Chapter 58

Isaac burst out of the tent and looked around, searching for Zirconia, who had left the tent before him.

But it seemed that Zirconia had already left, and there was no sign of her anywhere.

"…Sir Isaac?"

Just as Isaac was about to run towards Zirconia's tent, a voice called out from outside his field of vision, and he turned in the direction of the voice.

"What are you doing in such a state?"

The voice belonged to Haber.

Haber was holding a copper pitcher filled with fruit wine and several documents, apparently coming to discuss some work with Isaac.

The fruit wine he was holding was likely a gift for Isaac.

"Ah, well… I was doing some strength training just now. It got so hot that I came outside."

As Isaac hastily explained, Haber showed a slightly surprised expression.

"Even after all that training in the middle of the day, you still have the energy… We also filled bags with soil with the villagers in the evening, and I’m already out of energy."

While Ryo was in Japan, Isaac and the others hadn’t been idle; they had been training with the guards under Zirconia’s guidance.

Although the training wasn’t as intense as what Haber had experienced under Zirconia before, it was still tiring.

Moreover, they had helped the villagers pack a large amount of compost delivered by Ryo into bags.

Haber’s body was exhausted, and the idea of doing strength training at night didn’t even cross his mind.

Of course, Isaac was also tired and wouldn’t have done strength training if Ryo hadn’t instructed him to.

"Well, I just had some free time, so I did it."

"You’re as serious as ever… By the way, if you don’t mind, I have something I’d like to discuss with you now."

Haber waved the documents he was holding, and Isaac scratched his head with an apologetic look.

"Sorry, I have to report to Lady Zirconia right now… Is it okay if we do it tomorrow?"

"Is that so? Then I’ll come by again tomorrow night. Also, this is a gift. Have a drink before you go to bed and get a good rest."

Haber handed the pitcher of fruit wine to Isaac, bowed, and left.

As Haber walked away, Isaac was inwardly grateful, feeling like he wanted to pray for Haber’s well-being.

If Haber hadn’t stopped him, and he had rushed to Zirconia’s tent half-naked, who knows what would have happened.

He would probably have been shouting loudly to clear up the misunderstanding, saying, "It’s a misunderstanding! It’s not what you think!"

Even if he hadn’t been hit, the thought of being seen by others entering Zirconia’s tent half-naked made him feel cold.

If a strange rumor started, he might not be able to face Nelson, or worse, be killed.

Once again, without Haber’s knowledge, Isaac’s opinion of him soared to new heights.

A few minutes later.

Isaac was in Zirconia’s tent, desperately trying to clear up her misunderstanding.

Isaac stood in front of Zirconia, who was sitting in a chair, sweating and repeatedly saying, "It’s not what you think, it’s not what you think."

Zirconia, with a serene expression like a bodhisattva, nodded at Isaac’s words.

"It’s fine. I understand that you’re literally putting your whole heart and soul into Isteria. I won’t tell Lise, so don’t worry."

"No, you don’t understand at all! Kazura and I didn’t do anything like that!"

"…Then why were you naked and sweating just now?"

Zirconia tilted her head in confusion at Isaac’s words.

"That was because… Kazura…"

Isaac hesitated, about to explain the strength training Ryo had instructed him to do.

Ryo had told him not to say anything about what happened in the tent.

However, he couldn’t explain the situation without telling the truth, and he couldn’t come up with a plausible lie.

"…It was because… Kazura…"

Seeing Isaac suddenly fall silent, Zirconia looked down sadly and then turned her serene expression back to Isaac.

"It’s okay, I won’t tell anyone. But if you can’t bear it anymore, come to me. I’ll talk to Kazura for you."

"…What!? No, that’s not it! That’s not it at all!"

No matter what Isaac said after that, Zirconia only smiled gently and said, "It’s fine."

The next morning.

After finishing breakfast, Ryo came to the campsite at the village entrance to check on Isaac.

He sent one of the nearby guards to call Isaac, and Isaac soon came running.

"Good morning, Kazura-sama…"

"Good morning. Is something wrong? You look pale. Are you still tired from yesterday?"

Unlike the previous night, Isaac’s expression lacked vitality.

His eyes seemed to have lost their life, and he looked odd.

"I’m still a bit tired, but… more importantly, I was misunderstood by Lady Zirconia last night."

"Misunderstood? About what?"

With a bewildered expression, Ryo asked.

"Last night, after Kazura-sama left my tent, Lady Zirconia came to my tent."

"Whoa, a near miss…?"

Ryo wiped cold sweat, thinking that Zirconia might have seen him investigating the food’s effects.

If she had, it would have been difficult to explain away the situation.

