Chapter 1027 – Late Departure

000

“So… Why aren’t you coming, you idiot!”

Lila’s angry voice rang out.

Even though it is morning and the sun has not yet risen overhead, it is a gathering of people standing without a proper place to sit.

Those who joined the expedition voluntarily or unwillingly were nodding their heads in silent agreement with Lila’s words.

“Lila… Your voice is too loud.”

“It’s 1 hour! It’s 1 hour from the time we were originally supposed to meet! No matter how much you say you’re the leader, it’s too late!”

Cleon tried to calmly and carefully encourage Lila, but Lila raised her voice even more and screamed at Cleon.

And just as Lila said, they were now gathered in front of the northern gate of Asteris, waiting for Attis, who had not been seen for an hour.

There were no complaints for the first 10 minutes.

And, there was an atmosphere of understanding that if that was the case, everyone could do it.

However, after 20 minutes, someone started to ask, ‘Why aren’t you coming?’

Even there, it was a natural question, and one of Attis’ disciples would go looking for his teacher.

The remaining disciples also bought time by calming down the gathered humans of the expedition and apologizing on behalf of their teacher.

After 30 minutes, when the disciple who had gone to look for the teacher returned, the teacher made an excuse saying that he was just getting up and getting ready.

Some people laughed, and some sighed.

“She is. From what I heard, she was busy preparing for her expedition until yesterday. She is the one who put the most effort out of all of us. Let her wait a little more patiently.”

The person who spoke out as if to calm down the expedition was no one else, but the head of the Eastern Kingdom, Miyeom-gong.

Not even a week had passed since he returned to government duties, and he, along with his vassals, was outside the castle gate to personally see off the expedition team that was about to leave.

If the head of a country spoke like that, others had no choice but to swallow their complaints and remain quiet.

Of course, there was a limit to that as doubling time passed.

In the end, when the disciple who had gone to check on the teacher earlier left once again, I had no choice but to wait for him to return.

When things happened like that, the northern gate became a place for conversation where people who came to participate in the expedition or people involved formed a group and talked.

Likewise, Herti, who was seeing off, had the most people around her, followed by Tokoyo, the great priestess.

It was rare to see the heads of the three groups leading this country, the Chamber of Commerce, the temple, and the government, gathered in one place.

Cleon kept his position and stood there, but occasionally he felt the gaze of the two people and only returned a greeting by lightly waving his hand or nodding his head.

Is there something to say?

However, due to the number of humans surrounding her, the two people were unable to move from that spot.

“Wow~ A lot of famous people from Eastern countries are gathered here.”

As if on behalf of those two people, Noctis slowly, with a suspicious gait, walked towards Cleon and spoke to him.

Then, Cleon turns her gaze towards Noctis and speaks.

“So… What about you? Since you’re a reporter, don’t you want to hear a lot of things from the two of you?”

At Cleon’s words, Noctis shook his head quietly.

“This job is all about recording the expedition’s schedule and achievements! Well, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous…”

Noctis spoke while carefully looking at Herti.

“Herti… I guess you could say she’s afraid to start a conversation because of the contract she made last time…”

Haha…”

Cleon nods his head as if he understands Noctis’ words.

Certainly, there is something scary about Herti talking about business.

“Rather than that, I want to talk to Cleon right now. Herti and Tokoyo, plus Riomes…?”

Riomes? What is Riomes?

When Cleon looks back at her, who is standing next to her beauty,

There, I could see the princess looking at me with passionate eyes.

Those eyes of Riomes… Are ones I haven’t seen in a while since I left the academy.

As Cleon felt goosebumps rising on his back, a ‘click’ sound was heard from somewhere.

If you turn your head towards that place,

Noctis opened the lid of a brush that fit the size of her hand and took out her notepad.

“Heads of the three highest organizations in the Eastern countries… Or, an adventurer who is rumored to have a ‘something like that’ relationship with the next leader…! This will definitely be a scoop!”

Meanwhile, Noctis moves his brush quickly.

“S-stop it! What you want to be is a magazine reporter who writes a lot of gossip!”

Seeing Cleon genuinely embarrassed and sweating, Noctis stopped his brush, looked back at the notepad, and stuck out his tongue, saying ‘Beh!’.

“No way, I was just joking. I think I’m starting to understand what kind of person Cleon is.”

“Whew…”

Cleon sighed at Noctis’ words and wiped her forehead, looking a little tired.

