I, Jacob, and Ethefelis carried all the enemy corpses to the very back, while Alice finished calming the passengers. In that regard, she really was outstanding.
After that, we went to look for Grace and saw that Licia was sitting beside her. What was going on? I walked over and sat across from Lixia, asking immediately,
"Lixia, why are you sitting here? Aren't you staying with the kid and the others?"
"Mr. Karen."
"That's right, Miss Lixia," Grace added curiously. "Aren't you going back to your companions?"
Licia answered me in a refreshingly straightforward tone.
"Karen, actually… I've decided to leave the party."
They had been arguing just a moment ago, and now she had suddenly decided to leave the party. What happened? But Lixia didn't look hesitant about saying it at all. Instead, she sounded very decisive.
"That's pretty sudden. What happened?"
Without the slightest hesitation, Lixia replied,
"I don't want to stay with them anymore. No one listens to what I say, and they only find me annoying."
"Miss Lixia, don't make a decision you might regret because of a moment of anger. Don't you feel any attachment to them?"
"Sister, I'm very sorry to say this, but I absolutely don't!"
Grace seemed to think Lixia was acting out of anger and wanted to persuade her not to make a reckless decision. But Lixia answered in an unusually cheerful tone.
Earlier, she had mentioned that she had thought about leaving the party many times before, but every time she stayed because the academy's course required students to form parties.
Now that Lixia had finally made up her mind, what would she do next?
"But Lixia," I asked, "what are you going to do after this? Forming a party is required, right?"
"I'll ask my friend."
So she had already thought about the consequences before making her decision. I nodded in approval and replied,
"It's good to have friends. Also, Licia, remember what I told you. Stay home tomorrow. Don't go out."
"I understand, but it's too much trouble for you, Mr. Karen. I have no way to repay you."
Lixia looked very embarrassed, so I casually replied that it wasn't anything special.
"It's fine. I asked around and learned quite a few things before anyway, and I was planning to go look for them."
"Mr. Karen, are you planning to wipe out Black Sun?"
Why did she suddenly come to that conclusion? I was just an ordinary commoner. I had no obligation to deal with things like that. Matters like that should be handled by the local authorities.
"Wiping out an organization is the country's responsibility. I'm just an adventurer hired to protect a merchant."
"Karen, but if they aren't eliminated, someone else will be kidnapped next. Now that we know about them, shouldn't we help destroy them?"
Today I finally realized that Grace had a strong sense of justice. It wasn't that she didn't have one before—it was that she apparently had this troublesome personality.
"Grace, we came here to protect Jacob. Once the job is done, we're leaving. We don't have that much time."
"Then we can report them to the police and have them arrested."
Would the police even be useful? A little bribery would settle everything. This world didn't have a complete legal system or reliable evidence for bribery. Unless someone was truly upright, who would refuse money?
Besides, with Lixia here right now, I didn't want to say too much and risk raising suspicion. I decided to agree with Grace for now and stop her later.
"Alright. Tomorrow, after I finish my business, you can go report them."
"Understood."
The existence of organizations like that was a kind of social disease—something the state should deal with. We were just passing through. We had no obligation to solve it. Even if we wiped them out, another group would simply take their place under a different name. It was pointless.
After that, I left and went to find Jacob and the others, who had sit to nearby seats, and told them about Lixia. At that time, it was 7:48 p.m.
Then, at 8:30, the train finally arrived at the first station. The speed of this train really needed improvement. If we had to ride it all the way to the final station, I couldn't imagine how many hours it would take.
We stood up and prepared to get off the train. Coincidentally, Lixia was also getting off at this station, so we disembarked together. After getting off, we said goodbye to her.
However, Lixia didn't want to leave first. She wanted to watch us go, so we left before her. Dinner time had already passed, and everyone was hungry—especially Ethefelis. The look in her eyes was terrifying.
I also noticed that there were streetlights here. Was the country prioritizing development in the southern cities? Or did every city with a train station have electricity? That seemed strange. Instead of developing surrounding areas first, they were focusing on certain regions.
Well, whatever. I didn't live in this country. I had no right to criticize it.
After leaving the station, I took out a hamburger for Ethefelis to fill her stomach a little. I was afraid she might start eating people.
"Ethefelis, this is a hamburger. Eat this first."
After opening the wrapper for her, she took it and bit into it immediately.
The moment she realized it tasted good, she started chewing faster. Before long, she finished it and held out her hand again, so I gave her another one.
"Karen, I want one too."
"Mr. Karen."
"Mr. Karen."
Seeing that there was food, Jacob and the others also begged me for some. So we ate hamburgers while walking around to find a restaurant. While eating, I told them that Black Sun's main target might actually be me. After finishing, we went to find an inn and checked in.
Before taking a bath, I stopped Grace.
"Grace, let me trim your hair."
Grace had cut her hair with a sword earlier, leaving it uneven and messy. I had been bothered by it for a while but hadn't found the right moment to mention it.
"Karen… do you know how to cut hair?"
Grace looked at me suspiciously, which irritated me a little.
"What kind of look is that? Don't you trust me? I'm the one who cuts Lina's hair."
"N-No, I believe you! Please help me trim it!"
The moment Grace heard Lina's name, she immediately agreed. Such a simple kid.
After that, I trimmed her hair to just above her neck. It made her look much more mature.