CHAPTER 62
Black Dawn’s goal. And some of their future plans.
After learning several things, I trudged back to the inn.
War was imminent.
The thought made my head spin.
Should I start stockpiling war supplies?
Or should I use my connection with Inferno to request protection from the Regular Army?
With my Resurrection magic, they’d probably be willing to help if I asked nicely.
“Why is life in this world so damn hard?”
Upon returning to the inn, I belatedly realized Aranseol wasn’t there.
It was already night.
It was strange that Aranseol, who had gone to see Babiyen, hadn't returned yet.
“What’s going on?”
It was too late for me to go to the Holy Church today, so I had come back.
It was odd that Aranseol was later than I was.
Having no choice, I headed straight for the inn where Babiyen was staying.
Perhaps because I’d never been to Babiyen’s inn before, I realized she was living far more lavishly than I thought.
It made sense; she had been staying at a nice inn in the capital as well.
“So this is why she’s always out of money.”
She was blowing all her cash on this place.
Well, she was a noble.
She probably couldn’t stand staying in a common inn.
By modern standards, a common inn was a place you wouldn't stay even if you were paid to.
“Good grief.”
As I entered the inn, all eyes briefly turned to me.
Being a high-class establishment, my shabby appearance must have stood out.
What does it matter if these uncivilized this-worlders stare?
I ignored their gazes and kept walking.
I didn't bother stopping at the counter.
I had a feeling I’d just get kicked out.
I had a rough idea of which room Babiyen was staying in.
As I headed in that direction, I spotted a familiar face in the third-floor lounge.
“Aranseol?”
At my call, Aranseol looked up.
“Ah, Harua.”
“Why are you here?”
I thought she would have met with Babiyen long ago. I couldn’t understand why she was in the lounge.
At my question, Aranseol pressed the back of her neck with a complicated expression.
“Well, Babiyen won’t open the door.”
“She won’t open the door?”
“I’m sure she’s inside, but she won’t open it.”
What was this all about?
With a sigh, I approached Babiyen’s door.
I knocked immediately.
“Babiyen, what’s wrong? What are you doing in there?”
When I called out to her, I could feel some movement from inside.
She definitely seemed to be in there, but she really had no intention of opening the door.
I glanced back at Aranseol, who sighed and shook her head.
Apparently, she’d been waiting all day.
“If something happened, you have to tell us. What’s going on?”
Again, no response.
If she hadn’t opened it for Aranseol after a whole day, she probably wouldn’t open it for me either.
And I couldn't just break down the door of a high-class inn.
It would be a waste to pay for damages because of Babiyen.
With no other choice, I took a step back from the door.
“Fine, then don’t open it.”
If she won’t open the door when asked, I’ll just have to make her come out herself.
“I’ll stage a suicide attempt right here.”
A death in a high-class inn like this would cause a huge commotion.
My body revives even if I die, anyway.
Time for a little showmanship.
Click-
The door opened at that moment.
Standing there was Babiyen, her hair a complete mess.
Sharp girl.
She knows I’m the type to actually do it.
“……Come in.”
In the past, she would have thrown a fit, but she had no energy.
Aranseol and I exchanged glances and entered Babiyen’s room.
The room, with its blackout curtains drawn, was incredibly dark.
It was chilly, as if she barely ever turned on the lights.
It was also clear how limited Babiyen’s movements had been.
Aside from the bed, there was almost no sign of movement.
I immediately turned on a light and opened the curtains.
Babiyen squinted, but I didn't care.
Staying in a stuffy room like this was a perfect way to develop a mental illness.
More accurately, it seemed Babiyen already had.
“Was being abandoned by your family that much of a shock?”
When I asked what I already knew, Babiyen’s shoulders flinched.
She avoided my gaze, clutching the bedsheets tightly.
Babiyen Asteria.
She was the youngest daughter of the barony of Asteria.
This wasn’t a normal family; it was the position of the youngest in a noble society.
Worse, the Asteria family was excessively ambitious for social advancement.

