CH 259

It had been more than 10 days since Tauro left “The Black Golden wings” and went to the village of the Dragon People.

Aeris, who took over as leader, was very busy.

She had no idea how much Tauro had contributed to the team by doing all kinds of work.

Even after all this time, I can appreciate how much he has done for the team.

And while she  was busy, Aeris also had a chance to look at herself.

When she first became an adventurer, Aeris was frightened by the shadow of that woman who was her mother, but she continued to strive to find the meaning of her existence.

And was beginning to feel that her talents had been recognized as an adventurer and that her hard work there was worthwhile.

But then Tauro appeared.

I was surprised to see a boy younger than me, who appeared at the guild where I was being flaunted as the youngest and most promising adventurer.

At first I was astonished that he was better than me, then I was angry about it, and then I was intrigued.

So I was taken into the company of Tauro and his friends, and I felt safe and comfortable beside them.

Tauro was always cautious and had a cute side, but yet was always cool-headed and would use his brains and talents to get out of a crisis.

I found my place beside him and became dependent on him.

When there was an uproar over the succession of my family, Tauro gave generously of his own wealth for me, and helped me in every way he could.

Of course, my father reimbursed him for all the money afterwards, but I was so happy that he helped me that I finally became dependent on Tauro.

But I was the daughter of that lousy woman.

I began to think that one day I might end up like her, and that Tauro might give up on me because of it.

Of course, I didn’t let go and stayed by Tauro’s side where I felt comfortable, but one day, Ragune joined us, Ankh joined us, and I decided to share a home with Ragune.

In the midst of all this, when Tauro died, albeit temporarily, the shock was so great that I couldn’t even speak.

Of course, I was relieved that he came back to life, but I also realized how important Tauro was to me.

And then a change came to me as well.

By spending time with Ragune and talking with her, I became aware of my dependence on Tauro, and I felt that I was able to look at myself more objectively.*

Then came the Tauro’s withdrawal from the group.

It was a great opportunity for me to look back at the past and take a serious look at myself.

The fact that I am able to see Tauro’s absence as a positive rather than a negative was something I would not have been able to do in the past.

Aeris asked herself,

What can I do now?

Isn’t it to create a place where Tauro can come home in peace?

It is my turn to contribute to Tauro.

So what can we do?

Eradicate the assassin guilds?

No, that’s not realistic. ……

So, pursue the employers who are targeting Tauro?

How can we do that?

Aeris repeated the question to herself and came up with an answer.

“Ragune, Ankh. Shall we go to the royal capital?”

On the way back from completing the quest, Aeris made a proposal to the two that at first hearing seemed out of the ordinary.

“”The royal capital?””

Since their quest was over, the two asked again, wondering if she was talking about some kind of quest.

“Tauro’s gone into hiding and wait for things to cool down, but I think it’s important that we do what we can to help.”

“That’s all well and good, but what are you going to do in the Royal Capital?”

Ankh did not understand what Aeris meant and asked again.

“I’m going to move my dad. My dad is a leading neutral in the noble faction, but Viscount Saissi, who is suspected of being the cause of the targeting of Tauro, is a member of the Marquis of Halagoura’s faction. So we have to move the neutral factions to cooperate with the Prime Minister’s faction, which is close to the royal family, to hunt down Viscount Saissi.”

“Hey, Aeris. If you do that, you could end up in an all-out war between factions that’ll split the country in two.”

Ankh pointed out the danger of Aeris’s idea.

“I’ll talk to my dad about it. If we want to protect  Tauro, we only need to deal with Viscount Saissi.”

“ I’m not sure ……, but if we do that, does that mean Tauro can come back and not be frightened by the assassin guilds? If that’s the case, I’m all for it.”

Ragune agreed with Aeris’s  plan.

‘…… are you two serious? Huh,……, okay. Let’s just trust that Aeris’s dad will stand up to him well.”

Ankh let out a sigh and decided to agree with them both.