's slave and followed her around, Frost would still be perfect and bored, tending to his garden, the Black Prince would not have sat on the throne, the Count of Stavanger would have failed his gamble, and Rutie would never have reconciled with Ashley.

And, the pathetic man would have returned to his lodgings in rags, just like any other day. It's an unbearably empty thing.

So... how can I blame this?

"Thank you, kid."

I looked at the kid I had saved that day and said sincerely.

"It's all thanks to you."

At that, Mary made a strange expression, as if she were laughing and crying, and then she sat down and burst into tears. It was as if she were pouring out all the sorrow that had been building up in her tears.

I stood by her side with a smile. A gentle wind brushed my hair. It was a rewarding thing.

***

When I appeared with the swollen-eyed Mary, Shushruta immediately scolded me.

"You, what have you done now?"

"What did I do?"

"Did you make a child cry this time?"

While I was being scolded by Shushruta, Linda quietly approached and sniffed me. ...She's not a dog.

The frightened Mary hid behind me.

I grabbed Linda's head with one hand to keep her from getting any closer, and then looked at Shushruta. And I humbly admitted it.

"Yes, that's right. I made this girl cry."

Shushruta's eyebrow shot up.

"What?"

"The sinful man who constantly makes girls cry and finally made this one cry, that's me."

Shushruta glared at me.

"That's something to be proud of."

I nodded.

"It is. Because she didn't cry out of sadness."

"What kind of nonsense is that?"

"Let's talk on the way. We have a long way to go."

As I said that, getting on the carriage, Shushruta looked at Mary.

"Is this girl coming with us too?"

"Yes."

I grabbed Mary's hand and pulled her up onto the carriage, then answered.

"She's a new companion."

Since Shushruta was just staring blankly without getting on the carriage, I nagged her.

"What are you doing? Get on."

Shushruta glared at me like a child.

"...Why don't you hold my hand?"

"Are you a kid? A guy who runs on trees like a squirrel."

"Hold my hand too!"

"Be quiet. Just get on."

"I said hold my hand!"

"Hmph."

"...."

When I made a sound with my mouth, Shushruta finally grumbled and jumped onto the carriage.

She was always strange, but she's getting stranger and stranger. How can there not be a single normal person? There's a saying that if three people go, one of them is bound to be strange, but here, all three are strange.

A sigh escaped me at the unfortunate reality.

I took the fat bag that Linda was hugging with both hands and loaded it onto the carriage, then asked.

"Linda. Did you buy it well?"

Linda nodded her head vigorously.

"Yeah! I bought a lot of other things besides beef jerky."

"Good. Let's leave quickly."

Even after loading the bag onto the carriage, this crazy girl was just staring at me without leaving, so I said.

"What are you doing? I said we have a long way to go."

"Devil, slap me on the cheek just once."

"...What?"

Why is this girl being like this again?

Linda stuck out her face and urged me to slap her.

"Just one slap. Quickly."

"Good grief."

It seemed faster to just go along with her request than to say anything, so I slapped her lightly.

Slap.

"Is that enough?"

Linda shook her head vigorously.

"No. Harder!"

"...Harder?"

Slap!

"That's not it! Harder! Really hard!"

"Oh, for crying out loud."

SLAP!

Linda's face whipped to the side.

After a moment of silence, a low laugh was heard.

"...Heehee."

Linda touched her bright red, swollen cheek and muttered.

"It's warm."

I clicked my tongue and said.

"You crazy fool. Go and start the carriage quickly."

"Okay!"

Linda trotted back to the front of the carriage.

I reassured the surprised Mary.

"She's eaten a lot of poison, so her mind is a little strange. Don't eat anything she offers you carelessly."

"Ah, yes."

Linda, who had finished preparing for departure, got into the driver's seat and asked.

"Devil, where are we going?"

At Linda's question, I looked at Mary. Because the guide to our destination is Mary.

"Ah, yes. Go out the east gate and then just follow the road. I'll tell you every time we come to a fork in the road."

"Okay! Giddy-up!"

Hee-hee-hing!

With the cheerful sound of horse's hooves, the carriage began to roll.

For some reason, Shushruta was staring at me with a rather displeased face, so I kindly answered.

"Hey, thieving cat. What are you looking at?"

"Where are we going now?"

"First, a report. Did you find out the whereabouts of the Sherwood guys?"

Shushruta shook her head.

"It's one of two things. Either they're hiding and moving secretly, or the Thieves' Guild here is incompetent. I think it's the latter."

"Hmm."

It was a convincing answer. I was so surprised to see the thorough, systematic, and secretive Thieves' Guild of Blake. On the contrary, Shushruta seemed to be surprised to see the state of the Thieves' Guild here.

"I can somehow understand the shabby, sloppy, and not-so-secret appearance. But how can the Thieves' Guild not be united? It seems there's a separate base in each city. And they don't even share information with each other. What on earth are they doing? Why did each branch declare independence? This way, they can't assert the advantage of information superiority. What a bunch of fools."

Shushruta was so surprised that she was angry at me.

"Why are you telling me?"

"I couldn't stand the sight of them acting all high and mighty with such insignificant information, so I gave them a good punch to the jaw. There's no valid information."

I nodded.

"Good work. As long as it was refreshing."

Mary asked me.

"Is it okay as long as it's refreshing?"

"That's right."

"Why?"

"Because it's refreshing."

"Aha."

After convincing the innocent country girl, I belatedly realized that we hadn't introduced ourselves to each other yet.

Just then, Shushruta pointed at Mary and asked a question.

"Now, can you explain? Who is that girl, and where are we going?"

Nice timing.

I pointed at Mary and introduced her naturally.

"This is Mary. A pure country girl I saved from a terrible magical beast before I fell from the Mist Cliff like rain. I am this girl's savior, is what I'm saying."

Mary awkwardly raised her hand.

"I-I'm Mary."

"...I'm Shushruta."

As if she had heard the self-introduction, Linda shouted from the front.

"I'm Linda!"

Mary also answered in a loud voice.

"Yes! Nice to meet you!"

I advised.

"Try not to get too close to that one. You saw she's not in her right mind, right?"

"Yes."

"I can't control her sometimes either, so be careful."

Shushruta snorted and muttered.

"Who's telling who to be careful?"

"What did you say?"

I had a staring contest with Shushruta for a moment.

Mary, thinking we were really fighting, stepped in between and stopped us.

"Don't fight."

I glared at Shushruta and said.

"Thieving cat, you were lucky."

"Who's talking?"

I pointed at Mary and explained.

"The place we're going to is Salos Village. A backwater village located in the far east of the Maia Kingdom."

"I-I said it's not a backwater village!"

"I take it back. It's not a backwater village, but a rural village located in an overwhelmingly remote place in a corner of the eastern end of the Maia Kingdom. It's the hometown of this beautiful country girl."

At my words, Mary's face turned red.

Shushruta, who was looking at her with a rather displeased expression, said.

"Weren't we going to find your mercenary corps members? Why there?"

"Why?"

I grinned and answered.

"Because there's a magical beast in human skin there."

"...A magical beast?"

"A magical beast whose hobby is cooking."

"...?"

Leader.

I'm coming to see you now.

(End of Chapter)