Finally, the white whale, which was left with only a breath after being hit by Megumin’s Burst Magic, was jointly killed by Crusch and the elder beside her, marking the end of the hunt.

"Thank you all for your assistance."

After the white whale was slain, Crusch approached the Priestess of the Goddess and the others to sincerely express her gratitude. She knew very well that without the help of these young women, particularly Megumin, the Great Mage, their chance to kill the white whale would have been nothing more than a fantasy.

"You’re welcome; we wanted to help."

The Priestess of the Goddess respectfully bowed her head in return. As a Holy Practitioner of the Temple, she had some experience in dealing with nobility.

"But without all of your cooperation, today’s battle would likely have ended with mere defeat."

At this point, Crusch paused for a moment.

"By the way, could you tell me where the Great Mage who cast the Burst Magic is? I’d like to thank her personally."

"Megumin, huh..."

Faced with Crusch’s inquiry, the Priestess’s expression became somewhat subtle, and she couldn’t help but turn her head. Following her gaze, Crusch saw the blond female swordsman named Ais silently lifting a petite girl onto her back.

"Is that Miss Megumin? What happened to her?"

"Um... It’s just that she exhausted herself using Burst Magic; it’s not a big deal. A little rest will do."

"That’s good to hear."

Crusch sighed in relief and looked back at the Priestess.

"I never expected to receive help from such powerful adventurers as you. If you are willing, please come to the Karsten estate. I would welcome you as honored guests."

"Ah, there’s no need for that. We should head back to the Knights’ side... Also, regarding the white whale hunt, if possible, please inform the Adventurers’ Guild."

"Of course, I will personally inform the Adventurers’ Guild."

Crusch didn’t refuse the Priestess’s request, as adventurers need recognition and rank raising for their accomplishments. Though they volunteered to help, it wouldn’t be fair not to offer any reward in return.

"But isn’t Miss Megumin quite young? To be able to skillfully use Burst Magic at such an age, it suggests her future is limitless... I’ve long heard that the Red Demon Clan possesses strong magical power, and today I see the rumors are true."

Crusch felt she offered sincere praise, but to her puzzlement, upon hearing her words, the Priestess, Ais, and Mel all showed very complex expressions... Did she say something wrong?

"Well then, we’ll take our leave, Lord Karsten."

Finally, the Priestess decided not to air internal matters publicly; such issues should remain known only to those involved. Thus, she quickly bowed and led the others away. Although Crusch felt a bit puzzled, she didn’t dwell on it and quickly refocused on her work.

Even though the white whale was successfully hunted, unlike ordinary demon beasts, it’s not as simple as just leaving after the battle. As spoils of war, they still needed to sever the white whale’s head to boast of their achievement and provide evidence—since words alone aren’t proof, taking the white whale’s head back is the best evidence.

Given the size of the whale, severing its head required considerable time. In fact, by the time they had its head ready to transport, it was already the next morning—Fang Zheng had already escorted the Priestess and the others back, had breakfast, and returned for entertainment.

"Why did it take so long?"

"Your Excellency Fang Zheng."

Seeing Fang Zheng appear again, Crusch respectfully bowed to him.

"Thank you for your assistance."

"I didn’t do much. Informing the location and time of the whale’s appearance was part of the deal; those girls volunteered to help; it wasn’t related to me."

"Let’s leave it at that then."

Faced with Fang Zheng’s response, Crusch smiled slightly. She certainly didn’t believe that. In fact, last night Crusch invited those young women to her residence to confirm their relationship with Fang Zheng, and she determined that, despite having no formal master-servant relationship on the surface, these young women instinctively viewed themselves as Fang Zheng’s subordinates.

Otherwise, the Priestess wouldn’t have immediately rejected Crusch’s invitation and led the others away.

"We’re planning to leave; Your Excellency Fang Zheng, will you..."

"Oh, just going the same way."

"The same way?"

"Hmm, I just have some business in the Royal Capital. Traveling together makes it more lively, doesn’t it?"

Without Divine Protection, Crusch knew Fang Zheng was completely bluffing. Yet, since Fang Zheng didn’t want to disclose more, she didn’t press the issue further and simply nodded.

"Of course, no problem."

Soon, the convoy set off again toward the Royal Capital.

Along the way, all was calm.

"Looks like our beloved pet has been defeated."

Standing on the hillside, the man calmly spoke.

He was a man without any distinguishing features, not fat nor thin, tall nor short, with naturally white hair of unremarkable length, dressed in clothes that were neither luxurious nor shabby, a man appearing utterly ordinary.

"Ah, those who killed the white whale must be delicious!"

Beside this ordinary man stood a youth with long hair reaching his knees, dressed like a beggar in filthy clothes. His hands and feet were stained with dirt, grime, and blood, and the youth opened his mouth, sticking out his tongue.

