Seirei Gensouki 23 - Vernal Play

Garbage MTL Edition

 [Prologue]

Galarc Kingdom Castle in the early morning.

In the kitchen of the house where Satsuki and his family live.

Ayase Miharu stood there with a dazed look on her face as she stopped
preparing breakfast. What was going through her mind was..,

（What was that dream?）

Yes, I am talking about the dream I had just last night. The dream took
place in a blank space that I don't understand. Miharu was spoken to by
someone.

「You'll have to make a decision sooner or later.」

It was a female voice.

「You have an important, very important decision to make.」

It's just a dream. They are not real events. I understand that there is no point
in thinking about what is in my dreams.

But--,

「I'm . . strongly encourage you to make choices that you think are
absolutely wrong.」

It was a dream, but the memory was strangely vivid.

It was a strangely impressive dream.

Is that why?

（Whose voice was that?）

Miharu is often left wondering who the owner of the voice is.

Looking back on it now-- ,

（I have heard that voice somewhere before...）

I felt like that.

I don't think I knew him. But I felt strangely familiar. It's hard to describe...

And, there--,

「Miharu-oneechan 」

Aki's voice rang out, bringing Miharu's thoughts back to reality.

「Hmm. Good morning, Aki-chan.」

Miharu smiles lovingly at Aki, whom she loves like her own sister.

Until just a few days ago, we lived apart. But now we are able to live
together.

「Yeah, good morning...」

Aki is very happy to exchange morning greetings with Miharu, which

symbolizes the peaceful life she has regained with Miharu. Aki beams
happily, as if she is very happy to exchange morning greetings with Miharu,
which symbolize the peaceful life with Miharu.

「...come.」

Miharu gently smiles and opens her arms as if she hugs him.
「Eh? I'm embarrassed...」

Aki approached Miharu slowly, saying "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm
sorry. Miharu also stepped forward and hugged Aki. Aki surrenders her
whole body to Miharu's warmth. Miharu patted Aki's back like she was
nursing a baby. As Miharu did so, Aki fell into Miharu's arms,

（A... choice.）

In Miharu's mind, the words from her dream suddenly come to mind.

If Miharu has to make an important decision in the future, it will be about

Aki. Miharu does not want to see Aki's sad face again. So, for that reason..,

「...I've got to get my act together.」

Miharu muttered a few words of determination to herself.

「Eh?」

Aki looked up at Miharu. Aki looks up at Miharu's face.

「No, it's nothing.」

Miharu hugged Aki affectionately.

 [Chapter 1] A Trip for Two

It was in the territory of Beltram Kingdom, near the border of Galarc

Kingdom. A few hundred meters away from the fort Celia was visiting.

「Endless Force 《Overload》」

Celia is flying with wings of light sprouting from her back, and Renji is
flying in the sky, held by Reiss,

「Blizzard! 《Durandal》」

They unleashed their big moves on each other.

At the next moment, the cold slash and the hot slash collided with each
other, creating a huge shockwave and scattering light that covered the entire
area of vision.

「Damn...?」

「Kyaah!」

Both Renji and Celia are blown away by the blast and lose their posture in
the air. Their vision is obscured by the light, and they lose not only their
sense of balance, but also their consciousness from the impact.

Under such circumstances--,

（Pull yourself together!）

Celia struggled to stay conscious and turned her head.

The worst thing would be that I would be disabled and fall into the hands of
Reiss or the Duke of Arbor. I have used the holy sword slaying spell
(Deyulandar), which consumes a lot of magic power, with enhanced power,
and I have no more magic power left. In this situation, the best move to
make is--,

（I have to run...）

The only choice was to run away. Celia was not so arrogant as to think that
she could win against two strong men whose strength could not be
measured, even though they were outnumbered.

（Use this momentum...!）

Celia does not resist the force of the blast and tries to get a large distance
from Renji and Reiss by going with the flow. She manages to get her
bearings on the ground, and then manages to control her posture,

「Ugh...」

Celia flaps her wings of light and generously converts the remaining magic
power into propulsion. She accelerates in a straight line toward the border
of the Galactic Kingdom.

（I guess it's unavoidable.）

Reiss also did not force Celia to chase against the blast, but killed the
momentum of the shock wave by moving back in the opposite direction of
Celia. When Celia was pushed back to the fortress where the Duke of Arbor
and his men were waiting, they finally killed the momentum and stopped
her.

Then, Reiss headed back to the hypocenter with Renji in his arms. He
thought that Celia might have escaped from the blast, but that she might be
unconscious or inoperable and lurking in the vicinity.
The air currents in the area are still rough and visibility is still poor due to
the dust, but Reiss's skills are not enough to make him fly. And then..,

「What the hell happened? What happened to her? Did you kill her?」

Renji asked a series of questions while protecting his eyes with his left
hand. The halberd of the divine arms is still held in his right hand.

「I don't know.」

Reiss replies blankly, looking at the hypocenter. And then..,

「What the hell did that woman do?」

Renji seemed to have calmed down somewhat, and this time he asked a
question in a calm voice. It had been only a moment before the two sides
had launched their attacks and collided with each other. He might not have
been able to see what happened at that moment, or he might not have
believed it even if he could see it.

