It had to be said that the Bomber was still very strong; the power of his final self-destruction had leveled the entire mountain stronghold.
If Tsukasa hadn't used teleportation magic to pull Hanta and Alice out, the two of them might have been buried under the mountain. That Bomber had planted a vast amount of gunpowder in the stronghold beforehand; the chain reaction of explosions was no weaker than a high-tier spell.
The entire mountain had collapsed from the blast.
That a Bomber, who was once merely a squad leader under the 'Eight Fingers' organization, could improve to such an extent demonstrated the power of the 'witch factor.' Had Tsukasa not felt she couldn't control this power, she might have been tempted to research it herself. However, if the price of obtaining this power was the pollution of one's self-awareness, that price was simply too high.
"Phew—" Hanta looked at the mountain range with one side collapsed, cold sweat breaking out on his face. He said with immense relief, "That was a close call just now. I didn't expect these people to be so insane, planting so much gunpowder in the stronghold and not hesitating for a second to blow themselves up. They're just like Zombies. Is everyone in the Goddess Cult such a troublesome fellow? I finally understand why the Kingdom's nobles can't do anything about them."
Powerful, numerous, and every member a fanatic willing to die—such an organization was practically flawless. Unless they were eradicated with absolute strength, it was impossible to resist such a powerful and incomprehensible religious group.
This Goddess Cult would cause unimaginable disasters even if it appeared in their militarily disciplined Empire, let alone in the already desperate Kingdom. If no reinforcements had stepped in to help the Kingdom this time, he had no doubt this terrifying Goddess Cult could destroy this already rotten Kingdom.
No wonder the Sword Saint took the initiative to seek out the Goddess Cult. While the destruction of the Kingdom wasn't something for them as Imperials to care about, the Goddess Cult's doctrine aimed to destroy the world, so these dangerous lunatics could not be allowed to run wild.
Furthermore, the Goddess Cult gained power through continuous acts of destruction. If they were allowed to destroy the Kingdom, the other nations would then have to face a Goddess Cult made even stronger by that destruction, making them even harder to deal with by then.
This time, Lady Sword Saint is burdened with the mission of'saving the world'! Hanta felt a bit excited thinking about this, because he was now a member of the Sword Saint's party. Although his primary job was currently driver and attendant, even if his status was low, he was still a member of this team that had embarked on a journey to eliminate an evil Cult.
Nothing could be more exciting than this. Though he knew he was weak, he would strive to be a minor character who could leave his name in the stories; that alone would leave him with no regrets in life.
However, Hanta was the only one having a personal climax here. Tsukasa teleported the two back to the vicinity of the carriage and returned to the air-conditioned interior without a word. Before entering the carriage, Alice corrected what Hanta had just said: "You are mistaken. With Master here, those humans weren't dangerous at all. Also, you should reflect on your unauthorized action of following me earlier; that behavior of yours was of no help to me whatsoever."
"...Yes."
Hanta's excitement was instantly doused like a bucket of cold water. Earlier, the Sword Saint had only told Miss Alice to handle the matter of the stronghold; he had followed along on his own. Although he felt he should have been helpful, Miss Alice clearly didn't think so, and he didn't feel he could argue. After all, he still didn't know just how much power Miss Alice had used; even now, he couldn't sense how strong she truly was. So if Miss Alice felt he was a burden, then that must be the answer, and it was only his own lack of strength that prevented him from seeing it.
Tsukasa said nothing upon hearing the conversation between Alice and Hanta. She also knew that what Alice said was true. Hanta's actions might have been born from a desire to help, but with his strength, he couldn't provide even the slightest assist to Alice.
As for the Goddess Cultists Hanta eliminated earlier? Even if those ordinary cultists joined forces, they wouldn't have been any pressure for Alice. Yet Hanta had to go all out when fighting them, where even a single mistake could have cost him his life. Thus, at that time, Alice not only had to deal with the troublesome Bomber but also had to divide her attention to keep an eye on Hanta. Fortunately, Hanta had enough self-awareness not to touch the battlefield between the Bomber and Alice; otherwise, he might have become Alice's weakness, dragging her down in the fight.
But Alice's heart is truly pure.
Tsukasa hadn't expected Alice to warn and caution Hanta; it was something she herself would never do.
If she were Alice, she wouldn't care what Hanta did. But if Hanta became a drag on her or threatened her safety, she would discard him without hesitation.
After all, Hanta was just a servant to her; their relationship was transactional. Even if Hanta's skills were somewhat wasted as a servant, she had never forced him to take this job; Hanta had come to her and fought for it himself.
She hadn't withheld a single cent of his pay, nor had she ever asked Hanta to do anything beyond his job. Thus, their relationship was that simple—a pure employer-employee dynamic. Granted, since Hanta was now her man, she would guide his swordsmanship out of consideration for that connection and would save him if he were in danger, provided it was within her power. But if Hanta actively sought his own death, that was his own problem.
Never mind saying his intention was to help her; since she hadn't ordered Hanta to act, she naturally had her reasons for that arrangement. If Hanta failed to follow orders and ended up being a hindrance, there was nothing more to say. Their relationship was simple and lacked deep affection; she couldn't be expected to pay for his mistakes just because of his self-importance.
But Alice's way of thinking was different from hers.
Though Alice was cold toward outsiders, she was overly gentle toward those in her own camp. Despite Alice's usual appearance of indifference toward Hanta, his status in her heart was likely just below those puppets—on the same level as her cleaning tools. If Hanta were broken by an enemy, Alice would probably be angry.
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