It was easy to imagine how much she had to walk on eggshells living there.
She was a tool to be used at any time for the advancement of the Asteria barony.
A political marriage, becoming the disciple of the Red Flame Lord.
All of these were the will of the Asteria family, not her own choices.
But now that the Red Flame Lord had become a criminal, she had been discarded.
Babiyen was cut off like a lizard’s tail.
But even a lizard’s tail still has nerves right after it’s been severed.
A tail that thrashes about, thinking it’s still connected to the body.
Through the recent events at the Holy Church, however, she had been forced to realize that she had well and truly been severed.
Perhaps Babiyen had held onto the belief that once things settled down, the Asteria family would one day call for her again.
But that belief was brutally shattered by this incident.
The Asteria family had abandoned her.
For Babiyen, who had lived her entire life with the status of a baron’s daughter, it was a bolt from the blue.
A life completely cast out, with nothing in the world to recognize her.
Her will to live had been completely emptied.
And I knew what that felt like.
Not just me, but probably all Transferees knew it.
That terrible feeling of being thrown into the world without any connections or possessions.
That shitty feeling that the world is just out to screw you over.
“Babiyen.”
But was that a reason to die?
“Why are you whining like a child just because your family cut ties with you?”
No.
To die over something like that would be too unfair to even consider.
My sharp words made Babiyen freeze.
She bit her lip hard and looked up at me.
“……What do you know? I have nothing left.”
“I don’t know. Your life and my life are different. But there’s one thing I know for sure.”
I brought a chair over, sat down heavily in front of her.
“The fact that you were the daughter of the Asteria barony never mattered to me from the start.”
Did I recruit Babiyen to the team because she was the daughter of Baron Asteria?
No.
It was because I trusted her skill with fire magic and her personal moral conscience.
Her status as the daughter of Baron Asteria had nothing to do with it.
“The person I chose was Babiyen, not Babiyen Asteria. Your magic skills weren’t thanks to the Asteria family; they were something you learned yourself. Even if you weren’t the daughter of Baron Asteria, I would have eventually recruited you to the team as a mage.”
Babiyen thought her entire life was defined by being the daughter of Baron Asteria.
But that was just a position she had been given.
A person should be the master of their position, not the other way around.
“If the world feels like shit, then curse it out. Sulking in a corner won’t get you any sympathy.”
With that, I stood up from the chair.
“Oh, and by the way, don’t get any ideas about killing yourself out of depression. You’ll just come back to life anyway.”
I had Resurrection magic.
Even if Babiyen killed herself a hundred times, I could just bring her back.
“I’ll revive you so many times you’ll regret ever becoming my ally, so just get over it and get up. Babiyen Asteria might not be able to, but the woman named Babiyen is someone who can.”
I decided not to say any more.
Ultimately, this was something Babiyen had to sort out and answer for herself.
“……”

Babiyen remained silent.
Aranseol and I left her and went out of the room.
I had said everything I wanted to say.
Now, all that was left was for Babiyen to recover on her own.
It wouldn’t be an easy fight for her.
But it was a reality she had to fight to overcome.
Just then, Aranseol leaned her shoulder against mine, moving a little closer.
The faint scent of citrus from her wafted to my nose.
“You’re so kind, Harua.”
“I just said whatever I wanted. What’s so kind about that?”
“That’s what’s kind about it. If it were me, I’d be so busy choosing my words, trying to be considerate, that I wouldn’t be able to say the important things.”
“Isn’t that just a lack of consideration on my part?”
“Yes, I’m including that part, too.”
Aranseol looked up at me and smiled sweetly.
Don’t smile so prettily, you little fox.
“I like that about you, Harua.”
“Don’t fall for me.”
“Maybe I’ll fall for you a little?”
“You’re such a contrarian.”
Aranseol giggled as if she was enjoying the conversation.
Laughing at strange points was just like her.
“Will Babiyen be okay?”
“Who knows.”
That was up to her.

So all we could do was wait quietly.
“By the way, Harua, what happened with the Regular Army?”
Ah, I hadn’t told her because of the situation with Babiyen.
I briefly explained what had happened at the Regular Army post.
“I see. My master has mentioned Lieutenant General Inferno before. He said he’s a trustworthy person in the Regular Army.”
If he was someone the Sword Lord Soun vouched for, that was a relief.
“But the fact that you even revived the Designated Merchant…”
“Yeah, I bought a potion.”
Aranseol’s interest was piqued.
I wasn’t sure if I should show it to her, but I took out the bottle.
A bottle sloshing with a pure white liquid.
Seeing it, Aranseol looked puzzled.
“What’s in it?”
“Milk.”
“Uh, huh?”
“The Designated Merchant said it was milk. To be honest, I have no idea whose milk it is.”
Aranseol looked flustered.
It was a natural reaction to me suddenly saying ‘milk.’
“………You’re going to drink it?”
“I have to. I paid a fortune for it.”
It was only weird because the Designated Merchant called it that. If I just thought of it as regular milk, it shouldn't be undrinkable.
For some reason, Aranseol was staring at me intently.
When I looked at her questioningly, she flinched and quickly turned her head away as if it was nothing.
Did she have some strange thought?
I couldn’t just let the potion sit around forever.
I made a quick decision.
“I’m drinking it right here.”
“Oh, really?”
“It might go bad.”

Dairy products spoil quickly, after all.
I twisted off the cap and immediately downed it.

To be honest, the taste that filled my mouth wasn't great.
Still, after gulping it down, I felt a strange vitality coursing through my body.
I felt stronger.
“Aranseol, do I look any different?”
“Not at all.”
As I thought, no immediate effect yet.
It seemed I would have to wait a bit, just like with Aranseol’s potion.
I’d probably know by tomorrow.
I decided to believe that.
That is, until I heard the most absurd thing at the Holy Church the next day.
“Sir Harua, have you finally converted to the Holy Church? I can feel Divine Power from you!”
Overnight, I had gained Divine Power.