The third request the Hero brought didn’t require my help—at least not directly.

Kugoong…

The massive body of a Great Web, a giant spider monster, collapsed.

"Mission complete. Good work, everyone."

"Phew…"

Unlike the previous mission involving the jackals, this one only involved a single creature. And the Hero’s party excelled in smaller skirmishes.

Moreover…

"Louie, these shoes are amazing!"

"Yes! I felt so light on my feet, like I was moving as fast as Raphirie!"

This time, I had given them the shoes I had been preparing. Like the gloves before, these were custom-made with spell formations tailored to each individual.

Thankfully, the feedback was positive.

"Heh, nothing special."

"Louie, you're getting cocky…"

"I think our mage would dance with joy if you keep praising her."

After a bit of banter about the successful mission, the heroines started to express some discomfort. Thankfully, it wasn’t about the shoes I made but rather the Great Web they had just fought.

"It’s so sticky…"

"Haha, well, you were hit with a lot of webs."

I was starting to understand the true purpose behind this request.

‘Is this one of those “fan service” scenes the author threw in?’

The three heroines were completely tangled up in webs, and though they were just normal spider webs, the way they clung to their bodies made it look like they were tied up.

"..."

The Hero was awkwardly trying to avert his gaze.

"Why don’t you all go inside and wash up?"

Since I had been in the back and protected by my robe, I avoided getting caught in the webs. I could give the heroines enough time to clean up.

'At least the ferocity of the Great Web will help keep other monsters at bay.'

Not to mention the mess it made around here. There was no need to worry about any other creatures or predators attacking for a while.

"Oh, really?"

"Shall we take turns, then?"

"No need. You can all go together. I can handle being alone for that long."

The heroines' faces lit up with relief. Each of them thanked me before heading into the rooms I had provided with the key I gave them.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Aren’t you going to go wash up too, Hero?"

"Huh? Me?"

The Hero was just standing there, staring blankly at the sky while waiting for the others. He, too, was a mess, covered not only in webs but also in the spider’s sticky fluids.

"Yes. You should go clean up quickly."

"But I can’t leave you alone in this forest…"

The Hero was being strangely stubborn, so I let out a small sigh.

"Hero, you smell."

"...?!"

"You’ve got ten minutes, so hurry up and go."

"A-alright. I’ll be back soon."

Apparently, being told he smelled wasn’t something he liked. He jumped in surprise and hurried into one of the rooms. Now, I was left alone in front of the four doors.

I pulled out my pen and left a golden mark in the sky.

"Hmm, about five days left."

I had been preparing something for the Twilight Fortress episode—just in case there were any unexpected variables. There were still roughly five days until "it" arrived.

I wanted to speed things up, but the process was delicate.

'Let’s review again.'

The Twilight Fortress. It was one of the key episodes the Hero’s party would face in the western part of the empire, centered around a mysterious structure that had appeared near the great city of Alpares.

'It’s practically a siege.'

Until now, the battles the Hero’s party had faced were mostly extermination missions, with the odds heavily in their favor. There hadn’t been any significant losses.

But this time would be different.

A large number of adventurers, mercenaries, and Alpares’ guards would join the fight. At the same time, countless monsters would pour out from the Twilight Fortress.

This was war.

For the first time, the Hero’s party would experience war.

'And, most importantly, this is when they’ll face their first powerful demon.'

While the party had encountered demons before, they had only fought those with strength comparable to Acturus, who they had met in the village of Intrel.

But at the Twilight Fortress, the party would face opponents as strong as themselves, leading to their separation.

'If I want to preserve the party’s strength, I’ll need to prevent that development.'

Even if we avoided the split, it wouldn’t take away from their growth.

"Hmm…"

Of course, I planned to follow the story as much as possible, but I had an idea for how to handle things.

"Louie, I’m back. Everything okay?"

They say there’s a big difference in how long men and women take to bathe. The Hero had gone in last but came out first.

His hair was still damp, so it seemed like he had rushed.

"Yes, everything’s fine."

"Um… Do I still smell?"

"I was joking before."

"Ah…"

I sighed as I pulled out a towel from my spatial pocket. It was one I had already washed and prepared.

"Sit down."

"Huh? Oh… okay."

I began drying the Hero’s hair, kneading it gently with the towel. As a bonus, I gave him a bit of a scalp massage like the one Raphirie had once done to me.

"Hero, have you heard anything about the city of Alpares?"

The Hero, who wasn’t sure where to look, quickly focused when I mentioned the city.

"Yes. There’s been a sharp increase in monster sightings… the upper echelons of Alpares are expecting demons to appear."

Hmm, it seemed like the leadership wasn’t incompetent. The Count of Alpares was probably taking charge, and thanks to his foresight, they’d likely managed to gather a significant number of reinforcements.

"Has the Count requested anything special?"

