“I can see it!

It's Alessa”

“woof woof!”

[Well, it felt strangely nostalgic]

Was it because this was the first town I visited after coming to this world? This town
felt special to me.

There were not many people lined up in front of the gate. This is a normal sight in
Alessa, which isn't that big of a town, but after seeing the royal capital, I felt quite
lonely.

But as usual, there were no signs of war. There was no sign of the usual soldiers
coming and going, no sign of the troop merchants who were looking to take
advantage of the special wartime demand.

It was perfectly normal. They looked the same as they did when we were there.

[If we suddenly descend in front of the gate, there might be confusion]

“Nn”

So, we descended to a somewhat remote area and walked to Alessa. The merchants
and adventurers who were waiting for their turn, of which there were several, were
looking at us with horrified faces.

They were surprised to see Urushi.

However, the reaction of the soldiers guarding the gate was different from that of the
merchants.

“Oya? You're Fran-chan right?”

“Nn?”

“You've come back to Alessa?”

“Delt”

It was Delt, the gatekeeper we had gotten to know best when we were in Alessa.

Apparently, Fran remembered his name too. I had forgotten about Cruz too until we
met again at the martial arts tournament. Does she remember Delt?

In Fran's case, it seems she never forgets a strong opponent. It's almost certain, if
they had crossed swords before.

The other important thing is whether they are friendly to her or not. If they are
friendly from the start, like Delt, and she have been in contact with them for a
reasonable length of time, she probably won't forget them.

In Cruz's case, he wasn't that strong, and he didn't make much of an impression
because he was neutral rather than favorable. Well, he was good-looking, but he was
so plain.

“Well. Welcome back”

“Thanks”

For Fran, this town, where she registered as an adventurer, must be very special. She
nodded happily at Delt, who greeted her with a smile.

“Well, then, show me your ID cards”

“Nn”

“Yes, thankyou―Oooohhh? Eh? Fran-chan, this is………!”

“Nn?”

Delt's eyes widen as he looks at the guild card. He also alternates between the card
and Fran's face, and reads the names on it again.
“Th-this is without a doubt, is Fran's card! H-how did you get to B rank in such a
short period of time?”

“Nn. Ranked up in the royal capital”

“The royal capital……! I heard, there's a big uproar and it inflicted quite a lot of
damage to the royal capital……… There are rumors flying around that the royal castle
has been destroyed, that the royal capital has been obliterated, and so on”

Apparently, the details of the damage are not being conveyed. No, it seems that the
information is so mixed up that they don't know which one is correct.

“A lot of people died……”

“Aah, so it's true there's a terrible mess there huh. But I'm glad that Fran-chan is
okay. Well then, Welcome back to Alessa”

“Nn. Thanks”

We came back to Alessa, it was still the same as before, even from the inside. I don't
see any effects from the battle with Raidos at all.

[For the time being, let's go to the guild]

“Understood”

“Woof!”

That's how we arrived at the adventurer's guild, and it was just like before. No, it's
rather lively, isn't it? the number of adventurers seemed to have increased a bit. Well,
I guess it depends on the time of day.

“Pardonー” (1)

[I've said this to you every time. Isn't that wrong?]

When she entered the Adventurer's Guild, all eyes turned to Fran. Some were
cautious, some were surprised. But half of them seemed to know Fran from before,
and there was a sense of surprise and respect.
Some of them even tried to make a trouble with Fran, but they were stopped by the
adventurers around them.

“Ulmut'sーー”

“Martial arts tournament's winnerーー”

Apparently, they don't know that she had been promoted to Rank B yet. It's a bit far
from the capital, and I guess they don't bother to announce information about
adventurers in other cities. It would be a different story if she were ranked A or
higher, though.

However, it seems that she is known to have won a prize in the martial arts
tournament. Hearing the story, the man who had stepped forward was turning back
in a hurry.

“Welcome. Ummm, is young miss an adventurer too?”

I didn't recognize the receptionist. Perhaps she was a newcomer hired after Fran had
left. I could see that she was confused when she saw the Fran appearance.

“Nn”

“What can I do for you today?”

“I want to enter the Plains of the Demon Wolf. What do I need to do to apply?”

“Huh? The Plains of the Demon Wolf? You see, it's a grade A magical area and
normally only adventurers of Rank B or higher can enter”

“I know”

“Eh? Then young miss should know you can't enter it, right?”

Half of the adventurers around her are laughing at Fran's words, aren't they? When
she was in Alessa before, she was a D ranker, so it can't be helped.

“This”

“Guild Card? Eeeeeh? Eeeh?”

She had a similar reaction to Delt. This girl was more intense, though.

“No way, this child is a B ranker?”

The moment the receptionist muttered, the adventurers around her made a
commotion. Then, all at once, they became noisy. I guess they couldn't believe it.
Well, of course they are. After all, it means, she's stronger than them.

This is not going to go away for a while, is it? That's what I was thinking, but then
someone appeared from the back of the guild and clapped his hands lightly, and the
whole place went quiet.

“Hai hai, stop making a commotion”

“Aah, Nell-senpai”

The person who showed up was Nell, the receptionist who had taken care of us
before.

“Long time no see huh, Fran-chan”

“Nn”

“We welcome you, Fran, the Black Lightning Princess. Or, would you prefer the Black
Cat Saintess instead?”

“The Black Lightning Princess is cooler”

When Fran replied with a sullen expression, Nell chuckled.

“Well then. Fran, the Black Lightning Princess, please come this way. The guild
master wants to see you”

“Okay”

Hmmm, I guess guild master already heard about our arrival. Well, it's convenient
that we'll have to talk to guild master in order to enter the magical area anyway.

Nell's admission must have made them realize that she wasn't lying. The adventurers
were staring at Fran with shocked faces. Well, no matter how you look at it, she
doesn't look any stronger than they are, so it can't be helped. With the quiet
astonishment of the adventurers at our back, she starts walking behind Nell.

“I heard, you play a great role in the royal capital”

“……… That's not true”

Hearing Nell's words, Fran shook her head with a reluctant expression. Well, it was a
battle that gave me a lot to think about in terms of combat.

Seeing Fran's reaction, Nell quickly changes the subject. As expected of a receptionist
who is skilled at reading people's expressions.

“And before that, you were awesome at the Ulmut martial arts tournament!
Congratulations on your win”

“I didn't win”

But this wasn't the best result for Fran either. She experienced a good fight, but she
was outclassed by Amanda. She showed her an overwhelming difference.

Nell looks at Fran with dismay, who is more disappointed that she lost than that she
did well.

“Fran. Before I know it, you're just like Amanda huh…………”

Does that mean she's a battle junkie too? Well, it's recently been discovered that
most high ranked adventurers are combat enthusiasts. In fact, if they doesn't like
combat, they won't get any stronger.

____TLN_________

(1) What Fran says on the raw is たのも tanomo in hiragana, it might be shorts for 頼
もう tanomou. It's like an archaic words, used by a visiting samurai to request entry.
It's just like 済みません sumimasen. They have the same meaning and can be used to
apologize or to get someone's attention.

(2) This is the only TENKEN chapter for today too, i need to work on maseguru after
this.
“Guild master. I've brought Fran-can with me”

“Yeah, come in”

When we entered the office, she was greeted by Klimut, the elven, spirits user guild
master. He's looking at her with the same stern expression as usual.

After Nell left, he offered Fran the couch and sat down across from us.

“Long time no see”

“Nn”

“Haah…… So much things happened in such a short time…… Even the word "genius"
sounds dumb”

I guess Klimut's words are not just about rank. We didn't know much before, but
Klimut is pretty strong. I don't need to appraise him to know that.

It's not about his status, but about the presence that oozes from within him. And
Klimut must have felt the same way about Fran.

He looks at Fran in astonishment. Well, she much stronger than she was when she
left Alessa.

“Anyway, congratulations on your ranking up”

Although he said congratulations, Klimut's face did not look like he was
congratulating her at all. Rather, it was more of a frown.

“Good grief, even if they have the ability to do it, it's not like we can take advantage of
a child…… Well, what's done is done”
After all, he was against the idea of putting children in danger as adventurers. The
other adventurer's guilds don't have tests in the first place. If a child comes to the
guild, the guild will scare them away. After that, they are treated as apprentices and
taught the basics.

“So, what brought you back to Alessa?”

“Training”

“Training? Are you still trying to get stronger?”

When Klimut looked stunned, Fran nodded her head with a serious face.

“Nn”

“You've reached B rank at age 12 you know? That's one of the top five in the guild's
all-time record”

Top five, does that mean there's others above Fran?

“Who is the number 1?”

“Hmm? Are you talking about the historical rankings?”

“Nn”

“The youngest person to reach A rank is the old S ranked adventurer, [Battalion] ”

“Battalion? It's a nickname?”

“Yeah. However, because the records are too old, only the alias is now transmitted.
His abilities are also unknown. However, it is said that this person became B ranker
at the age of 8, A ranker at the age of 10, and S ranker at the age of 14”

What the hell is that? I thought it was a strange nickname, but what kind of monster
he is? As expected of a genius with a long history.

“Even though you are not as strong as that person, you are growing faster. Do you
still want to be stronger? Aren't you already strong enough?”
“I'm not strong enough”

Fran shook her head and muttered in frustration.

“I kept losing. If I hadn't gotten help, I would have lost every battle. And there are a
lot of strong guys out there”

She must be thinking back to the battle with the Marquis and what I told her about
the battle between the strong.

“Besides, I haven't beat the Beast King or Ashwrath yet”

“Haah. It looks like you've had a very intense few months huh. And you still can't win
against them?”

He was even more dismayed. Come to think of it, Klimut doesn't seem to be a battle
junkie, which is unusual for a senior adventurer. If you're asking me if he's a person
with common sense, I think he's not.

“Is that why you're going to training huh?”

“Going to the Plains of the Demon Wolf to train”

“…… Are you going to go in there? By yourself?”

“I'm already a B ranker, I should be fine”

I know Klimut won't look any better. But he can't stop her, because she's fulfilled the
rank requirement.

“You're right…… Haah, it can't be helped. Even if you don't get permission, you'll still
go in there anyway, right?”

Fran nods to Klimut, who shrugs his shoulders in resignation.

“Of course”

“Then there's no point in stopping you huh. But that place has become quite
dangerous lately, don't push yourself too hard”
“Understood”

“…… Your prompt answer smells fishy…… Dont push yourself too hard, okay”

“Haaah. Also, please don't go to the north. It's very confusing at the moment”

“Confusion?”

It seems that the skirmish with the Raidos Kingdom has not been settled after all.

“Yeah. Honestly, I don’t want to send a child to war”

As he said this, he gave a light explanation of the current situation.

“First, the first Raidos Kingdom army was prevented by an adventurer named Jean
Doobie”

“I know it”

“Ah, by the way, did you and Jean know each other? He writes about being together
with you to recover his old diary on his report”

“Nn”

“However, Raidos' invasion did not end there. It seems to have been done
sporadically, on several occasions”

The reason for this seems to be an experiment in necromancy. It seems that the
enemy is using an army of undead.

“I guess it's a countermeasure against Jean. They can't reach Jean, but there's so
many of it. Jean and the adventurers he hired to guard him are running around to
counter them”

Donadrond, who was an instructor for newcomers in this guild, is also out there. (1)

“Klimut isn't going? You're Klimut of Calamity, right?”

“…… Haaah. I'm not that big of a guy to be given such a big name, though. Well, when
I get serious, the surroundings might be destroyed”
In other words, you're not going to go into battle with Raidos just for a skirmish huh.

“Anyway, you are allowed to enter the Plains of the Demon Wolf. But please stay
away from the skirmish with Raidos. Is that clear?”

Klimt tells her with a sigh, rubbing the wrinkles between his eyes. Guild masters in
every town seem to have a hard time huh. Well, Fran is making more work for them.

____TLN____________

(1) ドナドロンド donadorondo, I followed the manga (ch.6 by LH Translation)

naming him with Donadorond, what a strange name……
After we greeted Klimut, we went to the adventurer's guild's library room. We were
going to read the information on the Plains of the Demon Wolf.

I've heard that the magic beast is even stronger than when I was there. It would be
dangerous to go in there without any information.

We looked around and found a good amount of detailed information. After all, it is a
magical area near the town, and it seems that there is a certain amount of research
and consideration being done in Alessa.

[Then read as much as you can, Fran, okay?]

“Nn”

Now, how long will Fran be able to stay awake?

First of all, about the types of magic beasts in the Plains of the Demon Wolf, it was
concluded that there were no certain type.

The chance of encountering rare magical beasts are not zero, but it also means that
the materials and ecosystems we can obtain are not constant. Moreover, if the
monsters that appear are different each time, it is difficult to plan countermeasures.

In a normal magical area, a magic beast lives under a certain ecosystem, so as long as
we take the proper measures, we can fight them. However, in the Plains of the
Demon Wolf, we had to deal with them randomly.

This is probably another factor that increases the threat level of the Plains of the
Demon Wolf.

There was a list of magical beasts that had been confirmed to have appeared in the
past, but there were so many that I gave up trying to remember them. It was that
diverse and inconsistent.

In addition, it is said that the cycle of magical beasts being born in that plain, where
the Forest of Exhaustion exist, makes it easy for magic power to accumulate, is
extremely fast. The cycle of magical beasts is said to be several times faster than
elsewhere. There is a competition for survival, and the victorious monsters will
evolve to become area bosses.

However, the higher-ranked magic beast, needs more magical power to survive, so it
was concluded that as long as the Forest of Exhaustion existed, no magic beast would
be able to get out.

It is said that there have been a few times in the past when magical beasts with
excellent flying ability have gone out beyond the Forest of Exhaustion. However, the
phenomenon of magic power absorption in that forest extends into the sky, so unless
there is a great deal of trouble inside, magic beasts will not try to approach that
forest.

Also, several times a year, the guild conducts regular inspections, and it is said that
the magic beasts change quite often.

It is said that in a normal magical area, the same individual that has grown up to be
powerful will often reign for decades. However, in the Plains of the Demon Wolf, even
vicious demon beasts of threat level C and above are frequently replaced.

Even a threat level A magic beast would have difficulty surviving for decades in that
plain. It seems that the speed at which the magical power of magic beasts’ recovers
is very slow in that plain. I don't know if it's because of the effects of the Forest of
Exhaustion or if there are other reasons, but it seems that magical beasts need to
absorb several times more magical power than other places in order to survive.

As a result, if they do not constantly fight and eat other magic beasts, they will not be
able to recover the magical power they have consumed and will become weak.
However, if they become too strong, other magical beasts will not be able to get close
to them, and they will have a hard time hunting them. Moreover, their magic
efficiency would be lower.

As a result, the stronger they become, the more they have trouble recovering their
internal magical power, and when they are weakened, they can be defeated by lower-
ranked magical beasts.

It should have the same effect on humans, but they won't get such significant results
in a short period of time. I guess it's because it's a grade A magical area and it's
difficult to stay there for a long time, so they haven't been able to conduct any
experiments.

Could it be that I had also suffered from this phenomenon when I was in the Plains of
the Demon Wolf? To be honest, I didn't notice it. After all, it was the first place in this
world where I appeared. I didn't have anything to compare it to, and in my case, I
was able to absorb their magic stone and recover.

Also, when I escaped, my rank went up and I just assumed it was because of that, my
magical efficiency got better too.

What's more, the most important thing for me is the pedestal in the middle of the
plain, but I couldn't find any information about it. We asked the old man who was in
charge of the library, but he said he had never heard of such a thing.

They know that there is something that looks like ruins in the middle of the plain,
but no so-called altar-like object seems to have been confirmed.

[What do you mean……?]

(Has disappeared?)

[Hmm. I guess that's what happens when you think about it normally]

But that mysterious man told me to come to the altar, didn't he? No, no? He just said
to come to the Plains of the Demon Wolf. He say nothing about the altar.

[Well, I don't know what to do now, I guess we'll find out when we get there]

(Nn!)

The next thing I looked at was the material on the Forest of Exhaustion.

However, there were no new facts that surprised me that much.

What caught my attention was the fact that the phenomenon of magical power
absorption was considered to be caused by something underground.

It is a phenomenon that is less effective in the air and much more powerful on the
surface, but it is said that the rate at which magic is sucked out of you increases even
more as you dig into the ground.

However, the more they dug, the less magic they could use, so the more they had to
dig by hand. It seems that the investigation was abandoned because it was too
dangerous to proceed in the forest where goblins and other creatures were running
rampant.

That was why it was so troublesome. A low-level adventurer would fall behind even
against goblins.

Well, a genuinely skilled high-ranking adventurer like Fran, for example, wouldn't
have problem at all. I'm not worried about that. It's just that my trauma will be
stimulated a little bit.

I don't want to stay there for too long if possible, but depending on the strength of
the magic beasts that appear in the Plains of the Demon Wolf, we may have to
consider using the Forest of Exhaustion as a base of operations.

As I was thinking about this, I felt a presence approaching our side. It was clearly
aiming for Fran, but I didn't feel any hostility or malicious intent.

“Hey. Is that you, Fran-san?”

“Nn? Who?”

“Oi Oi! Don't tell me you forgot me! It's me!”

“……?”

The man spoke to her in a familiar way, but Fran completely forgot about him. She
could see the man's head tilted back with a scowl and a pathetic look of shock on his
face.

“… Who?”
“Ha, hahaha. We dove the dungeon together, remember? I am Clad-sama, leader of
the Dragon's Roar!”

“… Uumm”

It was Clad, an adventurer who we had dived into the dungeon with before. He used
to be a yankee who would come and mess with Fran, but his attitude has changed
completely. He had learned a lot about reality during that adventure, and in the end,
he recognized Fran's abilities.

I'm just sorry, but Fran is seriously forgot about him. He had a bad attitude, and he
was weak. But I'm kind of impressed with him. He was a lot stronger than last time.

Name: Clad

Age: 23 Years old

Race: Human

Job: Spear Warrior

Status Level: 27

HP:148 MP:104 STR:86 PHY:70 AGI:74 INT: 55 DEX: 49 Magic:50

Skill

Transport: Lv2, Acrobatic: Lv4, Crisis Detection: Lv4, Fasting: Lv3, Presence
Detection: Lv1, Martial Arts: Lv1, Spear Technique: Lv2, Spear Skill: Lv5,
Intimidation: Lv3, Climbing: Lv3, Poison Resistance: Lv1, Ki Manipulation

Equipment

Fine steel spear, Armored lizard Armor, rock bull Armor, Armored lizard boots, stone
spider cloak, detoxification ring.

He can be said as a full-fledged D ranker already.

“So, what do you want?”

“Aah, no. It's nothing. Haha……”

Maybe he was expecting a conversation like “Long time no see!” or “Hey, it's been a
while!”. But Fran's attitude seemed to have broken his heart. He left, looking sad.

I'm sorry, Clad-kun. But we don't have much time to bother with you. Stay strong.

“Ara, you're done?”

“Nn”

“Is that so”

“Nn?”

As she was leaving, I thought we'd say hello to Nell at the reception……… Next to her,
is the receptionist who first greeted Fran, she had both her cheeks red and swollen. I
don't know how people's cheeks can get this peachy. It seems that the adventurers
have been punished to the point of being quiet.

“Well, I give them a good punishment”

The smiling Nell is scary!

“I'm sho shorry”

Keep up the good work, newbie-san!

The day after Klimut gave us permission to enter the Plains of the Demon Wolf.
Before we left, we went to the market.

We've been handing out a lot of food from our dimensional storage in the royal
capital instead of cooking it out. We're going to replenish that. I didn't expect Fran
would give out curry as well. I guess that's how much she wanted to help the people
on the royal capital.

We didn't hand out all of them, but I would like to replenish them if possible.

[Well, it's faster to get the meat ourselves]

“Nn”

In the first place, I don't think there are that many magic beast's meats in Alessa's
market. I thought so, but when I actually saw the market, I realized that I was wrong.

“This is, what kind of meat is this?”

“Ooh! You've got a good eye! This is the meat of a magic beast with a threat level of
"D" called Gullinbursti!” (1)

There was a good amount of meat from a very powerful magic beast on display.
Speaking of Gullinbursti, it was a magic beast that we had used for curry bread in the
cooking contest at Barbra. It's a golden boar beast, it's quite tasty, and strong too. It
appears in here too huh?

There are also other kinds of magic beast meat in the market. Moreover, this wasn't
the only store that sold meat. I don't remember Alessa being a city with such an
abundance of meat.

When I was wondering about it, the lady at the store told us a lot before we even
asked.
“Amanda-sama's generosity is being passed on to us”

“Amanda? She's in Alessa?”

“Yeah. She's been looking around this town and actively hunting for us”

Amanda has hunted around Alessa, and the magic beast's meat that was sold to the
guild as material was also being sold to the town.

“Amanda didn't go to war?”

“I heard that an adventurer named Jean is active, so Amanda-sama is staying behind

to protect this town, you know? With her here, there will be fewer people who will
do bad things”

“Is that so?”

“Well, there was some confusion because of the war, but the knights are reliable
these days. There was less confusion than I thought”

Since the death of Augusto, the vice commander who had been monopolizing the
Order, it seems that the Order has been reborn as a much better entity.

“The knights have become well-behaved lately, and the noblemen with dark rumors
have been taken down by the authorities, so Alessa has calmed down a lot”

“A nobleman with a dark rumors?”

“It was the noblemen who were involved in the coup d’etat in the royal capital.
Thanks to the disappearance of Count Olmes and other noblemen who originally had
a bad reputation around here, business has become much easier”

Until now, they had to pay a kind space fee for stalls on top of other payment. Now
that this is no longer necessary, it is much easier for retailers.

After that, we stocked up on meat, spices, seasonings, and vegetables, and headed to
our next destination.

“Oya oya? Are you Fran-san by any chance?”

“Nn. Long time no see, Randell”

It was Randell the general store owner, he's the one who give Fran a ride with his
carriage before we reached Alessa. He hadn't changed a lot huh.

“I never expect for the hottest topic, the Black Lightning Princess to be here!”

“You know?”

“Hahaha. For a merchant, information is a weapon. Well, in my case, I knew and

concerned about you more than most merchants”

“I see”

If he already heard the information from his acquaintance, things will be easier.

“I never thought that the girl from that time would climb so high. But I'm relieved to
see that she hasn't changed”

“Hasn't changed? I'm stronger than I was then”

“Aah, that's not what I meant. I'm talking more about what's inside. Some
adventurers tend to become overbearing when they rise in rank”

“Hmm?”

In Fran's case, whether it's high or low rank, she never treated someone with proper
respect in the first place. She has always been like that even when she was still low in
rank, so it would be better to say that she is still the same person as before even
when her rank rises.

“So, what are you going to do now? You won't just come to say hello to me just
because you're back in Alessa, right? Well, I'm still happy to see you though”

“I need pots and tableware”

“Pots? Tableware?”

“Nn”
When we cooked out in the capital, we often had to give away the pots along with the
dishes and the tableware, so even if we cooked new dishes, we did not have enough
vessels to hold them.

She asked if Randell's general store have a few of it.

“How much do you need?”

“A lot”

It was a little difficult to explain, but she managed to tell him the size of the pot I
wanted.

But, of course, Randell's store did not have everything we needed. However, thanks
to Randell's help in contacting other stores, we were able to get the necessary
amount.

Some of the shopkeepers even went to the trouble of carrying the tableware and
other items on a cart. I guess it was a good thing that we paid generously without
haggling.

In addition, there were even people from the Lucille Commerce Association among
them. It was a large business association that we had dealt with in Barbra. We heard
that they also have a small branch in Alessa. It seems they had branch office on every
major city and town in the Kranzel Kingdom.

[Well, now that we have the ingredients and tools, let's go outside the town and
cook]

“Nn”

In the past, I had to borrow an inn's kitchen to do any cooking, but now I could
handle it with my magic. In fact, I don't have to worry about doing it if it's outside the
town.

I can't use magic and cook in the Forest of Exhaustion.

When it comes to that, I will be fine if I cook just right before the Forest of
Exhaustion right?
[Aah, do it like this]

“Nn?”

[How is it? Can you do it?]

“Like this?”

[Yes yes. That's the correct lenght]

“Okay”

We were now cooking on the plains just right before the Forest of Exhaustion. I don't
know if we'll have time to cook after we entered the Plains of the Demon Wolf.

In an improvised hut as a kitchen I made with earth magic. I used fire magic, water
magic, and wind magic to mass produce food.

Fran is also helping out. I don't mind with her helping, but for some reason, Fran's
seems to be motivated. No, maybe she just wants to get to the Plains of the Demon
Wolf as quickly as possible by helping me.

As I continued to cook in the hut, there was a knock at the entrance of the hut.

[I wonder who is it? Someone brave enough to come near this place]

Well, there were signs of adventurers wandering around the area several times.
However, a stone-built hut that suddenly appeared on the plains was too suspicious.
In the end, we ignored it.

If it tried to get closer, it will notice Urushi lying in front of the door. Even if he was
wearing a follower's tag, he was still a powerful beast, they would run away after
seeing him if they just wanted to rob us. But, if they tried to use force, Urushi as a
watchdog will get rid of it.

But the fact that it was knocking normally meant that it had somehow managed to
befriend Urushi. There was no sign of a fight, so maybe they knew each other?

[From the sign, it's just one person, but…… Its magic power is quite high. It was not a
novice adventurer huh. Who is it i wonder?]

“I'll check it out”

[Yeah, I leave it to you]

Fran sprinted over to the door. Even though it was an improvised hut made with
magic, it had a door. Well, it was just a stone cut to look like a door. With Fran's
strength, she can open-or perhaps, shift it.

I hadn't expected to really use that door, I had planned to finish cooking in a couple
of hours and make it disappear with earth magic.

I told Urushi to turn them away unless it was an emergency. The exception to this is
when an adventurer or traveller is being chased by a magical beast.

But would the owner of this sign ever be in danger around this area? It seem to be
strong enough to get out of here.

[Fran, how was it?]

“Nn. It's Alistair”

[Huh? Alistair? You said?]

“Nn. Alistair”

[Ummm… Let her in for the time being]

I'm almost done with the cooking. The only thing left to do is to wash the dishes, but
that can be done later.

It was really Alistair, a divine level blacksmith, who led by Fran into the hut.
“Hello Master. Long time no see”

[It's really Alistair huh. What are you doing here? I thought you were in the Belios
Kingdom]

“It was supposed to be…… I sensed a battle between two divine swords. I couldn't
stay there any longer”

[Aah. Come to think of it, Alistair can detect the whereabouts of a divine sword to
some extent huh]

That's probably why she knew I was here.

“Once it's in a released state, I can feel it from quite a distance. I can feel the reaction
coming from the royal capital of the Kranzel Kingdom”

Belios Kingdom was a country in the northeast. Certainly, if she really aims for the
royal capital from there, Alessa would be a good place to pass through.

[So, you're saying you're on your way to find out about the divine sword?]

“That's what I'm talking about. Hey, Master, do you have any information for me?”

[I don't know really know much about it, but I got caught up in it and almost died. Or,
should I say I’m about to break huh?]

“What? Can you tell me more about it?”

Hmm. Well, it's about the divine sword. I think it's best to share some information
with Alistair. She's kind of has a relation to it right.

[Okay. I'll tell you everything I know]

“That's helpful”

That's how I told Alistair about Fran's adventures, from her arrival in the capital to
her departure.

“……”
[Alistair, what's wrong?]

“No, I'm well aware of Fran's exploits, but the important part of the story is about the
divine sword…”

[Oops, sorry]

About halfway through, I got overly enthusiastic and started talking more about
Fran. I told her again what I knew about the Fanatics and the fierce battle that
followed after Ashwrath showed up.

“Fanatics huh…… I never thought it would be still alive after being destroyed”

[It looks like it was half destroyed, and not at its full potential]

“Anyway, did the Fanatics talk? As far as I know, that divine sword doesn't have such
a function, but…”

[I think, it was a collection of various human thoughts integrated into the Fanatics]

“I see”

Just like that, we exchanged some information.

“So, Fanatics have been completely destroyed huh”

[Yeah, Umm, sorry……]

I know that Alistair has strong feelings about a divine sword. I wonder how she
would react if I destroyed it……… However, there is surprisingly no grief on her face.

“…… No. Fanatics that have become nothing but spreading disasters must be
destroyed. Besides, Master is one of the discarded divine swords. I won't blame you”

She looks a little sad, but she also seems to be convinced. As for the Fanatics, who
have become an entity that maliciously manipulates even their own wielder and
spreading chaos, I guess she understand that we have no choice but to destroy it.

[When I destroyed the Fanatics, I absorbed their power through cannibalism………

From Alistair's point of view, is there a change on me?]
“Hmm? Changes? In Master's case, I'll have to analyze you carefully to be sure”

[Ahh. No, but we can't do it right now. Sorry]

“Are you in a hurry?”

[Well, a little]

I'm going to find out a lot of my secrets after this, but I'm not sure how much I'm
allowed to tell Alistair.

I feel like I could tell her everything, but I'm not quite sure what he's dealing
with……… If it has something to do with God, would I be allowed to divulge the secret
to Alistair?

He hasn't told me not to talk about it, but won't it backfire and cause trouble for
Alistair? The other party is God. I don't even know what kind of logic or thinking
they have.

[Actually, there's a place I have to go after this. There, maybe you can find out a little
bit about me]

“What? Are you sure? Come to think of it, this place is close to the Plains of the
Demon Wolf huh”

[Yeah]

“Ugh. If it weren't for the divine sword thing, I'd go with you too……… I can't even
ignore the whole pseudo fanatic sword thing”

Apparently, for a divine level blacksmith, a pseudo fanatic sword is a problem that
cannot be neglected. Come to think of it, I've got a broken pseudo fanatic sword. I
think I'll give this to Alistair.

[This is a pseudo fanatic sword]

“Wha! You have it huh!”

[But, I think, it already lost its ability huh?]

“Umm, still, this is……”

Alistair did a quick analysis and then sighed.

“Haah. It's no good. I don't know if the loss of its ability was a result of the
destruction or the disappearance of the main body. If there's some kind of collective
consciousness of the Fanatics left, there's might be a chance for it to react”

I honestly never thought about that. I thought we'd just need to defeat the Fanatics
main body and all will be done……… So there's a possible that the pseudo-fanatic
sword could remain act independently huh?

“I still wanted more information after all”

[I see…… Speaking of which, the blacksmith who was manipulated by the Fanatics
into helping it make the pseudo-fanatic sword also wanted to see Alistair]

“Hou?”

[It's Gallus, the honorary blacksmith of Kranzel Kingdom. Do you know him?]

“Of course. His ability is said to be close to a divine level blacksmith”

[I'm sure he'll be pleased to meet you, so please talk to him. Just give him Fran's and
my name and I'm sure he'll meet you]

“Understood. Could it be, he knows about master's true identity?”

Oh yea, I haven't told her about it.

[Yeah. I'm indebted to him. He's the blacksmith who made my scabbard and Fran's
armor]

“I see! Oh, by the way, you said her armor was made by a blacksmith named Gallus
right! I'll have to apologize for taking the liberty of altering his work”

[Well, give him my regards when you meet him]

“Understood”
Gallus's request to introduce him to Alistair was apparently accomplished sooner
than expected. I hope he doesn't shocked when a divine level blacksmith suddenly
comes to see him.

“Oh right. Fran is an adventurer, right?”

“Can you get in contact with any B ranker or higher?”

“Nn? Why?”

“Actually, I have a small request. It's a very simple request, but it will be well
compensated. I'll also vouch for the client's identity”

[It's a simple request, but you need adventurers of B rank or higher?]

“Well, you see. The content is easy, but the rest of it can be difficult. An adventurer
with a high rank but a troublesome personality would only be a problem. So, I was
wondering if Fran could introduce me to someone who might be a good match”

I see. But an introduction, or whatever it's called is--

“I'm a B ranker”

“What? You used to be a rank C, right?”

“Nn. Ranked up in the royal capital”

“I see! Hey, what do you think? Would you accept my request?”

“Umm……?”

“No good huh?”

“I'm going to train in the Plains of the Demon Wolf. In the meantime, I don't have
time to take on unnecessary requests”

It's not the same as doing a little bit of work for Alessa.

“It doesn't have to be right away, you know. I mean, my client wants me to bring
someone back within five years”
[Five years? That's a very long time]

“Just think of it as a lax request”

Alistair explains the nature of the request, but I don't think it's suitable for Fran.

[Becoming an opponent for a mock battle in the Academy of magic?]

“Yeah. Your opponent is still a childーーWell, some of them are probably older than
Fran, but they're not too strong”

If it's like that, i guess it's fine then. On the other hand, if they're incredibly strong,
that's fine too, and Fran will be happy. But it's not the same as training an adventurer
like a Spartan, is it? I don't think Fran can handle it.

“It's okay to overdo it a little. In fact, it's a good experience to be beat them to a pulp.
Well, you don't have to answer now. You can do it when you feel like it”

“Okay”

We should think about it when we done with our training huh.

After parting ways with Alistair. We went to the Forest of Exhaustion.

I was a little nervous going in, but that was about it. Apparently, I was less
traumatized by this forest than I thought I was. Well, maybe, because it was also the
place where I met Fran.

[How is it, Fran?]

“Nnn…… Feels weird”

Although it can't absorb magical power in our body, but we can't recover our magical
power in here. In addition, skills such as presence detection doesn't work well.

It also feels different from before, and it feel strange. When she met me in here, she
couldn't control her magic power yet. So, she must not have been able to sense the
abnormalities in this forest before.

[It would be difficult to use our magic and skill in this Forest of Exhaustion. Be
careful]

“Nn”

[How about you, Urushi?]

“woof……”

Urushi, who was currently walking slowly in his original huge size, let out a pitiful
whine.

In Urushi's case, it must have been more of a burden on his body than Fran. He
unconsciously uses magic power on his own body for his daily life, but now he has to
do it manually.
First of all, he can't use his body change and shadow diving skills well. He can barely
activate the body change, but he can't seem to maintain it for long periods of time,
and he can't seem to adjust his size properly.

In addition, it seemed that he had unconsciously strengthened his body with magic
power to support his large body, but since he could not use it, he could not control
his huge body well too.

[It didn't drain magical power in me and Fran's body though……]

In Urushi's case, it seems that his magic power is constantly being drained. Not only
is he unable to activate his abilities to strengthen his body, but he is constantly losing
his magic power. If I hadn't supplied him with magic power, he would have been
unable to move long ago.

Maybe there is a part of us that we don't understand were unconsciously using

magic, and the cycle of that magic being drained is repeating.

It seems that Urushi himself cannot stop it even if he tells it to stop. I guess it's like
skin respiration in humans, a kind of life activity that happen on its own.

“woof…”

[Come on, we're almost reached the end of this forest―Fran]

“Nn!”

Even if we can't use presence detection, we could clearly tell by the rustling sound.
There was something big approaching us.

“Ghroaaa!”

A bear with two heads jumped out of the bushes.

[Twin-headed Bear huh]

“I remember this one”

[Oh, really?]
“Nn. The first beast I defeated using Master”

As expected of Fran, she remembered it huh. Well, it was killed instantly by Urushi in
front of the motivated Fran though.

No matter how weak it is, their status is different. There was no way that Urushi
could lose. However, looking at the bear's vitality, I guess lower level magical beasts
that can live without relying on magic power are better suited for activities in the
Forest of Exhaustion.

“Woof―!”

Urushi puts his foot on the twin-headed bear, which is knocked down by a blow from
his paw, and looks triumphant. However, Fran's face is dissatisfied as she watches.

“Guh……”

“woof?”

“Even though I was going to take it down myself……”

“Wo-woof…”

Well, it was a nostalgic opponent huh? Fran, who had intended to take down the
twin-headed bear she hadn't seen in a long time, puffed out her cheeks when her
prey was snatched from her.

Fran glares at Urushi with jealous eyes as he hurriedly slips away.

“Woof…”

“Hmph”

“Kyain!”

“… Next one is for me”

“Woof!”

Fran was still upset, but she seemed to have forgiven him by pulling his tail.
[Just bear with it for now]

“Nn”

[Yosh. We're good to go then]

I put the bear away in my dimensional storage. It is still possible to activate it for a
moment in this Forest of Exhaustion. However, the effect of the magic absorption
phenomenon is stronger when the bear is lying on the ground, so I had it lifted a
little. No, it can be stored even while it lying on the ground, but that would
unnecessarily consume more magic power.

[But then again, normally, magic beast in this area won't attack us]

“What do you mean?”

[You know, with Urushi's smell and presence around us, no small fry magic beast
would come near us]

They would rather run away. However, we already had several battles in this Forest
of Exhaustion. We had encountered the Twin Headed Bear we had just defeated,
twice with goblins, and once with a kobold.

“Nnn…… They don't know how strong their opponent is?”

[That was―possible huh]

Because they can't use skills like presence detection, they can't gauge the strength of
their opponent. However, not all of the magic beast that attacked us had those skills.

No, even if they don't have any skills, can they have similar abilities as long as they
have their magic stone? I've heard that even if they don't have magical power
manipulation skills, they can still use magic and other magic technique thanks to the
magic stones that take the care of those skills.

If that was the case, it would not be surprising if they had abilities similar to skills
such as presence and magic detection. They could tell where their opponent was, but
they might not be able to measure its strength.

[Also, it seems magic beast that live in this Forest of Exhaustion are only small fry, so
their ability to sense danger has been greatly weakened]

“I see”

This might be a bit of a hassle to set up a tent in this Forest of Exhaustion. We have to
be constantly on the lookout for attacks by magic beasts.

Well, it’s not like we're going to stay in this Forest of Exhaustion for a long time. The
outer perimeter of the Plains of the Demon Wolf is inhabited by higher level magic
beast.

It is said that there have been confirmed sighting of magic beast with a threat level of
A. In such cases, there is no choice but to flee. In any case, a threat level of A is the
same level as that Lich. Even if we had become stronger, we couldn't say that we
could beat him. It was unlikely, but if there were a large number of magical beasts of
that level, we would not be able to enter the Plains of the Demon Wolf without a
fight.

[Well, lets leave it until we reached the Plains of the Demon Wolf. Come on, we're
gonna get out of here]

“Nn!”

“Woof!”

We are going to the nostalgic Plains of the Demon Wolf. Well then, I wonder what its
current state is?
[Fuhahaha! It's the plains! I came back!]

“?”

[Sorry, don't mind it. More importantly, can you feel the presence around us?]

“…… Is something's wrong?”

After passing through the Forest of Exhaustion, we had stepped about a dozen
meters into the Plains of the Demon Wolf. In terms of location, it would be in the
northeast area of the Plains of the Demon Wolf.

There is definitely something out there. I know that, but I couldn't find out the exact
location of the presence. There was a tense feeling around me, and the flow of magic
was somewhat unnatural.

[How about you, Urushi?]

“woof……”

[You can't feel it too huh]

Does it have stealth level that can even fool Urushi's noses, or is it a type of magic
beast that has no scent at all?

“Stay alert, let's go”

[Yeah]

“Woof!”

We proceeded like that for a few minutes, using our exploration skills to the fullest.
Well, we didn't gain much distance. Would it have been quicker to go through it at
full speed rather than proceed with caution huh?

But apparently, it's not that easy.

“Master!”

“Woof!”

Fran and Urushi jumped up at once. A moment later, I finally realize.

[From below huh!]

After all, the less I'm in contact with the ground, the weaker my ability to detect
what's underneath. How many times already, did I lose to Fran and Urushi huh.

“Smoke?”

[It could be poison gas. We need to get further away]

“Nn!”

What came up from the ground was a large amount of white smoke. I could tell that
it had a lot of magical power.

And the smoke is coming towards us as if it had a will of its own.

[This smoke――I knew it! It's a higher species of magic beast from the Ghast type]

Upon appraisal, the smoke itself was part of the magic beast. A threat level B magic
beast, the Greater Venom Ghast. In addition to being immune to physical attacks, it
has high levels of stealth and regeneration. It also had high levels of magic
absorption, life absorption, and stealth. (1)

It was a magic beast that will regenerate endlessly unless its smoke is completely
extinguished or its magic stone is destroyed, Moreover, the smoke also contains a
deadly poison.

It doesn't have the ability to kill us with a single blow, but it's a nasty opponent that
will continue to wear us down as long as it's attached to us.
Well, we have high poison resistance. If it was a weaker person that exposed to its
deadly poison while having their life and magic power absorbed would be fatal.

Moreover, from what I saw, the smoke was quite extensive. Judging from the fact that
it caught up with Fran, who was already quite far away from the ground without any
problem, but it probably can't cover 100 meters area. Wouldn't it cover a small town
with this? It was no mistake that this being was ranked as a threat level B that could
even destroy a country.

[Fran! Urushi! Find its magic stone!]

“Nn!”

“Woof!”

I try to hit the smoke with magic. I tried thunder magic, flame magic, and wind
magic, but I think flame magic is the most effective because it can attack on its
surface.

Also, magic and life steal skills are effective. I could see the smoke that had lost its
power dissipate into thin air. However, it would soon be replenished by the smoke
that kept coming up from the ground.

[How was it? Did you find out where its magic stone is?]

“I don't know”

“woof……”

It seems, magical power from its smoke had distracted them, making it impossible to
examine its surrounding in detail.

[I'm pretty sure there's a magic stone under the ground though……]

“Then, why don't we blow the whole ground with magic?”

[You're right, there's no other choice huh]

“Nn!”
[Then, let's go! Haaaaaaa!]

“Muuuu!”

What we activated was an earth magic called Gravity Pressure. This is a technique
that uses super gravity to crush a certain area, and we activated it in a way that
covered the area where the main body of the Greater Venom Ghast might be, lining it
up without any gaps.

We can see large areas being crushed and compressed. It's a scene similar to
Ashwrath's Gravity Blows, forcibly recreated by firing a series of magic. Well, this one
is inferior in power and range.

“Did it works?”

[No good huh. The smoke's still going strong]

“Then, give it more!”

[Ou!]

We're going to compress the earth even wider and deeper. Not only that, we also
bombarding it with flame and thunder magic is an added bonus.

However, the smoke still did not disappear.

[Tsk. Even after all of this huh――]

Kabooom!

“Kuh!”

[Uwoh!]

Immediately after, a tremendous impact shocked off Fran's body, which was still in
the air. The moment I heard that sound, I immediately guarded Fran, so she wasn't
injured, cause a direct hit would have caused serious damage.

I grabbed the mysterious object that was bouncing off my blade with telekinesis as
soon as I could.
[A crystal. No, a scale huh?]

The scales were made of a transparent material like crystal. These crystal scales
seemed to have the effect of reflecting magic power, making it quite difficult to detect
its presence. If it hadn't been for its sounds coming at us, I wouldn't have noticed it.

While I was checking, I heard a series of wind noises. It seemed that it had launched
a series of attack.

“Muh!”

But, if it wasn't a surprise attack, the covert nature of these scales would be halved.
Fran was already able to deal with them. She knocked some of them away and
blocked some with dimensional storage.

However, the enemy is too far away. I could tell that they were attacking us from the
northwest, but I couldn't sense any sign of them or their magic. It seems that they
are sniping at us from outside our search range.

“Master, Urushi. Let's go!”

[Okay!]

“Woof!”

Fran tried to get close to the mysterious sniper, but her opponent was not half-
hearted. The more we move in the direction of the sniper, the greater the number of
crystal scales and the more powerful they become.

In terms of power alone, each shot would be enough to instantly kill a D rank
adventurer. Moreover, the smoke from the unexpectedly fast-moving ghast was still
persistently chasing us.

[Fran, at this rate, we'll have to deal with both the ghast and the mysterious
attacker!]

“…… Muh. What should we do then?”

[We can either shake them off by teleporting to the Forest of Exhaustion. But, if we
simply shake them off, there's a chance that the ghast will keep coming after us]
“…… Understood. Let's return back to the Forest of Exhaustion”

Fran looked frustrated, but she immediately accepted my suggestion and began to
leave from the area. I think she understands that she is in a troublesome situation.

[I knew this wasn't going to be easy huh]

“… Nn”
We escaped from the troublesome magic beast and retreated to the Forest of
Exhaustion; we were discussing countermeasures as we moved.

[As expected, that Ghast won't follow us to this Forest of Exhaustion]

“Nn”

Apparently, due to its smoke body structure that uses magic power to move, it
cannot live in the forest of exhaustion. The being who sniped us with the crystal
scales didn't attack us in the forest of exhaustion either. No, it might just be that it
can't aim at us because it can't use its magic to search for us in here.

“What should we do?”

[We can bypass the area where the ghast live, and go through it all at once]

The more we go to the center of the Plains of the Demon Wolf, the weaker the
enemies become. The reason for this was not clarified even in the archives of the
Adventurer's Guild yet.

There was also a theory stated that Fenrir's magical power was affecting it, but that
seems to be just a speculation without any basis.

The important thing to remember is that this phenomenon does exist. After all, I've
experienced it first-hand.

[In other words, if we go through them all at once, the higher level magic beast won't
follow us]

In fact, I gradually conquered the Plains of the Demon Wolf by running back to the
center of it when I was in trouble.

But it was also a strategy that only I could do because I was a sword. I was an
inorganic material that is highly concealable and does not stimulate the appetite of
magic beast. To put it bluntly, I was not worth for the magic beast to chase after.

But what about Fran and Urushi? she has soft flesh with high magical power.
Wouldn't they seem like easy prey for a magic beast? There was even a possibility
that they would come after her beyond my expected habitat area.

Nevertheless, there is a danger in daring to defeat a powerful magical beast. After

fighting with the ghast for that small amount of time, it has exhausted us a little.

If we want to be on the safe side, we should start by gather information on the magic
beast camped around the periphery of the plain, and either kill the ones we think are
the easiest to deal with, or dodge them and force to enter to the center of the plain.

[What should we do huh?]

“…… For now, the first priority is to get to the center of the Plains of the Demon Wolf.
Training comes after that”

[In other words?]

“Take the safest way and hurry up”

[Ooh? You think so?]

“Nn”

I was a little impressed. I mean, it's Fran, you know? Fran is a girl who love fighting
isn't she? But in the face of a strong enemy, she would avoid fighting to achieve her
goal.

I'm loved, aren't I? Well, I guess that's not all, Fran is also growing up. Come to think
of it, she didn't even doze off in the library. Well, she did get bored and zoned out.
But, there's a big difference between dozing off and almost dozing off.

“Let’s confirm its identity first”

[Understood]

What Fran is referring to are the crystal scales. No, I used the word "crystal" because
of its transparent appearance, but the hardness of the scales is far greater than that
of a crystal, so much so that Fran need to give more effort to break them.

[I agree with you. If it's a magic beast that's good at long-range attacks, it might not
be so good at close combat]

It's the kind of magic beast that would fire a series of high-precision sniper shots
from over a kilometer away. Its threat level must be high, but how strong would it be
in close quarters combat?

We were moving to northwest, observing the Plains of the Demon Wolf from within
the Forest of Exhaustion. And at a certain place, Urushi reacts to something.

“Grrrr!”

“Did you found something?”

“Woof!”

Urushi's nose twitched as he turned his sharp gaze to the plains of the demon wolf.
As a wolf, he has a keen sense of smell, even if it cannot be enhanced by magic. It
seemed that his nose had caught a target.

[Hmm…… where?]

“Muh? I don't know”

To be honest, Fran and I had no idea where that magic beast was. However, Urushi is
very confident.

“Urushi, take the lead”

“Woof!”

[Fran, be careful]

“Nn!”

It was just after we had set foot on the plains of the Demon Wolf, with Urushi as the
lead.
Shudder!

“Kyain!”

“Urushi!”

Urushi shrieked and stopped on his tracks. It was definitely the sniper. But the way
Urushi was looking right now, he could totally see the attack, right? And yet, he took
a decent damage and……… No, if Urushi had ducked like that, there was a possibility
that his huge body would have blindsided Fran and delayed his reaction. That's why
he dared to use his body as a shield.

[Urushi! Good job! Aah, it broke your bones huh…]

“woof……”

While she casting a recovery spell on Urushi, whose torso was bleeding profusely, I
gave her instructions.

[Fran, it will be dangerous if we hide right behind Urushi!]

“Nn!”

So, Fran dared to move diagonally behind Urushi, keeping her distance. This way,
Urushi could avoid the attack without any problem, and Fran could react.

After that, the attacks became fiercer, but Fran and the Urushi did not get hit. Fran
had no problem without my help, and Urushi can dodged it skilfully.

As a result, although our progress was slowed down, we were pushing forward
across the plain without taking any damage. However, no matter how far we
advanced, we still could not capture the enemy. But, Urushi seems to be concerned of
something………

[Where it is……]

“Nn……”

And then Urushi stopped in his tracks. It seemed that there was a magic beast in his
line of sight, but Fran and I had no idea what it was. The other side has also stopped
attacking to prevent its whereabouts from being discovered.

However, the dark magic that Urushi had unleashed brought his opponent into view.
As the veil of dark magic that Urushi used covered the entire area, an anomaly
occurred about 20 meters away.

What to say about it, A heat haze? No, a mirror with a strange refractive index?
Anyway, the scenery behind it started to distort, as if the space was distorted.

[I see, optical camouflage huh]

It seems that it had been refracting the light to assimilate its figure into its
surroundings. However, the light was suddenly blocked by dark magic, and it must
have been unable to adjust in time.

“A weird lizard?”

[A dinosaur clad in crystal?]

What I saw there was a 10-meter-long, four-legged magic beast. It resembled an

Ankylosaurus, a dinosaur that I had seen in dinosaur picture books before I
reincarnated. However, its scales were all translucent crystal.

Its stealth ability was incredible. After all, even at this distance, I can't clearly detect
its magic power or its presence. On top of that, it can even use optical camouflage.

But I can clearly see it now, so I can appraise it!

[Invisible Death! It's a magic beast with threat level of B]

I guess the overall strength of magic beast is really on the rise huh!
 CLOSE COMBAT

The magic beast that had disguised itself with optical camouflage was a threat level
B magic beast called Invisible Death. It was said that an army had once invaded its
territory and annihilated without being able to find it.

Well, an ordinary soldier won't be able to handle sniper's shoot of that power from
over a kilometer away.

Not only it has its high status, but it also has magic skills such as light magic, thunder
magic, and fire magic.

In addition, the crystal-like outer shell that surrounds its body is a tricky thing, it
seems to have the property of disrupting magic power. In addition to this, it has a
wide variant of covert skills. And if it used its optical camouflage, it could be right in
front of us without us noticing it.

What I hate about this guy is that it can make a tactical decision, he's probably
intelligent enough to stop attacking when we get closer to it.

In this world, the more powerful a being is, the more capable they are of sensing
magic and presence with their skills. And they are used to it. The covert nature of
Invisible Death will only be ineffective against such beings. Just like we didn't realize
it until Urushi taught it to us.

When dealing with a strong being with a Urushi-level sense of smell, it would rather
snipe us from a distance.

On the contrary, it is likely that it is not good at close combat. It seems to have high
defense, but its movement seems to be slow.

“Ghruoooo!”

Urushi shoots dark magic at Invisible Death. However, it seems that the crystal is
also resistant to magic. The huge jet-black spear easily dissipated on the surface of
the crystal.
“Wruoooh!”

Invisible Death braced itself, probably realizing that its position had been
discovered.

This is where the real battle begins.

“Master, use magic!”

[Ou!]

“Urushi attacks from behind!”

“Woof!”

Fran rushes in at once while giving instructions. She jumped back to the right in an
attempt to attack.

Immediately after, the place where Fran had been caved in heavily.

[It used its tail huh!]

“Nn!”

The Invisible Death looks like an Ankylosaurus, but what i find the most similar was
its head and tail.

Its tail had a weight like a hammer, and as far as I could tell, the blow would be quite
powerful. And it's fast.

The attack, in which it swung its tail in succession, was incredibly fast, it was also
very accurate. When we dove into the spider dungeon before, where Fran and
Amanda had a mock battle, Amanda's whip handling might have been the same
speed. Fran is desperately trying to avoid its tail.

Moreover, Invisible Death's attack was not limited to just swinging its tail.

It shoots sharp crystal scales that grow all over its body at Fran and Urushi. I don't
know how it does it, but it seems to be able to shoot out all the scales it can. In
addition, new crystal scales immediately grow in the marks where they were shot
out.

“Haaaa!”

Kiiiin!

Fran, who approached Invisible Death while dodging the scales, cut it down, but as
expected, a serious attack is the only way to do any damage. Its ability to disrupt
magic power is troublesome, although it is certainly hard. The power of attribute
swords is weakened.

Fran braced herself for another attack, but then she heard a high-pitched sound as if
a powerful dust collector was running at full power.

Kiiin――booom!

“Kuh!”

[I see! It was shooting from its tail huh!]

The scales that shot out from his entire body didn't seem as precise as when he was
sniping, but the sniper scales were apparently specially made to shoot from its tail as
a barrel. In addition to its exploding burst of magic power, it seems to use
compressed air and thunderbolt magic as well. Furthermore, it also manipulated
airflow to stabilize its trajectory.

I was wondering why he didn't just use his thunderbolt magic when he had the skill,
but I guess it was only for sniping huh. The sniper scales were quite fast and
powerful even at this close range. Furthermore, the Invisible Death that rushed
forward tried to crush Fran with its foot.

Its movements are certainly not that fast, but because of its huge size, each step it
takes is large enough, and its rushes are surprisingly quite fast.

“Wruoooh!”

“Guh!”

Who said this guy was bad at close combat! Good grief! Not only does it have two
types of scales attacks, it also able to attacks directly with its tail. This guy might be
even stronger in close combat.

[Haaa!]

If that's the case, we should keep our distance and use magic instead. Even taking
into account the crystal scales' ability to disrupt magic, a very strong spell should be
able to pass through.

I unleash the thunder magic "Thor's Hammer" and the flame magic "Flare Explode"
in succession. Although the power is a little lower, the damage still seems to be able
to pass through.

Some of the crystals were destroyed, and Invisible Death shout out a scream from its
mouth. But it doesn't take much damage.

“Wruoooh!”

[Oh no!]

“Muh?”

I felt a strong convergence of magic power and immediately performed a short

distance teleport. At the same time, a dazzling beam of light pierced the place where
we had been.

It was an attack with light magic. Or rather, it looks like a laser beam already. The
ground was heavily gouged by the impact and heat. Is light magic this strong?

But before I could even think about it, Invisible Death sensed where we were moving
to and shot scales at us.

Fran was unable to dodge the scales that were shot at her immediately after she
teleported, and I was only able to parry the scattered scales that exploded at close
range. However, I managed to protect her vitals. She was hit in the arm and leg
several times.

“Kuh!”

[Greater Heal!]
Fran has suffered not a few injuries. But it's better than being hit by that light magic.

(Master, thanks for saving me)

[We'll have to dodge that light magic first, okay? Stay on guard after teleporting]

(Okay)

The troublesome parts are not only the speed of its activation, but also it attacks
speed. In fact, I don't think I could react after being shot. The only way was to detect
the prior convergence of magic power as much as possible.

“Master, use magic! This time, we're going to defeat it!”

[Understood!]

We unleashed the Thor's Hammer and Flare Explode again. This time, however, we
have prepared multiple activations. Urushi, who had been waiting for another
chance, unleashed his dark magic to match ours.

A large explosion enveloped Invisible Death's body, causing even more damage than
before. More than half of the crystal shell that covered its back fell off, and smoke
rose from its body.

“Wruooooh!”

“Break in! Finishing blow!”

[Ou!]
Invisible Death was badly injured by our magic, but even we didn't know what it
would do next.

“Muh? What?”

[Not only it has an Ankylosaurus-like body part, but also an Armadillo-like body part
too huh!]

To my surprise, it shrunk and curled up as if it was holding its head and limbs.
Moreover, the crystal scales regenerated and enlarged all at once, as if a huge lump of
crystal had been placed on the ground.

Moreover, I can see magical power growing inside its body. It must be a form of
defensive fortification while preparing for an attack.

“…… What should we do?”

[Let's just throw some magic at it for now. Just be careful with its counter attack]

“Understood. I'll leave the magic to Master”

The opponent had stopped moving. It's too dumb to follow suit and just watch.

I cast my magic once again.

However, Invisible Death didn't just simply curl up its body. It seemed to have
increased its defense against magic, and this time neither the Thor's Hammer nor
the Flare Explode could damage it.

Moreover, it also unleashes its light magic and crystal scale attack almost
simultaneously with our attack. I see, it is difficult for any human or magic beast to
use magic while moving at high speed huh. It's a counter strategy to lure the
opponent into a big move and exploit the gap.
Well, it's not a problem for us. Because Fran can move fast enough to dodge the
attack and I can unleash my magic at the same time.

[We're going again!]

“Nn”

[I don't want to call this one a Kanna Kamui after what I saw before………]

The most powerful technique I can use is Kanna Kamui. It's just like a replica
compared to Velmeria's Kanna Kamui that I saw in the royal capital though, but it's
still the best spell I can use right now.

White lightning rained down and struck Invisible Death. It doesn't seem to be able to
withstand a technique of this power huh. Invisible Death's defensive posture was
forcibly broken by the crushing lightning strike, and it was turned over by the huge
explosion that followed.

“Bumoooh!”

“Now!”

“Woof!”

Its stance had collapsed, and nearly half of the crystal covering its body had been
shattered. Although the damage was surprisingly small for such a direct hit from the
magic, much of the armor protecting its body had been lost.

“Grrrruo!”

Urushi launches an attack.

He dared to bark loudly, attracting Invisible Death's attention. The Invisible Death's
consciousness was completely pulled away by Urushi, who wandered around in front
of him, changing sizes in vain. His target was the place where the crystal scales had
been removed by Kanna Kamui. Smaller scales have already begun to grow like a thin
skin, but it's better than the other places.

Taking advantage of the chance, Fran charged in from the side. She unleashed the
Sword Saint Skill: Spiral Fang. It is a powerful thrusting technique with added
rotation.

My sword blade pierced through the crystal scales and the hard-shell underneath,
gouging the body of the Invisible Death deeply. Due to the nature of the crystal
scales, I couldn't locate its magic stone, so it wasn't a one-hit kill, but the life force of
the giant beast was greatly reduced.

[Haaaa!]

“A bonus!”

We also unleashed flame magic in that state. The explosion of flames engulfed us, but
we were able to block it with a barrier.

“Vumoooh……!”

Invisible Death, whose body had been pierced with a deep hole, let out a weak moan.
Although the internal organs had not yet been reached, pale bones that seemed to be
its spine were exposed

Even so, crystal scales immediately sprouting from around the wound, trying to seal
the area. These scales are really troublesome.

“Awoooof!”

“Urushi?”

[Wha?]

Urushi took over for Fran, who had once distanced herself before being swallowed
by the regenerating crystal. But the way he did it surprised both me and Fran.

“Ghrooaaaa!”

What a surprise, he jumped into the body of the Invisible Death in his small size. As
the crystal scales regenerated, he was trapped inside, but he didn't care about that.

Within the craters in the giant beast's body, he would eat muscle fibers, flesh, and
bones, and dig deeper.
“Bhuoooooooooooh!”

The giant beast, which had endured even a direct hit from Kanna Kamui with a short
grunt, was writhing around, thrashing its limbs. Then it let out a roar that sounded
like a scream as if it was crying out.

