The departure is scheduled for three days from now.
During these days, all necessary arrangements will be made, and the local Lord will be asked to provide support.
It was only at this time that Ella learned the truth: the squad that once surrounded the Demon Race garrison—the one that drew her out, was actually a decoy force meant to lure her out for the Hero Squad.
She had been caught in a classic siege tactic.
Humans are truly devious.
“That’s it for me. I’m heading back to the camp to sleep. Haven’t been back since arriving in King’s City.”
Vina yawned, turned, and walked out.
As she passed Ella, she glanced up at her.
“Wearing a flower now, huh? Looks pretty nice.”
Zero was delighted and wanted to say she had picked the flower herself, but as soon as she looked up and realized where she was, she kept quiet.
Everyone looked so serious.
Probably not the place to talk about personal stuff.
“Let’s go,” Celes came over and said to the girl.
“Let’s head back, too.”
Before leaving, Ella glanced back.
The square-faced man was still discussing details with others, while the middle-aged man left first, looking slightly annoyed.
What a pity.
No fight broke out.
Leaving the palace, they returned to Royal Avenue, retracing their steps as a group of four.
Vina hurried to Ella’s side and poked her sleeve.
“Little Ella, how have you been these days? While I was gone, did anyone bully you?”
“No, it’s been fine.”
Just chased by people every day, that’s all.
“And you?”
Ella shot back.
“Why were you gone so long?”
“It was those old geezers from the Magic Court. As soon as I got back, they dragged me off. First, they interrogated me forever, asked how I handled the mission, whether I slacked off, if I secretly made things harder for the team.”
Vina huffed, clearly annoyed.
“And when they found out the Demon King escaped, they even asked if I secretly helped the other side. Seriously, what do they take me for?”
Ella pressed her lips together and said nothing.
What they take you for, who knows, but you really did help the Demon King.
You helped me sneak in.
Zero did, too.
“Then they locked me up at home. Every day, a few people would sit beside me and tell stories, recite slogans, trying to stir up my sense of racial pride. My ears nearly got calluses from listening. So yesterday, I pretended to be moved and shed a tear, and the old geezers finally let me out.”
“…Haha.”
A good girl can only laugh awkwardly—not agree.
Otherwise, she becomes a bad girl.
The other two girls fell a few steps behind, quietly chatting about their side of things.
“Celes, thank you for helping us out earlier.”
“Don’t mention it. It was nothing, and it was the right thing to do… You’ve been observing Ella these past days. What do you think?”
“Emmm, hang on.”
Zero rummaged through her things and handed Celes a small notebook.
She’d been tailing and observing for three days, never once spotted, and even had time to take notes.
That was the difference between a professional and an amateur.
Ella Observation Diary:
1. Likes pastries and noodles for breakfast, white rice for lunch, noodles for dinner. Besides carbs, she keeps it low-sugar and low-fat. Doesn’t eat spicy food, uses little green onion or cilantro, dislikes too much seasoning, and doesn’t like mixing rice with other dishes.
2. Usually goes to bed around eleven, falls asleep within half an hour, wakes up at seven sharp—body clock never off by more than five minutes. Sometimes dozes back off or lazes in bed for another half hour.
3. Has a habit of walking after meals, but doesn’t like running. Maybe her chest makes exercise difficult… Hmm, shouldn’t have written that (attempts to erase it)
Celes’ eyelid twitched.
“That’s all you observed in these days?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Zero looked puzzled.
“Didn’t you tell me to observe Ella’s daily habits?”
“…”
That was just a euphemism!
“Also, it’s been days now and you’ve seen it too—she’s never used perfume. Today, when we passed by the royal gardens, the whole place couldn’t cover up the scent on Ella. I don’t mean it’s strong—it’s more like… a faint, gentle aroma that seeps in from the flowers outside…”
“Alright, alright, I agree with you on that. She doesn’t use perfume; it’s natural.” Celes massaged her temples. “Even so, I still don’t think Ella is suitable for this team.”
Zero blinked in surprise.
“Why?”
Seeing her teammate’s confused gaze, Celes hesitated.
***
“Little Celes, back in my days as a Great Hero, the Eight-Headed Serpent rampaged across the Eastern Sea, devouring tens of thousands. You know this story—it’s in the books; everyone knows it. But what you might not know is that every Great Hero in history went through something similar. Heroes and disasters go hand in hand.”
“And as the number of heroes increases, so do the disasters. In the eras where two Great Heroes appeared at once, humanity’s civilization was shaken to its core, nearly collapsing. And that one time, the ‘Three Heroes of the Same Era’—the Human Race almost faced extinction. The Abyss, the Undead, the Evil God… During that Cataclysm, civilization nearly broke, leaving only scattered fragments of records.”
“Now, the four of you have appeared together. I don’t know what you’ll face, what the Human Race will face, what this world will face. But don’t lose hope. You’re gathering early, forming a close-knit team and growing together.”
“That’s something no Great Hero in history has ever done. I believe, because of your companions, you’ll become better versions of yourselves, and your team will surpass any individual. I didn’t want to tell you this so soon—I didn’t want to burden you with such pressure.”
In the tea room of the Sanctuary Hall, Celes waited for a long time but never heard the rest of the speech.
She finally asked, “Then why are you telling me this alone?”
Because the other three—one is a little witch with a nasty temper, one’s a saint untouched by the world, and the last… is hard to describe.
Rolls kept the truth buried in his heart, only showing a gentle smile.
“Because, little Celes, you’re a born leader. Please carry this secret until you truly become a team.”
***
That was the reason Celes couldn’t bring herself to speak.
Seeing her hesitate, Zero smiled and said, “Well~ there’s still a month left. You can keep watching, and maybe you’ll change your mind.”
Celes hesitated again.
There wasn’t a month left.
They’d be leaving for a new mission in three days.
They couldn’t bring a substitute along.
The decision had to be made by tomorrow at the latest.
After a moment of thought, she spoke.
“Zero, can you call Vina over? I want to talk to her.”
So the assassin girl swapped places with the magician, and Vina came over to Celes’ side.
“What’s up?”
“It’s about Ella,” Celes said bluntly.
“I don’t think she’s fit to join the team, and even less to come with us on this mission.”
“Huh? That’s no fun.”
Vina puffed out her cheeks.
“If Ella’s not going, then I’m not going either.”