Nateaser: Reborn As My Love Interest

Dio - Chapter Thirty Seven

"Dio, are we lost?"

It was an outrageous assumption, even from Fang, although true. But I wasn't going to admit that, looking around with the gaze of an expert and theatrically waving across the foreign lands.

"Of course we aren't," I claimed, hoping a clue would appear in the geography. "We are right here, heading west as we should be."

"Right, where exactly?" Fang asked, grabbing my shoulders, but I refused to look into his eyes. "We shouldn't have left the imperial road. And why is it that you didn't ask the Goddess to return us home again?"

"What are you talking about? Don't you have some dignity?" I asked him, still avoiding eye contact. "The Princess and her paladin headed home on foot as well. I couldn't let some humans do better than us."

"Nordhaben is a hundred miles from Nateaser. The Gates of Hell is more than a thousand." His grip got stronger and my shoulders started to hurt. There was no pleasing this beastmen. "They returned to Sanctuary, home to the Inquisitorias. It is only logical that the Goddess was not going near that... But we only got here with her help too."

"I don't mind walking." Bastion joined in, taken in by the sights. I was glad to be backed by that gentle giant. "And we helped some people along the way too. It was a nice change of pace."

"I left my daughter behind for your change of pace." The wolfman complained, but at least my shoulders could rest. "And it seems dangerous. Did you see that burned-out cart a while back? Who knows what's out here to get us? Besides, I thought we had important reports to give the Demon Lord. At this rate, it will take half a year to return."

"Which might be an advantage..." I noted. "We let the Princess go so I don't expect a hero's welcome. Even if we bring news..."

"Do you suggest desertion, Captain Dioneras?" Fang raised an eyebrow. "You made a promise to the Goddess too."

"I did not change my mind. I didn't specify when we'll deliver that news though..." I shrugged, but my shoulders still hurt. "It will take a long time to get back this way, but that's fine. Especially if we manage some good deeds along the way..."

"Like digging that well for the goblin tribe yesterday?" The ogre asked. I doubted the Demon Lord would be amazed by such trivialities, but the journey was far from over.

"Like that. And spreading the word among the tribes." I nodded for now. "Both about the New Order, the Goddess, and the embassy in Nateaser. Since we left Omerta to handle things, people should know."

"Right... So you are saying it's more important to tell the tribes, a thousand miles from our closest settlements, instead of letting the Demon Lord know we established an embassy without permission?" Fang asked.

"When you put it that way, deserting doesn't seem like a bad idea... And it's not my fault that Omerta can't use telepathy at that distance..." I shook my head. "But we should earn our keep. You might still remember how the Twelve Champions used to be."

"How they used to be?" Bastion asked curiously.

"You don't even know, right? You joined much later..." I noted, giving a quick rundown. "They weren't a formation to fight the enemies of the Lesser Races, or rather, they were individual champions who traveled the areas in and out of the New Order. They helped the people in any way they could, like digging wells or slaying dangerous beasts... They even cleared dungeons when teaming up for the first time."

"I remember that. It was a lot different right after the Collapse." The wolfman agreed for once. "I'm not even sure if we had twelve members at the time, they just called us The Champions, and nobody bossed us around. It was closer to the old adventurers than a military formation until the Demon Lord acknowledged us."