“W-why now, all of a sudden?!” Adlet couldn’t speak, so Rolonia asked for him.
“Listen…up. Just…listen. Don’t…get in my way. I’m going to…save…her.” Goldof had been like a dead man ever since they had reached the Howling Vilelands, but now light had returned to his eyes. Deep behind his dark irises lurked a glittering flame. “I’m…going…alone. Don’t…follow me.”
“Wait, please, Goldof! What happened?!” Rolonia yelled after him.
“The situation…has changed. If you get in my way…I can’t let you live.”
“C-can’t let us…live?” she stuttered fearfully.
That was when Adlet noticed something surprising. Tears were falling from Goldof’s eyes. He was looking in the direction that the fiend had disappeared, crying without a sound.
By the time Adlet was on his feet again, Goldof had already turned away from them and set off at a run again. When Adlet tried to follow, Rolonia stopped him. “You can’t go alone. Right now, he’s…not in his right mind.” With a fearsome speed that was surprisingly for his large frame, Goldof headed southeast. Adlet and Rolonia could only watch his receding back as he left.
Half an hour later, the six were sprinting across the plains after Goldof.
“What is going on here?” Fremy demanded. The others, who had learned about the situation from Adlet and Rolonia, all expressed similar bafflement. Adlet didn’t know what it meant, either.
“Maybe he just finally went insane?” suggested Hans.
Frankly, Adlet thought that was the most likely explanation, too. Goldof’s behavior was incomprehensible. He knew that the knight felt deeply for Nashetania. And now that she had sided with the fiends, it was only natural for Goldof to want her back on their side. Was that what he had meant by “going to save her”? But Adlet couldn’t figure out why he’d run off to do that now.
Farther down the road, the party discovered the bodies of some fiends. There were three. Adlet approached them, examining their wounds.
“Was this Goldof’s work?” asked Mora. As far as Adlet could tell from the wounds, it most likely was. Something heavy and sharp had killed all three fiends in a single blow. Strangely, after they died, each one had had its stomach ripped open.
“It’s like someone shoved a hand into their stomachs and stirred everything around,” said Adlet. “Goldof is looking for something.”
“Maybe he’s trying to save Nashetania,” Fremy suggested.
“…Saving Nashetania by ripping open fiends’ stomachs? How would that work?” The probability that Goldof’s sanity was slipping rose even further.
They continued after their missing comrade. “What’s ahead?” Mora asked as they pressed forward.
“A little farther and we’ll be back in the forest,” said Fremy. “Beyond that is the lava zone. There’s a magma chamber underground with active geysers everywhere. It’s a dangerous place.”
“That idiot…What is he trying to do in a place like that?” Adlet muttered while Fremy came to a halt. The others stopped with her. “What is it, Fremy?” But when Adlet met her eyes, he knew what she was going to say.
“We shouldn’t follow him.”
“What?”
“We have to assume that the lava zone is packed with fiends. Goldof is trying to lure us in. I don’t know what kind of trap Tgurneu and Nashetania have laid for us, but to continue would be suicide.”
“You’re saying that Goldof is the seventh?” said Adlet.
“I can’t say for certain. But this is extremely suspicious.”
“B-but, Fremy,” Rolonia timidly protested, “he may have fallen into some kind of trap himself. Maybe Nashetania tricked him and lured him there…”
“What do you mean?” asked Fremy.
“He loves her, doesn’t he? If someone told him that Nashetania was in danger, I think he would go save her. The enemy might have lied to him to lure him into the lava zone.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” countered Fremy. “How would Nashetania have tricked him and lured him in? Neither you nor Adlet saw or heard anything, right?”
“Well…I…”
She had a point. Chamo turned to the now-silent Rolonia and said, “Ohhh? Didn’t you suspect Goldof? Why’re you trying to defend him, then?”
“U-um…I…”
After a moment’s thought, Fremy spoke again. “You’re sharp, Chamo. Now that you’ve pointed that out, I’ve come to see a different possibility: Rolonia has tricked Goldof and sent him off to the lava zone. Now she’s having us chase Goldof to lead us all there. It’s not entirely unlikely.”
Rolonia was stunned, unable to say anything as her lips opened and closed.
“No more baseless speculations. Let’s leave that aside—we must reach a conclusion now on what to do about Goldof. Adlet, what do we do next?” asked Mora.
But Adlet couldn’t decide. It seemed virtually certain enemies were lying in wait for them, and it was true that Goldof had been acting suspiciously. In his hesitation, he looked at Hans for wisdom.
But Hans shook his head. “You decide, meow. Someone who don’t make decisions ain’t a leader.” He was right. Adlet was ashamed of himself for trying to leave this to someone else.
“Frankly, I’m suspicious of Goldof, too,” he finally said. “And just abandoning him right now…Well, it wouldn’t totally be out of the question. But…” He stopped, agonizing for a moment. “I saw Goldof’s eyes. You can’t fake that kind of look. He’s sincerely trying to save Nashetania; I know that for a fact. At the very least, he’s not trying to trick us.”
Rolonia nodded in response. “So?”
“I think there’s still a possibility that Goldof isn’t the seventh. And as long as that possibility remains, we can’t abandon him. If we give up on helping and protecting our allies, we’re done for.”
With cold anger filling her eyes, Fremy replied, “Fine. We’ll suppose that Goldof isn’t the seventh. And let’s say that Goldof has gone off to try to save Nashetania. But Nashetania is our enemy. If Goldof is going to save her, then he’s not on our side. He’s just a traitor. Why are you going to go save a traitor?”
“He hasn’t betrayed us. He was in love with her. Wanting to protect the one you love isn’t betrayal.”
“…Are you seriously going to go save Goldof?” Fremy demanded. Adlet nodded. Furious, she grabbed him