「They have been able to cancel out the attack with a blow almost equal to
that of Renji-san.」

「Really?」

「Yes, I'm sure.」

Reiss does not hesitate to assert.

「...I thought my Endless Force Blizzard was far more powerful than the
finest attack magic in this world?」

Renji asked, trying to stifle his frustration. Reiss had once given his
approval that even several simultaneous shots of the finest offensive magic
specialized for wide area annihilation would not prevent Renji's attack. So
how could Celia have countered the attack?
「It means that there are more powerful offensive magic in the world than
the highest level of offensive magic.」

Reiss replied nonchalantly,

「Don't be silly! That's not even close to the highest level! How can there
be magic that can compete with a blow from the divine arms? This isn't a
story where the setting is hidden in a shitty way, where there is a great
demon king on top of the demon king!」

Renji did not hide his frustration and was furious. The fact that Celia had
unleashed an attack equal to his full strength was a big problem for Renji.

The divine arms should be the most powerful weapon that only the chosen
Hero can possess. If something other than the divine arms exists that has the
same power, the divine arms will not be so special. That is to say, the sense
of specialness of Hero, the bearer of the divine arms, would also be
diminished. This is a problem that directly affects Renji's identity and self-
esteem. But--,

「...hahaha.」

Reiss rolled his eyes unusually and let out an amused laugh.

「Hey, stop it! It's not funny!」

「Excuse me. Renji-san says some really interesting things sometimes. The
highest level of magic means the highest level of magic existing in the
world today. It is said that a long time ago, when the former Heroes existed,
there existed even stronger magic.」

「You think that's the magic she used?」

「Yes. The possibility of a powerful ancient magic item is not completely

zero, but it doesn't look like he was equipped with such a weapon of any
kind.」
「...I don't get it. She could have used magic that shouldn't exist!」

「Yes. I don't understand how she can work such magic.」

「...」

Renji still looks as if he wants to ask something, but he keeps silent for a
moment,

「How long are you going to keep doing this?」

Reiss asked with a fed-up look on his face.

They have already returned to the hypocenter. Reiss was flying around the
area, perhaps looking for Celia. Renji is still in his arms because of his
flight through the air. He does not like to be held by a suspicious man.

「Excuse me. Maybe it's time for Renji-san to learn how to fly on his own.
I'm sure you're in no danger of escaping now.」

The reason for Renji's escape is that Reiss and Renji were not on friendly
terms to begin with.

They met in conflict over Sylvie and Esther, princess sisters of the
Kingdom of Rubia, and Renji was defeated by Lucius, which brings us to
the present.

Naturally, Reiss needed to be cautious of his escape, but Renji is showing a

cooperative attitude, perhaps because he has found that he can train
efficiently under Reiss's guidance. Those who can use the spirit arts of
flight will have a much greater ability to start up, but now, even if Renji is
given such mobility, he may have thought that there is little fear of him
escaping. And now..,

（Of course, I wouldn't be surprised if Renji-san can fly on his own any day
now.）
They thought that they would be able to learn it on their own, and they
would be able to show their gratitude by teaching it to him as a proof of
their trust.

「...hmm.」

Renji sniffs lightly and--,

「Put me down. I'll check the ground. You stay here and search from the
air.」

He gave Reiss a curt instruction, "I'm not going to do it.

「I see. Well, I look forward to working with you.」

Reiss easily lets go. He is flying about 20 meters above the ground. A
human being would normally die in such a position, but now Renji has not
only his physical ability but also his physical strength strengthened by the
effect of his divine arms. Therefore--,

「...」

Renji did not protest, and fell with a mighty thud to the ground.

◇◇◇

When Renji landed at the hypocenter.

（They don't chase you, do they?）

Celia retreated to a point several kilometers away from the fortress and hid
in a blind spot in the woods, staring in the direction from which she had
fled. She was relieved and relieved, but she could not let her guard down
yet because it did not mean that they had given up the search for her. If it
were true, I would like to fly away from the fortress instead of hiding in
such a place, but..,

（《Overload》 and 《Durandal》, the magic power it consumes is

outrageous. (With only your own magic power, you may not be able to
trigger even one shot...）

Celia's magic power was empty at the moment. Technically speaking, Celia
has a spirit stone which Rio gave her, so she can pull magic power from the
spirit stone to activate her magic.

However, it is said that if the magician tries to invoke magic instantly using
the magic of the spirit stone as a fuel, there will be a loss of 20-30% of the
magic power, even if the spirit stone contains 100 magic powers. If the
magician does not want to waste any of the hundred magical powers in the
spirit stone, it is necessary to take time to take the magical power in the
spirit stone into the magician's body.

Unless someone injects new magic into the spirit stone, it will not regain
the magic it lost. Many of the ancient magic that Celia learned when she
regained her memory of Rio and Aishia are not so fuel-efficient. Because of
that, the battle just now consumed a lot of magic power.

（The spirit stone Rio gave me still has magic in it...）

Celia looked at the sky leading to Beltram Kingdom with a determined look
on her face.

