Chapter 53. That Bastard’s Way

It seemed he was referring to the distance kept when purifying the undead.

During this desert expedition, Johann had stuck close to me like a bodyguard, protecting me closeby, while Mihail watched from afar with folded arms, like a master observing his disciple.

There was clearly a difference in how they treated me, but they would both likely not let me lose my life.

Right.

Mihail must be doing what he learned as a child.

In the way ingrained in his body.

Although I didn’t want to understand it from the receiving end, somehow I understood him naturally. How should I put it? Don’t we understand and accept even the flaws of those close to us?

Looking deeply into his life, seeing how he came to grow that way, just as he is.

“Of course it’s better to be protected from up close.”

But I had my own way, and my own preferences.

Everyone has their own comfort distance, after all.

When exterminating undead, it certainly felt more reassuring to have someone right beside me.

At my honest answer, a thin curve appeared on Mihail’s lips.

“I see.”

Why does that expression feel a bit chilling?

Must be my imagination?

“So you prefer that bastard’s way…”

Huh?

I think I just heard something.

I opened my eyes wide in surprise. Mihail smiled, his eyes narrowing deeply. That smile concealed whatever real expression he might have been wearing.

It wasn’t my imagination.

I hadn’t misheard either.

It seemed that twisted jerk had interpreted something wrongly again.

The air around him felt cold.

I tried my best, like a rabbit trying to calm a beast, using all the skills I had.

“Of course, Sir Andantino would be excellent at detecting danger from afar. Since you’re a hero. Hahaha.”

He just keeps smiling.

I tried harder.

“But I’m just an ordinary person, you know. I guess there’s a kind of psychological comfort when the distance is closer.”

“Miss Sera is not ordinary.”

Mihail said then in a soft voice. But because his eyes weren’t smiling, it was terribly frightening.

“You are very special.”

“……”

He was still holding my hand. He started to gently caress the hand he had been simply holding until now.

That touch felt so intense that I shrank my hand.

But there was nowhere to escape.

Mihail gently curled up the corners of his mouth. That smile seemed to be telling me.

Don’t dare think of breaking free.

You’re already caught in his trap.

* * *

Several days passed.

Except for when departing for the desert expedition, life in Sahar was somewhat manageable. With just one exception. The existence called Mihail.

I had been spending quite a lot of time with Mihail these past few days. Under the pretext of purification training, but the situation was a bit different from before Johann came.

Previously, we would go outside the castle and train with the help of holy knights, but now I started doing it alone with Mihail.

And without any undead.

Before, he used to constantly capture them from the ground.

“Thank you, Andrei.”

After being guided by Andrei to a building in the bustling area, I bid him farewell and climbed the stairs. It was the same building I had come to on the day I first arrived in Sahar.

Should I call it Mihail’s hideout?

I’m not sure why he got such a shabby building separately, but since he’s inherently inscrutable, I just accepted it.

“Sir Andantino.”

I knocked a couple of times out of courtesy before turning the doorknob.

Oh?

There was no answer, so I thought no one was there, but it just opened?

Stepping inside, I looked around. Mihail was nowhere to be seen, perhaps he had gone somewhere briefly.

“Is anyone here?”

Even knowing there wasn’t, I spoke to the empty air for no reason.

Hehe.

It feels a bit awkward being alone in someone else’s space.

Where should I wait?

The space was small.

It was a size that was hard to tell whether to call it a house or a room. I was about to sit at the tea table on one side but changed my mind.

I kind of want to look around a bit.

The first time I came here, I was sitting on this windowsill, right?

As I recalled Mihail from that day, I unconsciously turned around. It was purely by chance that the letters on the desk caught my eye.

What could this be?

Normally, I wouldn’t have touched someone else’s letters carelessly.

But there are days like this.

Days when you get an inexplicable strange feeling.

I reached out as if possessed by something. As I unfolded the paper, a rough handwriting came into view. It was a short note.

[Are you joking? Return it quickly.]

What is he supposed to return?

As I tilted my head in curiosity, I discovered more papers stacked underneath. I started to pick them up all at once and flip through them one by one. They were all short notes.

[If you make me go on a subjugation without the purifier one more time, you’ll have to see my face in person. I’m giving you a week.]

[It’s been a month, when are you going to be done using Purifier Seraphina? Please share the situation in the desert.]

