Chapter 8: Where the Hell Did He Go?  

Standing at the intersection of Tafia’s noble district, Heidi was frustrated, messily scratching her hair.  

“Where the hell did that guy disappear to!?”  

After learning last night that Eze had left the team, she’d rushed after him at top speed, expecting to catch him on the road.  

But even at Tafia’s city gates, she hadn’t seen a trace of him.  

Where else could a half-crippled Eze go besides this, the nearest city?  

So, undeterred, Heidi began a thorough search.  

Inns, restaurants, clinics, pharmacies, the adventurers’ guild—every place he might go, she checked, with no results.  

She even mistook a few similar-looking figures for Eze, leading to embarrassing moments that made her want to die on the spot, since she’d never paid much attention to what his back looked like.  

As afternoon approached, Heidi felt deflated.  

Her injuries were far from healed, and the accumulated exhaustion hit her hard, making her dizzy and increasingly irritable.  

“…That guy, he didn’t actually get eaten by some monster on the way, did he? Tch, that idiot Liya, always causing trouble! And Eze, ditching his fiancée to run off—what’s his deal!?”  

Her un-princess-like meltdown drew curious glances and whispers from passersby.  

“Ahem—”  

Realizing she was making a scene, Heidi calmed herself and started rethinking her strategy.  

“Maybe post a quest at the adventurers’ guild? Or ask the local lord to help search? No, no, no—if word gets out that Eze ran off, troublesome people will show up immediately, but…”  

After racking her brain with no good ideas, Heidi sighed, clutching her burning forehead.  

She was tired; time to rest.  

Finding Eze was to secure her position as princess, but if she overdid it and collapsed in the street, her royal career would be over.  

There was a nice café nearby with great desserts—some sweets to recharge her brain, then…  

“…What!?”  

Turning a corner, Heidi spotted a familiar figure—Eze, not far away.  

And he wasn’t alone.  

Walking with her so-called fiancé was a woman she’d never seen before.  

Her features were beyond stunning, with a mole by her right eye and pale purple hair, like a living doll, exquisitely perfect.  

She wore an elegant black gown, its gems and sequins sparkling even from a hundred meters away.  

Dressed like that, she was likely a noble’s daughter from around here.  

Worse, she was clinging to Eze’s arm, chatting with a smile, looking every bit like lovers on a date.  

The irritation Heidi had barely suppressed exploded at the sight.  

“What the hell is that jerk doing!!?”  

She’d gone without sleep, traveled through the night, and scoured the city half-dead, and this guy?  

He’s out here dating another girl!?  

Living the good life, huh, Hero Eze? Disgusting.  

And, setting aside her calculated interests, they were still engaged, weren’t they?  

Sure, Eze was just a commoner from another world without his hero title, while she, even without being a hero, was a kingdom’s princess.  

A princess, lowering herself to engage a commoner, and instead of gratitude, he cheats?  

And that woman—what’s her deal?  

How dare she shamelessly touch someone else’s property? Are local families this rude? What gives her the right?  

Just because she’s a bit taller, a bit curvier, a bit prettier…  

Whatever, who cares.  

Heidi shook her head, carefully masking her presence, and followed them, watching as they entered the café she’d planned to visit.  

***

Under Velrian’s half-forced coercion, Eze was dragged into a café in the noble district.  

Velrian, a major demon figure, acted like a regular at the place.  

With a casual “Same as usual, for him too,” she was promptly led to a VIP room upstairs, where coffee, cake, and freshly baked cookies were soon placed on the table.  

Seated across from Eze, Velrian leisurely picked up her teacup, sipped, and took a bite of cake.  

“Mmm This place’s stuff is as delicious as ever. Demon territory chefs can’t make this.”  

Her blissful smile showed none of the intimidation you’d expect from a Great Witch.  

Eze narrowed his eyes, studying her.  

“You’re… cough cough… pretty familiar with this place?”  

