The Devil Does Not Need to Be Defeated

For a long while, the baths were silent except for the sound of water.

Shien and Diere sat facing each other in the baths. One stared at the other, doing his best to imprint the image before him into his memories. The other looked indifferent, as if there wasn't someone of the opposite gender before her. The expressions on the two of them were completely different.

The silence just continued on between the two of them like that.

"Cough…"

Shien started to feel a bit faint.

The current scene and situation before him made him seriously uncomfortable.

If things kept going on, Shien felt like he might end up awakening.

Thankfully, just as Shien was almost about to awaken, Diere finally spoke up.

"You were following me. Was that because you learned something from someone?"

Diere actually asked a question like that.

"Huh?" Shien didn't quite register it right away, and only after he realized did he stammer out, "Ah, basically."

Generally speaking, Shien really should have denied it here.

If it was in a difference circumstance, Shien would definitely have mouthed back.

Unfortunately for him, in this situation, Shien's will had been greatly shaken. His thoughts keep drifting toward a direction that it shouldn't, so Shien's normal attention and reaction was much slower than normal, so his thoughts were a bit dull here.

The result is that Shien found himself speaking the truth before he properly considered the question.

(It can't be that's Diere's goal here, could it?)

Shien suddenly had a realization.

This girl knew that, didn't she? That's why she did it this way to get the truth out of him, right?

Shien greatly suspected that.

However, Diere didn't give him to properly think it through.

"Who told you?" Diere maintained her calm and spoke, "Vivian or the princess?"

"… You're that sure that it's one of those two?" Shien had somewhat regained his cool and spoke, "Maybe it's someone else that told me?"

Diere immediately denied Shien's words.

"Although there's many who knows about my situation, you can basically say that practically all the nobility in the capital knows, but you've only been here a single day. Thus, pretty much only Vivian or the princess could have talked to you about this matter." Diere spoke evenly, "What did they tell you?"

Shien was sure now.

Diere came here specifically to interrogate him.

"… Do you mind that much?" Shien paused for a bit before asking.

"Somewhat." Diere seemed to lower her eyes, "This is my business. I don't want others to get involved."

Diere spoke those words without a hint of doubt.

Obviously, Diere disliked any involvement from Shien or anyone else.

No, dislike wasn't quite the right word there. Rather, it's like a kind of stubbornness.

"In the past, I accepted far too much help from Vivian, Leili, and the princess." Diere spoke in a low tone, "The feeling of being able to only rely on others, being protected by others. I don't like it."

Thus, that's why Diere decided to leave the capital and step onto the path of becoming an adventurer.

"I want to become strong. Strong to the point where I can defend against any attack without help from anyone else." Diere stated, "If not for that reason, I wouldn't have chosen to head to Lamdrion."

While Vivian and Leili were still in the capital, Diere had enough of them taking care of her. Thus, it was natural for her to want to gain independence after they left the capital for Lamdrion. She didn't want to keep on bothering them.

Even so, Diere still accepted Vivian and Leili's invitation and headed to Lamdrion. The only reason for that is to get stronger.

Of course, Diere choosing to leave the capital is also for the sake of escaping the hostility and goodwill here.

The hostility doesn't need more mentioning. It's basically people like that young nobleman who hates Diere.

Goodwill needs even less mentioning. After Vivian and Leili left the capital, the only one left who would still help Diere is just the princess.

But Diere no longer wanted to accept the help of others anymore. She wanted it from the princess even less.

The reason for that is because that princess took on a teacher.

"… His name seems to be Aldia, right?"

Shien pulled out that name from the silence.

"…"

Diere didn't reply.

Seeing that, Shien just continued to speak on by himself.

"Back when we reached the capital, Vivian mentioned that the current captain of the royal knights is from the most famous knight family of the Kingdom. It seems to be something like the Arbin family?"

Shien brought up the name that's famous through the capital and even the entire kingdom.

"That guy called Aldia. He's the current head of the Arbin family, right?"

Shien worded it like a question, but his tone was of a statement.

That's because it was already really obvious.

Vivian had also said it. As the Hero of the current era, the unbelievably talented Lucy took a legendary leveled knight as her teacher.

That knight's level is 98. He's the strongest person in the Mitra Kingdom, as well as the strongest member of humanity. His might was below only that of the three great goddesses and six great demon lords. All in all, he's really strong.

And Lucy called Aldia teacher.

Given all that, isn't the answer obvious?

"Aldia Arbin. That's the full name of that knight, isn't it?"

Shien stated with certainty.

Diere still didn't reply.

Only, although Shien wasn't sure if he's mistaken there, but he felt like when he mentioned Aldia, Diere's mood seemed to have changed somewhat.

After an unknown about of time, Diere finally spoke up.

"The Arbin family is pretty similar to the Latrard family."

Diere didn't answer any of the previous questions.

"Eh?"

Shien was confused for a moment.

Diere continued on in an even tone.

"Latrard family's head has been the head of the adventurer's guild each and every generation, leading all other adventurer's guilds, covering the entirety of the mortal world."

"The Arbin family's the same. The head of the family has been the captain of the royal knights every generation, and they've always been strong."

"Do you know why?"

Diere gazed at Shien.

"It's because the ancestor of the Arbin family was the strongest comrade by the side of the Hero a thousand years ago."

In other words, the Arbin family is actually the descendants of one of the members of the Hero's party.

"I heard once that the reason my ancestor was so strong, strong to the point to even catch the Hero Mitra's attention and became his comrade, is because said ancestor was also a Hero descendant."

Diere spoke such a secret.

"The ancestor Arbin inherited the bloodline of one of the Heroes before the Hero Mitra. Thus, the Arbin family line had produced great talents generation after generation. There had even been people who have reached the limit of life itself – Level 100."

With that, it's impossible for members of the Arbin family to not be strong.

That's why they'd been able to be the captain of the royal guards generation after generation. They were unbelievably strong.

And Diere…

"You're…?"

Shien looked at Diere with a complicated expression.

Diere finally showed some emotion on her face.

That emotion was self-loathing.

"Diere Arbin. That's my full name."

The girl before him was one of the inheritors of the Arbin bloodline.

She was the same as Lucy, a descendant of a Hero.

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