Geese Nukadia.
The last surviving member of the Nuka tribe.
His weakness was combat.
His strength was everything else.
He couldn't use a sword or magic, yet he'd persisted as an adventurer and was currently S-rank.
That was the Geese
"……In all the loops, Geese never changed his behavior no matter what I did. That's why I never suspected he was an apostle."
Orsted.
He knew how the world and its people would respond to his actions, and from that, he'd identified apostles and the like.
The histories where he intervened, the histories where he didn't.
In every loop he'd walked through, Geese's behavior was consistent.
He lived as an adventurer, died as an adventurer.
No matter what happened around him, he never acted out of the ordinary.
Orsted was skilled at finding hidden apostles of the
Among those who, like Geese, lacked powerful combat ability but had heard the Dragon God was fighting the Man-God, some would go silent when they saw Orsted.
They wouldn't act openly—instead they moved like shadows, lending a hand to other apostles at critical junctures.
Orsted had killed every single one of them.
Because he had loops, finding and eliminating them was easy.
But Geese was different.
Geese alone showed nothing suspicious, and he had never once been an apostle.
No matter what Orsted did, the bastard never behaved like a Man-God's apostle.
Not even when he was on the verge of death.
"But he was an apostle in every pattern, and he hid it all the way through."
In all the loops up to now, Geese had never declared himself an apostle.
Orsted had suspected him, even killed him before.
But even facing death, Geese had never broken and revealed the truth.
"And I mistook that for him simply following history……No wonder I can't win……"
Just reading the text exchange, you could tell Orsted was deflated.
He hadn't realized the possibility that Geese was an apostle.
The Man-God must have been laughing nonstop.
"Oh, he still hasn't caught on to Geese!"
Well, at first he probably hadn't thought Geese was an important piece.
"But you did well."
Still, it seemed unlikely there were many apostles like that.
After all, Orsted looped but the Man-God didn't.
Even if the Man-God wanted to create similar apostles, it wouldn't go that smoothly.
"He's the Man-God's trump card. There won't be another."
So it was entirely possible that Geese was the Man-God's trump card—the last fortress.
The Man-God's final hidden apostle.
If that was Geese……it didn't quite hit home.
Orsted believed he'd won with this.
And he was right.
He had loops.
Even if he lost this time, all he had to do was kill Geese next time.
Then he'd be one step closer to victory again.
But I had fear.
I didn't know what Geese would do.
That was precisely what made him terrifying—because he seemed capable of anything.
"I want to win in this loop."
With that anxiety in my chest, I wrote and sent those words. The reply came back: "That means there won't be a next move from him."
It sounded like an excuse, and I laughed a little.
--- A month had passed since Geese's identity as an apostle was revealed.
After that, I searched for Geese.
I dispatched knights and searched across the entire Millis continent.
The Millis Holy Church and the Ratelia family were both cooperating actively.
The search was still ongoing, but he'd almost certainly escaped.
Of course, not just Millis.
I immediately contacted the Doldia tribe and had a warrant issued in the Great Forest as well.
I notified Ariel, and had a warrant issued in the
I asked
But even doing all that, I didn't feel he'd be caught.
The southern Central Continent, the eastern Central Continent.
The Begaritt Continent, the Demon Continent, the Heaven Continent.
There were too many places beyond my reach—the world was vast.
I didn't even know which direction he'd fled.
North? West?
If I had connections in the Dragon Kingdom, I could've at least confirmed he'd fled toward the Demon Continent……But the Dragon Kingdom was in turmoil after the king's death.
The vast, inconspicuous Demon Continent.
If Geese had used a teleportation circle I didn't know about, he could've ended up somewhere else entirely.
Geese at large.
Nothing but bad feelings.
Honestly, I wished I'd caught him at this timing.
Once I realized I couldn't catch him, I turned to self-preservation.
Geese's letter had said he'd face me head-on this time.
With forces that could beat me.
An unbelievable story.
Geese's words were nothing but lies and deception. How could I trust them?
Under normal circumstances, that's what I'd think……But thinking about it, Geese could have killed me easily this time.
I'd trusted him and shown my back defenselessly.
But he'd made no move.
He'd only tried to trap me through strategy.
Even after that trap was broken, the same.
Geese could have kidnapped
Maybe he judged it impossible since Aisha was capable with both sword and magic.
Still, he'd had opportunities but didn't take them.
So maybe I could believe the contents of that letter.
Even if it was the Man-God's instructions, perhaps fighting openly and honestly was just Geese's way.
When killing someone, you had to choose your methods carefully or you'd fail.
An old saying.