“… This expedition. It’s not all about finding the ruins hidden in the Four Dragon Mountains, right? We’ll definitely run into those hiding inside those mountains… The ‘returners’.”

And, Noctis changes his mood from before and puts on the bread hat he was wearing.

If the area under your eyes is shaded by the front of the hat, it becomes difficult to imagine the slightly flustered appearance you usually see.

And now, she is not just a ‘journalist Noctis’, but is closer to the head of a proud noble family who carries on her father’s will and runs around in the shadows and darkness to protect this country of the East.

Cleon nodded to her question.

“Maybe we can hit their base.”

“As expected… If that’s the case, I’ll go with you. Of course the ruins are interesting, but… I have a duty to record and report on what kind of evil they have committed.”

When she said that, it was so strong and clear-hearted that it was impossible to say ‘no’.

“It must be dangerous.”

“I accepted it. Considering the threat they have posed to the people so far, it is not something that I, a noble, can afford to run away from. I am different from Enlai.”

“… Ah, that’s right.”

Cleon nodded his head as if he understood what she said.

Obviously, it would be outrageous and disrespectful to her to compare her to a corrupt human like En Lai.

“If the job is completed safely and the roots of the returnees are rooted out… Cleon, you will also keep your promise to me… Then I…”

Cleon hears his voice, which was quiet yet powerful until now, slowly becoming smaller for some reason.

Did I suddenly feel unwell? I’m worried, so I slightly lower my head and look at her hidden face.

I could see that Noctis’ cheeks were slightly red.

“Noctis…?”

It was the very moment Cleon called her name as if he was worried.

“Hey~!! I’m sorry! Furthermore, I’m late by an hour!”

From far away, Artis, trudging along while waving his hand, finally appeared.

Next to her was Fleur, wearing her mask and holding on to her butler’s arm.

“Late! Huh!”

Of course, Lila, who had been waiting until now and was filled with frustration, ran straight to her, screaming in her voice.

“What time do you think it is!?”

“So you said you were an hour late? Lila doesn’t have much time to spare~”

Shrugging her shoulders, she put the tobacco in her mouth and lit it with a match, thinking it wouldn’t matter since it was outside of her.

Quick!

“You… You…! Show at least a little bit of reflection!”

Naturally, Lila reacted even louder, and since she thought that only someone in the party could stop her, Cleon and Kuon walked quickly towards Lila at the same time.

“Calm down Lila!”

“Yes! Let’s calm down, Lila! Let’s cancel that fire sphere she created in her hand?!”

After the two people rushed in, grabbed her by both arms, and dragged her behind, Lila was able to let out her accumulated fire magic while huffing.

Haha, Laila. Don’t be so angry. When I woke up in the morning and heard that we had exceeded the meeting time, I was definitely… A little…! I was a little scared. But if you think about it, if you rush, the ruins might disappear. You’re not doing it, are you?”

And then, as she spoke leisurely, Artis sucked in and exhaled the smoke of her tobacco.

Haha… Of course Cleon would sigh.

Naturally, the views of those around him were not good.

Why do you make such a comment to make enemies in front of the people of the expedition team with whom you will be spending a considerable amount of time in the future?

Anyone who knows her from the beginning would think she can’t help it… No, she doesn’t, although she is quite unforgivably late.

But suddenly, Cleon sees Attis’ face.

“…?”

I guess I should say that my cheeks are a little unnaturally bright in some places, unlike usual.

No, it’s different.

The reason she felt that her face was different from usual was not simply because she felt her complexion was better than usual.

Something ‘unnatural’ was felt around the eyes, cheeks, and lips.

The identity of that sense of discomfort is…

‘… Are you wearing makeup?’

That Attis?

I’ve seen her face several times now, but I’ve never seen her paint anything on her face.

Of course, she is beautiful enough even without doing such things, but the reason is that she is not very interested in improving her appearance due to her personality.

However, Cleon could instinctively feel that today’s Artis was wearing thick makeup so as not to be noticeable.

In any case, when Cleon kept quiet as if he didn’t know the reason, she saw Fleur’s butler standing next to her on behalf of Artis-

The Shark Fishman’s Kshat bowed her head and apologized.

“I’m sorry, Laila… Actually, there was someone who joined the expedition just before departure… I was just going out to meet him…’

To her words, Laila would respond by saying ‘Haa?’ And asking what she meant.

“Now you’re adding more people… What are you thinking?”

