"You little rascal, nice work. As expected, you really are the leader of our team."
"You're the one who worked hard, Welf. But where's Lili?"
"I handed her over to some Ganesha Familia guys I ran into on the way. I'm sure nobody came out of this unscathed, but she pushed herself pretty hard this time too."
"I see..."
At Welf's words, Bell's expression darkened a little with concern.
But after hearing that she had gone off to get treated safely, he could relax and smooth his expression again.
"And the thing behind you is... the Magus?"
"Oh, yeah. I got to vent a little myself, but you guys haven't yet, right? Since he's the one who put you through all that trouble, go ahead and take your anger out on him to your heart's content."
"Ah, ha ha ha..."
The Magus, dragged here while being held by Welf, was in a truly miserable state.
Leaving aside the fact that he'd been dragged across bare ground and was covered head to toe in dirt.
His face was a bloody mess, as if he'd been slammed into something and cracked open somewhere, and the grime covered up all of his usual wisdom, competence, and even his mischief so completely that none of it showed at all.
On top of that, his waist had taken such severe damage that he was slumped limp and unable to move, getting hauled around everywhere like that, which looked rather pitiful...
"Are you all right, Magus?"
Bell deliberately looked away and changed his thoughts.
And just like that, he climbed one step further as a member of society, onto the path of adulthood.
This too was part of his growth.
"Urgh, maybe because you're that one-eyed brat's junior. Your hand sure doesn't know the meaning of mercy. That's pretty harsh."
"So? Got a problem with that?"
"Of course. I'm shameless."
"Ha, I really don't know what to do with you... Hm?"
Welf was dumbfounded by that unexpectedly brazen answer.
Then a cheeky bastard entered his field of vision.
"Whoa there, hold on a second."
"W-what? Why are you getting in the way?"
Maybe he'd come to take out his frustration from being bullied.
One of the adventurers from Apollo Familia approached with an angry look on his face.
Welf stepped in front of him.
Of course, his expression wasn't exactly pleasant either.
"That's what I want to ask. What are you doing butting in here?"
"What do you mean? Well, we're also..."
"If you're trying to act like you were victims on the same side as us, you've got the wrong address."
He even let a faint trace of anger show openly.
At that wary reaction, the approaching adventurer was left unable to say anything.
Instead, Welf kept talking.
"From the start, our relationship with you was that of enemies fighting each other. And we were staking our Familia's survival on it."
Above all, you were the ones who started it, and you were the ones who caused it.
That was the plain truth.
That was reality.
Everyone here... no.
Only Apollo Familia had been desperately pretending not to know it.
That was why not a single one of them could casually open his mouth.
They couldn't have.
At least not if they had even a shred of common sense and conscience.
"This time, our leader happened to be a good person, so he ended up helping you in a joint fight. But that doesn't mean you're on our side, or that we're on yours. Let's make that perfectly clear."
"Th-that's...!"
"So, the only ones who get to vent on this old man are us. You don't get a turn. If you really want to, come at me personally later. If you've got the guts for it, that is."
"Ghk!"
The adventurer was left speechless by that utterly indisputable logic.
Then someone else stepped forward, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"That's enough disgraceful behavior."
"Da, Daphne?"
Daphne shook her head and spoke in a low voice, but with more resolve than ever.
"He's right. From the beginning, losers like us had no rights or qualifications to begin with."
And especially not while we were still in debt to them for our lives.
At those words, the adventurer lowered his head with a bitter expression and stepped back.
Daphne let out a small sigh of relief.
She wanted no part of any more pointless, stamina-draining quarrels.
"Speaking on behalf of the Familia, as the one who led these guys temporarily, I'll say it clearly. This War Game, we lost."
"You sure accepted that easily?"
"The result was set from the moment Hyakinthos was taken out early on. The Guild will probably reach the same conclusion too. If we keep insisting it was an unfair disaster, we'll just look like a bunch of shameless brats throwing a tantrum. We have to admit what needs to be admitted."
More than anything, she never wanted to fight that monster from the other side again.
Daphne shook her head with genuine revulsion.
It seemed the other members of Apollo Familia felt the same way.
Everyone nodded unconsciously in agreement.
"And apart from that, there's something I need to say."
Then Daphne turned her gaze to Bell.
"Uh, me?"
"Little Rookie. No, Bell Cranel."
To the adventurers of Apollo Familia:
"Thank you for helping us, even though we were enemies. I'll never forget this life that was saved because of you."
"Ah..."
"This debt, I'll pay it back someday, no matter what."
Bell couldn't say anything as they bowed their heads with sincerity.
He simply answered their apology with his usual kind smile.
And with a strong face, he silently accepted it.
His companions watched him and smiled as well.
