"How are Tess and Naria?"

"Did the elves get caught?"

"Is Iss really here to get revenge on the dwarves?"

"Did he really kill the dwarves?"

...... Ed relentlessly asked countless questions at the back of the half-elf priest, and finally got a short two-word answer.

"Shut up. ”

Ed kept his mouth shut, contemplating the next question, when for some reason the paladin Philip Zeri, who had been following them, had already taken his place: "Celebryan...... Do you really know where to go?"

The half-elf had been hurrying forward without hesitation, and Ed suspected that the momentary pause of the thin white figure was just a dazzle for him, but Fili had already voiced his concern in an affirmative tone: "You're lost." ”

He got the same two words.

"Shut up!"

But there was finally a hint of emotion in the voice.

Ed felt as if they had walked through the same place several times, but the half-elf's unhesitating footsteps confused him and kept him from questioning.

If it was on the ground, as a half-elf and a priest of the moon god, Celebrian would not be able to get lost, but this is a dwarven world, under the rocks where the moonlight does not shine. It wasn't the first time a half-elf had entered a dwarven mine, but he was never needed to lead the way.

He never had to follow silently.

The half-elf suddenly stopped, turned sideways, and said coldly to Ed, "You go ahead." ”

“...... Huh?" Ed opened his mouth for some reason.

"My mission is to help you, not guide you. The priest impatiently tapped him on the leg with his cane, "Go ahead!"

"You get lost, and then you decide to let a little kid come and find your way. Filin leaned against the rock wall, overjoyed.

The half-elf ignored him with a straight face.

"I'm not a child...... presumably thinking that such a retort was too childish, and Ed quickly turned to another question: "Why the hell are you following us!"

"We're going to the same place. Filly looked like he took it for granted.

“...... You want us to take you to kill Is?" Ed cried, he had never met anyone thicker than him, "Are you serious?!"

"Don't worry, I'm not interested in killing your ice dragon kid at all. Fili spread his hands, "I'm kind of a friend of Scott's. ”

That didn't dispel Ed's suspicions about him in the slightest: "Many paladins know Scott, and they don't have any mercy when dealing with Is!"

- "Scott himself would do the same. "Once a paladin visited Chryses Castle to bring compensation from the temple to the Singal family, and asked him for news of Is. When Ed angrily questioned why the paladins would hurt their comrades' relatives without asking for any reason, he replied.

"Once he knew that his brother was an ice dragon, he would be even angrier than we were. After all, he was deceived by that evil creature and raised him with his heart for ten years. ”

Since then, Ed Singer has been convinced that Paladins are all the most stubborn, ruthless, and inflexible people in the world, who are good at using justice as an excuse for all their despicable acts.

The one in front of him, even Scott Christos himself, was no exception.

"You can't follow us anymore. He said firmly.

"So, what do you want to do? Look, you can't beat me unless the half-breathing but still intimidating priest over there does you a favor...... But I doubt he wouldn't do that. Filly smiled at him fearlessly.

Ed looked at Celebrien, the half-elf looking indifferent, not knowing where to look.

He wasn't sure if he would help.

“...... You'll regret it. The young man bluffed and threatened, turned and walked forward, resigned to his fate, and began to find his way as he wrestled his brains as he thought about how to get rid of the nasty creature behind him.

The half-elf followed silently.

Philip Zeri stood there for a moment, sighed, and muttered, "I think so, too." ”

Then he shook his head and continued to be an undesirable follower.

They were far from Crapp's Sacred Canteen, and the fainted dwarf had been stuffed into the chest where Philly had been hiding, and the lid had been sealed.

"He'll get a long, soundly sleepy night's sleep...... It's always more comfortable than we are anyway. Fili said that Ed believed he had used some dastardly paladin spell to make the dwarf unable to wake up easily. The half-elf grabbed Ed's shoulder and took him to a nearby abandoned mine with a sealed entrance, and Fili, who quickly grabbed Ed's arm, was also brought along.