（First we have to go back to Amande...) Okay...!）

Then, I took in some magic power from the spirit stone in my hand,

「《Force Wing》」

Celia chanted an ancient flying spell and sprouted wings of light from her
back again, and took off for Amande, which is located beyond the borders
of the Galarc Kingdom.
◇◇◇

Amande, where Liselotte serves as a deputy, is only a few dozen minutes

away if you are in Celia today.

Without any pursuit by Reiss and Renji along the way, Celia arrives safely
at Amande. After landing in a nearby forest, she heads for the city on foot.
The destination is, of course, Liselotte's residence.

Liselotte, who had temporarily left her post as Amande's deputy after the
kidnapping by Saint Erika, has now returned to her post. He has also
resumed his work as the president of Rikka Company, and has started to get
back to his busy schedule.

Such is Liselotte. It is not very desirable to visit a nobleman without an

appointment, and he cannot complain even if he is refused a meeting.

However, the meeting went smoothly, probably because Celia is a dear

friend of Liselotte, and she came to the house alone.

Aria, an old friend of Celia's, is also present as Liselotte's attendant, and

Celia and Liselotte are sitting on the sofa in the parlor, meeting each other.

Celia decided to sketch out the general background.

You have just been in the Beltram Kingdom as Christina's emissary. He was
almost captured by the Duke of Arbor, but he managed to fulfill his mission
and made it to Amande. I would like to report the situation to Christina and
Francois in the capital as soon as possible. And so on. And then--,

「...So, could you please tell Christina-sama at the Galarc Kingdom Castle
that I'm here? I know it's really impolite of me to just barge in and make
such a request, but...」
Celia asked Liselotte to take a message.

However, of course--,

「Uh...」

The story was so sudden that Liselotte was puzzled. Just by listening to the
summary, he had no idea why Celia was now safely in Amande.

No matter how genius a mage Celia may be, she is transparently bound to
be captured if she is surrounded by knights. There are many other things
that are of interest to me,

「...Let me summarize the situation for the time being. Celia-san left the
royal city of Galarc and delivered the letter given by Christina-sama to the
fortress of Beltram where the Duke of Arbor is. She was almost caught, but
she managed to escape. You are on your way back now, aren't you?」

Liselotte checked to make sure the facts were correct, holding her forehead
with her hand.

「Yes.」

「I see...」

Celia nodded her head seriously, but this did not remove the puzzled look
from Liselotte's face. I guess she does not think Celia is the kind of person
who would lie, but it is too far-fetched a story to be accepted as it is. In any
case--,

「...I don't mind if you say so, but Celia-san, are you not going back to the
royal city of Galarc?」

Liselotte preferred to proceed on the assumption that Celia's story was true.

「Yes. I am going back to Beltram Kingdom.」

「...Wouldn't it be better for you to return to the capital of Galarc? Why are
we talking about going back to Beltram again?」

He was saying that he was going back to Beltram Kingdom after having
escaped from Beltram Kingdom with his life. It was natural for him to
parrot the question.

「I want to inform my parents about this situation. Thanks to Christina-

sama's kindness, it should be harder for my father to get his hands on me,
but I don't know what kind of measures the Duke of Arbor will take...」

Celia looked anxious and told us the reason why she was going back to her
parents' house. Well, of course. Even though Christina has announced her
accession to the throne and informed her that she should protest through the
Countess Claire if she has any objection to it, she can't be assured that her
parents can no longer be touched by Christina.

「You're worried about your family?」

「Yes.」

Liselotte also seems to have understood Celia's feelings. It is certainly

worth reporting if you can.

「...Celia-san is a dear friend not only to Aria but also to me. If I could, I
would send a magic ship to take you to Count Claire's territory, but soon
after the fall of Rodania, the ships of the Rikka Company were restricted
from entering the Beltram Kingdom...」

When Restoration was based in Rodania, the two countries could travel
freely. However, since Restoration lost its base in Rodania, the Beltram
Kingdom seems to have tightened its isolation against the Galarc Kingdom.
Currently, except for importing goods to some cities, ships of the Rikka
Company are not allowed to come and go.

Rikka Company's magic ships can be sent to any city where goods are
allowed to arrive, but the cities of Count Claire, where Celia's family home
is located, are not among them. It is reported that even if the ship is sent to a
neighboring city, it is closely monitored to prevent smuggling.

Since a bad move could lead to an international problem, it was risky to

send Celia to the Beltram Kingdom using the Rikka Company's magic ship.

If they were to do so, they should have obtained the approval of not only
the Duke of Chrétier, their lord and father, but also that of Francois, the
king of France.

「Thank you very much. But you don't have to worry about me. I can go
there and come back by myself.」

Celia lightly says that cooperation is not necessary.

「Isn't that a bit reckless?」

Liselotte casually asked Aria, who was waiting in the corner of the room, if
Celia alone could do it. Aria tilted her head doubtfully, as if she was
thinking the same thing as her master.

「I can understand why you would think so. But don't worry. In fact, I have
been able to return from Beltram Kingdom all by myself.」

Celia says in a light tone to show that there is no problem.

「I'm sorry to say...」

It is not that Liselotte does not trust Celia, but she cannot send Celia off to
Beltram Kingdom by herself, saying "Well, it seems to be all right. The
reason is obvious: I am worried. Celia knows this well. So--,

「...Between you and me, I think you can get back to Amande within three
days round trip if you just go there and come back.」

Celia decided to provide Liselotte with some reassurance.