"So it ended on good terms after all, more or less. That's a relief."
"Hmm, she's more of a tough woman than I expected. A shame she belongs to that trashy pervert god."
"What are you doing, chatting away all relaxed by yourself? Hey, Bell. Let's head back already. I'm so tired every part of my body hurts. Honestly, going to the Dungeon would be less exhausting."
"Yeah, let's. We should get Mikoto treated quickly too..."
That was when it happened.
Clang! Ching!
""Uraaaah!""
"What?! You bastards!"
"Ghk!"
"What the hell are you doing, you cowards!?"
Suddenly, mysterious adventurers appeared from all over the rubble and rushed in among the group, weapons drawn.
There were only about eight of them, not many at all.
Their appearances were also shabby and worn out, and they all looked as though they had suffered injuries large and small.
But the killing intent in their eyes and expressions was real.
"You crazy bastards! What the hell do you think you're doing!?"
Daphne and her companions belatedly grasped the situation and tried to stop them.
But in that instant, when everyone's attention was focused on them—
[Arrow, Zephyrus!]
Kiing!
The blade of resentment, hidden and holding its breath, flew in to strike its target.
"Gah!"
"Watch out!"
"Magus!"
The target of the surprise attack was, naturally, the Magus, who was slumped on the ground and unable to move.
With his waist so badly injured, he couldn't properly defend himself, let alone dodge as he wished.
Above all, with everyone exhausted in body and mind, no one was prepared for an unexpected ambush, nor able to respond in time.
In that split second of crisis, with no one left to protect him—
"Tch, figures."
Yet the Magus himself looked completely unfazed.
And then—
Bang!
Another shadow stepped in front of him instead.
The attacker's magic was blocked by the armored body of that figure, unable to advance any farther, and faded away.
"You are?"
At that absurdly well-timed entrance, Bell and everyone nearby were filled with shock.
The one who entered everyone's sight was none other than the mysterious adventurer in silver armor who had spent the entire War Game rescuing survivors on his own.
And the Magus, protected by him, looked at the true culprit behind the attack with a flat expression.
Needless to say, the attacker was Hyakinthos.
"Once trash, always trash. I never expected anything from you in the first place. Or should I say this is exactly what I expected, since I anticipated a case like this?"
"Kuh! Dieeeeeee!"
"[Stop]."
Slash!
"Gah, aaaaaagh!"
Immediately after, at the Magus's instruction, the adventurer in silver armor moved.
And in the blink of an eye, one of Hyakinthos's arms was cleanly severed and dropped from his body.
Wait, that silver-armored adventurer's arm just...?
"Magus, what is this?"
"Ah, well. In short, all of this, from start to finish, was my plan."
The only exception might have been your growth rate, I suppose.
Squirm, shuuuu...
No sooner had his utterly relaxed words ended than the shape of the silver-armored adventurer began to change.
The thing that had just moments ago taken human form—no, it—collapsed into an amorphous shape, then wriggled and quickly returned to its original form.
"Eh...?"
"""Eeeeeeeeh!?"""
It was a silver slime, Moon Spirit Slime.
The true identity of the silver-armored adventurer was none other than the Magus's signature Mystic Code.
"Still, that's a little hurtful. If you were that close anyway, why didn't you protect me a bit?"
Amid everyone's shock, the Magus was reclaiming his Mystic Code while complaining dramatically, and Ryuu frowned and turned her head away.
What kind of nonsense was that supposed to be?
"Nonsense. Unless Cranel asked me separately, I have no reason to do that on purpose. Besides, if you were to die over something that trivial, that would only be convenient for me."
"That's harsh. But it's the answer I expected. That's what makes it thrilling. I think I'm starting to like the waitress even more."
"Tch!"
Ryuu frowned deeply, unlike her usual self.
Even so, the Magus didn't lose his playful expression.
Come to think of it... he really is an awful person, Ryuu thought once again.
"Ghk, ughhh...!"
"You bastards. You're making people panic."
"My apologies. I never imagined they would do something this foolish."
Meanwhile, the sudden ambush by the attackers had all ended in failure.
And glaring at the subdued attackers, Daphne let out a sigh.
She had half expected it, but to think they would cause trouble right up to the end.
"You really do keep showing us disappointing sides of yourself, Hyakinthos."
"Kuh, shut up. You filthy traitors."
"...I won't say anything more. I doubt anything else would get through to you at this point anyway."
As she and the others were all letting out sighs of resignation and irritation, the third parties everyone had been waiting for finally appeared.
"Sorry, but would you leave the rest to us?"
"And you are...?"
"Ankusha?"
"I-it's Ganesha Familia."
"They're the ones who were controlling this area."
"Haah, so it really is... it's really over."
"We're alive..."