Being devoured from the inside must be a painful experience that it never imagines.

“It's full of opening”

[Ou! We're gonna stop this thing!]

I aimed for the head. Thanks to Urushi, Invisible Death had left a huge opening
between us, and I was going to use the Sword King technique to stop him at once
but――

“Bhuooooooooooh!”

I could feel magic power growing inside Invisible Death's body. The crystals all over
its body began to emit a white light.

[It looks dangerous! Let's take some distance first!]

“Nn!”

[Urushi…… are you okay?]

As we escaped into the sky by teleporting, I saw a tremendous light springing up

below us. A dome of light was being created around the Invisible Death. Just looking
at the way the ground around the dome was turning into glass-like substance by the
high heat. (vitrification)

Immediately afterwards, the dome swelled and enveloped a large area. That wasn't
all. The giant dome popped, and causing a huge explosion.

The tremendous impact and the stormy wind raised a cloud of dust and reaped the
grass, flowers, and shrubs near the hypocenter. The petals of the white flowers that
had been growing in clusters at a considerable distance were all flown up at once,
creating a beautiful scene that did not belong in the middle of a battle.
“…… Gururu……”

“Urushi! I'm coming!”

After Invisible Death's attack was over, there's Urushi's figure on the ground, he
collapsed and smoke was billowing from his whole body. His entire body was burned
to a crisp, his hair crumbling into tatters and his flesh gouged out in places. He must
have been hit hard by the heat and the explosion.

At the same time, Invisible Death had been badly wounded. It seems that in order to
remove Urushi from its body, it had involved itself in the attack. It was probably its
last resort, as it was highly resistant to magic.

We rushed over to Urushi in a panic, only to be met with a follow-up attack. But it's
not the Invisible Death.

“Get off!”

“ “ “Ice Javelin” “ “

A large number of ice spears rained down on Fran and Urushi.

“Tsk!”

Fran quickly activated her barrier to the fullest extent and took a stand to protect
Urushi. She doesn't care if she gets hit herself, she only takes care the magic in the
trajectory that will hits Urushi.

[I'll use recovery on you both!]

“… Guh… Who is it?”

“―――What a tasty looking little girl………”

[It's a bunch of undead huh! The Wight King!] (1)

It was a threat level B magic beast, the Wight King. It seemed to have attacked us in
an attempt to catch us. I wondered how it had gotten so close, but since it also
possessed space-time magic. It seems to have approached us by simply teleporting
here.
The Wight King is a magic beast that will summons countless weak low-grade
undead. However, the Wight King that attacked Fran had only six underlings with
him.

It's a magic beast with a threat level of C: four Wight High Wizards and two Wight
Imperial Guards instead.

Apparently, they are choosing quality over quantity. I guess there is such a type of a
Wight King huh.

“I've been setting up a net here in the plains to detect any signs of teleportation………
What an excellent prey!”

“Bhuoooh!”

Invisible Death is still alive and well. In fact, if left unchecked, it will recover in no
time at all.

“Damn it……”

“woof……”

After sealing their wounds with magic, Fran and Urushi stand up, looking worn out.
Should we really continue fighting like this?

“Master! That is!”

[Hmm?]

Suddenly, Fran shouted sharply.

[Oioi, even to a place like this…… It's still following us huh?]

As we looked, we saw a white smoke figure approaching us, wriggling in the sky.
 〇

Beyond our line of sight, there's a white smoke figure approaching us while
wriggling in the sky. It was the Greater Venom Ghast.

In addition to the Wight King, Invisible Death was still alive.

We were surrounded by three magic beasts with a threat level of B.

One of the criteria to raise into a rank A, adventurers should have been to be able to
defeat one magic beast with a threat level of B in solo. In other words, there were
three opponents that Amanda and Forrund would have to fight one-on-one with all
their might in front of us.

[This is bad]

Shall we continue to fight? Invisible Death is still pretty banged up, and Ghast is
troublesome but it's not very aggressive. It's not impossible for us to fight them all
though……

(Master, where's the magic stone of that smoke?)

[I can't detect it! How about you guys?]

(No good)

(Woof……)

Does that mean, its magic stone is hidden somewhere around, so it can still reach
this far? Or does it hide its magic stone in its smoke so we can't detect it?

“Then, what about the magic stone of the undead?”

[I can't find it either!]

It is said that a magic beast with a threat level of B has the ability to hide the location
of its magic stone. I couldn't even detect the magic stone of The Wight King and its
underling. Well, this guy is a sorcerer type, and it's probably very good at hiding its
magic power.

“Icicle Burst!”

“ “ “Icicle Burst!” “ “

“Haaa!”

[They won't give us time to think huh!]

I quickly used flame magic to block it, but it seemed, they won't give us any time to
think.

“Master! Above!”

[I see, okay]

“Nn!”

I did as Fran instructed and ascended at once with teleport. After that, I used the
telekinetic air ride to gain even more altitude.

[How is it?]

“That smoke will follow us”

[But, the Wights won't be able to follow us though!]

“Dodging huge beast is easier”

Invisible Death's attacks seem to be the easiest to dodge at mid-range. The distance
is just enough for us to detect its magic when it preparing an attack, and there is
enough room for us to dodge it. If we are too close, we won't have enough room to
move, however, if we are too far away, we won't be able to detect it.

And it seems, the wights' does not have the ability to fly and their magic can not
reach this altitude. We must have already climbed more than 100 meters. But
somehow, their attack can still reach us, but as expected, it's difficult to aim
accurately at an opponent at this height.

We can't defeat the ghast, but we can ignore it for a little while. Besides, the wights
and a ghast should be incompatible with each other. The undead wouldn't be able to
maintain their existence if their magic is absorbed.

In fact, the Wight Kings are making a move to avoid the white smoke.

If that was the case, we might be able to deal with the Invisible Death while the ghast
and the wights were restraining each other.

“Woof woof!”

[Urushi? What's wrong?]

While dodging their attacks, Urushi tries to tell us something.

“Gurruu!”

“Maybe, you've figured out where that huge beast's magic stone is?”

“Woof!”

[I see!]

It seems that he had not just simply dealt damage to Invisible Death when he
invaded its body but had also identified the location of its magic stone.

“Master, let's only kill the big one here”

[…… Understood]

I think it's better to start all over again, but if Fran is willing, I'll just go along with
her.

“Don't use the Sword God Transformation”

[Wha?]
“Using the sword god transformation here would only be a temporary solution. We
must win without using it. What should we do?”

In Fran's own way, she thought that she had to reduce the exhaustion in order to
fight through another battle. However, she didn't know how to defeat the Invisible
Death without using the Sword God Transformation.

[Understood. Then, how about――]

“I see――”

I explained the plan I had come up with to Fran. It was quite difficult, but Fran
seemed to be on board with me.

[You think you can do it?]

“I'll do it!”

[Urushi, attack the location of its magic stone and tell us where it is. We'll attack
there]

“Nn!”

“Woof!”

First, Urushi shoots a spear of dark magic while descending at full speed. This was
not to deal damage to it, but to show Fran and me the location of its magic stone. I
see, it's a little bit closer to the tail than the center huh. That's where the crystal is
thickest.

“Grrrr!”

Urushi then ran straight towards the Wight King. This is a way to keep them in check
and to attract their attention. The Wight King was successfully attracted to Urushi,
who used a lot of shadow dive and evasive maneuvers.

“Let's go”

[Ou!]
And then, Fran and I start to act secretly.

[First, let's stop its movement!]

“Nn”

My earth magic made a hole under the Invisible Death's limbs, blocking its
movement. That's pretty quick huh. In order for us to carry out our plan, we have to
stop it from moving.

All of Invisible Death's limbs are firmly stuck into the ground, and I then tightened it
up to make it unable to move for a moment.

“Bumooh?”

“HAAAAAAA!”

Fran's Kanna Kamui rained down into it. A thick pillar of lightning stripped away the
crystal of Invisible Death. It was less powerful than my Kanna Kamui, but it
succeeded in stripping the crystal as we planned.

Fran took charge of the skill so that I could focus on my next attack.

[Good one, Fran!]

I used a full throttle of telekinetic catapult combined with wind magic, flame magic,
and even thunder magic to create magnetic manipulation.

I've been using magnetic force to accelerate objects for a long time. Even when we
were trying to stop the Fanatics in the royal capital, we used it as a combination. But
it wasn't that big of a deal compared to the acceleration with flame magic and wind
magic.

But since I got a lot of hints from Invisible Death. I used the method of coiling
magnetic manipulation around the long barrel that I made by telekinesis, imitating
Invisible Death. I also succeeded in gaining more acceleration than ever before by
doing this. Well, it's a bit more difficult to control, and the wear is doubled.

[Doryaaaa!]
Immediately after the launch, my sword blade pierced deeply into the shell of the
Invisible Death, whose scales had been destroyed by Fran. However, I still couldn't
penetrate it.

“Bumoohoooh!”

[Fraaan!]

“Nn!”

But I have expected this. Rather, this is the point of the plan.

Fran ran down from the sky at full speed to the Invisible Death, who was
concentrating its magic power to release light magic to eliminate us.

Using all the magic she had to use Brilliant Lightning Rush, and taking advantage of
her falling speed, she had become so fast that it was as if Fran herself had turned into
lightning.

At the end of her trajectory, there's me. To be precise, it's me, whose handle has been
transformed into a tray-like shapeshifting.

“HAAAAAAA!”

Fran, who was running down from the sky at super high speed, did not kill any of her
momentum and slammed a kick into me as if she was going to land on my handle.

“Bumoooooooooh!”

I was already stuck into Invisible Death's body, but Fran's Super Inazu〇 Kick gave
me an impact from directly above and pushed me further into its body.

“Bumoooh!”

“Guuh!”

The sound of Fran's leg bones cracking and the sound of the giant beast's shell
cracking, also with the sound of my hilt and sword blade shattering combined to
create a deafening dissonance.
That powerful kick reduced all of my endurance at once. But I didn't care about it
and extended my blade further by transforming it. Then I could clearly feel its magic
stone.

“Guh……!”

The impact was so great that Fran's leg was bent in the wrong direction. My
endurance is also at a dangerous level.

[But, we did it!]

“Bu… mooh…”

An unprecedented sense of satisfaction. The amount of magic power flowing into me

was at another level compared to what I've ever experienced in the past. It even
surpassed the demon we had defeated long ago. Even though it was a magic beast
with the same threat level of B, this one was probably superior huh.

It seems that Fran and Urushi's levels have also increased. However, there was no
time to check it now.

I immediately stowed the corpse of Invisible Death and went straight back to Fran.

[Let's leave this place for now!]

“Nn……”

“Woof!”

___TLN_________

(1) Reference: Super Inazuma Kick from Super Robot Taisen (Anime)
Once we escaped into the sky, we felt the pressure from the Wight King weakened. It
seems that it is difficult to attack us when we are flying.

No, Wight King's magic was quite accurate. Moreover, it has a good eyesight.
However, the Wight High Wizards under his command did not have that level of
ability.

“Keep going up”

[Okay]

“Woof!”

We continued to gain altitude as Fran had instructed. We must have already climbed
more than 100 meters.

[Now if we can just shake off the ghast――Oh?]

“It run away?”

“Woof!”

The Greater Venom Ghast that had been following us suddenly stopped moving.

Apparently, it has reached its limit huh?

[We should have went up to the sky from the start huh]

“Nn”

“Ofu”

When I thought "Shall we continue to gain a little more altitude and head to the
center"

“Eh?”

[Th-this is……! Dangerous!]

“Wo-woof!”

We suddenly lose our balance and begin to lose altitude rapidly like a paper airplane
that has lost its buoyancy, and Fran is wobbling because of it.

Urushi is in even more danger. He moves his feet repeatedly to activate his aerial
jumps, but he can't step on the sky and falls all at once.

The way he flapped his legs for a moment and then fell down was like a scene from a
gag anime. However, this is not a gag, and it is very dangerous.

Fran tried to chase him with an aerial jump, but it still didn't work.

“Muh”

[Wha, Fran!]

Urushi and Fran fall with such force that I can even hear the whooshing sound.

I panicked and tried to use teleport, but it didn't work either.

I felt as if I were in the forest of exhaustion. No, I think I am actually experiencing the
same phenomenon as in the forest of exhaustion right now.

[So it was because of this altitude that caused that ghast to run away huh!]

Perhaps the higher up we go, the more the magic absorption phenomenon hits us.

As if to confirm this speculation, when we have fell to a certain height, I was able to
activate telekinesis and other functions, although they were somewhat required
more power.

Fran and Urushi are also using the aerial jump again to regain their balance.
[Fran, are you okay?]

“Nn! But that smoke is coming once again!”

“Garruu!”

[Let's rise our altitude again!]

“Eh? but……”

[We have to find its edge!]

Escaping into the sky was not a bad idea. The idea was the same as the strategy of
using the forest of exhaustion as an escape route. We need to find an altitude at
which Ghast could not pursue us, and at which we could still use our magic power.

“Understood”

“Woof!”

We gained more altitude once again. To tell the truth, it was difficult to maintain the
same altitude for a long time. Because there are no landmarks around us as a
comparison.

Still experiencing a few falls, we had found the last possible altitude. The ghast didn't
chase us anymore, but we were pretty exhausted, we also managed to find an
altitude where we wouldn't fall.

We didn't gained altitude by teleporting. No, I was going to do it at first, but if it not a
short distance teleport, the point of appearance will shift quite a bit. In the
beginning, it was difficult to control teleport over medium distances, and due to the
phenomenon of magic power absorption, my accuracy was considerably reduced.

I'm sure Fran was very upset when she was upside down with no skills or anything
else available for her to do after teleporting. But it might lead to a bigger accident.

Short distance teleport's control wasn't disrupted so much, but its magic
consumption is tremendous. It would be safer to proceed with aerial jumps.

At first, the ghast were relentless in its pursuit. But after five minutes, it gave up the
chase. Or maybe it can't follow us because of the area. Anyway, we were thankful that
we were able to shake off that troublesome magic beast.

Besides, this near-border altitude strategy was quite easy since we could also avoid
the magic beasts on the way. We encountered a few bird-shaped monsters, but they
ran away as soon as we threatened them.

As I moved, I checked the skills I had acquired from Invisible Death.

I already had light magic, thunder magic, scale regeneration and rushing, but I was
also getting four interesting skills. Well, one of them looked really interesting, but it
wasn't going to be useful.

The first one is Magic Disruption (1). Perhaps this skill is the ability of its crystal
scales to disrupt magic power. When I tried to use it, I definitely felt the magic in the
vicinity being disturbed.

However, there is a problem. It even interferes with the skills I use, such as magic
steal. Also, it might affect me when I try to cast a spell on Fran. I think it's best not to
leave it activated all the time.

The second is a skill called shooting correction (2). This seems to be a skill that
simply increases the hit rate of long-range attacks. The power and accuracy of my
telekinetic catapult will no doubt be increased.

It seems to be a passive skill, but when I equipped it, it was definitely different. It's
not that my vision has suddenly improved, but my sensitivity to distant targets has
clearly increased. When I aim lightly, I feel like I can see the target clearly, and I feel
more confident that I can hit it.

[This skill is interesting]

The third skill is the light distraction film (3). It is used to create a semi-circular field
to reflect the light that hits its surface. However, the output is low, and it doesn't
seem to be able to reduce the power of light magic. It seems that it is only a skill to
distract natural light or weak light.

It seems that optical camouflage was an application of this skill, but it's very difficult
for me to imitate. I mean, I have to calculate the amount of light reflected, the angle,
and everything in detail. It seems that just randomly reflecting the light has some
effect, but I don't think I can imitate the same level of perfect optical camouflage as
Invisible Death.

The fact that it is able to supplement this with his wild instincts is probably the
reason why it is categorized a high-ranking magic beast. However, it is a skill that
can't be easily used.

The last skill was Crystal Transformation (4). As the name implied, it was a skill that
could transform the shape of a crystal into any shape.

It probably used this skill to transform its own scales into bullets, or it may have
used it like reactive armor, daring to transform itself into a fragile form in response
to our attacks and then releasing its magic power to make it pop. It's an interesting
skill, but it's also one that I have no use for.

Now that I think about it, it had huge electromagnetic cannons, laser weapons,
reactive armor, detection jammers, and optical camouflage. It was more like a Zo〇ds
than a magic beast. (5)

I also learned a lot from it. In particular, the increase in the power of my telekinetic
catapult was a big gain. Well, I guess it can't be used everywhere, though.

In other words, the increase in power has made it more difficult to control. Just to
stabilize myself from firing it would need tremendous powerful telekinesis. I may
need to be a little more selective in the skills I use huh.

If telekinesis is used for trajectory control, the critical injection speed will be
reduced. If I try to compensate for this with magic or skills, the power used for
control will increase even more, and its magic consumption will also increase. In the
worst-case scenario, the power might not even increase by ten percent, even though
it consumed many times more than the usual.

While I was thinking about it, I could see where I was going. interrupt my thoughts
and scream involuntarily. That's how nostalgic I felt.

[Fran! I can see it!]

“Over there?”

[Yeah. That ruin-like place, that's where I started]

___TLN_____________

(1) 魔力撹乱 maryoku kakuran

(2) 射撃補正 shageki hosei

(3) 光撹乱膜 hikari kakuran maku

(4) 水晶変形 suisho henkei

(5) ゾ〇ド zo〇do (zoids reference)(beast like fully armed mecha)

In the middle of this vast plain, there was a decaying ruin.

A building that has become stained and discolored by years of exposure.

Cobblestones covered with moss and grass. From the sky above, we can see a
circular plaza is surrounded by buildings at equal intervals, which I am not sure for
what purpose they were built.

“Is that the pedestal Master was talking about?”

[No, I mean, yes, but it's not the same……]

“What do you mean?”

[The pedestal had disappeared]

That's right. When I woke up, the pedestal that had housed me had disappeared.

Fran pointed to the entire ruin and asked if it was a pedestal. But for some reason,
the thing I call a pedestal, which should have been in its center, was not there.

The only remnant of this is a square space in the center of the plaza where there is
almost no grass. It was obvious that something had been placed there a while ago,
and that it had been removed.

A few months had passed since the pedestal had disappeared, and the grass had
begun to encroach slightly on the area, but from above, the difference from the rest
of the site was obvious.

[L-let's get down there]

“Nn”

“woof!”
I went down to the vacant lot where the pedestal should have been before. Fran
tapped on the cobblestones, and Urushi sniffed the ground, but there was nothing
unusual.

[It really had disappeared huh……]

“Are you sure?”

[Of course. I'll never forget this place]

As we were exchanging words, my surroundings turned white in an instant.

But I'm not surprised anymore. It's that space.

[He's here huh]

[Yeah, I'm here]

It's just a voice, but I'm sure of it. It's that guy.

[I can't find the pedestal. What's going on?]

[It's also a sacred object. It did its job, and then it disappeared. Well, now we need it.
Tell Fran to back off a bit, and I'll make the pedestal appear]

[U-understood]

A sacred object? As expected, it wasn't just a pedestal huh.

When I returned from the white space, I told Fran and Urushi to back off from the
vacant lot.

“Nn”

“woof!”

Immediately after Fran and Urushi took a few steps, a shape of a pedestal appeared
on the spot like a hologram. Then, the phantom-like pedestal took on substance and
appeared on the spot.
It wasn't a teleport, but rather a mysterious flow of magic that seemed to have
sprung from the earth. But the thing that appeared was definitely a familiar pedestal.

[Oooh…… There's no mistaking it. It's the pedestal. My pedestal]

It was only a few months ago, but it seemed strangely nostalgic.

“Is this, Master's…… Home?”

[Well, no. It doesn't look like a home though……]

“Then, what should we do?”

“That sword――Stick master on the pedestal. Miss Fran”

“Who?”

Fran turned around and saw a translucent, ghost-like being standing in front of her.

“I'll reveal it soon. But first, stick master on the pedestal”

“………”

A man with silver hair, all back, and a kimono-like dress. Fran had never seen him
before, but he was familiar to me.

Fran looked suspiciously at the mysterious man who had called her name. Well, he
really is look suspicious.

“You don't know me miss, but I know you well, okay? After all, I've been watching
you from Master”

“Inside master?”

[Yeah, it's true]

I didn't use the principle of falsehood, but I understood that he wasn't lying. Not on
the level of trustworthiness or anything like that, but I can see as a matter of course
that he is not lying. I didn't feel the need to doubt the authenticity of the man's
words, just as I didn't have to worry about whether my words were false or true.
I wonder what it is? I'm aware of a strange connection between me and the man. It's
not something vague like a bond or a connection, but a more direct connection. Or
should I say, I’m connected?

I don't know if I'd call this a direct magic connection, but it was close enough.

[Fran, it's okay. Put me on the pedestal please]

“Understood”

At my urging, Fran approaches the pedestal.

[A little more higher huh?]

“Okay”

Without any hassle, Fran grabbed me backhanded and thrust me into the pedestal
with great force. At that moment, something warm―――no, something hot is
enveloping my sword blade. But I don't feel anything bad from it.

It was hot, but not an aggressive heat that would melt my blade. It was more like a
full body soak in a slightly hot bath.

Somehow, it felt similar to when Alistair was refurbishing me.

“Master, you okay?”

[Yeah, I'm feeling rather good]

“I see”

I guess she can hear my voice and decided that there really wasn't a problem. Fran
murmured reassuringly. It's a familiar place for me, but an unknown place for Fran.
She was still worried.

“Well then, now we're all set”

The man said so and walked over to the pedestal.

“All set?”
“Yeah, prepare to re-enforce Master's seal”

[Reinforcing my seal?]

“It's okay. I'll explain everything today. Well, as much as I'm allowed to though. Now
that he's on this pedestal, Master's condition is stable. His memory will be fine”

“Master's? Memory?”

“Yeah. If I tell you what's going on, it might break the seal on Master's memories”

“Is it bad?”

“That will sucks for your Master. Well, I'll explain that too. As long as he's stuck in the
pedestal, his memory door should be stable”

“Understood”

[I'm counting on you]

The man snaps his fingers lightly, and the ground rises up to create a chair. I could
tell that it wasn't the man's ability, but rather my earth magic activated with my own
magic power. Or perhaps I should say, not mine, but ours.

It's both my and the man's power.

“No magic beast is going to approach this place for a while, and it will be somewhat
longer. Why don't you take a seat?”

“Nn”

“Urushi, go sit beside her”

“Woof”

Urushi is as quiet as a borrowed cat. Apparently, he understands that the men in

front of him are superior to him. Either that, or Urushi considers him as his master
too because of his connection to me.

“Well, let me start by introducing myself”

“Nn”

At last huh.

“My name is Fenrir. I'm a former divine beast who went mad after eating an evil god.
And I'm an interloper whose soul is sealed inside master's body”
Fran’s eyes widened as she heard the man introduce himself. Well, even I feel the
same way you know?

Even though I thought it might be possible, I was still surprised to hear it from him. I
was so surprised that I didn’t raise my voice.

“Fenrir? the magic beast with a threat level of S?”

“That’s right. I’m that Fenrir”

[As what I’ve guessed huh…!]

“It seems that master already knows about me huh. I was going to reveal it a little
earlier, but I got a little behind”

“Why?”

“I’ll tell you about that too. But first, let’s talk a little about me”

His name was Fenrir. It seems that his human form was a temporary form he created
to communicate with us and that he was actually a giant wolf over 100 meters long.

I don’t know exactly how big he was, I just guessed that he was big enough to kill an
Invisible Death with one bite.

“A long time ago, I used to be called a Divine Beast”

[Does the fact that you’re a Divine Beast mean that you have some kind of connection
to God? Or did you just call yourself that?]

“Describing oneself as a Divine Beast would hurt, right?”

Fenrir chuckles at my words.

[Then]

“Aah, yes. My Lord is one of the Ten Great Gods, the Goddess of the Silver Moon”

I see. In the mysterious image that Forrund saw, there was an emblem of the
Goddess of the Silver Moon. So, he’s connected to that huh.

“The mission I was given by the Gods was to eat the pieces of the Evil Gods and
purify its power. To do so, I was given the ability to take in the power of the person I
ate and make it my own, thus I was born”

That’s probably the source of my ability to absorb magic stones and gain power from
them. And from what I’ve just heard, it sounds like a God created him right? So, he’s a
God’s direct subordinate huh.

“I came down to earth, and in my first day, I succeeded in defeating and devoured
pieces of the Evil God”

[Is it possible to meet the pieces of the Evil Gods that quickly?]

Or were the pieces of the Evil Gods roaming around all over the place since a long
time ago? However, it seems that is not the case.

“A fool who sought power broke the seal. Originally, I was created to defeat that Evil
God”

After that, Fenrir found the seal of a relatively weak Evil God piece, defeated it, and
ate it. Including the first pieces he defeated, he had devoured four of them.

He was truly worthy of his name, the Divine Beast that eats Evil Gods. People revered
Fenrir as a spokesperson of the Gods, a Divine Beast, and a Divine Messenger. It is
said that Fenrir was even treated as an entity on the same level as a God.

However, humanity’s faith did not last long. After all, Fenrir himself went on a
rampage and began to attack the humans.

“The delusion of the Evil Gods must have been beyond the imagination of the Gods. I
couldn’t fully purify the evil I took in, and it eroded me into the opposite direction”

When he had taken in the first piece of the Evil God, it had seemed to not affect him
at all.

“But now that I think about it, I suppose it affected me from the start. Without even
realizing it, my appetite and desire for destruction had increased. And driven by this
desire, I hunted down the pieces of the Evil Gods at a pace faster than my
purification speed”

In the end, Fenrir was unable to resist the temptation to “destroy everything”
brought about by the soul of the Evil God he had absorbed, and he then began to run
wild.

He caused more damage than the unsealed pieces of the Evil God, and the continent
of Zilberd was in danger of being destroyed. Several countries were destroyed,
affecting the lives of tens of millions of people.

No, if Fenrir had really gone out of control, there would have been much more
damage. However, Fenrir hadn’t completely lost his reason.

“I was like a runaway and struggled all over again. Oh right… Do you remember the
Lich from the floating island we fought before? I might be similar to him”

The main personality and the Lich’s personality are fighting for control of the body,
and while one of them is awake, the other is asleep huh? I see, so Fenrir’s original
personality and the runaway personality that was corrupted by the Evil Gods were
both taking turns to show up.

“As my body was gradually deprived of control, I came to this plain with the last of
my strength. Well, there was no forest of exhaustion back then though”

“Is that so?”

“Yes, it was created later by the Gods. The pieces of the Evil Gods were separated and
sealed here with me, so it wouldn’t get out of the plans”

[Eh? In other words, this plain is……]

“The pieces of the Evil God are sealed in here. It’s a fusion of four pieces of the
particularly strong pieces of the Evil God……”

Not only me but also Fran and Urushi stared at the ground unintentionally. It was
such a shock. But the man did not laugh at us.

“I know how you feel, but it’s okay. So far, we haven’t had any problems with the seal
coming loose.”

[Really?]

“Yeah.”

Thank God. Something is going on with the seal inside me, and I was worried that
this one will be okay too. But the situation is not like “The Evil God’s seal is about to
be broken!” “Please do something!”

[But still, you said you have separated and sealed the Evil God pieces, right? How did
you do that?]

“That’s a good question. Only the Gods would be able to seal the pieces of an Evil
God”

“Eh? Then, what did the Gods do?”

“You know…”

When Fenrir arrived at this place, he didn’t have a specific purpose for coming here.
He was simply looking for a place where there were few people and animals, and
then he found this place.

“A Divine Beasts cannot commit suicide on its own. Because they’re a part of the
Divine part of the system that runs the world”

That’s probably why he was looking for a place where he could at least not bother
the world.

“But, I heard that even for the Gods, it was difficult to tear the piece of the Evil God
out of me and seal it. But then a person appeared.”

[A person?]

“Yeah. Elmera, the Divine level blacksmith. She was the one who made the Cherubim,
she was looking for a place to dispose of it”
The creator of Cherubim. In other words, the person who made up the sword part of
me. I perceived myself as a sword. Strangely enough, I felt more like a sword than a
person.

When I first came into this world, I think I was very conscious of being a human once
upon a time. Maybe I got used to being a sword while I was living here as one.

So that’s why I had a strong image of Elmera as my creator. It’s not like she is my
parent, but I feel she is somehow close to that.

“Elmera”

“That’s right”

However, Fenrir once again uttered a surprise.

“Well, at first we’re trying to kill each other though!”

[Huh? You were trying to kill each other?]

“You fought her?”

“That’s right. Elmera heard a rumor that I was here, and then she came here to the
plains.”

So, she’s been coming here for Fenrir from the beginning huh.

“She thought that if she was going to dispose of the Cherubim anyway, she would
unleash all the power of the Divine Sword and defeat the Divine Beast, Fenrir”

[How did that get you to cooperate?]

“I was ready to be defeated by Elmera, trying to somehow hold back my body that
was trying to take action on its own… and the Moon Goddess also asked the other
Gods to try and save me”

It seems that the Gods, especially the Goddess of the Silver Moon, called out to
Elmera and asked her to help Fenrir. So Elmera accepted the request.

“It was probably partly because the Gods had asked her to, but Elmera was also
happy that there was still a use for Cherubim”

That’s a Divine level blacksmith there, just like Alistair. She doesn’t want to destroy
the Divine Sword as much as possible.

In order to save Fenrir, it was necessary to separate Fenrir’s soul from the Evil God’s
soul. So, the Gods decided to separate only Fenrir’s normal soul, leaving the Evil
God’s soul in Fenrir’s body, which had already been fused with the Evil God’s pieces.

“The problem was where to store my soul. Because when you cut off a part of a soul,
it will drain its power tremendously”

If Fenrir’s soul was left without any vessel, it would disappear in a flash. Then the
vessel that was chosen was the Divine Sword Cherubim.

“My body was sealed deep within this plain along with the Evil Gods, and I fell asleep
within the discarded Divine Sword”

As a result, the evil beast Fenrir disappeared, and the continent of Zilberd was saved.

[But that didn’t make it a happy ending, right?]

“What do you mean?”

[Well. After all, you’re not in the story now. There has to be a continuation]

“Well, you’re probably right. But my original body is happy you know? Being sealed
by the Gods. They even created a barrier for me”

“A Barrier?”

[Could it be the Forest of Exhaustion?]

“The sky too. They are also a barrier against the Evil Gods in case they would
resurface. They also absorb the magic power of the surrounding area and gradually
weaken the Evil Gods that lie beneath these ruins by continuing to perform
purification techniques on it”

The uneven distribution of magical beasts in the Plains of the Demon Wolf was
actually due to that barrier. Due to the forest of exhaustion, the Plains of the Demon
Wolf is a land where magic power easily accumulates and magic beasts are easily
born. Therefore, the Gods also suck up the power from the magic stones of the magic
beasts and use them in their purification techniques.

Magic beasts increase in number through breeding, but other than that, they are
born from the accumulation of magical power. When a magic beast is born from a
pool of magical power, a magic stone is first created, which then becomes a magical
beast when it is covered with magical power.

Therefore, the magic beasts themselves are weakened by the Divine Barrier that
sucks up the magical power even from the magic stones that have just been created
from the pool of magical power. In addition, the closer we get to the ruins, the
stronger the barrier power becomes, and the closer we get to the center, the weaker
the magical beast becomes.

The magic beast that is born is also unwilling to go near the center because they hate
the ruins that suck up their power. It is said that only small magic beasts such as
goblins, which are almost immune to the effects of the barrier would come close to
the center.

“Will Urushi be okay here?”

“He’ll be fine here. The Forest of Exhaustion sucks up magic indiscriminately, but the
barrier of the Plains chooses its target”

He said that since my magic is registered and Urushi is my followers, he will not be
affected by the barrier. That’s convenient huh.

“The magic power gathered by the God’s barrier is purifying the pieces of the Evil
Gods that parasitized my body every day, but that is not the problem. It’s my soul
that’s the problem”

“What’s wrong?”

“Well, to put it simply, I haven’t been able to completely rip the Evil God out of my
soul.”
[Oioi, Isn’t that bad?]

“Yeah. In fact, I was in danger”

It seems that the Gods had sealed Fenrir inside Cherubim, and intended to gradually
tear away at the Evil God’s power and purify it over thousands or tens of thousands
of years.

However, the Evil God’s corrosiveness was unexpectedly deep, and instead of being
cleansed, it invaded even deeper into Fenrir’s soul as time went by.

“The Divine Sword is an entity that is designed to counter the pieces of the Evil God.
Therefore, I was supposed to be protected as long as I was sealed within it…
However, the power of the Evil God was stronger than expected. Well, it was a
combined existence of four pieces after all”

The Gods had taken notice. The Gods paid attention to Fenrir’s ability to take in the
power of the beings he ate. However, there was no way that Fenrir, in his soul state,
could take in his prey on his own.

So, the plan was to fuse the sword with Fenrir’s soul. The purpose was to absorb the
power of the killed opponent and restore Fenrir’s soul.

[If I may say so, couldn’t they have just used the Gods powers to heal Fenrir
normally?]

“Even though I am a member of the Divine family, I don’t understand everything

about the Gods…… I’ve heard that Gods have rules too and that they don’t allow any
kind of interference on Earth”

So, the Gods wield their power within the rules that they have set. Otherwise, the
world could be messed up by the whims of the Gods huh.
“And with the help of several Gods, the foundation of the current Master was created.
It’s a sword with a built-in system that absorbs the magic stones it cuts and heals
me”

“How about the wielder?”

“Well, what do you think? I’m not sure even the Gods had any guesses… But first,
there was a problem that needed to be solved”

“A problem?”

“It’s the Evil God. Even if I were to perfect the system that heals me, that wouldn’t
suddenly weaken the Evil God’s power”

“Certainly”

[So how did you solve that problem?]

“Fufu”

Hearing my words, Fenrir laughed. It wasn’t a laugh that made fun of me, but a
mischievous laugh.

“The solution to that problem was you, Master.”

[Huh? Me?]

“What do you mean?”

“What do you think is the most troublesome power of the Evil Gods?”

“Ummm?”

[Troublesome power huh…?]

“Is it its fighting prowess? Its stubbornness? The evil beings they spawn? No. The
most terrifying thing about the Evil Gods is their ability to control others”

A God has more or less control over his or her kin. If she is the Goddess of Chaos, she
has control over her kin in the dungeon. If she is the Goddess of Beasts and Insects,
she has the power over Beastmen, beasts, and insects. It is said that it is difficult for
the kin to disobey their God’s orders. Of course, they are not absolute, but their
powers are quite strong.

[I’m rather surprised that it’s not absolute. Can it be resisted?]

“In the case of the Beastmen, the average person would be unable to resist. If the
Beastmen’s God commands them to do something, they would have no choice but to
obey. However, if you are strong enough to be at the level of the Beast King and his
entourage, I believe you can defy her control. Well, I don’t know if there is anyone
who would defy a direct order from a God though”

[Ordinary humans would rather be willing to obey, huh?]

“Probably”

We know about the relationship between men and Gods. So, what about the Evil
God’s kin members? Are they only evil beings?

“No, it’s not. An Evil God can rule over all who are born in this world”

A Kin member is an existence that was created by their God. Beastmen, the
descendants of the Divine Beasts created by the God of the Beastmen, are under the
control of the God of Beastmen.

“And before the fall, the Evil Gods were assisting the Gods when there was war
between Gods”

In creating this world, the God of War assisted all the Gods. In other words, she is
slightly involved in the entire creation of this world. Therefore, the control of the Evil
Gods will also extend to everything in this world.

The War God helped in only a small part, though apparently, her control was not as
great as that of the other Gods.

It is also said that the reason why kin members can resist the rule of the Chief God
was that the Evil God has taken part in their dominant territory of control.

“And it seems that when he fell to the Evil Gods, his power was altered to specialize
his control”
[What’s that? There’s no way you can win against that right]

“It would be difficult for an ordinary being to defeat the Evil God’s pieces. Only those
who possess the Divine Sword or have the strength to overcome the Evil God’s
control can fight against it”

[… Then, why am I involved in this? I was just a common Japanese man on Earth you
know?]

Now I’ve become the Discarded Divine Sword, but when I was on Earth, I was just a
regular guy. I’m an otaku whose hobbies were playing games, watching anime, and
reading manga.

“That part about you being born on Earth is important”

[Being born on earth…? I see! So that’s why huh!]

“Do you understand?”

[Those who are born in this world are treated as kin members of the Evil Gods and
are ruled by them. But I was not born in this world. So, I won’t be controlled by it
huh!]

“That’s right”

It seems that they planned to connect Fenrir and the magic stone absorption system
to the people from Earth and make use of their souls as the main personality, thereby
nullifying the Evil God’s control.

It’s like a filter or a barricade, but anyway, Fenrir is protected by my presence now.

[It’s finally starting to make sense]

I didn’t know why I had been summoned when I was a normal human being, but it
was important to me that I was born on Earth.

[Well, I don’t know the reason why I was the one chosen all among the candidates]

“You may think you were chosen at random, Master, but it seems you were screened
accordingly”
[Is that so?]

“First, the form of the soul. I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard that the shape of
the soul is very important to fit in as the main personality of the sword. I’ve heard
that from the Gods. In particular, the core system of the sword was created by the
Goddess of Chaos by applying the dungeon system. I’ve heard that compatibility with
this is important”

[Eh? Dungeon?]

“That’s what I’ve heard, and I don’t know what part of the dungeon system they’re
using either. However, the way you accumulate points to gain new powers may
indeed be similar to that of a dungeon master”

That’s why I’m treated like the Goddess of Chaos’ kin huh. And the Goddess of Chaos
said that I was also her kin. So, I guess I’m also the kin of another God. Maybe to the
Goddess of the Silver Moon.

“Personality was also important too. You’re going to be the independent personality
of a powerful sword, so you need to have a decent personality”

[Personality?]

I’m not proud of it, but I’m not a saint, you know? Rather, I’m a greedy snob.

“It seems rather important to be a greedy person. God said this. Good people are
quickly ruled by their self-righteousness and start talking about justice, and bad
people are out of the question. Moderate people with a certain level of conscience
are preferable”

Haha, so you’re saying they prefer people who do everything in moderation huh?

“Then there are religious views. Atheists are bad, but fanatics are even worse. It’s
bad enough when they come to our world and say that their God is the only one.
Also, mental flexibility. You need to be able to adapt to this world to some extent”

I have an idea of a race that comprehensively meets the current criteria. It’s the
Japanese otaku. They look down on those who pretend to be good people, but they
don’t have the guts to do great evil, and if something happens, they will ask for help
from God.
Hmmm, so there’s a reason why the main characters of otherworld reincarnation
novels are all Japanese otaku huh? Perhaps the authors of the otherworld
reincarnation stories that have been flooding the earth are actually returnees. I
wonder?

“In addition, when they look on Earth from this world, it has to be a person who is
just dying or has died. I guess that means it’s easier to summon their souls. When it
comes down to it, there are very few people who can be summoned”

It would indeed be very hard to find a person with the right personality, that was
dying or has died. It’s completely based on luck huh.

“In fact, I think Master was the fifth person I’ve met since I started looking for a
suitable person. It seems that in a world where killing each other is the norm, being
reincarnated as a sword is still a high hurdle. The previous four refused, but
fortunately, Master agreed to become the main personality of the sword, and so the
sword was finally completed”

Ooh, so I wasn’t the only one who met the requirements huh. Now I’m grateful to the
previous four people who refused to be reincarnated. If I hadn’t been reincarnated as
a sword, I wouldn’t have met Fran either.

“And when Master was summoned to this world by the power of the Goddess of the
Underworld, some of your memories were sealed and then you were sealed as the
main personality of the sword”

[That’s it. I want to hear more about that. Why did they wipe my memory? And what
did they wipe from my memory?]

“It’s for Master’s sake. After all, Master as a former human was going to be
reincarnated as a sword. If he retains his human senses, he will surely go mad”

Come to think of it, the Fanatics must have said something like that huh. It said that
the spirit of a man cannot withstand being the body of a sword.

“So, it seems that they sealed away the memories that would strongly shake your
personality, desires, and emotions as a human being”

[So that’s why there’s a lot of other memories I’m forgetting besides the ones before
and after my reincarnation that I’m just not aware of?]
“That’s right. Of course, it was planned that the seal on your memories would be
lifted once you were comfortable with the sword and had no problem regaining your
memories. Master may not remember this, but it was explained to you before your
reincarnation and you understood it”

That’s probably true. If I was asked to choose between going crazy or having some of
my memories sealed, I would definitely choose the latter. Well, the mystery remains
as to why I agreed to be reincarnated… No, if I was dying and someone offered me a
reincarnation, I might accept it even if it was as a sword. I’m more surprised that
there are people who refused.

[Is it different from what was planned now?]

“That’s right. That’s why I need you to come to this place. The Gods are not all-
powerful, but I didn’t expect that their schedule would be so far off… I don’t know
whether I should praise or lament for the Gods, either”
Fenrir began to explain the anomaly that was happening to me.

“Originally, Cherubim was supposed to help Master’s mind to adjust to the sword.
Over time, Master’s mind would adapt to the sword, and at that point, I would reveal
myself and release your memories in stages, gradually uniting you with the sword”

[But, Cherubim is…]

“Yeah. Of course, if she hadn’t taken a stand at that time, Master and I would have
disappeared. I am grateful to her. But now that I no longer have Cherubim’s support,
my plans are beginning to fall apart”

And that wasn’t the only thing that had gone wrong with the plan.

“You grew at a faster rate than expected. In addition with extraordinary series of
fierce battles, a large number of skills were acquired as a result. You also burdening
the system by the use of potential release, outbursts of mad demonization, and
absorption of the Fanatics”

Fenrir counted on his fingers. It’s been a pretty intense few months if he tells me
that. But does that mean it was bad?

After using potential release, Announcer-san lost his power and also caused a major
distortion in the entire system. In the Mad Demonization, the evil part of Fenrir went
out of control. And when I ate the Fanatics, the internal system was further
overloaded, causing a breakdown not only in my memories but also in the seal of the
Evil God.

“It’s proof that Master and Fran have been fighting hard. I wouldn’t say that’s a bad
thing. But I’m sure it was more of a rush than the Gods had imagined”

It seems that the Gods, who have a different sense of time than humans, were not
very accurate in their estimates. Well, maybe we’re living a little too active too.
Even the Gods didn’t think that the seal of Evil Gods was perfect no matter what.
That was why they had left the residue of Cherubim – in other words, Announcer-
san. They said that even if there were some tears in the seal, Announcer-san was
supposed to be able to repair it.

However, Announcer-san has lost his power, and so his recovery has been greatly
reduced. There’s also the series of events that shook the seal in a short period of
time followed, causing the seal to become looser.

“But, Alistair had refurbished Master”

“Yeah, I’m sure that had brought it back up quite a bit. However, even a divine class
blacksmith won’t be able to have a perfect understanding of the system that the Gods
built. It was just a first aid”

[So, this time will be different?]

“Even I don’t know much about it either”

The pedestal that I’m currently stuck on. This is also a pedestal made by the Gods,
and it is said to have various functions that even Fenrir does not know about.

“Anyway, Master has not fully adapted to the sword, but his power is much greater
than what was expected. If we leave you like this, the memory seal might break and
will affect Master’s soul. In fact, it will definitely make Master’s mind go crazy. Not
only that, Master, you’ve heard that voice, right?”

[Voices? Ah, you mean that one? The one who says “Devour everything”?]

It was bothering me in my mind during that battle, so I yelled at it and before I knew
it, it was gone.

“That’s right. You know what it is now, don’t you?”

[… the Evil Gods huh]

“Exactly. Or, more accurately, a piece of the Evil God’s soul fused with my soul. But
still… kukukuh”

[What’s the matter?]

“No, it’s just that I remembered how that piece of the Evil God was yelled at by
master, and how it kept quiet after that… kukukuh. It couldn’t believe that there was
a being that didn’t accept its control. So it pulled back in surprise”

Oh, I see. It’s not that it was overwhelmed by my soul, it’s just that it was surprised
that it couldn’t dominate me.

“Only a small amount of the Evil God’s consciousness is still leaking out, but we can’t
leave it like that. We need to reinforce the seal and repair the entire system. That’s
why I asked you to come to this place”

“Then, Master can be healed?”

“Of course. I mean, I’ll be in trouble, if we don’t fix him. It’s because I was also a part
of him”

[I understand that. So, what am I supposed to do now?]

“You don’t have to do anything”

[Not doing anything…… are you telling me not to move?]

“That’s right. I heard that the pedestal will do the rest of the work automatically. I
don’t know much about it, but Master’s job is just to stay still. I’m sure that the
formulas built into the pedestal have already started analyzing you now”

[Formulas?]

So, does that mean I’m stuck here for a while? I’m a little scared… It reminds me of
the intense, mind-numbing pain I felt when Alistair repaired me. I’m not going to go
through that again, right?

[How long do I have to wait?]

“Well, I don’t know. Will it be an hour, a day, or a week?”

[Oioi, isn’t that really long?]

“Think about how complicated and sophisticated the system inside you is? It could
take you a month or more you know?”
[Seriously. So, what about Fran? If I leave her, she’ll lose her skill-sharing……]

Even if Urushi was there with her, it would be too risky to go back to Alessa through
the Plains of the Demon Wolf alone.

“I’ll wait here”

[Well, it can’t be helped huh… Sorry, it’s because of me]

“No problem. Besides, it will be a good training period”

[But, I’m not coming with you, right?]

“Gonna train to fight without relying on Master. Urushi is also with me”

“Woof!”

[I see, you’re right]

If she can use her skills, Fran’s strength won’t drop that much. As long as she doesn’t
go to the outer perimeter, she should be fine.

Based on Fenrir’s explanation, it seems that the magic beasts don’t like going near
the pedestal.

“Then, should I train with Fran and Urushi too?”

“Fenrir will?”

“Yeah. Now, I’m out thanks to the pedestal, but once the restoration is complete, I
will sleep inside Master’s again. It’s the only time I’ll be able to train you”

[… Fran, why don’t you ask him to?]

I’m also wondering what kind of training Fenrir will give to Fran. Especially to
Urushi.

Thanks to Fenrir, now I know why I was able to summon the wolf-shaped magic
beast. That’s also what Urushi’s title, “Kin of the Divine Wolf,” means. As a wolf-type
magic beast, I think this will be good training for Urushi.
“Understood. I’ll be in your care”

“Woof!”

“Yosh Yosh! Well then, let’s give you a little lecture”

The start of Fenrir’s training was a little different from what she had expected.

“Yes just like that, don’t move”

“Muh!”

“Woof!”

“Concentrate within your own body, sharpen your senses”

She thought he was going to teach her how to use her skills and how to wield
weapons, but he told her to sit in a cross-legged position on the spot.

It was training to control the flow of her magic power. The content of his training
was to let magical power flow through her body.

Fran is already capable of using her techniques, but she lacks the fundamentals
because she has been fighting on her own. That’s why it is not surprising that she
has to do this kind of training.

“Once you can do this properly, you’ll be able to use your skills better”

Fenrir has been watching over Fran from within me. Thanks to that, I also know
Fran’s shortcomings now.

“Fran has two problems, the first one is about her skills control”

[Well, it’s still far from perfect]

With the maintenance of the Divine blacksmith Alistair, some of my skills have been
integrated into one and I gained more powerful superior skills, but she is still having
a hard time controlling them.
“And the other one is that her own power is too great, but the backlash on her body
is also great too”

[That too. We’re trying to do something about it]

The only solution I can think of is to train her body and increase her status. Of
course, I know that reducing the number of multiple skill activations and lowering
the power output will solve the problem. However, that would put us at a
disadvantage in future battles against powerful enemies.

“This training she’s doing now will have a positive effect on that weakness”

[Eh? Really?]

“Yeah”

He said that once she had better control over her skills, she would be able to use the
magic power she was currently wasting to offset the backlash and strengthen
herself.

“It won’t be as strong as body strengthening technique, but it’s better like that”

[Hoho―, That’s good]

“And for Urushi, he’s from a species where skill handling is important”

[The wide variety of skills is Urushi’s main asset after all]

“Besides, even with later evolution, the Darkness Wolf won’t be able to enhance its
fighting ability much”

[Eh?]

“W-woof?”

Not only was I surprised by Fenrir’s words but Urushi was too. He stood up
unconsciously with a shocked look.

“A Darkness Wolf’s next evolutionary path is the Gehenna Wolf or Dark Knight Wolf.
However, since both of them are lord-level monsters, their abilities as individuals do
not increase much, while their dominance skills over other wolf species increase a
lot”

[So he’s going to make his underlings fight like the Goblin King?]

“Well. Although he’ll be able to use more magic, his evolution won’t be as explosive
as other wolf species in terms of status”

“Woof…”

Hearing those words, Urushi drooped. He wanted to evolve and become stronger
after all.

“Urushi, that’s why this training will be meaningful. The way for you to become
stronger as an individual is to strengthen your skills. Think about how to use your
skills even more than you already do”

“Woof”

***

Three days passed in the blink of an eye since Fran and Urushi started meditating.

Of course, they take meals and breaks. But they’ve been in meditation for most of the
time. Urushi looks like he’s just sitting down though.

[I’m relieved I had prepared some food before we came to the Plains of the Demon
Wolf]

“Fran can hunt and cook by herself, right? She also has the skills”

[Well, you’re right. But this will allow her to focus on her training, right?]

“Well, that’s certainly true”

However, starting today, they will be doing a different kind of training. The training is
to stalk the goblins that appear in this area without using any skills.

Instead of relying on stealth skills, they need to be able to eliminate their presence
without using skills to manipulate it.
This is something I can’t teach them, so I’m very grateful. As an inorganic being, I
don’t understand what it means to erase my presence. After all, I’m usually able to
eliminate my presence without doing anything. I mean, I don’t have a heart, so no
heartbeat, no breathing, no smell, and no sound because I move by telekinesis.

In general, as a sword, I don’t have any presence. As long as I conceal my magic, it

would be difficult for those magic beasts to find me.

Well, I still have the senses I had when I was human, but I’ve never had any training
on Earth to erase my presence. I’m an amateur in this field.

Meditation in the morning. Goblin stalking would be their next training in the
afternoon.

[Will that make Fran stronger?]

“Of course. Well, it would be even better if she could raise her level at the same time”

[Won’t she need me for that?]

“Not in particular. You have a few swords in your storage, right? Well, she’ll have to
be with Master to hunt magic beast on the outer perimeter, but as long as it’s a D
level threat or below, Fran will be fine now”

[Well, that’s true, but…]

“I know how you feel, but sometimes you just need to keep an eye on things, right?”

[Ugh…]

I also know about that, but… Either way, in my current state, all can do now is just to
watch over her.

[How far are my repairs going?]

“Well. All I can tell you is that you’re still being analyzed. It hasn’t made any progress
in repairing you”

[Even though it’s already been three days?]

“Yeah. Moreover, the repairs would take more time than the analysis”

[So even if the analysis is finished today, it’ll be at least three more days huh?]

Fenrir told me that my system was so complex that it would take a lot of time to
analyze it in detail.

[Do you know how long will it take?]

“I don’t know”

[Haah…]

“I’m sorry. It’s just that this is necessary for Master’s sake. Please bear with it”

[Okay. Hey, if I don’t move from this state, can I use my skills or magic?]

“Umm. Aside from telepathy, I think you shouldn’t use high-level skills. That could
prolong the analysis”

[… I’m not going to use high-level skills]

“That’s fine then”

Haah! I can’t wait for this to be over!

A week passed quickly after I was placed on the pedestal.

The analysis isn’t finished yet. Seriously, this is going to take at least a month, isn’t it?

While Fran was here with me, she went out for goblin stalking now.

Fran and Urushi seem to have taken a great liking to goblin stalking, which was
supposed to be their training, and they go out happily every day. They found it as fun
as playing detective.

“Today is the day I’m going to get close enough while not being spotted by [Crooked
Nose] ”

“Woof!”

“Nn. The [Crooked Nose] can’t be taken lightly”

“woof?”

“It keeps playing with the [Spear guy] and never returns to the nest”

She now can distinguish between the different goblins, and she’s having fun by
giving them nicknames.

Right now, they seem to be following the goblins around all day long, trying to track
down their nest. She’ll keep going until she gets tired of it.

Because of this, Fran and Urushi didn’t come back even if it gets dark, leaving me
with a lot of free time.

Thanks to that, I’ve completed my original novel-style story that I’ve been imagining
little by little. The title of the story is [The Former Brave Wise Man as SSSS Ranked
Adventurer in His Previous Life, Reincarnated for The Third Time to Become a
Demon King as a Holy Sword Used by a Villainess]

It’s a super high fantasy with gag, tears, and sex appeal. Of course, it also includes
elements of sarcasm and harem.

In the end, when he and his 100 wives are about to take revenge on the hero party
that abandoned him, he realizes that it was all a dream. When the protagonist wakes
up on his bed on earth, he realizes the pointlessness of fighting and realizes that “a
normal life is the best!” This is the end of that story.

It’s terribly interesting, even for me. I’m sure if I posted it on “Let’s Become a
Novelist!” (1), which I used to use on Earth, it would be ranked number one in no
time. Even I was scared of my writing talent.

“Master, what’s wrong?”

[I’m getting bored. I’ve got enough time on my hands to finish a big, long, super-
shitty fantasy in my head that isn’t even interesting]

“Uumm, why doesn’t Master go train too?”

[I’ve done that too]

I was still training to control the flow of my magic power, imitating Fran and Urushi.
However, I have the Simultaneous Operation skill. That’s why I can think about other
things while I’m training.

“There’s also the blessing of the God of Wisdom, so it can’t be helped”

[What do you mean?]

“That blessing assists you with the Simultaneous Activation of magic (2). Or should I
say, that makes it easier for you to split your thoughts huh?”

When combined with Simultaneous Operations (3), the effect is doubled. That means
I can have twice as much free time.

[But why did I get the blessings of the God of Wisdom?]

“That’s because the Divine Sword Cherubim was a kin of the God of Wisdom. In other
words, the being that Master calls Announcer-san is the God of Wisdom’s kin”

It seems that Alistair’s maintenance strengthened my connection with the residue of

Cherubim, and I was recognized as a member of the kin too.

[Speaking of which, I’ve been wondering about the emblem on my guard. Why is it in
the shape of a wolf? No, I know it represents Fenrir, but I thought, cherubim were
supposed to be designed like angels, right?]

“There are several reasons for this, one is to hide the fact that master is a former
cherubim, and even though it was rarely seen by the public, there are still people
who know what it looked like because of Oracle skills”

That’s for sure. If they find out that I was a former Divine Sword, they’re going to
come after me in many ways.

“The other, simply because it makes it stronger”

[What? It wasn’t just a change in shape huh?]

“No, it’s just a change in shape, you know? But the form and existence are closely
linked. A cherubim has a form befitting a cherubim, and Master who took in has a
form befitting for it”

[Does that change the strength?]

“Just a little bit. Well, that’s because it’s a Divine Sword, a high-ranking entity. There’s
no point in messing around with the emblems on a few of those swords”

Because of the tremendous power of the Divine Sword, even a slight increase in
strength would be meaningful.

“Oh yeah… For example, it will also affect the acquisition of blessings. A weapon in
the shape of fire will not have the blessings of the Water God. The image given by the
figure is that much more important”

[But with the wolf design on me, I don’t get the blessings of Fenrir or Goddess of the
Silver Moon. Instead, I get the blessings of the God of Wisdom]

“This may sound contradictory to what I said earlier, but the form is not everything.
It’s important, but in the end, it’s only one of the factors that make up a big thing”

[I guess it’s all about what’s inside as well as how it looks huh]

“That’s what I mean”

In the first place, the blessings of the God of Wisdom were supposed to be given to
me as I grew up, but they had to be put on hold due to Announcer-san’s loss of
power. Thanks to Alistair, those growths have progressed all at once I guess.

“As for the blessings of the Goddess of Chaos, I don’t know much about her…… She’s a
fickle person. I wouldn’t be surprised if she gave you the blessing simply for the fun
of it”

[Her blessing huh…? After what I’ve heard about the Divine kin, I’d even say she’s
rather troublesome]

“Haah. You came from a different world after all. For people in this world, it’s a big
deal to have two Divine Blessings, you know? In Master’s case, the Gods have no
control over you. It’s not like they’re forcing you to do what they say, so just think of
it as a useful skill”

[I’ve been ordered around by the Goddess of Chaos before though?]

“That wasn’t using control over the kin, that was just a normal threat with force,
right?”

[Isn’t that worse?]

“Well, I wonder? But, you can try to resist it if you’re prepared to die, right?”

[What’s that? I don’t want to die yet!]

After all, I can’t go against the Gods, right? No, I have no intention of disobeying any
Gods other than the Evil Gods. But what if I have to fight a God? I don’t think that
would happen. But…

[Aah. I think badly because I have too much free time on my hands. I tend to be
negative when I think too much]
“Haah. Then, I think you should do more complicated training”

[Like what?]

“It’s a discipline for novice magician, but it involves controlling basic magic to change
form”

[Change form? Do you mean like thickening up arrow-type magic?]

“No. What am I talking about is changing its form more finely”

Fenrir said so and created a fire arrow in front of himself. However, the arrow
immediately changed its shape and transformed into a wolf. It had the added bonus
of making a howling motion.

“Can you get it? I’m not using any magic to transform its shape right now”

[Yeah]

When I strengthen magic or transform it, I put more magic power into it to play with
it. However, the transformation Fenrir just performed did not use any extra magic
power. In other words, it was the same magic consumption as a normal Fire Arrow.

It seems that if I train my imagery and control of the skill, I can transform the skill
without wasting any magic power.

It is said to be a method developed for novice magicians to train without wasting

their magic power. By transforming the shape of the magic while maintaining it in
the air, they can train their concentration, control, and endurance.

My magic is self-taught, and it’s nice to be taught these basic training methods. If I
keep doing this, even if my skill level doesn’t improve, my magic skills might.

“This doesn’t consume much magic power and has little effect on the analysis. And
yet, the more you focus all your attention on it, the more interesting transformations
you can make. It’s a great way to train and pass the time”

[Besides, it looks fun]

I tried to transform the Fire Arrow first as Fenrir had done.

[Suddenly making it transform into a wolf was impossible for me huh?]

“First, you need to imagine the shape of it”

[Shit, just you see, I’m not going to make just a wolf, I’m aiming for Cerberus!]

“I’m looking forward to it”

___TLN_________

(1) Shosetsukaninaro/Let’s become a novelist is Syosetu’s (the web where I got the
raw of this series) campaign for Japanese to promote writing their novel.

(2) 同時起動 Simultaneous Activation

(3) 同時演算 Simultaneous Operation

[I wonder how much time has passed already huh?]

“…”

Of course, no one can answer.

It’s been an eternity since I’ve been plugged into this pedestal.

Clouds drifted, rain fell, many nights have passed, and I was still here.

[How long has it been since… When will I be able to get out of this?]

“…”

[This already like a torture prison on this plains…]

But there was a voice that answered my lament. A man’s voice, full of dignity, came
out of nowhere.

“Are you done with your “One Hundred Years of Solitude” act?”

It was Fenrir-san who looked at me with a dumbfounded expression as I acted out

my monologue.

[I’m bored!]

