Ares removed his gear, staggered over to the bed, and threw himself down on it.
"Hmph."
Honestly, he would have liked to start chasing after Ruti immediately, but he was
exhausted from using his magic for days and nights on end.
I don't know whether this is some villainous plot to impede my aspirations, but either
way, my victory in the end is assured.
That Ares had procured a way of tracking the Hero across the world was proof enough
of that. The Sage's mouth warped into a grin.
There was a knock on the door.
"Who is it?" Ares tiresomely pushed himself up. "I said 'Who is it?' I do not wish to be
disturbed."
"It's me."
Ares recognized the voice, but its owner should not have been in Zoltan. On his guard,
Ares stood. He kept his right hand free to use magic at any moment as he slowly
approached the door.
"Are you sure you don't have the wrong room?" Ares asked, playing dumb.
"No, I came here to meet Ares the Sage. It's me, Danan."
Slowly, Ares opened the door. A large, muscular man was standing there.
"Long time no see." Danan was holding a bag of sugared fruits in both hands and
grinning.
"Come on, these oranges are great."
"…"
Danan held out the bag for Ares as he entered the room.
"From the look of it, you're pretty busted up. Sugared fruit does wonders for fatigue."
Ares formed a sign with his right hand, activating a spell to check for poison. He
confirmed that there was no toxin anywhere inside the sack.
"Always so careful." Danan smiled wryly, but he did not seem to mind the excessive
caution. Ares took one of the oranges from the bag and put it into his mouth.
"Hmph." He could sense that there might be something to the idea that sugars suited
a tired body well, but he maintained his visible displeasure to antagonize Danan.
Seeing that, Danan grimaced.
"If it so pleases your palate…"
"Why are you here, Danan?"
"Me? Because I was searching for Gideon. I got some information that he was in these
parts. I could ask you the same thing, though. Never would have pegged running into
you in this backwater—and by yourself even. Where's the Hero?"
"Gideon is here?" Ares cut in.
"Yeah, he's running an apothecary in town."
For just a moment, the suspicion that this might have been a plot by Gideon crossed
Ares's mind. But he immediately rejected that idea as too absurd. There was no way
someone with a blessing as worthless as Gideon's could devise something so devious.
Nonetheless, Ares felt a growing anger over the possibility that Gideon might be
interfering with his aspirations. Danan's eyes narrowed slightly after noticing this.
"So where is the Hero?" the bear of a man asked again.
"…She isn't here."
"What do you mean?"
"There's no need to explain it to you."
"I mean, Gideon's here, too. She deserves to know that."
Ares's mouth twitched nervously. Danan put his hand to his chin in contemplation.
"Look, just let me know what's going on. It's not like I'm inherently against you, you
know. Depending on the situation, I can always keep that bit about Gideon from the
Hero."
"…What are you getting at?" Ares pressed, suspicion evident.
"Our goal is to defeat the demon lord, not reunite Gideon and the Hero. Gideon has
every intention to stay settled here. He's not thinking about defeating the demon lord
anymore. You remember Rizlet of Loggervia, right? He shacked up with her."
"Hmph, so that's the sort of fellow he really is, huh? Running away to live in peace and
plotting to marry into royalty while I continue to risk my neck?! How low can one man
be!" Ares shrieked.
Danan could not help being shocked by the outburst. It was a pretty shameless thing
for the guy who had kicked Gideon out of the party to say.
Though that is precisely why we were able to meet like this. The Asura in Danan's form
smirked to itself.
"Anyway, the point is that it would be a waste of time for the Hero to hang around here
trying to get him to come back. And I'd rather not waste my time, either. I don't have
any desire to be stuck here while she tries to persuade Gideon."
"I see… A rather sensible thought for you."
"I'm the sort of guy who says what I think. But what I say in the moment and what I
say when I've had time to calm down and think things through are different."
"That is rather like you." Ares smirked in contempt, feeling a secret sense of superiority.
Danan was an inferior man, incapable of controlling his emotions.