“Very familiar. I come here often when I’m free. Been a few months since I last visited because of the Anlin Plain business. Mmm Delicious”  

As she spoke, Velrian kept popping cake into her mouth, her expression increasingly dreamy.  

But Eze was speechless.  

One of the thirteen demon leaders, sneaking into a human military stronghold for some cake without being caught?

 He couldn’t tell which side was more absurd.  

This town surviving this long was a miracle.  

Velrian, savoring her dessert, noticed Eze’s untouched cake and asked, puzzled:  

“Not trying it? It’s really good.”  

“Nah, I don’t like sweets or coffee.”  

Back on the team, Eze’s all-nighters were fueled by cramming sweets and espresso to stay efficient when his brain was fried or he was dead tired.  

Now, having left, the sight of these triggered PTSD, making him nauseous.  

Velrian set down her spoon, eyeing Eze with interest.  

“You don’t seem nervous at all?”  

“Why would I be?”  

“No escape—shouldn’t you be nervous? Or do you still have a trump card to turn this around?”  

Eze gave a wry smile and shrugged.  

“No way. I’m dead today.”  

The Great Witch Velrian, who should’ve been dead, stood before him unscathed less than a day later.

Realizing this, Eze had panicked briefly.  

But it didn’t last.  

Witches, though part of the demon race, were physiologically closer to humans, even frailer.  

In exchange, they wielded countless bizarre spells and curses.  

As a top witch, it wasn’t surprising Velrian had some resurrection trick.  

Rushed timing and incomplete intel led to these messy problems.  

Velrian propped her cheek, looking regretful.  

“Pity. I was hoping to see the legendary strongest hero panic.”  

“Gotta accept a loss. What’s to panic about?”  

On the battlefield, Eze had tried to kill Velrian without mercy and failed.  

Now it was her turn to come for his life.  

When you kill, you prepare to be killed—that’s how Eze always saw and did things.  

So, he was oddly calm.  

Still, one thing irked him.  

“By the way, the strongest hero? Me? Cough cough cough—that’s a sick joke.”  

If he was the strongest, would he be in this mess?  

Velrian’s eyes widened in surprise.  

“Huh? Sarcasm? The thirteen leaders, including me, all think so.”  

“…Really?”  

Velrian popped a cookie in her mouth, nodding earnestly.  

“Of course. Undefeated in every battle, even winning at Gerlos—that’s not something other heroes could pull off.”  

Gerlos, a northern fortress city.  

About a year ago, the Beastman Chieftain, one of the thirteen leaders, attacked with a five-to-one advantage, only to be crushed by Eze’s team.  

The beastmen’s elite were obliterated, their chieftain fled, and the beastman tribe, a major demon faction, never invaded human lands again.  

It was Eze’s first major campaign in this world.  

But the goal was total annihilation, and letting the chieftain escape meant Eze didn’t like bringing it up.  

By the way, the chieftain escaped because Liya’s recklessness caused a slip-up.  

A blessing in disguise, it spared Eze a storm of criticism.  

Otherwise, letting a demon leader escape would’ve had Liya berating him to death.  

Velrian, unaware of the details, wore a gleeful expression as she continued:  

“Anyway, since then, I haven’t seen that stinky chieftain. Rumor is he was so traumatized he lost control of his bowels and couldn’t leave his room for months. Heh, still makes me laugh”  

Eze pictured it… then decided not to. No need to fill his head with filth before dying.  

“Point is, after that, you being the toughest hero became the consensus.”  

Velrian chuckled, sipped her coffee, and continued:  

“Some even call your Blade of the Goddess team ‘Hero Eze and His Three Flaws.’ What do you think?”  

“…Nothing much. Just rumors.”  

Eze closed his eyes and shook his head.  

In truth, he had too many thoughts—so many that once he started, the complaints wouldn’t stop.  

But she was the enemy, and he was about to die. No way he’d let her fish for intel.  

“Boring”  

Velrian pouted, thought for a moment, then sat up straight, her voice lowering:  

“Well then, Hero Eze, care to share your thoughts on the Anlin Plain battle? You put me through quite a lot.”