Chapter 7

It had been a week since Ritie was left in the Demon Forest. Yggdrasia stood in front of the Galadea Cave, located in the mountains at the northernmost point of the kingdom.

In front of this cave, which they planned to challenge tomorrow, they were camping, but the atmosphere was not good. One reason was that the taste of the stew made by Vandra, who was on cooking duty, was not quite right.

Aldis left half of the tasteless stew uneaten.

"Hey, Vandra. Isn't this seasoning off?"

"The nutritional value is perfect."

"That's not what I'm talking about! Did you make this for sick people?"

"As long as it goes down, it's fine."

The meals that were once forced on Ritie were now on a duty rotation. Vandra was indifferent to anything other than magic, and cooking was no exception.

She was indifferent to the taste, swallowing it like a task and finishing her meal. Clarine and Dorand barely touched the stew, but Zool finished it all.

"Wow! This is delicious! It's even more perfect with a sprinkle of salt!"

"Zool, don't push it."

"Try it, Aldis. It's pretty good?"

"With this, I'd rather drink salt soup..."

Aldis, who reluctantly sprinkled salt, was coldly watched by Vandra. Noticing her gaze, which seemed to want to say something, Aldis glared at her.

However, she still didn't say anything. Aldis didn't really want to fight either.

Yggdrasia believed they were the strongest party, gathered with rare talents. Therefore, he didn't want to break up easily.

Aldis was also worried about that.

"Aldis, this Galadea Cave has already been explored. It's not an uncharted area."

"Are you looking for a thrill? Dorand."

"There's no experience to be gained here. Why are we stopping?"

"Just a feeling."

"...Just a feeling?"

Dorand grumbled at Aldis's casual decision. He polished himself to face strong opponents. That was possible in uncharted areas.

He didn't care about unknown resources. For him, the fight itself was the enjoyment.

Yggdrasia was also one of his curiosities. He wanted to face them eventually. For that, he couldn't leave Yggdrasia.

In this vast world, if they parted ways, there was no guarantee they would meet again. Dorand thought that much worry was excessive, but to him, Aldis and the others were that important.

"Sometimes, you need to blow off steam. Let's enjoy some low-level monster hunting."

"Is that why we came?"

"Ha, I'm the most bored."

"Sometimes, it's good to take it easy, Clarine."

"Sure, but..."

"Isn't it fun to ruin the playground of low-level adventurers?"

Aldis, who had deceived and abandoned Ritie, didn't see value in anyone other than Yggdrasia, who approached his own talent.

Sometimes he praised, sometimes he pushed away, sometimes he mocked, and sometimes he violated. A toy, a slave, a convenient existence to make him feel good.

The whimsical monster was only in a good mood in Ritie's hometown, Louis Village.

"Ha, so boring..."

"Ch..."

Dorand clicked his tongue, and Clarine lay down lazily. They followed Aldis, their leader, but couldn't hide their dissatisfaction.

Aldis understood what he wanted to do, but Vandra had her own thoughts. It was about the first person she had shown interest in outside of magic.

"If you need to blow off steam, wouldn't that girl have been enough?"

"That girl?"

"The girl you took as a disciple. You just left her in the Demon Forest, right?"

"Use that girl to blow off steam? You're kidding."

"As a disciple, you could have given her a sword and trained her, which would have been a good way to blow off steam."

It was a low but logical and reasonable opinion.

However, Aldis couldn't answer immediately. He didn't know why.

Perhaps he had buried it deep in his heart, not wanting to admit it even to himself.

"Could a kid like that even hold a sword? It's not a good stress reliever."

"If she couldn't, you would have kicked her as an excuse. Why didn't you ever give her a sword?"

"Rarely talkative about anything other than magic. Are you okay?"

"You, on the other hand, are probably aware, aren't you?"

"Of what?"

"Aren't you afraid of that girl?"

Vandra sneered, provoking Aldis. If anyone else in Yggdrasia had said that, they would have been killed immediately.

Of course, Aldis's anger reached his core. He stood up abruptly but didn't draw his weapon.

"If you want to fight, say it clearly..."

"Fight? Me and you?"

"Aldis, Vandra, calm down! Fighting here won't do any good!"

"Zool, stay out of it."

If they clashed, it wouldn't end well. Aldis knew this, which is why he didn't attack.

