After that, we walked to the spot where the priests had been buried. Grace stepped past me and stopped right in front of me.
"Mr. Karen, why did you kill those three priests? They didn't do anything to offend you, did they?"
Her tone sounded angry, but her expression looked unwell. Why did she look uncomfortable? And the vomiting earlier was strange too.
Just as I was about to think it through, Alice also stepped in front of me. She stomped the ground hard, clenched her fists, and waved them up and down as she shouted emotionally.
"Yeah! Mr. Karen, they didn't do anything wrong!"
To be honest, I was disappointed by their questions. I turned to Jacob.
"Jacob, you understand why I did it, right?"
"I do."
"Then explain it to them."
Earlier, Jacob had said that as long as Alice didn't reveal she was half demon, no one would know. That alone proved he understood the reason I killed the priests.
I let Jacob face Grace and Alice, and he began explaining.
"Karen did it to protect Alice. If those three priests went back and reported this, Alice would be killed, wouldn't she? But the fact that Alice is the Saintess is unquestionable. At worst, she'd probably be stripped of her human rights and turned into a slave. Karen, am I right?"
"Mr. Karen!"
Jacob had said something I hadn't even considered, while Alice—the person in question—clasped her hands together and called my name in gratitude.
So that was how Jacob saw it. I hadn't thought that far at all. I shook my head and corrected them.
"No. It's because the world doesn't need to know too much. Otherwise, it'll cause chaos."
Only after saying it did I realize my words might have been too abstract. Otherwise, why did all of them look confused? After a few seconds of silence, Jacob—the smartest of the three—reacted.
"But the temple would keep it secret, right?"
Of course the temple would keep it secret to maintain its influence. But paper can't wrap fire, especially when too many people know.
"Secrets are best known by as few people as possible. Once rumors start spreading, it's over. People hear even a little rumor and start doubting and discussing it. Then a few days later, the headlines will read: "What?! This generation's Saintess is actually a demon! Has the temple been hiding something?! Is this a collapse of morality, or a distortion of human nature?" See? That's how chaos starts."
The temple treats demons like sworn enemies. If those three priests went back, they definitely wouldn't treat Alice kindly. Even if they were ordered to keep quiet, over time other priests—those not in the know—would notice something strange and start asking questions.
Once the number of people who know increases, discussions become frequent. And in this world, there are always ordinary people with exceptionally sharp hearing. That's how confidential matters get exposed.
From one person to ten, from ten to a hundred—before long, everyone in the streets would know. Newspapers would get fresh material and blow it out of proportion.
Then public opinion would turn into: the temple, the organization most hostile to demons, is secretly harboring one. Completely untrustworthy. Personally, I'd be satisfied with that outcome, but it would plunge society into chaos. So no, secrecy alone wouldn't work. Silencing them was necessary.
After hearing my reasoning, Alice looked terrified. She covered her mouth with both hands and shouted.
"That's horrible!"
Watching her like that made me feel irritated. Ever since the beginning, her movements felt overly dramatic, like she was deliberately acting cute.
But when I thought about it carefully, that probably wasn't the case. This was likely just her natural behavior, with no ill intent. Still, it made my stomach churn.
So I shifted my gaze to Grace. As a knight, she was supposed to be cool and composed, so she shouldn't act like that. Then Grace stared at me in disbelief and complained.
"You're exaggerating way too much. Front-page headlines? Mr. Jacob, do you really believe that?"
"Maybe," Jacob replied.
As a merchant, Jacob dealt with all kinds of people and naturally had a better grasp of public mentality, so he understood my reasoning.
Grace, on the other hand, was a knight—and a noble. She didn't need to interact with commoners much, so it made sense she couldn't relate.
At that moment, I saw Ethefelis emerge from the forest. She was finally back. I hurried over to her, bent forward with my hands on my knees, and asked about the results.
"Ethefelis, did you find them?"
She blinked twice, then held up three fingers.
"Three."
That was a lot. Were they trying to monitor us from every direction?
"That's quite a few. Were you hurt?"
"No."
I looked her up and down. Her clothes were neat, with no tears anywhere. If anything, she looked exactly the same as when she left—no sign of having fought at all.
Facing three people and returning unscathed—she really was outstanding.
Now that everyone was present, it was time to make the announcement.
"Good. Ethefelis, a lot happened while you were gone. First of all, this is Alice. She's half demon—a hybrid of human and demon. Can you accept that?"
When someone joins the team, the members' consent is necessary. I couldn't just decide on my own because I was the leader, or resentment would follow.
I only asked Ethefelis and not Grace or Jacob because they didn't seem to reject Alice at all for being half demon. They were interacting with her normally.
Ethefelis looked at Alice for a few seconds before answering.
"I can."
As long as she accepted it, that was enough. I straightened up and announced to everyone.
"Then it's decided. Alice will join us."
"Mr. Karen!"
Alice once again called my name emotionally. Annoying.
Grace then asked in surprise,
"Mr. Karen, you're letting her join? Didn't you say you don't need a Saintess?"
"Eh?!"
Alice was clearly shocked by Grace's words, while I glanced at Alice and replied calmly.
"I don't need one. But she's the only person in this world who can use both light and dark magic."
I could say with certainty that Alice was the only one in existence with this special dual attribute. Who would have thought that two mutually hostile elements could coexist in one person? There was no precedent, and there would be no successor. Not taking her along would be a loss.
Just imagining someone wielding light magic in one hand and dark magic in the other made me excited. This was far rarer than a Brave or a Saintess. If you missed this chance, you'd never see it again.
"Eh…"
This time, Alice let out a hurt sound because of my "don't need" comment. Couldn't she just stay quiet? Like Ethefelis. Though honestly, I hoped Ethefelis would talk more—her opinion mattered too.
At that moment, Jacob joined in. He raised both hands in a "that's it?" gesture and asked loudly,
"That's all?"
I added another reason.
"That's the main reason. Besides, sending her back alone would raise suspicion. It's better to keep her with us."
"You are right, going back alone would definitely look strange."
The three priests didn't return, but Alice did. What would the Archbishop think? And Alice looked like the kind of person who'd slip up—she'd probably spill everything within three sentences.
With that, everyone except Alice accepted it. Then Grace pointed at the bicycle leaning against a tree truck.
"What about transportation? Do we have an extra bicycle?"
I still had the bicycle the shop owner had made before, but Alice know what is bicycle?
"Alice, do you know what a bicycle is?"
"A bicycle? I don't know."
She looked completely unfamiliar with the word. Then we'd have to use the carriage. Fortunately, it was still there, not scared off by the black hole.
"Then we'll take the carriage. Who knows how to drive one? I've never done it."
"I can."
"I can too."
"I can't."
"Then Jacob and Grace can take turns. You two get ready. I'll clear the demons blocking the road. Ethefelis, take me to the three person's locations afterward."
"Okay."
"Mr. Karen, what should I do?"
What could Alice do? There really wasn't anything suitable for her.
"Stay in the carriage."
After that, everyone put away their bicycles and went to handle their tasks. After burying the demon corpses, I followed Ethefelis to find the three watchers.
They were positioned in different locations, really using binoculars to monitor us from all directions. Their ends were pitiful—each had their throat slit and fell from a tree, breaking their limbs on the way down.
All killed with a single strike. Ethefelis was truly excellent. I'd give her an extra chicken leg tonight.
After burying them, I returned to the original spot. Jacob was seated in the driver's seat, and Alice was waving at us. Ethefelis and I got onto the carriage, and we set off.