Chapter 39: Universal Pass

And after a while, Eril returned.

She seemed cheerful, as if she’d had a satisfying meal.

Of course, to make my lie more convincing, I hadn’t forgotten to ask Eril about the surrounding geography.

Fortunately, she had found a cluster of fruit trees nearby.

“Good night, Baglos.”

“Mm.”

As before, Eril lay on her stomach with one wing slightly spread, and I buried myself in her embrace.

I’d thought this many times already, but her feathers were so soft and warm that I sincerely wanted to make bedding out of them.

Of course, she’d definitely object.

In the warm embrace of the phoenix, I felt like an egg being nestled.

It would have been nice if Baglos could experience this feeling too, but he preferred sleeping alone, so he could react quickly to even the smallest disturbance.

“Thank you, Eril.”

After expressing my gratitude once more, I slowly closed my eyes.

The next day, after a simple breakfast made from the fruits Eril had found, we resumed our journey toward the nearest city.

After walking for almost half a day more, we finally reached the outskirts of a city called Deshlang.

We had deliberately landed in the outskirts rather than inside the city to avoid drawing attention.

After all, it wasn’t common for someone to arrive in a city riding a phoenix — even without revealing I was a hero’s companion, it would stand out.

Baglos also needed some time to disguise himself.

“All done.”

The boyish figure from yesterday had vanished, and now standing before me was a man slightly taller than me, his face and entire body wrapped in black cloth.

This was his working form.

He had readjusted his skeletal structure to change his height and appearance.

Honestly, even though I’d seen what was under that cloth a few times during our past travels, I still had to mentally prepare myself whenever I did.

“Thanks.”

Even his voice had changed.

No longer the voice of a young boy from yesterday, but a deep and heavy voice of a middle-aged man.

“I’ll go gather information. You get some rest at the inn.”

“Which—”

Before I could finish my sentence, he had already disappeared from my sight.

Of course, this was my fault.

I knew how he always acted in situations like this — straight to the point, then straight to action — but I’d forgotten and just stood there.

“…You didn’t even say which inn or when.”

There was no one left to hear me complain.

Back in the day, Lowell or Orcan would’ve stopped him.

But I couldn’t catch him even if I wanted to — he’d already vanished from view.

“Well, I’m sure he’ll find me somehow.”

I pulled a memory crystal from my coat.

I had made up a good story about the food and the sleeping bags yesterday, but the money was all in the bag.

“Eril, please wait around this area for a few days. Try not to come into the city if possible — we don’t want to make the guards or the townspeople nervous.”

She flapped her wings in acknowledgment and flew off.

After seeing her disappear, I activated the crystal.

“You’re late!”

Just as the scenery began to change, her voice rang in my ears.

“Why didn’t you come yesterday? Skipping out already?”

Though her voice sounded slightly annoyed, her expression and eyes were full of playfulness.

“And where did you learn to say that, exactly?”

The scene from the memory crystal overlapped with her appearance, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“I read it in one of your novels when I was bored. It said you’re supposed to get mad if someone doesn’t come home for a night.”

She clearly only read that one specific part.

“Do you know why they get mad?”

“Nope.”

She answered proudly, as if it were natural not to know.

“Because they wanted to see them, but didn’t get to for a whole night.”

I didn’t know what kind of marriage customs demons had.

So I couldn’t really say whether her not knowing that was right or wrong.

But still, her innocent response was far more endearing than any correct answer.

“Then… were you hoping to see me last night?”

“To some extent.”

I’d asked half-teasingly, but her natural affirmation caught me off guard.

She must’ve expected me to say that.

“…You’ve gotten quite bold over the past few days.”

“You too.”

She smiled brightly, clearly satisfied with her small victory.

“Anyway, why didn’t you come yesterday? Did you already go back home?”

Ah, come to think of it, that would be a reasonable assumption.

If I had returned to Lowell, I wouldn’t have needed to visit last night, and even though I was a bit late today, the timing still roughly matched.

“No, I haven’t gone back yet. The job’s not finished.”

“You said you’d leave it to the shadow guy?”

“Well, things didn’t go as planned. Baglos will help, but I think I need to finish it myself.”

I walked over to the bag and took out a coin pouch.

There was still a box full of coins next to the cart, but this should be enough for just a few days.

And there was one more thing I absolutely couldn’t forget to bring.

“So that’s why I didn’t come yesterday. Baglos was with me.”

“I see. But… he still doesn’t talk?”

Another person who’d be surprised if they met him in person.

“No, actually, he talks quite a bit now — surprisingly so. Though he’s still generally quiet.”

“Anupkut would’ve been disappointed to miss it. He really wanted to hear that shadow guy’s voice.”