「Three days?」
From Amande to Claire, where Celia's parents live, it would surely take
months to walk. Even by horseback, the time saved would be half at best.
However, Liselotte was surprised to hear that it would take less than three
days to make the round trip. It could be faster than flying with a griffon.

However, this is only on the condition that Celia does not run out of magic
power. Today, Celia was sure that the higher the speed of the flight magic,
the more the magic power would be consumed. It might be difficult for
Celia to generate enough magic power for a one-way trip without spirit
stones, even if she flies slowly.

「Currently, no one but me can handle it, but I've actually learned how to
fly and move magically. That's why I flew directly across the border to
Amande.」

「I thought it was strange that you came back from Beltram and asked for
me out of the blue... but you didn't have anyone with you.」

Amande is located much closer to the border with the Beltram Kingdom in
the Galarc Kingdom. Nevertheless, there are some state-owned forts on the
road from the border to Amande.

If Celia had returned to Galarc Kingdom from Beltram Kingdom, she

should have visited there first, and it was unnatural that she was not
accompanied by her escort when she went there as an official messenger.

「On the way there, the knights arranged by Charlotte-sama drove me to

the border, but the Duke of Arbor requested that no one but me be allowed
to accompany him...」

「And the guards?」

「Actually, they are waiting at the fort near the border. I am sure they have
orders from Charlotte-sama to bring me back to Galarc Kingdom when I
come back to the fort.」
There was a great possibility that Celia would not come back, so they
would wait for a while and if she did not come back, they would return to
the capital, but for now, the guards would still be waiting at the fort.

So if Celia had returned to the fort first and told the guards whom Charlotte
had arranged that she wanted to return to her parents' house in Beltram
Kingdom, she would never have been allowed to do so. Otherwise, he
would have ignored Charlotte's order to bring Celia back to the castle
safely.

As a knight in the service of the kingdom, you are not allowed to violate
orders, nor are you allowed to make arbitrary decisions.

「That's why you came to me.」

Liselotte takes stock of the situation and exhales in annoyance. He has been
looking for information necessary to make a decision, and as he expected,
the situation is complicated.

「I'm sorry for the inconvenience.」

Celia bowed her head, looking very uncomfortable.

「No, as a friend, I am glad that you asked me for help. But if you ask me
that, I will have to take Celia-san to the castle even more, won't I?」

Otherwise, Liselotte might go against Charlotte's wishes. However,

Liselotte is torn between the two because she understands Celia's desire to
convey the information to her parents' house as soon as possible.

Celia is not entrusted by Christina to do anything more than to deliver the

letter to the Duke of Arbor, so she has to tell Christina as soon as possible
that she has achieved her goal. Celia's desire to return to her parents' house
is completely her own decision, and that is why she is relying on Liselotte,

「I know... but can't you do something about that? The Duke of Arbor
could take some kind of action right away. I'm hoping to leave as soon as
possible.」
She must have been aware that she was asking a great deal. Celia bowed her
head apologetically. I wonder...

「I understand. I'll take care of the report to King's Landing. I'll also make
arrangements to explain the situation to the guards at the fort.」

「Thank you!」

「But there is a condition.」

Liselotte raised her index finger at the delighted Celia.

「And you say...?」

「Please take Aria as your escort.」

Liselotte stands and looks at Aria, who is waiting in the room.

「Eh? But...」

Celia's eyes also turned to Aria. She tries to explain why she should not let
Aria accompany her,

「As a friend, I can't send Celia-san out alone, knowing the danger she is
in. Charlotte-sama will be angry with me. So, this is non-negotiable.」

Before Celia could say anything, Liselotte took the lead.

「But, if the other party finds out that Liselotte-san helped us, it could
become an international problem...」

「Therefore, we are going to bring Aria along with us as a minimum

number of staff. Celia-san knows how good Aria is, doesn't she? Aria is a
former noble of Beltram, so she will have any excuse if she is seen.」

「...well, maybe, but Aria is Liselotte-san's sword, and if she's not here, it
might be a problem for her to protect him.」
「There are others who are not as good as Aria, but they are still good. We
just have to make sure that Aria's guard is tight enough for her absence. So,
Aria, please accompany Celia-san and escort her.」

Liselotte ordered Aria to leave before Celia could say anything more.

「Yes, sir.」

Aria shakes her head with a sigh.

「No, Aria, you don't have to protect Liselotte-san.」

Celia hurriedly asked Aria about it.

「My master says so, so I have no choice.」

As if to say, "I don't have the authority to make a decision," Aria replies,
"Oh dear.

「If you are concerned about my security situation, you can understand
why I am worried about Celia-san, can't you?」

「Ugh, yes...」

Celia nodded her head awkwardly when Liselotte hit a sore point.

「Then, please come back soon, okay?」

「I'll take care of it.」

「We are waiting for you. So, is there anything else I can do for you? You
said you can fly by magical means. I can lend you a griffon for
transportation or give you magic crystals...」

Even if they can fly by magical means, it would be difficult for them to
keep flying as long as the magical power that fuels them is finite.
「...thank you. I am indebted to you. May I have some magic crystals? And
a sword for self-defense if possible.」

「Okay. Aria, you can go now and get ready to leave. And prepare some
magic crystals and a sword that Celia-san can handle.」

「Gyoi.」

So Aria went down for a while.

