"Rod, where are you right now?"
Unlike her usual lazy tone, Jeanne's voice sounded somewhat anxious.
"At the Khaos Brigade headquarters. Why?"
"?"
The call ended instantly.
"..."
Rod stared at the disconnected call and fell into thought.
But before long, the door was suddenly thrown open as someone hurried inside.
The newcomer had long golden hair as radiant as the morning sun. Beneath her white casual clothes was a slender, shapely figure, while her well-proportioned features formed an exquisite face.
After bursting into the room, Jeanne looked around before quickly spotting Rod. Her face immediately lit up with delight.
"Rod! Jeanne desu, nya!"
Rod was also surprised to see her here.
"What are you doing here?"
"I just came with the other members of the Hero Faction to ask Ophis for some snakes. They left through the teleportation circle, so I found an excuse to separate from them."
Jeanne's expression turned serious.
"Rod... you're in a rather dangerous position right now."
Dangerous?
Rod thought he was doing perfectly well.
"Some people in the Hero Faction have already started suspecting you."
"How exactly do they suspect me?"
Rod became interested upon hearing that.
He had only joined the Hero Faction for the mission reward, so he had never taken his membership particularly seriously.
But now that trouble had come looking for him on its own, he was rather curious.
"You should already know that the Hero Faction has recently been attacking the various mythological factions, right?"
Rod had already heard about that.
Ever since the Old Maou Faction launched its terrorist attack, the existence of the Khaos Brigade had been exposed. Afterward, forces claiming to belong to the Khaos Brigade began launching terrorist attacks one after another.
Recently, the most active among them had been a group composed of human Sacred Gear wielders.
After several of them were captured, it was discovered that they belonged to the Hero Faction within the Khaos Brigade.
"This was actually ordered by Cao Cao," Jeanne explained. "His reasoning was that the alliance between the major factions had greatly increased the threat facing the Hero Faction."
"To strengthen our combat power, we needed to increase the number of Balance Breakers. Cao Cao wanted other Sacred Gear wielders to gain experience through combat, allowing them to awaken either true Balance Breakers or Subspecies Balance Breakers."
"That was only the original method, though."
"Recently, Cao Cao somehow learned that Ophis's snakes could stimulate the evolution of Sacred Gears. He ordered suitable members to use those snakes to force their Sacred Gears to evolve, then sent them into further battles."
"And once the snake's power begins working, it won't stop until the wielder either dies or successfully activates Balance Breaker."
As she spoke, Jeanne gradually became more emotional.
"But that method is wrong!"
"Some people did manage to evolve their Sacred Gears into Subspecies Balance Breakers or genuine Balance Breakers thanks to Ophis's snakes, but even more died because their Sacred Gears were pushed beyond their limits!"
"Rod, I thought about many things after I returned."
"I believe your ideals are the correct ones."
"Heroes shouldn't travel around the world starting wars, and they certainly shouldn't resort to any means necessary just to obtain power!"
"But Cao Cao has already gone mad. Or rather, most of the Hero Faction has gone mad."
"Even though they know that overloading their Sacred Gears could kill them, they're still willing to accept the snakes' stimulation!"
"Heroes shouldn't be like this... Heroes are supposed to fight to save others!"
"And many of them are only children..."
Jeanne's expression grew increasingly agitated.
Her progenitor had once fought bravely to save her people.
Yet now, in Jeanne's generation, the Hero Faction she had joined was harming its own kind.
Although Rod had already known about this, hearing it directly from someone involved still surprised him somewhat.
"And you still say the Hero Faction isn't a pyramid scheme?"
If Rod had said that before, Jeanne would definitely have refuted him on the spot.
But after everything she had witnessed, she had become completely disappointed in Cao Cao and those who agreed with his ideals.
"You were right! The Hero Faction really is a pyramid scheme now!"
"No... it's even worse than a pyramid scheme."
At least pyramid schemes only stole people's money.
This thing genuinely cost people their lives.
"You've finally seen the light."
Rod gave her a look that said she was finally teachable.
"But what does any of that have to do with them suspecting me?"
"Of course it's related."
"In order to increase the number of Balance Breakers, the Hero Faction has been attacking various mythological powers."
"After all the attacks Kuoh Town has suffered, its surroundings are now heavily guarded. Angels, Devils, and Fallen Angels have all stationed forces nearby."
"At present, it could be considered the ideal place for live combat training."
"Someone in the Hero Faction originally wanted to lead a group there, but I stopped them."
Rod finally understood why the Hero Faction had not attacked Kuoh Town recently.
"I told them that you were already living in Kuoh Town and had established yourself there. If they attacked recklessly, your identity might be exposed."
"Even so, Cao Cao has clearly become interested in you."
"And then?"
Rod was not surprised.
He had joined the Hero Faction quite some time ago, and he lived in a strategically important location like Kuoh Town.
It would have been strange if no one noticed him.
"Cao Cao wants you to participate in the next operation."
"If you refuse, he'll send people to attack Kuoh Town."
[Cao Cao has issued you a mission.]
[Mission: The Kyoto Incident.]
[Objective: Kidnap Yasaka, the supreme leader of Kyoto's yokai faction.]
[Reward: One random reward.]
He could issue missions from a distance?
Rod raised an eyebrow, then immediately nodded to Jeanne.
"Fine."
"I think Cao Cao already suspects you. The reason he wants you to participate in the next operation is probably to test whether you've developed disloyal intentions toward the Hero Faction."
"I personally advise you not to go. This operation could very well be a banquet set up specifically to trap you."
Jeanne rattled off a long explanation before finally processing his answer.
She stared at Rod in astonishment.
"Wait. What did you just say?!"
"Why would you participate? Don't you understand how dangerous this operation could be?"
Jeanne could not understand what Rod was thinking.
"I heard the target this time is a powerful yokai in Kyoto. Although I still don't know what Cao Cao intends to do, it clearly can't be anything good."
"It doesn't matter. We'll find out once I get there."
Rod smiled lightly.
"Besides, even if I know it's a trap, I still have to go."
"A hero is supposed to charge forward without hesitation, isn't he?"
Jeanne fell silent for several seconds.
In her eyes, Rod's figure seemed to erupt with boundless radiance, so dazzling that she could barely keep her eyes open.
His courage had exceeded her imagination.
Even the soul of the Saint seemed to have been conquered by it.
Never before had Jeanne felt as strongly as she did now that Rod was the only person truly worthy of becoming the Hero Faction's real leader.
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