As I stepped out of the building, Will and Lucre were waiting for me.
"Orun-kun, good work! We can head home now, right?"
Lucre turned toward me with an expression that eloquently screamed she wanted to get out of here as fast as possible.
"Yeah. I got Lazarus-sama's approval too. Let's head back to Tsutorairu."
"Great! Rex-san and the others are already arranging a carriage. We'll head to the south gate first!"
It seemed that while the old man Edington and I were talking, Lucre and the rest had prepared everything for departure.
Since the Second Unit members were handling the carriage and heading to the south gate, we followed suit and moved there as well.
"—Orun."
Just as we exited the south gate and stepped outside the outer wall, Will called out from behind me. I turned around.
"Hm? What's—!?"
The next instant, a shock hit my face, and before I knew it, I was sitting flat on my butt on the ground.
The metallic taste of blood spread through my mouth. That's when I realized Will had punched me.
"Why the hell did you do something so reckless!!"
While I was still stunned from being hit, Will's furious shout rained down from above.
When I looked up, his enraged face filled my vision.
The "reckless" part was probably me challenging Felix alone.
Will and Lucre had both said they'd fight together with me, yet I'd ignored that and separated from them.
It was only natural for him to be angry.
"...Sorry."
"I know how strong you are. The fact that you beat the [Hero] one-on-one means your choice was probably the right one. If we'd been there, we might have just held you back."
Will spoke with a pained expression.
I wanted to deny that they'd ever hold me back, but the words wouldn't come out.
"I know this anger of mine is irrational. You weren't wrong. But still—I can't accept what you did! I hate the idea of being completely useless while my comrades die... I'm the shield of the Silver Moon Rabbit of the Night Sky. If something like this happens again, you absolutely have to bring me along next time. Even if I end up being a burden, use me as a decoy or whatever you want. But if you pull this kind of stunt alone again, I won't forgive you!"
"..."
Hearing Will's raw, sincere feelings made me reconsider whether my choice had been mistaken.
I really hadn't considered how the people left behind would feel.
If our positions were reversed—if I were Will or Lucre—I'd probably be furious too.
You shouldn't worry your comrades more than necessary...
"...Yeah. I'll keep that in mind. Lucre, I'm sorry for worrying you too."
After replying to Will, I apologized to Lucre, who was standing beside him with an expression on the verge of tears.
"I mean it... I was really, really worried! But since you came back safe, I forgive you!"
"Thanks. I promise I won't do anything that reckless again."
As Lucre forgave me, Will extended his hand.
"Sorry for punching you, Orun."
"You don't need to apologize, Will. Honestly, it woke me up. Thanks."
I told him no apology was necessary, took his hand, and stood up.
Right on cue, the carriage carrying Rex-san and the others arrived.
The three of us climbed aboard, and the carriage set off toward Tsutorairu.
—However, en route we received word from someone connected to the Edington Count family that the Twilight Moonbow had been attacked by bandits and was currently staying at the Count Roils estate.
We changed course to Roils and hurried toward our disciples.
◇
Upon arriving in Roils, I immediately headed to the mansion and went straight to the room where my disciples were.
"Sophie! Log! Carol!"
I called their names as I opened the door.
But all three were sitting on the sofa, fast asleep, so no reply came.
Their expressions were incredibly peaceful. Sophie and Carol were even leaning against each other as they slept.
"Orun-san... Thank goodness you're safe...!"
Only Luna, who was awake, looked at me with visible relief.
"I heard they were attacked by bandits—are the three of them okay?"
"Yes. They're just exhausted and sleeping, but there's no threat to their lives."
"Good... I'm relieved. ...So, what exactly happened?"
After confirming my disciples were safe and breathing easier, I asked Luna what had occurred.
"Actually, I wasn't with them when the bandits attacked—I was somewhere else... So this is what I heard from them afterward—"
Luna wasn't with them?
