Momon didn't have to finish the sentence for Evileye to understand.
If he gets serious, you'll get caught in his attacks and die. Something to that effect. But even if they stayed put, that despicable fiend would surely use attacks that would hit Evileye anyway.
The fact that Momon was defending Evileye proved that Evileye had value as a hostage.
She hated herself, who couldn’t assist Momon, who was protecting her, and the fact that she was nothing but a burden to him. To think she'd said such high-sounding things to Climb.
"Then, Nabe. What do you think we should do?"
In response, a woman descended slowly from the sky. The dark hero Momon's team included the magic caster known as the Beautiful Princess. At the time, Evileye had laughed at the vanity of such a nickname, but now, with the real person in front of her, she found herself holding her breath.
She was too beautiful. A foreigner... with looks like that, she must have come from the south. Evileye kept watching her, unable to look away.
"Momon-sa— san. Why don't we head to the residence of the nobleman who hired us, as originally planned?"
"Should we ignore Jaldabaoth? Isn't stopping that fellow's plans the whole reason why I'm here?"
"Perhaps, but we should still obtain the permission of the client. That seems most important."
"—That is true."
"In light of that, I suggest tossing that oversized mosquito aside."
"Hm? Ah, forgive me, I was worried you might have been hit by that attack just now."
Momon slowly lowered Evileye to the ground.
"No— please, don't mind me. I understood your intentions."
Evileye bowed deeply to Momon.
"Thank you very much for all your help. Allow me to reintroduce myself. I am Evileye, of the adamantite ranked adventuring party Blue Rose."
"No need to be so formal, I am Momon, an adamantite-ranked adventurer like yourself. The magic caster here is my companion, Nabe. So what will you do after this? Are those two your companions? If you need someone to carry them for you, it shouldn't be a problem."
He pointed to Gagaran and Tia.
"I am deeply grateful for your offer, but there is no need. Our colleagues should be arriving soon. Perhaps they can cast the resurrection spell upon them here.
"Resurrection spells... you can use them?"
"Ah... ah, yes. Our team leader Lakyus can bring the dead back to life."
"Is that so? Then... if I may ask, from how far away can one cast a resurrection spell?"
"What do you mean?"
"That is to say, let’s say you wanted to resurrect these two. Assuming you cast your spell in the Empire, where would they resurrect? In the Empire, or where their bodies lie?"
Why? Why was he so interested in resurrection magic? Curiosity, perhaps. People who could use the 5th tier of divine magic were very rare, so it wasn’t unusual to be interested in this topic. Or perhaps someone important to him had died. In that case, Evileye’s reply would be cruel to him. She could only pray that was not the case.
“I’m not too clear on the details, but I heard Lakyus needs to be very close by in order to cast the resurrection spell. So, with regard to Momon-sama’s question, it would be impossible to cast the spell from the Empire.”
“Mmm. Then, another question; after resurrection, would the two of them be able to fight immediately?”
“It would be impossible,” Evileye replied.
The spell Lakyus cast was the 5th-tier magic ‘Raise Dead’. The raising would drain tremendous amounts of life force. Without exception, adventurers ranked iron and lower would be reduced to ash if it was cast on them. Adamantite ranked adventurers could be revived without a problem, but the resurrection would drain so much life energy from them that they would not be able to move, and recovering this life energy would take a long time.
If Jaldabaoth was right, not only were they still in danger, but they would also be deprived of a great amount of fighting strength.
...no, under these conditions, nobody can fight Jaldabaoth besides the great man in front of me. Resurrecting the two of them would do nothing to alter the circumstances. It would be wiser for them to focus on recovery after their revival.
“I see… I think I have the general idea now. If possible, I think I would like to meet Lady Lakyus. Would it be possible for me to wait here with you?”
"Wha! W-w-w-why do you want to see Lakyus?!"
Before she could recover her composure, Evileye’s words had already left her mouth. She didn't understand the reason why herself. In the instant she heard Momon saying that he wanted to see Lakyus, her heart was filled with resentment. It even shocked herself, and her outburst had alarmed Momon too.
Within her mask, her face began reddening with shame, and she was glad that the cloak covered up the tips of her ears which were also turning red.
"I... I was hoping to ask about revival magic, and also to meet with the leader of Blue Rose, who are fellow adventurers of the same rank as myself, and who are my seniors besides. That, and Jaldabaoth might be gone, but there's no guarantee he will not return. Is that so displeasing?"
"N-no, it's not like that... ah, I'm sorry I shouted at you."
The resentment in her chest vanished the moment she heard Jaldabaoth's name; she knew they had to be on guard against him.
Thinking carefully on what had already been said... I should have seen that coming. As for looking out for Jaldabaoth's return... That implies he wants to protect me? Fufu...
"Then, while we wait, do you mind if I ask about what happened before?"
"Before that, I need to take care of my comrades' bodies. I can't just leave them here. There's no problem with moving them, is there?"
Of course there was no problem. With that, Evileye went over to the bodies.
She'd thought they would have been burned beyond recognition, but it seemed that the devil's flames had only burned the soul rather than the flesh. The corpses were immaculate. After closing their eyes and crossing their arms over their chests, Evileye withdrew a ‘Shroud of Sleep’ from her pack, and began wrapping Tia up in it.
"What is this?"