As expected, when Rosha returned to the capital, she ended up getting scolded by Cedric.
"Did you think I wouldn't know if you went and came back secretly? You said you'd stay quietly at home for a while."
At the Aper family mansion located in the capital.
Although they had risen to the rank of marquis, nothing had changed. Cedric, pacing with his arms folded in the study that was almost unchanged from before, glared at Rosha with fierce eyes.
He usually rarely got angry, but he seemed quite upset this time.
"I'm sorry..."
This was all she could say.
Although she had obtained the sacred relic she wanted, it was true that she had broken her promise.
Cedric, who had been sighing silently and showing his anger, soon softened his stance as if he had thought of something.
"Alright. It's not like you went out secretly for your own pleasure."
"...Well."
"I should blame this situation, not you. This situation where my necessarily capable youngest sibling has to step up because monsters are rampaging and the country is in turmoil inside and out."
"..."
Hearing his words made her feel more uncomfortable.
'I'm an adult who's plenty old enough...'
But she refrained from saying it, fearing Cedric might respond with something like 'Just twenty years old?'
No matter how much her mental age was 3n years old, to Cedric, she was still his youngest sister, eight years younger than him.
"...Any injuries?"
At the sudden question, Rosha quickly shook her head.
After examining her for a moment, Cedric finally explained with a sigh how he had known.
As it turned out, Illien, who had returned from the Temple of Prophecy, had conveyed a prophecy that Rosha would encounter a madman.
'Right. There was Illien.'
A madman. There couldn't be a better description of the 'God of War' dwelling in the incarnation.
Rosha, finally understanding, inadvertently muttered softly.
"Illien... It seems he's getting along quite well with His Majesty the Emperor since the engagement ceremony."
"What are you talking about?"
"Huh?"
"The conversation is over, so you should leave now. I have a lot to do."
Cedric, who had flinched, dismissed Rosha with a somewhat flustered look.
'...What's this? Are they really doing well?'
It was a reaction she had never seen before, so she couldn't understand what it meant at all.
Anyway, since he said to leave, she thought this was her chance and quickly left the study. Just then, Cassis, who had been wandering the corridor restlessly, crept up and whispered.
"Hey, is it over? How was it?"
Seeing the faint anxiety in his expression, it seemed he was the next in line to be verbally beaten by Cedric.
"He was quite angry, but it's okay."
"...He's really going easy on you because you're the youngest. I have a feeling I'm going to take all the blame."
"Ahem, I can't deny that."
"Pay me back several times over later."
Rosha nodded readily.
After all, it was something she had dragged him into, and she had already thought about how to repay Cassis.
'I should upgrade that sacred relic while I'm at it.'
The broken sword hanging at Cassis's waist.
It was an A-class sacred relic he had picked up during the first trial, and although it didn't look good, he seemed to keep using it as he had gotten used to it.
But still, the lack of a blade bothered her, so she thought she should fix it before entering the rift.
It was then.
"Cassis, are you outside? Come in."
Hearing Cedric's call, Cassis flinched and muttered to Rosha.
"Oh right, I hid that psychopath in my room. Koko is watching, but you should go check too to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."
Then, with a reluctant face, he entered Cedric's study as if being dragged to a slaughterhouse.
Rosha, who hurriedly left the corridor in case she was called back in, thought as she headed towards Cassis's room.
'I really should stay quiet for a while.'
She was planning to do that anyway.
She needed to examine each of the sacred relics she had brought and start preparing to enter the rift.
Moreover...
[Have you come, Executioner of Paradise?]
...She also had to think about how to deal with this character.
Rosha sighed as she looked at the silver armor lying on the carpet floor, nodding its head.
* * *
It was decided that Rosha's side would take charge of the God of War's incarnation.
Froy had said it would be better if he took charge, but it was purely because there were more people to watch on this side.
Not only Rosha, but also Cassis, Koko, and even the Guide God.
'This is much more efficient.'
Of course, there was also the option of Lysithea and Joel, but they had decided to join after exterminating the demonic beast the God of War had mentioned.
It seemed they were trying to reclaim the Belice territory in the process, and they were gathering mercenaries as if planning to do it on a large scale.
The reputation of the 'Golden Hand Mercenary Corps', operated independently by the 'Golden Hand Guild', was quite high, and knowing the existence of the culprit behind the zombie outbreak, it was only a matter of time before the Belice territory's problem would be resolved.
So...
"Alright, let's start."
She decided to just do magic training for a while.
Sitting upright in a chair, Rosha moved her mana according to Koko's guidance. This was to increase her total amount of mana, which was her chronic problem.
'It doesn't make sense that I can't use it properly due to lack of mana after constructing a domain.'
She had clearly realized it while implementing part of the domain last time.
Until now, she had thought that if she created a domain with all her might, it would somehow work, but in this world, it was difficult to use no matter how hard she tried.
This was because her 'Domain' had been completed in paradise.
'...Did I make it too difficult?'
Her 'Domain' was the crystallization of all the insights, imagination, and creativity she had achieved so far.
As it was a domain that could only be deployed with full power even in paradise where mana was very abundant, it was inevitably difficult here.
It was then.
[Tut-tut. I'll praise you for your effort, but shouldn't the 'Executioner of Paradise' use mana differently?]
The 'God of War', noticing that her mana had become somewhat disordered due to a moment's stray thought, gave advice.
In fact, it was closer to aggro than advice.
Perhaps being tied up and under surveillance was terribly boring, as she kept throwing annoying words whenever she got the chance.
"Just shut up. This one thinks it's decent, but someone who just swings a spear has a lot to say."
[Is that how you talk to a god?]
"How funny. What kind of god is a worldwide infamous lunatic?"
Thanks to Koko retorting on her behalf, she felt a bit better.
Incidentally, occasionally meaningful information about the creature that had been veiled so far flowed out.
'It seems they knew each other in the past. If I probe gently, something more might come out...'
Rosha, who had become interested, softly opened her mouth.
"If you're bored, why don't you talk about that 'Executioner of Paradise' thing?"
[It's a prophecy left by a woman who oversees prophecies a very long time ago. Because of that prophecy, I was driven out of paradise and have been wandering here and there. We're in similar situations in many ways.]
"What similar situation? You shouldn't have set foot in paradise in the first place."
[Well, it's all the same.]
Answers flowed out as soon as she asked. They even performed a comedy routine together with Koko.
[Anything else you want to ask? I'm in a good mood now, so I'll answer.]
Seeing the armor urging the next question, she hesitated for a moment, but Rosha soon stopped her magic training and got up.
It wasn't that she didn't have any questions, but the enemy needed to be a bit more bored.
Moreover...
[H-hey, where are you going?]
"To repay a debt."
The time she had promised Froy was approaching.