[Please send Purifier support to the Grodes Mountains. Immediately.]

Hmm.

It seems Claude is quite angry, doesn’t it?

Apparently, the notes were stacked in reverse chronological order of receipt. With the most recent one on top.

“I didn’t know you had a hobby of peeking at other people’s things.”

“Ah, you startled me!”

At the sudden voice, I dropped the notes in shock. Mihail was standing at the doorway, having arrived at some point.

“Ah, well……”

Like a thief caught red-handed, I fumbled about.

First, how to deal with what had fallen on the floor…

I bent down to pick up the papers, but Mihail was faster. After gathering all the notes, he let out a thoughtful groan, his eyes contemplating how to handle this situation.

“Hmm.”

I mustered up the courage to speak.

“I didn’t know Your Grace was waiting for me.”

“Of course. I didn’t tell you.”

Then why didn’t you say anything?

I felt bewildered.

“Shouldn’t we be going now, even at this point?”

“I didn’t tell you because I knew this would happen.”

As he said this, Mihail took a step forward, blocking my way.

“Where would you be going?”

“……”

Wait, are you saying I’m going to stay here indefinitely? This is different from what I knew. I thought we were supposed to go back and forth between the North and the East?

Sensing my confused state, Mihail continued.

“The Guardian of the North will handle things well over there.”

“I think I read that he’ll come storming in here if you don’t return me.”

“Oh my. Did you read all of it?”

“……”

He really knows how to leave one speechless.

While I was dumbfounded, Mihail was rather brazen.

“You can ignore the words of a person like him.”

“……”

Could you please not overlook the fact that the ‘person like him’ you’re referring to is a hero? How can I ignore a hero’s words?

“Miss Sera only needs to obey God’s calling.”

“……”

So you’re saying I should just stay in the land guarded by the Holy Knight Order? If that’s the case, why don’t you bring all the active purifiers here!

“Then, Sir Andantino…”

I racked my brain.

The heroes don’t get along anyway.

In this situation, could I possibly persuade Mihail to go to the North? No, do I really need to go there? Whether I go here or there, it’s going to be tough either way, isn’t it better in Sahar? At least here, I only need to go on expeditions once a month.

“If anything happens, you’ll take full responsibility, right? Understood?”

No matter what Claude says, it’s all your fault. You’re the one who prevented me from leaving. Got it?

I looked at him with bright, sparkling eyes.

Even if it seems cowardly, I can’t help it.

The influence of a hero nearby is always stronger than that of one far away.

Mihail looked at me for a moment, then smiled, his eyes narrowing.

“Of course.”

Rip.

As he said this, he tore Claude’s note in half.

Hmm.

I’m sorry, Claude.

The Grodes Mountains were tough for me too.

As I was mentally apologizing to Claude, someone knocked on the door. It was Andrei, who had guided me earlier and left.

“Commander, an official document just arrived from the Imperial Palace.”

“An official document?”

Mihail’s brow furrowed slightly.

I blinked a few times in confusion.

A few days after Johann had left, an official document arrived. I had a feeling it might be related to me.

I watched as Andrei handed the envelope to Mihail. It bore the Emperor’s seal.

Mihail received it with a movement as graceful as a swan and briefly remarked, as if acknowledging the effort, ‘Good work’.

“I understand. You may go, Andrei.”

The boy withdrew immediately.

Once again, only Mihail and I were left in this private space.

He skillfully opened the envelope and took out the paper inside. With a businesslike face devoid of emotion, he unfolded the letter and read the text from left to right.

What on earth could be written there?

As I was staring intently at his face out of curiosity, Mihail’s expression gradually began to crumple.

“What’s wrong? Is there some bad news?”

Half worried and half curious, I went to his side and craned my neck. The contents of the official document came into view.

[……Therefore, we have determined that Seraphina’s dispatch to the land guarded by a hero is unnecessary.
However, requests for her dispatch can be made as needed when purifier support is deemed necessary, and the Imperial Family will decide based on the severity of the situation.
If an additional dispatch is requested elsewhere while Seraphina is already deployed to a location, it is conditional that there be maximum cooperation between the parties. Violation of this will result in the exclusion of the relevant area from dispatch locations.
Seraphina’s primary residence is Elmon, and……]

As I read on, my expression gradually hardened as well.

Johann, you bastard!

How dare you treat a person like an object!