"Anyway, that's how things are on my end. So why is the Hero here? It's not like she
knew Gideon was living in Zoltan, right?"
"…"
"What is it?"
Ares seemed to be pondering whether to answer.
This is… Did he screw up or something? He looks like he's hesitating out of reluctance to
say something embarrassing…
Danan could not help but feel exasperated over how foolish Ares was. Hiding what he
knew wouldn't accomplish anything. Regardless, Danan decided to probe in a different
way.
"Whatever you're going to try, you should do it quickly. Gideon—he's going by the
name Red here—is pretty well-known around Zoltan."
"Hmph, in a place like this with such low levels, even someone like him can play at
being a big shot?"
In truth, Red was famous for living together with Rit, but Danan did not feel the need
to correct Ares on that point.
"Point being, it's entirely possible that the Hero could recognize that Red and Gideon
are the same person. If you're here in Zoltan for a reason, you should take care of it
quickly. Since I've been here longer, I know a bit about the lay of the land, so I can lend
you a hand if you want."
That was Danan's—or rather Shisandan in the form of Danan—offer to Ares.
The demon's goal was to find the object sealed by the wood elves before their downfall
and take it back with him.
He had taken the risk of making contact with Ares because he understood what the
Sage was after and thus knew that it bore no relation to his goal. Because of that,
Shisandan wanted to get Ares and his band as far away from Zoltan as possible, even
if that meant helping them.
There were three things that Shisandan was concerned about.
The first was the possibility of the Hero using Devil's Blessing to enhance her battle
strength. Particularly if the humans learned that a demon's heart was not a necessary
ingredient, even if that happened, taking that medicine was an act of rejection of one's
Divine Blessing. It would be viewed as blasphemy by the holy church, and even though
the user's innate Divine Blessing was weakened, it would still remain. Considering all
those factors, Shisandan felt confident things would not turn out as they had during
the era of the ancient elves.
The second thing he feared was the Hero getting her hands on the object he sought.
The failure of allowing her to attain the airship would pale in comparison to that
falling into her hands.
Most of all, however, Shisandan fretted over the Hero losing her natural blessing to the
drug. It should be impossible for modern humans, who lacked all knowledge
regarding the essence of Divine Blessings, to achieve what the former True Demon
Lord had. If it actually came to that, Shisandan would have to slay the Hero then and
there, even if it cost him everything—including his life.
Shisandan was a key general, but he had also been judged to be exceptionally skilled
at infiltrating and maneuvering in enemy territory. That was why he had been given
such a critical mission.
"…That must be it!" Ares exclaimed, paying no heed to Shisandan. "Ruti realized that
Red and Gideon are the same person after speaking with that demon. That was why
she came here in the airship!"
Regardless of his conjecture's accuracy, that means the Hero left her comrades behind to
come to Zoltan. It seems it truly is unrelated to my mission.
"Danan! Where is Gideon's store?!"
"I mean, I know where it is, but what do you want to do there?"
"Ruti is not here in Zoltan. She's up in the mountains some distance away from here.
Doubtless, she will come to meet Gideon soon, so I'm going to command him to
disappear before that can happen."
"Command?"
"He's just a normal citizen who has left our party already. He has no choice but to
follow my orders!"
"Really? I doubt he'd just obediently listen to you."
"I'll force him to obey by whatever means necessary! Where is his store?!"
He's that irritated over the Hero leaving him behind? Yes, from what I heard in Loggervia,
his goal is to restore his family's power. The Hero's party is his one chance… I might be
able to make use of him…
Shisandan's lips twisted. If Red had been there, he would surely have realized that it
was not really Danan from that expression alone.
"Well, fine, I guess. I'll lead the way."
And if Ares had been in his right mind, he would certainly have noticed that Danan,
who had been close with Gideon, would never lead him to Gideon's store after that
exchange.
"Kh-ha-ha. Gideon, you bastard… always getting in my way…"
Ares's lips broke into an irregular grin as he clenched his fists so hard that the veins
in his hands and arms began to bulge.
Ares's mind was filled with hatred for Gideon, the man who was always in his way.