Of course, maybe he wanted me to think that while actually doing the opposite.
Geese could be hiding in the
Maybe his goal was to trap me in these mental mazes so I'd overlook something.
It was pointless to keep thinking about it.
For now, there'd been no attack.
That meant Geese hadn't pre-positioned any forces.
He was probably gathering forces somewhere right now that could beat me.
That's what I wanted to believe, but the feeling that he could attack at any moment wouldn't go away.
I was scared.
--- Now, while I was searching for Geese, Aisha had been steadily building the mercenary guild branch.
Selecting a branch leader, recruiting members, setting the direction of work.
It was something I should've been consulting on with her, but Aisha handled everything.
The fact that the Ratelia family was looking after
And then, being considerate as she was, Aisha did something.
About a month after Geese's disappearance,
She came through the teleportation circle to protect me.
She was fully armed.
Not everyday clothes—she wore the coat of a Sword King, with two swords at her hips.
Anyone could tell at a glance she was a renowned swordswoman, and she arrived with perfect composure.
"Now that I'm here, you'll be fine! I'll cut everyone in half!"
Eris said that to encourage me.
"What an idiot, Geese! Defying
Watching Eris say all that with such vigor, my fear began to fade.
At least for the next few days, there wouldn't be a fight and I wouldn't be killed.
That's how it felt.
"Eris……"
Relieved, I embraced her.
I groped her chest, and then was beaten to death.
In my fading consciousness, I realized.
This was Geese's scheme.
Just kidding.
Let me get serious and organize my thoughts.
Assuming Geese gathers forces and comes straight at me, from here on I have three priorities: 1. Searching for Geese 2. Strengthening my Battle Armor (i.e. myself) 3. Recruiting counterforces Lined up like that, it's not really different from what I've been doing.
It's just that instead of planning for eighty years from now, I'm planning for a few years from now.
But Geese wasn't a normal person either.
Even if he said he'd come head-on, who knew what form it would take.
Would he gather quantity, or come with quality?
Orsted said few could beat me when I'm piloting the Type-1.
But I'd just experienced the sheer overwhelming force of numbers.
Several individuals from major powers who could fight like the Temple Knights.
If he could prepare a few people like that, beating me would be easy enough.
No big deal.
But gathering people like that would take time.
And there wouldn't be that many.
A year, maybe two.
At minimum, I should assume that long.
But once they'd gathered, I'd lose.
If I fell into a trap that had been meticulously prepared over several years, there was no way I'd win.
The Temple Knights had proven what they could do.
A Man-God's apostle could surely do even more.
So I wanted to preemptively stop it.
I'd travel the world and recruit allies before he could.
If they'd already turned against me, I'd take them down one by one.
In other words, from now on, I'd have to assume every potential ally could be an enemy.
Geese was most likely in either the Dragon Kingdom or the Demon Continent.
The Demon Continent seemed especially probable.
If I told someone like Atophe I'd defeat him, he'd probably joyfully lend his power.
I'd planned to visit the Demon Continent last, but I'd better go sooner.
Priority-wise, though, the Dragon Kingdom should come first.
Randolph the Death God, who was there, had defeated me when I was wearing the Type-2 Modified.
He was a sure piece.
I wanted to lock him down first.
The direction was set.
The mercenary guild wasn't fully established yet, but the Ratelia family and the Holy Church were backing me.
As long as I was getting work from the two bigwigs, I shouldn't be run into the ground.
I'd done the minimum.
For now, let me return to the headquarters.
There, I'd sort out the next moves with Orsted.
But before that, I needed to make my rounds of farewell.
--- I visited the Ratelia family, introduced Eris, and announced my departure.
"I see."
Claire didn't wrinkle her nose at the poorly-mannered Eris.
She was keeping her promise to me.
But she wore a purely disappointed expression.
"You'll be taking Zenith back, of course?"
"Yes. I'll take responsibility for her care."
"Understood."
Zenith had been cared for by the Ratelia family over the past month.
In my and Aisha's absence since that day, the Ratelia family had been looking after Zenith.
They said she was nostalgic for the Ratelia home and moved around quite a bit—strolling through the mansion, viewing the garden, asking the maids to take her outside for walks.
She was still spacey as ever, but it was clear she was thoroughly enjoying her old home.
The gentlemen and ladies of the Ratelia family, upon seeing her, wore sad expressions.
The eldest son Edgar, the eldest daughter Anis……because of Geese, I couldn't even greet them.
But I'd left word that "next time I come, I'll be sure to pay my respects."
"The one thing I regret is not being able to see
"I'll come again. Next time I'll bring Norn and my children too."