“The more people there are, the better, right? I happened to find someone who volunteered to help me, even if it was just a porter.”

If Artis sneaks her body away while doing so-

There, like Cleon, he could be said to be a neighbor who is indebted to the Dark Dragon Company’s mansion.

Aisha was carefully revealing herself.

Perhaps because she was no longer a noblewoman and there was no need to cover her horns, she was a harmless and ordinary looking girl with her long light green hair.

“Aisha…!?”

Cleon couldn’t help but look naturally surprised by her arrival.

That’s probably true, as I said above, she is no longer a noblewoman, and the superpowers she originally had have disappeared.

Considering that most of her fighting ability came from the monster power and regenerative power that her noble possessed, it was impossible to expect her to fight now.

Of course, not all the members of this expedition are combatants, but if that were the case, I couldn’t figure out why she was joining this expedition.

“As for Aisha here, she heard that she once entered the ‘returners’ laboratory inside the Four Dragon Mountains.”

“Ah…”

After hearing those words, Schrödinger, who was standing behind Cleon, would react.

It was the exact same reason as Cleon’s attempt to take Schrödinger with him.

But the difference is.

Schrödinger’s combat power increased as he went from a doll to a humanoid through a leap of evolution…

Aisha today is weaker than she was back then.

“I’m sorry, everyone, it’s because of me… But I also want to check on that mountain somehow…”

And Aisha, even bowing her head, apologized for the fact that her Atis was late.

Of course, she and her spherical counterpart, Noctis, also seemed surprised that Aisha was with them.

However, with those two people in front of him, Artis walks forward with great strides.

“Now, this is my decision, so no one should have any problems – Aisha will be my personal assistant. So, everyone is gathered except us, right? Let’s go, let’s go~”

“Wait a minute, Professor Artis! Master Miyeom will have something to say…!”

Her attitude seemed to be intentionally avoiding saying something. And Aisha and her disciples chase after her.

It was natural that there were many things that were unclear, but Fleur and Kshat approached Cleon as if they had some business to do.

“Shu-ko…”

“Good morning, Cleon.”

And, Kshat translates Fleur’s words, which make funny noises from the gas mask she is wearing, although I don’t know what the principle is.

“Ah, ah…”

Cleon suddenly responded to that greeting.

But wouldn’t they know the reason why Artis’ condition is strange?

Because Fleur and Artis had a very close relationship.

Then, it seems like you could read the doubts toward Attis in Cleon’s expression.

Fleur makes noise through her gas mask once again.

“The lady said… Artis is pushing himself quite hard right now. Although I, who was watching from the side, could clearly see that.”

“As expected… What about the makeup on your face?”

“… You recognized me. The eye shadow on my face has become quite dark… I’m using makeup to cover it up. That’s why I’m late in the morning. I’ve been up all night for four days, and I’ve only been able to sleep for an hour.”

“What…?”

Cleon is naturally surprised that Artis is pushing himself like that, and his expression becomes serious.

“He’s holding on thanks to the effects of some kind of medicine… I’ve also mentioned this to Quartz, but if there’s any problem with Artis’ health, I can only ask Cleon for his help…”

“I think the first thing to do is get that guy to sleep properly. What on earth are you doing?”

Cleon shook his head at her words and maintained a serious expression.

“As ignorant as I am, exactly… However, you just said that the key to solving the final mystery of the Dragon Mountain Range is right in front of you. You continued to struggle with your research notes.”

“… The last mystery of the mountains?”

Hearing her meaningful words, Cleon looked at Attis once again.

The recent appearance of being in a hurry, and as expected, the behavior of overdoing things.

Well, in a way, it was natural for her to not stop worrying about the girl who couldn’t figure out what she was obsessed with-

Artis seemed to have no intention of stopping.

He just approached Miyeom-gong and said, ‘Please keep your speech short.’

“… Anyway, okay. I think we’ll be leaving soon. I’ll be keeping an eye on Artis.”

“We will help too.”

Kshat nods at Cleon’s words.

Then, the members of the expedition disperse towards their assigned carriage.

“The expedition departs~! The destination is the Four Dragon Mountains!”

When Artis’ voice rang out, perhaps because he confirmed that everyone was on board, or because he was in an uplifted mood.

The carriages form a procession and head towards the mountains.

And the eyes watching them are not only the people of Asteris.

A black bird circling in the sky since morning.

There were eyes watching them from somewhere through him.