When I asked the Saintess to leave, she shouted in agitation.
"No—no, that won't work! A Brave can't defeat the Demon King without a Saintess!"
"Who says that? And why?"
"Archbishop Osferen said so. He said the previous Brave lost because he didn't bring a Saintess with him."
I memorized the archbishop's name.
The previous Brave was from a hundred years ago. He had lost to the Demon King—which meant the Demon King I was supposed to defeat had been alive for over a century.
But why hadn't the previous Brave brought a Saintess? Or rather… the role of a Saintess was healing. So the Brave lost because he couldn't receive healing.
Which led to a simple conclusion.
"So the previous Brave lost because he couldn't use healing magic?"
"Yes. I can heal you, so you must bring me with you to defeat the Demon King."
Just as I thought. Because of the temple's garbage logic, the previous Brave had lost. I offered a one-second moment of silence for him in my heart.
And besides, if a Brave truly needed a Saintess, then what was the point of a Brave being granted the Light attribute in the first place?
"Saintess, why do you think the Brave is given the Light element?"
"Because Light represents holiness and justice, and the Brave and the Saintess are symbols of holiness and justice."
The temple really was laughable. That kind of speech might fool ignorant people, but anyone who thought for themselves could hear the contradictions immediately.
I pointed straight at the Saintess and rejected her argument without hesitation.
"Wrong. It's because I can also use healing magic. As long as I learn healing spells, there's no need for a Saintess at all. Do you understand now? If you do, then please leave. I rejected you."
I pointed at the door again, making it unmistakably clear.
The Saintess's eyes filled with tears. She sobbed as she opened the door and ran out. I stood up, walked over, shut the door, and locked it.
When I returned to my seat, the three of them were staring at me in shock.
Grace was the first to snap out of it. She slammed the table and stood up, yelling at me.
"Brave, that was too cruel! How could you say something like that?!"
"Miss Somart, please calm down. The Brave isn't wrong—his wording was just harsh."
Jacob stepped in to calm Grace down. As expected, he understood my reasoning. But Grace still refused to accept it.
"There had to be another way. I can't accept this."
It seemed Grace and I fundamentally disagreed. If she wanted to quit, I would let her. This wasn't mandatory. Still, I decided to confirm something first.
"Miss Somart, you're the Sword Saint's daughter, aren't you?"
"Yes. And what about it?"
So I was right. I could understand the Sword Saint's feelings now. He didn't want his daughter leaving his side—but this was the king's order, and he couldn't disobey it.
"If you're dissatisfied with me, you may withdraw. However, you are forbidden from revealing my identity—to anyone, including your family. If you do, not even the Sword Saint will be able to protect you."
"Are you threatening me?"
"No. His Majesty has already agreed to my request. I'm simply reminding you. The same applies to you two—you may also withdraw, but you are not allowed to reveal my identity."
This wasn't forced. Jacob and Ethefelis could leave as well.
If they all left, I'd be without companions. That was fine. It would just be a little boring and lonely—I could always pass the time with my game console.
"I have no intention of withdrawing."
"Same."
Both Jacob and Ethefelis chose to stay.
All eyes then turned to Grace. She clenched her fists, but instead of leaving, she slowly sat back down and spoke unwillingly.
"...I'm not withdrawing either. I joined because I wanted to grow stronger on the journey to defeat the Demon King."
"Good. Since none of you plan to leave, I'll start laying out my plan. First, relax when talking to each other. No need for honorifics."
They kept calling me "Brave" just because of my title. If that continued, there was no way we could function as companions.
"No problem."
"Alright."
"I'm fine with that too. But can I ask you one question first?"
Jacob was about to ask me a question, but I had to refuse him first.
"Sorry, could you let me finish first? I'm worried that if we take too long, people from the temple will come looking for us."
The Saintess would probably report what happened here to the temple, and they would likely force their way in. We were racing against time.
"Alright."
