After choosing to leave, they regretted it.

As the victim of the loss of their territory, the Karlsade family naturally had to contribute more money, manpower and effort in this expedition, so it was normal to have these additional flows.

It doesn't explain the problem at all.

Aize nodded:

"Anything else? Anything else? Have you heard any news related to marriage or engagement?"

"No, not at all."

"Not even half a year ago?"

"Not in the last two years."

It is quite common among the nobility to call back one's successful daughter in order to marry her off to someone else.

But there is no news in this regard, which is strange.

"Forget it, if there's no news, then there's no news. Anyway, I'll be able to meet Marquis Karseide in person by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. Then I can figure this out myself."

Although Chris's matter was important, it was still just a side issue.

The Empire's expedition, the Demons' response, and Rosaline's ongoing plan remain key.

You cannot lose sight of one thing or the other.

"What about Rosalyn? Where are she and her so-called Crusade Army now?"

"do not know."

"……ha?"

"do not know."

As the drunkard spoke, he even picked up his glass and took a big gulp.

"After leaving the Holy City half a month ago, those guys followed the route you initially identified and advanced for about two days before disappearing from our surveillance. Their whereabouts remain unknown."

"……How can this be?"

With a group of up to a thousand people, and their departure and destination being known, whether it was the supplies they needed along the way or the relatively few routes they chose, it was impossible for them to escape surveillance.

The loose organization and the lack of military training among the personnel also made it impossible for methods such as advancing in separate disguises to work on the Pure White Saint.

But this——

"I also think it's impossible, but I just can't find it."

The drunk shook his head, his face flushed with alcohol, unable to conceal the helplessness that was about to overflow.

"First, the informant we arranged to follow lost their target. Searches along the planned route also yielded no results. There's also no record of any nobles or church organizations along the way providing them with supplies."

As he said this, he even smiled bitterly:

"If it were anyone else, I would have thought this outing-like group had disbanded, but it happened to be that weird woman, so... I can't say for sure."

The only common sense thing about Rosalyn is that this woman has no common sense at all.

Although he understood this truth, Aize would still have his cognitive limits refreshed by her again and again.

Outrageous.

Aize rubbed his eyes:

"...Okay, what else? Any other information?"

"The Empire seems to be showing signs of action recently. The various nobles and legions on the eastern border are secretly and urgently preparing supplies. Does this mean that the expedition is about to begin?"

"That should be the case. Luckily we made it in time. What about the demons? Still no movement?"

"In the north, the armies of the Balrog and Dark Elves attacked from both sides, attempting to break through the Northern Alliance's defenses with a pincer attack. However, they were defeated by the local army and the Holy War Knights led by the Goddess's Blade."

"What else? The news of the Imperial Expedition has been leaked for so long? The Demon Tribe has not responded."

"No, there is no relevant news."

It was just a simple expedition, and from inside to outside and from top to bottom, there was not a single place where it was carried out in the way it should be done in theory.

It's really funny.

This also means that this expedition will never be as smooth as originally planned.

This time I really came to the right place.

"Okay, I get it. That's it for now. We'll talk next time we get in touch regularly. I have to go back and rest first."

Tomorrow, he would go to visit his so-called "father-in-law" as the "son-in-law" of the Carside family.

Considering his own status, no matter how reluctant he was, there would definitely be a rather troublesome and lengthy social party waiting for him.

I can't go to the event sleepy and with dark circles under my eyes, so I have to go to bed early.

Unexpectedly, the head of his own intelligence department actually smiled:

"What? Are you in a hurry to go back to be with your wife?"

"you--"

This guy is a master at gathering intelligence, and he is also an expert at making sarcastic remarks and taking advantage of others' misfortunes.

He can always hit Aize hardest with the shortest possible words at his most difficult point.

Seeing Aize's expression quickly deteriorate, the other party smiled smugly, then stood up and waved his hand:

"Okay, okay, I was just kidding. Go get some rest and don't leave your wife alone. I also need to put on a face mask. I've been stressed out at work and my skin has been getting more cracked lately~"

After saying that, he controlled the drunk man and made him walk a few steps towards the crowd, then released his control.

A classic blow that broke away, giving Aize no chance to fight back.

"This guy……"

I secretly made up my mind that I would give her a lesson the next time I returned to the Holy City.

Then, after pouring the remaining water in the cup into his stomach, he stood up and went upstairs to prepare for bed.

Then--

"Um?"

I saw the door of the room next to my own residence suddenly opened slowly.

Chris's figure appeared immediately.

After closing the door carefully so as not to make any noise, he tiptoed downstairs.

Then she turned around and saw Aize standing at the stairs, looking at her speechlessly.

"……What are you doing?"

"scare!!!!"

Like a frightened rabbit, the blue-haired girl almost jumped up, her whole body trembling as if her fur had exploded.