Vandra wasn't intimidated by Aldis.

"That girl ran to a safe place to avoid my magic. From Dorand's insensitive air bullets to your techniques, even the traps Zool set, she avoided them unconsciously. She would have died long ago if she were normal. She didn't break even when overworked and barely slept. Did you notice that?"

"So what?"

"That girl watched our battles all the time. It was creepy, really."

"She was just bored."

"Even a 1st or 2nd-class adventurer would lose confidence watching our battles. She observed calmly without any combat experience."

Dorand nodded silently. He wasn't unaware of the girl's uniqueness.

However, his interest was in completed strength. No matter how much potential someone had, if it was undeveloped, it didn't interest him.

That's why his criticism of Ritie wasn't entirely baseless. The lack of experience was a fact.

Feeling frustrated by her endurance and unwillingness to test her potential, he lashed out with harsh words.

"Enough."

"Hey, where are you going?"

Vandra stood up and tried to leave the group. Aldis's mood was getting worse.

"Somewhere. Don't worry, I'm not coming back."

"What? You're kidding."

"What? Force me to stay?"

Vandra's magic permeated the air, scorching it. It was enough to make Aldis hesitate, showing it wasn't just a threat.

Aldis reached for his hilt but couldn't draw it. Zool intervened again during this stalemate.

"Stop it! Vandra, you're not serious, right?"

"I am. Goodbye."

"No, no, no! Is this okay?"

"I don't think I'll gain anything more by staying with you."

This time, Vandra disappeared into the night. Aldis, unable to do anything, kicked the pot used for dinner.

Dorand closed his eyes, and Clarine finally fell asleep. Zool, flustered, held his head.

He was supposed to be angry, supposed to want to kill her. But he knew why he held back at the last moment.

"Aldis, I'll ask one more time. When will you challenge the 'Ceiling of the World'?"

"Wait a little longer... We're one person short now."

"Alright, I'll wait a little longer."

After conquering the "Bottom of the World," they received more praise than they could handle. They obtained all the wealth they wanted. No woman refused their advances.

What more could they gain?

Maintaining their superiority, they wandered, praised in various places. Achieving great deeds at a young age due to their exceptional talent.

What more could they do? Conquering the uncharted areas of the Ceiling of the World or the Edge of the World would only bring more praise.

No one could match them. No one could catch up. Wasn't that fine?

Aldis was satisfied deep down.

"Aren't you afraid?"

"What?"

"Never mind."

It felt like Dorand had pierced his heart. Aldis realized the double meaning of his words.

If they failed in challenging the "Ceiling of the World," the praise would vanish. The royal family would turn their backs.

In reality, conquering the "Bottom of the World" wasn't easy. Unfathomable monsters, ecosystems, and traps. He had faced death more than once.

Regretting entering the dungeon was a first. Success was partly due to luck.

That's why he was afraid.

"I'm not scared."

"If that's true, that's good."

The other meaning. That was what he least wanted to admit. Aldis had thoroughly bullied the girl Ritie.

At first, it was just to blow off steam, but gradually, he felt frustrated.

No matter how much he kicked, punched, or deprived her of food and sleep, he couldn't break her.

The stress grew because he had recruited her on a whim in Louis Village.

He knew she observed their battles.

He didn't want to admit it.

The piercing gaze and expression made Aldis feel a slight fear.

He felt like prey.

He unconsciously sensed that he might be caught up by this girl one day.

To the point where he hesitated to harm her directly.

"Ah! Damn it!"

He drew his sword and swung it at the cave entrance. A horizontal explosion connected, collapsing the cave entrance that clung to the cliff.

The magic sword, a specialty of the high-class Magic Swordsman, was mastered by the Arc Knight, who could use it with minimal magic consumption, releasing a power that even a high-class High Wizard would flee barefoot.

Mastering this for each attribute was why they were feared as non-human.

"Ah, strong. So strong. There's no way to lose. I'm the best."

Aldis, who was convincing himself, was not directly looked at by Dorand. He lay down silently and fell asleep.

Clarine, who had been woken by the cave explosion, closed her eyes again when she realized it was Aldis's doing.

"...Lame."

Was it revenge for being woken up, or her true feelings about Aldis?

The fallen angel Clarine was feeling down.