“Are you really going to meet Erginus!?”
Before I could finish my sentence, Joey, who had been sitting next to me, let out a scream-like voice.
I felt a bit confused seeing her like this, as if she had abandoned her noblewoman persona and turned into a high school girl obsessed with idols.
From what my grandfather had told me, Erginus, this wizard, wasn’t exactly someone you'd consider likable, was he?
Regardless of his skills as a magician, he was a mentally disturbed psychopath as a person.
Given Joey's personality, I didn’t think she would admire someone who was good at magic but had so many issues in other areas.
“You like him that much, huh, you fool?”
“Of course! Erginus is a legendary great mage and is even called a model for many nobles!”
...Huh? What does that mean, Joey?
That sounds very different from what I heard from my grandfather.
As I blinked in confusion, Arthur, who had been sitting next to me, spoke up.
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“I too am looking forward to meeting him. He's famous for his refinement, so we can expect some valuable insight from him.”
“I’ve also heard that he had a great influence on the Church's holy magic. There are things I've always wondered about that I’d like to ask him.”
Even Feivy was chiming in with praise for Erginus. I blinked a few times, then turned to my grandfather and asked him.
‘...This sounds completely different from what I heard?’
<...Don't ask me. I'm just as confused. How could the evaluation of that insane guy be so positive? This doesn’t make sense.>
Hearing my grandfather muttering in confusion like past scholars who heard the world was round, I realized that it would be hard to get a proper explanation from him.
So, instead of asking him, I turned to my friends and asked them.
“What kind of person is Erginus, the human, that you all know?”
“After the war between the Evil Gods and the Good Gods, which ended with the victory of the Good Gods, the heroes who held the front lines disappeared shortly after the era of reconstruction began.”
The noble white knight, Garad, hid himself in seclusion, claiming his existence would cause chaos for the kingdom.
The devout, mythical holy knight, Luel, disappeared suddenly after the church restored order.
The hero, Zulan, who had always taken the lead against the Evil Gods, left a letter saying he had finished his work and left for somewhere.
After all the comrades were gone, the only one left in the kingdom was the great mage, Erginus.
Even after all the heroes disappeared, he remained in the kingdom, organizing the modern system of magic, while also offering advice to several nations. He played a pivotal role in restoring the chaotic continent to order.
His contributions were so significant that the beginning of the history book of a certain kingdom was almost entirely filled with the name Erginus.
“Erginus’s influence during the era of reconstruction can truly be said to have extended everywhere. Magic, administration, academics, history—people said that if it weren’t for him, the reconstruction period might never have ended.”
Given these circumstances, it was no surprise that Erginus’s name became synonymous with fame.
With all the other heroes gone, it was solely the name Erginus that kept the vacuum from being filled.
“How could anyone not be excited to meet such a noble figure? This is only natural!”
When Joey’s enthusiastic explanation finished, my grandfather, who had heard it all, gritted his teeth.
<That bastard. Did he start twisting the story after being left alone? Why is he distorting things like this? This can’t be right!>
While my grandfather ground his teeth, I, remembering the stories of the heroes, thought that Erginus hadn’t acted entirely recklessly.
If Erginus really had rewritten history to suit his whims, then there wouldn’t only be praise for him in the stories of my grandfather and his comrades, who had deep grudges against him.
“Lady Allen! May I have a word with you outside!?”
After hearing so much praise for Erginus, I was getting tired of it and the mercenary captain called me from outside the carriage.
When I stepped outside, I was greeted by the scenery of the world turning a reddish hue. We must have spent quite a while inside the carriage since we had left in the morning.
Thinking about walking this distance on foot without the mercenaries makes me shudder. I could’ve done it, but the irritation would’ve built up the longer it took.
“We’ve arrived at the location you indicated on the map, Lady. What should we do now?”
“Wait a moment. Wait here, you lackey captain.”
I stretched my stiff body and surveyed the surroundings.
The sun was over there, and a huge rock that could serve as a landmark was over there. Hmm.
“Seems like we weren’t just wasting time here? Do you have any talents after all, lackey?”
The mercenary captain’s skills were quite impressive. They’d guided us here with just a few words across the distance.
Thanks to that, we could travel more comfortably.
“Wait here. You weaklings wouldn’t help at all. Just get out of the way.”
