[I'll be heading out for a few days—anyone want to come with me?]
To the women, this line carried a surprisingly complex yet undeniably positive signal.
Especially because just moments earlier, the three of them had been talking about "Isaac's journey."
The very act of doing something so spontaneous already felt like a turning point to them.
The women who had heard about the trip from Liana all felt a flutter of anticipation.
As for Liana herself, recalling memories of the past, she didn't want to miss this opportunity that had come around again.
But—
"…Wasn't this supposed to be a vacation?"
The moment they arrived at the destination, Silverna pouted openly.
She'd heard that no matter where you go, a trip with someone you like always feels exciting.
And especially if it's the first trip, even more so.
Sure, she'd been to many places with Isaac, but those were more like battlefields or official events rather than true vacations.
So by that standard, this was their first proper trip.
"Volten, really?"
But the place they'd arrived at wasn't much different from a warzone.
It still looked normal on the outside, but in the narrow alleys, people lurked.
The air was oddly sour and sticky. The scent of sewers mixed with tobacco.
And even faint traces of medicine lingered in the air.
"Life's already short even if we only see the good in the world, yet it seems we're always seeing the worst of it."
Resting her chin on her hand and looking out of the carriage, the Grandmaster murmured bitterly.
She'd been here before, but the only change this time was that drug regulations had become stricter.
Even so, traces of the city turning into a red-light district after sunset were visible even during the day.
"Ta-da~!"
Suddenly, Sharen stood up and cupped her face with her hands like a flower, holding it out to the Grandmaster.
"What's this about?"
"Well, you said life's too short not to see good things, right? So here—look at something good."
"…Helmut really is the queen of confidence, isn't she."
"Helmut is also the best-looking—"
Sharen stopped mid-sentence, hesitated, then shook her head and sat back down.
"Actually, not the best-looking. We are above average. We've got a few gorilla-looking people at home, so by comparison…"
"…At this point, I'm starting to get curious about the people you hate so much."
The Grandmaster found it strange—Sharen was always so bright and cheerful, but the moment her brothers were mentioned, she completely changed.
Liana, pretending not to listen, silently agreed.
The younger one, Armin—the second son—wasn't too bad.
But the eldest? Even Liana fully agreed with Sharen on that one.
Isaac's group met briefly with the current lord of Volten and then stepped outside.
The current ruler of Volten was Viscount Vincequins.
Unlike the former baron, Drian Belfort, he preferred to be addressed by his family name.
"He clearly doesn't care about Volten at all."
Walking down the street after leaving Vincequins' mansion, Silverna muttered to herself.
Isaac agreed—and was honestly relieved.
Technically, they were taking over his land, but the viscount welcomed it like getting rid of a burden.
He'd even said he had already spoken to the princess, so the transfer of ownership could happen as early as next week—and he'd clasped Isaac's hands in joy.
"More importantly…"
While walking, Isaac subtly glanced back.
Among their group, there was one person whose face was completely concealed.
A woman wearing a hat and a scarf that covered her mouth—her name was Clarice Evangel Legardia.
"Are you really okay with this? It's a little late to ask, but Princess Adeline must be furious."
"…Can't I just take a day off?"
Though she was a princess, she was currently concealing her identity.
She wasn't here on some inspection mission—it was basically a personal vacation.
"I dumped everything on Heirad, so he probably smoothed things over."
Isaac glanced at his companions, thinking that Heirad must be having a hard time cleaning up after the wild princess.
The Helmut sisters.
Silverna.
The Grandmaster.
And even Clarice.
He had thought about it on the way here, but Isaac didn't expect all of them to insist on coming along.
He figured at least a few would stay back at the mansion and rest.
'With this many people, we're going to draw way too much attention.'
The princess had at least covered her face.
Silverna, despite being famous, was only well-known in the North, so her face wasn't easily recognized elsewhere.
The problem was the Helmut sisters.
The name Helmut was universally known—respected, admired, and feared.
Even if their influence had waned somewhat, Helmut was still Helmut.
People might not recognize their faces, but their unique, unmistakable presence made them stand out far too easily.
'We rushed out here, and now this oversight is coming back to bite us.'
After a brief pause, Isaac cautiously made a suggestion.
"Would a few of you be willing to stay at the viscount's mansion for now? What do you think?"
Quick-witted Clarice quietly stepped closer to Isaac and leaned toward him.
"You're right. The next lord shouldn't be drawing attention while walking around town.
Unless everyone's in disguise like me, it's better if the more noticeable ones stay behind."
Then Silverna stepped to his other side.
"Redheads should stay locked up in their rooms."
