Inoses, a town on the outskirts of the Empire.

The mighty armed legion, numbering about 1,400 men, arrived in the city in the evening.

Although all the members of this army are equipped with equipment, and most of them seem to be elite warriors, they are not an army, the equipment is quite scattered, and the formation looks quite messy.

But if you look closely, you will see that the march of the whole army may not be disciplined, but it is divided into small units, more or less in number, and the members of these squads maintain a very close formation with each other.

It is a matter of course, because for these people, the only people who can really be trusted are their companions who belong to the same guild.

Because they are not soldiers, but adventurers.

The adventurer's party did not enter the city, but camped at the edge of the city. Honestly, in the eyes of adventurers, there are very few people who will like the town of Inoses. If you want to say the reason, it's just because this is the territory of the Goddess Cult.

The so-called Goddess Cult is the religious sect with the broadest range of believers on this continent. Not to mention the empire, the Goddess Cult has an extremely far-reaching influence in almost all the surrounding human countries.

The goddess cult believes in the creation of the sun goddess as the supreme deity, and the content of the canon is the creation myth of the goddess, which is basically to praise the great image of the goddess, advocating personal self-cultivation, as well as equality, care and love for them.

At first glance, it is not much different from other religions, and it can be regarded as a healthy and upward sect, but the Goddess Cult has an extreme doctrine - human beings are the descendants of the goddess, the embodiment of justice, and the alien races are all the children of evil gods, bringing chaos and destruction to the world.

In the creation myth of the goddess, all the alien gods who appear are evil gods, and the goddess finally kills all the evil gods, makes the bright sun rise to the sky, illuminates the continent shrouded in darkness, and liberates the suffering humans.

To put it simply, the goddess of creation is a god who overwhelms all her colleagues by force and creates a supreme position for the human race.

Having said that, the continent under human control is now only one-fifth of the area, barely on par with the great powers of the alien race. So, supremacy is nothing more than a joke to deceive yourself.

Despite this, the Goddesses do not think so, and they harbor some kind of unfounded superiority. Eight years ago, when the first emperor died, the imperial capital was in turmoil, and the new emperor ascended the throne, the goddess religion was established as the state religion.

Shortly thereafter, the human slave trade was banned, and the alien population was delegitimized in the Empire. After eight years of recklessness, the Cult of the Goddess has completely transformed the empire into a kingdom of human supremacy.

And here, [Inosis], is the birthplace of the Cult of the Imperial Goddess.

The spotless streets, almost neurotic uniform architecture and pure white paint give the whole town a 'holy' smell.

However, this is the hardest atmosphere for adventurers. Many of the adventurers' guilds are mixed with members of different races. In the adventures and battles, everyone will help each other, regardless of the influence of the teachings of the Goddess Cult, whether they are human or not, they will treat each other as good partners worthy of trusting their lives. Therefore, no one wants to see their brother who was born and died in the eyes of others.

What's more, the followers of the Goddess Cult are almost all vegetarians and do not drink alcohol. This means that the town's inns don't even have good wine and meat, so it's not appealing to the adventurer who loves to drink and have fun.

In the end, a team of more than 1,000 people chose to set up camp a few hundred meters away from the city gate. Each union sent some people to the city to purchase some supplies that needed to be replenished, and of course, the procurement team was composed of pure human beings.

After nightfall, the well-supplied adventurers gathered around the fire to drink and merry, and made a fuss for the first time in a long time, and did not quiet down until late at night.

The members of the Legendary Blades, the Knights who traveled with these adventurers, deliberately separated their tents from a distance.

On the edge of the tent, Weigu, a tall knight with long silver-blue hair and a ponytail tied at the back of his head, sat quietly by the fire, listening to the noise of adventurers in the distance, revealing a softer expression.

Although to those who are not familiar with it, it is no different from the usual poker face.

Among the Knights, Wegu was the most reticent man, and no one usually knew what he was thinking.

Only those who are familiar with him know that Weigu, who is not good at words, actually hides a burning heart for the sake of his companions under that mask made of frost.

Keeping a silent vigil like this is just a common thing for him.

"Wegu, it's a shift. ”

"Mira. ”

The tall knight turned his face in the direction from which the voice came, and saw his companion, Mira, a female knight with soft golden hair and so beautiful that she barely looked like a human, walking towards him.

Upon seeing her, Wegu immediately rummaged through the parcel and found the fresh sandwich bread he had just purchased from the city, and handed it to the female knight.

"What do you mean......

Mira frowned at the face of Weigu's series of smooth movements that had been prepared for a long time.

It has to be said that for women, a move like his is lacking in nerves.

“...... Aren't you hungry?"

"Wei Guyo, even I don't have an empty stomach all day long. ”

It's a pity that as soon as the words came out, a long "grunt-" sound came from Mira's abdomen.

“......”

“......”

"So, do you want to?"

"Hmmm......"

So, Weigu is a good man who thinks about his companions.

Mira took the bread from Weigu, opened her mouth and took a bite hard, followed by the second and third bites, which were bold and unrestrained in the slightest, like a crocodile, and devoured the prey in three or two strokes.

"Do you want more?"

"Hmm...... One more. ”

Taking the second loaf of bread, Mira leaned over and sat down by the fire, probably relieved by her empty stomach, and she looked a little more gentle than she had just eaten.

