“Are you leaving already?”
“Yes.”
Hamel replied calmly to Antonio’s regretful voice.
Hamel didn’t want to go west—especially not with inconvenient companions. But there was no choice. To learn what was happening there and what the Inquisition was scheming, he had to go in person, just as they had done when they marched toward Haidern despite knowing it might be a trap.
“Please take good care of the domain.”
“There’s not much to do anymore.”
Haidern had moved beyond mere stability; it had advanced far more than before. The domain was livelier and richer in laughter than Hamel ever remembered.
Satisfied with Antonio’s answer, Hamel said, “That’s enough.” Then his gaze shifted to Den, who stood beside him.
“Den, are you truly without complaint?”
“No!”
Den—the captain of the guard who had overseen the domain’s security since the salt mine incident—had cleanly relinquished the post after sparring with the newly recruited knight, the portrait of Leopold von Tyrian III. From now on a new knight would take Haidern’s captaincy. The title would remain; Den would continue to protect the domain as an officer.
“Thank you.”
Hamel tapped Den gently on the shoulder. Den’s expression hardened as if he would fake his own death on command. Hamel thanked him and turned his gaze.
Apophis and the captain of the guard stood side by side, watching Hamel.
“While I’m away, please look after the domain’s security.”
“Is it all right to entrust that to us?” Apophis asked, perplexed. They were certainly the domain’s strongest, yet it was absurd: one a forgotten, ancient evil god; the other a super-class demon—both taking on guard duties in Cleric Hamel’s domain.
Hamel shrugged as though it were no big deal. “If I intended to doubt you, I wouldn’t have let you into the domain in the first place.”
“You… never mind. I feel like the fool here.”
Apophis wore a look of bewilderment. The captain showed the same moved expression Den had earlier. “Leave it to us. Aren’t we ‘friends’?”
“Yes. Please do.”
Hamel nodded lightly and turned away. It was time to leave.
“Then.”
Hamel headed for the main gate to bid farewell. There, his group—already prepared—and two special companions waited.
One of them was Azidahaka.
“Peep…”
Cradled in Ono’s arms, Azidahaka hung its ears listlessly. Apophis had truly reclaimed the title of immortality; he had made Azidahaka his apostle. When Daniel heard this, he had asked if Azidahaka, robbed of its name, was now just an ordinary rabbit.
Not at all.
Hamel regarded the drooping creature calmly. Azidahaka had become Apophis’s apostle, but the stature the name carried remained intact—perhaps even stronger than when it had been sealed, so long as Apophis permitted it. Hamel decided to take it along. Even without immortality, it would be useful in many ways.
The other companion was—
“Ah, have you come?”
Naturally, it was Leo Benedictus, head of the purification house.
“Yes.”
Hamel replied briefly and passed him. Still, Leo, somehow pleased, smiled broadly and fell into step.
The journey resumed: a somewhat unpleasant trek with unwanted companions.
“Why on earth did you bring this useless thing?”
Ono poked Azidahaka’s cheek as if he truly couldn’t understand.
“Peep!”
Azidahaka stamped its feet, clearly irritated. Ono still didn’t know the rabbit’s true identity.
“….”
Hamel thought it might be time to tell him. Over the course of their travels, Ono’s perception of demons had probably shifted a great deal. Meeting Apophis had made a big difference.
Just as Hamel finished the thought and was about to speak,
“Leave it as is.”
“…?”
Daniel murmured so only Hamel could hear. “If you tell him now, that brat Ono will give himself away.”
“Ah.”
Hamel followed Daniel’s gaze and nodded briefly. Leo Benedictus had stepped away from the campfire to gaze at the stars. Though he had smiled amiably through the journey, he now seemed utterly at ease, like someone out on a trip.
It’s better to hide it from him, Hamel thought. Leo was suspicious in many ways, and even if everything could be explained, he was an Inquisitor. It would be bad if Azidahaka’s identity were exposed.
“That aside, isn’t it just fun?”
“Huh?”
Hamel tilted his head at Daniel’s mutter. Ono suddenly clapped as if a realization had struck him.
“I get it now. It’s emergency rations.”
“Peep?!”
“Well, it has certainly plumped up a bit…”
Just as Ono smirked and teased Azidahaka,
─Pababababak
Azidahaka hurled dirt at Ono. Ono, suddenly covered in grime, ground his teeth.
