Luella clicked on the title of the quest she wanted and checked the description.

A message has come from the temple. There are gifts for healers who have just embarked on the path of healing. They will teach you how to save all allies in an emergency.

The return skill is the ability to move party members to a desired place every 30 minutes, whether in battle or not. Go to the Hellenes temple in Curan and ask for learning.

Reward 36900XP, Level 1 Party Return Skill Acquisition.]

“We have to go to the temple. It’s in the outskirts of the bustling area.”

“Is there still a temple left in Curan? I thought it was all destroyed.”

“We have to go to the place where it used to be. That’s how the quest will be completed.”

“Now, let’s finish the disguise. If you look too delicate, let’s apply dark powder to the face.”

As directed, as soon as they applied the strangely smelling powder to their faces, Hazgen handed something else over.

“Here, try this on. A wig made of rough fur, cheap glasses made of bent metal, and a hat to hide the wig.”

Luella did as instructed, wearing the wig, hat, and glasses, and then looked in the mirror. There was a completely different person standing in it. With the wig hiding her noticeable pink hair, there seemed to be few who would recognize her.

“I guess we can go around in this state, right?”

Finally, they could go outside. Ah, of course, they had gone out to hunt for Mavel yesterday, but this was a completely different kind of outing.

Luella, followed by the two, descended to the lower floor with excited steps.

(This is a time separator.)

The outskirts of the capital.

Luella, Hazgen, and Tien stood in the middle of a vast garden that was clearly withered and uncared for.

She looked at the charred ruins and asked suspiciously.

“Was this the place where the temple was?”

“Yes. The first thing Duke Curan did after declaring himself King of Curan was to burn down Hellenes’ temples.”

Hazgen answered, looking at the ruins of the building with a bitter expression.

“It seems that monsters and temples are indeed antithetical. But why did Duke Curan, after declaring himself king, hand over the throne to his younger brother? Do you know, Hazgen?”

“I don’t know the exact situation. I only know that Duke Curan was on the throne for a mere four hours.”

Luella cocked her head with an expression that she didn’t understand.

“It’s incomprehensible that he rebelled to be king for just four hours. Was the Duke oppressed by King Hellane?”

“His Majesty is not such a person.”

Hazgen, who answered firmly, clicked on the map he had tucked in the corner of the party window. Complaining that his view was blocked, he had taught how to use it well and was now making good use of it.
He began to explain, drawing a circle around Kuran.

“There is another kingdom called Mazel here. It wants to be annexed to Hellane. And here too.”

Hazen drew a larger circle beneath Kuran.

“This is the Kingdom of Orwell. It wants to be merged with Hellane because of the demons at the Kuran border, which have devastated the surrounding villages.”

“You want to be annexed to Hellane on your own? Don’t most grow military and be on guard in case of such a threat?”

“It is a country that split from the roots of Hellane. So the culture between the countries is similar, and there was a lot of exchange. It’s not impossible if they decide to be annexed there.”

Hazen pointed to the west of the continent, the northwest above it, and the mountains to the south.

“If you look at the map, you’ll see that most countries, except Hellane and Kuran, have no way to get to neighboring continents, whether by land or sea.”

“That’s right. Since Kuran has been surrounded by demons, it would be impossible to move to other areas without going through Hellane.”

“Not long ago, Kuran changed its policy to an open policy, allowing a passage through the demonfilled border.”

Hazen said, drawing a line as if making a path between the Kingdom of Mazel, the Kingdom of Orwell, and Kuran.

“Make way? Does that mean that path is not attacked by demons?”

“Yes. That’s why I used the expression ‘pierced.’ The demons don’t approach that passage strangely. It requires an expensive toll to use, but merchants have started to come and go through that road.”

Luella checked the map again.

“It must have been a relief for Mazel and Orwell. The way around Hellane is too far.”

“That’s right. In the event of a bad harvest or famine, they would have starved to death without moving, so it’s literally a breath of fresh air. But the leaders of the two kingdoms are rather fearful.”

“Why?”

“They think Kuran might be making a foothold for invasion.”

In fact, since Kuran had revealed its ambition by becoming independent from Hellane, it was reasonable to doubt its actions without knowing the reason for suddenly pursuing an open policy.

Luella nodded as if convinced.