“Understood, Lady. We’ll set up camp here.”
While the mercenaries were busy unpacking and setting up for the night, I led my friends into the desert night.
The captain had asked if we wanted a guard assigned, but I turned him down. Trying to convince strangers to back my current expedition would be a hassle.
Besides, those mercenaries didn’t look strong enough to protect us.
“Understood. If anything happens, please shoot a flame signal. We’ll come immediately once we see it.”
The mercenary captain backed down without pushing further, clearly used to dealing with nobles. He made sure to leave instructions for an emergency and stepped back.
“The weather’s nice, but it’s rather chilly.”
“It’s so hot during the day that it feels like you’re dying, but at night, it’s freezing. It’s worse than I imagined. I see why people avoid deserts.”
“Is it that bad? I thought it was more fun back when we were training in the Allen Knight Order. That place was no joke.”
“...Is there anything more harsh than that?”
“The Allen Knight Order was... beyond normal, I guess.”
Walking through the desert at night wasn’t something noble bloodlines were supposed to do, but my friends didn’t complain.
Maybe because they had experienced such harsh conditions in the Allen Knight Order, this seemed like a walk in the park.
Even I thought to myself that it wasn’t so cold despite my friends mentioning how chilly it was. They probably felt the same way.
After running through the dry desert for about 30 minutes, we arrived at the middle of nowhere.
In a desert that seemed too barren for even cacti to grow, my friends tilted their heads.
“Lucy Allen, are you sure this is the place?”
“Of course. I’m not a fool or a stupid swordsman. I wouldn’t mistake something like this.”
“But it doesn’t seem like there’s anything here.”
“If you don’t know, don’t speak. Just watch quietly, pitiful prince. Well, if you want to hear something bad from me, I won’t stop you.”
“Shut up.”
Arthur shut his mouth, flustered, and I opened my inventory to pull out the items I had prepared and laid them on the ground.
“...Lady, isn’t this a bomb?”
“Wow, even the fool has eyes. Yep, it’s a bomb.”
“Why suddenly a bomb?”
“Hm, maybe I expected too much from the silly Joey. I thought she had eyes, but no brains. If she had a brain, she wouldn’t be running around being so foolish every day...”
“Enough, just explain.”
“Think about it. Why would I pull out a bomb? I’m pulling it out to blow it up.”
Teasing Joey as I carefully arranged the bombs, I counted them again before backing off a good distance from them.
“You useless saint. Make a shield.”
“Please wait a moment. It’ll take a bit to prepare to withstand that kind of firepower.”
Although Feivy said she needed some time, it only took her less than ten seconds to create the shield.
I remember thinking the same when we faced the alchemist last time, but Feivy really is good with holy magic.
No matter how I look at it, Feivy is growing much faster now than the Feivy I knew from the game.
Maybe I should seriously ask her later how far she can go.
“Done, Lady.”
“Alright, you losers, don’t piss yourselves in fear. I’m going to blow it up right now.”
As soon as I pressed the ignition button, the vibrations inside the shield shook the ground.
After the loud noise died down, I erased the shield and moved toward the site of the explosion.
There, just like in the game, the underground landscape with a hole in the ceiling awaited.
“Follow me right away, losers. If you’re late, I’ll leave you behind.”
I told my friends to follow me and jumped straight into the underground.
The skeleton, which had been sprawled on the floor from the explosion's shockwave, stared blankly at the ceiling before naturally turning its gaze toward me.
Despite the lack of eyes, I could clearly sense the skeleton’s embarrassment. I raised an eyebrow and smiled slyly.
“Ah! I’ve heard that the great mage was insane, but I didn’t expect him to be such a pervert, leering at a girl’s underwear. Beast. Lolicon. Trash. Sex offender. Just rot away and get out of here.”
“What the hell are you babbling about, you little brat!”
As the skeleton shouted furiously, my friends began descending one by one through the hole in the ceiling.
Despite the considerable height, they landed gracefully.
“Ahh!”
...Except for one person, the others landed effortlessly. I smiled at the skeleton, who was still staring at us in a daze.
“Well, maybe you should’ve built the building sturdier, huh, you foolish skeleton?”
If this is the limit of your abilities, then instead of leering at a girl's underwear, you should've focused on restoring it.
Don’t you think so?