“I didn’t expect it to be this long either. But it’s better than when you were stuck in
the Forest of Exhaustion, right?”

[Well, that’s true, but…]

I know there is an end, and I have Fran, Urushi, and Fenrir with me here now. And I
have also grown quite a bit.
[But I’m bored, bored! It’s been a month you know?]

Yes, it’s been a month since then. Even after all that time, the analysis hasn’t been
finished yet. How much time will it take huh……?

A hut made of earth magic now stood next to the pedestal. For the first few days,
Fran had laid her bed on the plains and slept there. She doesn’t mind sleeping out in
the open, or rather, she prefers to sleep on the fresh plains rather than in a confined
space.

However, it rains sometimes, so we built a hut just in case. At first, Fenrir tried to
build it, but we forgot that this guy was originally a wolf. He dug a huge hole and said
“Isn’t this a nice place to sleep!”

In the end, Fran decided to make it properly. But this is Fran we were talking about.
Well, it’s not as bad as just having a roof over her head though. Shit, if I could have
made it, I could have made a better house!

Well, thanks to my analysis not being finished yet, Fenrir was able to stay out longer,
and Fran and Urushi made a lot of progress in their training.

[I even can do this with my ice magic now you know!]

I can now control my ice magic better, which I was not very good at before, and
transform it from wolf to dragon, dragon to tiger, etc. without difficulty.

With thunder magic and fire magic that I specialize in, I can make ten dragons fly in
the air, move them separately, and finally scatter them like fireworks.

I wouldn’t do this in front of Fran, but I can even make it look like a beautiful girl and
have it pose in many sexy positions.

“I’d just remove the Simultaneous Operations in the first place”

[Then, we won’t be able to respond to an emergency like that right?]

“You worry too much huh?”

[It’s a good thing because it’s been good training for me. And Fran’s training has
progressed even further]
Fran and Urushi are already in the second stage of their training. This is the training
to fight using only sword techniques.

Fran doesn’t use sword techniques very often. The reason was that in a high-speed
battle, the delay after a move can be fatal. There was also the reason that Fran, who
could increase the power of each blow with her skills and magic, did not need it.

But another reason is that Fran is not very good at using her sword techniques.

In the case of a normal swordsman, they would practice sword techniques → learn
sword skills → fight mainly with sword skills → encounter opponents for whom
sword skills alone are not enough → and start to use both sword techniques and
sword skills in a balanced manner.

However, Fran had mastered sword skills at a high level from the start and was,
therefore, able to fight battles on her own. Moreover, because she became strong
quickly, she didn’t need to use sword techniques in the method mentioned above.

She skipped the process that other swordsmen go through, where they learn sword
techniques and use them all the time and get hurt. Normally, that’s when the body
learns how to use the sword techniques. Because of this, Fran, who had not
accumulated much experience, was not very good at utilizing sword techniques in
her offense and defense.

This is the reason why we often use sword techniques to pre-empt or end a fight.

Fenrir knew this and told her to use only her sword techniques for a while. Even in
the mock battles against Fenrir, she was using only her sword technique to fight.

Fenrir is like an illusion, so it doesn’t seem to matter how many attacks he receives.
Thanks to this, he was able to take Fran’s sword techniques from time to time, while
giving her advice.

“I think it’s time for her to get some real combat soon”

[Can’t she just have a mock battle with Fenrir?]

“I’m an illusion, so she can’t touch me. That’s not even a mock battle. You won’t call a
fight with a goblin as a real battle, right? She needs to fight a stronger opponent.
Either an actual battle against a magic beast or a mock battle against adventurers”
As expected, she won’t get meaningful experiences unless she trains in actual battles.

“It’s just, you know, I’m about out of time”

[Eh? What do you mean?]

“I’m almost out of time to talk to Master like this. I’ve been saving my strength except
for when we were training, but I can’t stay out here any longer. I’m sorry”

Those words made me understand. It’s not just that he won’t be able to use his
illusions to come out here anymore, but that he really won’t be able to talk to us like
now.

“I’ve taught Fran and Urushi almost everything I can teach them, but… It’s regretable
that I won’t be able to see them in the future. Please take care of the rest, Master”

[Should she hunt some small fry magic beast then?]

“As long as she doesn’t have a decent opponent, that’s all we can do. We’ll start with
the small fry and then increase the difficulty. Fortunately, in these plains, we can
narrow down the strength of the monsters to some extent”

However, I still feel uneasy about letting them fight a strong magic beast without
me… I’ve been through something like this before in the Royal Capital, but the
position was reversed now. This time I’ll be the one waiting.

[Hey, can she just have a mock battle with Fenrir and Urushi?]

“The two of them know too much about each other’s moves. I’d prefer another
adventurer or a formidable magic beast if possible”

We can’t call in the adventurers here. We have to hide my identity, and there’s no way
they’d agree to stay here and keep up with Fran’s mock battles in the first place.

“I guess, Master needs to work on that worrying habit of his huh…?”

[I know…]
 SHE CAME

[Then, we’ll use fried fish for today’s curry topping]

“Nn! Fish is tasty”

“Woof!”

“The worst thing about this body is that I can’t eat”

Fenrir let out a sigh as he stared at Fran and Urushi who were enjoying their curry.
Well, I can’t say I don’t understand the feeling. Fran and Urushi look delighted eating
their food after all.

Even I, who had lost my ability to eat after becoming a sword, was a little envious.
Fenrir must have been stimulated by his appetite as well.

“… Huh?”

“Woof?”

After a luxurious meal that could not imagine being in this magical area, Fran and
Urushi who were drinking their tea stopped. Then, they stared at the north of the
plains.

[Looks like it’s getting closer]

“Moreover, it seems to be coming straight here”

Something with great magic power was coming towards us.

At first, I thought it was a strong magic beast running rampant, but it ignored the
area and headed straight from the south. It seemed to be more than just a magic
beast.

[Fran, be prepared!]
“Nn!”

“Grrrr!”

Fran and Urushi were ready to respond at any time. I will also have to suspend the
analysis at worst. I don’t know what that thing would do, but Fran is my priority.

“Nn?”

“Woof?”

But we were soon relieved of that tension. It wasn’t that the other party had
disappeared or anything like that. It was simply that we realized that the owner of
the presence was someone that we knew.

The closer they came, the more we realized who the owner of this presence was.

“Amanda?”

Yes, it was Amanda, an A-Rank adventurer, who was coming towards us with
tremendous speed. It looks like she was running as fast as she could. At this rate, she
should arrive here in a few minutes.

We waited for about five minutes, and sure enough, we saw Amanda running across
the plains.

She must have found us at the same time we saw her.

“Fraaan-chan!”

Amanda had spotted Fran and while waving her hands, she accelerated even further.

The goblin that was in Amanda and Fran’s straight line was shattered by wind magic.
When Fran saw that, for some reason, she let out a sad voice.

“Aaah! Crooked Nose!”

“Woof!”

Oh, so that goblin was Fran and Urushi’s eternal rival, the Crooked Nose, huh? That
goblin has a sense of smell that is unbelievable and can see through all of Fran and
Urushi’s stalking. I’m sure they were determined to increase the proficiency of their
stealth and stalk it from a distance.

“Huhuー, Crooked Nose is…”

“Eh? Eh?”

“Amanda you idiot”

“Eh? Why…?”

Amanda was confused. It had been a long time since they had seen each other, and
she was imagining all kinds of emotional things. But then Fran suddenly fell to her
knees and started crying. And to top it all off, she got angry.

“U-umm, Sorry?”

Amanda bowed her head, not knowing why Fran was angry.

When Fran saw this, she had no choice but to accept. Well, they were only goblins
after all.

“You forgive me?”

“… It’s fine now”

“Thank you Fran-chan!”

“Muguh”

Looking thrilled, Amanda jumped on Fran and hugged her. As she was buried in her
cleavage, Fran let out a strange voice. It continued with a series of cheek-to-cheek
attacks.

It’s been a long time since they had last seen each other. I guess she can’t help but be
a little passionate about it. But if Amanda were a man, I’d ignore the analysis and hit
her with the most powerful attack I could use.

“Fran-chan! Now that your Onee-san is here, you’ll be safe now!”

Amanda declared so with a firm face. But Fran has no idea what she’s talking about.

“What do you mean?”

“Because Fran-chan said she was heading to the Plains of the Demon Wolf but has
not returned ~. Have you encountered any trouble?”

“No”

Apparently, Fran had been treated as missing.

“But, I’ve said I’m going to train”

“Don’t tell me, you’ve been training all this time?”

When adventurers train in a magical area near a town, they usually return to the
town after a few days. It would be a shame to waste the materials obtained, and they
also have problems with their food.

However, it was not a problem for Fran, who has Dimensional Storage. Well, it would
be difficult for a normal adventurer to stay in a dungeon or magical area for a long
time, but Fran can do it.

“At Alessa’s guild, Nell was worried that Fran hadn’t come back, so I came to find
you”

“Nell knows about my Dimensional Storage though”

“Fran, you should be a little more aware of how awesome you are”

There is a Storage skill in space-time magic, but it is usually not as useful as ours. In
the first place, I can use the Storage skills, but I’ve rarely used them.

Because Dimensional Storage was a better version of it. It can be activated instantly,
the entrance is big, and its capacity is overwhelmingly large. Moreover, time does not
advance inside. Well, it’s a special skill that specializes in that after all.

Normal Storage skills can’t hold anything as big as ours nor can it hold as much. And
unless you’re a proficient user of it, time will pass inside of it.
“Besides, this is a Grade-A magical area you know. No matter how strong Fran is, if
she doesn’t come back for a month, I’ll worry about her. Well, guild master laughed
about this though”

Amanda also thought that something might have happened and came to the Plains of
the Demon Wolf in a hurry.

“Besides, Master wasn’t with you, so I figured there must have been some unforeseen
circumstances. Master, what’s wrong with him? I mean, with his magic power is…”

Amanda is pained while looking at me like this. It seems that while I’m plugged into
the presence, my presence is almost imperceptible to others. Therefore, to Amanda, I
must look like a magic sword that has lost its power.

She asked Fran with a look on her face as if she was asking something hard to ask.
Well, if she knew the relationship between me and Fran, it would be hard for her to
ask after all. It’s like asking her why her partner has died.

However, I have already discussed with Fenrir how much I can explain to Amanda.

[Should I say thank you for worrying about me? Or complain about making it seem
as if I’m dead?]

“Eh? Master, are you okay? I thought you were…”

[This pedestal was created by the Divine level blacksmith who made me, and it’s
supposed to keep my power from leaking out while I’m stuck here]

“Heeー. That’s great to hear then. But, by a Divine level blacksmith? Is Master a
Divine Sword?”

[Hahaha, no, I’m not. I just a sword made by a Divine level blacksmith]

I’m not lying. I am not a Divine Sword now.

“We’re here to repair master”

[This pedestal also has a lot of functions]

“Repair? What had happened?”

As expected, I could not talk about Fenrir or the Gods. So, I decided to use Elmera, a
Divine-level blacksmith to explain that I was under maintenance.
After a long conversation, Amanda hugged Fran again and stroked her head.

“You’ve done your best huh―?!”

Well, the story goes that wherever she went, she got caught up in trouble and almost
died over and over again.

With that being said, Amanda didn’t stop stroking Fran’s head. Fran won’t be going
bald or have a Fire started on her head if she continues like this right? I didn’t stop
her because Fran herself doesn’t mind it.

“It’s great that you had uncovered the conspiracy of that cheapskate Marquis, but
don’t be reckless, okay?”

“Cheapskate Marquis?”

“It’s that Ashtner! I’ve had a few requests from the Marquis, but he never pays! But I
can’t refuse because he has an introduction from an acquaintance”

Amanda had taken on a few jobs from him, including gathering materials. She
couldn’t refuse because she was a person who had some influence on Allesa.

In Amanda’s case, she also has thick connections with the country and the nobility.

Amanda seems to know quite a bit about this whole thing. I’ve heard that a lot of
information has been disclosed to deal with the Raidos Kingdom. They’ve been
gathering information through their own networks after all.

Needless to say, she must have also heard about Fran’s activities in the Royal Capital.

If anything, Amanda is probably more concerned about the battle in the Beast
Country, which is new to her.
When I told her about Kiara’s death, she had a pained expression on her face. I guess
it was more out of concern for Fran’s loss than out of mourning for Kiara.

“… Fran-chan is a hard-working person huh. But don’t overwork yourself too hard,
okay?”

“Nn?”

“I’ll be sad if something happens to Fran without my knowledge. So, don’t be too
reckless, okay? Is that no good?”

“… Nn. But I have to be reckless to be strong”

“Fuh… Is that so?”

In the next few seconds, she must have realized that nothing she could say would
change Fran’s decision. Amanda’s eyes were sadly downcast.

“Hey?”

“Nn?”

“Right now, Fran-chan is doing her training while waiting for Master to be repaired
in this place, right?”

“Nn”

[That’s right]

“I see… All right, I’ll help you too then!”

Amanda, with a look of determination on her face, clenched her fists and made a
declaration. Her face was full of motivation, and she looked like she was about to
start a mock battle.

[What do you mean by saying you’ll help her?]

Amanda would have to stay in Alessa as a deterrent against Raidos Kingdom.

Moreover, she would not be able to do so without permission, as she was currently in
the middle of a skirmish.
“Because you want a mock battle partner, right? I’ll be your partner then”

“Oohh―”

Fran looks happy, but is it fine for her to do something like this?

[I appreciate your offer, but what about Allesa? And is the war with the Raidos
Kingdom going to be okay?]

“Aah. About that matters…”

I asked her, and Amanda explained the current situation to me.

Raidos’ troops that crossed the border were scattered and kicked around by Alessa’s
forces, and eventually, they all retreated. Afterward, Raidos sent a letter saying that
they were sorry for the outburst of some hardliners.

They’re stating it’s not the will of the country, it’s just a few idiots messing around.
The letter was followed by a messenger and the head of the alleged ringleader.

“Actually, it’s just the head of a lower-ranking nobleman who lost a political battle
with a Raidos nobleman and had nothing to do with his head”

[So, it’s a scapegoat huh]

The leaders of Alessa and the negotiators sent by the Kranzel Kingdom know this.
However, even though they know this, they have to accept Raidos’ reasoning.

“Why? The other side was the bad guy, right?”

“We know~ But there’s no use in continuing the war either”

At a time when the country is in turmoil, it is impossible to continue a war against a

major power. If we had the luxury of doing so, it would be better to focus on the
reconstruction of the Royal Capital.

There is also an issue with the face value, but that was resolved when Raidos had
apologized for the time being. We can also get a good amount of benefits after all.

Raidos Kingdom must have been aware of this from the beginning.
It would be best if they could successfully cut off the border area. Even if it fails,
there’s no chance for the Kranzel Kingdom to invade. Because we can’t afford that.
We will have to pay compensation, but we will also gain valuable battle data.

“Jean is currently guarding the border, and is searching for any Raidos agents who
may have entered the country with other adventurers”

“And Amanda?”

“I’m filling in for the other adventurers, handling requests for high-ranking
adventurers and urgent requests. But I got a little carried away and ran out of
requests”

If that was the case, I thought she could help find the agent, but it seems for Amanda,
who is famous and stand out like a celebrity, was deemed unsuitable for such a job.

“Aren’t they rude? I can be a ninja if I want to be. They make me looks like a brute
that can only fight…”

Amanda was muttering complaints about Nell and guild master for a while, but she
quickly regained her composure.

“Well, thanks to that. That’s what gave me the time to come here, so I should be
rather grateful!”

In other words, it seems that Amanda is not going to stay here for long, but will
travel back and forth between Alessa and the Plains of the Demon Wolf every few
days.

“It would be biased to only have mock battles with me, wouldn’t it? Mock battles,
magic beast hunts, basic training, and exploring the plains with me. I think it’s best
to repeat that”

[Well, you’re right]

“Nn”

When Fran and I agreed, Amanda hurriedly prepared her whip.

[Eh? Are you going to do it already?]

“Of course!”

“Nn. Naturally!”

Aah. I still hadn’t figured the minds of these battle junkies. They never understand
the common sense to do things slowly.
 FAREWELL

“Shall we do it now then?”

“Nn!”

Fran and Amanda face each other with a sharp gaze in front of the pedestal. It’s been
just a few minutes since we met again for a long time, but they’re really going to do a
mock battle right now huh…

Fran is ready to go and holds up the magic sword made of phantasm pyroxene that
she had been using for a while. Amanda’s whip was a terrifying whip with the scary
name of [Demon’s Torment]. It was not the Heavenly Dragon’s Beard Magic Whip,
which was broken in the martial arts tournament. It was her spare whip that was
used in the finals.

Name: Demon’s Torment

ATK: 721

MP: 616

Durability: 720

Mana Conductivity: B-

Skill: Stretch, Pain-stacking, Paralysis

Name: Heavenly Dragon’s Beard Magic Whip

ATK: 1030

MP: 1800

Durability: 1000
Mana Conductivity: A

Skill: Stretch, Weight Manipulation

It’s weaker than the Heavenly Dragon’s Beard Magic Whip, but it’s still pretty strong.
The pain-stacking skill is also a nasty ability.

“Let me give my newly acquired whip a test, okay?”

“Nn, bring it on!”

“Fufu, then, here I come!”

At that moment, the battle began. It may look so sudden for outsiders, but it’s not for
the two of them. It’s started when they held their weapons.

“Shaa!”

“Muh!”

“Haaa!”

“Nnhh!”

While dodging Amanda’s whip, Fran slashed at her. After a few minutes of this kind
of repeated attack and defense, Amanda smiled in admiration.

“You’ve changed your stance, huh?”

“Nn!”

“I see, I see. You’re aware of the use of sword techniques now, huh?”

Amanda saw through at her easily. While looking at her, I realized that Amanda’s
stance was naturally woven into her whip technique.

“Shii! Haa!”

In between the dancing whip attacks. The whip dives into the ground, it strikes Fran
like a spear from the ground and turns into a horizontal attack.
She must have made good use of the [Madness Water Lilies] whip technique to
attack her opponent from below, incorporating vertical attack with its horizontal
movements. This not only disrupted Fran’s evasive timing but also forced her to
constantly pay attention to the ground below her.

Other than that, Amanda’s whip technique was also amazing.

The whip, which was once flicked by the sword, attacked Fran again with an
impossible movement and blocked her pursuit. The whip moved and took her by
surprise even when Amanda didn’t move her arm at all, showing once again the
usefulness of martial techniques.

[So that’s her aim huh…]

In the end, Fran was pushed aside by the storm of whip attack and her sword was
flicked away. Amanda was so strong after all.

“Muh…”

“Well, don’t lose your spirits yet okay? If we continue to use this approach, you’ll be
able to become quite strong. And it seems that your martial arts skill itself has
already surpassed mine”

“Nn!”

“Besides, it would definitely be in Fran’s best interest to fight without Master’s

support. And I’m not just talking about your attack power and magic control, if you
can’t consult him in battle, you’ll have to think for yourself, right?”

“… Understood”

Fran looks frustrated, but she nods her head in agreement with Amanda’s advice.
This honesty is what supports Fran’s growth potential.

Although she never loses her stubborn side, she was surprisingly straightforward
when it came to asking for lessons in combat and the like.

“Then, shall we go on the next one?”

“Nn!”
Well, there’s no way she’ll be satisfied with just one round huh.

After that, the mock battle between Fran and Amanda continued until the sun began
to set.

“Uwaah, that’s was one of the best mock battles I’ve had in a while!”

“Nn…”

Fran didn’t even win once in the end. Even though she hadn’t changed her stance and
was mainly using sword techniques, she looked terribly frustrated. Maybe she
thought she could win at least once. But without me, the difference in strength was
obvious. No, it wasn’t a difference in strength, but a difference in experience and skill
handling.

Nevertheless, in the second half of the mock battle, she was able to react to Amanda’s
whip, and I think she will be able to compete well with her as her training
progresses.

“Well, I’m going back to Alessa for now. I’ll come back here in four days”

“Understood”

“Fran-chan. Won’t you miss me when I’m gone?”

“I’ll be fine”

“R-really?”

“Nn”

“Really, really?”

“There wouldn’t be a problem at all”

“Really――?”

Amanda, just go back already!

***
At dinner time.

Fran and Urushi were biting into a huge piece of meat. Fufu, even Fran won’t eat
curry every day. Well, she had curry for breakfast and lunch today though.

This meat is from a stray fang boar that had wandered it, and I made a whole roast of
it

“Munch munch… This will be delicious like this”

“Grff grff! Woof!”

Fran holds the manga meat in her hands and chewing on it, while Urushi chews the
meat off the bone, and he’s happy to bite into the thick bones. They seemed to be
more pleased with the chewiness than the taste.

“Well then, I’d better go to sleep”

“Nn…”

“Woof…”

I’ve already explained to Fran and Urushi that Fenrir needs to sleep. But they are sad
to be told again by him. Unlike Amanda, she doesn’t know if she’ll see him again.

“Don’t make a face like that. I’ll just sleep in Master. Both of you, good luck with your
training”

“Thank you very much”

“Nn”

Fran and Urushi straightened their body and bowed their heads. It’s a completely
different attitude than the one they have towards Amanda, but I guess they feel she’s
like their good friend or sister, while he’s their favorite teacher even if he only taught
them for a while.

“What was that, Master and I are the same. As Master’s partner, Fran is not a
stranger to me either”
“But you’ve taught me a lot”

“Woof”

“Besides, I need Fran to do her best to help me regain my power”

“Nn! Just leave it to me!”

Fenrir smiled gently at Fran’s firm words.

“Yeah, I’ll count on you. See ya”

“Nn, see ya”

Then, Fenrir puts his hand on Fran and Urushi’s head. As an illusion, he couldn’t
touch them directly, but they still look happy. After a few moments of watching at
Fran and Urushi’s expressions, he smiled lightly and disappeared without a trace.

I can feel Fenrir falling asleep inside me.

[He fell asleep, huh? Well, we’ll meet him again someday]

“Nn! I’ll do my best!”

“Woof!”

___ED Note___

This is Phantom0408 and if you haven’t read the heading then I’m the editor. I’ve
noticed there might be inconsistencies in the chapters. This is mainly the names of
peoples, places, etc. If you notice anything please ping me on discord and tell me
what needs to be corrected, I’m only human after all. Just finished editing Ch 500…
LOL! Well just wait and see. Btw i only started at Ch 491 so don’t complain to me
about earlier chapters.
It’s been a few days since Fenrir came back inside me.

Today, Fran and Urushi are still busy with their training, stalking, and fighting magic
beasts. Well, I’m still stuck on this pedestal, so I used my skills to sense their
presence.

It seems that the skill-sharing had grown along with my growth, extending its
effective range even further than before. Now, she can go as far as the entrance of
Area 4 without the sharing being cancelled. Or maybe it’s the effect of these plains
and the pedestal?

Oh, the areas are the ones that I divided into according to the strength of the magical
beasts that appeared when I was alone in this plain.

However, in the current Plains of the Demon Wolf, the previous point seemed to be
completely meaningless.

[The strength of the monsters has gone up a lot after all. Area 1 is no exception]

In the past, Area 1 would only have small fry like goblins. Areas 2 and 3 used to have
monsters with a threat level of F, and area 4 had monsters with a threat level of E,
but now the threat level of the monsters that appear has gone up by one or two
ranks.

Rank D magic beast seems to have appeared around the border of areas 3 and 4. In
the past, it would not be surprising if one had reigned as an area boss in Area 5, the
outer perimeter.

The reason why the magic beasts have become so strong is because of me. No, rather
than getting stronger, it seems to be more correct to say that it has now returned to
its original state.

It takes a tremendous amount of magic to summon my soul, seal it in a sword, and fix
it. Of course, it is the Gods who took the lead, so they could handle most of the
process. However, the pedestal and other facilities required a supply of magic power
from the plains.

Well, it seems that the Gods of this world have set many restrictions, which means I
can’t rely on them for everything, I guess.

To make up for the lack of magic power, they temporarily activated the magic power
absorption barrier to its maximum. Because of this, the magic power of the entire
Plains of the Demon Wolf had temporarily decreased, and the magic beasts that
appeared became weaker.

It helped me a lot, though. It has helped me to survive and become stronger.

If the magic beast had been stronger, I would have been destroyed sooner. Even if it
was safe, it would have taken me much longer to escape the Plains of the Demon
Wolf. If it had been as strong as it was now, I would have been trapped in this plains
for years.

I would never have met Fran in that case.

The Goddess of Chaos once told me that there is no fate in this world. But is it
because I’m a former human that I feel something like fate in my encounter with
Fran?

[… Looks like they took it down huh?]

Fran and Urushi had been fighting for a long time, and after storing the magic beast
materials, they returned to the pedestal. They looked pretty tired.

[Good job, how was it?]

“Nn, it was pretty strong”

[Is that so?]

As usual, I didn’t give my help for them to take it down, her weapon was also not as
strong as me, and she was fighting in an unfamiliar way, focusing only on martial
arts. It must be hard to fight a rank D magic beast like that.
She seemed to have healed herself a little, but there were obvious signs of bleeding
marks and tears on her equipment, which showed that she must have taken a lot of
damage.

Urushi’s condition is also quite serious. No, it may even worse than Fran’s. These
days, he tends to challenge himself to close combat, which is clearly not suited for
him.

In Urushi’s case, although his evasion ability is high to begin with, his melee attack
power is not so great. As a result, he can’t deal much damage to a magic beast that
specialized in defense and close combat.

Fenrir’s story about his evolution path seems to be influenced by his reckless
behavior.

Urushi has two paths for evolution. Being a Gehenna Wolf or a Dark Knight Wolf. He
also said that both of them were a very similar evolution, except that the Gehenna
Wolf has deadly poison magic, and the Dark Night Wolf has extended dark magic.

It is an evolution in which the individual status does not increase much, but the
command skills such as command, leadership, bird’s eye view, and eagle’s eye view
were greatly improved.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that his status won’t increase at all. He’ll become a Lord-
class magic beast with a threat level of B after all. However, it’s quite weak compared
to wolf-type magic beast’s evolution into an Inferno Wolf or a Valkyrie Wolf, which
both specialize in close combat.

Fran would have to fight much stronger enemies in the future. At that time, it might
be difficult to even cover for her from behind if he continued as he was now.

Perhaps, that’s what Urushi felt when we were in the Royal Capital.

That’s why he wanted to become even stronger.

I guess Fran can understand how Urushi feels. If she had been told, [You won’t get
stronger even if you evolve, but you will gain the ability to command other black
cats] she would never consent to it.

That’s why she decided to watch over him and not saying anything to Urushi who
had become reckless.

[Fran, how was Urushi?]

“Doing his best”

[I know that, but it seems like you had a hard time huh?]

“Nn… The opponent was quite strong”

When Fran told me the details of the battle, it seemed that Urushi had made a few
mistakes. Their opponent was a magic beast with hard scales like a lizard and a body
like a gorilla.

Fran stalled it with her sword techniques and magic, and Urushi bit it on the neck
from behind, but even that blow didn’t kill the magic beast. And Urushi was almost
caught by it.

It was a typical brutish enemy that specialized in strength and defense. Urushi would
have been able to defeat it without taking any damage by wearing it down with
magic from a distance, but it would take a lot of time. It was better for him to support
Fran and let her give the finishing blow. However, Urushi wanted to put a stop to it by
himself.

Maybe, he has hope for his predatory absorption skills. But he has become too
reckless this time.

[Urushi…]

“Woof…”

Don’t look so dejected. I could see the frustration all over Urushi’s face. This is the
first time this easygoing wolf has ever been this depressed, isn’t it?

“Master, Urushi will become stronger. So please wait a little longer”

“Woof!”

[… Haah, I understand, so don’t look at me like that. I also understand Urushi’s

feelings]
I can only stay on this pedestal and watch over them. Now that I’m in this state, I can
understand how Urushi feels. I want to fight alongside Fran too. I’m sure it’s the
same for me and Urushi.

[… However, don’t be too reckless okay?]

“Nn. I understand”

“Woof!”

That’s a good answer.

[Ah――]

《Analysis is complete. Proceeding with the repairs. Until the restoration is

complete, the main personality will go into a dormant state, and all contact with the
outside world will be cut off》

[What?]

Oioi, I haven’t heard anything about this! I mean, oh jeez, the pedestal is starting to
glow!

<The repair is expected to be completed in approximately 150 days>

[F-fran! It looks like I’ll be leaving you for a while!]

“Master?”

“Woof?”

[During the repair, I will not be able to speak with you! It’s supposed to be done in
about 150 days! Sorry! I didn’t expect it to be this soon!]

“Master!”

“Woof woof!”

[Good luck with your training! But be careful! Don’t be reckless! Get along with
Urushi! Also, listen carefully to what Amanda says――]
And that’s when I lost consciousness.
I wondered how long I had been here.

I moaned at the unbearable pain that assaulted my entire body and looked around
with hazy eyes for help. Aah, the tears I’ve shed, pooling at the corners of my eyes,
are so disturbing…

I could see that my hands, which were stretched out to the sky for no reason, were
sticky with the bright red blood that had flowed from me.

“Guh… Argh… Help…!”

Why am I in this mess…! Guh, It hurts…! I wish it could be more comfortable…

“Aahh…”

Huh? It’s not hurting so much anymore? The pain and burning heat that had been
gnawing at me from my bones suddenly eased. It’s rather, cold…?

I’ve heard that it’s worse if I can’t feel any pain in these situations.

Aah, maybe it’s time.

When I thought about it, I felt that my body had relaxed.

My grudge towards the car that hit me, or the safety of the child I saved, or the
company that will be gone after I’m gone, and other unnecessary thoughts have
completely disappeared from my mind.

What I am feeling right now is only relief.

“… Aah…”

I can’t even move my mouth. But that’s better if that means I won’t be suffering
anymore.

Aah, so this is the end of me huh. My field of vision turns completely white, and a
sense of being liberated surrounds me as if I’m floating in the air. I didn’t feel any
pain at all, and it seems I can just get up and start walking normally.

“I’m dead… huh…?”

[That’s right, if we don’t do something with you, you might die]

“… Umm?”

[But what if I told you there was a way to save you?]

Is this hallucination? I had never heard these voices before, but it sounded so clear. It
was as if a woman was whispering in my ear.

And what’s with that old-fashioned way of speaking?

[I know how you feel, but this is not a hallucination. I’m here to save you]

A hallucination that says they weren’t a hallucination… Haha, maybe it’s just me that
doesn’t want to die so badly.

[I’ve told you that I’m not a hallucination. Well, it can’t be helped then, so how about
this?]

Snap

I heard the sound of fingers being snapped, then my field of view changed again.

“Eh?”

“I welcome you to my realm”

I was supposed to be lying on the ground, but before I knew it, I was sitting on the
floor. I couldn’t help but look around me.

The white space around me remained the same, but before I knew it, a small island
had appeared in this endless space.
An island about the size of a schoolyard. In the center of it stands a solemn building
made of stone. I don’t know how to describe it, but it’s… A temple? Yes, it was
indeed a temple. I’ve never seen one in person, but I’m guessing it’s something like
the Parthenon in Greece.

I was sitting right in front of the temple.

And it wasn’t just the ground and the temple that suddenly appeared.

“How is it? Do you still insist on calling me a hallucination?”

A woman stood in front of the entrance to the temple.

There were plenty of things that caught my eyes, such as her strange outfit and
hairstyle. But the first thing that struck me was a feeling of amazement, “She’s so
Beautiful”

She had a pure Japanese face, but it was surprisingly well-rounded. Not only that, but
I could also sense a kind of inviolable Godliness from her.

It’s not just simple beauty, but an inhuman beauty, as if an angel had taken up
residence in a statue of a Goddess and started to move.

I gulped and looked at the woman’s face for a moment, then finally I looked at her
whole body.

Just like her face, her figure was also like a Japanese woman. However, it was not like
the old-fashioned ones. Her kimono was not the type of kimono with a long hem like
a twelve-layered kimono, but rather the type of kimono worn by Kunoichi in a
manga. To put it simply, she looked like she was cosplaying.

It was thin, form-fitting, and had a long slit. It’s a design that could be called cheesy,
but it looks mysterious just because this woman is wearing it.

The kimono is jet-black, just like her long hair and eyes, but the edges and the obi are
unified with vermilion.

“Come”

“Eh?”
A woman pulls my hand and helps me stand. That soft, warm feeling was definitely
not a hallucination.

“You’re not… a hallucination?”

“Yes, So you finally understand huh? Well, this isn’t my true form. This is a mixture of
my Divinity and your image of me”

“I-in other words?”

“This is a temporary form of the Goddess in your head. It is easier to talk to you this
way”

So, she’s saying that’s the image of Goddess I have in my head? A beautiful woman in
a thin costume. Hmm, I’d like to say something about my vulgarity.

“So you’re a Goddess…?”

“I am the one in charge of the netherworld and reincarnation. In your sense, I am the
Goddess of the underworld”

“Goddess of the underworld…? L-like Hades? No, she looks like from Japan, so,
Enma-sama? or Izanami?”

“You’re right, and also wrong. But let’s not talk about my Divinity for now. Your
current situation was more important”

Aah, by the way, what’s happened to me? No, the Goddess of the Underworld is right
in front of me, so I must be dead, right? But I think she said something about there
being a way for me to be saved…?

“Well, it’s up to you to decide if you want to be saved or not, but I also have a favor to
ask of you”

“A favor…? From a Goddess to me?”

“Yes. Will you at least listen to me?”

“Y-yes”
“That’s good, then come with me”

“Ah, wait a minute…”

The Goddess of the Underworld turns herself around and walks into the temple. Is
that a place that I can enter? Isn’t it a sacred place…

“Hey, what are you doing, come”

“Y-yes”

She said I could come in. I hurried after her. And then I was met with more shock.

“Welcome. I am the Goddess of the Silver Moon”

“Fufu, and I am the Goddess of Chaos”

Two beautiful women, no less so than the Goddess of the Underworld, were waiting
for me.
The Goddess of the Underworld invited me to enter the temple, where I found two
extremely beautiful women waiting for me.

Their appearances might be described as a western compared to the Goddess of the

Underworld.

The woman who called herself the Goddess of the Silver Moon was, as her name
implied, a Goddess with beautiful silvery-white hair, pure white skin, and golden
eyes. Every time she moved lightly, her silver hair would sway and shimmer. Her
expression was full of motherly love and compassion, and she looked exactly as one
would expect a Goddess to look.

The Goddess of Chaos on the other hand had a mischievous expression on her face,
she had a different kind of beauty than the Goddess of Silver Moon. She had beautiful
crimson eyes that seem to see through everything. Her glossy brown skin was clear
and beautiful and that made me want to touch it. Her silver hair has a slightly lighter
shine than the Goddess of the Silver Moon. Or should I call it an ashen silver?
However, her hair color was suitable for her brown skin.

Is the beauty of these Goddesses and their outfits that look like they’re just wrapped
in thin cloth based on my imagination too? If so, my imagination has done a good job.

“Umm…”

“These two are my colleagues. And they’re the ones who were looking for you. Well,
I’m just a helper here, and they’re the ones in charge”

Then I talked with these three Gods.

To my surprise, they were not the Gods from Earth. So where did they come from?
The answer was another world. A world that was different from the Earth. They
were the Gods who created and manage that world.
But that was not what surprised me. Of course, I was surprised by the fact that there
was another world and that I had met Gods, but what they told me next surprised me
even more than anything else.

“With my power, it is possible for your soul alone to cross over to our world”

They were also former Gods of Earth, so they have the power to interfere with Earth
slightly. The Goddess of the Underworld in particular can summon those who are on
the verge of death.

“Former Gods of Earth? No, rather than that, another world…? I’ll be reincarnated
into another world…?”

“You might be right, it’s close to that”

“Umm… But why?”

“Well well, take your time. We’ll explain that matter too”

Well, it was natural for me to wonder, because there was no way I would be
reincarnated for free. If I were to be reincarnated into another world, there must be
a mission that I have to fulfill.

They showed me an image of the world under their control and about the battles
between Gods while explaining what I should do.

I will be reincarnated into a sword and save the Divine Beast called Fenrir who had
been infected by the Evil God’s pieces within him. I was told that all I had to do was
to fight and defeat any magic beast, but it wouldn’t be that easy. They also told me
that as an Earthling I could repel the Evil God’s control…

“I want you to save that child. I beg of you”

“Umm… I’ll be reincarnated as a sword huh…? Moreover, my memories will also be

erased?”

“We’re not going to completely erase your memories, we’re just going to seal it
temporarily. You’ll go insane if you suddenly become a sword after all”

“Mostly, it will be only your memories of the deaths of friends or acquaintances, and
the accident that caused your death”

“Also, the memories of emotion and sorrow, which may have a great influence over
your personality”

“Other than that, the memories of your first act of sexual intercourse or encounter
with the opposite sex will also be sealed”

In other words, the memories that remain strong, and the memories that are deeply
connected to the core of my being, will be sealed.

“If you get used to having a body of a sword, and it is judged that you will no longer
go crazy when your memories return, it will be returned. Without this, I don’t know
what will happen to you when you join the circle of reincarnation as a human again
after all”

“Umm, what will happen if I die in another world? Will I die if my sword body
breaks?”

“You will rejoin the circle of reincarnation of Earth. And not only that, it’ll be the
same when you have completed the mission”

They told me that I wouldn’t be reincarnated in another world, but back on Earth
again. But a little bit of preferential treatment will be given to me. Well, I wouldn’t
have any memories at that time though.

“Umm, what will happen if I refuse to be reincarnated?”

“You don’t have to be so scared. We won’t punish you. You’ll simply go back to the
reincarnation cycle, and we’ll just look for the next candidate”

Apparently, I’m not the first person whose soul was pulled into this place. However,
they refused the idea because they would be reincarnated as a sword.

I’m anxious and scared. But I had already decided on my answer.

“… Okay. I’m willing to be reincarnated”

“Is that fine with you?”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I was dead anyway, and I also want to see another world. Besides, as long as I
fulfill my mission, I won’t be of any use to you, right?”

“Yeah”

“Ah, could I also ask you to erase the data on my computer? But would a God listen to
such a silly request of mine…”

“I know, just leave it to us”

The Goddess also provided excellent after-sales service huh. They said that they
would also erase the horrible memories of the poor girl I rescued that caused me to
be hit by a car and being killed, the data on my home computer, and get rid of my
treasured books.

But that wasn’t the reason why I decided to do this you know? Although I’ll become a
sword, being reincarnated with cheat ability was a man’s romance right? Also, the
reward of being able to be happy in the next life is great. That’s how far the Gods are
willing to go for me――

“Well then, let me introduce you to these two people as well”

As she was preparing to introduce someone, two new figures appeared in front of
me.??. The reason for the “??” is because I can’t recognize one of the figures very well.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. I am the Goddess of Wisdom”

“Nice to meet you. I am Futsunushi. I am the God of Swords”

“Y-yes, nice to meet you two”

The one who claimed to be the Goddes of Wisdom had a neutral beauty so I couldn’t
tell if she was male or female. She had long, silky blond hair and slender, and thin-
framed round glasses. Her thin figure was wrapped in a kind of hunting robe that
made it difficult to tell her shape.

Maybe this God is also based on my image. She wears glasses because she’s the
Goddess of Wisdom huh? Yeah, just like my image of her.
However, the other God was really bizarre.

“F-futsunushi-sama? You have a name?”

The other Gods don’t say their names. Futsunushi was a famous Japanese Deity in his
own right after all. He should have been the God of Swords.

“Moreover, your appearance is……”

Futsunushi figure could only be described as a black shadow. His figure looks
mysterious as if darkness had congealed into a human form. What’s wrong with my
image of him? But it seemed that this God hasn’t taken an image from my mind.

“He is the only God among us who has a name. In the battle against the Evil Gods, he
summoned some of his Divinity that he had left behind on Earth, and by playing an
active role, he was once again bound by the name he had abandoned”

Come to think of it, when I was shown the images of the battle between the Gods and
the Evil Gods, there was a God who summoned a giant sword and wielded it.

When Gods came over to a new world, they discarded their old names and were
reborn as new Gods. In the first place, they were not a single Deity, but a mixture of
Deities from various Gods who were interested in the new world.

However, to defeat the Evil God, the God of Swords had to use his Divinity as
Futsunushi, which was only a part of himself, to the fullest. Because of this, the God
of Swords was fixed as Futsunushi, instead of being free like many Gods who were
not bound by a name.

“Since my existence is fixed, I cannot easily change my form. However, a human soul
might not be able to bear the image of my true form. Therefore, pardon me for being
in this form”

The other Gods don’t have names, so they can easily change their forms, but
Futsunushi couldn’t do that.

“The Divine Sword in which you are going to be reincarnated is the kin of the God of
Swords and the Goddess of Wisdom. Therefore, you will need the cooperation of
both of them”
After that, I was shown by the Goddess what kind of memory that I can keep. Ugh,
this was so embarrassing.

It was better at first. Memories of pain and negative emotions when I died. Memories
of favorite movies and VR games that I was addicted to. Many of them were scenes
that moved me.

However, it started to get more and more into my personal side of things…

“Ah, this is a memory of a popular movie that you saw on your first date, it remains
strong in you”

Even now, when I watch the reruns, I get sweet and sour feelings and memories of
those days come flooding back.

“This is a memory of separation from the dog you loved so much”

It was Fran, a crossbreed dog that my parents had bought. It looked like a white mop.
One day, I got a phone call from my mom saying that it had died, and I flew back to
my parents’ house. The least I can say is that it lived a long life. For a while, I couldn’t
help but cry when I saw a dog that looked like it.

“This is a memory of the first time you experienced skinship with a woman. You
made many mistakes, and it remains as a bitter memory”

Wha! Oh, God! This memory is――!

From there on, it was torture for real. Just kill me already! Well, I was already dead
though! I was so tortured that I had to do some flippant commentary by myself.

You still remember the first time you went to a cabaret club huh? No no, that was just
my senpai taking me there! Aaaaah! You don’t have to show me every single memory
of my favorite sexy DVD or anything!

Afterward, when I was mentally too exhausted, they used their power on me, and my
soul was transferred into the sword. I was left on my own just like that.

The Goddess of Chaos called out to me as I stand in front of a beautiful sword with an
angel-like emblem on its hilt.
“The next time you see us will be when you have completed your mission. Well, if
there are no irregularities, that is”

“What do you mean by “irregularities”?”

“Well, I wonder? But you already know by what the words imply right? We’re not an
all-knowing and all-powerful being you know? There are always some kind of
irregularities”

Is that true?

“But if you ever meet us before then, we Gods will pretend that we’ve never met
before”

“Eh? Why?”

“How much do you think your memories about us God will shake your memory? It
would be bad if the seal was broken, right?”

“I-I see”

Is it possible that even a seal placed by Gods could be broken? No, the fact that
they’re not all-knowing and all-powerful beings mean that it is possible.

“Well, I’ve done the best I could. Especially the system that controls your power,
which is my best work yet. You can play with it as much as you want to”

“Eh, play with it?”

“It’s important you know? Certainly, the mission is important. But it’s also important
for you to enjoy the other world, right? Have some fun”

“Y-yes!”

“I’m supposed to seal your memory here so you won’t remember this when you
wake up. So, good luck”

“Y-yes, thank you very much!”

“Ufufufu. Well then, have a good chaos!”

___ED Note___

The title True Prologue means exactly as it says. This is Tenken’s real prologue. It’s
Master’s memories that have been sealed. IF you haven’t noticed.
“Urushi! Now!”

“Grroaa!”

Urushi, who has become much larger than his original body by his body enlargement
skill, rushed towards the giant beast wielding a hammer-like tail. The gray-silver fur
on his back makes his movement look like a shooting star.

By looking at Urushi made me remember.

[He’s so big…]

His size was probably more than twice as big as before. From the tip of his nose to
his tail, he was over ten meters long. His body height had also more than doubled,
creating a shadow that looked like a large tree.

However, his heavy body did not slow his movement at all. In fact, he was faster due
to his increased strength.

Urushi easily closed the distance between them, perfectly avoiding the various
attacks that were unleashed. And then there was the giant beast, whose huge limbs
were protected by a hard shell―― and he struck the head of the Invisible Death.

It was not enough to kill it, but it seemed to have succeeded in violently hurting its
head. The giant beast, who had suffered a mild concussion from Urushi’s blow,
stopped moving with a stomp on the ground.

This was our chance.

“Let’s go!”

[Ou!]
“Haaa!”

Fran jumped out to the sky and swung me from over her head.

“Bughooooh!”

As expected of a magic beast with a threat level of B. It seems that even if it’s in a
vulnerable state, it won’t let us attack it easily.

The crystal-like scales on its entire body stood upside down and shot out in unison
toward Fran, who was right above it. In addition to this, it also unleashed a deadly
sniper shot.

However, Fran was not panicking and was handling the situation calmly. She didn’t
even need to use my teleport; she completely dodged its crystals with her defensive
movement and sword handling.

In the past, she would not have been able to use the aerial jump continuously with
such delicate control. However, it was not difficult for the current Fran.

As for sniping, it was completely offset by the use of her flawless sword techniques.
This was also the result of her training. While using her sword skills to intercept the
scattered bullets of the scales, she was also able to mix her sword technique into her
offense and defense without hesitating.

Fran, who was in midair, was naturally pulled down by gravity and was gradually
losing her altitude. The closer she got to the Invisible Death, the more intense the
attacks became, but Fran’s defense was undisturbed.

“Brilliant Lighting Rush!”

Just like that, Fran went to end this battle at once.

“Yaaa!”

“Bumoooh!”

[That’s it!]

The Invisible Death’s scales and light magic were blocked by me instead of Fran, who
had shifted to focus on attack. It was possible to use dark magic to cancel out the
light magic while using telekinesis to prevent the crystal scales from hitting Fran.

Just like that, the full force of Fran’s Sword Saint techniques, wrapped in black
lightning, cut through the carapace in front of her.

The Invisible Death’s tough shell, which was protected by a giant crystal and multiple
barriers, was no obstacle for her now.

It’s not that the technique was special. It’s that Fran, who used the technique, has
become stronger.

Fran’s black lightning and my multiple deployments of attribute swords shattered

the flesh and bone inside its shell, causing it to explode from the inside.

“Shiia!”

“Bumhoooooooo……”

In the end, she thrust me against the exposed magic stone of the Invisible Death and
killed it.

It was our complete victory over the Invisible Death, who had given us a lot of
trouble in the past. Of course, the experience from that time is still vivid, but more
than that, Fran and Urushi’s strength has increased.

[Fran, you’ve become stronger, huh?]

“Master, you’re saying it again”

[It can’t be helped. I’m happy to see you’ve grown a lot]

“It’s only been a month though”

[But still!]

“I’m not changing like Urushi right?”

[I’m not talking about your appearance! Well, in Urushi’s case, he’s changed a lot]
“Woof?”

Fran stroked Urushi, who came up to her and his size now was about the size of a
cow. I guess the biggest change is his fur.

It had been black with a slight hint of red, but now it had more red with two flowing
silver lines on his back. Also, the degree of its fluffiness has increased too.

The frequency in which Fran hugged Urushi had obviously increased.

[But you know, you’ve definitely grown a lot in such a short amount of time]

“Woof!”

“Nn!”

As we were talking about this, we suddenly heard the inorganic yet somewhat gentle
voice of a woman in our head.

<Obtained multiple skills from the Invisible Death’s magic stone. Integration of skills
with the same name into higher-level skills have been confirmed>

“Nn”

It was Announcer-san, who had regained a little of her power. Although she couldn’t
talk to me like she did when she used her potential release, she seemed to have
regained the same level of power as when I first came to this world. The fact that I
was able to absorb the power of the Fanatics also seemed to have worked in the right
direction.

Announcer-san was also taking over some part of my control, and the load of using
magic and telekinesis was considerably reduced.

Another new feature was that Announcer-san’s voice can also be heard by Fran now.
I’ve been explaining everything to Fran, but she doesn’t seem to fully understand it.
She’s like a talking spirit inside of me after all.

And yes, I’ve talked to Fran about the memories I’ve regained.

It was the memories of the time before I died and became a sword.
Just before the maintenance was finished, I met the Goddess of Chaos again and she
explained to me that she returned my memories of the time before and after my
reincarnation. She said that if she left the part of my memory that was about to
return halfway through, it could have affected the sealing of my other memories.

If all my memories came back at once, I’d go crazy for sure. Well, I guess the worst
thing that can happen to me is that I start to remember.

Oh, I’ll keep the ecchi (1) part to myself for now. It’s too early for Fran. I mean, how
should I explain it to her?

My ecchi memories were sealed by the gods because they could have a strong impact
on me. I would rather die than have to explain that to Fran myself.

[Anyway, it’s been a month since I’ve been back]

“Nn”

[Your coordination with each other is already perfect huh?]

“Nn. Of course”

“Woof!”

I was quite confused at first. Well, both of us. Fran and Urushi looked so different
after all, and my fighting power had also increased with the assistance of Announcer-
san.

We had spent the past month perfecting our coordination. The result was this battle.

[Well, it was tough for me right after I woke up though. A lot harder than just
practicing our coordination…]

__TLN____

(1) Just in case you’re pretending to not know about it, it means sexually explicit lol
Aah―, I wonder what this feeling is…

I felt as if my body was being lifted and liberated from the weight that had been
pressing down on me.

Did I slowly ascend from the dark seabed towards the surface? Or from the bottom of
a gravity well, towards the weightless space?

Anyway, I felt liberated and exhilarated. It was a strange mixture of the two.

Where am I in the first place?

I couldn’t see anything in here. I was in pitch darkness.

What have I been doing all this time?

I feel like I’ve been asleep for a very long time. However, I didn’t feel dull from
sleeping for too long. On the contrary, my whole body feels light, although I am
aware that I am a bit drowsy.

“Hey, I’d like to have a little talk, have you woke up yet Sleepy-head-san?”

[Eh?]

While I was in a daze, I heard a woman’s voice out of nowhere. It was a strangely
sexy and naughty voice.

Moreover, it sounds familiar.

[Goddess of Chaos, -sama?]

“I just thought I’d tell you a few things before you fully wake up”
It was the Goddess of Chaos. I couldn’t see her, but there was no way I could forget
her voice.

“First, I’m going to unseal some of your memories”

[Eh? Really?]

She suddenly said that to me. But wouldn’t I go crazy if my memories came back?

“It seems that you were very concerned about your lack of memory, and leaving this
sealed would have negative effects on you”

[What kind of negative effects?]

“When you have a memory that you can’t seem to remember, you can’t help but be
curious and try to remember it somehow, right?”

[Yeah, certainly]

That may stimulate the unsealing of some memories in an unexpected part. As a

result, there is a possibility that the sealing of other memories will also be affected.

“You don’t want to go crazy like the Fanatics, do you?”

The Fanatics said something like that. They say that it is dangerous to have a human
soul in the body of a sword. Well, I can kind of understand that, and it also reminds
me of the Fanatics’ madness. I certainly didn’t want to be like that.

“So, I decided to unseal not all of them, but the ones that I think can be returned at
this point. So, shall we get started then”

[Eh? Wai―]

Before I could reply to the Goddess, my mind was flooded with various memories.

[Guh…]

It’s an indescribable feeling. It doesn’t hurt, but it’s weird. I wonder what it is. It’s
like the moment when I cannibalized the fanatics. Well, this is somewhat better
though.
What came back to me were the memories of when I was a human and when I was
hit by a car. The identity of the three mysterious women who had remained in a
corner of my memory. And the memory of the scene where my memory was sealed
by the three Goddesses.

It’s not like all of my memories had returned, but I remember the main part of what I
was most curious about. It was the reason why I can’t remember anything.

Well, it also brought back some humiliating memories though. It was about the
shaming play by the Goddess…

It was just an embarrassing memory for me, as I don’t have any special sexual
preferences.

“What’s wrong?”

[N-no, it’s nothing. Just because I’ve regained some of my memories, is it okay for me
to continue to act as before after I wake up?]

“Yeah, rest assured”

Then, I should collect more magic stones for Fenrir huh

“But still… you were hit by a car while trying to save a stranger’s child and agreed to
be transferred to help a dying child in this world… You must really like kids huh”

[I don’t like the way you say that! It makes me sounds like a lolicon!]

“Ufufu, that was just a joke. Well, I think it’s time huh?”

[?]

“It’s time for you to wake up”

[So, the repairs are done?]

Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since I’ve been so clearly awake. That is, not
since I left Fran in front of the pedestal. And yet, it didn’t feel like an instant. I know
I’ve been asleep for a long time. Maybe that’s why I think it’s been so long.
“Ufufu, say hi to the black cat-chan too. Well then, have a good chaos”

That’s the second time I’ve heard that! Is that the Goddess of Chaos’ signature line
huh?

<60 seconds left until the individual named Master is to be fully awakened>

[Hmm?]

When I thought the presence of the Goddess of Chaos had gone, I heard a strange
voice, inorganic but also warm. I think I’ve heard this voice before…

Uuummm…

[Ah! Announcer-san!]

<Yes>

[Eh? You can talk?]

<Conversation is possible for now only. But it will soon return to normal. Right now, I
was borrowing power as an emergency measure when the main personality was
dormant>

[Hmm? Main personality?]

Do you mean me? So, while I’m asleep, the power I normally use is given to
Announcer-san allowing her to have a little talk with me for now?

<By replacing the individual named Master, the provisional named Announcer will
be deprived. So, before that… Master, you have my thanks once again>

[Eh?]

<Once again, I have the opportunity to wield power for the benefit of my registered
wielder>

[But, you will be deprived right?… That means you’re going asleep just like before…]

<In the future, the probability that the Provisional named Announcer will regain its
power with Fenrir is 77%. Also, some of its blocked privileges have been restored>

[In other words, you have recovered a little huh?]

<Yes. By assimilating and absorbing the virtual personality of the Discarded Divine
Sword, I have regained some of my power, which had been reserved only for
necessary calculation before>

Umm, did my cannibalizing of the Fanatics work out for the better then?

<It’s time>

[Announcer-san! When I had restored Fenrir’s power, I’ll bring you back too! I’ll do
my best!]

<Thank you――>

Then a change came to my vision.

A ray of light shone into my blackened vision, and as if it had exploded, it swelled
and dispelled the darkness.

I was able to look directly at it because I don’t have a retina. Well, if I had been a
normal creature, I would surely have damaged my eyes, wouldn’t I?

The color returns.

What I saw was the blue of the sky and the green of the plains.

And a girl is standing in the middle of it.

Black hair, healthy skin, a body without unevenness, distinctive black cat ears, a cat
tail, and big eyes showing her determined will.

[… Fran]

“Master?”
The first thing I saw when I woke up was a girl standing in front of me.

Black hair, healthy skin, a body without unevenness, distinctive black cat ears, a cat
tail, and big eyes displaying her determined will.

She was my partner, Fran.

[Fran]

“Master?”

[Yea]

Fran muttered the word as if to confirm, and I replied in a slightly quiet voice.

I wonder, why my heart was so full that I couldn’t get the right words out of my
mouth. I felt like I just slept and woke up, so I shouldn’t have experienced the
passage of time so much…

This must be the feeling of nostalgia. If I had tear glands, I would have cried.

“Master…”

[Fran]

“Master!”

Fran rushed over and hugged me while I was still stuck on the pedestal. It was more
than a hug, but she’s giving it her all.

If the sword being hugged wasn’t me, her hug might have destroyed it. And if it were
an average person, she might have killed them. That’s how powerful her hug was.
However, I was rather happy that this lack of restraint seemed to express Fran’s
loneliness. And it meant that she missed me so much.

“Master…”

[Fran, I’m back]

“Nn…”

I used my telekinesis to gently wipe the tears from the corners of Fran’s eyes. Then
Fran rubbed her head against my handle as if she was trying to be sweet.

[Fran, if you rub your head against me that hard, your head will get hurt]

“I’m fine”

[Fran…]

I was in the middle of stroking Fran’s head while she was spoiling me.

Growl―…

[Hmm?]

A mysterious sound echoed about.

But it doesn’t seem to be a mystery or anything. ‘Fran-san, you must be hungry,

aren’t you?’ Even though this is an emotional reunion scene?

Grooowl―!

“… I’m hungry”

Even after five months, Fran was still the same Fran, huh? Should I be happy that she
hadn’t changed, or lament that she hadn’t grown up? Well, there is almost no change
in her appearance.

Fran was holding onto me with her right hand and rubbing her stomach with her
left. Then she quickly cringed and opened her mouth to me.
“Master”

[Wh-what is it?]

“Give me curry”

[Cu-curry, huh?]

“Nn!”

[Woof!]

“O-okay―… eh?”

[Woof woof!]

Before I knew it, Urushi was here too. He seemed to have come out of Fran’s shadow.
However, his appearance had changed drastically.

He was basically the same Urushi. A black wolf with lustrous fur. However, his fur
color and the presence he emitted have changed greatly.

Originally, the red color was just mixed in with the fur on his neck, but now it was all
over his body. Dark red was mixed in at the tips of his neck, knees, and tail. In
addition, the fur on his back had silver lines now.

Only by looking at him, I knew that he had evolved. He had become so flashy.

[Urushi, you――]

Grrrooowll―

“Master… Curry…”

[Ah yes, sorry! Look, I’ll bring it out now! Urushi wanted the spicy one, right?]

“I want a big bowl”

“Woof woof!”
[Then, we’ll use ten toppings for the curry. And for Urushi, I’ll make the curry ten
thousand times spicier]

After receiving the curry I served, Fran and Urushi began to devour it as if it was
their first meal in several weeks. The curry, which I was worried might be a bit too
much, was quickly filling their stomachs.

When was the last time she had eaten? But I’m sure I had cooked a good amount of
food in the Forest of Exhaustion and stored it for Fran in Dimensional Storage…

[Aah! Co-could it be, the skill-sharing didn’t work?]

If that were the case, she would have lost my dimensional storage and cooking skills.
And it would have been difficult to even survive on this plain.

[F-Fran… You must have experienced a lot of difficulties…]

“Nn? The skill worked”

[Eh? The skill-sharing worked?]

“Nn”

[Then, the reason you wanted to have that much curry is…]

“Fran-chan and Urushi ate up all the curry in the first two months”

[Ooh, so that’s why…]

I usually kept her under control. If there was no one to stop her, she would always
eat her favorite foods. But I’m rather surprised that her body hadn’t changed!

But I’m glad Fran hasn’t gotten fat after all this time!

[And then, Amanda, how are you doing?]

She had been there from the beginning, so I called out to Amanda, who was smiling
at me behind Fran and Urushi.

“I’m fine. But rather than that, why don’t you tell us what had happened?”
[You need to know that there’s very little that I can tell you, okay? But I’d rather want
to know what had happened while I was gone]

“Are you sure? This is gonna be a long story”

[I’ll leave it to you. Fran won’t be able to do anything for a while after all]

“Mogu mogu!”

“Wouf wouf!”

“Yeah, I guess so…”

 SIDE: AMANDA

Fran-chan was depressed for a while when Master was gone. Her face didn’t show it,
but her voice and eyes were lacking strength.

At night, while being buried in Urushi’s fur, she stared up at the stars in a daze, just
like a child her age would act.

But even so, after a few days, she was slowly getting back on track.

“Let’s do our best okay? You wanted to surprise Master when he comes back, right?”