The Twilight Moonbow was supposed to be heading to the royal capital with Abel-san.
Why had they split up?
While wondering that, I listened as Luna began explaining what had happened to the disciples—and to herself.
"Huh—fairies can sense signs of a labyrinth overflow? I always thought they were just imaginary creatures from fairy tales, so just knowing they exist is surprising enough, but having that kind of insane ability on top of it is wild."
Lucre, who had been listening to Luna's story alongside me, spoke up.
"Fairies are fundamentally different beings from us. Even I don't fully grasp their true nature, but she might be special even among fairies, which is why she could sense the signs."
"Fairies, huh... If we could borrow their power, conquering the Great Labyrinths would get a whole lot easier."
"I agree, but fairies are notoriously capricious. Relying on them carries far too much risk."
"...We're getting off track, but Luna—do you have any idea who those bandits were?"
The conversation had veered toward fairies, so I cut in to bring it back.
"Yes, I do. The ones who attacked were most likely—the Cyclamen Order."
"Wha—!?"
"The criminal organization, the Cyclamen Order!?"
Will and Lucre both let out shocked exclamations at Luna's answer to my question.
Even I swallowed hard at the bigger-than-expected name.
"The attackers were apparently a pair of male-female twins, around the same age as these kids. And their faces... they looked so much like Carol that they claimed to be her older brother and sister."
One shocking revelation after another spilled from Luna's mouth.
"...So Carol had siblings. Assuming that man gave the order, their goal was probably to kidnap Carol? No, wait—his behavior suggested he thought Carol was already dead, so that doesn't add up..."
Exhausted from earlier and hit with this bombshell, my thoughts unintentionally leaked out loud.
"Orun-san, who's 'that man' you're referring to?"
Luna, having overheard my muttering, asked.
"The guy who intervened during my fight with the [Hero]. He seems to be part of the Cyclamen Order too, and he was after Carol's unique ability..."
I answered Luna's question normally at first, but midway through, I felt the blood drain from my entire body.
"...? Orun-san?"
"Why... did I forget...?"
"Hey, your face is pale. You okay?"
It hit me then—I had somehow completely forgotten about the red-cloaked man.
No, "forgotten" isn't quite accurate.
I'd remembered him the whole time.
But after the dragon swarm battle ended, the fact that the red-cloaked man—who should have been right there—had vanished entirely from my mind.
Had I simply been so focused on dealing with the dragons that I forgot about him?
No—even if I had forgotten, neither Shion nor Felix would have chosen to leave him behind.
Which means all three of us had completely lost any awareness of his presence.
That's impossible.
Unless something could create that kind of situation...
"[Recognition Alteration]..."
Yes. [Recognition Alteration].
According to Hart-san, Philly Carpenter—the one who possesses that ability—is a high-ranking member of the Cyclamen Order.
If she intervened to protect her comrades, it wouldn't feel that out of place.
"[Recognition Alteration]? That's Philly-san's ability, right? Why is she coming up here?"
Luna reacted to my murmur.
I'd already shared information about the incident half a year ago involving Oliver's rampage with Luna and the First Unit members.
"...Sorry. I lost my composure. I'll explain what happened during my fight with the [Hero] too, for everyone's information."
After that preface, I concisely recounted everything that occurred after Felix and I had teleported near the Cryo Mountains.
"So the one who did terrible things to Carol was that man named Ozwald?"
After hearing my story, Luna asked with unconcealed anger.
Will and Lucre weren't hiding their disgust either.
"Yeah. And the Cyclamen Order is now an outright enemy."
They toyed with Oliver, Luna, and even Derrick and Aneli on the side—and now they've harmed my disciples too. I can't overlook this anymore.
They were already an unpleasant bunch to begin with—but Cyclamen Order, I'm going to crush you!
At that moment, I had no way of knowing.
This incident was merely the tiniest tip of the long, deep grudge between us and the Cyclamen Order—