After eating, the pair began traveling. The destination of the two was Rorin village, the nearest frontier village of the Eternal Kingdom.

As for why they were traveling here, there were a number of reasons. However, it essentially boiled down to requiring supplies.

Eliza was walking ahead of Gray, serving as the vanguard for any potential threats. With her unfathomable strength and magical prowess, Gray would be fine.

As they traveled, a few more slimes had jumped out from hiding in the grass to attack. Sensing Gray as the weaker of the two, green streaks flew towards him. But before they could get anywhere near close, they were gone, turned into ash by a sudden wave of flames.

Other monsters appeared, but they met the same fate as the slimes. Be it wandering wolves, giant ravens, or oversized frogs, they were all slain by the white-haired beauty standing guard before Gray.

It was a strange sight. A sole woman standing guard for a young man, and the woman a beauty at that. Perhaps if any other person from Earth were there to see it, they would have felt the urge to scold Gray. Of course, there was no one of that sort around, and so the arrangement continued.

The grassy and hilly plains gradually changed into new terrain. Copses of trees began appearing here and there, and the hilly ground smoothed out. In addition, a clear road could be seen. It was a dirt path. Far from the paved roads Gray was accustomed to, but still better than unmarked grounds.

The journey up to this point had been done in silence. Gray was lost in his thoughts while Eliza seemed content to simply serve as the vanguard. However, as the pair approached one of the larger groups of trees they had encountered, Eliza came to a sudden stop.

"Gray."

Gray frowned and swept his eyes around their surroundings. It wasn't like Eliza to suddenly come to a halt, even with the approach of monsters. Knowing that but seeing nothing in his surroundings, he came to a stop close to Eliza and said, "What is it?"

Eliza didn't move. She stared into the depths of the trees and said, "There are travelers heading this way. Stay close."

Gray's frown deepened. Travelers, huh? They had yet to encounter any other people on their journey. To suddenly encounter them now was indeed worthy of caution. He turned his attention the same direction as Eliza's, peering into the depths of the forest.

There was nothing at first. But after a second, the air distorted and a voice echoed.

"Oho?"

It was a masculine voice. Smooth and clear, it carried on the wind without an owner. But then, before Gray's very eyes, the distortion in the air cleared, revealing a man.

Tall. The man stood about a head above Gray, who was around average height, and possessed a lean build. His face was handsome and he had a carefree look about him, coupled with a charismatic smile. Coming to a sudden halt before Eliza and Gray, the man's hair, a shade of red like vivid flames, flowed wildly in every direction, defying gravity as crimson spikes.

This guy... Gray's frown remained as he stared at the man. Despite his carefree appearance, the man's gaze was sharp. His eyes were blue, the same color as Gray's, but were a dark shade like unyielding arctic ice, eyes that seemed as if nothing in this world could shake them.

From the man's attire, a haphazard set of platemail and leather guards over gray clothing, and from the sword sheathed at his side, it was clear that he was an adventurer.

Just as Gray considered how to approach the situation, the air behind the man blurred, signaling the arrival of more people.

The first to appear was a shorter woman dressed in flowing white robes. She was a petite beauty, a few heads shorter than the man, and had long blue hair that flowed behind her like ocean waves. She didn't bother taking a look at Gray or Eliza, immediately moving slightly to the right and behind of the man.

Following her arrival was yet another woman, wearing silver chainmail and a rapier at her side. This woman was a stern beauty with golden hair and violet eyes. Upon her appearance, she cast a disdainful look at Gray, one that changed to caution upon seeing Eliza. The stern beauty walked over to the crimson-haired man's right side, her gaze never shifting from Eliza.

The last to appear was yet another beauty. She was slightly shorter than the stern beauty but taller than the petite beauty and had straight, black hair. A typical 'Yamato Nadeshiko' would describe her best, the ideal eastern beauty. A katana hung at her waist, and she wore a dark violet kimono. And, like the petite beauty, it appeared she only had eyes for the crimson-haired man, barely giving either Gray or Eliza a look before turning her gaze to the crimson-haired man.

It was an odd group of people. One man followed by three beauties... all of whom radiated a pressure that Gray could feel even with his pitiful magical prowess. And as for the crimson-haired man himself... Gray couldn't feel anything. Whether it was because the man was weak or simply too strong for Gray to comprehend, he didn't know. If anything, however, Gray was willing to believe the latter.

As for why?

...Looks like I found the 'hero' and his companions.

Gray knew next to nothing about this world, but he knew enough from the stories he had read of similar situations to be able to pick out the clichés when he saw them.

The crimson-haired man... no, the 'hero' smiled at Gray and Eliza. "I'm surprised to meet other travelers so far out here. You looking for the Divine Artifact too?"

It was a casual remark, and with that charismatic aura around the man, most people would be thrown off guard. But Gray wasn't most people, and he remained cautious. Because of that, he caught the subtle shift in the man's eyes. A swift examination, surveying Eliza and Gray. Probing.

Eliza was tense and didn't speak a word. Seeing that, Gray stepped forward and shook his head. "Nah. We're just making our way back to town after some training."

"Training?" The man frowned. "All the way out here?"

"That's right," Gray said. "Do you have a problem with that?"