“Nn!”

“I’ll be more strict on you then!”

“Just like I wished”

Fran-chan’s determination was genuine. In fact, I even scolded her several times for
being a little too enthusiastic.

When I came back to Alessa, my equipment was often badly damaged. Not only that,
but the sword I had procured for her had broken, and she was in the process of
healing her injuries.

Apparently, they had been challenging high-ranked magic beasts and were being
defeated multiple times. They also had recklessly fought a series of unreasonable
battles.

She was not a child who will stop, no matter what I say, and I have no right to force
her to stop. Fran-chan is already a full-fledged adventurer. She can make her own
decisions and take responsibility for everything she has done.

Even if she gets badly injured or even dies from her training. It’s hard for me to not
be strict with her though because I myself have become stronger through repeated
reckless training.
All I can do is to come to these plains more often and train her until she almost dies.

However, a little over a month later, something strange happened to Fran-chan and
Urushi. They began to lose their spirits.

There was also a change in their diet. They used to eat curry rice with brown sauce,
for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. However, this was reduced to one meal a day, then
one meal every three days, and finally, there was nothing left to eat.

It was Fran-chan’s favorite dish, but it was difficult to make and the ingredients were
very hard to find. Fran-chan seems to be a good cook, but she doesn’t have the
ingredients.

In the end, she managed to cover it up by getting some of the spices for the curry
from Alessa and sprinkling them on the meat.

If there had been an infinite supply of curry, Fran-chan and Urushi would have been
able to make more progress in their training.

“Well, can you dodge this then?”

“Haa!”

“Good! Yes, just like that! You have to read your enemy’s aim, and be careful of their
feint”

“Nn!”

Fran-chan’s movements were getting better and sharper every day. I may be
wielding my whip like it was nothing, but inside, I was covered in a cold sweat.

After training without magic and only using weapons in the mock battles, I decided
that it was almost time to let her give it a shot.

The training between Fran and I was not limited to mock battles. Fighting magic
beasts was also part of our training.

Her opponent was magic beasts with a threat level of D. Sometimes, she handicaps
herself and uses her sword techniques only, and sometimes she would only use her
magic. That’s how she fights and defeats them. My presence here was just insurance
in case of an emergency.

There was something interesting about her fights though. Sometimes I thought she
was in a daze, but suddenly she was moving much better than before. I can only
assume that someone had given her some advice, but there was no sign that she was
talking to anyone.

Fran-chan said it was a sword spirit, but I couldn’t feel any signs of a spirit around. It
was hard to tell from her straight face, but it seems that Fran-chan was able to make
jokes.

Well, maybe she’s just adjusting her movements while organizing various things in
her head.

“You broke your sword again huh~”

“Nn…”

The problem, for now, was her weapon.

There were a few weapons in Fran-chan’s dimensional storage, as well as a magic

sword. However, they were unable to withstand Fran-chan’s power. Even the
strongest magic sword made of phantasm pyroxene stone was easily shattered in
just two weeks.

So, I started selling the magic beast materials that Fran-chan defeated at Alessa to
buy some swords for her, but there was no way I could get a sword worthy of Fran-
chan so quickly.

But it was also good training for her to learn how to hold back when using a weaker
sword. The situation just continued like that until Alistair showed up.

Alistair――A Divine level blacksmith suddenly appeared in the Plains of the Demon
Wolf in early winter when it began to snow. Because she was using a powerful
stealth magic tool, she suddenly appeared near the pedestal without us even
noticing. Honestly, I was startled by the mysterious woman wearing high-quality
equipment with a surprisingly high-level fighting prowess of her own.

At first, I thought she was a member of the special forces of Raidos Kingdom, so I
couldn’t help but take a stance. The other side seemed to feel the same way, and if
Fran-chan hadn’t intervened, we might have ended up killing each other.

Surprisingly, she was a good person to talk to, and we quickly became friends.

Alistair then made a sword for Fran-chan made of heavy magic steel. And as
expected of a Divine-ranked blacksmith, she was able to create such a work of art in
a week. Unintentionally, I even asked her to make a whip for me.

She then promised to make it for me as long as I gathered the materials by myself, so
I’ll be working hard to gather them.

Alistair was away from the Plains of the Demon Wolf now at my request. In addition
to my whip, there was also something else I wanted her to make. Alistair seemed to
have been thinking about the same thing, and she accepted without a second
thought.

And then, a few days of training passed. Urushi lost his right leg and his right eye due
to his recklessness. It was as if he was in a hurry for something.

And finally, the day had come.

“Shii! Just like that!”

“Haa!”

“Nnha! Tho-!”

She used her sword to flick off my whip technique and then ducked through the gap
in the whip to get close to me. I pulled the whip back and threw a kick, but she
ducked and thrust perfectly. The last attack she used must have been the dagger
technique.

The perfect combination of sword skills and sword techniques, without any delay,
and her ability to observe one’s surroundings. In addition, she could control her
body-enhancing skills with precision. All of this was on full display during her
attacks.

“That’s the first time you managed to get a perfect thrust in huh~”

“Nn! But it’s not over yet”

“Fuh. Then, let’s go for the next one!”

“Nn!”

I’m really looking forward to the result of her training.

Another month or so had passed after that. Urushi had never given up and continued
to fight with all his might even after losing his legs and eyes, and then he had
achieved a surprising evolution.

“Fran-chan, what’s wrong? Aren’t you going to train?”

Unusually, Fran-chan had been awake since sunrise. And she was sitting in front of
the pedestal with her knees in her arms, refusing to move. Beside her, the newly
evolved Urushi was sitting in a well-behaved position.

When I asked Fran-chan, who seemed happy for some reason, what she was doing,
her answer was a surprise.

“Nn. Master is coming back”

“Eh? Really?”

“Master, ‘is said’ to be back in about 150 days, and today is exactly 150 days after he
left”

“Is said? Are you talking about the sword spirit’s voice?”

I can’t hear it, but apparently, she really was hearing the voice of the sword spirit.
She said that it was not Master, but a woman with a funny name of Announcer-san.

She doesn’t respond every time, but it seems that she gives her information about
Master’s current situation and sometimes helps with her training.

“She says he’s almost back, but she doesn’t know the exact time. It may be two hours,
or maybe two days”

“Eh? two days?”

“Nn”
Fran-chan nodded her head and went back to staring at the pedestal.

“Are you going to wait…?”

“Nn”

She stared back at me with an angry look as if saying ‘Naturally’. It seems that she
really intends to keep waiting for Master.

“I-I’ll wait with you too…”

“Nn”

Master, please get back here quickly!

 SIDE: FENRIR

The little wolf of my kin seems to be worrying about something.

Not only did he want to be useful to them, but he also wanted to be able to continue
to fight alongside them.

That’s why he was worried, he wanted to become stronger, but it was difficult for
him.

“Woof Woof――Kyain!”

Today too, he challenged a superior magic beast and suffered a painful attack.

I know what he’s trying to do. He’s trying to take in the power of a stronger magic
beast using his predatory absorption skill to achieve his evolution.

His way of triggering it wasn’t entirely wrong.

After all, some individuals could evolve abnormally by taking in the blood and flesh
of a stronger opponent. Moreover, Urushi was also a unique individual. So, there was
a possibility.

But he couldn’t do so in his current state. The blood and flesh of a magic beast with a
mere threat level of C was insufficient. Urushi was stronger than them, and it’s not
because of his level or compatibility, there’s not that much difference between the
races after all.

If Urushi wanted to trigger a new evolution, he would need to take in a large amount
of blood and flesh from magic beasts with a threat level of A or higher, and at least
one of each type.

No, I think Urushi himself knows that. He was being reckless in his search for a
stronger magic beast, and finally, tragedy struck him.

“Gyauuuf!”
“Urushiii!”

Urushi let out a scream of grief that we had never heard before and was blown to the
sky. The opponent that attacked him was a two-legged magic beast that was over 15
meters long. Well, I don’t think I would call it two-legged since it was using its tail to
support its body though.

It was a variety of the dragon species called an Evil dragon. It’s classified as an earth
dragon with retracted wings, hard scales, tight muscles, and overwhelming physical
attack power. In particular, its arm’s attacks were as powerful as an attack from a
magic beast with a threat level of B.

Previously, Urushi was having a hard time fighting against a brute lizard, which was a
lower species of this magic beast, so there is no way that the current Urushi can
defeat this magic beast.

Urushi, who had been blown 50 meters away, was convulsing with his body bleeding
profusely. His internal organs were spilling out of his stomach, and both of his right
legs were torn off. His spine was probably broken as well. Half of his face was
crushed, and this might have affected his brain.

He was probably unconscious. Urushi was unable to escape from the scene.

All I can do now is watch over Urushi, my kin. I’m just a Divine Beast with a soul on
the verge of extinction after all.

“Haaa!”

“Bughuuh!”

It was Fran who stepped in to help.

She struck with a series of lightning magic to draw the attention of the Evil Dragon,
and then cast a recovery spell on Urushi. However, his wounds were not even
recovering with the amount of recovery magic that Fran had cast.

“Why!? Greater Heal!”

“Wu, wuuf…”
“No good…”

When Urushi regained consciousness, she used regeneration together with her
healing magic, but the recovery was still slow.

“Bugwooooh!”

“Kuh… Urushi, sorry!”

“Wo, woof…”

Fran carried Urushi and continued to distance herself from the dragon. And after a
few minutes of running, Fran set Urushi down and tried to heal him again.

The potions and other items that Master had given to them were all used up, but
Urushi was not completely healed yet. This was not the fault of Fran or the others.
The Evil Dragon was a power fighter, but it is also good at handling magic for a
dragon. It is particularly good at life magic, which strengthens itself, but its life magic
also includes a technique that blocks its opponent’s recovery.

It seems that magic was carried from that arm’s blow.

As a result, Urushi ended up losing his right hind leg and his right eye.

If Master had been there, the outcome would have been different, but with just Fran
and Urushi, it would have been fortuitous that they survived.

“Urushi… Sorry”

“Woof woof!”

“Nn…”

“Woof!”

“I understand, I’m sure you’ll evolve someday”

Even in such a state, Urushi did not lose his desire to evolve. Rather, he became even
more determined, didn’t he?
Urushi wholeheartedly desired to become even stronger for the sake of his Master.

“Kyaiin!”

“Grrrr…!”

“Wo, woof…”

With one eye and one leg missing, the sight of Urushi pushing himself into a fierce
battle looked, Divine.

He struggled while looking up to the heavens as he walked forward, he reminded me

of myself in the past. I absorbed the pieces of the Evil God, and while being
consumed by its power, I continued to fight for my creator, until I finally exceeded my
limits and collapsed.

That’s why I couldn’t stand the sight of Urushi getting hurt and being worn out day
by day. It had been about 30 days since Urushi lost his legs and eyes. So, I
involuntarily call out to Urushi.

Sorry Master, this may prolong your restoration. But I need to do this.

[Urushi… You may evolve now]

“Grru…!”

Urushi has reached his evolvable level. He probably knows this himself. That his
efforts had not been rewarded.

If he continued like this, he could evolve into the Dark Knight Wolf. But Urushi
refused to do so, by struggling to block the magic power that had begun to flow
within him.

However, he couldn’t continue refusing his evolution, he might lose his life due to the
outburst of his magic power after all. Seeing his foolishness, I couldn’t help but do
something for him.

[But you do have one option…]

“Gurru?”
[… I will give some of my power to you. With it, you can choose a new path]

“Woof!”

[However, that path is full of loneliness]

To receive a part of my power, which is a wolf but also not a wolf, means that Urushi
will also be transformed into something that is a wolf but not a wolf too.

He will evolve into a new species that wouldn’t exist anywhere else in this world. But
that also means that he wouldn’t be able to find another member from his new
species.

This was an unusual evolution that will affect his whole life. Even though his form is
that of a wolf, it goes beyond even that category. Urushi, who was not a Divine Beast,
would be truly lonely.

[So, the price of this power is loneliness. It’s not like you’re going to be left behind by
Master or Fran. But you’ll be left alone, outside the confines of your species]

“Woof!”

[Are you sure? For the sake of your Master, you’re willing to be lonely?]

“Woof…!”

[… I’ve heard your resolve. So be it. I’ll give you power!]

I borrowed some power from Master and shared it with Urushi. This must have put a
lot of strain on Master.

However, I was sure that Master would forgive me. I was confident of that. In fact, if I
did nothing, he would be rather angry with me.

The magic that Urushi had been blocking was mixed with the power I had given to
him. It began to circulate, and I could feel it seeping into his body. His body was being
remade, and he was beginning to evolve into a different species.

“Gauuf… Grru…”
Was it painful? But this was not even an ordeal when you’re going to become a
completely different species.

“Urushi! Are you okay?”

Fran shouted when she saw Urushi, who suddenly began to suffer from a huge
amount of magic power after the battle. His voice won’t be able to reach the little girl.
To Fran, it would appear as if Urushi was in a mysterious state of an outburst.

“Urushi!”

“Grruu…”

Urushi did not lose consciousness or cry out, but simply continued to stand on his
knees with all the strength in his body. That’s right, if you can’t handle something
like this, you’ll never be able to overcome the many trials that will come your way!

“Ghurrruuuuu!”

And then, he had evolved.

“Ghuuwooooff!”

The roar of a new Demon Wolf echoed across the moonlit plains. It was the voice of
birth, the cry of the soul that signified a farewell to the cradle of his species.

A vicious mixture of black and gold magic rose from his body, which had swollen to
the size of a small mountain. His missing hind legs and eyes seemed to have been
completely regenerated. His thick limbs stomped on the earth, and his sharp face
glared at the darkness.

Originally his fur had a slight red tint to it, but it has probably become even red now.
In addition, silver hair grew like a mane on his back.

[Urushi. You have become a new magic beast. Your race now is a Ragnarok Wolf.
Abhorred by all other wolves, you are alone in this world. This is must be what
you’ve always wanted]

“Woof!”
[That’s a good reply]

In exchange for his loneliness, Urushi has gained great power. I’m sure he will be
able to continue to fight alongside Fran and Master now.

“Urushi…? Evolved…?”

“Woof”

“So cool”

“Woof!”

Ah yes. Give him more compliments, Miss Fran. Because that was exactly what
Urushi was looking for.

Name: Urushi

Race: Ragnarok Wolf; Demon Wolf; Magic Beast

Status: Normal

Status Level: 62/99

HP: 1834

MP: 1910

STR: 1280

PHY: 480

AGI: 1274

INT: 360

DEX: 290
Magic: 1417

[Skill]

Dark Magic: Lv7, Keen Sense: LvMax, War Cry: Lv3, Stealth: Lv8, Superhuman
Strength: Lv3, Shadow Transfer: Lv3, Shadow Dive: LvMax, Shadow Transition:
LvMax, Fang Skill: Lv9, Fang Technique: Lv9, Aerial Jump: Lv8, Madness: Lv7, Terror:
Lv7, Vigilance: Lv8, Presence Blocking: Lv6, High-Speed Regeneration: Lv3,
Herculean Strength: LvMax, Regeneration: LvMax, Lethal Poison Magic: Lv4, Evil
Detection: Lv6, Evil Resistance: Lv5, Instant Launch: LvMax, Instant Walk: Lv4,
Silencing: Lv6, Abnormal Condition Resistance: Lv6, Spirit Magic: Lv6, Life Detection:
LvMax, Mental Resistance: LvMax, Claw Technique: Lv6, Claw Skill: Lv5, Poison
Magic: LvMax, Haki: Lv5, Echolocation: LvMax, Roar: LvMax, Magic Resistance: Lv6,
Magic Absorption: Lv5, Darkness: LvMax, Dark Magic: LvMax, Lightning Resistance:
Lv7, Darkness Nullification, Night Vision, Poison Fang, Fur Strengthening,
Regeneration Inhibition, Automatic Recovery, Great Physical Change, Poison
Nullification, Split Thinking, Rampage, Magic Control.

[Unique Skill]

Dark Absorption, Predation Recovery.

[Extra Skill]

Predatory Assimilation

[Inherent Skill]

Dimension Fangs, Familial Intimidation, Familial Hatred, Seal Nullification.

[Title]

Kin of Swords, Kin of the Wolf God, The Lonely Beast, The Predator of the Evil, The
One and Only.

[Equipment]

Divine Steel Magic Claws, Serpent Dragon Collar

[Well, shall we go then?]

“Nn!”

“Woof!”

Right after I woke up, we went to look for some magic beasts in the Plains of the
Demon Wolf. I wanted to check my condition and Fran and Urushi’s growth.

In my case, a malfunction in a part of me that I didn’t understand had been repaired,

and in addition, Announcer-san has regained some of her strength.

The current Announcer-san couldn’t speak freely, but she seems to answer any
questions I had about my condition.

She also said that she will assist me in my magic operations from now on. It will be a
little easier for me to control the finer details and use great magic in the future.

I also take a look at the sword in Fran’s hand. The sword seems to be made sturdy
enough to withstand Fran’s reckless use.

Alistair said that it was only a makeshift sword, but it was quite strong.

Name: Heavy Magic Steel Sword

ATK: 480

MP: 80

Durability: 1200

Magic Conductivity: D-
It’s like a portrait drawn in five seconds by a professional illustrator, or a snack made
quickly from leftovers by a genius cook. From my point of view, it’s amazing, but
from her point of view, it’s nothing.

[Hmmm]

“Master? Is something wrong?”

[No, it’s nothing…]

The center of gravity and the length of the blade are made to resemble me. But it
gives me mixed feelings too.

I’m sure it was useful to Fran. It has protected her while I was away, watched her
growth, and endured her rough usage in silence. Yes, that’s a great sword.

But I don’t like it. No, let me rephrase it, I’m jealous of this sword. I’m jealous of the
sword that looks so much like me that Fran used as a replacement while I was gone.

That’s exactly how I feel right now.

[Well, now that I’m back, that sword won’t be around for a while]

“Nn. I haven’t been able to get serious in a while”

[Ou, I’m on it!]

There is no doubt that Fran has grown a lot. She has earned the title of Big Game
Hunter and her skills have increased.

Big Game Hunter, as the name suggested, was a title she got when she defeated a
huge opponent. Fran didn’t seem to know exactly when she earned it, but
Announcer-san told us the details in her place. Apparently, she fought against an
Earth Slime, which takes in the earth and becomes huge.

It’s a title that will increase her status when she’s fighting someone bigger than her,
so it can be quite useful. Fran is small after all.

I was also surprised at the growth of her skills. Even without skill-sharing, she was
even able to handle Sword Saint Skill and Sword Saint Technique by herself now.
Even though the use of skill-sharing and dealing with high-level skills has sped up
their growth, their growth rate was still extraordinary.

I guess it was the result of multiple factors.

She had the talent, to begin with. She had the best training partner, Amanda. In
addition, she continued to fight against superior opponents in these Plains of the
Demon Wolf.

And she had the mental strength to dive into the rigorous training to make the most
of it.

The result was her current growth. However, the true value of her training was not in
terms of numbers. But the use of her magic power, which was previously left aside,
has been sharpened to a far greater degree.

It only took me one look at her magic to know that. When she used the lower level
fire magic to light a fire. Her magic flow when she chanted that technique was
surprisingly smooth. Moreover, there were no momentary pauses.

No matter how many times you chant, you won’t be able to eliminate the process of
concentrating and controlling your magic power. Fran would have had to pause for a
moment in the past. That was not necessary now though.

[You’ve grown a lot huh]

“Nn!”

“Woof!”

When I praised Fran, Urushi cried as if to tell me not to forget about him too. His
voice came down from far above us. Urushi was now over ten meters tall.

[Of course, I haven’t forgotten you. I’m sure you have done your best too]

“Woof woof!”

I was also surprised by Urushi’s evolution. His growth makes me amazed at him, he
grew more than Fran after all.
It wasn’t just about his size. The species he had evolved into was neither the
Gehenna Wolf nor the Dark Night Wolf species that Fenrir had mentioned before.

Ragnarok Wolf, which was Urushi’s race now. Apparently, he has evolved in a special
way. The explanation for it was still unclear, just like the Evil People, but Urushi
didn’t have the blessings of the Evil God.

According to Announcer-san, he has evolved into a completely new and unique

species. There’s no information about him even in the world’s logic after all.

Moreover, his abilities were not hampered. His status was greatly improved, and he
has several stats that exceeded 1000. I’m sure his threat level would be at least B.

Moreover, the number of his skills has increased significantly. His skills are mostly
the higher-level than the original skills, but there are also new unique skills that have
been acquired.

The following are just some of his skills that stand out.

[Skill]

Shadow Transfer: The higher version of Shadow Migration

Regeneration Inhibition: Reduces the healing speed of the enemies he bites.

Great Physical Change: The higher version of Physical Change

Rampage: Pushing oneself on a rampage when cornered

[Unique Skill]

Dark Absorption: Absorb a portion of the magic power contained in dark magic and
darkness magic

Predation Recovery: Heal wounds by eating

[Extra Skill]

Predatory Assimilation: The higher version of Predatory Absorption

[Inherent Skill]

Dimensional Fangs: A Fang technique that deals damage while ignoring defense.

Familial Intimidation: Intimidate his kin and relatives.

Familial Hatred: Disliked by his kin and relatives.

Seal Nullification: Nullify sealing techniques.

Familial Intimidation and Familial Hatred was a particularly strange skill. Didn’t he
evolve into a higher species? But it was clearly a disadvantageous skill. Moreover, his
titles were also strange.

I know what Predator of Evil is. As the name implies, it was probably earned by
defeating and devouring an evil being. But The Lonely Beast and The One and Only
seems to be a title given as a comfort to the lonely being.

Announcer-san also taught me that Fenrir-san had given him some of his power. And
as a result, he seems to have evolved into a special race, transcending his wolf kin
but becoming a shunned being.

[Urushi…]

“Woof?”

Urushi stared back at me with his pure eyes. Even after he became a 10-meter giant,
those eyes had never changed.

I can’t feel any loneliness or sadness from him.

Besides, when I thought ‘what if someone took pity on me?’ or ‘Isn’t it lonely to be
the only sword with a human soul in the world?’ What if I was told something like
that?

I wouldn’t be happy; those were not the words I would want to hear after all.

[Urushi, you’ve become even stronger huh!? You look so reliable! I’ll be counting on
you from now on!]
“Woof!”
“Haaa―?”

[Oops! My timing is off!]

“Woof?”

[Aah, I’m sorry Urushi]

We were out on the Plains of the Demon Wolf, checking our coordination against a
herd of Fang Boars we had discovered.

They were small fry magic beasts that were normally easy to handle. The current
Fran would be able to defeat them with a single flick with her fingertip.

However, I unexpectedly missed my first and second shots against the Fang Boar
leader that I had designated as my first target.

First, Fran tried to draw its attention to us, but it seems neither of us fully
understood each other’s growth. I had predicted that her magic would be faster, but I
hadn’t expected that she would be able to control her flame magic Vernier so
perfectly.

In the past, it would have been necessary for her to use wind magic or telekinesis to
stabilize her posture, but now Fran can go straight ahead without any disturbances
while using the Vernier.

Well, if that was all, it would have ended with Fran cutting down the Boar magic
beasts, but unexpectedly, I got in her way.

Well, it can’t be helped. We’re doing this to check our coordination after all, so I can’t
just watch her do all the work.

I instantly understood that Fran was going to use aerial jump and flame magic to
accelerate, so I was going to use wind magic to help her accelerate further while
using telekinesis to stop the Fang Boars from moving.

But my control over it was far better than I thought I would be. I’m sure I put too
much magic power into it because it has been a while and I was trying to show off a
little…

I didn’t expect it to be nearly twice as powerful as it was before. The acceleration of

my wind magic was so fast that it made Fran jump over the Fang Boar.

Even so, Fran managed to offset it a little and attacked the Fang Boar, which was
great. However, her attack had annihilated the Fang Boar herd.

I didn’t know that the power of her attribute sword has become that powerful. With
a single swing of the wind attribute sword, three Fang Boars were crushed, and the
two that were farther away were lifted by the wind and slammed into the ground.

I wonder if the latter was more miserable than the former huh? Anyway, I’ll be more
careful in the future.

Urushi went at the last remaining one, but they were too different in size. Before we
could see how strong he was, Urushi would probably crush it with his huge paws and
it would be flattened.

When I thought so, Urushi shrunk in front of me. It was the ability of the Great
Physical Change skill. Up until now, the changes were between four meters and one
meter. But now it seems that he can change his body size from 10 meters to 50
centimeters.

Urushi, now the size of a small dog, attacked the small Fang Boar, whose movements
were blocked by my telekinesis. However, it seems that his attack was repelled by
something. He had aimed for the head with moderate attack power to secure as
much meat as possible, but my telekinesis had gotten in the way.

Just like my wind magic, it seemed to have a lot of strength due to the excessive
amount of magic power I put into it. However, the telekinetic restraints were burst
away with that one blow.

The Fang Boar ran away after being freed from the restraints. However, Urushi
caught up with it instantly through Shadow Transfer and chopped off its head with a
strike of his paw.

Shadow Transfer was a skill that allowed him to transfer to any place as long as there
was a shadow, rather than diving into it. He could even go in and out of a shadow
that was smaller than him. And then there was the new equipment for his paws. This
was the weapon that Alistair had made for Urushi.

Name: Divine Steel Magic Claws

ATK: 480

MP: 250

Durability: 800

Magic Conductivity: B

Skill: Size Adjustment Enhancement

Name: Serpent Dragon Collar

DEF: 80

Durability: 600/600

Effect: Small Item Bag, Size Adjustment Enhancement

The Magic Claws of Divine Steel was similar to the previously equipped Claw of
Capture, but this one was made for Urushi from the start. Although the paralyzing
ability had been lost, the performance was so much different, so it was definitely an
upgrade.

The Serpent Dragon collar was made of worm skins and other materials that
Amanda had hunted. It seemed to be a substitute for a follower’s tag and also a
handle for Fran when she rides on him.

Both are very useful because they do not break even when Urushi reaches his
maximum size. Apparently, she couldn’t attach any other skills to it because she had
given them this unusual resizing feature, but she managed to add an item bag
feature.
[… I’m so sorry]

“It’s fine”

“Woof!”

[It sounds like you’re more interested in confirming my power than our
coordination]

From that point on, we tested our power separately, but we occasionally combined
them over time.

Ooh right, I had also absorbed all the magic stones that Fran had stored while I was
gone and I had gained a few skills from it. But it wasn’t just skills that I had gained,
but my rank had also increased.

Fran had accumulated more than 300 magic stones after all. So, I was able to rank up
at once and added more magic stone value for me.

However, the only problem was that the magic stone value I could absorb from the
magic stones was strangely low, and I couldn’t get any self-evolution points from
them. When I was trying to figure out why that was the case, Announcer-san had
explained it to me.

<Fenrir’s transfer of power to the individual named Urushi requires compensation>

[What do you mean?]

<To prioritize Fenrir’s recovery, the power transferred has been greatly reduced>

I know that the way I get the magic stone value has to go through a first. It starts
with me absorbing it →Some goes to Fenrir to aid his recovery → and finally the
leftover power comes to me.

It seems that Fenrir had done a lot of work to make Urushi evolve into his unique
species. However, because of this, he was worn out and seemed to be using my magic
power to recover.

[How long do you think this will last?]

<It will be until the next time you rank up>

Well, he did it for Urushi, so I’m not complaining. I’m rather grateful for what he has
done.

And because of that, Urushi got the power he wished for. It would have been great if
it didn’t give him the Familial Hatred Skill…… It was a unique skill, so I don’t think
even my skill taker could erase it. Well, I’m going to give it a try at least once.

Ah, as for the sudden increase in the number of skills I own, I think I can handle it
now. Since Announcer-san is here to help me ease my burden when doing so.

I can’t be too reckless with it though.

It seems that this pedestal was not something that can be used that often. It requires
a huge amount of magic power to activate in order to repair me. Even though it
continued to absorb and store magic power from the Plains of the Demon Wolf, that
magic power was not infinite.

[So I’ll be able to get points at the next rank up huh?]

<Yes. However, the probability of obtaining the specified number of self-evolution

points is predicted to be only 11%>

[Isn’t that the same as not gaining any points at all?]

<The possibility of halving the number of points obtained is 89%>

Well, does that mean I can get half? That’s fine. It’s a small price to pay for Urushi’s
evolution.

[We need to strengthen our coordination, master our skills, and obtain more magic
stones. We still have a lot to do!]

“Nn! Let’s do our best!”

“Woof!”

<The required magic stone value for the next rank up is 1022 points>
About a month has passed since I woke up. Based on the calendar, we’ve passed the
middle of the second month and are approaching its end.

And today was a special day for us too.

[It seems that our coordination is now sufficient and we were able to understand
each other’s abilities well. We’ve tested our skills, and we’ve allocated some self-
evolution points we’ve obtained to gain new skills]

“Nn”

[We’ll end our training tomorrow]

I declare that to Fran and Urushi, who are eating around the fire next to the pedestal.

Actually, I wanted to continue our training here in the plains. I’ll gain more power by
hunting the magic beast around here after all.

But I must not. Fran’s wishes would not be fulfilled by staying and training here for
too long. In the first place, it would not be good for Fran’s education to remain holed
up in this magical area. A child needs to be exposed to a variety of people in a human
environment to help them grow.

[Amanda too, thank you for staying here with her]

“Thank you”

“Woof!”

“It’s fine isn’t it, we’re friends, aren’t we. Besides, it was fun and this could be
considered as training for me as well”

In fact, Amanda’s level had gone up, and so had several of her skill levels. Even so, the
supposedly busy Rank A adventurer had come to this place at least once a week,
while adamantly refusing to accept any rewards.

I guess you could say that we owe her a lot. Well, Amanda would probably tell us not
to worry about it, so we just keep that thinking to ourselves.

“Alistair too, you’ve been a great help for us”

“Well, it was an exchange for information about the Fanatics sword. Besides, I can get
a lot of experience by examining Master”

[But, are you sure you don’t want us to pay you?]

“Don’t worry about it, Amanda was the one who gathered the materials after all”

Amanda had asked Alistair to make new claws and a collar for Urushi. She asked her
to do it so that not only Fran but also Urushi would become stronger too.

“Urushi too, you’ve worked so hard”

“Woof!”

Come to think of it, Urushi has been together with us since he was summoned by me.

“If you’re interested, I’d like you to take care of that request”

“Nn”

[We’ll take care of it]

The request was for us to go to a magic academy in a neighboring country. She said
that they were looking for a partner for a mock battle, but we might be asked to do
something else as well.

The High Elf who was the director of the magic academy seems to be a person that
even Alistair could not handle, so she has eagerly accepted this request of her.

[… Well then, I wonder when the date would change?]

“Hmm? You’re probably right”

Alistair heard me muttering and pulled out a pocket watch from her robe. I’d like to
have it too, but I hear it’s really expensive.

In particular, a pocket watch made by Alistair would be worth millions.

[Well, Fran. Do you know what day today is?]

“Nn?”

She doesn’t seem to know huh. Well, she’s been training in this magical area for a
long time, so she probably doesn’t know what days today is.

[Today marks the day of the first time Fran and I met one year ago]

“Oooh, really?”

[Yeah. It all happened so fast]

I couldn’t be with her half the time though, but I was still close to her for almost half
a year in total. We had sad, angry, and happy memories together. And it was a
terribly intense time for us.

[… And we’ve got stronger]

“Nn”

Fran was a powerless slave girl when I met her. She had endured fear and intense
pain continued to fight without running away even from strong enemies and
continued to walk in a straight line to the new height of her race she was aiming for.

I’m deeply moved when I think about it. Fran is probably the same. She nodded her
head with a shy smile.

However, when I appraised Fran, I was surprised by something.

[Eh? Fran’s… age is… Come to think of it, you’ve always been 12 years old huh?]

To my surprise, Fran’s age had changed from 12 to 13.

“What’s wrong, Master?”

[Hey, Fran. Do you remember your birthday?]

“Nn? Nn…?”

She didn’t seem to remember. But what a miracle for today happened to be her
birthday too. If that were the case, would the world’s logic have recognized the day
when she changed her name to Fran as her new birthday? The day she changed her
name from nameless to Fran.

[Not only today is the day that Fran and I met, but it’s also her birthday! It’s a double
anniversary then!]

“Nn. I’m happy”

[Fufufu, I’ve also got something good for you! You know what that is?]

“Something good… Pancakes?”

[That’s right!]

“Oooh!”

Fran clapped her hands happily when she heard my words.

She seems to see pancakes as a commemoration treat. Pancakes were Fran’s favorite
food in a different way than curry was.

[Fufufu, this is the batter for the special pancakes I’ve been secretly preparing while
Fran was sleeping!]

“Special pancakes!”

Fran’s eyes lit up at my words. But I will not betray her expectations.

For the past week, Amanda had been buying all the ingredients and preparing them
in secret. The cream for the topping was ready, and all I had to do was cook the
pancakes right here and it would be ready.

[Let’s start with Fran’s share! Now I can make 10 at the same time!]
“Master, so amazing!”

[Haha! Of course!]

I poured the batter into ten pans on the fire created with flame magic at the same
time. It was all done with my telekinesis. It was like there were dozens of invisible
hands. But it was a piece of cake for me now that I had the help of Announcer-san.

<All telekinetic output is well within the margin of error>

[Yosh! Here it is!]

“Master, so cool!”

[Hahaha!]

Fran claps her hands even faster than before when she sees my strange move of
flipping the pancake by shaking the pan all at once. But aren’t you going to wipe
away the drool that is flowing down from the edge of your mouth?

[And now it’s done!]

“Oooohh!”

[A ten-tier tower of pancakes with 20 toppings of your choice!]

The pancakes were piled up on a large plate in front of Fran with a thud. Currently,
there was only butter and maple syrup on them.

On a separate plate, I prepared small bowls of whipped cream, chocolate sauce, nuts,
and various kinds of jams. Then she used a spoon to pour them on as she wished.

[How was it!]

“Amazing! Master is super amazing! Can I eat it now?”

[Ou! Enjoy!]

“Nn! Thanks for the meal!”

Fran then cut off the top pancake and first popped it straight into her mouth.

“Mogu mogu”

“How is it?”

“Nn!”

She just nodded, but I could tell the truth from the big smile on her face. A perfect
score, I guess. Fran continued to fill her stomach with pancakes at a tremendous
pace. Amanda, who was watching her smiling, suddenly raised a question.

“Hey, Fran-chan?”

“Mogu mogu?”

“Between curry and pancakes, which one is more delicious?”

“Nn…?”

Oh? Fran stopped eating and tilted her head.

“Curry is fulfilling!”

“Then, do you like curry the most?”

“Pancakes make me happy! Both are delicious. But a different kind of delicious”

When Fran said so while trying to put more pancakes in her mouth again――.

Growl――.

Her stomach growled, even though she had eaten a lot of pancakes. Well, it was
probably because she mentioned curry to her. As evidence, Fran is staring at me
right now.

“Master…”

[Yes yes. I’ll serve you curry too. But it’s only because today is special okay?]
“Nn!”

Fran, who usually doesn’t show much emotion, smiled so much when she ate the
food I made. I couldn’t be happier. I have to limit what she eats so that she doesn’t
become fat though. It’s okay if it only happens once in a while, right?

===== Fran Status =====

Name: Fran

Age: 13 Years old

Race: Beastman, Black Cat Kin, Black Heavenly Tiger Kin

Job: Sword King

Status Level: 61/99

HP: 669

MP: 531

STR: 430

VIT: 295

AGI: 497

INT: 249

DEX: 255

Magic: 310

[Skill]

Sole Sense: Lv3, Intimidation: Lv3, Stealth: Lv7, Evasion: Lv2, Fire Resistance: Lv4,
Wind Magic: Lv6, Court Etiquette: Lv4, Vigilance: Lv2, Presence Detection: Lv8,
Sword Technique: LvMax, Sword Saint Skill: Lv2, Swordsmanship: LvMax, Sword
Saint Technique: Lv2, Evil Resistance: Lv4, Instantaneous: Lv8, Silencing: Lv2, Mental
Resistance: Lv3, Survival Technique: Lv2, Attribute Sword: Lv1, Sea Resistance: Lv1,
Earth Resistance: Lv2, Provocation: Lv4, Intuition: Lv3, Poison Resistance: Lv4, Fire
Magic: Lv8, Physical Barrier: Lv2, Windstorm Resistance: Lv2, Paralysis Resistance:
Lv2, Magic Detection: Lv4, Burn Resistance: Lv3, Thunder Magic: lv7, Cooking: lv3,
Trap Disarm: lv2, Trap Detection: Lv3

Undead Killer, Evil Killer, Insect Killer, Orc Killer, Energy Manipulation, Sword
Technique Enhancement, Sword Skill Enhancement, Goblin Killer, Mental Stability,
Demon Killer, Adept Skinning, Determination, Split Thinking, Directional Sense,
Magic Manipulation, Night eye.

[Unique Skill]

Blessings of the Sword God

[Inherent Skill]

Awakening, Sword God Transformation, Brilliant Lightning Rush

[Special Skill]

Blessing of the Black Heavenly Tiger

[Title]

Undead Killer, A Match for A Thousand, Evil Killer, Insect Killer, Orc Killer, Big Game
Hunter, Dismantling King, Healer, Sword King, Goblin Killer, Slaughterer, Evil People
Annihilator, Skill Collector, Skill Mania, Attribute Master, Dungeon Conqueror, Super
Big Game Devourer, Demon Killer, Earth Magic-User, Fire Magic-User, Wind Magic-
User, Annihilator of Magic Beast, Lightning Magic-User. King of Cooking.

[Equipment]

Heavy Magic Steel Sword

Black Heavenly Tiger Series (Name: Black Heavenly Tiger’s Fighting Robe, Black
Heavenly Tiger’s Gloves, Black Heavenly Tiger’s Light Shoes, Black Heavenly Tiger’s
Ear Ring, Black Heavenly Tiger’s Cloak, Black Heavenly Tiger’s Leather Belt)
Herculean Strength Bracelet, Magician Necklace.
[Shall we go then?]

“Nn!”

“Woof!”

[Let’s take its magic stones and make it as the culmination of our training!]

“Okay. Brilliant Lightning Rush!”

Fran then jumps off of Urushi’s back while holding me. There’s a white smoke below
us. It was the Greater Venom Ghast, but that’s not all.

“Don’t let that little girl get away this time!”

“Today is the day for us to kill her”

“This is an impossible fight for you!”

The Wight King was also there. Apparently, Fran had fought with the Wight King
many times before. However the Wight King and the Greater Venom Ghast were
always close to each other, and because of that, she had become too exhausted to
defeat them so she had no choice but to retreat.

[Have you located where that Ghast’s magic stone is]

“No”

[Hmm… Let’s defeat the Wights first then]

“Understood”

[Urushi, take care of its subordinates!]

“Woof!”

In the past, this would have been a rather reckless instruction. Four Wight High
Wizards and two Wight Imperial Guards against Urushi alone was too much for him
to take care of. He would have only been able to take care of two of them.

However, it wasn’t impossible for the current Urushi.

“Woof!”

“――!”

With the use of his Dimensional Fang after his Shadow Transfer, he had immediately
inflicted great damage on the High Wizard. They were capable of detecting space-
time magic, but since Shadow Transfer was a skill in the same system as dark magic,
they seemed unable to detect the surprise attack from this ability.

After that, he repeatedly used hit-and-run tactics to defeat the wights. Urushi, whose
life force, defense, and regeneration had all increased compared to before, did not
even budge from a few counter-attacks from them.

From time to time, he changed his body size and used deadly poison magic to create
smoke and other substances that fly around among the wights to keep them at his
mercy.

Of course, it was not an easy win. He was taking a few hits and occasionally he took
some heavy damage from strong counterattacks. But that’s all. He never gets into a
pinch where we have to intervene, and he never feels uneasy. There was a sense of
steadiness and composure in his fight.

“What kind of wolf is that…!?”

“Urushi!”

“I’m not asking about its name! And how did you get here in such a short time…!”

“I’ve been training after all”

“If only training can make someone become that strong, then anyone would train!”
The Wight King was screaming at her, but Fran didn’t respond to his words and
rushed forward.

“Th-that little girl too! She’s getting even faster!”

“Fuh!”

“Kuh――Short teleport!”

As expected, the Wight King could not be underestimated. Even though he was a
magician type, he dodged Fran’s Sheaths of Wind skill. In addition, he used a teleport
skill to gain some distance, and immediately after, he unleashed a wide range of ice
and snow magic attacks.

“Diamond Dust!”

It was a technique used to freeze a large area. However, Fran had rushed into the
attack while using flame and wind magic. She cut through the shimmering ice mist
and pushed forward toward the closest Wight.

“Kukaka! I had expected that! Nuooooo! Blast Avalanche!”

The Wight King’s magic created an avalanche on the plains. It was a tsunami of snow
that swept over Fran, engulfing a wide area.

He probably would be able to breach the wall of a medium-sized fort with this
technique. That’s how destructive his technique was. In addition, the ice created with
magic had an unusually cold air around it. So, its danger was much greater than an
avalanche of the same scale.

However, Fran only looked at the advancing avalanche and muttered a single word.

“Master”

[Ou! Leave it to me!]

She believed that I could do something――No, she knew that I would do something
about it. So, it was my job to answer that trust.

[Haaaa!]
What I released was a huge torrent of light. It wasn’t an emission type of magic
power, nor was it fire magic. It was light magic that had been raised to a higher level
by consuming some points.

It was the Lv6 Light Magic, Solar-Ray.

When you hear the term “light magic” the first thing you might think of is lasers or
beams. To put it simply, it’s similar to the beam gun from an anime. Since it was
magic, it was not a simple ray of light, but it looked like a beam.

A pillar of light as thick as a drum shot out and pierced the white tsunami. The light
concentrated on a single point melted the avalanche and created a path for Fran to
follow. In addition, I used the Light Distraction Membrane that I obtained from
Invisible Death to increase the power of the light by increasing its focus point.

The level of the technique was probably about the same, but this one was stronger
because of its single-point focus.

“Ghhaah! Yo-you can even do something like that!?”

The Wight King was damaged by the light magic that had been released through his
skill. It seems that we couldn’t defeat an opponent that was resistant to magic so
easily. However, because he was on the lookout for the next magic attack, the Wight
King’s attention was in front of him.

“Black Thunder Roll”

“Nuoh?”

Fran didn’t miss the opportunity. She ran through the path I had created and rushed
with the Black Thunder Roll.

“Fuuh!”

“Gha――ha…!”

Immediately after the teleport, she swung me down and cut the Wight King’s body in
two.

“For an elite of the Black Skeleton Army, to be defeated… by such a little girl is…!”
“Haaa!”

“Giiaaahh!”

As expected, the Wight King could not dodge the attack from behind, because his
focus was elsewhere. We still didn’t know where his magic stone was, but there was
no way he could save himself if he was cut in half from the top of his head and then
cut into pieces.

“There’s no magic stone?”

[Hmm, could it be that he was summoned with necromancy? No, there’s should be
no magician who can summon such a high-level undead――]

“Master!”

[Oops! I forgot that we’re in a fight now!]

The smoke from the Greater Venom Ghast tried to surround us at once.

[The only thing left is this smoke guy huh… But how to find its magic stone?]

“Attack the ground again?”

The Wight King was the same, but I still couldn’t find the Ghast’s magic stone. No, I
think there’s some sort of focus in its magic power, but I couldn’t trace it back to its
source.

However, if I can feel this particular focus, then I can be sure that there is a magic
stone nearby. It’s a good idea to use an AOE magic that engulfs the entire area.

As Fran and I were thinking about something, Urushi tried to appeal about
something.

“Woof woof!”

[Could it be, that you know where its magic stone is?]

“Woof!”
[Then let’s do this!]

“Woooof!”

With a smug look on his face, Urushi bellowed and ran toward the air. With his
momentum, he bit into the space in front of him. And then…

“Uuaaaaaa!”

As an eerie scream rose from the space, the smoke cleared at once. We thought the
magic stone was in the ground, but it seems to have been hidden in the smoke.
Perhaps it was being hidden with some kind of space-time magic ability. However,
Urushi’s evolved senses did not miss the magic power of the magic stone. With his
Dimensional Fangs, he would be able to attack it no matter what space it was in.

Well, we didn’t get its magic stone though, but we did defeat a troublesome
opponent. So, I’ll give him an honest compliment.

[Good job!]

“Woof!”

“Urushi, good boy”

“Woof woof!”

Urushi, who had changed his size into a medium-sized dog was happy to be petted
by Fran.

Even so, we’ve gotten a lot stronger. We were able to defeat an opponent that we had
struggled with before with only a little bit of strain and minor injuries. We took on
two magic beasts with a threat level of B and won.

“Fran-chan, Master, and Urushi. Now I’ve seen it with my own eyes, you guys are
really getting stronger!”

“Thank you”

Amanda gave us a thumbs-up as approval when she praised us.

[Yosh, with this, our training is over!]

“Nn!”

“Woof!”

Author-san note for the previous chapter (Fran’s status):

“If you get the Killer title, you will also get a skill with the same name”
After defeating the Wight King and the Greater Venom Ghast as the culmination of
our training, we were discussing our future actions.

“What are you going to do now, Fran-chan?”

“Umm? Master?”

[Now that you’ve mentioned it]

It’s not like we have to do something. But there are so many things I wanted to do
though.

[As for me, Alistair has asked us to be a partner for a mock battle. And I’m kind of
interested in that]

Rather than the request itself, I’m more interested in the academy. Well, I don’t think
Fran would want to study there though.

Fran’s most important goal was to become stronger and break the Black Cat Kin’s
curse. For that purpose, going to school would only prolong her mission to achieve
her goal.

However, it’s also important for her to get in contact with kids of her age, and maybe,
Fran will be interested in studying there.

As for me, I agree that Fran should take some time and study there. I’m not going to
actively encourage it though, but if Fran wants to go, then I’m not going to oppose
her.

Well, with all that said, she has to experience the academy first.

“I’m interested too”

[Ooh? Are you sure?]

By any chance, does she have the desire to go to school? I thought so, but it seems
what she was interested in was different than what I was.

“Nn! I’d like to meet the High Elves”

[So that’s why huh?]

“I’m interested in the strongest race in the world”

Just as I thought, Fran’s interest seemed to be focused solely on the fight. But if Fran
also wanted to go there, our next destination has been decided then.

[Well, let’s head to the Academy of Magic in the Belios Kingdom then]

“Nn”

“Very well, I will give you my letter of introduction then. Take this with you, and you
won’t have to wait for days to meet Weena Rhyn”

[So the name of the High Elf is Weena Rhyn huh?]

“That’s right”

But still, how long would we have had to wait without this letter of introduction?
Such a thing should only happen when someone is requesting to meet someone of
high status right?… From her title as the Director of the Academy of Magic, I had
assumed that she was somewhat an important person, but she seems to be more
important than I had imagined.

“The Academy of Magic is allowed to self-govern itself. So, in a sense, Weena Rhyn is
like a feudal lord. Without a letter of introduction, you won’t be able to meet with her
right away”

“What kind of person is she?”

“Aah, now that you mention it… She is a calm person, but she seems to be rather dull
sometimes. Well, she often switches around between her normal and outlandish
behavior. But rest assured, she has no ill intentions. It’s just that she’s a little
eccentric”

[That doesn’t sound very reassuring at all]

A High Elf with no ill intentions but an eccentric personality that often switches
around. Isn’t that quite a bad personality?

“I know you’re worried. But she really is a good person. In fact, she’s been running
the Academy of Magic for hundreds of years and is worshipped by many people.
Well, I’ve also heard that there are a few people who had a grudge against her
though…”

You don’t have to add those last words to increase my worry!

[Somehow, I don’t feel like going there now]

“Come on, don’t say something like that, and how about you, Fran?”

“Nn. Interested to meet with the High Elves”

“That’s what she said”

[Kuh]

If Fran really wanted to meet her, it couldn’t be helped then!

“Very well…”

Then we’ll need to get ready to cross the border. What’s the procedure for that? I
asked Amanda, and she said that as long as we have a rank B adventurer’s card, we
should be fine.

“Well, because it’s also bordering with the Raidos Kingdom, the border guards would
be quite strict now, so I recommend that you go through the border checkpoint
properly”

“Okay”

[Do they have a wall?]

“No, they don’t. But be careful, because I’m pretty sure their immigration records are
very well kept”

So, we would be in trouble if they check our identity somewhere but there is no
record of us entering the country huh.

“Actually, I’d like to go with you too, but…”

[I thought you said you were done investigating the fanatic sword?]

“It’s not done yet. And the investigation of the former Marquis Ashtner was still on
going”

It seems that she was supposed to inspect the documents left in the Marquis
Ashtner’s mansion with Gallus and the others.

I wondered if it would be so easy for them to show her the documents of the Divine
Sword controlled by the government, but to my surprise, she had already talked to
the King.

[Are you okay with divulging your identity to the government that easily?]

The King of the Kranzel Kingdom is not the frank type like the Beast King. In some
cases, he might even try to force her to do what he says, right?

I thought so, but it was Amanda who denied it.

“I think she’ll be fine. You were introduced to the King by Gallus, weren’t you? To be
frank, under the current circumstances, they wouldn’t want to make enemies with
both the head blacksmith and the Divine Level Blacksmith. Besides, no sane
countries would mess with a Divine Level Blacksmith”

“Why so?”

“They don’t know what kind of magic tools they have, or what kind of connections
they have either. They might have some connections to other countries or famous
adventurers that aren’t known, right?”

If they tried to take in a Divine level blacksmith for themselves, they could make
enemies of many places.
“Besides, solving the fanatic sword problem is a top priority for this country. If a
copy of that thing comes out, there’s a good chance this disaster will happen again
after all. Well, at least until the chaos is over, they’ll treat me well”

“That’s why you don’t have to worry. And I’ll also hint my connection to Alistair to
them”

So, they would also turn Amanda into their enemy if they tried to take in Alistair for
themselves huh.

“That’s why please rest assured”

“Understood”

Fran nodded at Alistair’s words and bowed deeply.

“Amanda, Alistair. Thank you very much”

Amanda and Alistair smiled as they watched her. They were happy, but they
somehow felt lonely. It seems they know that this was a farewell gesture.

“I’ve had a lot of fun”

“Me too”

Fran then raised her head and jumped on Urushi, who had changed his size to as big
as a horse.

“Come see me again, okay?”

“Sure”

“Me too, I’ll go to the Academy of Magic too after the investigation is over”

“Nn. I’ll be waiting”

Normally she holds back more sadness from goodbyes, but this time she was
surprisingly quiet. With strong feelings of gratitude, but not so much sadness.

They had been together for a while, and had already been separated and reunited
several times, both with Amanda and Alistair. Maybe she’s getting used to that
relationship.

Besides, she’s confident that we will meet these two again. Maybe that’s why Fran
feels that this was a temporary parting.

“Both of you, bye bye”

The speed of the evolved Urushi was so incredible. The journey which should take us
a day to complete was done in about an hour.

He jumped over mountains and rivers, and the magic beasts there were nothing but
food to him. He didn’t even stop; he just ate them up as he continued to run.

“Momu momu”

“Tasty?”

“Woof!”

I don’t mind though, since he had secured their magic stones so we won’t need to
strip off their materials.

[Ooh, now we can see the next town. That must be Didianne, the last town before we
leave the Kranzel Kingdom]

“What’s their specialty?”

[I heard they are famous for their cheese from domesticated magic beasts]

“Heee”

“Woof!”

With Urushi’s speed, we should have entered the Belios Kingdom long ago, but we’re
still in the Kranzel Kingdom.

This is because we stopped in all the towns and villages along the way to eat their
local specialties. It’s been a week since I learned how to cook some of it and even
stayed overnight because I liked to cook.
We’re not in a hurry, so Fran could do as she pleased. It would be rather boring if we
just simply hurried to the destination. It would be a waste to not enjoy the journey as
well. I wanted Fran to experience more than just fighting after all.

The first thing we saw when we entered the town through the gate were armed
soldiers. They weren’t trying to intimidate us, but there seemed to be a lot of them
for a town of this size.

Maybe because it’s a city near the border huh? But no matter how I look at it, they
seem like security soldiers, don’t they? Or should I say, police-types? They give a
different impression from border patrol soldiers after all.

However, the reason for this somber atmosphere soon became apparent. It was at
the first stall we stopped at.

“Hey young miss! This is Didianne’s specialty, bread with lots of cheese! Do you want
some?”

“Nn. Give me five”

“Ooh, aren’t you quite the bold one! Coming! That looks, are you an adventurer?”

“Nn”

“That’s amazing, you’ve must have to do your best even though you’re still small huh,
is this also your first time in this town?”

“Just arrived”

“I see! So, what do you think of this town?”

“There’s a lot of soldiers”

“Aah, about that huh?”

The old man at the stall told us that a few months ago, a famous person with a
bounty on his head was spotted in this area. He said that soldiers and even the local
army had been sent out to capture him, but they had been one-sidedly beaten.

“About a hundred soldiers were beaten in a blink of an eye, you know? It’s been like
this for the past few months, with such a dangerous person possibly lurking around”

“I see”

It’s quite a violent criminal for being able to defeat a hundred soldiers by himself.
Well, I guess the Lord won’t just leave him alone after that.

However, I felt a little strange about that.

“… Are the soldier not being serious on their duty?”

Yes, there were a lot of them, but the soldiers didn’t seem to be in the mood to
capture him. It wasn’t that they were not serious, but I felt that they lacked the
enthusiasm to capture him.

“Well, no one died, so I’m guessing they’re not actually that serious about this”

“Defeated an entire army, but no one died?”

“Woof?”

“Well yeah. Some of them were badly injured, but none of them died. Because of that,
the soldiers don’t seem to be putting in much effort. I think the Lord just wants to
have a record of having a lot of soldiers huh?”

So, he’s appealing that he had done his best to protect his people, but he’s not willing
to capture that guy. And if they put up a serious fight, they’ll probably just get beaten
back.

“Well, there was a rumor that he was quite a bad person, so there was some panic in
this town at first. There was an increase in the number of adventurers looking for
the guy with a bounty on his head, and it became unsafe here. However, I haven’t
heard of anyone seeing him lately, and security has improved thanks to the increase
in soldiers. In fact, I’d rather want him to stay here and not be found”

“Hey, what kind of person is this guy with a bounty?”

“Are you going to catch him? No, please don’t”

Did he see the expression on Fran’s face and detected that she had a strong interest
in the guy with a bounty? For him to be able to read Fran’s expressions, that’s quite a
feat huh. No, it must mean that Fran was so motivated that even someone who never
met her before could tell.

“But are you sure? His name is Zelos Reed. He’s said to be a skilled mercenary who’s
killed hundreds of people in his time. He’s not a someone a novice adventurer like
you can catch”

“Zelos, Reed? Zelos Reed is here?”

“Y-yeah”

No, wait. That’s absolutely ridiculous. He had fought a hundred soldiers and not a
single one of them had died, right? If he’s saying that he had slaughtered hundreds of
people back then, how is it possible that he didn’t kill a single person now?

It’s that Zelos Reed after all.

[Is it the real one?]

He may be a criminal, but he is still famous. It would not be surprising if it was a fake.
But the thing is, this guy has a high fighting power.

“What does he looks like?”

“He’s a big guy with scars all over his body… Wha, oioi, do you really want to chase
after him?”

“Well, I wonder?”

“… T-that’s fine then”

When he heard Fran’s answer, the old man thought he had been played for a fool.

But the response now was Fran’s true intention.

She has a lot of hatred for Zelos Reed. But Kiara has told me not to seek revenge. As
for Fran, she probably doesn’t want to actively pursue him, unless he’s nearby that is.

However, this guy doesn’t seem to be the real one and I don’t think that he’s still
around. But we can’t ignore this guy.

[Well, why don’t we find this guy with Urushi’s nose?]

If he was hiding nearby, we should be able to track him down. If he had left the
vicinity immediately after the incident a few months ago, there would indeed be no
scent left behind. Well, that is, if this Zelos Reed was the real one.

“Nn! Urushi!”

“Woof woof!”

“Young miss and her little doggy, don’t be reckless!”

“Sniff sniff”

“How is it, Urushi?”

“Woof…”

[No good huh?]

We were walking around while eating our meal in Didianne, looking for Zelos Reed
with Urushi’s Nose. If he were in town, it would be next to impossible to escape from
Urushi’s nose.

We had fought him so many times that Urushi remembered his smell after all.

However, we didn’t get any results. There was no trace of him, not even a hint of his
scent, so it was safe to say that he was no longer hiding in this town.

[It’s no use. The information was uncertain after all]

“Nn”

As for Fran, she felt that it couldn’t be helped and she wasn’t that depressed. It’s like
saying that she didn’t have high expectations to begin with, so she was doing this as a
tour.

[So, what should we do now? We’ve stocked up on a lot of cheese, but should we stay
here in town tonight?]

“It’s fine, let’s go to the next town”

[Are you sure?]

“Nn. I’m tired of cheese”

Aah, now that she mentioned it, she was thinking earlier that we shouldn’t buy food
that doesn’t have cheese, but it seems, she got tired of eating too much cheese. Well,
cheese is not something you would eat in such large quantities after all.

[The next town is already in the Belios Kingdom. But before that, there’s the border.
We must take the proper route into the country or it’ll be troublesome for us later]

“Okay”

In this world, countries’ borders were vague things. There are no lines drawn or
walls to separate them. It was easy to ignore them if we wanted to.

I also heard that many countries that were on good terms with each other have no
particular restrictions on traffic.

However, Belios Kingdom was different. It has one of the strictest immigration
controls in this world.

All of the roads in the city are guarded by guards, and there are many security
stations. If you are found to have entered the country without passing through the
border checkpoint, you will be charged an entry tax. Not only that but if you had
committed a crime without having gone through the entry procedures, even minor
crimes often came with severe punishment.

This was a measure against spies and such from the neighboring Raidos Kingdom,
and they won’t let you off with a bribe or something. Well, it’s a good thing that the
soldiers were serious on their duty.

Besides, if we crossed the border properly, it shouldn’t be that bad, and we wouldn’t
have to worry too much about it.

“Let’s go”

[Eh? Right now?]

“Nn”

She seems to be tired of cheese. Come to think of it. I rarely saw her request cheese
as a topping for her curry. So, even Fran has something she likes and dislikes huh?
But it’s not like she doesn’t like the cheese, it’s just she has her own ‘super like, really
like, and normal like’ list of food.

[Let’s head to the border checkpoint then. With Urushi’s legs, I’m sure we’ll manage
to get to the border by the end of the day]

“Nn!”

“Woof!”

After we finished our shopping and had reported our departure to the Adventurer’s
Guild, we then arrived at the first border checkpoint one hour later.

[That seems to be the border checkpoint on Kranzel side]

“A fort?”

“Woof?”

[Well, that fort seems to be double as a border checkpoint]

But rather than functioning as a border checkpoint, that fort seems to be a measure
to keep the Belios Kingdom in check.

Most of the borderline between the Kranzel Kingdom and the Belios Kingdom was
separated by a river. However, this mountainous area seemed to be defined as its
borderline.

In the middle of it, roads were set up to pass between the mountains, and the border
checkpoint was located on the way to those roads. The reason why this checkpoint
was not built on the borderline was probably that it also doubles as a fort.