"Ahhh... No matter how much I eat, it’s never enough! That’s why we must continue living! Just like this! Eat! Drink! Bite! Gluttony!"

"Incomprehensible."

Facing the youth’s outburst, the ordinary man shook his head.

"Humans, as long as they have what they can possess, that’s enough. Why be so insatiable?"

"We don’t care; you can say what you want. For us, hunger is the only thing that matters."

"Well then, let’s begin."

The ordinary man shook his head, giving up on continuing to speak, placed his hands behind his back, looked at the caravan gradually approaching below, and took a step forward.

Then......

"Squelch."

"........?"

The ordinary man looked down at the pitch black greatsword that had pierced through his chest and blinked, seemingly unaware of what had happened. He turned his head and saw that the boy who had been standing beside him had his head rolling on the ground, tumbling forward and then being stepped on by someone.

"Sorry to interrupt your conversation, hmm... I just realized I really have a talent for being an assassin."

The ordinary man turned his head and saw a stranger he had never seen before behind him, holding a pitch black greatsword. At this moment, blood was flowing down the blade, dripping onto the ground. Behind the stranger, hundreds of Witch Cultists lay scattered on the ground.

"......"

The man opened his mouth, but before he could say anything more, flames burst out, scorching his vocal cords, and then completely engulfed the man and the boy, turning them to ash in the blink of an eye.

"Hmm, that’s two more Archbishops of Sin taken care of."

Fang Zheng swung the greatsword and yawned.

"As expected, the highest level of stealth is to kill everyone who sees you, then there will be no one left."

Saying this, Fang Zheng turned his head. By now, the flames had dissipated, and the Witch Cultists, including those two Archbishops of Sin, had long been consumed by the flames, leaving no trace.

"Your Excellency Fang Zheng."

Seeing Fang Zheng return to the caravan, Crusch was taken aback.

"What happened?"

"Nothing much, just went out for a bit of relief, feeling much better now."

Hearing Fang Zheng’s answer, Crusch frowned but ultimately said nothing.

After the caravan reached the city gates, Fang Zheng bid farewell to Crusch. He originally planned to wander around, but......

"Let go of me! What are you doing! Let me go now!"

Seeing a figure causing a commotion at the city gate, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but walk over and was surprised.

"I say... Reinhard, I didn’t expect you to be interested in kidnapping?"

Standing not far from Fang Zheng was none other than Reinhard, who had previously crossed swords with him. At this moment, the knight was grabbing a girl’s hand, and the girl was struggling to break free from Reinhard. In fact, from the blonde hair and bright red eyes, Fang Zheng already knew her true identity.

"Isn’t that Felt? What’s going on?"

"Your Excellency Fang Zheng."

Seeing Fang Zheng appear, Reinhard smiled bitterly and reluctantly let go, while Felt, as if seeing a savior, quickly ran to hide behind Fang Zheng.

"Mister, help me! He’s trying to grab me!"

"Why is he grabbing you? Did you steal something from him?"

"Of course not! Can’t you see my outfit? I’ve long stopped being a thief!"

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Fang Zheng took a closer look at Felt, only to realize that the blonde girl was no longer wearing the highly revealing outfit from before but a very ordinary white dress, which made her look more like a child from a good family rather than a thief wandering the streets.

"What’s really going on?"

Faced with Fang Zheng’s inquiry, Felt immediately started to explain the situation to him.

It turned out that after that day, Felt started trying to work as a "guide" based on Fang Zheng’s suggestion. Of course, using her skills as a thief, she could tell who was easy to talk to and who wasn’t. At first, Felt was a bit discouraged because such a profession didn’t exist in this world. But after successfully completing a few assignments, more and more people were willing to hire her for guidance.

For Felt, this new job was excellent. Not only could she earn money, but she also gained a good reputation. At least at the city gate, whenever people ran into trouble, they would think of asking Felt for help, and she enjoyed this feeling.

Today, Felt was at the city gate looking for customers when she saw Reinhard passing by. He seemed to have dropped something, and Felt picked it up to return it. But unexpectedly, when Reinhard saw what Felt was holding, he immediately grabbed her.

"I didn’t do anything wrong!"

Feeling wronged, Felt protested. In the past, she accepted being caught for theft, but being arrested for returning something made her very unhappy.

"That’s what happened."

After listening to Felt’s indignant complaints, Fang Zheng shrugged his shoulders and looked at Reinhard.

"Alright, as you can see, it’s not a big deal. She didn’t steal anything from you, so why not let her go? To those who don’t know, they’d think you’re trying to abduct a child."

"It’s not about theft, Your Excellency Fang Zheng..."

Responding to Fang Zheng, Reinhard looked helpless as well.

"It’s a very important matter......"

"What important matter? To be honest, right now your value in my mind is rapidly approaching that of a kidnapper."

"This....... okay."

Helpless, Reinhard could only nod.

"Please follow me, both of you. I will explain everything to you."