"..."
"..."
The two red-haired sisters stared at Isaac.
Their eyes silently asked, 'Are you really going to abandon us here?'
And Isaac answered with a silent nod.
No matter what, it was just too conspicuous to move around in a big group like this.
"Just rest up and take a nap to recover from the trip."
As the Grandmaster also began walking toward the mansion, Isaac spoke carefully.
"Um, Master… would you also stay and rest for a bit?"
"...."
"Your tail and ears stand out too much."
Although the people of the kingdom were now aware of the Transcendents, that awareness only made them more sensitive to the Grandmaster's presence.
In fact, even back in Evergard, civilians had reported her multiple times to the guards after being startled at the sight of her.
"You're casting your master aside like this?"
"Grandmaster, let's go."
"…I'll wait."
Perhaps unwilling to be the only ones left behind, Sharen and Liana clung to the Grandmaster. The Grandmaster pouted her lips and grumbled about how there was no respect for elders.
"Eek!"
"Hm?"
Across the street—
A few rough-looking, burly men walking down the road were pointing in their direction.
"Ah, there it is."
Seeing the obvious fear on their faces, Isaac let out a sigh.
"Looks like the people here still—"
"It's Baron Logan!!"
"Run! Run for your lives!!"
As people screamed and fled without even looking back, Isaac stood there for a moment, dumbfounded.
"…Shall we go back together?"
Liana gently tugged at his sleeve and looked up at him.
As if they had been waiting, the Grandmaster and Sharen also stepped in.
"We're clearly too eye-catching. Come, lend me your lap. I can't sleep well in unfamiliar places, so I must take a nap on your lap."
Said by the same person who had just been lying on the ground napping. Isaac thought that but didn't say it out loud.
"Isaac! Let's just go hole up in the room! Let Silverna and Her Highness handle the scouting!"
In a flash, the situation had reversed.
Isaac had expected his infamy might have some lingering effect in Volten, but perhaps he'd underestimated it.
'No, maybe I just didn't want to remember it.'
Even if someone were to accuse him of looking the other way under the guise of serving a greater good, Isaac couldn't easily deny it.
That didn't mean he thought he was wrong. It was less a matter of right and wrong, and more an issue of emotions.
Though his feelings were complicated, he had no intention of backing down here.
No matter how much they hated, feared, or despised him—
The city of Volten couldn't continue on in its current state.
The drugs may be gone, but…
Gangs crowding the alleyways, loan sharks, illegal gambling dens, brothels…
Volten had far more problems than he'd anticipated.
"…Ha."
Isaac let out a short, dry laugh.
Watching him, Liana cautiously asked,
"What's wrong?"
"It's just…"
He felt a bit bitter.
"I was just thinking how the seat of Volten's ruler always seems to fall to those burdened with karma."
***
It was still before nightfall, so Volten's streets were rather quiet.
Even the last time he strolled around with the Grandmaster, Isaac had noticed: the people of Volten were more active at night.
Thanks to that, even as dusk approached, only now were people starting to prepare for business.
"So the night market is real, huh?"
Vincequins the Viscount had mentioned there would be a lot to see, given that the night market was being held during this period.
And indeed, many people had already laid out mats and tarps along the roads, displaying goods for sale.
"Woooow! This is my first festival besides the Sword Festival!"
"…I didn't get out much either, since I was always up north."
Sharen and Silverna were already getting carried away, leading the group with childlike excitement.
The market hadn't officially started, but there were already plenty of wares being displayed for browsing.
The two girls found themselves drawn to one of the mats.
There were many items laid out, and though Isaac frowned the moment he saw them, Sharen and Silverna innocently asked the round-bellied merchant sitting behind the mat,
"What's this? A stick?"
"Huh, it's shorter than a dagger… is this some kind of local weapon from Volten?"
To their questions, the merchant chuckled and replied with a sly grin,
"Ha ha! Well, it is a weapon! One that brings immense pleasure to women!"
"Huh?"
"Eh?"
The two tilted their heads in confusion at the mention of a "weapon that brings women pleasure."
Behind them, the Grandmaster gave them a gentle push.
"Let's go, let's go. So much to see, so little time. We won't get through it all today unless we get moving."
They naturally moved on to the next stall, but from behind, Clarice turned red in embarrassment.
Liana sighed beside Isaac and asked,
"Is it really okay for them to sell this kind of stuff so openly?"
"…It's Volten, after all."
The item Sharen and Silverna had just seen was something used at night—
Specifically, a wooden object carved to resemble a male member, covered in leather.
"Calling it 'free-spirited' is being generous… it's just plain debauchery."