"Is it really necessary to scare me like this? You're making me feel like a ghost... No, wait, you're not going to come up with something new for me, are you?!"

The previous ordeal had made Aize a little PTSD, so his first reaction now was like this.

It's a bit rude, but there's nothing I can do about it.

"No, no, no, no, no, I'm just... a little... nervous when I think about meeting my father tomorrow."

Chris explained a little flustered.

"Master, you haven't slept either? Um, um...if you have time, could you... accompany me for a while?"

Chapter 28 Noticed, Ignored

In the hotel's restaurant, adventurers and travelers who had not yet decided to go to sleep were still making a lot of noise. Under the dim light, their figures holding wine glasses were magnified and distorted, and then projected onto the wall, leaving large shadows.

The clerk sitting behind the counter, watching over the group of customers, was holding his head and yawning boredly - he was the only one whose reaction was in line with the current time.

Passing through this scene, Aize and Chris came to the outside of the hotel.

After more than two weeks of travel, the group entered from the southern border of the empire, crossed half of the empire's territory, and arrived at an area near the eastern border.

Unlike Tafia, which is also on the border, the terrain of the Central Mountains here is more dangerous.

Looking ahead, under the black sky in the distance, one can already see a row of endless cliffs stretching across like walls, seemingly impossible to climb over.

On this side, although Aize and others were at a node on the main trade route, it was close to the demon territory and strict martial law measures were taken. All caravan passengers had found a place to stay, and only the occasional patrol team galloping past on horseback could cause some noise.

In addition, it is summer now, and the cool evening breeze and the incessant chirping of insects are quite a treat.

“Hmm~”

Leaning against a simple flagpole in front of the hotel, Aize stretched out his body.

"So, what happened?"

Chris sat on a relatively flat stone, hugging her legs and almost curling up into a ball, looking extremely depressed.

This is the first time since the decision to pretend to be a couple was made.

"Tomorrow...aren't I going to see my father? I'm...I'm worried that if I don't keep it a secret, I might be forced to stay and not be allowed to leave, so..."

Before, when she was still in Tafia, Chris was not very enthusiastic whether she received letters from home or Aize proposed to participate in the empire's expedition.

It is one thing to be afraid that their pretending to be a couple will be exposed.

What’s more, she is worried that this journey will become a one-way ticket for her.

Some time ago, I was overwhelmed by the excitement of pretending to be a couple and temporarily ignored this danger.

Now, I came to my senses and found that I was really at the door of my home, as if I had suddenly woken up from a beautiful dream.

How heartless she was some time ago, how nervous she is now.

In response, Aize rested his head on the back of his head and shrugged lightly.

"What are you still talking about now... We've been preparing for this for so long, just stick to the plan, what else can we do?"

The girl raised her head and looked at Aize.

"Yeah, I know, but...but I just can't let it go...I'm sorry."

Her pupils kept trembling, indicating that her anxiety at the moment had not eased at all.

Aize looked at her for a few seconds, then suddenly changed the subject and asked:

"Speaking of which, why do you insist on staying with me? Have you ever thought about it?"

Aize has quite a few subordinates and followers, from commanders to ordinary knights, guards or intelligence officers, and everyone has his own reasons for being there.

Needless to say, Villian was the only one who came. The others either wanted to end this endless war, or were disgusted with the existing church and aristocracy system, or, like Hecate, hoped to carve out a place for their mixed-race compatriots.

Chris is one of those rare exceptions.

When I asked her why, she always replied, "For Master."

But this is a statement that is so broad that it has no practical value. In addition, Aize himself has always hated personality cult and blind faith, so he certainly cannot accept this.

And at this moment, this question was raised again, and Chris still couldn't answer it.

But the atmosphere was such that she couldn't smile and give a crazy explanation like she usually did. She could only look away after a brief glance.

Then he shook his head and whispered slowly and quietly:

"Back when I graduated from the military academy, I was optimistic and believed I could accomplish something with my own abilities. But in the end, my first battle turned out like that. I... after that, I don't know what happened..."

"But you are not the main party responsible for the failure of that battle."

"Perhaps... But in the final analysis, if I could win, if I could be like Master, and win no matter how disadvantageous the situation is, then... this kind of thing wouldn't have happened..."

At that time, the young Chris was indeed facing tremendous pressure from other factions within the empire, and she was indeed burdened with responsibilities that did not belong to her because of the existence of her stupid teammates.

But these things have happened to Aize countless times.

In fact, the situation Aize faced was much worse than what she faced at that time - at least at that time, everyone in Chris's team was obedient.

Despite such a disadvantage, Aize kept winning.

This made Chris extremely admire and worship him, but it also inevitably deepened her contempt for herself.

Even contempt.

From this perspective, although Chris seems to have cheered up and is full of energy, she has never really gotten over the shadow of that failure.