“…Oh? So you’re asking to be killed right now?”
“Peep?”
Azidahaka hopped and hid behind Lena, wearing an expression of innocence.
Lena scolded him. “Stop it. Why do you keep tormenting someone who can’t even speak?”
“I tormented that thing? Don’t you see what it’s like, kid?”
“Do you think this one did it on purpose?”
“No, surely that thing did it on purpose…”
“More importantly, why do you keep talking to a rabbit?”
“….”
“Are you doing it because you have no friends?”
Ono fell silent at Lena’s pointed remark. Watching him flinch, Daniel snorted with laughter.
“….”
Perhaps the head of the purification house kept up the banter simply because he enjoyed seeing that expression. The thought flickered through Hamel’s mind.
─Weeeng
A fly the size of a palm hovered nearby. Annoyed, Daniel drew a dagger and threw it, impaling the insect perfectly against a tree.
“It seems we’ve entered the west.”
Moss-covered rocks and bridges sinking into quagmires. Thick trees and relentless swarms of insects—every part of the terrain spoke of hardship. They had finally reached the western region of Sicaris. Their destination was the Ashitaka family, guardians of Sicaris and one of the three great powers. If they kept going as they had, they would arrive.
“It’s dreadful. Truly dreadful.”
Ono muttered, bored. No wonder: the western roads were full of rocks and sticky mud. Movement was hard, especially on a night like this.
─Thud thud
Footsteps from afar broke Hamel’s reverie. When he signaled, the group reacted swiftly: they doused the campfire, drew their weapons, and held their breath.
After a moment, murmured voices drifted in.
“…If we go just a bit further.”
“…Let’s hold on.”
They were not alone. A fairly large number of people. Why travel at such a dangerous hour?
Soon Hamel made them out.
“…!”
They were laden with belongings: a wife with a child on her back, a husband clutching her hand. Unarmed, their faces looked familiar.
Refugees.
Why were they fleeing? After watching carefully, Hamel decided to ask.
“Excuse me.”
“…Wh-who are you!”
Startled and terrified, the people reacted. Hamel kept his distance to avoid alarming them and answered, “A traveler.” They repeated his words in doubt.
“I’ll ask just one thing.”
Hamel rolled a leather pouch toward them. To the wary hands that opened it, he revealed well-dried jerky.
“Ask whatever you like.”
Realizing Hamel meant no harm, the people answered politely. Hamel chose his question carefully.
“What are you fleeing from?”
Fear washed over their faces. One of them trembled and spoke.
“A monster appeared in the village.”
“A monster?”
At Hamel’s repetition, they nodded.
“Yes. A gigantic monster—Azidahaka.”
“…!”
Hamel and his companions, who had been listening in hiding, shared the same thought. Their destination had shifted, after all.
“I wonder how far Hamel has gone by now?”
Antonio opened the window and reached out. A slightly chilly breeze brushed his fingertips. This summer had felt unusually short.
“Is it already autumn?”
Now that he thought about it, it was about this time—the time he met Hamel and took the cleric exam. It felt both like a long time ago and like yesterday; the memory was vivid, within reach.
“Heh heh.”
A small, pointless laugh escaped. They had suffered much, but those days were now memories, which made him feel lonelier.
Back then, Ono and Sir Daniel—who had been at the mansion with them—should be journeying with Hamel, he thought, feeling both envious and worried. Keeping the domain was important, but he couldn’t help feeling slighted. Would he ever get used to it?
He was musing when a subtle déjà vu brushed his mind. He had felt something similar before: he had fretted over Hamel and Sir Daniel’s departure, and someone had come into the room…
“Ah!”
Antonio sprang from his chair. He remembered: the Inquisitor-General who had visited the domain this time—Leo Benedictus. He’d heard that voice somewhere before; it was the man who had come looking for him when Hamel and the others went to the salt mine, the voice that had asked about Daniel and Hamel. But why had he pretended not to know him this time? Antonio, being blind, might not have recognized him, but the man should have. He had recognized him even the first time they met.
Now that he thought about it, even then…
No one knew about his visit. Not even Bishop Arcen. That meant Leo must have hidden his identity.
Antonio sprang to his feet. He had to tell Hamel immediately.
“I must hurry.”
He packed quickly and set out—toward Hamel, who was heading west.