◇◇◇

A few dozen minutes later.

Finally, we are ready to leave.

In the garden of the house, Celia and Aria are departing, and Liselotte,
Cosette, Nathalie, and Chloe are waiting for them.

Aria had changed from her chambermaid's uniform to a light costume

reminiscent of an adventurer's, and on her waist was a magic sword lent by
Liselotte.

「Please take care of things while I'm gone.」

Aria is talking to her subordinates as a maid of honor.

「Yes, yes. I'll take care of this, and you take care of Aria too... but you
don't need to worry about that.」

Cosette, who has a good-natured temperament among the ladies-in-waiting,

replies in a light tone. And then..,

「Yes. I'm more worried about you.」

Serious Natalie blurts out from the side.

「Me? That's the part where you worry about Chloe, who is still a
newcomer.」

「Chloe is very serious. She is still a little rusty in some areas, but she is
very thorough in her reporting, so I can trust her with my work.」

「Oh, thank you...!」

Chloe, who has been offered by Cosette, is bowing her head when she
receives a compliment from Aria, the head handmaiden.

「Anyway, this is a good opportunity. I would like each of you to think

carefully about whether your work will be affected by my absence, whether
there will be any differences from your daily work, and whether there are
any potential problems, and report them in detail in your logbooks.」

「Geez.」

It was Cosette who sounded unladylike, perhaps because she had more
troublesome work to do. Since Aria dared to speak "in detail", it must be
because she thought there was a reason for it. In other words--,

「Please do not be too lazy to simply say, There has been no particular
change or some other vague statement. Of course, it is acceptable for each
member to consult with each other, but please take a good look at the
current work system. Please review the current work system, especially
with regard to the security system of Liselotte-sama.」

I guess that's what it means.

Not long ago, there was the kidnapping of Liselotte. Although they have
already returned to a normal life, they may have thought that they should
not relax.

「...Roger that.」
When the topic of Liselotte's protection came up, the expressions of the
attendants became tense. Celia and Liselotte were also having a
conversation before their departure.

「Are you sure you want me to let Aria come with you?」

Celia asks anxiously. Indeed, even though the range of her activities has
been expanded by her new ability to fly alone, she still feels uneasy to
travel alone. Celia is very glad to have her old friend Aria, who is also a
strong person.

However, if Aria was missing, would there be a hole in Liselotte's work?

Celia was concerned about this.

「Yes. It's rather beneficial to us, so please don't worry about it.」

「Yeah, is that right?」

「...We've got our normal routine back, but sometimes Aria seems a little
too preoccupied these days.」

Perhaps, Liselotte's kidnapping is still lingering in her mind. It may be that

it is tormenting Aria's heart like thorns digging into her skin.

「Then, even more so...」

Wouldn't it be better to keep Aria close to Liselotte? Celia asks Liselotte

with a glance. But..,

「No, please work with me so hard that you forget about me. I want to
show you that we can run without Aria.」

Apparently, Liselotte is hoping to reset Aria's mood by working with her

old friend Celia.

「I'll just go and come back if everything is all right. I'll just go and come
back if everything is all right, but if that's the case, please don't hesitate.
Thank you very much.」

「Yes.」

Celia bows and makes eye contact with Liselotte who nods. Celia nodded
and looked at Liselotte, who nodded at her,

「Hmmm.」

Both of them let out a funny laugh.

「Aria, shall we go?」

Celia calls Aria.

「Yes.」

Aria breaks off her conversation with the maidens and stands next to Celia.

「Oh, I taught you to fly, but you're not afraid of heights, are you? I'll have
to carry you...」

「Yes, no problem. We've done this before...」

Aria responded in a natural manner, but she was at a loss for words.

「Have you ever done anything like this before?」

Celia asks curiously.

「No. I thought I had flown with someone holding me, but I don't
remember that, so it seems strange... déjà vu, perhaps?」

Aria twists her head quizzically.

（I'm talking about Rio.）

Now we know why Celia had a déjà vu with Aria.

「Aria too? I had a feeling too, but... that's weird.」

It seems that Liselotte had a déjà vu. Maybe the memory of being
kidnapped by Saint Erika and rescued by Rio still remained in her mind.
Liselotte wondered if it was a flashback or not.

「You don't remember that time you rode a gryphon or something, do

you?」

Cosette joins the conversation in another curious way, as she has never
flown with Rio in her arms.

「...maybe. I'm sorry to interrupt you.」

Aria could not recall her memories either, and apparently stopped caring
about them immediately.

「Nah.」

Celia shook her head, looking a little sad.

「So, how would you like to be carried? I don't think your muscles are
strong enough to lift me unless you strengthen your physical abilities with
magic...」

Aria looks down at Celia and asks.

