Quinie, seemingly having already spoken with Arald, boarded the ship along with the other devils without resistance.
As I watched them, Quinie spoke.
“I don’t know... I feel is all happening because of me.”
Quinie scratched her head as she spoke.
“If I hadn’t shown the Empire that Wizard view recording, maybe things would have turned out differently.”
Ah, she’s talking about when I defeated Belphegor.
I replied after hearing her words.
“I couldn’t hold my head up for days.”
“B-but it was still something to be proud of! I just wanted everyone to recognize the hero of the Empire...”
Quinie muttered, uncharacteristically subdued.
“Yes, I was grateful.”
“Thanks to you, Quinie, the war ended quickly, and the damage was minimized.”
Because Quinie showed that Wizard view, the Shepherds of Manggot and their forces at the time lost their morale and surrendered.
It's not like I don't know that.
Of course, at the time, it was embarrassing and awkward, and above all, it was troublesome to receive the attention of the Empire.
But it's undeniable that my spirits were lifted when people looked at me again and showered me with praise.
“There’s nothing for you to apologize for, Senior.”
“The enemy is clear.”
Odin. If it weren’t for his intervention, things wouldn’t have turned out this way.
Quinie might think that the reason things turned out this way was because I received attention from the Empire, but if you think like that, no human would ever be able to do good deeds.
If a good deed is only considered as such when everything works out perfectly until the very end, then who could possibly do it?
The enemy is clear and obvious. I like how simple it is.
“I will bring down God.”
“When that time comes, you’ll see that me leaving the Empire now was ultimately necessary.”
Quinie looked at me without saying a word in response.
After blinking a few times, she asked,
“Seriously, won’t you join our family?”
“Are you telling me to abandon Roach again–”
“That’s not what I meant!”
As we were having this light conversation, I heard a voice calling me from afar.
“Lord Frondier. Everyone has boarded.”
At those words, a look of loneliness spread across Quinie’s face.
“Well, you should go now, Frondier.”
“Can I come with you?”
Unable to answer Quinie’s question, I closed my mouth.
“Just kidding. I can’t leave the Empire anyway. My guild and family are here.”
“But I’ll be even more grown up by the time you come back, so look forward to it.”
Quinie’s eyes at that moment, as always, held clarity and a certain determination.
“By then, absolutely no one will ever dare to utter nonsense towards you again.”
I nodded at her words.
I have no doubt that Quinie will make it happen.
“Then I’ll be going.”
“Yeah. See you later.”
As if we were going to meet again soon, Quinie replied and waved her hand.
I waved back and boarded the ship.
It seemed like everyone was already ready and waiting for me.
Feeling a little awkward under their gazes that seemed to be waiting for my command, I cleared my throat once and said,
“From now on, we will be setting foot on unknown land.”
The land of the west, Agoris.
A continent we only know exists, but whose exact location and distance are unknown. We only know that it lies to the west from here.
“Arald, can this ship sail straight west?”
“Of course. Leave it to me.”
Arald answered with a confident voice, but I’m not sure if he’s really trustworthy.
“The devils flew from Agoris to our continent. Considering that, it can’t be an outrageously long distance. I’d like to believe that, but nothing is certain.”
Whenever devils appeared from the west, they were always seen flying on their wings.
Although devils don’t use Mana for flight because they have wings, they still consume stamina to use those wings. Additionally, there’s the issue of food during their travels.
Considering that, we can assume that Agoris isn’t too far away, but they could have stopped somewhere along the way, or there might be methods I’m unaware of.
“We are outcasts from the Empire. We have no choice but to head to Agoris. Before we can live there, we must overcome an even greater challenge. Reaching that place.”
I don’t know about the sea monsters. How powerful they are. Whether this ship can safely reach Agoris.
‘Above all, when it comes to the sea, there’s always…’
I can’t say for sure that there won’t be any more divine intervention.
“There’s nothing certain, and we’re heading into danger. I hope everyone fully understands that.”
Everyone nodded without hesitation at my words.
Our choice was predetermined from the beginning. We must have already made up our minds.
I was about to say, ‘Let’s set sail!’ in a cool way, but…
Suddenly, thunder roared loudly.
It was the perfect weather for our first voyage.
It wasn’t a gentle drizzle, but rather a downpour that felt like it was slapping our faces. In an instant, my hair and clothes were soaked.
I said in a deflated voice, and the response was the same.
And with strange timing, my smartwatch beeped.
Thinking it had been a while, I looked at the screen to see…
[World Quest Started.]