"Not exactly. He said there was no rush, but he would like us to stop by Alpares. He didn’t issue any specific requests."

"I see. Now turn around."

"Huh?"

"I need to dry the front too."

"Oh, uh…"

The Hero awkwardly shifted on the rock, and I moved closer to dry the front of his black hair. Without a hair dryer, drying it with a towel took longer.

But I managed to finish before the other heroines came out.

"All done."

"Th-thanks."

"Ahh, that feels so refreshing!!"

"Raphirie, don’t be so loud."

Right on cue, the three heroines emerged, signaling the end of their break. With everyone fresh and clean, we mounted our horses and began riding through the forest, heading toward the great city of Alpares.

A dark fortress of black brick, yet all the light filtering through the windows seemed to be tinted with the colors of twilight. Inside the fortress walls, eerie wails and roars echoed, making the ground tremble.

"Acturus has fallen."

In one part of the fortress, a low voice echoed from an empty void.

"One of the roots of the Ancients, huh?"

"Yes."

"Who was the enemy?"

"The Hero’s party."

"The Hero’s party? They shouldn’t have been able to breach Acturus' defenses."

"They have a new mage. It seems she faced Acturus herself."

"A new variable. But a single one won’t change the overall outcome."

Chuckle.

The sound of an old man’s laughter filled the room. The voice was like that of an elderly man, but the malevolent energy radiating from him was anything but ordinary.

Rumble…

The fortress shook with just his laughter. The voice from the void gave a warning.

"Do not be overconfident. We still don’t know the identity of this mage."

"It doesn’t matter who she is. She won’t be able to disrupt our plan!"

Bang!

A wrinkled fist slammed down on the throne, and a thunderous sound reverberated through the fortress.

"Our kin will soon deliver the first to descend, the most loyal servant of the One. We shall proudly present the Hero’s head to him."

Chuckle… chuckle…

The voice from the void disappeared, and the old man slowly sat back on his throne.

A new mage, recently joined the Hero’s party after four members had traveled together for a year.

This will be interesting.

The old man’s lips stretched into a grotesque smile.

Flap.

"Urgh."

A sudden jolt from Lux startled me awake.

"Louie, wake up. We’re almost there."

"Yes…"

I guess Lux’s movement was a natural alarm clock. Stretching my arms as much as I could, I looked ahead.

There it was, the great city of Alpares, surrounded by towering white walls.

We were nearly there.

Beep.

I lifted my pen again, leaving another golden mark in the sky. We were moving faster than expected, shaving off about a day from our journey.

At this rate… I think we’ll have time to adjust for any unforeseen events.

"We should meet with Count Alpares as soon as we enter the city. Everyone alright with that?"

No one objected. Even though we were the Hero’s party, the Count was still a noble of the land.

And since he didn’t have a bad reputation, even Raphirie, who was usually the most critical, nodded in agreement.

The Alpares mansion, which was at the heart of the city, sat at a slightly elevated point. The city had been built by leveling part of a mountain, so the further back we went, the higher the elevation.

"You must be the Hero. The Count has been expecting you."

The guard captain at the gate welcomed us, and soon the news of our party’s arrival spread through the city.

"It’s the Hero!"

"Hero!!"

The people’s cheers followed shortly after.

"Thank you, everyone."

The Hero responded earnestly to each shout, and the heroines also seemed to have gained some fame, as some of the cheers were directed at them.

"Aria! Look this way, please!"

"Serlin, you’re amazing!"

"Raphirie~!"

Well, of course, no one called out for me. I hadn’t been publicly introduced yet, so that made sense.

"Who’s that?"

"Was she always part of the group…?"

That’s what most people were saying. Then, a child’s voice rang out.

"Wow~ is that the mage?"

But the voice was much younger and higher-pitched than the others. It sounded like children.

"But she’s so young! She must be the Hero’s little sister!"

Excuse me?

I glared at the kid who had said that. He was, unsurprisingly, just a child.

I tried to brush it off, but the words kept ringing in my head. That’s when the Hero walked over to the child.

"Huh? It’s the Hero…"

"Hello."

"H-Hello…"

"The person you mentioned is actually our party’s mage. Her magic is incredible, even I have trouble keeping up with her."

"Oh…"

"So, try to avoid calling her little sister. She hates that the most."

"Y-yes!"

...

He didn’t need to explain all that, but I didn’t feel bad about it either. After the crowd’s enthusiastic welcome, we arrived at the mansion, where we were greeted by a man.

"Welcome, Hero’s party."

The man had an unusual mustache, the kind that would make him look like a shady noble in a comic book.

Yet, despite his appearance, this nobleman had a surprisingly good reputation.

"My name is Winer Alpares. I’m at your service."

He was the head of the Alpares family, and the ruler of this city—Count Winer Alpares.