There had been many twists and turns……but Claire wasn't a bad person.
She was unpleasant, but not evil.
As long as I was showing my wife and children, there was no problem.
Next time, greetings alone would do.
"No, at my age, it wouldn't be strange if this were our final parting."
Final parting.
She was already over sixty.
I didn't know the average lifespan in this world, but she was still quite vigorous.
But the round trip to Sharia was roughly four years.
It wasn't a short distance.
I couldn't go and come right back—the next time we met would be ten years off at minimum.
By then, Claire would be over seventy.
It wouldn't be strange for anything to happen at that age.
She was probably thinking along those lines.
I could tell her about the teleportation circles, but publicly advertising that I was using teleportation circles willy-nilly could invite pressure from unpredictable quarters.
It was a globally taboo practice, after all.
The Asura Kingdom, the Dragon Kingdom, and probably the Millis royal family all used them in emergencies.
But even those three great nations kept theirs secret.
"Lord Rudeus. Thank you so much for bringing Zenith back to us."
Claire bowed her head as she said this.
Apparently the other day, she'd taken Zenith by carriage to see a play.
The maid said Claire had been frowning as usual, but she hadn't seen the head of the household look so happy in a long time.
"I'll come again soon."
Before I knew it, those words had come out.
"But……"
"I'll definitely come."
I put strength into my core and said it firmly.
Claire's face softened into a smile.
"You really did become a fine son to Zenith."
Those were Claire's last words, spoken with a smile.
--- I also went to visit the Saint.
My gifts were two: an ornament resembling my own bracelet, and a scroll of guardian magical beast summoning from Orsted.
This bracelet had been made by Aisha during the past month, commissioned from a Millis artisan.
In place of where a gemstone would normally be set, a stone was embedded.
It was a black, lustrous stone I'd created with earth magic, carved with the Dragon God's crest.
Anyone who saw it would recognize it as a token of service to the Dragon God.
When I presented this to summon the Saint, her attendants came out.
Therese was among them.
She'd been spared demotion.
The petition with my name on it had apparently helped.
Though in exchange for avoiding demotion, she'd been stripped of her captaincy.
She'd settled into a role like vice-captain under the newly appointed captain.
Incidentally, the new captain seemed to be a rather inflexible person.
He categorically refused the bracelet and anything that looked like suspicious summoning magic within the Holy Church.
But I forced it through with something like: "This is a gift from the Dragon God Orsted himself—to the Saint who protected His subordinate! Some mere captain doesn't have the authority to refuse!!"
This captain wasn't going to get far in his career with an attitude like that.
What emerged from the scroll was a silver owl.
About a meter long.
Smaller compared to Leo, but it still had a commanding presence, and its golden eyes held a divine quality.
None of Perugius's spirit series came out.
Those were ultra-rare, so they wouldn't appear easily.
This time it was exclusively for the Saint, so the summoning pool was probably different too.
In any case, I was glad a sacred-beast-type creature appeared.
If a huge, black-glistening spider had come out instead, I might not have been able to push past the captain's objection.
"I'll treasure it!"
The Saint's eyes sparkled at the owl.
When she reached out to pet it, the owl narrowed its eyes contentedly.
She seemed to have taken a great liking to this animal that had bonded with her the moment it was summoned.
"No, please let it protect you."
It wasn't a pet.
I wanted it to stay by her side and guard her quietly.
"Well then, take care."
"Yes, Lord Rudeus, you stay well too!"
Lastly, I bowed to Therese and the rest of the Sacred Tomb Guardians.
I'd probably see them again someday.
--- Finally, Cliff.
Cliff's start was going smoothly as well.
Thanks to the recent incident, Cliff's name had spread among both the Pope faction and the Cardinal faction.
"Cliff Grimoire persuaded the Dragon God's right-hand man Rudeus and rescued the Saint."
"Between the Pope and the Cardinal's struggles, he spoke of justice and upheld the righteous path."
"A model Millis faithful. A remarkable man."
Rumors like these were spreading far and wide.
What was interesting was where they originated.
Apparently, the Temple Knights' brigadier general and the Holy Knights' deputy commander had been the ones seeding the stories.
So the rank-and-file knights and priests genuinely believed the Pope had acquired a formidable new right-hand man.
And perhaps emboldened by these rumors, Cliff himself had actually started being given real work.
Weddings, funerals, and ceremonies for high-ranking nobles.
No matter the political squabbles, a priest's duties didn't change.
And Cliff had accumulated practical experience in Sharia.
Despite being a newcomer, there was a lot he could do, and he was considered an exceptionally talented person on the ground.