Before the man could respond, the stern blonde beauty glared at him and said, "Milord, stop wasting time! If we do not hurry, other adventurers will get to it first!"

"You wooory too much, Angie." The voice belonged to the petite, blue-haired beauty. She yawned and casually wrapped herself around the man's arm. "With boss here, even if someone else got there first, we can just beat them up. Right boss?" She smiled at the man with those last words and winked.

Angie, the blonde beauty, narrowed her eyes and said, "Marie, you-!"

Before she could start on a tirade, the last member of the man's party, the dark-haired beauty interrupted. "I agree with Marie. Master will easily destroy those who seek to obtain what is ours. Why concern yourself?"

Angie took a step back and said, "And you, Sefi?" She looked to crimson-haired man and said, "H-hey! Say something, milord!"

The man shrugged his shoulders and said, "They've got a point, Angie. You worry too much."

"Milord!"

As the four became wrapped up in their own private show, Gray stared at them with a blank expression.

Gravity-defying hair, surrounded by beautiful woman fitting the energetic young girl, loyal knight, and cool beauty archetypes, wandering around in search of a Divine Artifact... that man hit all the hallmarks of a typical hero in these types of worlds.

As Gray was wondering on how to bypass the 'Hero' and his groupies, the man turned his attention back to Gray and said, "You said you were training, right? Why out here and not somewhere closer to the capital?" He glanced at Gray with narrowed eyes and said, "You're barely out of the Entrant level. Fighting the B-ranked monsters out here is a little bit much, don't you think?"

Gray cast a sidelong glance at Eliza. Seeing that she was still staying silent and standing close at his side, he said, "...It's complicated."

The man... or rather, the hero stared at Gray for a few moments before turning to look at Eliza. He surveyed her up and down and then gave Gray a knowing nod. "Ah. That's how it is. Best of luck to you then, from a fellow sufferer."

Gray didn't respond. He had a feeling that if he did, with how affronted the three woman by the hero looked, he would get caught up in something unnecessary.

It seemed that the hero had realized his slight as well as he scratched the back of his head. "Anyway, I assume you two are looking for Rorin village. It's not too far from here, just a bit of walking down that way." He gestured along the road.

"Milord."

"Yeah, I got it, Angie." The hero nodded and waved at Gray. "Be seeing you around. Try not to make the woman at your side depressed if you can, alright?"

"Er... yeah."

The hero gave Gray another nod and then vanished. In his wake, the beauties followed, leaving Gray and Eliza alone again. Once they were gone, Gray felt Eliza relax beside him. He turned to her and said, "What was that back there, Eliza? Did you know them?"

Eliza shook her head and urged Gray forward.

Confused, Gray simply followed. It wasn't until they had traveled for half an hour that Eliza finally spoke. "...Strong. Those four were very, very strong."

"...They were?"

Gray had assumed so because of the roles they seemed to fit, but he didn't feel anything too strong from the group. If anything, they seemed like they were just setting off on their journey. Compared to someone like Eliza, who he knew held an overwhelming pressure, they didn't seem like anything at all.

"They were. It is natural that you were not able to sense it, but even I..." Eliza frowned. "...The only ones I cannot read should be those of the Almighty level, but-" Eliza shook her head. "In any case, what could the Divine Artifact that they are talking about be? Could it be that wand? But I felt nothing special from it when I faced it..."

The two walked in silence. Eliza seemed caught in contemplation, analyzing the information they had just gained.

Gray shrugged. "You're worrying too much, Eliza. Come on, that guy said we're almost at Rorin village, right? We should hurry up before it gets dark."

Saying that, Gray started walking.

"Ah, wait! I will take the lead Gray."

"No, that's fine. It's a man's job to protect the woman at his side, so I'll take point for now."

After seeing that hero, Gray felt as if his manhood had been threatened, so he decided to try and act a bit macho for Eliza, but-

"...How do you expect to protect me if you almost got killed by a grass slime not too long ago?"

"Kuh... that's different! That was then and this is now! I'm sure my body has gotten stronger. I mean, we've walked a bunch of miles, right? Surely, my body's gotten at least a bit stronger-"

"No. You're still only at Failure- hm? Well... you're right in part. It seems that your body got a bit stronger."

"Hah! I knew I felt a bit lighter! Right, so-"

"...It's still only at the Entrant level though. To be honest, a slightly strong sneeze from a rabid wolf would put you under."

Gray froze.

"...You're kidding, right?"

"Not in the slightest."

"...Alright. You win. Protect me from the big bad wolves then."

Eliza sighed and shook her head. "...I am starting to wonder how you even managed to survive long enough to find me... let alone untie my bonds."

"…Beginner's luck?"

Eliza let out another sigh. "It must be the case. Very well. Stay close. And remember, should monsters appear, simply flail your bag wildly. That surprisingly sturdy bag of yours should be enough to fend off any slimes in the area. As for other monsters... well, I will be very, very sad if you were to die. Please try not to?"

While Eliza's words sounded serious, the playful glint in her eyes showed that they were anything but.

"…I'll do my best."

Eliza smiled. "That is all I ask... though I should be able to save you somehow even if your head gets ripped off. Even so, try not to be too reckless. It's very painful getting wrenched back into life, you know?"

"...Right. I'll... try not to."