"When you're done eating, go to sleep, I'll keep vigil. There is very little I can do with the opponent of this expedition...... All that can be done is to replenish supplies and keep vigils. ”

Speaking of the goal of this expedition, it is to crusade against the S+-level Warcraft that appeared on the border of the Empire - Qingyuan Dragon.

Legend has it that it was an "Ice Dragon" that could summon the cold of the earth, and for Weigu, it was the most difficult opponent.

Because the elves who favor Weigu and successfully give the 'Holy Spirit Blessing' are only the 'Ice Holy Elves', so the magic skills he masters are very simple, and all the 'magic skills' of other attributes cannot be used except for "ice".

Although because of this, he far surpasses other companions in terms of the attainment of "Ice Magic Technique". But no matter how he reaches the peak, his "cold ice" will not be able to defeat the ancient demon dragon.

"I say Wegu, I appreciate your attitude of carrying out your mission to the end. However, once in a while, you should rely on a companion, otherwise you will soon get tired. ”

"In the second half of the night, Asbell and Frey ......"

"The two of them are fighting with the adventurers who took advantage of the chaos to enter the city to sell orc slaves during the day, and I am afraid that they will not wake up for a while. ”

"In the Adventurers' Guild, are there still orc slave traders......?"

This topic made Wei Gu's expression extremely cold, as if even the air could freeze. Although, again, to those who are not familiar with him, there is no significant change in the poker face.

"That's right, it should be the 'Gray Beast Regiment' mixed in the association, when I was cleaning the road two days ago, I caught some orc children as slaves by the way. Today, when I wanted to sneak into the city and sell it, I was caught by Asbell and Frey. ”

“...... And the result? The orc kids?"

"It didn't sell. There seems to be some trouble going on on the side of the Grey Beasts, and they want to calm things down. For the time being, the orcs will be protected by Yuri's union, and when the expedition is over, we will take them back to the Imperial Capital. ”

"Bring it back to the imperial capital......

Wei Gu's face sank, looking a little uneasy, under the current situation of the empire, those orc children may not be able to escape the fate of becoming slaves no matter where they go.

"It's better to go anywhere than to be sold here. ”

The alien oppression of Enoses is also one of the best in the Empire, and if they stay here, there is no doubt that the orc children will be mistreated in unimaginable ways in the future.

“......”

Mira's answer made a tired look climb up Vigu's face.

"Do you like orcs, Wigu?"

"Hmm...... In the homeland where I was born, humans live in harmony with orcs. They are no different from us, just like relatives...... But now ......"

Only those who are familiar with it can hear that there is a heavy sentimentality in Weigu's tone. In fact, after becoming a knight, he always wanted to rely on his position to do something for the oppressed orcs.

But as a result, the only limit he could was to protect his small hometown from slave traders. In addition to this, the vast empire is still playing out the tragedy of racial oppression all the time.

"That's right...... No wonder. ”

As she spoke, Mira swallowed the second loaf of bread.

By the way, the dry bread that Weigu bought was a marching food that was important for large quantities and easy to store. So, Mira, who was able to easily swallow two of them after dinner, felt like a bottomless pit in her stomach.

"So don't hold on, leave it to me tonight!"

Rarely, for tonight's vigil, Mira was tough to the point of feeling unnatural.

“...... All right. But don't let go of your stomach and eat all the dry food. We don't have much money left. ”

After this conversation, a violent feeling of fatigue could not help but rush over Weigu's heart, and he was defeated.

"Well...... One more at most. ”

Mira said with a look of fortitude that was like a great enemy.

In response, Wei Gu smiled helplessly, and then stood up and got into the tent. After that, Mira took the third loaf of bread from the package and tied the rope vigorously.

"Vlut ——!"

Towards the empty space, Mira shouted in a deep voice

"Quack-quack-quack-quack-"

Then, with a fierce crackling sound in the air, a huge ball appeared out of thin air, and the ball was surrounded by active electric light, and constantly made a strange 'rattling' sound, as if it were talking.

"Ah, I know, I'll be careful...... Help me keep a vigil for the night, and if I find a bad figure, it doesn't hurt to shoot me directly. ”

"Quack-quack-quack-"

"What? You call yourself pacifist? Hehe, since when did you learn to be humorous?"

"Quack-quack-quack-quack-"

"Okay, okay, I was wrong...... Well, it's almost ...... I'll leave it to you. ”

"Gaga...... Quack—"

In this way, after a series of conversations with the charged orb that made strange noises, no one could understand, Mira stepped out into the deserted night.

She cautiously dodged the adventurer's sentinels around the camp and came to the back of a low slope. Began to chant softly, "——,——,——,——,——......"

It was a lengthy incantation that lasted more than ten minutes before it finally ended.

- [Space Tunnel]. ”

As Mira pronounced the name of the magic, the 'space' in front of her changed, and a strange crack appeared, and then the cracked space, like a curtain that had been lifted, slowly opened, forming a door large enough for her to pass through.

"Mira, in the middle of the night, did not hesitate to forcibly open the Vigu...... Where do you want to go?"

And at the moment when he stretched out his foot and stepped into the crack, a man's steady voice came from behind him. I saw that with light brown hair, a "holy sword" pinned to his waist, and silver armor reflecting the bright moonlight, Chris, the strongest knight in the empire, stood impressively behind Mira.