At their appearance, the members of Apollo Familia finally let out truly relieved breaths.
As Shakti Varma, the captain of Ganesha Familia, gathered them under her command, she fixed Bell and his companions... or rather, the Magus behind them, with a sharp gaze.
For a moment everyone tensed up, but only for a moment.
"Don't worry. We've already received word from the Guild. Congratulations. By unanimous decision, under the approval of all the gods, this War Game is Hestia Familia's victory. That decision will not be overturned. So rest easy."
"Ah, yes."
"The cleanup afterward will be handled by the Guild and us. We'll give you the details later. For now, you should hurry back to the city and get treated. Especially those in serious condition—we'll provide emergency treatment here as well."
"Ah, th-thank you. Please do."
"Likewise."
Then Shakti briefly glanced at Ryuu, who had hidden her identity behind a mask.
But soon she turned her gaze back to the Magus and said,
"And you there."
"Hm? Me?"
"The Magus, was it? A message from the Guild. They said that once your body has recovered, they'd like to have a 'proper' talk with you again later."
"Hmm, seems our sage is pretty angry this time. Yare yare DAZE."
"That is all I have to say. Now then..."
With that, Shakti rushed off again to handle the aftermath at the site.
Bell Cranel and his companions watched her go.
Once Shakti had left, they too started moving to return to the city at last.
As for Mikoto, who was still unconscious, Ryuu would carry her, and Welf would once again carry the Magus, who could not move on his own.
The treatment was the exact opposite for the two of them.
"All right, everyone, let's really clock out now. I'll treat you all to the after-party this time. Naza probably made a big haul on my behalf too. Hey, pretty waitress over there. Could I reserve a table right now?"
Ignoring that, the Magus kept on talking shamelessly, and Ryuu, listening to him, let out a deep sigh that seemed as if it might consume even the tiniest scrap of patience she had left.
This damned writer to the very end...!
"Magus, you...! Haah, you really do have some nerve. Do you truly want to be brutally murdered in the middle of the street? The people at the tavern must all be itching for it."
Especially Mama Mia...
As she continued speaking, Ryuu seemed to remember something and shivered lightly.
At that, the Magus beside her also fell silent for a moment, then trembled in the same way.
Mm, that dwarf owner really is terrifyingly strong.
"...Maybe we should go somewhere else just this once. No, that won't solve anything if we're just avoiding it... If I'm going to get hit anyway, maybe volunteering to take the first hit would hurt less, or rather, improve my survival odds? The food tastes good, and there's no better value for money anywhere else. More than that, there's no better place for eye candy either. Hmm, what should I do?"
"If you bow your head and sincerely beg, wouldn't that be fine?"
Welf, who had no idea what was going on, offered his opinion.
Needless to say, it was a stupid idea that wouldn't work one bit.
It would probably be easier to run from a lust-crazed Amazoness.
"Let's see, from my experience, they'd probably just shove my head into the ground with my body still attached."
"That bad?! Then just don't go!?"
"That wouldn't be fun!"
"Seriously... no, are you a kid or something?"
"Well, let's just go and see."
"U-um..."
"Ah, Mikoto. Are you feeling better now?"
"Ah, Bell-dono. And Ryuu-dono?! What in the world is this...!?"
"I'm glad you woke up safely. Can you stand?"
"Ah, s-sorry! Right away, I'll—agh! M-my head is spinning...!"
"It seems you're still not up to it. I'll carry you a little longer."
"Ahh, what disgrace... I am truly ashamed."
"Ryuu, I can carry her instead..."
"I don't think that's something someone who literally just came back from the dead should say, Cranel."
"No, I really am fine..."
"You must not let your guard down until you've had a proper examination at the medical Familia."
"Ah, yes..."
"And above all, it's unavoidable if you don't want Syr to chew you out later."
"Huh? What do you mean by that...?"
"Gii..."
"Huh? Why is the Magus making that face again...?"
"No, nothing."
"???"
"Look at him, I thought he was just a meek little rabbit because of how he looks, but he's surprisingly experienced. An older-woman-and-younger-man harem, huh. What do you think, Crozzo-kun?"
"What kind of bizarre nonsense is that... Well, in the end, what matters is Bell's feelings, isn't it? And there's Lili-doll too."
"Heh heh heh, I'm going to tell Lili everything."
"Haah, enough already. This is really exhausting."
"But I refuse!"
"Hey, hey."
And so everyone chatted while walking for quite some time.
At last, Bell's group safely reached the city gate.
"Oh, Lady Hestia! You came to meet us, kuhk!"
"You little punkaaaaaah!"
Only one person.
The Magus had to savor a goddess's wrathful dropkick the moment they arrived at the gate.
Well, that too was only his just deserts.