Even if they were a friendly country, they wouldn’t let only one of them build a fort
near their border. If one side builds a fort that doubles as a border checkpoint, the
other side will do the same. And they also wanted to build their fort as close to the
other country as possible.

However, if both sides think the same thing, it could mean that the two forts were
adjacent to each other across the border.

So, in most cases, there was a treaty between the countries not to build any
structures within a certain distance from the border. Well, I only heard about this
from a guard at Didianne though.

[First, we’ll go through the exit procedures on the Kranzel Kingdom’s side. And then
we’ll cross the pass and go through the entry procedures on Belios’s side]

“Understood”

[Let’s just go on like this for the time being. We’ll be misunderstood if we continue to
ride on Urushi after all]

They might think that a dangerous magic beast was attacking them and will prolong
our exit.

“Woof woof!”

We then headed for the border checkpoint, and the procedure went very smoothly.
We were the only ones there, so we didn’t have to wait that long, and with her
adventurer’s card, they didn’t take us into more complicated procedures. All she had
done was answer with “an adventurer” and we were let out of the country.

They were a little skeptical that Fran was really a B-ranked adventurer, but once they
found out that her adventurer’s card was real, they didn’t ask too many questions.
Many adventurers don’t like to be questioned about their personal life, and if they
were a real B-rank adventurer there was no way for them to afford to offend them.

Rather, it seemed to be more difficult for us to enter the Belios Kingdom.

[Let’s walk until we get over the pass. Urushi being here would only cause more
confusion after all]

“Woof”

“Nn”

The pass was not that steep and it was said that an average person can get through it
in about half a day.

Magic beasts are also said to appear around this area, but since the soldiers were
hunting them down, those who might appear would only be a magic beast with a
threat level of F at best.

Currently, the strongest magic beast that has been confirmed was said to have a
threat level of D, but it is said that they were only witnessed once every few years.

Unless we encountered a magic beast with a threat level of D, it would take Fran and
Urushi less than half a day to cross the pass. It was already evening, but even if they
camped out, they should be able to reach the border checkpoint by tomorrow
morning.

Well, that was what it was supposed to be, but――.

[Don’t tell me, did I just raise a flag?] (1)

“Nn?”

[No, it’s nothing. More importantly, let’s help them first!]

Near the peak of the mountain, we came across a traveller that was being attacked.
Moreover, they were being attacked by a Storm Wyvern, a magic beast with a threat
level of D.

“Urushi, let’s go!”

“Woof!”

___TLN_______

(1) Raise a flag means “bring something to notice”. The phrase Raise a flag originated
from “raise a red flag” which means to alert someone about potential danger or
trouble ahead, the origin is that red flags are often literally used to warn people of
possible peril.
 GIRLS' PARTY

At the top of the pass, a group of three girls was being attacked by a Storm Wyvern. I
thought they were adventurers, but that was not the case.

One of them was wearing full-body armor like a knight, not unlike that of an
adventurer, and the equipment of the other two was oddly refined. To put it bluntly,
they were overly decorated. They looked like nobles playing adventurer, huh?

“Lady Khanna! I’ll draw its attention! Please use that chance to escape!”

“… Kuh! Shella! Let’s go!”

“B-but, lady Dianne is…!”

“I’m just going to slow you down!”

A girl who looked to be in her early teens named Khanna seems to be the master. I
don’t know if she was a noble or the daughter of a rich man, but she was trying to act
without losing herself in fear in this scene. It seemed to be quite a spectacle.

A woman of about 20 years old named Shella was her squire, and Dianne, in her full
body armor, was probably her guard.

It seems that Dianne was using herself as bait to try to let her master escape.

Dianne was trying to draw that Wyvern’s attention to her by making a rattling
metallic sound with her armor.

W-well, let’s just help them.

[Its attention is perfectly directed at that female knight. Let’s finish it off at once]

“Nn! Teleport above it!”

[Ou!]
“Urushi protects the girls!”

“Woof!”

Nevertheless, the Storm Wyvern was on the weaker side of the threat level D magic
beasts. No, if it were only for its combat power and status, it would be in the threat
level of E class. However, its flying ability is troublesome, so it was ranked D.

As long as we can get a hit to it, it wasn’t that strong of an opponent.

“Haaa!”

“Gyaaoooh――”

After the teleport, Fran instantly identified the location of its magic stone by
detecting the flow of its magic power and thrust me into that spot. She pierced the
magic stone that was located at the base of its neck, and the Storm Wyvern was
easily defeated.

I stowed it away as soon as it died so as not to cause any damage to Dianne below,
and then silence reigned as if the Wyvern had never been there in the first place.

“Eh?”

The girls were looking up at us with a dumb face. They didn’t even seem to notice
Urushi approaching them.

“Are you okay?”

“Eh, yes. Thank you for your help…”

The girls were still shocked, but it was the youngest girl of the group that had
responded quickly when Fran spoke to the girls while descending from the sky.

She was a beautiful girl with fluffy violet hair and beautiful purple eyes. The dress
armor she wore was also of the highest quality. I can’t tell if she was a noble by
appraising her. The young lady does not have a title, so nothing will be displayed as a
title.

“Umm, were you the one who did that?”

“Nn. Defeated and stored it”

“I see, thank you very much”

As the girl lowered her head, the other two finally started to move.

“Y-you has saved us. You got my thanks”

“Thank you very much… Hiii! a w-wolf!”

“Wha, since when!”

They finally noticed Urushi who had approached them. And the female knight
pointed her sword at him.

“That is my companion. It’s okay”

“I-is that so?”

“Woof!”

When Urushi heard the female knight’s murmur, he transformed into the size of a
puppy on the spot and got down. They finally understood that he had no hostility
towards them and finally the three of them could relax their shoulders.

“Thank you for your help. I’m Khanna”

“B-ranked adventurer, Fran”

“So you are an adventurer huh?”

“Nn”

It was just right after Fran gave her name. Khanna and the other reacted in three
different ways. Khanna was really surprised, while Shella had a terrified expression
for some reason, and Dianne somehow had a look of disgust on her face.

It seemed that these girls didn’t have a good feeling toward adventurers. Fran felt
this and turned quickly to leave.
“I’ll go then”

[Well, I’m sure these guys will be able to handle the other magic beast on their own]

When I appraised the three of them, I found that their basic abilities were quite high.
Not only Dianne but also Khanna and Shella had a status level of 30.

Maybe they have used the power leveling method to raise their levels, but it didn’t
seem to be just that. Khanna was able to use fire magic and water magic, while Shella
was able to use recovery magic.

And then there was Dianne, who had a decent level of skill. As I had expected, she
wasn’t good enough to fight a flying Storm Wyvern, but she would be ranked D if she
became an adventurer.

The three of them wouldn’t have any struggle with anything other than wyverns
around here. If that was the case, there was no reason for us to stay with them any
longer when we had unpleasant feelings for each other.

Shella and Dianne blatantly looked relieved as Fran tried to leave. However, their
hopes were dashed by none other than their master, Khanna.

“P-please wait!”

“Nn?”

“If possible, can I hire you to be my escort!”

“Wha! Young lady! But this girl is an adventurer!”

“But you have seen how strong she was just now, didn’t you?”

“But adventurer is no different than a barbarian who only has money in their heads!”

What a horrible thing to say. No wonder that Fran’s mood dropped. And just like
that, the master-servant argument continued in front of Fran.

“But if a magic beast of that level happens to show up again, will we be able to deal
with it…?”
“Th-that is… No, I can do it! I will let my lady escape even if it would cost me my life!”

“No, don’t do that. I don’t want you to die, Dianne”

“Even though I look like this, I’m still a member of the glorious Order of the Red
Banner! And I had prepared myself to die to protect you!”

What should we do… They have completely forgotten about Fran, aren’t they? She
didn’t say that she will take the job in the first place.

[Should we leave them alone now?]

(Hmm――)

[Eh? Do you want to help these guys?]

“… Don’t want Khanna to die”

Apparently, she had a good feeling about Khanna, who was the same age as her and
didn’t seem to make fun of adventurers, and was concerned about the safety of her
servants. However, I was sure that she was angry with Dianne.

[What should we do then?)]

(…I’d be willing to be hired under certain conditions)

[Is that so?]

Well, we’ll just wait for these two girls to stop arguing for the time being.
After waiting for a while, their argument seemed to be over. Then Dianne spoke to
her with the same haughty look as ever.

“Oi, Adventurer”

“What?”

“I’ll allow you to accompany us for now”

Uwaah, who does this guy think she is? I could tell that Fran was getting annoyed
with her.

“How much will you pay?”

“Are you trying to extort money from me!”

No, what are you talking about? How could you hire an adventurer as an escort free
of charge? However, Dianne cursed Fran even more

“This why adventurers are…”

“Isn’t it common sense that we need to pay to hire an adventurer as an escort?”

“Lady Khanna, I’m telling you that I will protect you by myself! It would be an honor
for me!”

“Knights really are hungry for honor huh? That’s great, but adventurers don’t work
for free”

“I’m sorry, we’re a little lacking in the common sense of adventurers. So how much
would you like for us to pay you?”

“Young lady!”
Dianne shouted when she saw Khanna bowing her head. However, Khanna replied
with a sharp glare at her knight.

“Silence, Dianne”

“Wha…! Why!”

“Do not impose your value on others. The value of a knight is different from an
adventurer after all. Because even among the knights and nobles, their value is
different…”

“… That is…”

“Hey. If you’re just gonna talk forever, can I go now?”

Aah, Fran was getting bored with them. But before Dianne could say anything to
Fran’s words, Khanna bowed her head again.

“I’m sorry. So, how much would you like for us to pay you?”

“Hmm…”

“Hmph. I’m sure she’s gonna ask for a lot of money from us anyway. But it’s fine,
here”

Dianne said so and threw a leather bag at Fran’s feet. Doesn’t this guy have any
learning ability? Khanna is staring at her with displeasure, isn’t she? When Fran
picked up the leather bag and opened it, she found about 2,000 Goldes in it.

“It’s just for one night, isn’t it quite an exceptional deal?”

What are you saying! The most you can hire with this money is an E-ranked or lower
adventurer.

Fran is a B-ranked adventurer you know? There’s no way she could be hired for only
that much money even if it’s only for one night. See! Fran is looking really annoyed
now.

It’s not so much for her haughty attitude when giving the money, huh? I know that
she was making fun of her job as an adventurer, but this must have definitely put
Fran in a bad mood.

In other words, she has been told that she’s only worth that much.

“Those who exchange the glorious work of protecting the weak and hunting magic
beasts for menial and vile money will risk their lives as long as they are paid, won’t
they?”

Could it be that she is deliberately trying to make Fran angry so that the negotiations
will break down? Or does she hate adventurers that much? But there was no way
that Fran would consider such a situation and take a wait-and-see approach.

Fran threw the leather bag back at Dianne’s feet a little harder and opened her
mouth.

“Not enough”

“Nonsense! It’s only for one night, you know? How much would you like to extort us
for just a one-night job!”

“I’m a B-ranked adventurer. There’s no way I can be hired with only this much. The
request fee is proof of evaluation to the adventurer. If I’m only worth that much, then
the negotiation has failed”

“… Hmph. That’s just like what an adventurer who sells themselves for money would
say. Then how much do you want me to pay”

“If you want to hire me. Then give me all your money”

“What nonsense! Don’t be ridiculous! Then how do you think we’ll sustain our
journey in the future huh!?”

“I’m not joking. Either you don’t hire me or you’ll give me all your money. That’s your
choice. You like that, don’t you?”

“Huh?”

“Money is menial and vile, isn’t it? I’ll take care of all of it for you then. Or is the
money that’s so menial and vile really that important to you? Did you tell a lie even
though you were a knight? Aah, or were you just a liar?”
Aah, she’s angry huh? She has said a lot of words after all.

Maybe she’s going to say everything she wants to say and piss them off with it. Now
it seems, it was Fran who was planning to break the negotiations.

“Guh… That Incomprehensible reason is…”

“I don’t even know you, but don’t make fun of adventurers”

“Hiii…”

Dianne, who had been hit by Fran’s intimidation, paled and fell on her butt on the
spot with tears build up in the corners of her eyes.

No matter how much she despises us, the fact remains that we are overwhelmingly
powerful. And right now, they were turning on each other. I guess she has realized
that.

Shortly after, Khanna intervened between Fran and her.

“That’s enough. Dianne, it’s your fault. Even I feel uncomfortable listening to your
words. Don’t talk anymore”

“Y-yes…”

Ooh. She made it look like she was angry with her escort, but in fact, she has
protected her from Fran. Moreover, there was no change in her expression even
though she knew that we could strike her with intimidation.

“… Fuh”

“I’m really sorry. I’ll give Dianne a scolding later and I won’t let her say unpleasant
words to you again. So, can you please calm your anger?”

“…”

Fran releases her intimidation and turns to face Khanna. Sure enough, this girl is
special, isn’t she? While others, such as Shella, who had watched Dianne being put
through her paces, looked as if she were about to have a stroke, but there was not
even a hint of fear on Khanna’s face. There was no lie in her apology either.
“So, what would you do? Do you want to give me all your money? Or not?”

“About that… Can you give me more time to pay for it?”

“Nn?”

“To be honest, we really need to get to the town of Shenarl with the money we have”

(Shenarl?)

<It’s a town located in the western part of Belios Kingdom. It also located near the
Academy of Magic we’re heading to>

(Ooh, I see)

“If I give you all the money I currently have. We’ll be troubled with our future
journey…”

Interesting. Even though she was looking at Fran, who was so intimidating, she was
still trying to negotiate with her. Moreover, she was looking up at her with an
upturned eye.

I didn’t miss the thin smile on Fran’s face. Perhaps, seeing Dianne’s disgusting
behavior had cleared her mind and left her with interest in Khanna. She seemed to
be amused by her fearlessness in negotiating the price.

“I understand that you’re strong and I’m sure you’ll need a lot of money, but that’s all
we can afford. Can you accompany us to the next border checkpoint with this?”

The leather bag she held out to her was filled with gold coins over 30,000 Goldes in
it. The interesting thing was that it was surprisingly appropriate.

This is about what a B-ranked adventurer would get for a one-night escort on a place
where the magic beast’s level is low. No, if these girls already have some fighting
power and are prepared for the camp, this was rather too much.

I don’t think she understands this… However, I was sure that this was the reason
why Fran liked her so much.

“Okay. And in return, that guy is…”

“Of course, I won’t let her say bad things to you anymore”

“Nn. Then I’ll accept the request”

“Thank you very much!”

Fran accepted Khanna’s request to escort them, but the sun was soon setting.

We camped on the roadside of the pass and used earth magic to create walls and
other stuff around our camp as a defensive measure.

[We won’t be in the way of traffic and I think we’ll be fine here on the road side]

“Nn”

This pass is not a completely straight road, it is said that dozens of side roads lead to
various places. Some of them are said to lead to the Raidos Kingdom, and naturally,
that road was monitored by guards, so free passage was not possible.

“Yo-you can use this much magic…!?”

“Yo-you’ve gotta be kidding me…!”

Dianne and Shella were shocked when they saw the camp that Fran had created.

They may have known that Fran was a powerful warrior, but they didn’t expect her
to be skilled in magic. It seems Khanna and Dianne were more astonished than when
they saw Urushi in his larger form.

The atmosphere on the road was not as bad as I had expected. Dianne, who had
completely lost her mind, and Shella, who was still terrified of Fran, hardly spoke at
all. On the other hand, Khanna was very active in talking to Fran.

Dianne and Shella were also trying to hide their presence at a distance from Fran
and Urushi while Khanna was sitting next to Fran, enjoying a bowl of curry-flavored
soup.

As one would expect of a squire, Shella braved herself to be a tester for poison, but
Khanna still ate the seemingly crude dish served by Fran without complaining. Well,
it might look crude, but it’s still a high-class dish made with a lot of magic beast meat
and spices.

She rather enjoyed eating the grilled skewers as they are and her cheerful expression
doesn’t seem to be an act.

“Fran-san is an adventurer, right?”

“Nn?”

“I think, Fran-san is about the same age as me but isn’t it unusual for an adventurer
to be that young?”

“Umm… but there are a few”

“Is that so… Umm, hey. Why did Fran-san become an adventurer?”

She doesn’t seem to hate adventurers like Dianne and Shella and was interested in
adventurers. Is adventurer that rare? But every town should have a few of them
though. Or had she never seen the outside world before? But she’s quite resilient
enough to use magic and not complain about our camp.

“To become stronger”

“Stronger, huh? But can you become a knight or a soldier instead?”

“I’m still a kid so it’s impossible”

“I see… Umm, is it hard to be an adventurer?”

“Why?”

When Fran heard Khanna’s question, she asked back, sincerely curious.

“To be that strong at the same age as me, it must have been very difficult, wasn’t it?”

“… I became an adventurer because I wanted to be strong. That’s why I never thought

of getting hurt or fighting a strong opponent as a hardship”

“I-I see…”
When Fran’s eyes looked straight at her, Khanna looked away as if she was under
pressure. Our values are too different from each other. I’m not saying that we can’t
understand each other, but I don’t think it’s possible to understand each other all in
one night.

What seemed like hellish days for Khanna must have been irreplaceable for Fran.

On the other hand, Fran could not understand Khanna either. I’m sure that this nice
young lady has a pain that only she can understand.

That’s just what people are like.

“An adventurer’s job is to defeat the magic beast and bandits, right? And also,
escorting the merchant”

“Nn? No, you’re wrong”

“Eh? Really?”

Eh? Really? I was also surprised to hear her reply too.

“An adventurer’s job is to go on an adventure”

“Go on an adventure?”

“Yes, by adventuring someone can become an adventurer”

“But what about catching the bandits or hunting the magic beast? Isn’t that what
adventurers do?”

“Yes, they do. But it’s actually the job of the Knights and soldiers. But since they
won’t do it, so the adventurers are the ones to do it”

Hmm, I don’t think many adventurers would agree with Fran. Fran’s definition of
adventuring is to be going into a magical area or a dungeon and fighting in general.

Maintaining public order by defeating bandits and magic beasts is essentially the
work of the Knights. However, the boundaries were pretty fuzzy there. Since
adventurers were fighting magic beasts in the dungeon, they could fight outside as
well, and fighting bandits and such could be considered an extension of that.
“… B-but those who have power should use their power to protect the people!”

“Is that so?”

“Yes! Great power comes with great responsibility”

“Dianne!”

Khanna tried to stop her, but Dianne’s words didn’t stop there.

“Y-You has so much power and yet you see the weak and think nothing of them?
Don’t you want to help them?”

“I always thought of it though, that’s why I helped you guys, right?”

“… You don’t understand anything, don’t you…?”

“Nn? I wanted to help you, so I helped you. That’s why, I don’t care even if I’m weak, if
I want to help, I’ll try to help. Do you only help people because you’re strong? And
you’ll just abandon them if you were weak?”

“Th-that is…”

“Dianne, silence!”

“…! I’m sorry…”

Dianne, who had been yelled at by Khanna, fell silent with a pale face.

But it was a difficult problem. The responsibility of power is a convenient story for
the weak to take advantage of the strong. Or it is the conceit of the strong who are
drunk with power.

In Fran’s case, she wouldn’t be thinking about such difficult things. In the first place,
if there was someone in trouble in front of her, she would help them without even
thinking about the reason. As she said, she helps people because she wants to. That’s
all.

If the other party is annoying, she would usually abandon them, or help them and
demand an exorbitant reward.
This may be another difference between adventurers and knights. Knights are
people who are fed by taxes, so to speak. They must be taught about their duties and
rights from the time they join the knight order.

Aah, as long as it’s not a rotten scum knight that is.

However, “Work for your paycheck!” was not enough to raise morale or maintain
their pride. That’s why they use phrases like “helping the weak” and “serving the
cause of justice”. If that kind of education goes too far, more knights like Dianne will
be born.

Adventurers, on the other hand, are entirely responsible for their actions. In other
words, the power they acquire is their own, and it is normal for them to use it for
themselves.

“I don’t mean to speak for Dianne, but I’ve also heard that some adventures do things
like a bandit”

“It’s not the adventurers only, even knights and nobles must have their scum too. Or
there are no bad guys in your country?”

“That’s… might be true. There are also some bad knights and nobles after all”

Khanna agreed when she heard Fran’s words. She seemed to have some idea of what
she meant. When I think about it, it’s not normal for a young lady to be travelling in
such a small group, so she must have her own reason.

“Then, what an adventurer――”

Perhaps because she was so interested in adventurers, Khanna’s questions went on

and on until she went to bed.
“I can see it, that must be the border checkpoint”

“Really? That was really fast”

“Nn. Urushi is amazing”

On the day after saving Khanna and the others, Fran and Urushi departed with them
at sunrise and in less than two hours they were about to reach the border checkpoint
on Belios Kingdom’s side.

We had run through the pass while carrying them all on Urushi’s back.

Khanna and the others were our top priority, so we only killed the closest magic
beasts along the way and ignored the others.

No matter what happens, since she had accepted the escort request, we have to do it
properly.

“We’ll only make a commotion if we continue like this, so let’s get down for now”

“I understand”

“… I wonder is it possible for anyone to use a magic beast like him huh?”

“Th-that’s impossible, I’ve never heard of it before”

Dianne and Shella remained pale the entire time on Urushi’s back. They must have
understood that he was not only big but also capable.

Shella had been by Dianne’s side ever since she got to know Fran’s abilities. And
apparently, Dianne had decided not to offend Fran any further by speaking rudely to
her. Thanks to that, it was nice and quiet now.
“Let’s go then”

“Nn”

With Fran in the lead, we headed for the border checkpoint. We were told that the
screening was quite strict, but would we make it through?

This border checkpoint was just as big as the one on Kranzel Kingdom’s side. It was
also built as a fort so in case of emergency it can be used to hide from magic beasts
and enemy troops.

When we got closer, we were being targeted with a bow from inside the fort.
However, this may be just preparation in case ruffians or enemy soldiers disguise
themselves as travelers. And since we didn’t feel any clear killing intent, Fran and I
endeavored to ignore it for now.

“Halt! Only four people?”

“Nn”

“Show me your identification”

“Okay”

“Understood”

She took out her identification card as she was told and handed it to the soldier. Well,
as expected, they were a little bit surprised at first, but once they found out that her
guild card was real, they allowed us to enter the country without any problems.

It seems by being a high-ranked adventurer plays a part in that. The Belios Kingdom
would also benefit from having more strong adventurers in their country after all, so
they have no reason to refuse her.

“Are these three people with you too? Or are they from a different group?”

“Fran-san is the escort we hired the other day”

“Hmm. Morley Trading Company? I’ve never heard of them before…”

“It’s because we’re still a small trading company”

“So you’re a daughter of the trading company owner and these two are your servants
huh…?”

Oya? Khanna and the others seemed to be under some suspicion. However, it seems
Khanna was the daughter of a trading company owner. I see now, the guts she
showed yesterday was very merchant-like. However, I think she still has an elegant
side too.

They might know if she is the daughter of a large trading company. But would the
daughter of a small trading company that the immigration officer, who should have a
lot of information in his head, had never heard of, display that kind of elegance? I
know that she had received a strict education too, but…

Dianne’s existence with her was a mystery. She called herself a Knight, but her job
was a Swordsman. This means that she is not a Knight because of her job, but a
knight by status.

But would a guard of a trading company make such a claim? Of course, there’s also
the possibility that it’s just her longing to become a knight. However, she must have
clearly said that she was a knight of the Red Banner.

There’s also the possibility that she was picked up by the trading company after she
was fired, but would that allow her to keep calling herself a knight?

(Master, what should we do about Khanna and the others?)

[Hmmm… Let’s watch them for a while]

(Okay)

When push comes to shove, we must insist that we are irrelevant.

“Where is this trading company is located?”

“It’s in Dards, a port city in the Kranzel Kingdom”

“What is the name of the owner of that company?”

“Raymond Morley”

“What is your purpose in coming to Belios Kingdom?”

“We’re going to the special self-governing region”

“… Hmm”

This immigration officer seemed to have some kind of lie detection skill. Although
his level was still low, he should be able to sense at least a hint of discomfort if the
other party lied. And it seems she didn’t trigger that skill. However, he was still
looking at Khanna and the others with an unconvinced look on his face.

Having years of experience as a border immigration officer let him know that they’re
somewhat suspicious. However, based on his skill there is nothing suspicious about
these girls.

I was also using the Principal of Falsehood, but there was no lie in Khanna’s words.
As expected, she is really a daughter of a trading company owner in the Kranzel
Kingdom huh?

The officer who had asked the question before was currently having a sneaky
discussion with a man who seemed to be his boss. Well, I can hear it though.

“What should we do?”

“Is that girl is an adventurer from the Kranzel Kingdom?”

“Yes”

“If they hired an escort from the adventurer’s guild in the Kranzel Kingdom, we can
say that their identity has been proven by the guild. It’s fine then since their
destination is to the special self-governing region”

“Are you sure about that?”

“It’s fine as long as their destination is really to that place. But don’t forget to inquire
later if they really had entered the special self-governing region okay?”

“Yes!”
Did Khanna use her for this? I see, if they have an adventurer as their escort, anyone
would think that they had requested an escort at the Adventurer’s Guild. In other
words, the Adventurer’s Guild has recognized that she is not a suspicious person.

This doesn’t mean that she has fooled us, but as expected, Khanna was just like a wily
fox.

In the end, the four of us were not detained any further and succeeded in crossing
the border. Well, I guess there is nothing more that can be done.

Also, the fact that the destination was a special self-governing region seemed to be
another reason why we were overlooked. It seems that the autonomous region is
treated as a different country within the Belios Kingdom. So, I guess they just pushed
us over to them.

Fran turns to face Khanna when they have walked a short distance past the border
checkpoint. While Dianne and Shella are checking maps and at such a distance from
her.

“The request ends here”

“Yes. Thank you very much for escorting us. And thanks to Urushi-san too, I was able
to enter the Belios Kingdom earlier than I expected”

“Nn. And hey?”

“Is there something?”

“Is Dianne a knight?”

Fran was actually curious about it too. Like me, she probably didn’t want to be
stopped at the border checkpoint for asking it, so she kept quiet.

“… That’s right. But won’t you care about my identity?”

“Nn? Not really?”

“Eh?”

“Adventurers don’t care about the past”

Many adventurers have left their past behind. And it is forbidden to pry into their
past by an unwritten rule. It seemed that she had acquired this mentality while
spending some time among them. Well, she was indifferent to her past too after all.

“More than that, I was worried about her”

“Are you worried about her?”

“Nn. Dianne said that she was a knight, and she also had dressed as a knight too”

In the future, there would be other people who would be suspicious of Khanna’s
identity. Fran was genuinely worried about Khanna. After all, she was interested in
this strong-willed girl.

“Aah, do you mean that… She’s not really my servant, as I’ve only borrowed her from
my father… At first, I tried to get her to dress up as an adventurer, but she just hated
that idea”

She seemed to have a tremendous prejudice against adventurers, and I don’t blame
her. It’s like asking Fran to pretend to be a blue cat. She would refuse even if it means
she would die.

“Although she may be inflexible and narrow-minded, she’s quite a skilled one. It’s
hard to find a girl with that certain level of strength after all”

Even a person with a difficult personality like Dianne can be a valuable female escort
huh.

“And thank you for keeping quiet at the border checkpoint”

Khanna then bowed her head deeply once again. It’s true that if Fran had interrupted
her at that moment, Khanna and the others might have been in a tight spot right
now.

Dianne’s suspiciousness and the fact that she only hired Fran until they had crossed
the border. I don’t think she has any bad intentions, but I just didn’t want for us to
get into any more trouble.

“Don’t mind it”

“Fufu. I was really lucky to have met you. Let’s meet again next time”

“Nn. likewise”
After we left Khanna and the others, I asked Fran a question that had been bothering
me.

[Hey, Fran]

“Nn?”

[Why did you interested in Khanna so much?]

I wouldn’t say she was a bad person, but she was a strong-willed and tricky person.
She would use Fran to her advantage to get into the country. Was there any reason
for her to favor her that much?

Now that I think about it, I wonder if there was a reason why she didn’t strongly
restrain Dianne’s rude words.

Well, if Khanna and the others had any incidents in the future, there would be little
chance that Fran would be bothered. They were just coming along for the ride and
being protected from any monsters after all. I didn’t dare tell her that, though.

They also didn’t use bribes or lie to enter the country. Moreover, they had also
presented their identity, and the immigration officer had also officially admitted
them into the country. If something goes wrong, the responsibility has already been
handed over to the country.

Moreover, in Fran’s case, since her immigration records were well documented, they
would know that she was alone when she left the Kranzel Kingdom. In other words,
it was supported by the fact that they happened to be together on the pass. It would
be unlikely that she would be considered one of Khanna’s companions.

But even so, Fran had to bear the burden of being with Khanna.
[You know that she has obviously taken advantage of Fran, right?]

“Nn, I wasn’t fooled”

[Well, you’re right, but…]

“Khanna, the same age as me”

[Now that you’ve mentioned it…]

But, is that all?

“And she didn’t despise the Black Cat kin”

[Aah, I see]

“Nn. Dianne too, she made a fool of the adventurers but didn’t make a fool of the
Black Cat kin”

In fact, even the people we had met and befriended in our travels so far had been
very surprised to see a girl from the Black Cat kin. There were two patterns of their
surprise though.

The most common one was the surprise that a girl from the weakest race, the Black
Cat kin, could be an adventurer.

The other one was the surprise at the fact that even though she was a member of the
Black Cat kin, she carried the air of a powerful person.

Either way, there was contempt for the Black Cat kin. No, they don’t have any
contempt or malice towards the Black Cat kin. It was just that they consider it was
common knowledge that the Black Cat kin is weak and unfit for battle.

It was frustrating for Fran. It must have been sad too.

But not once did Khanna, Dianne, or Shella say anything about the Black Cats being
weak. There were some insults about her being a little girl or an adventurer, but that
was it.

Especially Khanna. Come to think of it, she didn’t seem to care about race, age, and
status at all. Now I also felt respect for her.

“Khanna is interesting. I wish she was an adventurer though”

[Hee?]

In fact, this was quite the compliment in Fran’s eyes.

“But Khanna is weak”

[Well, she’s not much of a magician, is she?]

“But she’s not afraid of me, so I knew that she’s not to be underestimated”

Strong adventurers sometimes tested each other’s strength during their first
encounter. They fought against each other with a light exchange of feints to assess
each other’s strength.

But it seems the public eye often thought that they’re trying to kill each other, but if
they were a really strong adventurer, no harm would come to them. And when they
recognize each other’s strength, they will go out as equals.

Although it was different from that for an adventurer, Fran seemed to recognize
Khanna as an equal. I wonder what she had to have that tugged at Fran’s heartstrings
besides her fighting ability?

She’s the same age as her, doesn’t look down on her for being an adventurer or a
member of the Black Cat kin, and even tried to use her without fearing her
overwhelming power. When I think about it, she’s quite capable huh?

“Khanna is interesting”

[Well, it’s fine then if Fran says so]

“Nn!”

After all, she was kind of interested in her. I guess that’s what it’s all about.

[They said it normally should take about 5 days to reach the Academy of Magic from
here]
“It would be even shorter with Urushi”

“Woof!”

[But since this is the first time we’ve come to this country, I’d like to see some of the
towns too]

“Delicious specialties too!”

“Woof woof!”

[That too, huh?]

I also want to show up at the adventurer’s guild to listen to the domestic situation. In
particular, I want to know what’s currently going on with the Kranzel Kingdom and
the Raidos Kingdom. I don’t want to get involved in a war after all.

“Is there anything else?”

“Woof?”

[… There might be more to see if you’re an adult]

“Ooh-, I see”

It would be best if Urushi didn’t make his body size too huge too. We’ll never know
what kind of rumors might start after all.

In the end, we decided to have Urushi change to the size of a pony and head for the
nearest village from here. After that, we would head to a larger town.

However, we were not able to achieve anything special in that village. It was the
closest village to the border, so I thought it would be developed like a lodging town,
but it was completely rural.

There was only one old man, a former E ranked, in the Adventurer’s Guild branch.
There was also a lake about an hour further on, and apparently, there was a large
town on its shores.

Most travelers usually just pass through the village and go to that town.
[A lakeside town huh?]

“Looking forward to it”

[Come to think of it, have you ever seen a lake that big?]

“Nn”

“Woof”

A lake itself was not new to us, but the place we were going to visit was on a different
scale. We can’t see the other side of the lake after all. It’s probably about the same
size as Lake Biwa. But it might even be bigger than that.

(TLN: Lake Biwa: 63Km in length, 23Km in width)

“Urushi, hurry!”

“Woof woof!”

[Oioi, the lake won’t run away you know?]

“There’s fish”

“Woof”

Aah, come to think of it, he said that big freshwater fish was a specialty. Was it
something like a carp?

“Fish Curry―”

Does freshwater fish go well with curry? Was there such a thing as carp curry or eel
curry? I guess it was not out of the question as a local souvenir, but…

[Fran, let me tell you one thing, some ingredients don’t go well with curry you
know?]

“It will be fine. Curry is the best, no matter what you put in it”

Oh crap, I definitely need to make delicious freshwater fish curry, huh?!

“I can see it. A big puddle”

[It’s a lake]

“Just like the sea”

[No, it’s a lake]

Ahead of us was the town of Kiarazen.

It was also known as the Lakeside Maiden. It’s because there’s a statue of a water
spirit in the square where you can get a nice view of the lake that attracts a lot of
tourists. But Fran doesn’t seem to be interested in it though.

The town was also nicknamed “Lakeside Maiden” because of the beautiful white
color of its town’s buildings.

It was a beautiful landscape, just as the name “Maiden” implies. The shimmering
blue surface of the lake reflecting the sunlight and the white buildings standing on
its shore. The contrast of blue and white looks so beautiful.

The sight of the tiny fishing boats coming and going on the large lake reminded me
of the preciousness of people’s lives.

“… So big”

“Woof…”

Even these duos seemed to be impressed by the view. They stared at the lake in awe.
Well, it didn’t last for a minute though.

“Fish!”
[Yes yes, let’s go to the town then]

“Nn”

Our entry went smoothly. We had to wait in line for a while, but it probably took less
than five minutes. I wondered if there were too few people due to the war, but it
seems that most travelers use boats to enter the town from the lakeside.

Only a few peddlers or adventurers used the land route.

[Fran]

“… Nn?”

[You shouldn’t eat too much, we need to get to the adventurers guild too after this]

“Nnhm”

[It’s not polite to answer when eating you know―]

I mean, how can she go to a food stall within 30 seconds of entering a town… Oh
crap, buying snacks has definitely been added to the purpose of Fran’s trip now.

We have the money, but I wonder was it good for her education to allow her to buy
as much food as she wants? I know she won’t waste any of it, but…

[Hmm]

“What’s wrong, Master?”

[No, it’s nothing, but I just think that Fran eat a lot, huh?]

“Fufun”

Why did you make such a smug face? She never reacts at all when people say she’s
cute. But it seems she thinks that eating a lot was a compliment for her.

[So, what did you buy?]

“This”
[Hohou, deep-fried fish huh?]

It would look more like a carp or a goldfish. Just like a freshwater fish. The cooking
method used for it was simple: take out its guts and fry it in oil. They did not even
remove the scales.

[How does it taste?]

“Salty?”

[… Anything else?]

“A taste like a mud”

It was a typical under-prepared river fish. However, despite saying that, Fran still
managed to eat the fish.

“It’s crunchiness is good”

[Oh, you like its texture huh?]

“Nn”

She seemed to like the fried scales. After Fran finished it, she rushed to the food stall
and bought more fried fish, and bit into it.

“!!”

[Wh-what’s wrong?]

“This is delicious”

[Hou?]

“Woof woof!”

[Urushi too, huh?]

What Fran was staring at with wide eyes was the fried fish that almost every stall on
this street offered. The fish they used seemed to be the same and I couldn’t tell the
difference from other stalls by looking at it.

But if Fran and Urushi say it was delicious, then it must be true.

[It must have been a famous stall. Maybe it was prepped and seasoned well]

“Let’s get more!”

“Woof!”

[Ah, wait!]

Fran and Urushi dashed back into one of the stalls. I mean, how could they think of
buying something here?

The stall was deserted and looked very rundown. The paint was peeling, and its
curtain was dirty and worn.

Was it because of this appearance that no customers came to the stall, or was it
because no customers came to the stall that it remains rundown? At least for me, I
wouldn’t have chosen this stall to get something to eat.

“Huh? You’ve come again?”

The seller was a beautiful girl with blond hair. Her white skin made me wonder if she
had the blood of nobility in her veins. Since she was selling fish that had been fried
on the spot, it wouldn’t be strange if her skin was rough from the oil splashes, but
there was not a single blemish on the girl’s skin.

But I don’t think customers will be rushing in for this girl. She was wearing a black
headband-like eye patch that covered both eyes. It would be fine if she showed one
of her eyes. But it covered both her eyes. The strangeness of her eyepatch, which
looked like a blindfold, stood out on top of her beauty.

But Fran didn’t care about that at all and ordered some fish.

“Nn! It’s the most delicious in here, the smell didn’t lie”

“Woof!”
“Thank you”

The girl smiled softly and bowed her head lightly.

Apparently, Fran and Urushi chose this stall with their noses. The frying oil used
looks different from the others, it may be replaced frequently without being reused.
That’s why the price was also a little higher than the other stalls.

“Give me all you have”

“Eh?”

“I want them all”

“Umm, you mean all the ones in here?”

“Nn. I’ll buy it if you’re gonna fry that too”

[Hey hey, you can’t buy everything, she won’t be able to do business]

It was not enough for a store to have good sales. For the sake of the customers and
the regulars, they have to keep a certain amount in stock for their reputation.

However, the girl looked pleased.

“Thank you. I’ll fry it right away then”

“Nn”

Come to think of it, her stall was not as popular as the others. Maybe it was already
lucky for the girl to be able to sell them.

[But still, she’s amazing]

The girl was making the fried fish so fluidly that it made me wonder if she could see.
The way she handled the fish and the timing of lifting it out of the oil was perfect.

And that’s not all. When Fran handed her the money, the girl could tell by the
slightest touch whether it was silver or copper and returned the change to us.
I was curious and couldn’t help but appraise her.

Name: Rhyn

Age: 24 Years old

Job: Cook

Status: Missing both eyes

Status Level: 25

HP:54

MP: 101

STR: 30

PHY: 36

AGI: 41

INT: 49

DEX: 47

Magic: 70

[Skill]

Sensitive Hearing: Lv2, WInd Magic: Lv4, Air Flow Vision: Lv2, Presence Detection:
Lv2, Wand Technique: Lv2, Echolocation: Lv4, Magic Vision: Lv5, Water Magic: lv2,
Cooking: Lv4, Magic Manipulation.

[Equipment]

Oak Wand, Water Spirit Clothing, Magical Eyepatch, Magical Necklace.

She possessed several skills to supplement her vision. Judging from her skill set, she
was probably a magician by nature.
“…”

[!]

Wha? Did Rhyn’s eyes look at me for a second there? No, she shouldn’t be able to
see… But was it her Magic Vision that allowed her to know that I was a magic sword?
It felt strange, it was as if she saw through my soul that resided in the sword… But
that shouldn’t be possible.

However, it seems that the loss of her eyesight made her extremely perceptive in
other areas. Let’s be careful not to let our guard down in front of her.

“Thank you, I’ll come again”

“Likewise. That’s the best sale I’ve had since I started this stall. Come again next
time”

Then we left Rhyn’s stall, but for some reason, I felt like she was watching me the
whole time.

[No no… Was it just my imagination?]

“Master?”

[Hey, do you feel like someone is watching us?]

“Hmm…?”

“Woof…?”

My words made Fran and Urushi brace themselves for a moment. But they quickly
tilted their heads in confusion. I guess they don’t feel anything. Was it just my
imagination after all? When I thought about it, the inexplicable feeling cleared up
before I knew it.

[Sorry, maybe it’s just my imagination]

“Nn”
After we left Rhyn’s stall, we were on our way to the adventurer’s guild. But on the
way, I was still worried about that girl with the eye patch.

[I wonder if she knew I used appraisal on her?]

“Rhyn?”

[Yeah]

I thought I was mistaken, but something was still bugging me.

“She’s amazing then”

In the first place, our training in the plains had strengthened our stealth and
concealment abilities considerably. We have also been able to suppress any hint of
our use of Appraisal more than before.

I’m so confident that if our opponent didn’t have a high-level Appraisal Skill, they
wouldn’t be able to detect it.

Even Amanda had to concentrate very hard to notice it after all. And even if she did
notice, it was only to the extent of giving her an uncomfortable feeling like “Did look
at me?”.

From what I could tell, Rhyn wasn’t very strong. Even though her senses were
sharpened, her movements were only amateurish, and her magic power was low. If
she was an adventurer, she must have been a ranked F or E

To be frank, I hadn’t expected to be noticed. In fact, she didn’t have any skills that
would allow her to notice appraisals perfectly, and her status would not allow her to
somehow notice them through intuition or feeling like a strong person.

That’s was supposed to be though, but――

[… This is just making me lose my confidence]

Appraisal was a very useful skill. It was necessary to train daily to use it quietly when
the time comes.

I’ve practiced a lot against the magic beasts on the plains. And I’ve become proficient
to the point that they can hardly detect the presence of my appraisal even against
those with high sensing abilities. And I was now in the middle of practicing it on
humans.

However, I wouldn’t use it on a King or a Guild Master. The only people I will use it to
are ordinary people in town or travelers passing by on the road, who are unlikely to
notice my appraisal.

No, there is still a small chance that they will notice. There’s even a chance that they
might have the Appraisal Perception skill by accident. But if I said that, I wouldn’t be
able to use my Appraisal skill out of fear.

But it would be foolish to seal off this skill because of the fear of being caught using
Appraisal and then fail when the time comes. That would be just plain stupid.

There is no such thing as failure when it comes to just activating Appraisal. However,
using it in conjunction with the Stealth skill to suppress the presence when the skill
was activated requires a certain amount of practice.

This was a world with a game-like system, but it doesn’t work the same for everyone,
but the more you train, the better you get.

Appraisal too, you have to use it to get better at it.

It’s not that I forgot what Diaz said, okay? It’s just that he warned me that if I used
appraisal on royalty, I might be guilty of disrespect. He didn’t tell me not to use
appraisal. Rather, he advised me to use it well.

I was going to follow that advice and use the appraisal on the easiest no-risk
opponent possible to practice on.

I’m still worried about Rhyn. I think I’ll refrain from practicing appraisal on humans
for a while.
As I was thinking about this, I quickly saw the sign for the Adventurer’s Guild.

“Excuse me―”

“Yes, welcome to the Adventurer’s Guild!”

When we entered the guild in Kiarazen, the receptionist greeted us with a smile.

“Are you―… going to take a request?”

“I came to see the requests”

“I see, you’re an adventurer huh? Are you alone?”

“Nn”

“Huh? But that’s strange”

“About what?”

“You didn’t just stick with the commercial fleet, did you?”

“Commercial fleet?”

“You don’t know? Maybe, you were born in a foreign country huh?”

“Nn”

“I see. The commercial fleet is――”

The Onee-san then explained it to us. The commercial fleet was a large fleet of ships
that traveled around Lake Vivian. Aah, Lake Vivian is that huge lake from before.

There were several large towns and cities on the shores of the lake, which was larger
than a small country, and the fleet was said to be making regular trips to these
places.

Their work was diverse, ranging from trading to buying and selling local products.
They provide transportation for adventurers and travelers. Fishing and purchasing
materials in the dangerous central area of the lake. They also provide entertainment
such as circuses and minstrels and even regular checkups by doctors.

“I can get that much on ship?”

“It’s not on one ship. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be called a fleet, would it?”

“Then, there’s a lot of ships?”

“Yes, a lot. I don’t know the exact number, but there were more than 10 large ships. I
think there are also more than 50 small and medium-sized ships”

“Hoo―”

That’s great. There are probably more people there than in a small village.

“They’ve been around this lake for hundreds of years, you know?”

“Hee―. Who started it?”

“Something is interesting about it. I don’t know if it’s a lie or not, but this Lake Vivian
used to be a sea”

“The sea turned into a lake?”

“The story goes that this was originally a small lake and that the lake and the sea
combined to form a large lake. Lake Vivian was named after that small lake”

“What do you mean?”

“Hmmm. I don’t know the details, but it seems that the lake and the sea were
connected by a natural disaster, and then a part of the ground rose and separated
this part from the sea, forming the lake as we know it today. The merchant of the
fleet said that the commercial fleet began when the trading ships that were left
behind on the lakeside gathered together to protect themselves from monsters”

“Are they staying in the lake forever?”

“I mean, they can’t just leave a ship like that behind, right? It wouldn’t be strange if
they just stayed there right?”
A ship was an expensive thing, so it was a valuable asset. If it was a trading ship that
could sail the open sea, it was much more expensive than the cargo it carries. I don’t
know whether the captains of the trading ships were the owners or hired hands, but
they probably didn’t have the option of leaving the ships behind and returning to
their countries.

But to live, they had to work. I don’t know if they had enough conscience not to
become lake bandits, or if they couldn’t make a living as bandits because of the lack
of prey, but they considered lake villages as ports and started trading.

Well, they must have thought of various ways to earn money, since they would not be
able to earn enough money just by visiting the lakeside villages. They must have
thought of: transportation, fishing, escorting, entertainment, and trade. As a result, it
would not be surprising if it became what was now called a commercial fleet.

“So, the commercial fleet is full of adventurers who are just starting in this area. They
have safe jobs like carrying cargo, and they can watch and learn from the work of the
senior adventurers”

It is said that it is common practice for adventurers around this lake to first train in
the commercial fleet.

“So there are quite a few adventurers of your age in the commercial fleet, you
know?”

“Hee”

It might be unusual to find a place with so many child adventurers. However, if there
was little danger to their lives and they could receive guidance from senior
adventurers, it might not be a bad place to work.

“The fleet will welcome you with open arms”

“Is that so?”

“If you ingratiate yourself with them at the beginning, you could become a good
customer for the commercial fleet when you grow up. If you grow strong enough,
you can be hired as an escort. They have a great advantage of having the support of
adventurers after all”
It was like a big business moving on the lake. I’d like to see it once, whether we ride
it or not, and it seems that Fran felt the same way.

“That commercial fleet. Where can I find them?”

“Oh my, are you interested?”

“Nn”

“Let see… I think the main force is in the east this time of year. I don’t know exactly
where they are though. But the squadrons, which are small ships that go around the
villages, come at least once a week”

“Okay”

This town is located just south of the lake. East of here is also in the direction of the
Academy of Magic we’re heading to.

The Academy of Magic was still quite far from the lake, but I heard that the self-
governing territory around it also borders the lake. This might give us a chance to
see a large fleet of ships first.

“Hey, did you come from the Kranzel Kingdom by yourself?”

“Nn. But how did you know I’m from Kranzel?”

“Well, that’s because there are no adventurers in Raidos. If that were the case, the
only foreign adventurers that would come to this area would be from the Kranzel
Kingdom”

“I see”

“It’s the first time I’ve seen a girl your age come alone, but I think it’s good to be part
of a commercial fleet. After a year you’ll be able to become a full-fledged adventurer”

“Nn? I don’t really want to stay there though”

“Huh? Didn’t you said you’re interested before?”

“I just want to see it”

“Aah, I see. But it’s not life-threatening, and I’d definitely recommend it. There’s also
a branch of the guild in the commercial fleet, so you can still rank up in there”

A guild branch in a ship? That was amazing. Not only was it a large moving merchant
company, but apparently it seemed to be a moving town.

“Even a kid with G or F-rank can hopefully rank up one rank in a year. We’ve
accumulated the know-how to nurture the adventurers, so they can grow safely”

So, you’re saying that they’re going to assign us a job to train adventurers? That
might indeed be a good system. They might be tied to the commercial fleet, but if
they’re going to be working in this kind of work, that connection is rather a plus.

“I’ve also heard that when someone becomes a high-ranked adventurer and has had
enough of working in there, they often leave the ship”

“But I’m fine”

“Huh? But why?”

“This”

Fran shows her guild card to the Onee-san, who clearly thought that Fran was just
starting.

“…? The usual black card color is…”

G & F-ranked adventurer cards are copper, E & D cards are black, and C & B cards are
silver. Apparently, this guild only had adventurers of rank D or lower, and they were
not used to seeing Fran’s B-ranked adventurer card.

“Eeeeh? I-it’s real? It’s real, isn’t it? Y-yeah, it’s the real thing! It’s real!”

“So noisy”

As soon as she finally realized that this was the real thing, the Onee-san screamed
out. Immediately after, she went upright.

“I-I-I apologize for my attitude from before! I’ve been talking down of you!”
“Nn?”

“I-I’m so sorry!”

She seemed to be terrified of her. It was the first time that she had been reacted to so
intensely before she had even shown her ability.

“A, awawawa…”

She was obviously flustered. And it seems she won’t be able to listen to us properly
for the time being.

“…?”
“I’m sorry for that fool from before”

The one bowing his head with a wry smile in front of Fran was the master of the
Kiarazen Adventurer’s Guild.

He looked like a refreshing uncle, but his speech was coarse and had a gap. However,
the presence emanating from his body was definitely that of a high-ranked
adventurer.

“High ranked adventurers rarely come here, after all, I think that’s why she was so
panicked when she met a B-ranker from another country in front of her. It has been a
long time and I still can’t get rid of this newbie mentality. It’s better than last year
though”

“Not many high-ranked? What if a strong magic beast appears?”

“They rarely appear, but when that happens, I’ll come out or ask the commercial fleet
for help”

The fleet itself travels along a fixed route, but it was possible to reach each town in a
few days by using small boats.

The adventurers in each town were trying to get by while waiting for help from the
commercial fleet. That seems to be their basic strategy when an uncontrollable
situation arises.

Therefore, most of the high-ranking adventurers in the area belong to the guilds in
the commercial fleet, and they scatter to each town to do their work. The
receptionist doesn’t have much contact with the high-ranking adventurers because
the masters will be the ones to take care of them.
“And then, what will Fran do after this? You must have heard about the commercial
fleet from that fool, but are you interested?”

“Nn… A little, but I can’t, there are places I have to go, maybe next time”

“I see, If the Black Lightning Princess is going to be active around here, I’d very
welcome it”

“You know about that?”

“There’s not a single guild master on this continent who doesn’t know your
nickname. I’m sure Diaz also has his eyes on you now. There’s been a lot of talks
about you when she raised you to a B-ranker”

Come to think of it, to become a high-ranking adventurer, you needed a

recommendation from a guild master. Because of this, it seemed that Fran’s story
was spreading to the top brass of the guild.

“You’re a hell of a thing to actually face… Are you really from that Black Cat kin? It’s
been a long time since my strong person detection skills have sounded that much of
a warning… Even though I’m a former B-ranker too”

It can’t be helped, but it was true that this guild master was also quite strong.

He then observed Fran lightly and smiled bitterly.

“Coming here to get information about this country”

“Yeah, you’ve just crossed to Belios from Kranzel after all”

“Nn. What’s the relationship between this country and the other country?”

“Well, first of all, the current relationship between Belios and Kranzel is probably not
so close”

Both countries were bordered by the military power of the Raidos Kingdom and
have not had any major conflicts in the past. They both knew that if one of them falls,
the other will be the next target of Raidos, so they work together moderately while
accommodating each other in various aspects. That kind of relationship has
continued for a long time.
“Ideally, we’ll reap the profit while the other country and Raidos try to crush each
other. But I understand how difficult that would be”

Currently, there was no threatening force other than Raidos, and thanks to the threat
of that country, the nobles were not asking them to attack the other country.

As long as there was no war, it was safe to say that the country was stable.

It reminded me a little of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms from my previous life,
where the famous military strategist Confucius Kongming (TLN: Zhuge Liang alias)
proposed to his master Liu Bei a plan to divide the country into three parts. It was a
famous plan that three opposing countries should check each other to bring stability.
The northern part of the continent of Zilberd seemed to be in such a state by
accident.

“Well, it looks like Kranzel is a little shaky for the time being, but that’s a big country.
It’s not like it’s going to suddenly collapse. But the Belios Kingdom can’t afford to
have it fall”

Although they send spies to each other, it seems neither side wants to actively
destroy the other.

“I’m sure there will be some kind of support from Belios to Kranzel soon. Well, of
course, we’ll do it quietly behind the scenes”

“I see, what about Raidos then?”

“We’re still talking about them a little now, but it sucks”

They had been at war with each other for hundreds of years, and public sentiment
between them was bad. To put it bluntly, many of the people here seemed to
consider that country as an enemy.

“However, we believe that the risk of invasion is low now”

“Why?”

“Because we have that special self-governing region”

The special self-governing region. This was where the Academy of Magic was
located. In terms of location, it was located on the west side of the Belios Kingdom,
and if Raidos invaded, the self-governing region would definitely be in their pathway.

“Even though she was a High Elf, we wouldn’t just simply lend her a piece of land
that’s equivalent to 10% of the country right? So, we used that as a deterrent. In fact,
there are already several deals between Weena Rhyn, the head of the self-governing
region, and the country”

“Deals?”

“I don’t know much about it, but I’ve heard that there are deals to participate in
emergencies and that the technology created at the Academy will be made available
to the rest of the country on a priority basis”

And so, the country has also granted various privileges to Weena Rhyn.

“We granted self-government for the special region, but this is probably for the best.
They’re also exempted from paying taxes to the government, have the right to veto
the extradition of criminals, and so on. They also have the power to interfere in the
governance of Lake Vivian”

“Does that lake belong to the High Elf too?”

“No, she doesn’t have full authority, but she does have the power to interfere in
development and other matters. She has also said that there is a spirit living in this
lake and that if the spirit is angered, the country might be destroyed by it. I was told
that she’s responsible for monitoring the spirits to make sure they don’t get angry”

“A spirit that could destroy a country?”

I’ve heard of that kind of story somewhere. It was Klimut’s Great Spirit of Wind.
Could it be that the Great Spirit of Water was here? If so, it would be dangerous to
anger it.

“But the guys from the commercial fleet were complaining about that too. Because
every time they add a ship or decide on a new route, they have to report it to the
government or the self-governing region, which is troublesome”

In fact, no one knew whether such spirits lived in this lake or not. It’s just that the
High Elf, Weena Rhyn, said so, so it must be something like that.
“They can’t afford to offend the High Elf though, so they’re not going to against it”
“Around here?”

[Maybe. Can you find it, Urushi?]

“Woof?”

[Can’t find any signs of herbs either, huh?]

“Woof…”

We had just received a request from the master of Kiarazen to collect medicinal
herbs.

The Adventurer’s Guilds in this area had a unique and interesting system. This
system allows requests made by other guilds to be accepted by guilds in different
locations. Conversely, you could report requests to other guilds, but it’s limited only
to gathering requests such as harvesting.

This was also thanks to the commercial fleet. By using ships to transport items, they
could deliver materials to different guilds. It seems that the small fleet called
squadrons were mainly responsible for this.

The herbs we were looking for were said to grow at the bottom of the lake, but it was
difficult to collect them due to the presence of magic beasts around.

If we collect it and deliver it to the town ahead, it would also be delivered to

Kiarazen. That’s why this system was so convenient.

[Well, we’ll find out when we dive in. I’ll set up a wind barrier. Fran and Urushi, get
ready for any magic beast]

“Okay”
“Woof!”

[Then, let’s go]

We then dove into the lake. There we found an amazingly beautiful sight. First of all,
it was so clear that I couldn’t believe it was a huge lake. Could it be because it was a
lake in another world that hadn’t been polluted by civilization?

The bottom of the lake was covered with green water plants, and the slight current
of the water made them sway and flutter. Moreover, colorful flowers were blooming
there.

I had seen the water-crowfoot before I died. It was a plant that grew small white
flowers in the water. But this one was incomparably larger and looked no different
from the plants on the land.

We also saw various fish that swam around on the green carpet, and underwater
creatures such as shrimps and turtles glanced out from among the flowers. The
unfamiliar creatures must be those from this world.

The sunlight coming in was diffused by the surface of the water, wavering more
gently and softly than on the ground. The shimmering and changing light added to
the fantastic atmosphere of this place.

We almost forgot that we were in a dangerous place inhabited by magic beasts for a
moment to look at the scene.

[It’s amazing]

(Nn)

(Woof!)

It was so amazing that it even impressed Fran and Urushi.

However, the excitement did not last long.

“Kyaaaa!”

[Tsk, we have a guest, huh?]

High transparency also means that we could be seen clearly by those who were
targeting us.

(Huge lizard?)

[That’s what we call a crocodile!]

I proudly said so, but it seemed like it wasn’t a crocodile.

Its face was similar to that of a crocodile, and it had the same hard scales all over its
body. However, the shape of its body would be more like a seal or a sea lion.

It had two pairs of fin-like limbs on each side of its body that was probably used for
swimming. In total, it had eight fins. If you were a dinosaur lover, you may also say
that it was just like Mosasaurus with eight fins, huh?

It’s about three meters long, so it was probably about the same size as a crocodile.

(So that’s the Lake Murder?)

[It seems so]

It seems that this magic beast with a scary name would be the powerful enemy that
would prevent us from collecting medicinal herbs. Its threat level was E. But
underwater monsters tend to be difficult to fight, so the threat level tends to be set
higher. I appraised it, and based on its status alone, I’d say it had a threat level of F.
Its Swimming skill was outstandingly high, but that was not unusual for an
underwater magic beast. To be honest, even a low-ranked adventurer could fight it if
they knew how to handle it.

But only if they were alone. These Lake Murders always act in groups of 10 or more
and hunt in coordination. They were also difficult to exterminate because they
quickly run away when they feel endangered. In fact, there were probably more than
thirty lake murders coming at us right now.

Not only that, but it was also the most hated magic beast in the lake because of its
weak but long-range water magic attack. It was also said that it caused the most
damage by far.

Just like goblins and orcs, subjugation requests for them were posted permanently.
[Let’s take care of that one first]

(Nn. I don’t want to hurt the herbs or the other flowers)

[Then, let’s go with a less flashy technique, shall we?]

(Let’s do that)

(Woof!)

Wh-what a surprise to hear Fran say that she didn’t want to hurt the flowers…! I’m
so touched! It was worth coming to this place just to hear those words!

(Nn!)

(Woof!)

Fran shot a flash of light magic. It was a technique used to blind people or signal
them to go farther, but this time she used it to create a blinding light.

Then, Urushi’s dark magic exploded. He used shadow-mediated binding magic. It

was a type of magic called shadow stitching or shadow binding. What Urushi just
used was a technique that created darkness from shadows and wrapped it around
the opponent to seal their movements.

I was surprised when Fran said that she wanted to raise her light magic, but it
worked surprisingly well with Urushi’s dark magic. In particular, the ability to create
shadows at any location would be a considerable advantage. My Fran must be a
genius because she could come up with something like that in her own way.

[Yosh, I’ll take care of the rest!]