"Thank you. On the surface, our mission is that the king has dispatched a merchant to conduct trade around the world—that would be Jacob. Grace, Ethefelis, and I have accepted a commission to protect him."
"So the reason Mr. Jacob is here, even though he's a merchant, is because of that?"
Grace seemed confused about why a merchant would be part of a party meant to defeat the Demon King, and my explanation led her to that conclusion. But honestly, that reason was the least important one. If that were all, any random person could have played the role of a merchant.
"You could say that's one reason. But the main reason is that I don't plan on accepting funding from the nation, so I want Jacob to earn our expenses."
"His Majesty already told me about that. I'm happy to travel the world and do business—expanding connections is what a merchant should do. That's why I joined."
So the King had already explained it. I'd been worried Jacob might feel like I was using him—though that wasn't entirely wrong. As long as he didn't mind, it was fine.
"As expected of a merchant from the Zereil Merchant Guild. Is that the foundation of your success?"
Jacob's motivation was admirable. No wonder the Zereil Merchant Guild had grown into such a powerful merchant guild.
"You know my family's merchant guild?"
"Of course. You offer a wide variety of goods, all affordable and high quality. Your stores are packed every day—I used to shop there often."
"I'm glad to hear our goods earn your praise. But you said "used to." Do you not shop there anymore? Are our products lacking?"
"That's not it. Your products are excellent. It's just that I've found even better ones."
Before tackling dungeons, Lina and I often went shopping for necessities. After that… there was no way goods from this world could compare to those from my previous life. They weren't even on the same level.
"May I ask which merchant guild?"
When Jacob said that with a smile, it felt like a smile that didn't reach his eyes. His competitive spirit was strong. But he had misunderstood, so I quickly raised both hands to calm him down.
"Relax. It's not another merchant guild—it's dungeons. I do my shopping inside dungeons now."
"Dungeons? Aren't dungeons just places where raw materials gather? How could there be processed goods?"
Jacob's confusion was understandable. Very few people knew what lay beyond level 90. But if I explained it properly, it would take a long time—and might ignite his merchant's soul.
"Uh… I think that would turn into a very long conversation. I'll explain another time. Anyway, I'm not done yet. You also don't need to worry about sleeping on the forest floor. Even in the forest, you can take a shower and sleep in a proper bed."
"That sounds amazing. Did you bring your house with you or something?"
Jacob said it jokingly—without realizing he was exactly right.
"You're correct. You also don't need to worry about monsters destroying it. Without power on the level of nearly a thousand years, they won't even scratch it."
The entire exterior of the traveling house was embedded with magic stones over a thousand years old. To me, those stones weren't valuable at all—I had thousands of them stored away.
"That's basically a fortress among fortresses. But how are we supposed to move? By carriage? And what happens to the carriage at night?"
Grace commented on the absurd sturdiness of the traveling house, then raised a practical question about transportation. I'd been planning to explain that next anyway. Jacob and Ethefelis were clearly curious too, so I answered with a question of my own.
"Do you know bicycle?"
"I do. It was invented by someone living in a remote town. It saved many people the cost of hiring carriages for long-distance travel, and it sold extremely well. I've heard they're planning to open a branch in the capital soon."
Jacob really knew a lot—even details like the owner opening a new shop. His information network was impressive. I vaguely remembered the shop owner saying we should have a meal together if we ever met in the capital.
But what was his name again? It had been so long that I'd forgotten. I'd just ask Lina later.
"You're very well informed."
"My father once considered acquiring the business, but the negotiations failed."
I see. So that was why he'd researched it so thoroughly. Were the terms insufficient? Or did the owner simply not want to work under someone else? …Better not pry.
"I see. Then have you ridden a bicycle before?"
"Of course."
"I had."
"Learned."
What was with those three answers? Was it just a coincidence?
From Jacob to Ethefelis to Grace, when you put their responses together, it basically became: Of course I had learned.
They seemed to realize it too and looked at one another.
Then, I was done talking—and it was time for me to get out of here.