「Yes, that's right. Flying while strengthening your physical abilities will
consume a lot of magic energy, so it might be better to hold on to me...
right? The back will release hot magical energy, so be careful not to touch
it.」

「I see... so is this how it's going to be?」

Without any hesitation, Aria approached Celia and hugged her from the
front. It is more appropriate to say that she crouched down and clung to her
waist.
「Yeah, it's good.」

Celia is petite and Aria is slender and model-like. If it had been Celia who
hugged me, it would have been a good look, but if it had been the other way
around--,

「Hmm, hmm. Hmm..., hmm..., hmm.」

Cosette laughs in a funny way. Cosette burst out laughing in a funny way.
However, when Aria looked at her, she deliberately cleared her throat to
cover it up.

「Well, let's try flying and see if there are any problems and make
adjustments.」

「Yes.」

「Okay, let's grow wings. 《Force Wing》」

Celia chants a spell. Immediately after, a magic circle emerges from her
back, and after a short delay, particles of light are released in the shape of
wings. She looks like an angel,

「...well.」

Liselotte and his colleagues all gasped.

「I'm off then. Please contact the royal capital.」

「Yes, yes. Leave it to me.」

Celia spoke to her and Liselotte responded with a huff.

「Okay, let's fly, Aria. It's going pretty fast, so hold on tight to me so you
don't get swept off your feet.」

「Okay.」
Aria hugged Celia's waist more tightly. Immediately after that, Celia's body
softly rises up from the ground. And then--,

「So.」

Celia says a few words to Liselotte and then begins to accelerate and soar
into the sky.

「Wow...」

Liselotte and the others looked up at the shrinking Celia with bated breath.

◇◇◇

On the other hand, we go back in time a little.

Shortly before Celia reached Amande.

Reiss and Renji had returned to the fort where the Duke of Arbor and
Charles were waiting after the search for Celia. Reiss, with Renji in his
arms, descends into the fort,

「Re, Reiss-dono!」

Charles was the first to come running.

「Unfortunately, Celia-Claire seems to have escaped.」

Reiss reports in the same calm voice as in normal times.

Of course, from Reiss' point of view, it is not zero that Celia's body might
have disappeared without a trace due to the explosion caused by the
collision of their attacks. However, he did not go so far as to say so, perhaps
because he thought it was as close to zero as possible.
「Yes, well... No, no, no! What have you done?」

Seemingly relieved, Charles immediately attacked Reiss.

「What do you mean, Oh, my God?」

Reiss tilted his head as if he had no idea what was going on. Just at this
moment, the Duke of Arbor walked up to him.

「If you try to kill a messenger who is trying to leave, the conversation will
get complicated.」

「Oh, you didn't mean to send her home in the first place, did you? You
brought her here to this fort to make a long story short. Am I wrong?」

「That's it...! Now that Christina has declared her accession to the throne,
things have changed again. I'd like to avoid making things worse for us as
much as possible.」

Charles looked at his father, the Duke of Arbor, as if he wanted to prove

that he was right.

「Even so, sir. When they tried to take her into custody, there was no room
for excuse. It was even more necessary to keep her in custody to prevent her
returning to Japan and spreading false rumors. Am I right?」

「But that doesn't mean you can't take your own sweet time on our
territory! How could they launch an attack of that scale so close to our
borders?」

Perhaps because Reiss's rebuttal was plausible, Charles's words were almost
choked up for a moment, and then the point changed. But then--,

「I am sorry about that, but I am sure you would have escaped if you had
not done that. He was flying in the sky with wings of light sprouting from
his back. If I couldn't capture her, I thought it would be the next best thing
to keep her quiet. Even if she is dead, what exactly is the problem?」
Reiss was quick to correct the point whether he should have killed Celia or
not, and whether there was any problem if he did.

「That's...!」

Charles is at a loss for words this time.

「Even though he used to be your fiancée, it doesn't mean that you have
any special feelings for him, does it?」

Reiss's question was a little more insensitive than I would have liked, or
perhaps it was a little too humanistic. That may be why..,

「What the...!」

Regardless of his actual feelings toward Celia, even Charles frowned

uncomfortably.

「I am sorry if I have offended you. But we have already broken the

agreement we made with Restoration. It is not reasonable to start worrying
about appearances now that Princess Christina has declared her accession to
the throne. Am I wrong?」

「...」

Charles is silent with a bitter look on his face. Maybe that's why..,

「The formal accession to the throne will wait for the coronation ceremony,
but you don't approve of it by any chance, do you?」

Reiss looked not at Charles, who was standing in front of him, but at the
Duke of Arbor, who was standing beside him. And then..,

「Of course, I don't approve of the coronation. It's not possible.」

The Duke of Arbor frowns reproachfully and opens his mouth heavily.
「If so, then there is nothing to change in what we do. Do what is necessary
to destroy the Restoration organization. It would be bad in a different way
to have a woman as capable as she is around Princess Christina.」

「Surely, it would have been better to erase it if it could have been erased.
There would be no problem if we could just kill the life of one little girl.」

The Duke of Arbor agrees with Reiss. He said that he agreed with Reiss,

「But, Father! If we tried to kill him and couldn't, it would be too bad for
our appearance. If they hear something that could be used against us, they
might turn on us...」

Charles was foaming at the mouth and objected to his father.

「No one but your ex-fiancee witnessed what happened in this fortress. No
matter what they say, you should firmly respond that it is not true. Facts
mean nothing in politics and diplomacy. Have you been a prisoner of war
for so long that you have forgotten such things?」

The Duke of Arbor rebukes his son, saying that in a war between nations,
the strong man's claim will be treated as fact.