A group of Lake Murder was struggling to rise to the surface with their limbs
restrained by Urushi’s magic. Then I split my blade into multiple pieces with Shape
Transformation and moved each piece separately to pierce all of their magic stones

Once I stored their corpses, the subjugation was complete. I heard that its flesh was
smelly and inedible, but the skin was in demand as armor, and the stuffed heads
were popular with enthusiasts. Besides, we could also fulfill the permanent request.
The subjugation was an E-rank request, but it was also an achievement for getting
rid of a magic beast that was hated in this area. So, there’s no harm in defeating it.

[Let’s collect the herbs. It is said to be a red and thorny plant]

(…Is that the one?)

[Ooh, it’s definitely red and thorny… I’m that’s the one we’re looking for. Let’s get the
whole rood]

(There’s more in there)

[All right, let’s split and gather them for now. They said that they want as many as we
can get]

(Okay)

[Urushi, secure the perimeter]

(Woof!)
[Uwaah, we’re so lucky!]

“Nn”

[I never thought we’d run into the commercial fleet just after entering Sheftent]

It was the day after we collected the spirit grass from the bottom of the lake.

What we witnessed from the back of Urushi, who was running nimbly along the
shore of the lake, was the sight of several very large ships docked at the shore of the
lake. Not all the ships could enter the harbor at the same time, so they use the harbor
in turn over a period of days.

As Kiarazen’s idiot-san (We didn’t get her name) said, there must be more than 50
ships in total, big and small. I wonder how they could be so densely packed together
and not collide with each other?

“Urushi, let’s look from above”

“Woof woof!”

Urushi then used his Aerial Jump skill to run up into the sky at once.

[Ooh, it looks so messy from above]

“Nn”

Before I could say it was spectacular, I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of
ships. However, the size of the largest ship could be seen from above. The flagship,
which seemed to be the largest of the large ships, was as big as a fort.

It was probably over 150 meters long. It was also probably about thirty meters wide.
The strong reaction of magic power made me think that it was carrying a magic
propulsion system. No, I could feel the magic power from the hull as well. Maybe it
was being strengthened by magic? Or maybe they were using special materials from
magic beasts.

It was not as big as a luxury cruise ship, but it was a lot bigger than the ferries I’ve
seen before.

“Let’s see it from the town”

“Woof”

[While we’re taking care of the deliveries in the Adventurer’s Guild in Sheftent, let’s
ask them more about the commercial fleet]

“Nn”

When we entered the town of Sheftent, we found it was so crowded with people.
Although it was a larger town than Kiarazen, though it was not many times larger,
there was a difference between the two towns.

It must be because the commercial fleet was here. The crowd was as large as the
Royal Capital in the Kranzel Kingdom. It was almost as if they’re holding a festival.

“Mogu mogu”

“Momu momu”

[Just straight ahead]

I guided Fran, who couldn’t see at all due to the crowd. Fortunately, the Adventurer’s
Guild was a tall building, so we could follow its roof and not get lost.

We managed to reach the Adventurer’s Guild, despite the crowds of people, the
delicious smells of the stalls, and the unusual stalls and their vendors. But its inside
was just as crowded as the outside.

“Lots of people”

[I guess there’s also the adventurers that were aboard the commercial fleet too]
The adventurers of the commercial fleet would have told adventurers that they
would disembark their ships at ports of call to fulfill their requests. The story about a
large number of young adventurers was also consistent with what we had heard in
Kiarazen.

[That’s a long line…]

For this number of people, there were not enough counters at all. But I guess it
couldn’t be helped. It only gets this crowded a few times a year.

They’ve added a temporary counter, but it was still not enough.

[We don’t have any choice, let’s just line up]

“Nn”

I was glad to have Urushi hide in the shadows. He would have been in the way even
at any size.

However, as she stood in line, all eyes around her were focused on Fran. If she wasn’t
careful, they might all be looking at her. She was used to being the center of attention
wherever she goes, but to have everyone staring at her from the moment we walked
in was rare indeed.

(…Why?)

[Aah, come to think of it, all these guys here must have known each other except us]

It couldn’t be helped if Fran, whom they didn’t recognize, stood out. But it was not
like she was doing anything wrong. She just has to keep her head up.

Besides, it must have been half a year since they came to this guild, and some of the
newcomers must have become adventurers in that time. In the end, Fran’s turn came
without her being approached by anyone.

It seemed that the adventurers in the commercial fleet were better behaved than I
thought. Well, they were from a ship with the same group of people working on
requests, so the stupid ones would be naturally weeded out or re-educated.

“Umm, Are you new to this guild?”

“Nn. How did you know?”

“If you’re an adventurer in a commercial fleet, you’ll have an emblem so that we can
identify you with”

Now that she mentioned it, I could see that the people around us were wearing
matching silver badges. I guess that was their emblem. And the guild’s receptionist
could tell that Fran was not an adventurer from here.

“Nn. I just came”

“I see. Then what can I do for you?”

“Report on completion of requests. I have fulfilled the subjugation request. This is

the delivery”

Fran submits the request form she had received in Kiarazen to the receptionist. Then
the onee-san received it with a surprised look on her face.

“Well, is this a request for delivery of Scarlet Waterweed? We’ve had a shortage
recently, so even a small amount would be appreciated. May I ask you to put it out
here?”

“All of them?”

“Yes”

[Ah, Fran, wai―]

“Okay”

Baaam!

Aaah, it’s been a long time since she has done that. Maybe, she guessed that Fran was
a newbie. She probably didn’t think she had an item bag and thought that she only
brought one or two of them.

I heard in Kiarazen that some low-ranking adventurers were lucky enough to collect
Scarlet Waterweed growing in the shallows and bring it with them. She seemed to
think that Fran was that kind of person.
“Eh, Eeeeh?”

“This is all of them”

“Ho-how many are this!?”

“Maybe about 200 of them?”

I’ve thought―did I pick too much? But there was more than I expected, and they also
said that they wanted as much as we could get. So, we picked up all the Scarlet
Waterweed that was growing in that area.

But it seemed that since that place was full of Lake Murder and the water was quite
deep, it was very difficult to collect them and no one had been able to do anything
about it.

“Wa-wait a minute!”

The onee-san at the reception desk was in a panic. Also, the stares of the adventurers
around us were amazing. A surprised, jealous and suspicious atmosphere drifted
through the guild.

What should we do?

As the Onee-san at the reception desk fumbled around with a troubled look on her
face, an older adventurer standing in line behind us approached her.

“Lulu-chan. Why don’t you just count them and process them for now? There’s no
other Scarlet Waterweed that looks the same as it, so it can’t be a fake”

“Yo-you’re right!”

“Buying these medicinal herbs that are in short supply is top priority right? We’ll
wait until it’s processed, okay?”

This Dandy adventurer seemed to have a lot of say in here, and the other adventurers
who had approached nodded in agreement.

“Y-yes, of course!”
“Huft”

I think we’re gonna make it. Thank you, Dandy-san!

I was so relieved that Dandy-san called out for her. But his face looks very serious.

“You’re not one of the adventurers from around here, are you?”

“Nn. Just stopped by during my trip”

“I see… I know it’s rude to ask, but where did you get that huge amount of Scarlet
Waterweed? I’ll pay you for the information if you’re willing to tell me”

“Where to find?”

“Yeah, the shortage of Scarlet Waterweed has been a constant problem for the people
in this area. If a new harvesting point has been found, that would be a piece of pretty
good news”

I see. He thought she found a less difficult harvesting point where Fran, who looked
like she was just starting, could collect a large amount.

“I don’t mind”

“Re-really?”

“Nn. I’m not going to stay in here for long after all”

“I’m grateful!”

The man bowed his head and immediately took out a map. It was a reasonably
detailed map of the area, with the lake at the center.

But unfortunately, it was already a well-known place.

“Do you know where it is on this map?”

“Nn. In here”

Fran pointed to the slightly west side of the islet, halfway between Kiarazen and
Sheftent. From Kiarazen, it was 100 meters west of the star-shaped island.

The Guild Master of Kiarazen knew that Fran would be able to harvest at this
location, so he asked us to collect at a more difficult location.

“Eh? But I thought there was a Lake Murder nest in there…?”

“I’ve beat them”

“Huh? You? Beat them?”

“Nn”

When Fran nodded, the adventurers made a noise once again. This time, the
atmosphere was even stronger in denial than before.

“Hey, if you don’t want to tell me, just tell me that. I’ll know right away if you tell a lie
to me, you know?”

“Nn? I’m not lying”

“Th-then, you must have the materials from the Lake Murder, don’t you? You’ve beat
them after all, so you must have some, right?”

Dandy-san looks angry. I couldn’t blame him though; he must have thought that she
was trying to give him false information after all. Even so, he didn’t yell at her. That
must be the sign of his age, huh? He seems to have a lot of experience as an
adventurer.

“Why don’t you bring it out for now?”

“In here?”

“Yes”

When Fran looked around, all the adventurers were looking at us with stern faces.
Aah, she was totally being recognized as a liar.
I’m so pissed. You could go ahead and do whatever you want. I’m not gonna stop you.

Then there was even more commotion than before. It was because she brought out
the Lake Murders, which we had defeated without getting any wounds. I also had
removed its flesh and internal organs and processed its skin last night. The head was
still attached, and it looked very impressive.

That was thirty of them. The adventurers around us were being pushed and falling
by the collapsed pile of leather. And it smells pretty fishy. But it was fine since he was
the one who told us to take them out!

“You believe me now?”

“I-it can’t be real…”

“I’m not lying”

“Uwaah…”

“You must have bought it from somewhere else right!?”

“What’s the point of doing that!?”

I wonder what we should do now. Maybe, I should have stopped her before, huh…?
The onee-san at the reception desk didn’t seem to know what to do either. It was
already out of control.

Then a small, old woman appeared from the back of the guild as if she had heard the
commotion.

I could guess who she was by just looking at her. She must be the Guild Master. The
lack of stagnation in the magic power flowing through her body told me that she was
a first-rate magician.

“What the hell is happening here? Oi, Lulu, what happened?”

“Aah, Master. Uumm, it’s because of this girl…”

“Oioi… What is someone with an alias doing in here?”

The old woman looked at her lightly. It seemed that she had figured out Fran’s true
identity with just one glance.

“In the middle of a trip”

“I appreciate it, but I wish you’d think about it a little more before doing something
like this”

I’m sorry. We got a little heated. After hearing from the girl at the reception desk and
Dandy-san, she sighed even more.

“Is this guild only full of blockheads and idiots…? What a shame”

“So-sorry…”

“Well, it’s fine then. Swift, you’re gonna help me take care of it right? It’s your fault
because you were too stupid to see what she’s capable of”

“Y-yes”

“And you, come with me. Black Lightning Princess”

“Nn”

The moment the guild master called Fran the Black Lightning Princess, there was a
commotion of a completely different level than before. If I had to sum it up in one
word, it would be astonishment. It seemed that Fran’s alias was even known in the
Belios Kingdom.

The moment Fran and the Guild Master entered the back room, the commotion they
had been holding back exploded all at once. Even without listening, I could tell that
they were gossiping about Fran.

While many people were saying that a child like that couldn’t be strong, the calm
adventurers seemed to be saying that there was no way that the Guild Master could
be wrong. Still, some of the younger adventurers were laughing at us when she told
them that she was stronger than them.

“I’m sorry for those annoying guys”

“It’s fine”

“I’m the Guild Master. The adventurers here call me Grandma Jill”

“I’m Fran, B-ranked adventurer”

She showed her guild card to her, but Grandma Jill just lightly glanced at it.

“I know. You’re the only Black Cat kin who can do something like that. You look just
like the stories I’ve heard. So, you’re in the middle of a trip?”

“I’m going to the Achajhe… Academy of Magic”

Fran biting her tongue at the academy part was cute. It would be even cuter if she
was a little embarrassed by it. But it seemed like it was nothing to be embarrassed
about and she just rephrased it as normal.

The Guild Master also decided to not mind it.

“Academy of Magic? Are you going to enroll there?”

“No. I have just received a request”

“I see. Well, it’s not just a place that teaches combat skills, and I think someone your
age should be able to enroll there”

“I can get stronger by being an adventurer too”

“Well, I won’t force you. I’ll also be sure to send the Scarlet Waterweed you
mentioned to Kiarazen. There’s a shortage of that stuff around here too. Can I share
it with the other guilds? I’ll make sure the request is treated as fulfilled in here too”

“Nn. You can split it up where ever you need it”

“Thank you, that helps”

It must have been very scarce. Grandma Jill looked relieved.

“Can I have you sell me some Lake Murder skins too?”

“Okay”

“That’s such beautiful skin after all”

“Thank you”

“Now that we’ve got that out of the way, can we talk about something serious?”

As expected, there was a reason why she was called into the room, huh?

“Since you’re a B-ranked adventurer, I have a request to make of you. Will you accept
it?”
The day after being asked to accept a request from the Guild Master of Sheftent.

Fran was on a small boat. Next to her was the Guild Master, Grandma Jill.

We were aiming for a medium-sized ship called an adventurer’s ship that was
docked about 100 meters away from the port.

At first, she tried to bring Urushi with us, but Grandma Jill stopped her. She said he
would only cause panic in there. As there was no way for everyone in there to know
about him, there would certainly be a risk that they would mistake it for an attack by
a magic beast.

If a panic broke out in this kind of place where ships were so densely packed, there
was a possibility that the damage would be tremendous. Like a ship that would try to
escape only to hit another ship and they might sink each other.

“There’s an Adventurer’s Guild there?”

“Yes, that’s right. They didn’t use a large ship so that it can turn around in an
emergency”

“Is the ship just used as a Guild Branch?”

“Well. There are also the Adventurer’s Quarters, training grounds, a dismantling site,
and a weapons shop. Just think of it as a ship with everything an adventurer needs”

“So it’s also the training grounds where they do the tests?”

“Yes, you’re right”

The request from Grandma Jill to Fran was for her to be an examiner for an
Adventurer’s Promotion test. She wouldn’t be the one to determine who passed or
failed, but to be a witness.
Normally, they would have called in people from remote towns in the country for the
test to measure their combat power. However, due to the war commotion and
incidents that have occurred in the country, it has been postponed for half a year.

The reason why they need to go to the trouble of inviting outsiders was to make
them feel less naive and to give them a sense of the vastness of the outside world.

Unlike the other regions, many adventurers in this region were born and raised
around Lake Vivian and became adventurers as they were.

In a normal region, they would travel to improve their skills or to find a dungeon
with a difficulty level that suited them. Even if it wasn’t as exaggerated as a trip, if
they were interested in a dungeon or magical areas, it was normal for them to move
their base when they were young.

However, the number of settled adventurers has surprisingly increased as a result of

the community-wide efforts to train adventurers, especially in the commercial fleet.
Or should I call it a community-based Adventurer’s Guild? Since they were from this
area, they were well-behaved and knew the rules around here. All in all, it was a
good thing.

At the same time, however, there was a downside in that, it caused people to get used
to each other. A particular problem, she said, was the lack of a sense of urgency and
competition among lower-ranked adventurers.

Many of the adventurers were familiar with each other, and many of the higher-
ranked adventurers were like heroes they had admired when they were young.
Because of this, even when they were beaten in the exams, many of them would
think “Well, it couldn’t be helped if I lost to you” and didn’t feel frustrated at all.

“I don’t want them to be looked down on by the people from other regions. So that’s
why we call in strangers as an examiner whenever possible”

“Nn. Understood”

“Oh, you sure?”

“Me too, I hate it when the Black Cat kin gets looked down upon”

“Yeah, it may be a feeling close to that. So, go ahead and beat those brats”
“Okay”

“Hihihi. The guy who wants to pass this is out of luck”

It seems this grandma Jill’s personality was quite bad. But I agree. Those adventurers
who lose to Fran would be quite shocked. She was a girl, an outsider, a Black Cat, and
doesn’t look very strong after all.

Mmm, I’d cry if I were them. If they’re going to hold a grudge, please hold that
grudge against Grandma Jill for knowingly asking Fran to do this. Should I ask Fran
to go easy on them? Haha, it was impossible, of course.

“Besides, I want the others to see what you’re capable of”

“Why?”

“As a reminder and a goal”

“?”

“Well, just show them what you’re capable of”

“Okay”

“Woof!”

“I see, what great magic power. I’m looking forward to this. Urushi too, please take
care of them”

As expected, her personality was bad.

Five minutes later.

From a small boat that had come alongside, Fran teleported to the adventurer’s ship.

[It looks like a normal ship to me though]

“Nn”

“Woof”
Other than the Adventurer’s Guild flag on the mast, it didn’t look much different from
the mid-sized ships that were docked nearby. But once inside, it looked so different.

The reception lobby of the Adventurer’s Guild existed directly inside the ship after
all. Many adventurers were hanging out here and the atmosphere was very lively.

A good number of adventurers must have landed at the Sheftent, but there were still
so many aboard.

All the adventurers’ gazes turned to us as Jill led us in. The adventurers, all of whom
were skilled in their own right, were observing Fran as if they were evaluating her.

Many of them have suspicious looks on their faces. They seem to be looking at Jill,
and then at Fran.

I guess they already know that Grandma Jill was bringing the examiner. But they
didn’t know that it was this girl. Since it was Grandma Jill, I’m sure she did it on
purpose.

The adventurers who were evaluating Fran were those who sensed that she was not
a small fry. The ones who were puzzled were probably the ones who see Fran just
like a normal girl.

“You’ve finally come huh, old hag?”

“Thanks for picking me up, old man”

Just like Grandma Jill, a small, wrinkled old man greeted us in front of the reception
desk. This old man must be the Guild Master of this place.

“I am Galfiran. I’m the Guild Master here. You can call me Grandpa Gull”

“Okay”

“Hmm. Then come with me so I can explain things to you, you’re welcomed here”

“Thanks”

Grandpa Gull must have understood that she was an examiner because he accepted
Fran as normal. The high-ranked adventurers nodded their heads in understanding,
while the lower-ranked adventurers shouted in surprise.

Then a young man with an unconvinced face stood in front of Fran and the others.

“Grandpa Gull, is she’s today’s―”

“You fool!”

“Hiii”

“What kind of attitude is that towards an adventurer who took the trouble to
respond to our request! Don’t you even know how to be polite!”

His friends then tried to help the young man who was shouted down by Grandpa
Gull.

“I’ll introduce her later. Shut your mouth if you can’t even judge her abilities!”

“B-but…”

“In the first place, don’t you understand that the fact that I greeted her politely
means that she is an important person? It looks like those dumbasses who can’t even
realize that need to be retrained…! Be prepared for that later!”

Was this another one of the bad sides of being familiar with each other that Grandma
Jill was talking about? He had interrupted the conversation between the Guild
Master and a guest and then treated him with a lax attitude. If this had been Eliante,
whom we had met in the Royal Capital of Kranzel, He would have been cut down on
the spot.
“So I just have to fight a few times?”

“That’s right. First, I want you to take it easy on them and see what they can do. After
that, beat them to a pulp with overwhelming power and break their fighting spirit”

“Hihihi, that’s gonna be good medicine for the weak hearted”

Grandpa Gull said some pretty extreme things while swinging his arm as an example.
And Grandma Jill seems to be liking his idea too.

“Is that really fine?”

Fran tilted her lightly when she heard what these two said. But it seems, this
Grandpa Grandma duo was pretty motivated.

“You’ve just seen those guys from earlier, right? I mean, they’ve been slacking off a
little”

“Isn’t it because of you spoiling then too much, right?”

“Well, I won’t deny it. After all, we don’t get many dangerous requests around here”

“No matter how much you say, words can never fully convey the message, you know”

“Yeah”

He wanted us to beat up the slacking adventurers and get them back into shape. I’m
sure there were other ways to do so if he just wanted us to show the difference
between our power… But this was the most reliable way to deal with those
adventurers.

“However, there are a few things for you to keep in mind. First of all, can you hold
back a little”
“As long as I don’t kill them, right?”

“No, no, no. It would be a problem if they suffer an injury that has no hope of
recovering! You’re kidding, right?”

“Nn?”

“Oi, Old hag…”

Sweat was trickling down from Grandpa Gull’s temples. He finally understood that
Fran was more dangerous than she looked.

“I’ve already asked her to do this though”

“Yo-you’re right. But please, those adventurers still have a future. I’d like you to
refrain from giving them any injuries that might affect their life as much as possible”

“Okay, I’ll be as careful as I can”

“You promise!? Please be as careful as you can!”

“Nn. Please leave it to me”

“… Seriously, can I really leave it to you!?”

You don’t have to worry. I’ll stop Fran if she makes a mistake. Well, as much as I can
though.

“And also, please refrain from using any flashy magic”

“Why? Isn’t the place was protected by a barrier?”

“Well, it’s simply because we’re onboard a ship. If you use Fire or Thunder magic in
here, the damage to the ship will be tremendous”

“I see”

It was a simple reason. This was probably because he knew the meaning of Fran’s
alias, so he advised her to hold back.
“I’ve covered the place with barriers and stuff, but it might not be able to hold up if
you unleash your magic with all your might”

“We’ll get you to pay for the repairs if you overdo it, so be careful”

[Fran, you shouldn’t do any damage to this ship!]

(Okay)

This ship was a magic ship no matter how I thought about it. I wonder how great the
bill would be if she caused any damage to the engine section… It seems I’ll have to
make sure she doesn’t overdo it!

“And also, you have a follower, right? Can you call him now?”

“Urushi”

“Woof!”

“Ooh, I didn’t see that coming! A Dark magic user huh!? And look at that…”

“A Darkness Wolf? No, he looks different, huh? But I can tell that he’s strong”

If their opponent was a humanoid, they would be able to sense a certain level of
strength based on their years of experience. The lack of stagnation in magic power
flowing through his body, his behavior, and his gaze were all factors that could be
used to judge him. This was why some people could tell that Fran was strong even
when she was suppressing her magic power. Well, to put it simply, it was an
adventurer’s intuition.

However, I guess these two don’t know much about any wolf-shaped magic beasts.
They’re not sure how to measure Urushi’s power, who had evolved and became
better at concealing his magic power.

“Urushi is very strong”

“Hou? Is he strong enough for Fran to say so? That’s good then, why don’t we get
Urushi to fight too?”

“Woof woof!”
“Urushi said he’ll do it”

“Thanks a lot. After all, there aren’t many strong beast-shaped magic beasts around
here. So, I’d like to show them how scary a magic beast can be. The lack of
adventurer’s awareness can be fatal in times of crisis after all”

“Awareness?”

“Yeah, The adventurers around here are only good at dealing with problems around
Lake Vivian. To make matters worse, they’re too familiar with this place”

It seems that they only hone the necessary skills to do jobs in this area, so they
couldn’t do much when they go to dungeons in other areas. I’ve heard that a man
who was a C ranker in the guild here once died easily in an E-ranked dungeon.

That was also why the adventurers around here don’t want to go out. This was not a
bad thing for the region, so it had not been seen as a problem.

However, if such a thing continues for a long time, adventurers who work around
Lake Vivian in the Kingdom of Belios would be looked down upon. They’re useful on
the lake, but elsewhere they’re considered a rank below. That was what the rumors
say about them.

“It’s so frustrating… I’ve tried to do something about it, but things are not going well”

“That’s why we would be grateful if Urushi is willing to help”

Grandma Jill was stroking Urushi while saying so.

“Isn’t he a beautiful beast… His rank must be pretty impressive, right?”

“I wonder?”

“… Well, it’ll be fine as long as you don’t destroy the ship”

“Woof!”

“No problem”

“Well then, you’d better get to the exam site”

The promotion exam site was reasonably large. It was about the size of a gymnasium.
The ceiling was low though, but it was enough for us to move around.

“Ah right, more guys met the rank-up requirements last night. Is that a problem for
you?”

“No problem”

“All right. Well then, let me introduce you guys to your examiner today. She’s Fran, an
adventurer”

“Nn. Nice to meet you”

“You guys! No matter how high up in the ranks your opponent is, don’t show a
pathetic appearance against a kid!”

Grandma Jill’s personality, as always, was quite bad. She didn’t explain Fran’s identity
in detail. And Grandpa Gull seems to be in on her plan too. In fact, he was fueling the
adventurers.

“Yes!”

“You can count on us! We’ll definitely rank up!”

“It’s going to be easy this time, isn’t it?”

“Hehehe, they’re so adorable”

Well, I’m sorry guys.

“Hey, who are those guys?”

“That must be the onlookers. The old man must have called them here”

“They’ve been slacking lately too. I thought I’d give them a shot to wake up. Let’s
show them how strong you are”

“Or do you not want to show your skills publicly? If that’s the case, I’ll kick them out
immediately”

“No need, it’s fine”

Well, it was not going to be a fight where we have to show up the cards in our hands
after all. Fran was rather pleased with this. It was because this was a nice chance to
improve the status of the Black Cat kin.

I was worried that she might get a little too motivated though.

“Ooh, that’s good then. I’m sorry for not telling you before”

“Good grief, this old man is so brazen”

“I don’t want to be told that by this brazen old hag!”

As they were talking about this and she was doing some light stretching, a man
approached her from among the onlookers.

He was clearly an adventurer with power a level higher than the rest of them. At the
very least, he was a C-ranker. Depending on his skills and abilities handling, he could
have been a B-ranker.

[He’s quite strong]

(Nn. Appraisal)

[Aah, what are you doing?]

(It’s natural to appraise stranger who approaches us)

[Is that so?]

(Nn. If he found out, then we can either defeat him or run away, that’s all)

She was so simple! Apparently, I was an idiot for worrying about it.

When I used the appraisal skill a sense of weight lifted off my shoulders, I found that
he was still quite strong. His status was at the top of rank C, wasn’t it? He was much
weaker than Colbert, but he had a good balance of water magic, underwater action
skills, and trap detection. He was an all-rounder with a high rating in areas other
than his combat prowess.

“Hey, sorry to barge in on you. I’m a B ranked adventurer and my name is Lovren”

“Nn. And I’m a――”

“You just need to give your name”

“?? Okay, I’m Fran”

“Yeah, I’m sure I’ll learn a lot today. Nice to meet you”

“Nn”

Fran shook the hand that was offered to her. He was a fresh, handsome guy with dark
hair, but he doesn’t seem like a bad guy. And he was a B-ranker, huh?

“Anyway, Guild master, what’s the point in hiding her true identity? After all, I’m not
the only one who’s noticed it”

“Well, those who don’t realize it are negligent. And it means they have bad ears for
information and poor eyes for judging others!”

“Haha, so strict…”
“Why are you laughing!? Well, enough about the low rankers. But the problem is that
there are a lot of C’s and D’s who underestimate Fran! They’ve been in lukewarm
water for too long, and their senses have been dulled”

“Well, we haven’t had any major incidents in the last 20 years after all~”

“Don’t be so cocky! It was because you’re such an ace, that’s why the adventurers of
Lake Vivian look like fools! The people of the Royal Capital haven even called us
water striders!”

“What a strange thing to say”

“Guh…”

“Well well, it’s no use worrying about it. You’re just segregating yourself”

Lovren doesn’t seem to care. Apparently, he was a pretty easy-going guy. Grandpa
Gull, on the other hand, was the impatient type. So, I don’t think they’ll get along.

Well, it seems like Grandpa Gull was a little hot-blooded huh?

Well, that was fine. I’m more concerned about something else.

[Fran, you recognize that kid?]

(No)

[Of course, huh]

There was a boy who kept staring at Fran and Urushi since we showed up. Although
the other group’s members were also looking at us with suspicion and contempt, this
boy was the only one who was letting out his killing intent at us.

I wondered if we had beaten him up somewhere, but Fran didn’t seem to remember
him either.

[He’s looking at us as if he was looking at his parent’s killers]

(…I don’t know)

[Well, it’s no use thinking about him, we’ll just need to be a little more cautious]

(Nn)

I wonder if it was because his relatives were killed by the Black Cat kin or something
like that? Or maybe he was the child of an enemy that Fran had defeated?

“Two people from the E-rank, come!”

“Ou!”

“Understood!”

A man in his early thirties and a woman in her mid-twenties stepped forward at
Grandpa Gull’s words.

Both were warriors that used the spear. Apparently, there were a lot of spear users in
this guild. Of the nine people here, seven were spearmen, and the other two were a
mage and an archer, so all the warriors were equipped with spears.

“Let me show you these spear handling skills that I got from Daghour-senpai!”

The tip of the spear that the man held up looked like a harpoon. No, it was not that it
looked like a harpoon, but wasn’t it a real harpoon?

I wondered about it, only to realize that using a spear on a lake would be easier.
Furthermore, if the junior adventurers were taught by their seniors, it would lead to
an increase in the number of spear users.

Upon appraisal, I found that he possessed skills such as harpoon skills and spear
throwing, in addition to spear skills. In addition to swimming, diving, and other
underwater skills, he also had water walking skills.

Certainly, it was true that the adventurers in this area were specialized to work
around Lake Vivian. I also took a look at the other examinees, but they all had similar
skill sets. I can see why the Guild Masters would feel frustrated by this.

“I can’t believe they brought a kid this time. I guess they were more concerned with
the fact that the examiner must be an outsider than their ability… Don’t resent me if
you get hurt, okay?”
“…”

“Hey, why don’t you say something? Or are you just too scared to――”

“No need to talk, come”

Fran interrupted the man’s words and provoked him with a gesture of her finger to
call him over. I guess the man’s story was boring for her.

The reason why she didn’t go first was that she’d been told to let them strike first
and show what they were capable of. Yeah, yeah, it was great that she remembered
what she was asked to do!

“This brat… Don’t underestimate me!”

This guy seems to have zero tolerance for agitation.

“Haa!”

“Hmmh”

“Kuh! Shit! Zeeii!”

The man, provoked by Fran, thrusts his spear out in rapid succession. However, Fran
could dodge all of his attacks by a hair’s breadth.

After about a minute, Fran started to put a light counterattack. She controls her
attack where her opponent could still dodge it.

He could react to the attacks that came above and below, but he was not that good at
responding to the strikes from the left and right. When the attack was about to hit,
Fran pulled back and stopped.

The man was pissed off and kept attacking, even though it was obvious that she was
holding back. This was not good. He needs to learn how to suppress his emotions.
After all, it seems that he hadn’t realized how many times he had died if this was a
real battle. But when Fran pointed this out to him, he became even more pissed off.

In the end, she fought him for about five minutes, until Fran landed a flying kick on
the exhausted man’s head, and the match was over. It was okay, I immediately cast
heal to the man who was blown away. He was unconscious, but he was unharmed.

“All right, next!”

“Y-yes!”

The girl started cautiously, probably because she had seen the man get beaten up so
badly. With her spear poised at her hip, she moved in a circular motion around Fran,
stepping like an out-boxer.
(TLN: One of the primary boxing styles, check on Wikipedia for details)

She seemed to be looking for an opening. Immediately after that, the woman thrusts
her spear into the air without missing the opening that Fran showed. It was a good
thrust, intended to inflict a fatal wound from the start.

However, Fran easily dodged the thrust that should’ve hit her from behind. Well, it
was an opening that Fran made on purpose after all.

After that, the woman continued to attack. And as if she was being led by Fran, all of
her attacks were dodged. Gradually, she seemed to realize that she was being led by
her, and she stopped taking the lure.

A look of impatience clung to her face. It seems she didn’t have any more ideas to
attack.

“If that’s the case, then――”

Oh, water magic, huh? If she couldn’t use her spear, using magic was not a bad idea.
However, her skill level was still too low. The bullet that was released was easily
shattered by Fran’s back fist.

“The magic power was half-heartedly formulated. This will be useless in a real
battle”

“Wha…”

“Well then, it’s my turn now. Here I come”

“Kuh!”

She changed to offense now. Just like against the man before, she launched a few
attacks to see how she would react to defend against them.

Five minutes later. Just like the man from earlier, her consciousness was reaped
when exhaustion slowed her movements.

There was no voice from the surrounding adventurers. They probably didn’t expect
Fran to be that strong and the fight to be so one-sided. The F-ranked adventurers,
who would have had to fight Fran next were in tears.
However, Grandpa Gull and Grandma Jill were laughing with a look of heartfelt joy on
their faces.

“Uwaah! Fran, that was amazing! You’ve exceeded my expectation!”

“You’re right. This will be easy for us to evaluate. Keep it up like this for the next one
too!”

“Nn. Understood”

After that, Fran took less than three minutes to beat the fledglings.

“Ghaa!”

“Arrgh!”

“But she’s cute!”

Well, they don’t have as much strength as the two from before, and they also had
fewer tricks to watch, so it couldn’t be helped.

――At the end of the first round.

“What kind of move is that…!?”

“This… This is not fair…”

“Haah, haah, more…!”

The adventurers who had regained consciousness were looking at Fran with a
desperate look. Losing doesn’t mean they’ve been disqualified, but they’ve been
beaten without being able to put up much of a fight at all. So, they must be quite
shocked.

Some of the F-ranked adventurers began to cry for real. Aah, there was also a guy
who received a kick from a bad angle and broke his neck, so I instantly cast Greater
Heal on him. He had a serious life-threatening experience and it seems that his heart
was broken.

The rest of the participants seemed to be in a similar state. Well, there was one guy
who seems to have woken up…

This one person among them was the only one who never lost his fighting spirit. It
was that boy, who had been sending killing intent to Fran from the beginning.

I think he lasted the longest out of all the F-rankers. It was still only for about five
minutes though. I couldn’t believe he just barely met the rank-up requirements
yesterday.

He wasn’t bad from a technical standpoint. In terms of ability, there was even a
possibility of him reaching D-rank. At his young age, that was quite a talent.

Well, he didn’t say a word to her, so I still don’t know why he was staring like that at
Fran.

“All right, next, everybody, step forward”

“Eh? There’s still more?”

“Of course! It’s not over yet! If you’re done with only that battle, you’ll fail the exam!
Show some spirit! And stop talking or we’ll start it all over again!”

Maybe Grandpa Gull’s threats managed to make them regain their motivation, or
maybe they realized that there was no escaping this. The adventurers then lined up
in front of Fran.

“The next one is all of you vs Fran. We’ve got the old hag and potions with us. You
should go all out to the extent that you do not destroy the ship”

Those words were probably meant for the adventurers. Those who were relieved to
have the numbers and those who were worried that Fran would not be able to get
away with anything if these many people were to come at her started to get serious.

However, it was Fran who reacted to that first.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“… As long as you don’t hurt them too badly”

“Nn”
The second battle between Fran and the blue-faced adventurers who heard the
conversation between Fran and Grandpa Gull began. And then it was over.

Yes, in about 10 seconds.

The two E-ranked adventurers, who were the leaders, were blown up and out by
Fran’s first blow when she rushed at them with super high speed. After that, the
adventurers fell out at the rate of one hit and two faints per second, and the match
was easily settled. That was what will happen when you’re stuck without a plan.

The adventurers whose consciousnesses had been reaped were lying around Fran,
who stood leisurely.

“It’s over”

“Aah―… You’re right. You’re amazing”

“Fufun”

“However…”

“Nn?”

“Maybe, these guys don’t even know what you have done to them”

Of course, huh? They had already fallen before they had realized it after all.

“I don’t think you understand your differences in power with them”

“Yeah, I’ve beaten them into pulp”

“Aah, It’s a metaphor, you know? What I meant by beating them into pulp was to
break their pride! It’s not like you have to break their bones or anything, you
know!?”

Grandpa Gull was telling Fran with a worried look on his face, while Grandma Jill was
kicking the adventurers in the head to wake them up.

“Come on, get up! There’s still the next one!”

It looks like their suffering will continue for a little while longer.

That was too quick for them to realize what had happened, so this time they were a
little more cautious and able to fight for a longer time.

The adventurers now spread out from the beginning while preparing their weapons.

They probably thought that if they froze for a moment, they would be killed instantly.
But, do they think that was enough?

“Well then. Begin!”

Immediately after Grandpa Gull shouted so, Fran was already moved in front of the
man on the far right.

“… I’ll be going for your torso, okay?”

“Ugh… Ghaah!”

While holding me that was still in my scabbard, she sent the guy flying to the wall.
The rest was a repeat. Fran approaches any lone adventurer, calls out to them, and
then strikes a blow.

It took her longer than before. But it still took about five minutes though.

“Good grief, what a bunch of idiots… It’s because they’re so afraid of being taken
down altogether that they spread out randomly!”

That was right. If they were just scattered randomly, it would only have the effect of
slightly extending the time it took for each of them to be defeated. They were too far
apart to attack Fran from behind while their friends were attacked. So, it was no
wonder Grandpa Gull was so angry.

“Get ready for the next one! Get up, quickly!”

 A PUPPY?

And soon, the third group battle began.

[Fran, let’s go a little easier on them this time. It’s not good for the exam if we keep
defeating them instantly]

(Okay)

And she then began to circle the adventurers who were trying to intercept her in a
formation with a speed that even created an afterimage.

She sometimes kicks the low ceiling to jump over their heads, while tapping the
shoulders of the adventurers to provoke them.

“Shit!”

“That was just an afterimage”

Wha? Fran wasn’t that the line from Flying Shadow-san…! Well, that was a good one
to hear. I need to thank these adventurers for that. As thanks, I’ll wish them a gentle
defeat.

(TLN: Yuyu Hakusho references)

“There she is!”

“So naive”

“Wha!? She stopped my spear with her finger…”

“Don’t break our formation!”

As the adventurers began to attack recklessly, Fran gradually increased her pressure
on them. She increased her speed, even more, fooling them with a speed that doesn’t
even leave an afterimage, and occasionally stepping into their formation and tapping
them on their backs.

They were suddenly struck on the back by her who could take them down with a
single blow. In addition, she also whispered “Yes, you’re dead now” or “Your back is
full of openings” into their ears but they found no one there when they turned
around with a pale face. It must be quite a horrible experience for these adventurers.

(It’s about time to end this)

[What would you do?]

(I’d like to see their reaction to magic. I’m an examiner after all)

Fran muttered that with a smug look on her face. Well, at least she hasn’t forgotten
that she was the examiner.

“I’ll end this now. Haaa!”

“Sh-she’s using magic now!”

“A-aren’t you a sword―”

The shivering adventurers were attacked by multiple activations of stun bolts. The
adventurers, who had been frozen in place, were struck by the pale blue electric
shocks and collapsed.

“Th-that was amazing. That was an example of how even lower-level magic can be
differ based on the user”

“You’re right. That was how a first-rate magician uses their magic”

Both of the Guild masters were praising her, but I was worried about something else.

[The floor got a little burnt… I wonder if that’s okay…]

Seeing the adventurers crying made me feel sorry for them, but Grandma Jill and
Grandpa Gull were merciless. They woke up the adventurers and started the mock
battle again.

However, the adventurers that have lined up looked confused.

“Umm, are we going to fight this puppy now?”

“Oh my~, he’s so cute~”

“You fools! No matter how he looks, he’s the kid’s follower, you know!?”

“Y-you’re right…”

“Woof!”

“B-but he’s so small…”

“However…”

They seemed to be completely confused between the relief of not having to fight
Fran anymore and the fact that their next opponent would be a pup-sized Urushi.

At first, I thought about making him look a little bigger, but when Grandma Jill saw
Urushi come out of the shadows in puppy size, she insisted we keep it that way.

“If he can manipulate his body size… He must be a high-rank magic beast. It would
be more shocking for us to lose against the small one than to the big one, isn’t it?”

“That’s right. This time, our goal is to let you witness how strong a beast-type magic
beast is. I’d be grateful if you could have a decent fight with him”

“Is he the type that changes his fighting power based on his size?”

“He’ll be fine”

“I’ll leave this to him then”

“Okay”

“Woof!”

The adventurers then formed a formation while looking puzzled.

“Don’t underestimate him just because he’s a puppy!”

“Y-yes!”

“Let’s make a preemptive strike with magic!”

With the E-ranker as their leader, the F-ranked adventurers obediently followed.
Their teamwork was the only thing that looked good though.

Water magic was released sporadically by several adventurers, and that was the
signal for Urushi to start moving.

“Wooof!”

“Wha?! So fas―Ghaah!”

“Ghaaah!”

Two people were immediately blown away by Urushi, who had evaded their water
magic and approached them. Urushi didn’t do anything special. He just lunged in a
straight line and lightly patted them with his paw.

The adventurers, who had fallen on their asses, looked at Urushi in astonishment as
he dared to attack them from the front.

“Wh-what the hell was that…!?”

“Short distance teleportation, huh?”

While they were puzzled by what had happened, he really used his teleportation this
time. The adventurers were pushed away by Urushi, who instantly moved behind
them.

Urushi’s attack continued for a while. But no adventurer had retired yet. It was
because they were asked to show off their strength, so they don’t want to let this
fight end so quickly.

But I think their adventurers’ pride has been torn to shreds already. Because they’re
being beaten one-sidedly by something that looks like a puppy.

Urushi too seemed to be starting to think that it was about time to end this. After all,
they looked at him with a very frightened look, so it must have hurt him a little.
“… Woof!”

“He can even use magic!? What the hell is this!”

“Th-the shadows are entwining us!”

“Shit, it won’t come off!”

Although it was not that strong, it seems that most of the adventurers are unable to
shake off Urushi’s magic. In the end, only two E-ranked adventurers managed to
escape the restraints.

“L-like hell I’ll let this puppy defeat me like this!”

“Ah, wait!”

A male adventurer ran to Urushi out of desperation. It seems he couldn’t stand the
fear of losing. I guess this was what Grandpa Gull meant by calling them “Naive”.

“Uwooh!”

“Woof”

The two-stage thrust that he must have put all of his power into was not even able to
graze Urushi as he was able to easily slip into his bosom. And then, with a headbutt
from below, he was blown up and hit his back against the ceiling. He then fell to the
floor unconscious, but he’ll be fine because an E-ranked adventurer would not die
easily.

After that, the female adventurer who remained until the end was hit by water magic
and a slap with his paw. She even has a paw-shaped bruise on her cheek.

“Wh-what the hell was that puppy is…”

“Of course, a magic beast, right?”

“I know that, but… he’s scary!”

“Surely. If I encounter that thing in the woods, I won’t even imagine being able to
defeat it”
As requested, he was able to show them how scary a beast-type magic beast could
be. Urushi was freaked though, and he was depressed. Basically, he’s a friendly guy.

“Urushi, good job!”

“Woof!”

Nevertheless, when Fran held him in her arms and stroked him, he was in a good
mood in no time. I wouldn’t call it too easy to comfort him. But that’s just how much
he likes Fran.
 DAGHOUR

They decided to let them take a break as it would take some time for the adventurers
to recover their bodies and minds after being beaten by Urushi.

After this, a mock battle between Urushi and those who wished to participate would
be held. The goal was to show Urushi’s power not only to the lower-level
adventurers but also to the higher-level adventurers.

It was a little off from the request of being an examiner, but it was fine since they’re
also offered an extra reward and Urushi was looking motivated too. Well, it seems, it
was also because Fran praised him earlier for doing a good job.

However, Fran was not tired at all and seemed to be bored. Perhaps realizing this,
one of the adventurers approached Fran.

“I’m a C-ranked adventurer named Daghour. Fran-dono, would you be so kind as to

let me have a match with you?”

Fran then glanced at both of the Guild Masters, and they nodded rather happily.

“It’s fine. In fact, I’d like you to blow all the onlookers away too”

“Understood, I’ll do it then”

“Ooh! I’m grateful! I know I’m not going to be able to do much, but I’ll do my best to
not let you down!”

It seems he was a warrior type. And that name too, this guy must be the one that had
taught spear techniques to the adventurers from before. In fact, he looked quite
skilled in using a spear. He possessed the Spear Saint Skill and Spear Saint Technique
and his level of harpooning and throwing skills was also high. In addition, he had a
strange skill called [Water Draining]. It seems to be a skill that weakened the
opponent’s water resistance when an attack was launched into the water. Well, he
was a lake specialist after all.
“Well then, please take care of me!”

“Nn!”

“Shiyaa!”

He unleashed a deadly attack right from the start. But Fran smiled as if she were
enjoying it. Daghour too, he laughed excitedly.

“Hahaha! Amazing!”

“Good shot”

Then the fierce battle began. Although there was a difference between Daghour’s
seriousness and Fran’s wait-and-see approach, both seem to be having fun.

There was also a scene that made me feel a chill at times. It was the shape of the
spear that Daghour used. It had a large harpoon-like curve at the tip, so it could be
used as a small sickle when pulled back after a thrust.

We had never seen this unique weapon movement style before, as he had tried to
snatch Fran with it a few times already.

“Interesting”

“Ooh! It’s an honor to hear the Black Lightning Princess say so!”

Then Daghour starts chanting while fighting. To be able to use magic while moving,
this guy must be quite skilled! Although he hadn’t reached B-rank yet due to his level,
it seems he had been training his skills every day. His level of mastery was quite
impressive.

“Haaa! Aqua Create!”

It was the simplest water magic that he used, but it was not foolproof in a high-speed
battle. If it hits her in the face, her movements would be impeded, and she might
even lose her footing.

Fran ducked this time, but I’m sure it wasn’t my imagination that she looked happier.
Because it was a mock battle with a strong opponent.
(Master, put up a flame barrier)

[Oioi, are you going to use flames to end this?]

(Nn. He won’t expect it to be used here. This is my payback)

[Very well… Haaa!]

“Uwooh!”

“Kyaa!”

“Gyaaa!”

“Fi-fire magic, in this kind of place… Eh, it’s not hot?”

The surrounding adventurers screamed and looked terrified as they were swallowed
up by the veil of flames that spread quickly around Fran. Soon, however, they begin
to be confused by the fact that it wasn’t hot.

What I used was the Flame Barrier, a Fire Magic skill. This skill itself had no offensive
power and was not hot to the touch.

Originally, it was a spell that enveloped the user to nullify flame attacks. However,
with my current control power, I could transform this magic to cover this site
completely.

[Looking good. The Superiorized Magic Control skill is showing a good result!]

“Nn!”

This was the result of Skill Superiorization, which had been a dead ability for a while.
This skill transformed my magic control skill into a Special skill. This was also thanks
to Announcer-san’s advice.

When I was asleep, Fran had talked to Announcer-san about how to use the points
and taught her how to enhance this skill.

Not only did it have the benefit of increasing my magic control more, but it also had
the benefit of making it easier to reacquire my magic control if I trained my magic
manipulation. Of course, I’ve already reacquired the magic control as a shared skill in
the Plains of the Demon Wolf. Well, I used my self-evolution points to raise the magic
control level though, so I’ve spent a lot of points.

“I-impossible… To be able to use such a skill…! You’re also a first-rate magician, huh!?
Ha, haha, I guess I had a problem with my eyes”

It seems that the only person who understood this greatness was Grandma Jill, who
was a genuine magician. It was no wonder she was so sober and her face was pale.

“I’ll end this now! Haaa!”

“No chanting huh!? Damn, this is…!”

Flare Impulse. Well, it was the skill that spread an explosive flame over a wide area.
It was the higher-level magic of Burst Flame. It had less killing power, but with the
addition of explosions and flashes of light, it had high crowd control power.

After the flames had cleared, there was no one standing on the site except Fran.

Even the Guild Masters were moaning while covered with soot.

[… It’s overkill]

“But they also asked me to blow away the onlookers too”

[What they meant by that was for you to show them how strong you are though. Now
then, I wonder if this all right]

It would be enough to just show off her strength after all.

After that, we just went with the flow and took a break. The damage shouldn’t have
been too bad, but I guess, we overdid it.

It was also going to take a while for the participants to recover from the shock of
fighting Urushi as he broke their hearts again.

“Uwaah, that was great magic”

“Yeah, I am impressed”
Lovren, who was an onlooker, and Daghour, who was a participant, seem perfectly
fine. Along with a few other adventurers who are still fine, Fran was making small
talk with them.

By showing her strength, she seemed to have been accepted at once.

But in the midst of it, an adventurer that seemed to be in a great hurry came running
into the exam site.

“This is a disaster! Anyone…! Eh? What a mess!”

 MODOKI

“A-Anyone… Eh? What a mess!”

Apparently, he didn’t know about the promotion exam and was surprised to see a
large number of adventurers.

“What happened?”

“Ah, Guild Master! This is a disaster, we’ve got another Modoki attack”

“Another one, huh!? How many of them?”

“Four of them! They’re coming here right now!”

“Tsk! Oi, the exam is suspended! This is an urgent request! Get rid of those bastards
before they reach the fleet!”

“Ou!”

Modoki? Was that a monster?

“Hey, what’s a Modoki?”

“Oh right, Fran doesn’t know about them, huh? It’s a troublesome magic beast that’s
been on the rise in this lake lately”

While heading to the deck, we heard from Grandpa Gull and the others.

“Originally, there was an endemic monster in this lake called the Vivian Guardian, do
you know it?”

“Never heard of it. It’s endemic?”

“Yeah. It’s a rare monster that can only be found in this lake”
However, the monster had rarely been hunted. First of all, it was very mild-
mannered. They don’t leave their territory and won’t come into contact with humans
unless they cross its territory.

“And even if you go into their territory, the first thing they do is to show up in groups
and block your path. And you’ll be attacked if you ignore them…”

Still, they would not be killed. They said that they would just render them powerless
and throw them out onto the nearby land.

However, that doesn’t mean that it could be hunted one-sidedly. When they were
pressured with a certain amount of attacks, their stance would transform into an
attack with hundreds of Guardians in the vicinity.

“Once it’s in its attack form it won’t stop until the humans are eliminated from its
area. In addition to the idiots who provoked them, unrelated fishing boats and
adventurers may also get caught up and die”

“Are they strong?”

“Their threat level was E and will be treated as lower than that if they’re not in their
attack form. We also didn’t have many battle records with them, so I don’t know
exactly how strong they are. But from what I’ve seen of its attack from when I was
younger, I’d say that they would become a threat level of B in a flock”

Isn’t that quite a powerful monster then? But I wonder why they never talked about
them in the guild?

When we asked them about it, they told me that their habitat was off-limits and that
it was not a place to be entered. So, if someone approached those places, the guards
would turn them away. In fact, the guild doesn’t actively promote this rare magic
beast, because if they spread the information about them, poachers might appear to
hunt for them.

“So, what is a Modoki?”

“Aah, They think Modoki was an aberration of the Vivian Guardian, in other words, a
new kind of monster”

“Aberrations? Will it be fine if we take them down?”

That urgent request he made earlier was supposed to be about taking them down,
right? But, wouldn’t it be bad if we attack it?

“But, you see, even if we attack these monsters, the other Vivian Guardians will not
attack us”

“Why?”

“Don’t know. I’d love to know about it too”

It seems that their research had not progressed that far yet.

“It’s so different from the usual Vivian Guardian, and there’s so much that we don’t
understand yet. Why are they coming out of their territory and why are they
relentlessly targeting the commercial fleet?”

“They’re targeting the commercial fleet?”

“Apparently, yeah. Every time they’ve been sighted, it’s been near the commercial
fleet, and I can’t help but think that they’re heading towards us. Of course, the
commercial fleet has a lot of guards and surveillance magicians, so it’s easy to spot
them, still… the spotting ratio is high, that’s for sure”

That would be a very bad situation, wouldn’t it? It would not be an exaggeration to
say that this fleet supports the life of the area around this lake, and if the fleet was
destroyed, the surrounding towns and villages would be seriously affected.

“Guild Master! Over there!”

“There were four of them, right?”

“Yes, the rookie on watch was the one who found them!”

As soon as we stepped out onto the deck, we were able to spot the Modoki.

It swam towards the fleet while sticking its body halfway out of the surface of the
lake.

Does their figure look like a 5-meter-long shelled squid or an octopus? It looked like
a pointed turban shell with about ten octopus-like tentacles sticking out of it. It
seemed to be swimming with its tentacles while pointing the tip of its shell at us.

Its overall color was black and red stripes with reddish-purple in some places that
look very poisonous.

“So that’s a Modoki?”

“Yeah”

Race: Vivian Guardian: Evil Spirit: Magic Beast Lv30

Condition: Abnormal

HP: 561

MP: 301

STR: 301

VIT: 441

AGI: 210

INT: 298

DEX: 121

Magic: 459

[Skill]

Presence Detection: Lv4, High-Speed Regeneration: Lv3, Regeneration: LvMax,

Abnormal Condition Resistance: Lv5, Tentacle: Lv7, Flexible Tentacle: Lv5, Water
Bullet: Lv6, Underwater Movement: Lv8, Life Detection: Lv4, Water Flow Control:
Lv5, Magic Perception: Lv4, Water Magic: Lv5, Swimming Lv4, Coordination: Lv8,
Sharp Smelling, Sharp Hearing, Shell Strengthening, Rampage, Magic Control.

“Well, it should be called the Abnormal Vivian Guardian, but since it was too long, so
they called it with Modoki”
“Besides, it has changed a lot from its original form”

Grandma Jill, who was catching up with us, also blurted out at the sight. The original
Vivian Guardian was said to be pure white. In addition, its tentacles should’ve been
translucent, as if they were made of water, giving them a mysterious appearance.

“Hey, is it really fine to take them down?”

“Yeah, no problem”

“Okay”

“We can’t get any materials from them! So, don’t be too reckless!”

“Can’t get its material?”

“Yeah. When the Vivian Guardians are defeated, it would melt like water and
disappear! You won’t even get its magic stone! It’s the same for Modoki too”

I see, I certainly had sensed its magical power, but I couldn’t find its magic stones
anywhere. What a strange magic beast…

I have an idea of what this type of magic beast this thing was. But they seemed to be
the same as the undead that we defeated on the Island in the Sky. After all, the
improvised undead that Jean created with his magic doesn’t have magic stones.

But these guys weren’t undead, were they? Was there a technique to create such
magic beasts out of nothing?

(Master, how is it?)

[It really doesn’t look like there are any magic stones. So, we can kill it without
worrying about its materials. But since we’re near the fleet, don’t do anything too
fancy]

“Nn! Urushi!”

“Woof!”

Suddenly, as the adventurers were surprised to see Urushi grow to the size of a large
dog, Fran took off on his back.

“Let’s go”

“Woof!”
 VS MODOKI

[I don’t know if it’ll work, but let’s try the method we used against the Lake
Murders!]

“Woof!”

It was a combination of Shadow Binding and the flash of light. But it didn’t do much
to stop it. Their eyes didn’t seem to react to the light, and the fact that one or two of
their tentacles were bound didn’t do much to stop them.

[It’s no good, huh…?]

“Woof…”

So, was a direct attack the only way to fight it? Magic would inevitably cause a lot of
damage to the surrounding area after all. If we use Fire Magic or Light Magic, I don’t
know what kind of effect it will have, like a steam explosion or a huge wave.

“Master, I’ll attack it first”

[Are you sure?]

“Nn! Awakening!”

Fran nodded and used awakening. She seems to be in her serious mode. Fran then
kicked Urushi in the back and jumped up. She also leaped high in the air and set me
up above her head as she fell.

“Bujuuh!”

“Bujyuh!”

The tentacles extended from the Modoki attacked Fran. They must have used their
Flexible Tentacle skills. The tentacles that looked like they were about five meters
long have grown to nearly twenty meters long.
But Fran continued to dodge their tentacles by kicking lightly in the air and twisting
her body as if she was dancing. Since she didn’t use me, she continued to fall with
only the bare minimum of evasion.

“――Heaven Judgement”

“Bushuu――”

“Bubu――”

With just one swing, she cut two Modoki in half, their hard shells then melted into
mush. She could now release the Heaven Judgement with her strength alone.

“Master, I’ll leave it to you. Let’s go!”

[Ou!]

“Haaa!”

My telekinetic catapult, boosted by Fran’s throw, shattered one of them into pieces. I
guess when push comes to shove, physical attacks was the way to go.

“Urushi, take care of it. You can use your bigger form”

“Wooof!”

“Bushyu―!”

At Fran’s instruction, Urushi killed the last one. He returned to his original size and
used his large mouth to bite its entire shell to death.

[The promotion exam would have been canceled under these circumstances, so it’s
probably a good thing that we were able to show Urushi’s strength here]

“Nn”

Fran must have remembered the request from Grandpa Gull. So, she thought of a way
to show the adventurers how strong Urushi was, even if it wasn’t a mock battle.

“Bweh bweh! Woof…”

[What’s wrong? Does it taste bad?]

“Woof…”

Apparently, the Modoki was not to his taste. He spat out the remains of the mush and
desperately washed his mouth out with the lake water.

“You better not bite them next time”

“Woof”

[Let’s go back for now]

“Nn”

“Woof”

[Oh hey, Urushi needs to be smaller first]

Just like that, we returned to the Adventurers ship and were greeted with cheers
from the adventurers. The low rankers that scare me still haven’t woken up, so the
only people there were people of some ability. They must have acknowledged Fran,
who had shown them overwhelming power.

“That was as expected from you! No, it was even more than what I expected!”

“Yes. That was amazing! I feel embarrassed to call myself as the same B rankers now”

“Gahahaha! I’m so glad you’re here, Fran!”

Fran was being squeezed by her. But Fran looked happy. I guess this kind of
communication was new to her. Besides, it looks just like what any adventurer would
do.

The adventurers then huddled together and started singing merrily.

They said it was a song about the spirits in this lake and was called the Song of the
Lakeside Maiden.

To sum it up, a spirit in the form of a blonde, white-skinned, innocent-looking girl

with a mysterious amethyst right eye and an emerald left eye was guarding this lake.
And it seems the lyrics were mostly about their gratitude to her.

Grandpa Gull also shouted as he got even more excited as he sang.

“All right! Let’s hold a party――”

“Don’t be ridiculous, old man! And these bunch of idiots too, stop making a fuss
about it!”

The adventurers who were about to get even more heated stopped when Grandma
Jill shouted at them.

“Alert the guards at the perimeter to search for any others! We also need to confirm
how much damage was done! We still have so much work to do!”

She instantly took over the atmosphere of the place with her shouting and
intimidation, which I couldn’t believe came from a petite old woman. The
adventurers who had been glared at by the old woman then dispersed at once.

“Fran, you come with me”

“Nn”

“Fran! Thank you for your help this time. If you have any problems, just let me know.
I’ll help you next time!”

“Thanks”

Fran, who was a little disappointed about missing the chance to have a party was led
by Grandma Jill to what looked like a conference room.

“What’s the matter with you? Did you want to have more fun with those idiots?”

“Nn…”

“Haah. At a glance, you don’t look like you would fit being with those idiots… You’re a
high-ranked adventurer after all”

Grandma Jill shook her head in disbelief. She was smiling bitterly, but her eyes were
kind. After all, I guess she doesn’t hate those idiots either.

“Well, thank you for your help in accepting the request for being an examiner. I’m
satisfied with it”

“Nn”

It seems the exams were judged to be over. And the ones who will pass or fail will be
judged from their first battle and then the group battle.

After that, we talked about the reward and got the approval of the completion of the
request. All that was left was to receive the reward.

[Well, there was also one thing I wanted to ask the old woman]

We asked Grandma Jill about the boy who had been staring at Fran before.

“That boy, huh? It’s said that he’s the youngest genius ever to take the rank E exam in
this guild. And I think he will be 13 this year”

It was true that he was very young, compared to the other adventurers who were
over sixteen, which was concerning. But I don’t understand why that would make
him glared at Fran like that.

I can understand if he hated someone who has a higher reputation than him. But I
don’t know if it was hatred or just simple anger…

“I could felt his killing intent”

“Hmm… I don’t know what we should do. This is your first-time meeting, right?”