She would have suspected that he was doing something inappropriate.

Isaac, looking apologetic, continued.

"But at that time, I was half-naked… Lady Zirconia had seen Kazura-sama leave my tent, and… well…"

"…Huh? I don’t quite follow… What’s the problem?"

Ryo asked, puzzled by Isaac’s awkward explanation.

"…Lady Zirconia thinks that Kazura-sama and I… had sexual intercourse."

"Wh-What!?"

Ryo was shocked.

Isaac had been misunderstood by Zirconia in a way he didn’t know about.

"Wait, did you deny it!?"

"Of course, but Kazura-sama told me not to say anything about what happened in the tent… In that situation, I couldn’t come up with a good excuse… I’m sorry."

Faced with such a terrible situation, Ryo held his head in his hands.

He wanted to call Zirconia immediately and clear up the misunderstanding, but he needed a convincing explanation.

If he did, Zirconia and Isaac would find out about the food’s effects.

He needed a good excuse, but the situation Zirconia had witnessed was too bad.

If he were in Zirconia’s position, he would have made the same mistaken assumption.

There were two possible courses of action.

The first was to tell Zirconia the truth about investigating the food’s effects and clear up the misunderstanding.

This would clear up the misunderstanding, but the special effects of the food would be revealed.

He could try to come up with a plausible lie, but if Zirconia didn’t believe it and asked Isaac for details, it could lead to problems.

If he told Isaac not to mention the yams and eggs, it would only make things worse.

While Isaac seemed trustworthy, Ryo’s relationship with him was still too new.

He was concerned that Isaac might report the food’s effects to Zirconia or Nelson.

As a soldier, Isaac might try to use the food for military purposes if he knew about its effects.

The second option was to leave the misunderstanding as it was.

While this would leave Zirconia with the mistaken belief that Ryo had a sexual relationship with Isaac, it would keep the food’s effects a secret.

Honestly, he wanted to clear up the misunderstanding, but he couldn’t risk revealing the food’s effects.

He had to accept the misunderstanding, no matter how unfortunate it was for Isaac.

"Kazura-sama, can you do something about Lady Zirconia’s misunderstanding…?"

"…Isaac"

Ryo called Isaac’s name while still holding his head, and Isaac looked at him with hope.

"Yes?"

"I’m very sorry, but there’s no way to clear up Lady Zirconia’s misunderstanding. Let’s leave it for now and deal with it later."

"Wh-What?"

Isaac’s hope was cruelly shattered.

While Ryo and Isaac were dejected at the village entrance,

Zirconia was sitting in her tent, reading documents from Isteria.

The documents contained the statements of the bandits she had interrogated in Isteria, including the results of the examination of the bandit’s corpse she had dug up the previous day.

"God’s blessing, huh?"

Zirconia murmured, recalling the interrogation.

The bandits she had interrogated initially tried to negotiate their safety in exchange for information.

But after she cut off one of their fingers each with the torture tools she had prepared, they quickly became cooperative and answered her questions.

Their statements were consistent, but to ensure they were telling the truth, she lied and said one of them had given a different answer, and cut off another finger from each of them.

After that, they were even more cooperative, answering her questions despite the pain from their severed fingers.

The bandits’ statements matched the condition of the corpse Zirconia had examined the previous day.

According to the bandits, the villagers of Grisea were monsters.

The villagers who fought them moved at inhuman speeds and killed them instantly.

Two bandits who had faced the village chief and his daughter shuddered as they recalled the encounter.

Balin, the village chief, had faced four bandits at once.

He dodged their attacks with incredible speed, grabbed one of their arms, and broke it, then took the sword and killed the bandit.

In the next instant, he had cut off the head of another bandit and threw the corpse, which knocked another bandit unconscious.

The remaining bandit was quickly cut in half and killed.

Balin’s daughter, Barretta, had been pinned down by a bandit but crushed his wrist and knocked him out with a single punch.

Zirconia had initially thought the bandits were exaggerating, but the examination of the corpse confirmed their statements.

The wounds on the corpse matched the bandits’ descriptions.

"…With this power…"

Zirconia’s lips curled into a smile at this welcome discovery.

The incredible growth of the vegetables in the village and the superhuman combat abilities of the villagers were clearly due to Ryo.

While she had considered the possibility that the food Ryo had brought had special effects, as Nelson had speculated, she now believed that Ryo had blessed the entire village.

Despite Ryo’s ordinary appearance and behavior, she no longer doubted that he was the god Graciel.

He was a true god with special powers that set him apart from others.

All that was left was to find a way to make him continue to support them.

With this in mind, Zirconia stood up and headed towards Grisea village.