The Sage.

The party walked past the rubble, making way through the destroyed camp.

"Is that it?" Kouko said. "Are we just... leaving?"

"Yes," Octan said, ahead of the two. "There is nothing left, not that there ever was."

"These people... Will you not help..." Kouko struggled to bring out the words, finding herself a hypocrite.

"They are beyond help; those I could allow to live, will only do so in fear," Octan claimed. "They will forever fear sleep, forever fear food, and never trust again. On top of it, they will live with the experience of having been within death's air, literally."

"Th... That so..." Kouko said, finding solace in Octan's reasoning.

Lena gazed at the woman--a couple of steps ahead of her, yet another couple behind Octan. She was changing; her demeanor was much less chaotic, her expressions much less expressive. Perhaps she might regain her actions a time later, but it was sure that she would never return to the person she was. But Lena wondered whether the person she was before was even her. Octan had called her actions a Facade, so perhaps this was the real Kouko.

Lena found the thinking a hassle and brought it to the back of her head.

Having passed the hellish scenery of the camp, Octan went on to follow the path. It was the opposite of the one that had taken them there, opposite to their former tent. 

"Where to?" Kouko asked, her gaze lowered.

"The town we passed before. I will stop there for a quick supply run, and you can go from there." Octan said.

"Go... off?" Kouko asked. "You will leave me behind?"

Octan glanced at her over his shoulder, his white coat covered in the blood of the royal guard. "Is that not what you wish for, after your previous display? I would believe so."

"B-bu..." Kouko trailed off, finding it hard to speak.

"The bag was burnt," Lena said. "Back at the camp."

"No matter--it was about time to replace the old equipment," Octan said, yet facing forward.

Lena nodded to herself. Kouko, having noticed Lena's silent gesture, slowed her pace and tiptoed to reach further up. She placed a hand over Lena's lowered head and ruffled her hair. "Did you like the old bag?" She asked.

"It was comfortable," Lena said.

"Then make sure to ask for an even more comfortable one next time." She said her words, despite lacking the previous enthusiasm, still carried their warmth.

Lena nodded at Kouko. 

As the party moved, Lena could see a carriage approaching from the horizon. Octan had not commented on it, so she assumed she didn't need to either.

Eventually, it had fallen within Kouko's view as well.

"What is that?" Kouko asked.

"The reason for all this," Octan said, continuing to move forward.

Kouko attempted more, but Octan had kept silent.

As the party got closer, the distant carriage growing larger in size, Lena could see that it came to a stop. Then, as the carriage's door opened towards the path, down came a well-dressed man.

He stood some distance away, awaiting the party. As the party got closer, Lena could make out his features. He was, to say the least, normal. His face was clean, shaven. His hair was unkempt but not messy. His clothes were a bit more luxurious, but they did seem to fit him. His eyes were partly shut, as his smile had crinkled his face.

Octan moved, passing the carriage without a word. As Lena and Kouko passed, Lena gazed at the man for a moment then went back to Octan, Kouko slightly nodded at the man.

"Will you not entertain me, hero?" the man said.

"You will find nothing from me," Octan said. "I curse your likes."

"Oh, but I ask of nothing," The Man said. "Rather, I would wish to give you what I could, please."

Octan stopped, turning to face the man. Kouko and Lena immediately step aside.

"A sage, yet asks for nothing?" Octan said.

"A Sage!" The man exasperated. "Your regard for me is much too high, Sir Hero. To be compared to the likes of Sages, I'm much too humble. I'm sure, my failure today proves this, does it not?"

"Failure or not," Octan said. "You had killed, deceived, and betrayed. All for the sake of your own ideals, your own goals. A Sage is what you are."

"Ah, if you believe so, Sir Hero, then I would accept, as who is more knowledgeable than you, Sir Hero?" The Sage said.

"Do not call me that." Octan glanced at the carriage. "How did you do it? How did you deceive such high royalty?"