「What the...?」

「The overwhelming majority of the domestic aristocracy is still controlled

by this party. Whatever the fuss is about now, it's just noise. Even if we use
Regalia to proclaim our accession to the throne...」

But the Duke of Arbor gritted his teeth. It was probably because Christina's
declaration of her accession to the throne was still depressing.

Because Christina, the first heir to the throne of Beltram Kingdom, declared
her accession to the throne while occupying the Regalia, and if she wants to
deny the legitimacy of her accession, she has to go through the procedure
prescribed by the national law. Until the legitimacy of the accession can be
denied, Christina must be treated as the legitimate king provisionally. This
is so stated in the supreme law of the land, which cannot be easily changed,
even by the king.

If the Duke of Arbor were to break the rule and forcibly remove Christina
from the throne without following the procedure, he would be stigmatized
as a major sinner who committed an unjustifiable rebellion.

This means that the original king, Philip III, and his daughter, Christina,
who newly proclaimed her accession to the throne. Although the legitimacy
of the accession can be denied by following the procedure, there are now
two kings in the Beltram Kingdom on a temporary basis. Such a two-
headed government is unprecedented in the history of the Beltram
Kingdom,

「Damn them, damn them... no matter how tight they've gotten, they're still
alive by the scruff of their necks.」

It was no wonder that the Duke of Arbor was so worried about the situation.
And then..,

「Indeed. It's as if we're being protected by the gods. It's as if we have a

god on our side who has the power to see everything.」

Reiss says with a sharp look on his face.

「Hmm, God...」

The Duke of Arbor, as if to say that he was not there, reflexively sneered at
him. However, he did not continue his words. Perhaps he was afraid to
make a statement that denies the existence of God, since he is using the
divine authority of the Six Wise Gods to maintain his rule.

「Just to be sure, let me ask you, it is not possible that you cannot deny the
legitimacy of the accession, is it?」

Reiss asks the Duke of Arbor.

「Of course. The three-fourths vote needed to deny the legitimacy of the
accession is held by the nobles belonging to our faction. No one has the
backbone to switch to the muddy ship of Restoration, which has lost its
base and its personnel. There is no way that the Princess Christina will be
crowned queen. This is just a stall.」

The Dukes of Arbor now control more than 90% of the voting nobility.
Although there are some suspicious parties, there is no way that anyone will
take Christina's side under the current situation. If they do, they will not
only be pressured by the Duke of Arbor but also their lives as nobles will be
cut short.

「I am relieved to hear that. However, don't you want to take all possible
precautions? I have an idea...」

Reiss applauds and admires, and tries to make a proposal to the Duke of
Arbor.

「...the Count Claire?」

「That's a good point. The people who are most likely to benefit from this
situation are those of his house. It is obvious that Princess Christina wants
to protect the Countess Claire, and there is no reason for her to stay out of
it.」

Of course, an agreement was made between the Beltram Kingdom and

Restoration to keep the Countess Claire neutral. However, it is completely a
new story now that they attacked Rodania and tried to take Celia into
custody.

If there is a problem, it is that Christina, in declaring her accession to the

throne, again made the Count of Claire her contact point for negotiations, so
it is difficult to touch the Count himself until she can deny the legitimacy of
the accession...

「Since my daughter Celia ran away, I wanted to bring in another family.

The Count is also known for his loving wife. His wife would be a good
target.」

The Duke of Arbor, without being told by Reiss, revealed that he had been
thinking of making a move on the Countess of Claire.

「Well, you seem to be really thorough, so I can rest assured.」

Reiss clapped again, a dry clapping sound.

「The problem is Celia = Claire. I don't know what kind of magic or

enchantment she uses, but if she returns to her parents' house with that kind
of mobility, there is a possibility that she will make the first move.」

「Yes. We should leave for Count Claire's territory right now. If we leave
now with the magic ship, we can arrive there tomorrow morning. Of course,
we will accompany you.」

Reiss looked at Renji, Lucci, and Alain, and naturally offered to accompany
them to Count Claire's estate. Then--,

「...Charles」

The Duke of Arbor stared at Reiss's face as if he were trying to estimate

what he was thinking, and then called out his son's name.

「Yes.」

「You heard what I just said, right? You're to take a detachment to Count
Claire's estate. Seize the Countess and bring her to me. I will return to
King's Landing.」

Of course, they are going to use him as a hostage. The Duke of Arbor
ordered his capture.

「Gyoi.」

「Hurry, even if we move with the magic ship, we may fall behind.」
「Yes.」

「...Or, since Reiss-dono also seems to have been flying somehow, is it

possible for it to get ahead of us?」

Perhaps because he had never heard that Reiss could fly before, the Duke of
Arbor talked to Reiss with an inquiring look in his eyes.

「Yes, that's right. It would be possible for me or Renji-san to go ahead

with you. If you trust me, I would be willing to go ahead of you.」

Reiss did not change his expression and asked me if I would let him go
ahead alone.

「...This is a problem on our territory. For the time being, I would like you
to accompany Charles to the Count's territory. If a battle should break out
there, I would like you to use your strength to the fullest.」

The Duke of Arbor, perhaps not fully trusting Reiss, did not allow him to go
ahead alone to Count Claire's territory.