“Nn”

“You should ask him directly then. I’ll be sleeping in the next room”

We then headed to the infirmary, but the boy was nowhere to be found. The only
people there were the young adventurers who were scared of Fran. When we asked
about the boy’s whereabouts, the answer was that they didn’t know.

He must have gotten up on his own and left.

[It’s no use, we’ll ask him directly the next time we met him]

“Nn”

Now that the request was over, our next destination would be the self-governing
region.
 FAMOUS PLACE

The day after we defeated the Modoki.

After leaving the commercial fleet, we were heading northeast. It was a straight
route to the Academy of Magic.

[I never thought we’d be involved with the commercial fleet by chance]

“Nn. It was amazing”

“Woof!”

[Me too, I’ve never seen that many ships in one place before]

I looked at Lake Vivian again as we were leaving, and it was still looking big from this
distance. Maybe it really was much bigger than Lake Biwa.

Well, I’ve never seen the real Lake Biwa before, so I don’t know what it was really
like.

After that, we traveled by flying in the sky while riding on Urushi’s back. Since the
Kingdom of Belios was a mountainous country, there were a lot of differences in
elevation, and it was fun to see a complete change in the scenery just by going a little
further.

“…?”

Fran was staring at the clouds far above.

[What’s wrong?]

“What is that?”

[Huh? Aah, it finally reached here huh!? It’s the floating island]
“Looks strange”

What Fran has discovered was a huge mass of clouds, standing even higher than
normal clouds. No, she was probably looking at the shadow of an island floating in
the middle of it.

“Floating Island”

It was the same kind of floating island that we had explored with Jean the
necromancer.

However, this one was not a dungeon. I’ve done some research at the adventurer’s
guild in Alessa after all.

“So, there is no strong magic beast?”

[No, that’s not true. It’s a Grade S magical area, the bed of the Heavenly Dragon. It’s
one of the most dangerous places in the world where the strongest class of magic
beasts in the world, the A-rank magic beasts, live]

Yes, that place was more of a dangerous place than a dungeon.

I don’t know how it works, but there was always a lot of water flowing down from
that floating island.

According to those who have reached the island, rivers as wide as 100 meters fall
straight down from the edge of the island to the ground. However, these waters
never reach the earth.

The water seems to turn into vapor and dissipate before reaching the ground. The
same principle applies to Angel Falls, a famous waterfall on Earth that has no basin.

The clouds surrounding that floating island were created by the waterfall that turned
into clouds.

“Heavenly Dragons? It exists?”

[Yeah. I heard some are living on that island]

However, these Heavenly Dragons have rarely caused any damage to this country. In
the first place, they seem to be unable to live on the ground and never descend below
the clouds.

It was said that during a battle with adventurers who broke into the Heavenly
Dragon’s sleeping quarters, the breath that a Heavenly Dragon released rained down
on the earth, destroying the highway to some extent.

[I’ve heard that there are few records of them being defeated in the past, so we don’t
know how strong they actually are]

The reason it was called an A level threat was that other Dragon species were ranked
as threat level of A. Since they were dragons too they were ranked A for the time
being.

Only A-ranked adventurers or higher were allowed to enter the sleeping quarters of
the Heavenly Dragons Well, it seems that more than half of them were knocked down
by the magic beasts that inhabit the sea of clouds before landing on the island
though.

And even if they managed to land, most adventurers won’t challenge the Heavenly
Dragons right away. Their main goal was the several dens that exist on the floating
island.

In their dens, they collect the scales and the beards that have fallen off and then run
back. That was the main goal of those adventurers.

There was the possibility of being attacked by multiple Heavenly Dragons, but there
was no place to run to in case of emergency. When that happened, the adventurers
would be at an overwhelming disadvantage, it was because fighting the Heavenly
Dragons in there would be suicidal.

[They say if we’re lucky, we’ll see a Heavenly Dragon flying between the clouds!]

“Really?”

[Yeah]

“What is it like?”

[They say it looks like a long snake with a body length of about 200 meters]
Yes. That dragon figure looks like an Eastern-style Dragon, unlike a Western dragon.
It has a magic power that far surpasses that of a Western dragon, and if a Western
dragon was a warrior type, this dragon was more of a magic and skill type.

Eastern-type Dragon and Western-type Dragon. Their ecology seems to be very

different.

[They have golden scales that looks blinding on a sunny day]

“Nn… I can’t see any”

“Woof…”

[Well, they say it’s really rare. But since we can see the island from anywhere in the
eastern part of this country, so if we’re lucky, we’ll get to see it]

“Nn”

We proceeded to look up at Heavenly Dragon’s island to see if we could see any

dragons. Urushi too was slowing down while looking up, but he sometimes failed to
maintain our altitude and Fran almost fell. In the end, we couldn’t see any Heavenly
Dragon.

[Ooh, I saw the town]

“So that was the Academy of Magic? It’s so big”

[No, you’re wrong. The Academy of Magic is in the back where the tower is. It’s still
big though. What’s in its front is just a town]

It seems that a town has developed around the Academy of Magic. It was also called
the Academy Town.

[That’s Lady Blue, the town where the Academy of Magic was built]

“Blue? It’s not blue though?”

[Lady in Blue. It’s a name that honors the world’s most powerful ocean magic user,
the High Elf, Weena Rhyn]
“I see”
Lady Blue was a much more chaotic town than I had imagined. Aside from the main
streets, once we entered the back streets, we found ourselves in a maze of narrow
streets.

It was also quite easy to get lost in the Royal Capital of the Kingdom of Kranzel, but
this one was really just like a maze. However, the image of the town was much
different due to the different nuances of the buildings.

Compared to the Mediterranean style of the Kingdom of Kranzel, this one was more
like the good old British style, huh? Well, I’ve never been to England, so it was
completely subjective.

I feel like this was the kind of atmosphere that was introduced in the Beatles special
on TV, such as the downtown area of Liverpool or the country towns in the suburbs.

[Hey, don’t you think we made the same mistake as before?]

“Nn?”

[We got lost off the main street in the Royal Capital of Kranzel back then, right?]

“I smelled something delicious”

“Woof!”

In response to my words, Fran held a waffle-like baked confectionery in her hand.

Urushi was chewing on three of them in one gulp.

At first, we were going along the main road as usual. However, Fran smelled
something delicious and suddenly veered off the road. It was fine until we found the
source of it, a baked pastry store.

[We’re completely lost]

“Nn”

[You asked the old lady at the baked pastry store for directions, right?]

“Yup”

[Then why are we still lost?]

“This way looks more interesting”

[Aaah, is that so?]

“Nn!”

There were paths that she had to lie down to get through, stairs that were so steep
and narrow that an old man would get tired on the way, tunnels of greenery made
out of plants, and many other places that would tickle the fancy of children.

Fran and Urushi explored the town with great joy. It would not be an exaggeration to
say that they had gone to get lost themselves.

[Well, we’re not in a hurry, so that’s fine. I’d like to go to the adventurer’s guild for
now, but even that was not urgent]

Besides, I’m starting to enjoy exploring a bit more. This area has fewer apartment
buildings and more single-family houses, but the gardens of each house were very
elaborate and fun to look at.

Then Fran stopped abruptly and pointed ahead.

“Master, that…”

[What’s wrong, Fran?]

“That building is amazing”

Fran pointed to a building with a distinctive appearance a little further down the
road. I see, that was certainly amazing.

It was a three-story house, and trees were growing out of its roof. It was not like they
were greening the rooftop, huh? No matter how I looked at it, there was a hole in the
roof and the top of a huge tree sticking out of it.

When we look closely, I can see branches that seem to belong to the tree sticking out
of some of the third-floor and second-floor windows.

But that wasn’t the only thing that surprised us. There was laundry drying in the
yard. Apparently, people were living there.

We walked up to the house. Then we made another surprising discovery. A sign

saying “Green Ancient Tree Pavilion” was hanging at the entrance of the house.

Apparently, it was an inn.

“Urushi, let’s go!”

“Woof!”

[Ah, wait!]

Fran and Urushi stormed into the inn with bright eyes. Even though they didn’t even
know what kind of place this building was!

“Oooh―”

“Woof―”

Fran and the medium-sized Urushi stood side by side in the middle of the garden,
looking up at the huge tree. The tree resembled a camphor tree, but its branches and
leaves were already wider than the roof of the inn. It was as if the inn had another
roof.

After a few moments of looking around, Fran was satisfied and decided to get into
the inn. Its door was well-kept but it was a very old wooden door.

“Oooh―”

And then, for I don’t know how many times already, she expressed her admiration.

“There are trees inside too”

[Of course, but well, I can understand your surprise]

The tree trunk was much thicker than I had imagined. The inn was supposed to be
quite spacious, but half of it was occupied by the tree trunk. A huge tree sat in the
center of the room, and the floor was stretched around its roots like a wooden deck.

The uneven shape of the floorboards around the tree was probably because they
were cut into that shape as the roots had continued to grow.

“Oho, a customer?”

“Who?”

“What do you mean by who? You too, who are you?”

“Fran. Adventurer”

“Haha―. I see―”

It was an old, petite female Elf, who spoke to Fran who had stopped at the entrance
of the inn.

“I’m the owner of this inn. Are you going to stay?”

“Nn! One night!”

[Oi oi, do you want to stay here?]

(Nn!)

We haven’t found the guild yet though… But she seems to like it a lot already.

Still, this may be the first time I’ve ever seen an old Elf. It was said that elves spend
most of their long lives looking youthful, and in the last hundred years or so, they age
just like humans do. When that happens, most elves were said to shut themselves
away and go into long periods of sleep.

It must be quite rare for an old Elf to still work in a town of people, right?

“That will be 500G with dinner and breakfast”

“Okay”

“Also, I have to warn you about this. I’ll kick you out if you hurt this Daiki-sama. Do
you understand?”

(TLN: Daiki -> big tree)

Daiki-sama, huh? Was it some kind of special tree? Fran asked and was told that it
was inhabited by a spirit. The old woman said that she had made a contract with the
spirit.

“She’s a nice person, as long as we don’t do anything wrong to her”

“Spirit, can I see her too?”

“I don’t know. Maybe you’ll see him, or maybe you won’t. Well, if you’re a good kid,
maybe you will meet her”

“Okay, I’ll be a good kid”

“Houhou, that’s good then”

The room she was then shown to was more ordinary than I had expected. A clean
bed with a simple interior design. Also, there were no tree branches that stretched
all over the room as I had worried before.

She said that the tree itself was not inhabited by a spirit, but she can adjust the
direction of its growth according to the inn. Because of this, the branches of the tree
have not entered the guest rooms.

The roots and other parts of the plant seem to get thicker though.

“Nice room”

“Woof”

[You seem to like it a lot, huh?]

“Nn! It smells like being in the forest”

This inn which was in the middle of the town, remind her of the forest. So, Fran must
have thought this was a nice place where she could feel at ease. She then sat down on
the bed and took a deep breath.
[So this is the Academy of Magic, huh…? It’s so big, or rather, it’s so tall]

“Looks pointy”

“Woof”

After getting a room at the Green Ancient Tree Pavilion, we once again head to the
Academy of Magic.

At first, I planned to go to the Adventurer’s Guild, but I realized that the Academy
was closer than I thought.

After we left the inn, we decided to take a look at the town from a hill. We climbed up
a narrow staircase with more than 500 steps and looked around Lady Blue from the
square at the top of it. There we saw the Academy of Magic was surprisingly close to
us.

We got lost again on the way to the Academy, so it took us quite a while to get there.

It would have taken us less than five minutes if we went from the top… But well, we
made progress in our exploration instead, and Fran and Urushi were both happy
with it.

It seemed that waffles were a specialty of this town as we discovered many stores
that were selling them. I didn’t expect to find not only sweet flavors but also non-
sweet dough with ham and cheese in between.

It was interesting to discover different stores while we were in Lady Blue. Maybe I’ll
try to make some too. But well, if I ask Fran what kind of waffle she wants, she’ll
probably just say curry-flavored waffle anyway.

By the way, Fran wanted to try the freshwater fish curry. So, I came up with a slightly
unusual one and the straightforward one.
The first was one curry with eel. I added a bit more sansho (Japanese pepper) and a
bit less sweet unagi kabayaki (broiled eel). So, this would be a Hitsu-mabushi-style
curry, huh? I thought it was a bit too much, but Fran seemed to enjoy it.

The other one was carp curry, well, it was normal, but it was fish curry you know? It
was nothing new, and I made it a little too spicy to take away the muddy smell, and
Urushi seemed to like this one a lot.

[Let’s find its entrance for the time being]

“Nn”

We’re standing in front of the outer wall that surrounds the Academy of Magic. From
there, we could clearly see the tall towers that line inside of the Academy. There
were probably more than ten tall and thin towers. There may be more when we go
further in.

It would be rare to see such a tall building outside of a military facility such as a
castle or fort. At first, I thought it was to make effective use of the small site, but that
doesn’t seem to be the case.

After all, we couldn’t find the gate no matter how far we walked. In retrospect, when
I look at this town from the outside, about a quarter of it must have been occupied by
the Academy of Magic. It was a quarter of the Lady Blue, which boasted a scale that
this Academy alone could be called a town already.

I also thought that the grounds of the Academy of Magic must be larger than those of
Kiarazen, where we stopped along the way.

“… Should we climb it? But that way, the people will come at us”

“Woof”

[N-no, don’t]

After all, we’ll be staying in this town for a while, so we couldn’t cause any problems
here. Besides, this wall was not just a simple wall. There was a hint of magic coming
from it.

At first glance, it seemed to be alarm-type magic. Fran guessed so too, then she came
up with the overly reckless idea of sounding the alarm and calling the people here.

But now that I had the Magic Control SP, I could sense other magic coming from it.
The alarm spell was a distraction, and it seemed that something else was being
hidden behind the spell.

As I expected, I couldn’t sense what kind of magic it was, but it was certainly a
troublesome one. At least we don’t feel like trying it ourselves.

It was better to keep walking steadily outside of it.

[That’s why Fran-kun]

“… Nn. I understand”

After wandering along the wall just like that, we finally see something other than a
wall. But it doesn’t seem to be the main gate.

“Master, what’s that?”

[It looks like an entrance, but… Why is it so small?]

We finally arrived at the entrance of the Academy of Magic, which was surprisingly
small compared to the immensity of the walls. It looked like a kitchen door. No, in
fact, it was probably something close to that.

[Looks like we’re at the back entrance, huh?]

It seemed to be a back door used by servants and staff when they went out.

“What should we do?”

[Well, we can go to the main entrance, but in the meantime, let’s ask if we can enter it
from there. Oh, and make sure you show the letter of introduction from Alistair,
okay?]

“Okay”

[And Urushi… Well, just stay like that]

It was better for him to be visible from the beginning than to be hiding in the
shadows. It would also save the trouble of introducing him later.

“Excuse me”

Even though it was a back entrance, there was a guard. So, we decided to talk to them
for the time being.

“Hmm? Do you need anything?”

He seemed like a kind uncle. I wondered if it was okay for the guards to be so soft-
hearted, but I guess that’s just how well they teach their staff.

“I came here for a request”

“Huh? You’re an adventurer, aren’t you? It’s unusual for us to outsource our work
though…”

“Nn?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. So, what’s the request?”

Apparently, we could get through from here. Fran then handed Alistair’s letter of
introduction to the uncle of the guard.

“A request for a mock battle. Various things are written on this”

“Let me see it. Wha-what… Eh?”

The uncle was surprised to read the letter of introduction. Well, it couldn’t be helped.
It says “To the director of the Academy of Magic, I have found the person you were
looking for to be a mock battle instructor, so I’m sending her to you with a letter of
introduction”

Alistair’s name was written at the end of it. It seems that Alistair had a title as a
faculty member of this Academy of Magic. In addition to the envelope and the letter
made by the Academy of Magic, her signature would be enough to make sure that
they would take care of us.

“Umm, Did you bring your adventurer’s card?”

“Of course, here”

“I’ll take a look at it”

After checking the card carefully, the guard opened a small window next to the back
door and started talking to someone on the other side.

“May I take this letter of introduction for a moment?”

“Okay”

The uncle then handed the letter of introduction to someone through the small
window and asked her to wait here for a moment while he returned the card to Fran.

“Umm, I can’t make the final decision myself, so someone a little more important will
be coming here. So please wait a moment”

His attitude had changed a lot. He was treating her like a child before, but now it
seems that he was treating us like a guest now. They were not assuming that it was a
forgery and were treating us well.

Well then, I wonder what kind of person would come here.

Five minutes later.

“Hello, sorry to keep you waiting. So, you’re the adventurer who brought Alistair’s
letter of introduction?”

“Nn”

“Can I see it?”

“Okay”

“Hohou―…”

The man who showed up was a cheerful-looking young man. He was a half-elf, so
he’s probably older than he looks, but no matter how I look at him, he looks like a
teenage character. He then read Alistair’s letter of introduction, but because of his
frivolous look, it looked like he was just skimming through it.

“Hmm… Well, whatever. Please come this way for the time being”

The man led us through the back entrance. On the other side was a passage with a
low ceiling. The outer wall itself seemed to be quite thick, and the passage through it
was like a little tunnel.

“My name is Coltandhyre. Feel free to call me Colt, okay?”

“Fran, an Adventurer, and this is Urushi”

“Woof!”

“I like the wolf-type beasts. They’re obedient, good for fighting, good for spotting,
and good as a blanket at night too”
“Urushi is the best”

“Woof woof!”

“Hahaha, you seem to be getting along, huh?”

I observe Colt from behind as he guides Fran. He has high magic power, but his
footwork was completely amateur. I guess he was a typical researcher type.

Colt laughed as he led us through the passage. The tunnel was getting much wider
than we had imagined, and we were greeted by an interesting sight.

There were not only lawns, but also forests, ponds, and rocky mounds on the site. It
seems they were used for training and experiments. Looking further in, we saw a
snow mound about 10 meters high.

I could feel its magic power trace, so it must have been created by magic or
maintained by magic… Just as expected of the Academy of Magic.

Furthermore, a huge structure sits in the middle of these unnatural natural objects.

The many towers that we saw from the outside were all connected by passageways
and buildings and were actually just a part of one super huge building.

“Whoa―”

“It’s pretty amazing, isn’t it? They’re still renovating it, so the buildings are
expanding every year, you know? It all started with that little short tower over there”

Colt pointed to a very old and shabby tower in the middle of the many towers. It was
the only tower that was not connected to the huge facility and stood quietly and
independently. So, he’s saying that the Academy of Magic was so small at first? It’s
hard to believe.

“Heee, when was it built?”

“I’ve heard that it’s over 2000 years old and it was originally the Director’s
laboratory”

A High Elf laboratory, huh? If that’s the case, we couldn’t judge it by its humble
appearance. I wonder what kind of tremendous research was going on inside.

“Well, that place is basically off-limits. Only the Director or authorized personnel can
enter. More importantly, we’re over here”

“Nn”

Colt then led us to a small building right next to the exit of the tunnel. No, it looked
small after seeing the academy, but it was actually a rather large building with three
floors.

“It’s the guard’s office though, but it has some magic tools to check things out. In the
meantime, I’ll check to see if your adventurer’s card is real, okay?”

“Nn, I don’t mind”

“I’m sorry. I’m not much of a fighter, but I’m good at sensing magic. So, I can tell that
you’re not just an ordinary person, but on the other hand, I can’t just let someone
like that walk by without inspection”

I see. If you’re a small fry, it would be easy for them to handle you, but if you’re a
powerful person, you need to go through an inspection.

He held up Fran’s adventurer’s card to a crystal that Colt had been seeing several
times before. And that seemed to be all the confirmation he needed.

“Yes, thank you. Now we have confirmed your identity?”

“Nn? It’s over”

“Yup, that’s right”

“You won’t check if the letter is real?”

Yeah. I was wondering about that, too. I mean, if the letter was a forgery, it doesn’t
matter if Fran was an adventurer or not, right? There were a lot of things he could do
to find out, like handwriting analysis and whether or not the sign on the letter was
genuine.

But Colt laughed cheerfully as he handed the letter of introduction to Fran.

“Ahaha, I’m sorry. I’ve already confirmed it. It’s a special paper after all. If we drop a
little chemical on it, we can easily determine its authenticity”

It seems they have already confirmed that the letter used for that letter introduction
was a special one made for Alistair at this institute.

“Since your letter of introduction is genuine and your adventurer rank was high too,
so no problem, right? All I need to do now is to interview you…”

Th-there’s such a thing too, huh? Well, she’s hired as an instructor after all, albeit a
temporary one, at one of the most prestigious schools in the world, so it’s rather
natural.

But I wonder if she would be fine…? Fran seems to be bad at an interview after all.
No, I’m sure she could handle this if she uses her court etiquette skill to the fullest
and just follows my instructions, right?

Well, it was so long ago that I’ve forgotten more than half of what I learned about an
interview back then. But I’m sure it’s better than just letting Fran do it by herself.
Come, bring it on!

I was all fired up like that, but they said that the interview would not take place
today.

“I’m sorry~. The interview must be done by the director of the academy, but she’s
out of the academy for some business. But I’m sure she’ll be back by tomorrow or the
day after”

Well. That’s because we didn’t tell them about our arrival in advance after all.

“Okay, then what should I do next?”

“Where do you stay? If you don’t have a place to stay, we can get one for you”

“I already have a place to stay”

“Heee, where is it?”

“The Green Ancient Tree Pavilion”

When Fran said that, Colt looked a little surprised.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, well. The landlady there is famous for being difficult and not letting people stay
if she doesn’t like them. How did you manage to get a room?”

“She was just an ordinary old woman though”

“Woof”

She was kind to Fran and Urushi. She was an old elf, wasn’t she? Did he mistake her
for someone else?

“I-is that so…? Well, that’s okay. I’ll send a messenger for you when the Director
returns”

“Okay”

Now, all we had to do was pass the interview and she’ll be an instructor at the
academy. It’s not that she really wants to be an instructor, but I feel like we’re being
tested, so Fran and I were both starting to get a little worked up.
After we completed the procedures at the Academy of Magic, we were now at the
Adventurer’s Guild.

“It looks, normal?”

“Woof”

Fran and Urushi tilted their heads when they saw the Adventurer’s Guild building.
They had seen a lot of special buildings in this city, and they were expecting too
much from the Adventurer’s Guild.

However, the guild’s building used brick as the exterior, which was quite common in
this town. It was almost twice the size of the nearby building, but it was not too huge.

[Let’s just go inside for the time being]

“Nn”

“Woof!”

When we passed through the guild’s door, we found that the interior was normal too.
The floor, the ceiling, the walls, and the reception counter were just as plain as the
others.

It was just like any other Adventurer’s Guild, where adventurers were struggling to
decide which requests to accept, or negotiating in vain with the receptionist to raise
the purchase price of materials.

However, there was one group of people that caught Fran’s attention.

“A lot of kids?”

[They’re probably older than Fran… I guess, they are students at the Academy of
Magic]

The boys and girls wore leather cloaks of reasonable quality. On the shoulders of
their cloak was an emblem of an upside-down wave. The emblem looked familiar to
me. I’m sure it was on the flag of the magic academy that we had seen on the back
entrance.

Some of them were standing in line at the counter, others were looking at the
request forms. If they hadn’t been wearing the cloaks of the Academy of Magic, I
would have thought they were just ordinary fledgling adventurers.

I was wondering if students of the Academy of Magic were allowed to become an

adventurer. But I guess, they were allowed to do so since they’re wearing their cloaks
so proudly like this.

[I wonder why these students would be adventurers]

Well, we’ll probably find out about it when she becomes an instructor.

[Let’s say hello to the guild for now]

We were going to stay in this town for a while after all. Well, that was, if she doesn’t
fail the interview though. In that case, as a high-ranked adventurer, Fran needed to
report to the local guild to stay. It was not mandatory, but it was recommended for us
to do so.

After all, it was important to know the whereabouts of high-ranked adventurers in

case of emergency.

“Hey”

“Yes. Welcome to the Adventurer’s Guild, how may I help you?”

“Nn. I came to say hello because I might be staying in this town for a while. Here’s my
card”

“Aah, I see. I’ll take a look at your card then”

The lady at the reception desk then took the card from Fran. She then looked
surprised for a moment. However, she soon regained her business smile.
“P-please wait for a moment while someone from the higher-ups comes”

“Okay”

She definitely thinks that she was a fledgling adventurer imitating a high-ranked
adventurer, huh? Even so, it was amazing that she continued to respond to us with
hardly a smile on her face.

Lately, I’ve been able to tell if the receptionist was a veteran by this kind of first
interaction with them.

As we waited in front of the reception desk, I felt a presence approaching us from

behind. I thought she was going to the reception desk, but she just stopped behind
Fran.

“Hey, you?”

“Nn?”

The one who spoke to her was a beautiful blonde girl. She was probably a little older
than Fran. She was wearing the cloak of the Academy of Magic and had a sword on
her waist that emitted strong magic power. However, all I could see was one thing.

[Uwoooh! Blonde Drill! It’s a Blonde Drill-san! Moreover, it is decorated! I-Is this for
real! I wonder will she laugh at us with an “Oh-ho-ho”]

The girl had what was called blonde hair in a vertical roll. It was the first time I had
ever seen anything like this up close. She also had the air of a high-class young lady.

I couldn’t help but shout out at the sheer perfection of it.

(Master? What’s wrong?)

[Ah, no. It’s just her hairstyle is a bit…]

(Hair? It’s blonde?)

[No, it’s nothing. But I’m just surprised that she has such an unusual hair style]

(Hmmm)
Fran doesn’t seem to be interested in this at all. Well, that was obvious. But it was
one of the most exciting things I’ve seen since I’ve come to this world after a butler
and a maid.

Based on the appraisal, it shows that she was 16 years old. Her name was Charon
Lyfaal, so she must be a young lady of nobility. If she was a commoner with this
hairstyle, I would have punished her.

In terms of ability, she was probably ranked E as an adventurer. She could handle fire
magic and water magic, but both of them were only on level 3, and her melee combat
ability was quite low.

Still, she possessed the minimum skills to work outside, such as life magic, presence
detection, and survival. It was the same with the other academy students, all of
whom had learned skills useful for survival. I wonder if they taught them this at the
Academy of Magic.

“What is it?”

Fran looked at the Blond Drill-san cautiously. She could tell that there was no
hostility on our part, but her voice contained slight annoyance, or perhaps a subtle
hint of disgust.

“’What is it?’ you said”

The Blonde Drill-san sighed at Fran’s words.

“Students are required to wear their cloaks when accepting requests from the
Adventurer’s Guild. It’s a violation of academy rules to not doing so”

Apparently, she misunderstood that Fran was a student of the Academy of Magic.
And she called out to Fran to warn her that she seemed to be violating the academy
rules.

“You, where’s your cloak?”

“I don’t have it with me”

Well, that was because she was not a student at the academy, so she doesn’t have
one, but there was a better way to say it, right? She makes it sound as if she didn’t
bring it with her now.

“Then I can’t just let you go. You must return to the academy first”

She has still misunderstood her, huh? The Blonde Drill-san then grabbed Fran’s arm.
It was as if she wanted to remove her from the guild. It was not like her intentions
were bad, so Fran was wondering if she should shake her off.

She struggled on the spot to resist her, but the Blonde Drill-san thought of her like
she was a child who didn’t want to listen. She may be a surprisingly gentle person, as
she didn’t yell at her in here.

While Fran and Drill-san continued their struggle, a man then appeared from the
back of the guild. He looked to be a handsome man in his late twenties. Well, he was
an Elf, so it was hard to tell his age from his appearance, but he definitely seemed to
have a good amount of experience.

He was a skilled warrior, and his magic power was much higher than that of most
magicians. In addition, he was very good at eliminating his presence and seems to
have a quite high all-around ability.

The man approached the reception desk rather quickly and whispered to the
receptionist. Well, I could hear him though.

“The emergency beacon went off. What’s going on?”

Apparently, there was a mechanism where if we do something at the reception desk,

something would make a sound in the Guild Master’s room. This could come in
handy in case of robbery. But I don’t think any robbers would be dumb enough to
break into the Adventurer’s Guild though.

“As a matter of fact, a high-ranked adventurer came to report on her stay”

“Oh? What’s her rank?”

“It’s B”

“And where she is now?”

“That kid over there”

Drill-san, who took her hand away once to admonish Fran, and the lady at the
reception desk who pointed at Fran who was asked by her with “Go home then!” but
Fran replied with

“I’m not going home”. And the guild master seemed to understand what was going
on in an instant.

“Hey, can I have a word?”

“Eh? Umm, who are you? We still have a business here”

“Well, I have some business with her too”

“… What kind of business do you have with her? I’m her guardian”

Drill-san stepped forward to protect Fran. As an upperclassman, I guess she was

trying to protect her underclassmen.

The guild master looked like a young man on the outside, so he looked like a
suspicious man. But it was no surprise that a low-level adventurer had never met the
Guild master.

“Guardians? Is that so?”

“… No”

“Eh?”

Fran was troubled for a moment, probably because she felt sorry for Drill-san. She
was not very good at talking, so she kind of got her involved with the guild master in
a weird way.

“Well, I’m Khinabar, and I’m the Master of this guild”

“Eeh?”

“Nn. Adventurer, Fran”

“Eeh?”
“I never thought I’d see someone with an alias. You’re welcome here”

“Eeeh?”

Fran then bowed her head to the Blonde Drill-san, who was too surprised and
stunned to know about her.

“I’m sorry”

I’m sorry too, Blonde Drill-san.

Prompted by the guild master, Fran then came to his office.

“Well, please have a seat”

“… Nn”

“Aah, you don’t have to worry about the young lady who seemed to be taking good
care of you”

Even though it was their first meeting, he could read Fran’s dejected expression. As
expected of a Guild Master. He’s very observant. On the other hand, there was a good
chance that I’ll be found out too.

“You’re not angry?”

“Hahaha, I rather like that little lady, don’t you think? It must have been hard for her
to stand in front of a suspicious person for the sake of her junior. Well, it was a
misunderstanding in the end. Anyway…”

The Guild Master then observed Fran sullenly.

“To someone who can’t tell the difference, you might look like a weak beast girl. And
it’s hard to tell the performance of your equipment from its appearance”

Sure, if they didn’t know anything, it might just look like a flimsy piece of cloth
equipment.

“Your magic sword certainly stands out, but… Many newcomers are tricked by how a
piece of equipment looks, so they often equip themselves with fancy looking good for
nothing equipment”

In other words, the Blonde Drill-san――or Charon looked at Fran and thought that a
junior student of the Academy of Magic who yearned to be an adventurer was trying
to become an adventurer fully equipped with good for nothing equipment.

“So, what’s the Black Lightning Princess, Fran doing in this town? Are you planning
to stay here for a long time?”

This guy… His tone of voice was quite rude, but it’s strange to hear a beautiful Elf talk
like this because it makes him look more handsome. He looked like a slightly evil and
handsome Elf. The Elves were really unfair, weren’t they?

“I’ll be an instructor at the Academy of Magic”

“Hou?”

“Maybe?”

“Huh? What do you mean by “Maybe?” It hasn’t been decided yet?”

“Nn”

“What do you mean?”

Fran then gave a brief story to him. An acquaintance of hers was related to the
Academy of Magic. The acquaintance was looking for someone to be a mock battle
instructor at the academy. Then, Fran was invited and came to Lady Blue with a
letter of introduction.

“I see, so that was the case, huh?”

“Went to the academy today, but the director wasn’t there and they said that the
interview would be held another time”

The Guild Master snorted when he heard Fran’s words.

“The interview process at the academy is pretty tough, you know?”

“Really?”

“Yup. Even among the adventurers in this town, there are only about 30 adventurers
designated by the academy this far”
“Designated by the academy?”

“Yeah. They will be adventurers who are allowed to accompany the students of the
Academy of Magic after all”

Some of the students of the Academy of Magic are allowed to work as adventurers. It
seems that only those students whose skills and grades are up to a certain standard
are allowed to register with the Adventurers’ Guild.

Moreover, there were even stricter rules for accepting requests. First of all, requests
of E rank or higher could not be accepted by the students alone. It was an absolute
requirement that they need to be accompanied by an adventurer designated by the
Academy of Magic.

I guess it was a measure to prevent students from dying in vain. The adventurers
who are qualified to accompany the students of the Academy of Magic are called the
Academy’s Designated Adventurers.

With this designation, they were obliged to accompany the students and were paid a
certain amount of money every year by the academy.

It seems that they received a good amount of money for this job and it seemed to be
a popular job among Lady Blue’s adventurers.

“The students who are allowed to register as adventurers are strictly screened by the
academy, and those who pass are the ones who are allowed. So those who will cause
problems are quite rare”

So, even though they were accompanying them, they were not there to babysit those
shitty brats, but rather giving instructions to the new adventurers. After all, they
would become an excellent new adventurer who could use magic and be willing to
learn. And if they were paid a large sum of money in addition to the request, it would
not be surprising if they became popular.

However, not just anyone could be designated by the academy. Because the academy
entrusts its most important students to them, they are very strict in their screening
process. They look at the character, ability, family structure, past work history, and so
on. Finally, only adventurers who pass the interview with the Director of the
academy are allowed to become academy-designated adventurers.
And in particular, the interview with the director of the academy was famous for
how strict it was.

“Regardless of whether you have a letter of introduction or not, if they deem you
useless, they’ll simply kick you out. There was once a problem when a nobleman
who came for an interview with a letter of introduction from the government was
kicked out. And for some reason, their house disappeared… I wonder how scared
that person is…”

“Do you know the Director?”

“Of course I do. I’m the Master of the Adventurer’s Guild, and I’m an Elf too, right?”

It was natural when I thought about it. Fran then inquired about the personality of
the director. But the Guild master then crossed his arms lightly and frowned.

“She’s usually a calm and gentle person, but when she gets angry, she’s terrifying. So
never make her angry, okay?”

“Okay”

It seems that even the guild master was afraid of the Director of the academy――the
High Elf Weena Rhyn. He reminded Fran about it with a pitiful face.

“Is she strong?”

“It’s obvious, right? She’s a High Elf after all”

“I heard she was a great Ocean Magic user”

“Yeah. She’s the greatest Ocean Magic user in this world. She once single-handedly
crushed a mid-level dungeon that had a stampede by herself”

What was more is, Weena Rhyn was said to not even moved from the entrance at that
time, as she used her excess magic power to create endless amounts of water,
submerging everything in the dungeon and suffocating the magic beasts to death.

The sight of her using magic constantly for three days straight was said to be
breathtaking.
“What else can she do? Since she’s an Elf, maybe, Spirit Magic?”

“Well, I wonder?”

“Nn? You don’t know?”

“If you’re someone at her level, you’ll probably just use your Ocean Magic for
everything. But I’ve never seen her in close combat or using Spirit Magic. And
Appraisals don’t work on her either”

“She has an Appraisal Jammer?”

“No, it’s simply because the rank is so overwhelmingly high that Appraisal doesn’t
work on her”

It would be like me not being able to appraise a Divine Sword huh? She’s lived for
thousands of years and said to be more powerful than any S-ranked adventurer. She
may indeed be difficult to Appraise.

“Well, not only is she famous for being the Director of the academy, but she’s also
famous for her love of children too. So, I’m sure Fran will have no problem with her”

After that, we had a light chat about the local specialties in the area, and then we left
the Guild Masters’ office. It seemed that the Guild Master wanted to find out what
kind of personality Fran had. I wonder what kind of rumors were going around
about her?
 CHARON

“Hey…”

“Nn?”

Someone called out to Fran when she came back to the lobby. It was Charon, the
blonde drill girl from earlier. Her face seemed to be somewhat tense.

“I apologize for what I did earlier. I didn’t know you were a high-ranked adventurer,
and I was very rude to you”

It seems that the lady at the reception desk had told her that Fran was actually a
high-ranking adventurer, and so she seemed to be afraid of her now. Even though she
looked like the daughter of a nobleman who seemed to have a lot of pride, she bowed
deeply on the spot without hesitation.

“I’m not angry”

“Re-really?”

“Nn”

When Fran told her so, she then looked relieved.

A high-ranking adventurer was probably just like a monster for a low-level

adventurer. Even if she looked young――the fact that she’d managed to become a
high-ranking adventurer at such a young age made Fran a veritable monster to her.

“Guild Master praised you”

“Eh? He praised, me?”

“Nn. He said you’ve bravely stood in front of a suspicious person just to protect your
junior”
“About that, Umm…”

Charon looked down with a troubled look on her face.

It seemed as if she was being ridiculed for mistakenly treating Fran as a junior
student and for how she treated a suspicious person without knowing the Guild
Master’s face, but she was also happy to be praised.

Either way, she was troubled on how to reply now.

[Fran, let’s change the topic for now]

“?? Did I look like a student of the academy?”

“I’m sorry. I thought you were a student of the Elementary Department who didn’t
know the Academy’s rules”

“Elementary Department’s student?”

“Ye, yeah. There are many different departments at the Academy of Magic, but all
students must start in the Elementary Department to learn the Magic Skills”

As expected of what was called the Academy of Magic, it seemed the students were
required to learn Magic first. They would then be allowed to choose a new
Department during the promotion period once every six months.

It didn’t matter what attribute they could use, if they didn’t graduate from the
Elementary Course within three years, they would be expelled. Well, it was an
Academy of Magic after all, so I guess it couldn’t be helped.

“You are also not allowed to register with the Adventurer’s Guild while you are
enrolled in the Elementary Department”

Well, it was natural, since the children were probably all amateurs who couldn’t even
use magic after all.

However, it seemed that every year there were students from the Elementary
Department who heard rumors that students from the Academy of Magic were going
in and out of the Adventurer’s Guild, and without even listening to the explanations
of it, they immediately charged into the Adventurer’s Guild.
“Some students are selfish and even cause trouble for the guild sometimes”

If a student of the academy were to cause trouble for the Adventurer’s Guild, it could
bring down the reputation of the entire academy. She was proud to be a student of
the Academy of Magic, and so, that was not something she could tolerate.

I thought she was a member of the morals committee or the student council, but it
seems she was just being concerned. After that, she told many stories about the
failures of students who don’t follow the school rules. It was quite rare that Fran
listened to someone so quietly, wasn’t it?

“Oi, It’s time for us to go”

“Yes, I’m coming. Well, I’m really sorry about today. I’ll take my leave now”

“Nn”

“I don’t know if there is anything I can do for you, but if you have any problems,
please just ask for help. I will show up at the Adventurer’s Guild at least once a week”

“Okay, thanks”

“Very well then”

She was called by one of her companions, Drill-san then bowed one last time before
leaving the guild.

As I saw her leaving, Fran suddenly talked to me.

(Master)

[What’s wrong?]

(Now I know what Master meant when he said it was an interesting hairstyle)

[Hmm?]

(Every time she moved; her hair would bounce)

[I thought you were listening to her quietly, but you were actually thinking about her
hair, huh!?]

(Her hair was interesting)

After leaving the Adventurer’s Guild, we decided to enjoy sightseeing in Lady Blue
based on the information we had gathered.

The lady at the reception desk seemed to be a local of this town and knew all the
best places to go and places to visit.

We enjoyed the scenic hills and unusual buildings while visiting a few food stalls and
restaurants.

As we toured the town in this way, I noticed a few things that made it different from
other towns.

“It’s beautiful here too”

“Woof”

[I don’t see anyone that looks like a guard anywhere too]

No matter how narrow the backstreets or how far out of town we went, I couldn’t
find the so-called slums anywhere. There may be a gap between the rich and the
poor due to income and other factors, but the atmosphere here seemed to never
drop below a certain level.

Of course, we didn’t run into any members of Thieves guilds or underworld

organizations who wore an underworld atmosphere. We also didn’t encounter any
thugs who would try to take advantage of us. Well, it also meant that we couldn’t get
extra pocket money from those thugs either though.

That was unusual for a town of this size, right?

Furthermore, perhaps due to the lack of such criminal organizations, I have only
seen a few guards in the town. It was not that there weren’t any, but they were
probably less than half that of other towns.

[Does it mean this town was so safe?]

“Nn. There’s a lot of kids too”

[Come to think of it, maybe that was the case]

It was rare to see kids in an unsafe town. This was because parents think of the
worst and don’t let their kids play outside. But in this town, there are kids
everywhere we go.

I could see the kids running around and playing in the back streets by themselves. I
guess it meant that they were sure that they’ll be safe.

On our way back to the inn, we went to the Adventurer’s Guild to give them some
baked sweets as a thank you for introducing us to a good restaurant. They also told
us why the security here was so good.

It was simply that Weena Rhyn was crushing criminal organizations and criminals
from the inside out. And they were sure that someday, no organization would be able
to freely lay their hands on this town.

Weena Rhyn’s methods are said to be quite extreme. For example, if there was a drug
dealer, she would crush not only the dealer, but also the organization behind the
dealer, the organization involved in the distribution, the organization involved in the
production, and everything else.

It didn’t matter if it was a nobleman or another country behind them.

The Kingdom of Belios, which had been repeatedly troubled by diplomatic problems
due to her extreme measures, decided to defend the self-governing region.

I guess they would rather spend their budget to protect the self-governing region
than let Weena Rhyn run wild as she pleased. No, maybe Weena Rhyn was actually
the one who arranged for that to happen, huh?

Anyway, Lady Blue was safer than any other town we’ve been to.

[She loves kids, a radical one, and an Elf…]

(Just like Amanda)

[They’re sure similar, huh?]

By the way, when Alistair mentioned the Academy of Magic, Amanda, who was
standing next to her, was quiet and didn’t say anything. I don’t think it was surprising
that Amanda and Weena Rhyn would be acquainted with each other… Well. If they
really knew each other, she would have said something at that time.

[I wonder what kind of person she is…]

 ONE'S GAZE

“Mogu! Mogu!”

“Gafu! Gafu!” (*munching sfx)

[Does it taste good?]

“Nn!”

After we returned from our adventure in Lady Blue, Fran and Urushi were now in the
middle of dinner at the inn.

They even served a normal meal for Urushi too without needing us to pay any extra
fee.

The meal’s contents were not an animals’ food or anything like that, it was just the
normal, salty food, from the same menu as Fran’s.

It was hard to say if she was just like the old Japanese moms who didn’t care about
the health of their animals, or if she just dared to serve the same food to Urushi
because she saw him as a powerful magic beast.

The menu consisted of gnocchi-like pasta made from wheat and potatoes with
cheese, and tomato soup with ground meat. The rest of the meal consisted of bread,
scotch eggs, and salad.

Urushi’s portion was put together in a large deep dish, making it look like a left-over
food for cats. No, it was not even a left-over food for cats anymore when it was mixed
with so many other things.

It looked very unappetizing, but Urushi was eating it like it tasted good. It seemed
that it consisted of a combination of ingredients that went surprisingly well together.

“… Hmmm”
Aah, Fran, don’t mix it up! It’s not polite! Don’t look at Urushi with such envious eyes.
It may look delicious, but it’s not!

“How do you like my cooking?”

“It tastes good!”

“Woof”

“That’s good to hear then. Just say so if you want more. I’ve got plenty of it”

After that, she refilled Fran’s bowl three times without any hesitation, and the old
lady didn’t even look uncomfortable, and even happily gave us a special serving.

But still, was it okay for us to eat this much? Should we pay extra for it? Fran and
Urushi were probably already eating ten people’s servings after all…

However, the old lady didn’t seem to mind Fran and Urushi’s binge eating. The way
she smiled while looking at Fran and Urushi, was just as if she were grandmother
taking care of her grandchildren.

“Uwaah, you sure eat a lot aren’t you?”

“It was delicious”

“Is that so? How about some herbal tea after dinner then?”

“Okay”

It was a dark green tea that looked quite bitter, but Fran seemed to enjoy drinking it.
She seemed to rather like it.

As Fran sipped her tea, she looked up at the huge old tree. Well, her gaze was blocked
by the ceiling though.

Fran, who had been quietly staring at the tree for a while, unexpectedly opened her
mouth.

“Hey, is there really a spirit in this tree?”

“Yeah, the Spirit of the Green Trees was in it”

“Why did you build an inn around such a tree?”

“It’s a bit of a long story, but―”

The old lady gave us a very long explanation, just like what she said. Fran almost got
bored halfway through, but I managed to tie her to a chair with my telekinesis and
secretly gave her some sweet snacks out of my storage.

To summarize briefly, there was originally a tree here where spirits dwell. It was said
that the tree was now over 3,000 years old. However, about 1,500 years ago, it was
not considered to be a tree where spirits dwelled anymore, but just a mysterious
magical tree. Its sap, branches, leaves, and bark of the tree had been forcibly
extracted by the alchemists and pharmacists who lived in this area at that time, and
the tree had weakened.

The tree was then saved by the Elves who founded the inn, and Weena Rhyn, who
was consulted by the Elves.

The method was simple: they bought the place and surrounded it so that no one
could mess with the spirit tree. The reason why they turned it into an inn was
because the spirits that lived in the tree liked to observe people.

As a result, it became an unusual inn that only allowed people approved by the
spirits to stay inside. Fifteen hundred years have passed since then, and now the old
lady, the granddaughter of the founder, was running the place. It has been 1500
years, and she was still the third generation… As expected of the long-lived Elf.

“Then, was I also approved by the spirits?”

“Yeah. In the first place, you wouldn’t have been able to enter the inn without the
spirit’s approval”

I didn’t know that. We couldn’t sense spirits, so we had no idea. Spirits were
mysterious existences after all.

I also understood the horror of it. After all, since we couldn’t detect it, we wouldn’t
know if a spirit were aiming to attack us.
We would know if it launched an attack on us, but if the spirits were to lie low and
stay put, it would be nearly impossible to detect them.

Afterwards, Fran and Urushi thanked her for the meal and went back to our room.
Even as she walked, she kept looking at our surroundings.

Well, I know what she was looking for.

[Are you looking for the spirit?]

“Nn! I want to see it!”

“Woof!”

Even when we got back to our room on the third floor, she peeked between the
branches of the spirit tree and into a small cave. But she never touched them. I guess
it was because she was told not to hurt them.

However, there was no way she could find the spirit by doing so, and she ended up
giving up.

Both Fran and Urushi went to bed looking disappointed. Lately, Fran and Urushi have
been sleeping in the same bed together. Now that Urushi could become smaller, it
was no longer a problem.

Urushi was held tightly by Fran’s hands and feet in a hug. I wonder if it hurt. No,
Urushi’s sleeping face looks happy. Fran was also breathing comfortably, and both of
them seemed to be enjoying their sleep.

As I was observing their sleeping faces, Fran suddenly opened her eyes. Did my
presence disturb her?

But when Fran jumped out of bed, her gaze was not on me, but on the entrance to the
room for some reason.

[Wh-what’s wrong, Fran?]

“Woof?”

Even Urushi, who had fallen off the bed when Fran suddenly raised herself, tilted his
head, unable to understand what was happening.

“… I felt a gaze on me”

[A gaze? Did you feel it too, Urushi?]

“Woof…”

“I felt it”

Fran too, was still unclear about it.

Did she have a strange dream? Neither Urushi nor I could sense it after all… We used
our skills to the best of our ability to search for a presence and magic, but we
couldn’t sense any presence of anyone other than us and the old lady inside the inn.

Of course, there was the presence of small insects, but it was hard to imagine that
Fran would be awakened by such a presence. For example, if she had magic or skills
that allowed her to see into the distance through the eyes of insects, she would
definitely be able to sense the presence’s origin. However, there was not even that in
the inn.

[Maybe it was the spirit? It was said to like to observe people after all]

“I see”

After that, neither Fran nor the two of us could feel any presences. Well, we were
dealing with a spirit after all. It would be quite difficult to sense them.

Eventually, Fran lay down on the bed again.

“… Good night”

[Ou, good night]

“Spirit…”

It seemed that it would be a while before Fran could sleep soundly.

The day after Fran felt the presence of what seemed to be a spirit.

[Fran. You don’t seem to be sleeping well last night. Are you okay?]

“I’m okay”

It seems that she was always searching for the spirit’s presence. In the end, though,
she didn’t feel anything after that.

She rubbed her eyes, but that didn’t stop her from eating her breakfast. She just
looked like a real cat, didn’t she?

Breakfast was freshly baked bread and vegetable soup with meat. Also, with assorted
fruit and a large meatball-like ground meat dish, Fran and Urushi were happy to eat
it.

“You’re still sleepy, huh?”

“Nn…”

“What’s wrong? If there’s something wrong with the bed, I’ll fix it right away”

“I felt a gaze on me”

“Hou?”

When Fran told her about the gaze she felt last night, the old lady smiled happily.

“The spirit must have liked you”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be peeking on you”

To stay at this inn, you have to be accepted by the spirits, but that doesn’t mean they
like you. It was said that only a handful of people who were allowed to stay at the inn
were liked by the spirits.

It seemed that some of the guests had seen them.

“How do I get the spirits to like me?”

“Well, I wonder about that…? Just be a good girl…”

Hmm, I don’t understand what she meant by being a good girl… Do we just have to
be nice to the old lady and not mess with the spirit tree?

Just like that, as she was eating her breakfast, the entrance to the inn opened. The
person who came in was an Elven man. Ooh, even though he was an Elf, wasn’t he a
handsome one?!

When I looked closely, he was certainly a handsome person. But after seeing the
Guild Master, he looked a bit plain. He reminded me of Phreon, the plain Elf we had
explored the spider’s nest with before.

Even the Elves had someone like this, huh?

“Umm, I believe there’s an adventurer named Fran staying here…”

“Nn?”

I wondered if he was a new customer, but he seemed to have some business with
Fran. When the man spotted Fran, he approached her with a smile.

“That appearance, are you Fran-san?”

“Who are you?”

“Aah, I’m sorry. I’m an employee of the Academy of Magic”

So, why was he here?

“The Director of the academy had returned earlier today. So, I am here to ask Fran-
san about the date for your interview”
“You’re asking me for the date?”

“Yes. The Director says it can be done today or tomorrow, but what do you think?”

It seems that Weena Rhyn was back after all. I was expecting him to tell us when to
come, but he seemed to be giving priority to our convenience. I wonder, if we left it
for a few days would she be disqualified?

(Master, can we do it today?)

Well, we must go there sometime soon, so…

[Yeah, we can do it today]

Even if we stayed here till tomorrow, there would be nothing to do but explore the
town anyway. So, the sooner the better.

“Today then”

“Very well then. So, do you have a specific time in mind?”

“I should decide now?”

“Yes”

“I’ll go after I finish my breakfast then”

“Very well. I will tell that to the Director then”

So, after finishing breakfast, Fran went to the Academy of Magic. We were coming
through the back entrance today too. I thought about going to the main gate, but I
thought it would be faster to talk with the guard who already knew Fran’s face.

If they told us to go to the main entrance, we would have obeyed them, but they
easily called Colt for us. In the first place, it seemed that outsiders don’t often come
to the back entrance, so they had already called Colt when they saw us.

“Hey, It’s been yesterday”

“Nn”
“I’ll show you to the Director’s office. Follow me”

As we walked through the tunnel as we did yesterday, Colt gave us a few notes of
warning.

“The Director is a gentle person, but she has no mercy for those who are hostile to
the academy. So be careful not to offend her”

“Okay”

I wonder if she was a person who tends to easily get angry.

[Fran, don’t be careless here]

“Nn”

She was a High Elves, and I don’t want to antagonize her from the start. I’d never
know what might happen after all.

We passed through the same tunnel we had passed through yesterday, but this time
we did not head for the guard’s office. Colt’s eyes were on a tower at the far end. That
was where he was headed, I guess. It seemed that today we would be taken to the
school building of the academy.

We could see a sparse number of students around the building. They weren’t there
the other day, but maybe it was because they’re on a break or something like that,
huh?

Many of the students wore the same cloak as Charon and the others we met at the
Adventurer’s Guild, and others wore robes like magicians.

As I observed these students from a distance, I could see that they were looking at us
from the other side as well.

“Is that a freshman?”

“But, what’s about that equipment?”

“Well, there are some people who go from being adventurers to being students at
this academy after all”
“Well, that’s true…”

Under the gaze of many students, Fran abruptly stopped in her tracks.

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

“…”

Colt, our guide, turned around in surprise. But I don’t think Fran heard him. At the
moment, Fran’s attention was only on the person who came out of the building at the
back.

“… Why, are you here…?”

I was surprised, too. How could he be in this place? And I panicked and tried to stop
Fran.

“Awakening… Black Lightning Rush!”

[Wait! Fran!]

It was too late. Fran had already rushed out for battle.

Fran muttered the name of the man she hated, gritting her teeth so hard that they
even made a sound.

“Zelos… Reed!”
“Zelos… Reed!”

Fran, who was running while being clad in black lightning, muttered a word filled
with killing intent. However, she didn’t leak any killing intent at all.

As a result of the use of Awakening and Brilliant Lightning Rush, a large amount of
magic power has leaked out. However, whether or not there was killing intent
attached to it, it could buy her a fraction of a second before the target she was aiming
for―Zelos Reed―noticed her.

Fran was calm even though she was dominated by fury. Calmly, she acted to kill Zelos
Reed.

“Sword God Transformation!”

[Ugh…!]

This was bad. Fran was even more pissed than I had thought. She didn’t even check
to see if it was okay for me to use the Sword God Transformation! The usual Fran
would never do something like this!

I couldn’t stop her anymore at this point. Her eyes were simply focused on the large,
scarred man directly in front of her.

For some reason, his evil spirit seemed to have faded, as I could finally sense it at this
distance, but I could certainly feel the evil spirit from inside the man. That figure and
that evil spirit. He was definitely Zelos Reed.

Zelos Reed’s face finally turned to look at her, as if he had noticed Fran’s gaze, which
was filled with crazy killing intent.

Our surroundings looked slower as we had entered the realm of super speed with
our Sword God Transformation, and it had probably only been a few blinks since
Fran had awakened. However, the distance between us was already less than half.

More magic power then gushed out of Fran, and the black lightning in her body
increased in density. Then, Fran, who was running at full speed, turned into black
lightning.

“Black Thunder Rolls!”

The place where Fran reappears after moving at super high speed with the Black
Thunder Rolls was behind Zelos Reed. She had pulled me out of my scabbard and
positioned me at her hips.

“Haaa!”

Fran’s suppressed energy overflowed. It was the first time that even I had seen Fran
unleash such killing intent.

As if seeking an outlet for her killing power, I was swung at him. Despite her current
wild emotions, the attack was calm and beautifully executed.

The sword flash, which had been optimized by Sword God Transformation, was sure
to reach Zelos Read in the neck.

He shouldn’t be able to duck at this point. Fran, who was in a state of Sword God
Transformation, was convinced of this, and I could see it in her eyes.

Zelos Reed sensed Fran’s killing intent and tried to react to it. I could see his head
moving slightly as he tried to turn around to face us. But the fact that he was making
such a movement now meant that he was completely unable to react in time to
Fran’s surprise attack.

No matter what he did now, there was no chance that Zelos Reed would be able to
prevent this attack. It was already too late for him to try to activate any skills.

My blade then slipped into Zelos Reed’s neck and sliced through his flesh. However,
it was just right after that feeling came over me.

Booom!

“Ghaah!”
[Ghuhh!]

Fran and I were blown away by an impact that came from the side.

It wasn’t that powerful. However, because she was targeted at the moment she
launched her attack, she completely lost her balance.

If he had aimed for this timing, his discernment was perfect.

Fran twisted in mid-air as she was blown sideways and landed on the ground
without any injuries. I wonder who this mysterious attacker was?

The crazy thing was that we didn’t know the source of the attack until we were
attacked. Now we knew they were a little behind Zelos Reed. There was someone
there.

I couldn’t figure who it was. But I could tell from the bias of the magic and the
presence that there was someone there…

But Fran seemed to understand. Her eyes were clearly on the one behind Zelos Reed.
Could it be that she could see them?

However, Fran’s eyes quickly returned to Zelos Reed.

[Fran?]

“Let’s go”

[Eh?]

Without the slightest hesitation, Fran’s next move was to attack again. She seemed to
be planning to defeat Zelos Reed here, even if it meant ignoring the mysterious
person who had attacked us earlier.

No, it seemed that she would try to block their attack by putting up a barrier. Did she
find out the identity of the other party?

“Tsk! This brat!”

“Haaah!”
In the meantime, Fran, who was in a state of Sword God Transformation, slashed at
Zelos Reed without hiding the vicious killing intent coming out from her.

With the first blow, she sliced off his left arm, but the feeling was strange. It was
clearly not flesh, but a hard substance.

Then I remembered. Come to think of it, Kiara’s last attack had severed Zelos Reed’s
left arm, and apparently, it wouldn’t regenerate.

For the evil people, the divine attribute was not only a weakness for them, but it
could inflict fatal damage. And now she was clad in that divine attribute due to the
effects of Sword God Transformation.

This was not a relief or anything, but a chance. If we hit Zelos Reed now, we might be
able to inflict a fatal wound on him.

But this time’s attack did not go well either.

It wasn’t the invisible shock I had felt earlier, but this time I could see it. Suddenly, a
layer of water the size of two tatami mats (TLN: 2-3 meter) was stretched between
Fran and Zelos Reed.

It was so dense with magic that I’d think it was made up purely of magic power.

However, Fran didn’t care and slashed at it. And at that moment, the water layer then
created a huge explosion.

“Ghaa…!”

[Fran!]

It seemed the layer of water was created by compressing a tremendous amount of

water. When the compressed water was released all at once, an overwhelming
amount of water overflowed instantaneously, making it look as if a huge explosion
had occurred.

While in the air, she was attacked by the violence of the water so I rescued Fran from
drowning by teleporting. But I could see that even though she was drowning, Fran’s
face was still looking in Zelos Reed’s direction.
She hadn’t given up yet. But honestly, she was already at my limit. Any more fights
would be bad for us.

[Fran, sorry. I’m already…]

“Ugh!”

Hearing my words, she must have finally remembered that she was using the Sword
God Transformation. She then hurriedly deactivated the skill.

“I’m sorry… Master…”

[I’m fine now!]

A tremendous amount of pressure then surrounded us. It was not Zelos Reed. For
some reason, the pressure that Zelos Reed was giving off was not as significant
anymore. It was as if he had no intention to fight us.

The source of the pressure was the person who had come out of the building after
Zelos Reed. It was a blonde Elf.

“I wonder who is this bad girl who behaves badly in my beloved academy?”
“I wonder who is this bad girl who behaves badly in my beloved academy?”

While saying so, the beautiful blonde Elven woman gave off a pressure that even
made Fran’s whole-body shudder.

But now, her willow eyebrows were upturned showing her clear anger. When I
looked at her face, she was just like an Elven woman frowning, but she gave off
intimidation as if we were facing a Dragon.

“… Ugh”

She also showed us a glimpse of her ability. Just by slashing at the water, my
durability value, which was buffed by the Sword God Transformation, was greatly
reduced.

What was more, the annoying thing about that water defense layer was that it
countered by instantaneously releasing a large amount of water. At the moment of
attack, we’d be defenseless, and we’ll be countered by a torrent of water at that
moment, our attack could most likely be canceled halfway through. It was also quite
difficult to spot it at first sight.

Even without appraising her, I could guess who this Elf was. She had tremendous
magic power, the overly powerful Ocean Magic, and she also said the line “My
beloved academy”. Fran couldn’t help but mutter her name.