There was a slight gap between the wooden bars that closed the entrance, and they could even smell the scent of Crapp's signature barbecue - and Ed wasn't full!

Of course, he didn't dare complain about this.

There was no light in the cavern, and they walked a little through the glimmer of light through the cracks, and the gems on the half-elf canes gradually glowed softly, and the white light, which was more stable and bright than the torches, dispelled the darkness, but could not show them the way.

Ed had thought that the half-elves knew that there was a path in the abandoned mine that would lead to where Iss was, but now he realized that the priest was not omnipotent, and that he was probably just looking for a path that didn't seem so troublesome, not thinking that it might not be able to get out at all.

In addition to the many forks in the tunnel, there were many straight up and down paths, and Ed tried several of them with the help of the Half-Elf Silence, all of which were dead ends, ending only in hard, impermeable rock.

In the end, he had to abandon this safe but useless method.

"We got to get outside. He said to the half-elves, "You can still make us invisible, right?"

"You and I, yes. The half-elf replied.

Ed's eyes lit up, this was a great opportunity to get rid of Fili.

"Oh, then I'm bound to get caught by the dwarves...... I can't lie the least, and if the dwarves ask about something, what shall I say?" said Fili, scratching his head in feigned annoyance.

“...... Even if you can't kill him, is there a way to make him unconscious or something?" Ed could see that the half-elf and Filly were old acquaintances, but he couldn't stand this paladin.

- When he had the cheekiness to pester the Delians' siblings, as well as Norway and Tess, all those years ago, did they also find it annoying?

Ed Singal refuses to think about it.

The half-elf frowned and did not answer.

"The god of water and the god of the moon are gods of the same realm, and most of his spells don't work for me. Filly was still grinning, "Do you want him to hit me on the head with that cane?"

"Mostly. The half-elf said coldly, "And I can indeed knock you on the head with a cane." ”

The bright gray gem arced gracefully in front of Ed's eyes, smashing into the paladin's head without warning, apparently to Fili's surprise, and he hurriedly leaned back, but the half-elf's cane seemed to grow suddenly, still striking his head accurately.

Filly fell to the ground, and Ed jumped up with a shout.

"Why didn't you do it earlier!" he asked.

Keller Brian withdrew his cane, his expression still faint: "Why didn't you say it earlier." ”

Ed was dumbfounded. The Half-Elf Priest seems to have a strange insistence on his identity as a "helper".

"Okay, so now, let's get out of here incognito. He rubbed his hands together, eager to enjoy the excitement and excitement of standing in the crowd again, but no one could see him.

"Don't stay two feet away from me, don't touch anyone, and don't let anyone touch you. The half-elf warned him.

As when Christus opened the magically sealed iron door, he didn't recite any incantations, but gently tapped the ground with the bottom of his staff, and some of the light emanating from the grey gems seemed to be staggering apart, like shimmering dust, gradually clinging to the priest's body, little by little, hiding him, and Ed's body, which was not far from him.

“...... So, this spell is actually on you? Have you been following me? Since when? Why don't I feel anything at all? We've got to be very close, aren't we......"

"Shut up. ”

"Okay. But if you cast another spell to get us out, won't the invisibility go away? And if I take your cane......"

"Shut up!"

The end of those two words suddenly disappeared. In complete darkness regaining control of the Forgotten Land, the paladin, who was lying quietly on the ground, moved and sat up.

"When did the paladins become so disgusting?" Fili sighed, seemingly completely unaware that his "disgusting" was not due to his status.

He crawled up on top of his head, still in pain, and spells with a strange rhythm spat out from between his lips, a faint light that seemed to emanate from his body, illuminating his surroundings.

"Nyo, my goddess, at least you haven't abandoned me. The paladin saluted his otherworldly deity in a not-so-standard gesture - if Browder saw it, he would have frowned and made him flee with an accusatory look. But he believed that his goddess would not mind.

――I don't mind.

He began to walk back. On the way, they passed another sealed entrance, which seemed to be quieter, and he believed that it was also the place the half-elves would choose.