Some people found him annoying, of course……
Well, that was only natural.
A suddenly competent person walks in—and the Pope's grandson at that.
It would be strange if there weren't those burning with jealousy.
Making them accept him was Cliff's job.
Though I wasn't too worried.
The current Cliff.
That Cliff.
No matter what was done to him, he'd overcome it with style.
There was just one concern.
"Well then, Cliff-senpai. I'm heading out for now."
"Ah……take care of Lise for me."
"Of course. I'll tell her not to have any affairs."
Cliff apparently still hadn't told anyone he was married.
He'd declared he had someone he'd set his heart on, but……
That wasn't very Cliff-like.
Still, I could see why it'd be hard to go public about marrying
The adventurers in this area had heard the rumors about Elinalise de Bitch.
Some of the current veterans had been the ones whose first time she'd taken.
Telling people he'd married someone like that……was probably not a good idea yet.
Once he'd become famous enough that nobody would dare whisper behind his back, he could go public.
It wouldn't be a bad approach, really.
Someday.
It wasn't like he planned to hide it until he died.
But there might be matchmaking proposals coming his way.
Wendy was living in as a housemaid—sure, she went home at night, but a young man and woman under one roof……No, it was fine.
He was Cliff.
Not like me.
A man who gave lectures with that much authority would never have an affair.
Not like me.
……Saying this to reassure myself was practically inviting a flag.
Seriously, do your best, Cliff-senpai.
"And Cliff-senpai, please don't have any affairs either. The Goddess Millis is watching."
"As if I would. I haven't had a moment's free time lately."
Cliff had been busy recently.
His work was going well, and he was increasingly recognized as the Pope's right hand.
Quite a few nobles, seeing his considerable talent, had begun courting his favor.
"Really, senpai? You're so popular lately. I bet you're about to push Wendy down and have your way with her."
"Wendy's like a little sister. Unlike you, I'm not about to make a move on her."
I have never made a move on my little sister, thank you very much!
How rude.
As I made an indignant face, Cliff's gaze dropped.
"Even so……I really wanted to prove myself with my own strength."
I answered with a laugh.
"If this wasn't Cliff-senpai's own strength, then what was?"
"Ha-ha."
I'd meant to say something cool, but he just snorted.
Sure, the fact that I—the person Cliff had brought in—caused trouble, and Cliff solved it did feel like a pump-and-dump setup.
But within that, Cliff had acted in his own way, and that was what got recognized.
It was Cliff's strength after all.
"……Anyway, thank you. Thanks to you, I think I've earned a bit of recognition."
"And thanks to you, I've been able to make connections with Millis and set up the mercenary guild."
Selling the Luijerd dolls was……still a bit premature.
If we pushed forward as-is, we'd reach the point of sale, but there wouldn't be many buyers.
The mercenary guild wasn't fully stable yet either, so there'd likely be many problems……
Well, if anything came up, I could let Cliff handle it and count it toward his career advancement.
"From here on, I'm doing it on my own."
"Yes, do your best."
Things hadn't gone exactly as planned, but I'd likely fulfilled my promise to Elinalise too.
Cliff would be fine now.
I wasn't sure how he'd get along with the other priests, but the start couldn't have gone better, so I'd say things were looking up.
This time, I'd leave it to Cliff.
The struggle between the Pope faction and the Cardinal faction would surely continue.
Within that, I hoped Cliff would work hard in his own way and produce results.
Well, if it didn't work out, he could always come back and join my company.
I hoped he'd take it easy.
"I'm sorry I couldn't help much over this past month……"
"Don't worry about it."
I had my battle to fight, and Cliff had his.
"But if the Man-God's agents do anything to you, send me a message on the stone tablet immediately. I'll rush over."
"Of course."
Cliff nodded firmly.
Even though I said I wouldn't interfere, he was still my ally.
And it wasn't like he was weak enough that I needed to shelter him.
"Well then, Cliff-senpai……stay well……"
"Yeah, you too."
"Although I might drop by again in about a year."
"By then, I'll be able to properly introduce Lise to everyone."
Ah, right—the curse on Elinalise.
We weren't parting forever.
"……And by then, you'll have stopped calling me senpai too."
"That's already a habit. I don't think I can ever stop, honestly."
Cliff shrugged with a wry smile.
--- And so, the battle in Millis came to an end.
The clash with the Ratelia family. The internal strife within the Millis Holy Church.
And Geese's betrayal……
There had been many things, but thanks to it all, another goal had been set.
The next enemy was Geese.
Volume 21: Young Man Arc — Cliff Edition — End