The World After Leaving the Hero’s Party

Chapter 19 – “The Third Condition” (Part 2)

Though the expected and unexpected participants had gathered, the overall strategy for the event hadn’t changed.

The critical point was that Veronica had joined the fray.

“So, Sage. What’s the plan now?”

General Leoden knew full well that the key to clearing the Pale Moon event lay with me.

His question suggested that he intended to leave the entire matter in my hands without interference.

That worked perfectly for me.

If he had meddled, I would have had to find a way to remove him from the equation—something that would have been a hassle.

All those carefully built relationships were finally paying off now.

I surveyed those watching me.

With the third condition met, it was time to fulfill the fourth: Battles against the White Moon Church cultists.

The cultists, having noticed their rituals were being disrupted by the slaying of their White Beasts, would now begin moving in earnest.

We’d need to fight them to secure a path to the Moon’s Shrine.

“The White Moon cultists will take action soon,” Veronica said coldly before I could speak.

Hearing this, General Leoden gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

“Then it’s the Kingdom’s duty to stop them.”

To Leoden, the cultists were treasonous scum who had dared to attack his queen. He likely wanted nothing more than to kill them himself.

That explained the sidelong glances he kept throwing my way.

Not that any of this mattered to me.

“No. The Kingdom’s army should continue with its current assignments. I’d prefer the Church handle the cultists. Veronica, can you manage that?”

“Fighting heretics is always welcome,” she replied with steely determination, gripping her massive mace.

What a reliable ally.

I clapped in approval, and Veronica allowed a faint smile to grace her lips.

“So, what’s next?”

“The next step…”

Once we capture a cultist and extract the location of the Moon’s Shrine, we’ll move on to the final stage: raiding the shrine.

In the game, the Moon’s Shrine was treated as a dungeon with a limited entry capacity, so we’d need to carefully choose who would join.

But that was a concern for later. For now, we had to focus on the battle with the cultists.

“The Moon’s Shrine is a particularly dangerous dungeon.”

“I’ve always wondered, Sage. How do you know so much about these things?”

The lizardman musician, Lark, slicked back his rooster-like crest as he asked this, his tone filled with curiosity.

“Why do you think they call me a Sage?” I replied with a smirk.

“Hah, fair enough. Can’t argue with that.”

“Exactly. Some things are just better left unexplained. That’s life.”

My reputation as a Sage, built through supporting the Hero’s Party and completing numerous quests and events, lent weight to my words. No one in the group questioned me further.

“As expected of the Sage! Truly, you’re incredible! Oh, then Sage, can you guess the little problem in my village?”

“I don’t care. Anyway, since you adventurers are here, join up with the Church. Oh, Lark and Wilkers, you’re with me.”

Among the adventurers, these two stood out as… special.

Their eccentricities and skills meant I was better off managing them myself, even if it would be a headache.

“Why shouldn’t the Kingdom’s army fight the cultists?”

“Because the cultists use vile, dark techniques. Priests and paladins are better suited for countering them.”

The adventurers also had experience dealing with such curses and dark rituals, making them more capable in this scenario.

“I see. Understood.”

As preparations for the battle against the cultists wrapped up, Claire suddenly raised her hand.

“Wait!”

“What?”

Claire, who had been quietly listening until now, stood up straight.

“Hyun Woo, is there… nothing we can do? I mean, I know Cardinal Veronica and those adventurers aren’t weak, but…”

Her voice faltered as she tried to argue that the Hero’s Party—having played a pivotal role in defeating the Demon King—was the better choice.

I looked at her, then at Leventia, who stood beside her, gazing at me with the same earnest plea in her eyes.

Was there really anything they could do?

Hmm…

Nope.

—

After assigning tasks to each group, I began another round of side work—this time, cooking.

As I prepared and served meals for the camp, Claire eventually came to the front of the line.

She didn’t cut in but waited patiently for her turn, staring at me intently.

“Do you need something?”

“…Is there really nothing we can do for you? I know they’re capable, but…”

“The only thing you need to do is stay here and help the Kingdom’s army deal with the monsters.”

The Pale Moon event is relatively high in difficulty, and the final boss at the Moon’s Shrine is particularly formidable.

Ordinary players would naturally bring the Hero into their party for the raid.

But I’m not ordinary.

I’m not just an experienced player—I’m the kind of veteran who’s “rotted” from overplaying.

At this point, there’s no need to risk including the Hero’s Party when their absence would minimize casualties among the Kingdom’s forces.

Even with the Pale Moon event active, monsters still roam freely.

“I-I see… That makes sense…”

Her shoulders slumped as Claire walked off, clearly dejected.

Watching her leave, I handed a plate of sausage and stir-fried vegetables to the next soldier in line before glancing up at the person behind him.

“Huh?”

It was Veronica.

The Church’s personnel were supposed to eat elsewhere.

When I gave her a questioning look, she offered a faint smile.

“It reminds me of the past, Sage, when you served us food back in White Silver Village.”

She wasn’t wrong.

During my first run of the Pale Moon event, after saving White Silver Village, I had cooked breakfast and personally distributed the meals.

Even back then, Veronica had queued up with a tray to receive her share.

I never thought a cardinal would remember something like that after all this time.

“How could I forget?” she said softly.

“Really?”

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