“Weena Rhyn…?”

“That’s right, I’m Weena Rhyn. Hmm… You’re quite a lovely young lady, aren’t you?
Maybe you’re Fran?”

“Nn”

“I wish we could have met differently… I also have a lot of questions I need to ask
you――But first, I need to punish you”

The moment Weena Rhyn said that and looked at Fran, a violent sense of
intimidation enveloped her. What she had been radiating was only a small residue
that leaked out from earlier. Maybe she didn’t even realize she was intimidating her.

“I’m sorry, but I won’t let anyone who was messing in this academy go unpunished.
But don’t worry, I won’t kill you”

Weena Rhyn was giving off a sense of pressure that was even accompanied by
physical pressure as if the surrounding gravity had increased many times.

“I, Weena Rhyn, as the guardian, will――No, that’s not good enough. That will be too
much. To you, who will become a special instructor――That’s still not good enough,
huh? Then, to you, who have been offered a position as a special instructor and a
short-term transfer plan, I shall begin with your punishment for your hostile acts
towards our temporary instructor and our protected students. It will be a little
harsher than a normal punishment. Well, you’ve almost killed him after all”

Immediately after Weena Rhyn said so, the air around us changed. I could see that
the magic power that had enveloped this area was also flowing into Weena Rhyn.
Some kind of reinforcement must have been applied to our surroundings.

However, Weena Rhyn seemed to be really unmotivated. Despite the intimidation

and the words she said, there was not much motivation on her face. In fact, she
looked like she didn’t even want to fight.

“I’m going to have to restrain you for now. You can resist as much as you want, your
opponent will be me alone. It’s for your own good too. But I’m the strongest in this
academy, you know? Divine Water Creation――Aquarius”

With Weena Rhyn’s words, a sphere of water filled with strong magical power was
created. Moreover, this sphere of water was slightly imbued with Divine Attributes.
As the name suggested, Divine Water Creation must be a skill to create water with
the Divine Attribute. She was manipulating it with the Ocean Magic, Aquarius.

Aquarius was an Ocean Magic that simply manipulated the surrounding water, but
I’ve once read in the Adventurer’s Guild documents that it could be changed into a
thousand different forms when used by an expert user. In other words, if Weena
Rhyn used it, it would become something terrifying.
The effect was immediately apparent. To my surprise, I could no longer sense the
Divine Attributes and magic power from the water sphere. However, my danger
detection was ringing loudly.

It’s not that it has lost its attributes, but the effect of the Aquarius must have masked
its presence. At first glance, it was just water magic. However, it was actually superb
magic that contained powerful magic power and Divine Attributes.

Now I know why my endurance was cut down so quickly. That layer of water was
also Divine water.

“Okay, let’s start”

The next moment, a sphere of water shot out like a bullet. Fran jumped back to avoid
it, but a new sphere of water was already created ahead of her.

“Tsk!”

Fran was trying to cut off the water sphere――.

“!!”

[How troublesome!]

We were being toyed with. Although it was a spur-of-the-moment attack, it was a

blow that could even take down a mid-level magic beast… Fran managed to dodge
the water sphere by twisting her body using an aerial jump. The water sphere
approached her again, but Fran was also in a position to intercept it. She was in a
Sheaths of Wind stance.

“Haaa!”

“Ara?”

Now it was Weena Rhyn’s turn to be surprised. Her eyes widened when she saw the
water sphere that had been cut in half by the Sheaths of Wind technique.

“No way, I didn’t expect you to be able to do this much… You’re an amazing child,
aren’t you? That was wonderful. But I wonder, why do we have to fight…?”
As I expected, Weena Rhyn does not seem to want to fight. However, some kind of
compelling force seemed to be at work, forcing her to continue the fight.

[Fran. All I see with my appraisal is her name only! I don’t know what she’s going to
do next!]

“Then, we’ll take her down as fast as we can. Now it’s our turn!”

“And now you’re using light magic? You’re so versatile, aren’t you?”

Fran shot her light magic, the Solar Ray. Just as it looked like the violent torrent of
light was going to swallow Weena Rhyn, it was the same layer of water that had
interfered.

The rays of light were blocked by a layer of water and dissipated. But this was
expected. Rather, the purpose was to blind her with the flash of light and make her
focus on defense.

“… Black Thunder Rolls――Heaven Judgement!”

With Fran still maintaining her light magic, she went right behind her with the Black
Thunder Rolls.

She then unleashed her all-out attack. Fran’s aim from the start was to get in close
and use the Heaven Judgement.

The speed was so godlike that an ordinary opponent would not even be able to react
and would only realize after being slashed by it. However, Weena Rhyn was able to
respond to it.

“You’re so fast, aren’t you!?”

Just like when she attacked Zeros Reed in her Sword God Transformation state, a
layer of water then stood in front of Fran. She was blown away by its massive flow of
water before, and unable to finish her slash.

But she had seen that technique once. So, Fran had naturally thought of a way to deal
with it.

(Master!)
[Yeah]

To be honest, I don’t know if resisting Weena Rhyn was the right thing to do here.
Unlike Zeros Reed, we don’t have a grudge against her, nor do we want to kill her. In
fact, looking at it objectively, it would be worse for us to suddenly draw our swords
and start fighting in a place where there were many non-combatants.

I couldn’t sense any killing intent from Weena Rhyn, and I felt that it would be better
for us to be caught obediently.

However, Fran was motivated, and she had received word from Weena Rhyn that it
was okay to resist. Even if she was caught without resistance in this state, Fran
would not be satisfied. If that was the case, it’s better to go all out and feel satisfied
later.

And it was not that I don’t have my own thoughts after being so one-sidedly beaten
before.

I activated my Dimension Shift in time with Fran’s call. I guess that the counter of the
water current was set to automatically activate upon impact.

We then easily slipped through the layer of water with the dimension shift. And the
moment we hit Weena Rhyn, we canceled the skills.

As she regained her physical form, she was touched by the layer of water and the
counter was triggered. Fran laughed ferociously while being blown away by the
tremendous stream of water that was created to explode.

This time, there was a definite response.

“Kuh…! You can even use the space-time magic…!”

A red liquid was flowing out of Weena Rhyn’s right side. It was where Fran’s Heaven
Judgement technique sliced through Weena Rhyn’s side.

“You’re stronger than I had imagined, aren’t you…? It’s been hundreds of years since
I’ve had a hard-fought battle like this”

Weena Rhyn was grimacing. However, she immediately looked apologetic and said
she was sorry.
“I’m sorry. I did say that you could resist as you can… But it seems that I’ve
underestimated you. When this happens, I need to get a little serious… This is going
to hurt a little bit, okay?”

“!”

Immediately after we heard Weena Rhyn’s words, her figure was already in front of
us. Instead of distancing herself to heal her wounds, she just stepped right in!

She must have been using a physical strengthening skill. Because even her blood
flow has been strengthened, a large amount of blood was gushing out from her side.
No, even that was actually Weena Rhyn’s aim! A large amount of blood that
overflowed became countless ivy and attacked Fran all at once.

Is it because it was a liquid, or because it was her blood that she could control it?
Anyway, it seems that Weena Rhyn could manipulate her blood. Moreover, Weena
Rhyn’s blood, which was imbued with strong magical power, was actually much
stronger than ordinary water.

The blood ivy, wriggling as if it was alive, wrapped around Fran’s right arm in two or
three layers. It must have focused on the right side of her sword grip. And her barrier
could not pull it off.

Fran tried to use her magic release to blow the blood away, but it was a moment too
late. Before she could do so, Weena Rhyn released a water sphere at close range that
struck Fran’s solar plexus.

“Ghaah!”

Because her arms were held by the blood ivy, she wasn’t blown away and lost her
power. Fran’s body lifted and I saw that her right shoulder was badly injured.

Well, Fran wasn’t the only one who was getting hit. Even as she was being attacked,
she swung her left leg up and slammed a kick into the right side of Weena Rhyn.

“Guh!”

The water armor covering Weena Rhyn’s skin caught the kick, but the impact seemed
to have penetrated and reached Weena Rhyn, and she was frowning as she spat
blood out of her mouth. Moreover, this was not the only attack that Fran had made.
“Eat, this!”

The black lightning that Fran wore was flowing into Weena Rhyn through her kick. It
was the black lightning that even Goddarfa was taking damage from.

However, even though her entire body was enveloped in black lightning, Weena
Rhyn’s expression did not change. When I looked closely, I could see that she seemed
to have controlled it with the water armor she wore and was guiding it to the
ground.

It was a perfect response as if she had seen the black lightning before. Could it be
that she had prepared the armor not to prevent the attack, but to nullify the black
lightning?

“I think we’re done here”

“?”

For some reason, Weena Rhyn let go of Fran’s arm while saying those words. Fran
hurriedly tried to keep her distance, but her legs never moved.

“Water…?”

Before she knew it, a large amount of water had covered Fran’s body, blocking her
movements. The water sphere that had just been released was not just to attack. The
water quickly covered Fran’s legs and torso. Moreover, this water was not just for
catching Fran too.

“Argh? Gughaah…!”

Fran’s body suddenly glowed and began to spark, accompanied by a buzzing sound
like electricity popping. It was as if she was leaking electricity.

No, it seems that a similar phenomenon was really occurring. The black lightning on
Fran’s body lost its density all at once, and her life force began to drop rapidly.

“My… Power is…”

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Black Tiger Kin, but I’ve got all the
countermeasures I need, you know?”
This phenomenon, Weena Rhyn was doing this on purpose! It seemed that Weena
Rhyn, who had lived for a long time, had fought the Black Heavenly Tiger in the past.
So, this wasn’t her first time seeing the black lightning either.

I tried to use teleport to somehow escape, but for some reason, it didn’t activate.

[This feeling… It feels like something was interfering with its activation?]

“Did you try to use teleport? Currently, teleport was not allowed to be used in this
whole area. Even I won’t be able to use it”

[Fran! Unleash your Brilliant Lightning Rush right now! We’re in trouble if you
don’t!]

“… Okay!”

As soon as Fran released the skill, she used all her magic power release while putting
up a barrier, and flicked away the water that clung to her body.

“That was a quick decision, wasn’t it? I can’t believe you were able to do something
about it… It’s been hundreds of years since I had someone run away from me after I
thought I’ve caught them perfectly, you know? I would have preferred to have a
normal encounter with you if I could…”

Weena Rhyn sighed again as she healed her wounds. Her face showed signs of
fatigue, but she was still able to fight.

On the other hand, Fran was fully wounded. If it was a game of simple battle, we’d
have won by hitting her with the Heaven Judgement. But if you look at the degree of
exhaustion, we were overwhelmingly defeated.

“You have very little energy left, but what will you do now? More than this, and I’ll be
more serious, you know? Or do you still want to go?”
 SURRENDER

“Or do you still want to go?”

“… I do!”

Immediately after shouting so, Fran created a ball of light behind her. However, this
was not an attack skill, but merely simple light magic.

The place where it was created was where the light ball, Fran, and Weena Lane line
up. Fran‘s long shadow then swallowed Weena Rhyn.

And then, the mouth of a huge beast suddenly appeared from her shadow and
swallowed Weena Rhyn’s leg.

It was Urushi, who had changed to his largest size, who ambushed her from the
shadows.

“Grrrr!”

“… It’s still hiding all this time even though you’ve been pushed this far, huh!?”

Weena Rhyn had jumped up as quickly as she could, and all Urushi could bite was
below the knee. In addition, the Aquarius counter immediately pried open Urushi’s
closed mouth. Apparently, the large amount of water produced in his mouth made it
impossible for him to keep it closed.

“Gaoof!”

Spitting out a large amount of water from his mouth, Urushi fled into the shadows
again. But he had done his job well enough.

Although he hadn’t been able to bite through, both of Weena Rhyn’s legs had been
severely injured. Blood was pouring out of the holes drilled by his fangs, and both
legs would have been broken.
It was the effect of the dimensional fangs that he had acquired through his evolution.
The attack, which ignored defense, penetrated the defensive layer created by
Aquarius and inflicted damage to her.

If he had been able to close his mouth completely without the water getting in the
way, he would have been able to bite her legs off… But this was enough to make a
chance for us.

Fran and I decided to make our final attack here.

“Kanna Kamui!”

“Let’s overlap it!”

To be honest, my durability value was already on the edge. That was due to the
combination of the damage received from the Sword God Transformation and the
damage from striking the Divine Water.

Knowing this, Fran chose magic. It was a field that she was not very good at, but her
training had improved this as well.

It wasn’t enough to unleash Kanna Kamui easily, but it didn’t take her tens of seconds
to concentrate like before. That was enough time for me to complete my
preparations in the time that Urushi had given us.

The strongest attack we could unleash at the moment rained down on Weena Rhyn,
who was healing her legs while floating in the air using water to support her body.

“Divine Water Creation! Yamata-no-Orochi!”

(TLN: Eight-headed serpent)

However, our opponent was a master of magic. She must have sensed the signs. So,
she immediately activated her magic against the extreme lightning that was pouring
down.

Eight dragons formed out of water ascended toward the sky. The water dragons,
each with their own tremendous power, then collided with Kanna Kamui in the sky,
causing a tremendous discharge.
Rizzt zzt zzzt!

Then the lightning rapidly became thinner and thinner and disappeared before it
even reached the ground.

It wasn’t an explosion, nor was it being one-sidedly pushed back. The water dragon
had weakened, dispersed, and dissipated the power of extreme lightning.

It seems that Weena Rhyn was doing it on purpose. She had adjusted its power to
cause as little damage to the surrounding area as possible while being able to cancel
out our Kanna Kamui.

We were able to have a good match in close combat, but I guess she has the upper
hand in the battle of magic.

“That hurts… My combat instincts must have been completely dulled, huh? But even
so, you are still able to use Kanna Kamui after using the Heaven Judgement, huh…?
Aren’t you a little too strong for someone of your age? Well, I’ll ask you once again,
will you surrender now?”

Perhaps, Fran’s voluntary surrender was the key. Weena Right seemed to be forced
to fight by some kind of compelling force after all. It seemed that in order to stop it,
the other side would have to surrender or be neutralized.

“The damage would be too great if we were to have a serious fight here with
someone of your level. I’ll detain you, but I’ll let you go soon. I promise”

(Master?)

[I think we should listen to what she has to say here. She wasn’t lying]

The Principle of Falsehood was able to discern a lie and the truth. However, I didn’t
know if the Principle of Falsehood was working properly against someone who was
so superior that even my appraisal could only reveal her name.

Still, Fran seemed to have decided to believe her words. Well, it could also be said
that her anger was somewhat dissipated after the fierce fight.

“Or do you still want to beat me and kill him?”

“…”

Weena Rhyn and Fran’s gazes turned to Zeros Reed, who was standing some distance
away. He was covered in blood, with blood pouring out of his neck, which had been
cut open by us. But he didn’t make any noise and stood there quietly.

“I understand that you have a history with him, but I can’t let you kill him just yet.
Besides, if you kill him here, I won’t be holding back anymore. So please, surrender!”

Weena Rhyn said so and bowed her head in place. It felt like the positions were
reversed, but I could tell that Weena Rhyn really wanted to avoid further fighting.
Fran must have understood that too.

“… Okay, I’ll surrender”

“Thank you”

Weena Rhyn exhaled in relief at Fran’s words.

“Hmm… Berthoudi is still making noise…”

But her brow furrowed again.

“Eh? Do you mean that wolf? I don’t have a choice then”

Does she have a conversation with someone? Weena Rhyn, who was nodding
towards nothing, produced a sphere of water again.

“Aside from Fran, I don’t think I’ve punished the wolf enough. I’m sorry if I’m being a
little rough with him”

The sphere that Weena Rhyn created was sent flying and landed at Fran’s feet. I
wondered if she was trying to restrain Fran, but it didn’t seem that was the case.

The sphere of water began to spread thinly as if it were licking the ground. At first
glance, it would appear that Fran was standing in the center of the puddle. I wonder
what she was doing.

As Fran and I watched in amazement, the water immediately began to bubble up.
Soon after, something jumped out of the water.
“Ofu offu!”

“Urushi?”

It was Urushi, spitting water out of his mouth and scratching the air with its paws as
if he were drowning. Or rather, he was actually drowning. It seems that the water
was somehow poured into the shadow where Urushi was hiding.

As long as Urushi was blocked from using his teleport, he would not be able to
escape the water torture. As soon as Urushi jumped out of the water, the sphere of
water that was placed above his head attacked him again, as if it had been aiming for
it.

“Offu…!”

When the water sphere expanded at once, Urushi was trapped inside it. After having
escaped from being suffocated, he was immediately thrown back into the water and
moaned pitifully.

He seemed to be on the verge of panic, but still, Urushi did not give up. He then tried
to make his body huge at once. He thought he could use the size of his body to blow
away the water.

However, Weena Rhyn was one step ahead of him.

“It’s useless”

To my surprise, the water sphere expanded to adjust with the giant Urushi. In the
end, Urushi was still trapped in it. Then Urushi’s face was distorted in agony. It
seemed that water was being forcefully pushed into his mouth.

“Offufu…”

This was bad, Urushi’s going to drown! But just as Urushi’s face twisted in agony,
Weena Rhyn snapped her fingers. Then the sphere of water changed its shape, with
only Urushi’s face allowed to come out.

“That should take care of the wolf. You’re next. Stay put”

“Nn”
Weena Rhyn then waved her finger lightly, and water rose from under Fran’s feet at
once, covering her as if to envelop her. From the outsider’s perspective, it would
appear as if she were being attacked by blue slime.

Just like that, the water went from Fran’s neck down. It wrapped around her torso
and legs, similar to Urushi. Apparently, the water pressure was exquisitely regulated,
as there was no damage to Fran’s vitality. However, she seemed to be unable to move.

Fran and Urushi, who were stupidly restrained with only their faces sticking out of
the water sphere, were drooping in frustration.

But Weena Rhyn’s face still frowned.

“She doesn’t seem to want to resist, and I’ve restrained their movements, but why is
Berthoudi still so noisy…? Eh? Her sword? What you mean is that hostile thing is…
her sword?”

She was talking to someone else again. And did she just say sword? Then Weena
Rhyn’s gaze turned completely to me.

The water holding Fran then wriggled, and I am separated from her in such a way
that only I am separated from her.

“Umm? Sword-san? How should I say this…? Are you going to resist?”

I was sure that she knew. So, there was no point in hiding it now.

“Well, just because it has consciousness doesn’t mean that it can answer my question
huh…?”

[… No, I’m not going to resist]

“Eh? What was that?”

[I’m the sword. Please talk using telepathy for now]

(A-a talking sword…? Even though each one of them was legendary enough, there are
only three of them after all… Well, I’ll have to hear more about that later, okay?)

[Yeah]
“Hostile response complete. This concludes the defensive action”

When Weena Rhyn said that, the magic that had covered our surroundings
dissipated. At the same time, the aggressive magic emanating from Weena Rhyn
eased.
“Let’s see… Fran, you are somehow related to him, am I right?”

Weena Rhyn asked Fran, who only had her head out of the water sphere a question.

“Nn…”

“Haah… If I’d known about it beforehand, I might have been able to prevent this, but
I’ve been so busy dealing with something that I haven’t had a chance to look through
your files”

“My files?”

“Yes. When interviewing a staff member, the research office is supposed to provide a
briefing on the person in advance. Well, in your case, since you’re quite famous,
they’ve been gathering rumors about you from the beginning”

She said they would gather information before the interview. So, they have a special
department for that, huh? And then they would pass on the information they had
gathered to Weena Rhyn.

“I’ve been looking for him since yesterday. We’ve been trying to seal him up ever
since, and we finally caught him this morning. It was finally going to be over and I
was just about to take him to the isolation room…”

Then Fran came across him at the worst possible time.

“When I interrogated him, he told me that he came from the Beastman Nation to the
continent of Zilbert, but did you have a grudge with him?”

“Nn”

Fran nodded and turned her eyes, filled with dark emotions, to Zelos Reed.
Kiara had told us not to seek revenge, but as expected, she couldn’t just ignore it
when Zelos Reed appeared in front of us.

Zelos Reed, who had been hit with killing intent, was standing behind Weena Rhyn,
instead of running away. Weena Rhyn had said that she had caught him, but what
about his current treatment?

“As I said before, I still can’t let you kill him. Besides, he is being treated as one of our
temporary employees right now. So, we need to protect him, that’s how it works.
Well, I understand that it may not sit well with you, so I’m not asking you to accept it
right now”

“…”

“However, I’d like you to choose the place to get your revenge on him next time”

“?”

“Just take a look around you”

Around us? Fran and I then looked around us as we were told.

Then we saw a group of students who had been watching us from afar fall on their
knees.

“I’ve made a barrier beforehand, so the damage is minimal… But before that… When
you attacked him, the students got the full brunt of your power and intimidation”

The barrier must have been the magic that surrounded the area after Weena Rhyn
mumbled something back then. Apparently, it had the effect of blocking damage from
the inside to the outside.

So, it was definitely our fault that the students were scared.

When Weena Rhyn appeared, I thought she looked like a dragon in front of us, but to
the students, Fran was exactly like that.

I guess they were too frightened to even run away in the face of the mysterious being
that had suddenly appeared, clad in super magic and spreading vicious killing intent.
They were looking at Fran with a mixture of fear and terror.
“Aah…”

“This time, there were only a few students around, so we only suffered this much,
but if it was in the town, the whole town would have panicked”

“… I’m sorry”

She finally realized how little she had been aware of her surroundings. Fran then
bowed her head with a heavy feeling.

“Ara? You’re apologizing?”

“?? Because I did something bad…”

“You’re quite an honest girl, aren’t you…? Well, let’s take care of him for the time
being”

Weena Rhyn then looked away from Fran, who was bowing her head and
approached Zelos Reed, who was standing behind her.

Even though it had been prevented, my blade had slightly cut Zelos Reed’s neck.

And at that time, she was clothed in Divine Attributes due to her Sword God
Transformation. So Zelos Reed was unable to recover from the wound on his neck,
and could only hold back the unstoppable flow of blood with his hands.

“Just sit tight for a bit… Divine Water Creation, Aqua Heal”

Weena Rhyn waved her hand lightly as she created a new sphere of water. The water
then clung to the wound on Zelos Reed’s neck and began to glow dimly.

After a few seconds, a section of the slashed flesh rose and began to regenerate itself
at high speed.

Shouldn’t the Divine Attribute be quite effective against the evil gods…? Or was it
because she used a recovery based on the divine water?

In no time, Zelos Reed’s wounds were healed. Then Weena Rhyn gave him an order.

“Stand up”
“Yes”

Although she had healed him, Weena Rhyn’s gaze on Zelos Reed was very cold.
Without complaining about such treatment, Zelos Reed nodded quietly. His gaze
turned to Fran for just a moment. He was neither frightened nor angry, just quietly
staring at Fran. But that was impossible, to begin with.

Is this really Zelos Reed? His atmosphere has changed to such an extent that I
doubted him.

When their eyes met, Fran began to glare at Zelos Reed again. This was not good. If
this continued, Fran’s anger would flare up again.

When Weena Rhyn saw this, she raised her voice.

“We can’t even talk properly with him around, huh…? Colt, take him to the Third
Tower, I’ve already spoken to the other side before”

Oh, we forgot about Colt. We forgot he was here ever since Weena Rhyn showed up.

“Are you sure you’ll leave him to me?”

“I’ve put a seal on him, and Berthoudi and the others will keep an eye on him.
Besides, he won’t do anything stupid while he was still healing, right?”

“Yes”

“I’m going to have a talk with Fran then”

“Understood”

I don’t know the details, but it seemed that something magical was binding Zelos
Reed.

“Also, call the other staff members to come and administer first aid to the students.
None of the students is in any serious condition, but they can take a break from their
classes for today”

Fran’s head drooped as she listened to the exchange between Weena Rhyn and Colt.
She was probably regretting now that she had caused damage to unrelated students
because of her hatred of Zelos Reed.

“You should go now”

“Yes. Come with me”

“Okay”

Zelos Reed then quietly obeyed Colt’s words and started walking slowly. So, he had
really changed, huh? I guess I could call it a transformation. Was it because of Weena
Rhyn’s magic? Or…

“Fran, why don’t you just talk to me for now?”

Weena Rhyn’s body then blocked Fran’s gaze, which was staring at Zelos Reed’s back
with a complicated expression.

“I’m going to release you now. I hope you won’t run away. Besides, you must want to
know about a lot of things, right?”

“No problem, I won’t run away”

“Thank you. Then, I’ll release you now”

Weena Rhyn then snapped her fingers, and the water sphere that had been holding
us disappeared.

“Come with me”

Weena Rhyn turned and walked away as the two of them landed. Fran then picked
me up from where I was stuck in the ground and followed her with a short run.
Weena Rhyn led us to what appeared to be her office. Fran then sat on a sofa in one
corner of the room and faced Weena Rhyn.

“I’d like to introduce myself again. I’m Weena Rhyn. I’m the Director of the Academy
of Magic”

“B-ranked adventurer, Fran. And this is Urushi”

[My name is Master, and I’m an intelligence weapon]

“Master? Is that your name?”

[Yeah]

“I’ve been called President, Headmaster, or Director too. So, I know how you feel”

Just as I expected, Weena Rhyn’s reaction towards me was a little weak. Well, it’s not
like I don’t like it when people aren’t surprised when they find out about me, but
she’s much calmer than the people who have seen or know who I am.

But I soon found out why.

“This is the first time in a thousand years since I’ve seen an intelligence weapon
capable of having a proper conversation”

[You know any other intelligence weapons besides me?]

“Well, I’ve lived a long life after all. I know more than what I can hold in one hand.
You’re the second sword that I’ve seen that is capable of having a proper
conversation. Most intelligence weapons have gone mad after all…”

What a surprise, it seemed that she had met an Intelligence Weapon many times
before. I guess that was why she wasn’t terribly surprised to know about me.
But still, the mad intelligence weapon, Fanatics, also said that when a person’s
consciousness was in the body of a sword, there’s a good chance they’ll go mad. I feel
like I want to meet the other intelligence weapons, but I also feel scared at the same
time…

However, I could tell that the Intelligence Weapons were not new to her. Rather, it
seemed that Weena Rhyn’s interest was in Urushi.

Urushi, who was sitting next to Fran in his small form, was stared at by Weena Rhyn.
Well, Urushi felt nervous when he was being looked at.

“What’s wrong with Urushi?”

“Eh? Well, this is the first time I’ve seen this species. It’s been a long time since I’ve
seen a magic beast that was completely new to me, you know? Well, forget about
that, there’s something you want to know more than that, right?”

“Are you sure it’s fine to leave Zelos Reed to Colt?”

“It’s fine. I’ve used my skill to seal off the evil spirits within him and bind his actions,
and the spirit here is watching over him too”

Just as I thought, it seems that the reason why Zelos Reed’s evil spirit was
suppressed was as a result of something Weena Rhyn had done. On top of that, he
seemed to be bound by a kind of slave contract. Moreover, she had a spirit watching
over him.

“I didn’t limit his ability to talk properly, but his strange quietness has shown that
he’s obeying me. Well, when you attacked him, he didn’t fight back, right? That’s
because fighting is not allowed in the academy”

Indeed, Zelos Reed did nothing more than put out his hand to block our attack. After
our first attack failed, there must have been plenty of opportunities for him to
counterattack.

[In the first place, why is Zelos Reed here?]

“It all started the day before yesterday”

Weena Rhyn has received word that a dangerous criminal was hiding in the Self-
governing region. He was not well known in this country, but there was a bounty on
his head in other countries.

It was said that adventurers had already set out to capture him, but had been
repelled many times. Even if there were no deaths, his power was considered to be
overwhelming.

So, this time, Weena Rhyn herself went out to catch him. Because of her flashiness
and numerous heroic stories, people tend to think that Weena Rhyn was always
ready to respond to any situation, but she said that if there was an incident outside
of the Academy that could be handled by someone other than her, then she would
leave it to them.

“Otherwise, the younger generation will not grow up. And I don’t have time to deal
with every little incident, you know?”

Conversely, Weena Rhyn would only respond if it was a much more serious incident.

Weena Rhyn then used her magic and other means to find Zelos Reed and captured
him after a battle. But she also learned that Zelos Reed had a companion.

“A kid named Romio?”

“Yes, Romio Magnolia, I’ve decided to take him under my protection”

So, he was still bringing him around after all this time, huh?

I’ve heard that Weena Rhyn likes children, and I could understand her decision to
protect Romio. If it were Amanda, who likes children too, she would have also done
the same.

However, Fran was still confused.

“Is there a reason why I shouldn’t kill Zelos Reed yet?”

“That’s the problem… There’s a connection between Romio and him that’s close to a
master-slave contract. And a nasty one at that, where if one of them gets hurt, the
other one will get hurt too”

“Zelos Reed did that?”

“I think it’s the opposite. Romio might be the one who unconsciously made a deal, I
guess it’s kind of a curse possessed by Magnolia’s bloodline…”

[How is that possible? He’s just a little kid, right? And what this all about Magnolia’s
bloodline?]

I know he’s from a noble bloodline, but what’s so special about his family?

“A long time ago, there was a special family on the continent of Gordisia that guarded
the seal of the pieces of the Evil God. Magnolia, Wisteria, and Camellia. The people of
those three families had a special bloodline that could communicate with the Evil
Gods and control their power. They have taken advantage of that characteristic to
perform a ritual to appease the Evil Gods… However, the Dragonmen destroyed and
stole the pieces from them”

The pieces of the Evil God that Trismegistus used to create the giant magic beasts
must have been the pieces that those three houses were guarding.

“And this child, Romio, was a descendant of that Magnolia Family. Moreover, his
blood was pretty strong that I even thought he was a reincarnation of his ancestor”

Could it be that it was because of that blood that Murellia and Zelos Reed were
strangely obsessed with Romio? No, I’m sure it was.

“Anyway, as long as that contract was still in place, killing him will only get Romio
killed too”

And apparently, that was not all.

It seems that Romio’s young body had been contaminated with evil from spending so
much time with Zelos Reed. After all, there’s a phenomenon of intoxication by being
exposed to strong evil, and it seems that Romio’s condition was even worse than
that.

It was life-threatening if it was not cured, but because of the contract, it was
dangerous to keep them apart for a long period of time.

So, in the end, to protect and treat Romio at the academy, it was necessary to have
Zelos Reed close to him.
“So I decided to use my power to significantly suppress Zelos Reed’s power and keep
them in the academy until Romio is healed… I’m going to treat him as a temporary
employee. I’ll also explain to you why I doing something like this”

“Nn”

“First of all, this Academy of Magic is protected by a powerful guardian spirit and its
dependent spirits. So, there must be hundreds of spirits guarding and watching over
the academy”

[Could it be, the mysterious attack that first blocked Fran’s attack was…]

“The High Ranking one was in charge of watching over Zelos Reed. And in your case,
it was just trying to stop an outsider from committing violence in the academy rather
than protecting Zelos Reed”

So that’s why I couldn’t see it! Moreover, if it was a High-Ranking spirit, it must be
quite strong. And wasn’t it quite dangerous if it could attack stealthy from anywhere?

But it seems, Fran managed to look at it faintly. No, maybe it was just a faint feeling,
huh? Perhaps because of our stay in that inn, Fran got the ability to sense spirits.

[Fran, did you see the spirit?]

“… I only felt something strange”

“Ara? Maybe Fran has a talent as a spirit user”

“Really?”

“I’m just saying it’s possible. For example, how about this?”

Weena Rhyn then pointed her fingertips lightly at the ceiling. All I could see was a
slight movement of magic, but I don’t know what’s happening.

However, Fran could definitely see something.

“It looks hazy”

“Hmm, you can only roughly see it, huh? But it seems you can feel it”
Maybe Fran really has a talent as a spirit user, huh? I’d really like to see her use it.

“How to be able to see them?”

“Hmm… Let’s see… All I can say is that you need to be in contact with spirits and be
aware of them at all times. Some people say that you need to have a pure heart, but
to be more precise, some spirits like people who have a pure heart. In the first place,
many spirits don’t care whether we are good or bad”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Think about it. Do you think that spirits would care about the values, crimes,
and laws that the peoples have set for themselves? The same goes for the guardian
spirits of this academy. Their defense ethics have nothing to do with right or wrong.
First and foremost is the safety of those involved in the academy as specified in the
contract. Next is the people’s safety, which is its high priority. No matter what the
reason, the guardian spirits will not tolerate any hostile acts”

Moreover, the defense system was not limited to the spirit’s surveillance network.

“And I, myself, am part of that defense system”

“?”

Weena Rhyn then explained further to Fran and Urushi who looked confused.

“To put it simply, the guardian spirits will determine if someone is an enemy, and I
will be the one to impose sanctions. That’s how it works. That’s also the reason why I
attacked Fran earlier”

It seems that if an outsider attacked the academy, Weena Rhyn had to deal with
them. To fulfil the contract with the spirits, she couldn’t stop attacking until the spirit
decided that the sanction was sufficient.

“The spirit’s eyes can’t be deceived, so in some cases, I have to kill them against my
will”

In addition, the spirits could read the emotions of the enemy and even determine if
they were feeling remorse or if they were lying.

In other words, the degree of sanction would be rather severe against those who had
surrendered but thought that they could get revenge later.

The degree of the sanction also varied considerably depending on the position of the
other party and the degree of hostility.

If a hostile organization hurts a student in the academy, they were doomed, no

questions asked. However, if it was someone friendly to the school… For example, if a
graduate raised their hand because a student mocked them, a simple apology was all
that was needed.

In some cases, the academy may be at fault, but that doesn’t seem to matter to the
spirits who judge the degree of sanction. Even if the other party was a Saint, a felon,
or even the King, the sanction would still be enforced.

“It was impossible to keep him, an evil person, in the academy without a title. Just
being Romio’s guardian was not enough to convince the spirits, so he needed the title
of a temporary staff member”

“Even Zelos Reed, can be a staff member?”

“Aah, you mean, is it fine for us to accept a sinner?”

“Nn”

“You see, as I said before, laws made by humans are meaningless to the spirits that
judge them. In addition, if you are talking about him who has taken the lives of many
people, the number of people that I have directly taken is hundreds of times greater
than the number of people that he has killed”

Weena Rhyn then shrugged her shoulders after saying so.

“I’ve traveled around the world for a long time, fought on countless battlefields, and
fought against countries. Even now, some countries still have me listed as a terrible
criminal”

Come to think of it, she had also killed a nobleman who messed with the academy,
right? Well, no wonder she would be considered as their enemy.
“And such a person is acting as the Director of the academy, right? Well, it just goes to
show that spirits don’t care what kind of sins you’ve committed”

As a result, Fran, an outsider who had attacked Zelos Reed, who was now an
academy employee, had triggered the sanctions.

“But there is one thing I owe you an apology for”

“What is it?”

“To lessen the sanctions against you, I misled the guardian spirit, Berthoudi, by
pretending that you were related to the Academy. Specifically, it’s when I said, “To
you, who have been offered a position as a special instructor and a short-term
transfer plan”. Instead of treating you like someone from outside the academy who
almost killed someone from the academy, I decided to treat you like someone from
the academy that got into a fight with someone from here”

(TLN: Reference ch544)

I see. So, there was a loophole like that, huh? She had a letter of introduction from
Alistair, and since Weena Rhyn actually recognized her as a related individual, she
was then treated as a related on the spot by the spirits.

And it seems Alistair’s letter of introduction was particularly influential. It was said
that just having this letter of introduction was enough for a minor assault case to be
judged as no problem. That’s why even Fran, who was involved in an attempted
murder case, was only detained.

For a moment, I wondered why she hadn’t told Alistair that information, but then I
thought, why would she need to?

It was obvious that one shouldn’t be messing on the academy or being hostile to
Weena Rhyn. It was also common sense that someone should not be rude to
someone who was about to hire them.

It’s the same as someone warning an acquaintance who was going to a job interview
at a big company with “Don’t be rude at the office” or “Don’t insult the Chairman of
the company and make him angry”.

I heard that if we pass the interview, they usually tell us about it, but I guess they
didn’t think it was necessary to tell us. As we had a letter of introduction, some
mischief was allowed. It was just that this time, that wasn’t enough.

Oh, that was right. There’s another mystery.

[We had attacked Weena Rhyn, right…? So, we actually did some damage, didn’t we?]

She had slashed her with Heaven Judgement, and Urushi too has hurt her a little,
right? Wouldn’t our sanction be increased by the spirits?

“Yeah, I’ve told you in the beginning that you could resist, didn’t I? That’s why I
permitted you to do that”

So, by Weena Rhyn’s permission, it was treated as a mock battle, huh? In other
words, she had said a precautionary line first so that Fran could resist.

“But Fran was much stronger than I expected. Well, it was also because I hadn’t
calculated you had the support of Master. I should have told her that she could hurt
me, not that she could resist as much as she wanted. The spirit then judged that you
were resisting more than you were allowed to. I’m sorry”

Weena Rhyn bowed her head as she said so.

The surprise attack she had done to Zelos Reed was offset by receiving some damage
and being restrained. Her attack on Weena Rhyn too was offset by receiving some
damage from Weena Rhyn. And the fear she had caused to the students was forgiven
by the apology she made afterward. That seemed to be the case.

However, the problem remained.

[You said that she has been offered a position as a special instructor and a short-
term transfer plan, right? Does that mean it’s already decided?]

“That’s the problem, isn’t it? In the first place, if you think about what Fran has been
doing since she came to this academy, there’s no factor to increase her likability. I’m
not going to say, “I’m going to make you a member of our prestigious academy, shiver
and be grateful!” I’m not even going to say that. But for now, that title is the only
reason Fran is allowed to be here by Berthoudi”

[What if she refuses?]

“… If you refuse, I think you’ll have to deal not only with me but with the spirits as
well”

Doesn’t that mean we don’t have the right to refuse at all!?

“Don’t worry. You can’t quit immediately, but if you work for a couple of weeks, the
spirits will be satisfied. That’s how long it will take to work for a short period of time
to be completed”

Well, by listening to her explanation, I could tell that it was a necessary procedure…
It was probably because she had made a decision for Fran on her own.

But even so… Not only an instructor but a transfer student too? Doesn’t that mean
she’s going to be a student here? I wonder if she will be fine…

However, Fran nodded easily at her words.

“Understood, I’ll be that special…?”

“Special instructor and short-term transfer student”

“That’s fine then”

[Fran, are you sure?]

“Nn? In the first place, that was my intention; it’s the same as passing the interview
after all”

Apparently, she didn’t have any particular thoughts about Weena Rhyn. So, she
casually accepted Weena Rhyn’s words.

“If we stay here, we can keep an eye on Zelos Reed”

[Well, you’re right]

Whether or not the opportunity for revenge came around, she was not going to give
up and let it pass her by here.

“Are there a lot of spirits in this academy?”

“Yeah, There aren’t many places as crowded with spirits as here, you know?”

“If so, I can practice using spirit magic by staying here. So, it’s a good thing”

“Haah… That’s good for you then. Thank you very much for accepting it. Now I don’t
have to be angry with A-chan anymore… Aah, as an apology for the trouble, I’ll at
least offer you a raise in your salary. But do you have anything else you want?”

“… I want to have a mock battle with Weena Rhyn”

“Huh? With me? I don’t mind though, but…”

Rather, the major reason we came to this academy was because of her interest in
Weena Rhyn. She wanted to see the strength of the strongest High Elf in the world.
And although she had experienced that strength once, I guess she wanted to fight
some more.

Weena Rhyn, who was obviously not a battle junkie, chuckled at her.

“Your face is cute, but you’re quite greedy, aren’t you?”

“?”

“Well, just wait for it. In the meantime, I look forward to working with you for a short
time”

“Nn. I’ll be in your care”

“This way”

“Nn”

We were now being taken by Weena Rhyn to the staff room. Most of the staff was
given private rooms or laboratories, but apparently, there was also a large room for
everyone to gather.

She said that it was more convenient for them to prepare before class or for simple
meetings. It really felt like a Japanese staff room.

“But still, you’re the first one to cause such commotion in such a state since the
establishment of this academy, you know?”

“What do you mean?”

“Usually, people who come to the academy for an interview are nervous because they
know about me. So, who would cause a commotion in such a state, right?”

Well, she was right. If they offended Weena Rhyn, they would be doomed. In that
sense, Fran was in a lot of trouble.

“And I’m not going to let you do anything crazy in my presence”

“I see”

“I usually make people wait an hour for an interview, but some of them get angry and
leave”

“You make them wait? Why?”

“We don’t need people who didn’t have the patience and enthusiasm and leave with
just being neglected for that long”
I think they were just like normal people in interviews on Earth, weren’t they? I
mean, I used to get that kind of treatment a lot when I was looking for a job. In large-
scale interviews, they even made me wait for a long time. It was a combo strategy of
making you wait for a long time and then pressuring you into an interview.

Well, there were also times when the interview process was prolonged and the
company unintentionally made you wait. Anyone who had experienced those eras
when companies were super dominant would understand it.

“Some aristocrats who brag about their great titles have no patience. In the first
place, being an instructor or teacher is hard work, right? Not all kids are good and
honest, and there are a lot of shitty brats out there. You have to have enthusiasm and
patience to deal with them. Or maybe you just need the heart to go through it”

“Nn?”

Fran tilted her head a little when she heard Weena Rhyn’s words. I was also feeling a
little uncomfortable too.

“What’s wrong?”

“Do you like kids?”

That was right. I felt uncomfortable with Weena Rhyn’s tone when she said “Shitty
brat”. Amanda, who also loved children, would not have said it, and even if she had,
there would have been a hint of affection in it. But I couldn’t feel it in Weena Rhyn’s
words.

She seemed to really think of them as shitty brats. However, she then laughed slightly
with a bitter smile.

“I don’t know why people seem to think of that of me as the Director of the
academy… Well, it was also because I’ve made a contract with the spirits so that I
was bound to the academy, but I wonder if that’s another point that they’ve
misunderstood. Well, but I love honest, cute, and talented kids, okay? Like you for an
example”

Weena Rhyn said so and winked at her. But the chuckle remained on her face.

“I can’t love every kid unconditionally just because they are a kid, right?”
[So, why did you become the Director of the academy?]

“There’s a lot of things an adult should do. Aah, by the way, you know Amanda, don’t
you?”

“Nn”

I saw that she was looking through Fran’s files before she said so. So, I guess it must
be from what was written in it.

“You shouldn’t compare with to that girl”

“You know her?”

“You haven’t heard about it?”

“Nn”

“Fufufu, she never changes, doesn’t she…? Well, her ancestors are my children. I
guess that makes her my descendant, right?”

What? She was related to her by blood? But Amanda never said anything about that,
right?

“Well, it’s because she hates me”

“Why?”

“Well, it’s because of a lot of things. But one reason is that she probably doesn’t like
me being called as a kid loving person, as she was a real kid loving person”

Is that all? Well, I’m not going to pursue it too deeply if she doesn’t want to tell more.

As we walked along talking like that, I noticed that the students we passed were
staring at Fran.

“Who is she? I can’t believe that the Director is personally showing her around”

“Maybe she’s some kind of noble?”

“I don’t think the Director would care about something like that. She’s the type who
would even beat up the royalty after all”

“Umm, is that the director of the academy? This is the first time I’ve seen her”

“Oi oi, we were greeted by her at the entrance ceremony, you know?”

“Well, I was late getting in because of my family matter…”

I wondered if the incident from earlier had already spread, but they seemed to be
simply surprised that Weena Rhyn was guiding us.

The students thought they were whispering, but we and Weena Rhyn could clearly
hear them. It seemed that Weena Rhyn’s face wasn’t well known even to them.

“It can’t be helped, you know? Most of the work is done by my subordinates after all.
So, the only time I appear in front of the students is for the upperclassmen’s mock
battles or greetings at the ceremony”

It was a school with a long history after all, so I’m sure they already have a complete
system of education as well as defense.

Besides, as the Director of the Academy, she wouldn’t be in charge of classes often.

Even for me, it was hard to remember what my principal looked like when I was in
school. But I do remember that the principal in my high school had a little less hair
though.

“Besides, I usually walk around in a plain outfit, so I don’t think the students would
recognize me, right?”

Well, if they couldn’t sense her strength, she might just look like a normal Elf.

She was an Elf, and she was beautiful, but not the best in the world or anything. Even
if she evolved into a High Elf, her appearance would probably remain the same.

She wore a plain robe that certainly doesn’t look like much of those in power.
However, it was actually a luxury item made of good material, but they wouldn’t
know about that by just simply seeing it.
Furthermore, she seemed to be suppressing her aura. I guess it was because she
doesn’t want to cause a commotion here.

Seeing Weena Rhyn dressed like that, Fran nodded approvingly.

“Nn. Weena Rhyn looks so plain”

“Wait doesn’t that sound like it means something different”

We followed Weena Rhyn to the room that was much larger than I had expected. It
was probably five times larger than what I imagined when she said it was the staff
room.

Wooden desks were neatly arranged facing each other like an office or a staff room,
and nearly a hundred people were working here right now.

Even so, only about half of the desks were occupied, so there were probably 200 to
250 people actually using this room.

It was even hard for us to see to the back of the room unless we got on a table as
Weena Rhyn had climbed right now.

“Ha~i, everyone, attention please~!”

As soon as Weena Rhyn called out and clapped her hands, all eyes in the room then
immediately focused on us.

“She’s Fran, an adventurer. She’ll be a special staff member and a transfer student for
a while in this academy. And next to her is her follower, Urushi. He can change his
size a little, and he’s a smart boy. So please take care of them”

“I’ll be in your care”

“Woof!”

After Weena Rhyn told them so, the teachers’ reactions were split.

They were split into those who were bewildered and those who accepted her. And it
seemed that there were even more people who were bewildered. Many of the people
here were just normal teachers, after all, so they might not understand what Fran
was capable of.
On the contrary, the teachers who seemed to have accepted her were former
adventurers and those dressed like magicians.

Well, they won’t need fighting prowess to be a classroom teacher, so I won’t blame
them.

However, the man closest to us, who was dressed in a suit, spoke up on behalf of the
group. He looked like a chubby uncle in his fifties, who didn’t get enough exercise.

“I understand that she’ll be a short-term transfer student. And there will be no

problem with her age. However, she’ll become a special staff member too? Where
will she be placed?”

It seemed that becoming a student and an instructor at the same time was indeed a
rare thing in this academy.

“First of all, Fran will be placed as the Advanced and Special Combat Class
Instructor”

“Eh? So, you mean, she’s going to enroll in the Special Combat classes”

“She’ll become the Mock Battle Instructor”

Her words then caused a slight commotion.

“Mock Battle Instructor…?”

“Isn’t it that only a D or higher ranked adventurer is allowed to be an instructor…?”

“Moreover, I’ve heard that Advanced and Special Mock Battle Instructor is at least a
C-ranker, right?”

Apparently, the class Fran was in charge of was a merit-based class for both students
and teachers. So, it was unthinkable for an ordinary teacher to be allowed to fill that
role.

“She’ll be fine. Even though she looks like this, Fran is a B-ranked adventurer with an
alias. In terms of fighting prowess alone, she’s definitely at an A-ranked level”

“Eh? But if the Director says so, then it must be true”

“Fufu, It’s been hundreds of years since someone has made me shed my blood in the
academy after all”

The commotion then became even louder than before. They must have been shocked
to hear that she managed to hurt Weena Rhyn.

“Th-the Director has made a contract with a guardian spirit to protect this academy,
right?”

“Yeah. And she will be even strengthened when fighting in the academy…”

“S-so, you’re telling me that she managed to hurt that strengthened Director? No
way…”

To them, she must be like an invincible legendary figure, and they have never even
heard of her struggling in a fight.

Some of them seemed to think that it was a joke, but most of them seemed to believe
it. However, some of them were staring at us because of it. Well, it couldn’t be helped.

Weena Rhyn was the world’s most powerful magician and a High Elf who has lived
for a long time. She was also the founder of the Academy of Magic and a world-
famous hero. So, she must have many admirers.

For such admirers, hearing a story of someone who managed to hurt Weena Rhyn
must be very unpleasant.

The uncle, who didn’t know what was going on, was also confused.

“Umm, what do you mean…?”

“A lot of things had happened. Well, I can at least assure you that Fran’s ability is
outstanding”

“U-understood”

The way the uncle looked at Fran has changed. Before, it was as if he was surveying a
mysterious beautiful girl, but awe had definitely been added now. The reason it was
not fear was probably that she was someone that Weena Rhyn approved of.
“What will be her class then?”

“Let’s put her in the Special Battle Class”

“Are you sure?”

“It will be more convenient for her as an instructor. Besides, Fran is a first-rate
magician, so it won’t be a problem”

It seemed that in order to qualify to get in the Special Battle Class, someone needed
to have not only decent fighting prowess but also decent magic abilities.

“Is it okay to transfer her to the Special Battle Class?”

“Rather, I think Fran has nothing to lose from doing this, right? It’s a shame, though.
After all, Fran’s magic skills are at a level where she can be trusted to be the head of a
department at our academy”

“Huh? Sh-she is… Quite amazing then”

It was not a commotion anymore. Everyone was talking to each other so loudly that
it almost looked like they’re shouting.

Probably, it was because that was a position that required considerable ability.

(Master)

[What’s wrong? You don’t like being the center of attention?]

(Nn? I don’t care about that. Rather than that, I’m more interested in learning Spirit
Magic)

She was not concerned about the teachers’ reactions. Rather, she had been thinking
about where she was going to be transferred.

[Are you sure? Well, ask her if they have any classes that teach that kind of stuff
then]

“Nn. Hey, I want to take a class where I can learn Spirit Magic”
“Oh, so you’re interested to learn that. You should choose Spirit Magic class as your
elective class then”

Apart from the curriculum of the Special Battle Class, there was an elective class
where students could choose any class they wanted. Among them, there were also
classes on Spirit Magic to choose from.

“The Special Battle Class doesn’t have lessons on Spirit Magic?”

“The basic knowledge will be taught during the basic studies. As long as you’re in
this academy, that knowledge is absolutely necessary. But if you want to learn to use
Spirit Magic, you’ll have to learn it in an elective class

“Hmm”

“But I don’t know if you’ll be able to master Spirit Magic, you know? It was one thing
that Fran had the talent to see spirits, but it’s a completely different thing if you’ll be
able to get along with them”

“Is that so?”

“Yeah”

It seemed that there was no uniform way to use a spirit or make a contract with a
spirit because each spirit has a different personality and preferred a different
partner for them. Therefore, it was quite difficult to teach.

In addition, there were very few people other than Elves who have the talent for
Spirit Magic, and even fewer people who have the talent and could improve. And
even if they do, it was not sure if they could master it because it was very difficult.

Because of this, it was quite difficult to incorporate it into the regular classes. But she
said it was fine for people who could sense spirits like Fran to choose an elective
class.

As for Elves, they don’t need to learn Spirit Magic as they had been trained by their
village or parents. However, many Elves were individualists, so they did more
training on their own. That was why most of the Elves attending this academy did
not take the class on Spirit Magic.
“That’s why I think you should be in the Special Battle Class. After all, the teacher in
charge of that class was a Spirit Magic-user. You should ask her about it”

“Nn. It’s good then”

“Yup. So, let’s get started with the procedure then”

I wonder what kind of class that was.

“W-well then, please come right here!”

“Nn”

“Woof”

After separating from Weena Rhyn in the staff room, we were heading to a place with
a female teacher who had been assigned to guide us.

“Th-that is the eighth tower. The advanced classrooms are on the first floor”

The Special Battle Class was outside of the Academy for practical training, so she had
to go around to some of the classes she was in charge of as an instructor first.

Inez, the girl and instructor in charge of mock battles like Fran, was our guide. In
terms of ability, she was at least a D-ranked adventurer. However, she had a good
intuition to sense Fran’s strength. That was why she was so strangely nervous and
timid right now.

So, I thought it would be better for someone without any fighting prowess to be our
guide. But well, we didn’t have any choice.

We then left the teacher’s tower where we had just been and were now heading to
one of the department’s towers a short distance away.

As we walked, Inez briefly explained to her that each tower had a specific role. There
were research towers for teachers, storage towers for magic tools, and quite a few
other places that students were not allowed to enter.

This place was just like a huge university, wasn’t it? It seemed to be more than just a
big academy.

She said that the tower we were going to visit was used especially for combat
training and practice.

“F-Fran-dono, the waiting room for the Special Battle Class that you will be
transferring into was here, so you’ll have many opportunities to use it later”

“Okay”

“For the beginning, Let’s introduce you to the advanced class”

After we walked together, Inez seemed to have lost some of her nervousness, and she
explained a lot of things to her.

The advanced class, as the name implies, was a class of advanced students. This
academy has several departments, including many specialized departments.
However, there was also a general department that does not have any specialization,
where students could uniformly learn everything. The advanced class was the class
to which the advanced students of the general department belong.

In the case of the Academy of Magic, they do not divide the students into different
grades because the ages of the students were quite different.

They first need to learn magic in the elementary department. Those who were able
to master the magic there will be able to move on to the next class.

But if they couldn’t learn magic after years of training in the Elementary
Department, they’ll be expelled. Well, this was an Academy of Magic, so they need to
be able to at least use magic.

Next to that was the Basic Department. However, it was often referred to as the
Junior Class in the academy. In this department, students took classes that had little
to do with magic, such as classroom lectures, and were taught the basics of using
magic for about two years.

If they don’t have any problems here, they will be admitted to the practical
department. In other words, they will be an advanced students. There were many
advanced classes of the General departments to choose from such as the
Adventurers Department, Magicians Department, and Special Combatants
department, as well as quite detailed specialties such as Fire Magic, Water Magic,
and blacksmithing.
Students could choose the class they wanted to belong to and study what they
wanted in the form of seminars or club activities.

About 70% of the classes were decided by the department, and the remaining 30%
could be chosen by themselves.

Besides, after graduating from the Practical Department, students were allowed to
re-enter other departments, so as long as they were motivated, they could learn
whatever they wanted.

I was even surprised to learn that some of the students have been students for more
than ten years by repeatedly changing their departments after graduation. On
average, it takes about five years for a student to graduate.

“The previous Special Mock Battle Instructor had retired, and we General Instructors
were somehow filling in the gaps, so you was a great help this time”

“Is there a difference between a Special Mock Battle Instructor and a General
Instructor?”

“There is, of course. The most important job of a Special Instructor is to demonstrate
overwhelming ability. Since that is impossible for us”

In this world, some overwhelmingly strong people couldn’t be easily reached. So,
they wanted students to learn of that firsthand and also to develop the courage to
immediately flee or negotiate with a strong person without becoming stiff when
confronted. That was the role of the Special Mock Battle Instructor.

In short, it was their job to beat them with overwhelming force in a mock battle. To
do that, they needed to have tremendous ability.

“I see. But, did Weena Rhyn was not good enough?”

Fran asked so. Well, she was right. I think Weena Rhyn would be a perfect fit for this
role.

“The Director is not very good at holding back. No, that’s not it. She’s just simply too
powerful, and there’s a limit to how much she can go easy on them. Just as a dragon
cannot lift a pup with its claws, no matter how hard it tries”
She had never accidentally hurt a student, but she had overdone it many times
against bandits. Because of this, the teachers have asked Weena Rhyn to avoid doing
a mock battle with the students as much as possible.

However, they hadn’t found suitable personnel for the past few months, so they had
been conducting special mock battles with multiple instructors and continuous
attacks on the defending Weena Rhyn.

“However, the effect was still too subtle. So, I am very grateful to have such a strong
person like Fran here even for a short time”

As she talked about this, we were led to a room at the back of the first floor of the
tower. It seemed to be a room where classroom lectures were held, and about twenty
students were taking the lectures there.

“Redua, can I have a moment?”

“Y-yes. Umm, Inez-sensei, who is this girl here?”

“I came here to introduce her. Fran-dono, this girl is the one in charge of the teacher
of History, Redua. And these people here are the students of the Advanced Class”

“Nn. Understood”

The students were looking at us with astonishment. However, the surprise seemed to
be directed not at Fran but Inez.

“Th-that Devil Instructor, Inez, bringing a child here…?”

“Wh-who is she? Is that really Instructor Inez?”

“For someone like her to do something like that… It’s just like the Devil getting
sunstroke!”

It seemed that the normal Inez and the current Inez were more than a little different.
It seemed that the students were astonished to see her changes.

“Devil? You’re a human though?”

“N-no, you don’t have to worry about it! Hey! Those who said that before! I’ll
remember you!”

“Hiii!”

I see why they call her the Devil Instructor Inez.

“Haah, she’s Fran-dono, the one who has been assigned to take care of you guys as
the Special Mock Battle Instructor!”

“I’ll be in your care”

“ “ “Eeeeh!” “ “

There was a different kind of shriek, but Inez shouted again to shut them up. So, this
was her true nature, I guess.

“Silence!”

“ “ “…” “ “

The students then immediately fell silent. She was amazing, wasn’t she?

“You may not be able to understand it, but Fran’s ability is real, you know? It will be
tomorrow before she can start, so look forward to it”

“Nn”

“Woof!”

“And this is Fran-dono’s follower, Urushi”

“We’ll be in your care”

“Woof woof!”

“ “ “Please treat us well!” “ “

Immediately after Fran’s greeting, the students bowed their heads in unison. They
may still be skeptical, but if they behaved badly here, Inez’s thunder would surely
strike them.
Well, I guess she could read the air. However, Inez seemed to be unhappy at the fact
that her students did not believe her words.

“Fran-dono, can you scare them a little?”

“… Okay”

Perhaps she meant to threaten them with her intimidation skills. But Fran had
chosen a different approach. She was probably worried about the fact that she might
threaten the students with killing intent instead.

“Nn”

What Fran activated without chanting was a technique to create a light ball. The
students’ eyes then focused on the ball of light she created near the ceiling. However,
when the students noticed, Fran’s figure had disappeared from their sight.

Fran’s disappearance then made a commotion among the students.

Knock knock.

A sound then rang out in the back of the classroom, causing all the students to turn
around in panic. What they witnessed was Fran standing quietly at the very back of
the classroom, completely unnoticed. She just stayed there without being noticed
until she hit the wall.

What Fran did was simple. All she did was draw their eyes to the ball of light, make it
disappear, and move fast. But the students must not have known what was going on.

However, the fact that she was able to deceive everyone’s eyes and move in an
instant was enough to show her ability. After all, if this had been a battlefield, there
was no doubt that they would have been cut down without being able to do anything.

Furthermore, the students in the Advanced Class are capable enough to notice the
difficulty of no chanting and blocking presence. There was not a single student who
looked like they would be underestimating her anymore.

“Even you guys must have witnessed a glimpse of Fran’s abilities. So, look forward to
it tomorrow. Shall we go then?”
“Nn”

“Well then, I’m sorry for disrupting the class”

After that, we repeated almost the same exchange about five more times, and the
greeting tour then ended.

But what did her reaction mean in the teacher’s room where we were led to at the
end? Inez seemed to be the leader among the instructors, and it seemed strange that
she was using honorifics with Fran.

Aside from the instructors in charge of mock battles, the teachers in charge of
fundamentals and tactical theory are not that strong, so they couldn’t seem to detect
Fran’s abilities.

And since the Special Battle Class will be coming back tomorrow, she should also
greet them as a transfer student too.