The time Ryan had spent in the demon continent wasn’t long.

  Even so, he was beginning to feel uneasy.

  His companions, Helen and Mirian, were probably looking for him, and he didn’t even know what part of demon territory he was in.

  Because of that, it was impossible for him to calcute how long it would take to return, or if it would even be possible.

  Now that they were reunited with the kidnapped children, Ryan had to decide what to do next. The idea of pying babysitter in such a dangerous pce was something he didn’t like at all.

  'But I can’t just leave this brat here either.'

  Ryan approached the boy.

  "What’s your name, kid?"

  The boy didn’t answer. In fact, Beatrice repeated again that ever since she rescued him, he hadn’t spoken a single word.

  Karol approached and gently patted the boy’s head. He remained motionless, hugging his knees while leaning against the wall beside the bed.

  She spoke softly while brushing the hair away from his face.

  "Hey, tell me your name. Don’t you want to go home? We won’t hurt you."

  "Since my sister left, I tried talking to him too, but he didn’t respond to me either..."

  Beatrice sat down on the bed, crossed her legs, and rested her chin on her hand thoughtfully.

  Then she spoke.

  "I thought about it when I pulled him out of that pce, but now I’m certain. When I found him, he was tied to a chair. He had no wounds, but there was a lot of blood. And there were many empty potions around him. You know what I mean, right?"

  Karol’s expression changed. She clenched her fists and looked at Ryan.

  "We have to take him with us. The poor boy is traumatized."

  'From what they’re saying, they clearly tortured him and healed the wounds just to repeat it. But why would anyone do something like that? And why would a human noble be capable of pnning it? Whoever is behind this... what are they trying to accomplish?'

  "Yeah, I agree. And I want to leave as soon as possible. My companions must be worried."

  Ryan walked over to Beatrice.

  "What? What is it?" she asked while staring at him. She blushed slightly, perhaps remembering what had happened earlier.

  "I want you to show us the way back to Ehres Valley."

  "So you’re from that pce? It’s quite far."

  "How far are we talking?"

  "At least four days to get there."

  'Four days? That’s a long time...'

  Karol approached them with a confused look.

  "It’ll take us four days? Why are you talking as if you’re coming too? I don’t think you have anything to do over there."

  "Oh, well... that’s because... I’ll just guide you so you don’t get into trouble!"

  "And why would you help us? You could just show us the way," Ryan asked.

  "That’s because it will be my way of repaying you for helping me reunite with my brother! After this, I won’t owe you anything, understand, miserable human?!"

  "Yeah, sure. But four days is a long time. Why don’t we use the secret tunnel you mentioned earlier instead?"

  "Don’t be stupid. If the soldiers of Demon King Rigal are pnning something, that tunnel is probably guarded by a higher-ranking demon. If we run into archdemons or infernals... that’ll be the end of us."

  She paused briefly before continuing.

  "So the best option is the long route. We’ll avoid fighting. And I’ll send a message to His Majesty. He’ll dispatch capable sentinels to investigate."

  Karol pced a hand on her chin.

  "Sentinels? You mean the personal guard of the Demon King’s children?"

  "Yes, exactly. In fact, the sentinel duels will be held soon, and I pn to participate so I can earn my pce as a sentinel of Lord Soris," Beatrice replied with a wide smile.

  Ryan and Karol exchanged gnces.

  "I assume she’s talking about him," Ryan said.

  "Yes... no doubt..."

  "Huh? What are you talking about? Do you know Lord Soris?"

  Ryan cpped his hands together with a sharp sound.

  "That doesn’t matter right now. For the moment we’re a temporary party, so we should get moving."

  "Yes!" Karol replied, and Beatrice nodded.

  Beatrice walked over and pulled a bag from beneath the bed. From it, she took several garments that looked like hooded cloaks.

  "We’ll be a rather unusual group. Put these on. If we run into demons, I’ll do the talking. Don’t worry, no one will bother us."

  'I hope so. Now all that’s left is...'

  Ryan approached the boy. He was still staring at the ground, his eyes unfocused.

  "Listen, kid," Ryan said firmly, his voice deeper than usual.

  "We’re going back to Ehres Valley, and I’ll make sure you’re protected until we get there. So tell me: what do you want to do? Stay here? Keep sitting like that? Or come with me?"

  For a moment, the boy moved his hand. Then slowly he lifted his head, tears filling his eyes.

  "I... I want to go back to my family."

  Both Karol and Beatrice smiled.

  "Looks like he’s feeling a bit better now," Beatrice commented.

  Now they were ready. Everyone prepared themselves and dressed in the outfits Beatrice had given them.

  Then they set off.

  ◇◇◇

  The journey was long. But with Beatrice’s help, they encountered no trouble and had no need to fight.

  From the distance, they could already see Ehres Valley.

  "Alright, I think this is where we’ll stop."

  "Yeah, we can already see the vilge from here. If I go any closer, they’ll think the demons are attacking. Hehe… it’s strange. Teaming up with demons shouldn’t be possible, but it was exciting."

  "I feel the same. The two of you are quite interesting, even if you are humans."

  Ryan stepped in with a brief smile.

  "What’s wrong? Are you going to miss us?"

  "Of course not!"

  Ryan smiled and said,

  "Hmm, even so… perhaps we’ll meet again someday."

  "If that happens, then remember this… we’ll be enemies."

  'Enemies, huh? Well, that’s only natural.'

  "I know. Until then, try not to die," Ryan replied, extending his hand.

  Beatrice grabbed his hand. With a firm handshake, the two looked straight into each other’s eyes.

  "You too. Try not to die, Ryan."

  For both of them, it was probably more than just a simple farewell. But neither of them truly knew what might happen if they met again.

  After saying goodbye, Ryan, together with Karol and the boy, headed toward the vilge.

  The guards were very surprised to see Ryan arrive with two small children.

  One was the boy he had rescued, and the other was Karol, who had already run out of mana and returned to her childlike form.

  Ryan expined to the guards what had happened, leaving out the part about being guided by demons.

  The guards said they would report the matter to their superiors, confirm the boy’s identity, and search for his family.

  In the meantime, the boy would spend the night in the vilge infirmary. There they would make sure he was fed and taken care of while they worked to identify him.

  Ryan considered taking the boy with him, but he didn’t know if he would find Helen and Mirian at the inn, or if some problem might arise along the way.

  Besides, the vilge infirmary could take better care of the boy after everything he had gone through.

  So he decided to leave him under the care of the guards and the infirmary staff, agreeing to visit him again in the morning.

  After leaving the boy with the guards, Ryan quickly headed toward the tavern.

  It was already night. In fact, very te.

  When he pushed open the tavern doors, at a table in the back sat Helen, with Mirian across from her.

  Several bottles of liquor were scattered across their table.

  Helen’s eyes were red.

  "Ryan is a bastard! How dare he abandon us..."

  Mirian drank another cup before speaking.

  "I can’t believe he left us… after everything he’s done to us… what a jerk!"

  Rudriel