"Simple," The Sage claimed. "I made use of need. This land has long feared the demon lord, Sir He-- Hmmm, Octan perhaps? Yes. Sir Octan, this land has long feared the demon lord, under constant threats of his army and whims. So, I provided them with my hypothesis, a deal with death."

"And yet, your deal seems to have failed you," Octan said. "How do you plan on living now?"

"Perhaps. Had it been anyone else, Sir Octan. Even if it were Everrette to be the one to have answered the guild's request, my plans would have most certainly not fumbled, but even then, I still had a plan B. Still, I am a bit sore... Though our short talk is more than enough to make up for it. Trust me, I can not start to describe my happiness to you. Seeing that my plans were foiled did annoy me, but the moment that I realized it was you, The Era's Founding Father's Masterpiece, I was honored! To be part of the history you carry... Honored, truly!"

"Damned be your honor," Octan spat. "None of you, Sages, are."

"Haha, I believed you would say that." The Sage chuckled. "But, I do wonder, why not kill me now? I had believed you to be much more ill-tempered."

Octan frowned.

"That insignia you wear on your chest," Octan said. "It's of this land's royal family. I have no plans of being hunted down for a mere Sage."

"Oh, this," The Sage looked down at his chest. "Indeed. Yes. But, you do understand that your mere awareness of the happenings is dangerous to us, right? We can't have you tattling to the guild now, can we?"

"As if I would ever resort to such a thing," Octan scoffed. "This entire world be damned, whether it be the adventurers, or the authorities."

"Yes, I never doubted you, Sir Octan. Rather, the company you hold." The Sage said looking at the two standing aside. "Hmm, not you." He eyed lena. "It's clear, you're not to worry about. That expression you carry, how... empty."

Lena returned the man's gaze, nodding as his analysis ended.

"But you, you may be a problem." The Sage said.

"I-I will not talk, really!" Kouko called out.

"You see, word of mouth alone is not enough," The Sage said, cocking his head, a hand to his chin. "You will have to go, I'm sorry. I will ask one of the Royal Guard to deal with you."

"W-wh--" 

"She won't talk," Octan cut in. "I will make sure of it."

"Oh! If that's so, then, do as you please, Sir Octan!" The Sage said, clapping his hands together. 

"Wait--why?" Kouko said, standing between the two. "Why are you talking as if Octan isn't part of the guild. He is ranked; he can't not report back."

The Sage faced Kouko, eyes widened.

"Where did you find this one, Sir Octan?" The Sage said, pointing at Kouko.

Octan shrugged.

"Dear lady," The Sage said, struggling to hold himself from laughing. "It can't be that, even after all that you had seen, you still believe that Octan is only a ranked. It just--pfft--It can't be, right?"

Kouko faced the Sage seriously.

The Sage held his belly as he laughed.

"Ahaha! What a pure one you are, how precious! Dear Lady, this man is no ranked, rather he is no adventurer. He is a traveler--that is what you do now, right?"

Octan didn't entertain the Sage.

"Right, you won't give me anything." The Sage said, satisfied.

"You're not ranked?" Kouko asked Octan with disbelief in her voice. Octan simply turned away, avoiding her gaze.

"Now, if you will excuse me," the Sage said, clapping his hands together, then climbing back into his carriage. "I have a couple of adventurers to attend to. Believe it or not, we are planning on helping as many survivors as we can! It was nice talking to you, Sir Octan, I will make sure to brag till the day I die!"

As the carriage continued forward, Lena spoke out to Octan.

"You didn't talk about the intruder," Lena said. "Nor did you ask about the poisoned meal."

Octan glanced at Lena, then moved forward, opposite to the Sage's carriages. "I didn't wish to. I wanted to give him nothing. And he understood, it's why he didn't ask, nor try to play around it."

Lena nodded.

"Wait, so am I part of the team now???" Kouko questioned, finding it difficult to cope with how fast things were moving.