“He’s never heard it before?”

True, even we could count the times we’d heard it.

And Baglos never made even a sound, not even a groan or breath, during battle.

“Yeah. I’ve never heard it either. Not that I really care.”

“Actually, he has several different voices.”

Since each form he takes has a different voice.

“Right. Makes sense the voice would change with the form. That Raiven guy was the same — I know it well.”

Now that she mentioned it, that beast king was similar.

Every time he transformed into a beast, his voice changed slightly.

One time, it sounded so off we all burst out laughing.

“So… you won’t be coming tonight either?”

“Probably not.”

She tried to put on a calm expression, but she couldn’t hide the flicker of disappointment in her eyes.

“…I’ll try to come, if I can.”

“Leaving already?”

That question felt like her hand gently tugging at my sleeve.

It wasn’t strong, but its intention was clear.

“Yes. I have work to do.”

Since I didn’t know when Baglos would return, I needed to rent a room at the inn.

As I learned yesterday, planting suspicion in his mind would make keeping secrets all the more difficult.

“…By the way, Miss Ropena, what do you think would happen if I told the others about you and this place?”

It was just a passing curiosity.

A question I’d already asked myself several times.

Normally, it would have just drifted through my mind.

But today, for some reason, it slipped out of my mouth.

She thought for a moment and then opened her mouth.

“Well. I don’t know about the others, but that old man will definitely like it. This place is full of Denatel’s research results and data, and as you’ve seen, there are plenty of artifacts as well. As for me, I’m trapped here anyway, so I won’t really care.”

Yeah, that made sense.

If it were Lord Medluf, he would definitely make better use of the items here.

And people like Lauti, Aegina, or Lowell might even argue that she should be released.

Naturally, Orcan would object.

Whatever the case, it was certain that nothing particularly bad would happen.

In fact, it might even lead to a better outcome.

“But why are you hiding this from the other companions?”

I didn’t answer.

It wasn’t because I didn’t know—I stayed silent for my sake.

Because the reason was far too pathetic, selfish, and carried a childish hope.

“…But so what. This is nice, isn’t it? Don’t you think?”

At her words, a weight in my heart lightened.

Maybe, just maybe, that was exactly what I wanted to hear.

“Thank you, Miss Ropena.”

Leaving behind her smile, I returned to the forest I had originally come from.

For a moment, I worried that when I came back from Denatel’s study, Baglos might be hiding and waiting for me—but fortunately, that wasn’t the case.

Well, to begin with, Baglos probably didn’t even consider doing something like that to us.

“Maybe I should’ve landed a bit closer.”

Since I deliberately landed at the outskirts to avoid being seen from the city, the distance to the city turned out to be farther than expected.

For someone like Baglos, it would’ve taken only a moment, but at my pace, it would take quite a while.

I could’ve summoned a familiar to ride, but truthfully, I chose to walk because I needed time to think.

“Now, what should I say?”

Border cities usually have strict inspections for outsiders and travelers.

It was unlikely they’d let a stranger with no luggage just walk through the gate without suspicion.

Of course, with that thing I packed along with the coin pouch, getting through itself wouldn’t be difficult.

Still, depending on the situation, I might need a more detailed backstory.

I didn’t know whether my name was known in this area, but if I drew attention by calling myself the Deceiver of Summons or a Hero’s Companion, that would defeat the whole purpose of being cautious.

And in the worst-case scenario—like during the Amusbian incident—if they didn’t believe me, things could really get complicated.

I never wanted to go through the miserable task of explaining and proving everything again like I had to at the Negatum Fortress.

“…Once was more than enough for that kind of experience.”

People tend to cling to their beliefs and impressions more than to objective facts or proof.

Once someone decides you’re suspicious, you know all too well what kind of results that leads to.

“Should I say I ended up around here because of a portal accident?”

That might be the best excuse.

While rare, there are times when mages or herbalists come to the outskirts of the Forest of Evil for rare herbs or ingredients.

And portal or teleportation accidents do occasionally happen.

“Well, they might just let me through without any questions too.”

I took out something from my coat, along with the coin pouch.

It was a round crystal orb—similar to a memory crystal, though the design and craftsmanship were slightly different.

Of course, what mattered wasn’t the crystal itself, but what was inside.

It was a customs clearance crystal issued by governments for the convenience of major merchants or nobles.

It contained the official seal granting passage through certain regions, and, when necessary, permission for limited support as well.

Usually, it holds symbols for four or five regions at most, but the one I had was a bit special.

It contained the special customs clearance seals for every existing country and territory.

By simply injecting mana and thinking of a location, the corresponding seal would appear.

In short, it was a universal pass that allowed me to get through anywhere.