"There is no 'team,'" Octan said.

"But, you said you would keep an eye on me."

"That I will, there is just no team. Just stick around or something... Damn it, I don't know." Octan said, slouching forward in defeat.

Kouko turned to Lena, who simply nodded at back. Was that a welcoming nod? She decided to take it as one.

As Lena watched the new member walk, still in a state of disbelief, the traveler's words came back to her.

"Kid, this is the reason why he had not left you behind. For some reason I cannot perceive, the walking hypocrisy of a man that Octan is, had taught you a technique that cost him his solidarity." The traveler had said.

If Lena were to accept the traveler's words without doubt, then this would be a second showing of said hypocrisy. Octan was a man who sought silence, who seemed empty, and escaped sentimentality. So why shoulder the burden of eyeing that woman? Was it true that there existed a hypocrisy within him? Was there a greater reason behind it?

What did the Sage mean by The Era's Founding Father's Masterpiece?

"Kid," Octan said. "Do you regret coming here?" He asked.

Lena didn't understand the purpose of the question.

"You were the one who chose to, back when I got the letter. Perhaps you had in mind that I would be of help, that I could stop if even one meaningless death." Octan said. "So, I ask. After the happenings today, do you feel regret? That perhaps your choice was, in a way, meaningless, that time was wasted?" Octan asked, his face forward.

Kouko listened to the question without a comment, allowing Lena the chance to speak.

Lena pondered the question for a moment. It seemed like something the traveler would ask her.

"No," Lena said. "But neither do I feel grateful. Meaningless? I do not think so. What happened today was tragic, I think," she said, glancing at Kouko. "But, not meaningless. There were many things beyond me, many things I couldn't understand. But I saw them. I observed them. In a way, that is something."

"Talkative much," Octan scoffed. "I was expecting a nod, or a simple yes or no."

"Oh!" Kouko spoke out. "Since I'm going to be camping out with you--and you said just a bit ago that you were going to get new supplies--can my sleeping bag be pink?!"

Lena questioned the woman's words. It was just moments ago that she couldn't meet Octan's gaze, yet she was making friendly talk now. She wondered if this was what the word "forgiveness" truly meant, and if it worked this way.

"I use blankets only. The ground is enough." Octan claimed.

"Booo!" Kouko had already started retaliating. "Well, a pink blanket will do, I guess."

Octan sighed at the forefront of the party, facepalming as he did.

**Afterwards**

This was quite the long arc... I hope that you enjoyed it, rather than found it boring, it did come to introduce many things into the world, so yeah... Sorry if it didn't click with you...

Hey y'all, it's me, geh! The writer, though even that I find a bit excessive to call myself. I can tell that my writing is amateurish, and so are my descriptive skills, sorry...

Anywho, afterwards! Haven't done one since the Living chapter, I believe... And it was mostly me clarifying that I didn't steal my own story...

Well, this time I would like to show appreciation to anyone who is actually sitting and reading through this! Thank you, really, really really!

I understand the characters can be boring, especially having Lena as the main character. I am trying to compensate with a grander story for now till I reach the second volume, which is extremely close. But, until then, I wish you could stick with us a little longer, if not till the end!

Though, I do wonder if any are actually reading :/ I find the honeyfeed views to be very questionable not gonna lie, so a comment would be greatly appreciated, if even just a "." it would be nice to know actual humans are reading, you know?

Any any, I believe last time I had given a peek at what to look forward to, so I will do the same now as well. The next chapter, maybe two, will be a simple look into the daily lives of the party, with the new addition of Kouko! After that, I believe it would be the interlude chapter, phasing into the second volume. How long will the interlude be? Let's keep it a secret! (I genuinely don't know. I have what it is in mind, just have no idea how the chapter spacings will be...)

Well, that is all... Thank you all very much! 

Feel free to comment whatever you want, as long as it is not a scam.