「I understand. Then, Renji-san and I will accompany you. I will have

these two mercenaries go their separate ways at once.」

Reiss readily agrees and looks at Lucci and Alain.

「Just to be clear, which way do you plan to send them?」

Both Lucci and Alain have their own griffons. The Duke of Arbor asked if
they were worried that something strange might be going on in the country.

「Actually, there is another mercenary who has been sent to check on the
situation in the Galarc Kingdom. I'm going to ask him to meet up with them
and then come to the Claire Count's territory.」

「I see.」
「That's what I'm talking about, Lucci-san, Alain-san. Lucci-san, Alain-
san. You will go to Galarc and then to Count Claire.」

「...yeah.」

Were these unscheduled instructions?

Alain nodded after looking at Lucci.

「Yes, yes, this is for them over there.」

Reiss took out a small bag that could fit in the palm of his hand from his
pocket, and approached Alain and handed it to him. Then, with a smile on
his face, he handed it to Alain,

「We must hurry to the Count's estate, in case we are mistaken.」

Alain takes a glance at the contents through the opening of the sachet. Alain
took a glance at the contents through the opening of the sachet. It contained
a magic crystal, a magic item that they knew well. In other words,
disposable transfer crystals.

「...Roger that.」

Alain, perhaps sensing Reiss's intention, nodded his head with a smile on
his face.

「I'm counting on you.」

Saying so, Reiss patted Alain on the shoulder,

「If she comes first, please turn it off. But please do so in the least
disruptive way possible.」

He whispered so that only Alain could hear him, and turned around without
waiting for an answer. Then he turned his eyes to Charles.

「Well, let's hurry up, Charles-san.」

「...mmm.」

Thus, Reiss and Charles set out for Count Claire's territory in a magic ship.
 [Intermission] Tremors

In the living room of the room that is rented at the Galarc Kingdom Castle.

Liliana sat on the sofa waiting for the visit of the male nobleman who was
the delegate of the Centostella Kingdom.

（I have something important to tell you about Hero-sama.）

Liliana sighs gloomily as she looks out of the window, as if she has a
premonition that she is going to be asked to talk about something not so
good.

Until recently, Hero in Centostella Kingdom used to refer to Takahisa.

However, Masato, Takahisa's younger brother, is now also a Hero. So, it is
certain that the topic is about both Sendou Takahisa and Sendou Masato, or
either of them.

However, what concerns me is that a certain number of days have passed

since the Centostella Kingdom delegation came to Galarc Kingdom. If it is
an important matter, there were many chances to talk about it after they
came to Galarc Kingdom and joined Liliana.

And yet, he has just now come to me with an important matter to discuss.
Since the representative of the delegation is a man who is the Prime
Minister of the Centostella Kingdom, it is hard to believe that such a person
would come up with such an important matter on a simple whim.

If that is the case -- ,

（...I guess he was comparing Masato-sama to Takahisa-sama...）

Liliana guessed right.

It has not yet been decided to which country Masato will belong to, but as
of now, it is a once-in-a-lifetime chance that two Heroes may belong to
either Centostella Kingdom or Galarc Kingdom, whichever one it is.

And, when more than one person holds the same position in an
organization, comparisons are obvious. Even Takahisa has been prone to
some problems in the past. If Masato is a more manageable Hero for the
upper management of Centostella Kingdom than Takahisa, it is quite natural
that they would want to get Masato at any cost.

As the first princess of the Centostella Kingdom, Liliana is obligated to put

the interests of her country first. Of course, she is a smart girl and
understands this. She should keep Masato in her country.

Yes, we know what we have to do. And yet..,

「...」

Liliana's expression as she looked out of the window seemed to have some
kind of doubt in her mind.

「Liliana-sama 」

Someone called Liliana's name.

「Liliana-sama 」

Once again, someone called Liliana's name.

「...Liliana-sama?」

This time, Liliana's name is called out in a tone of voice as if she is worried
about her health. Liliana was finally able to get out of the sea of her
thoughts.
「I'm sorry. I must have been a little hazy.」

Liliana gets up from the sofa and responds to the person who calls to her.
The person standing there is--,

「You look tired.」

He was the Prime Minister of Centostella Kingdom and the representative

of the delegation that came to Galarc Kingdom. His name is Duke Liberto
Toskhana. He looks about 40 years old. Nearby was a girl named Alice,
who was Liliana's escort. She is about the same age as Aki and Latifa.

Anyway, since I had told Alice that she could go straight into the room
when the duke came, she must have led him into the room as she was told.

「I was just thinking. There is nothing to worry about.」

「Is my daughter causing trouble for His Highness again?」

The Duke of Toskhana looked at Alice who had led him to the hotel, and
asked her anxiously. Yes, Alice is the Duke's daughter.

「Dad, Dad? I'm not calling!」

Alice is startled by the strange suspicion and objects to it.

「...Father, I'm sure. And, no, I'm not calling you back.」

「Yes, yes.」

Hearing Alice's stilted reply, the Duke of Toskhana touched his forehead
with a pained expression. And then..,

「Alice...has been good to me, even if she is a bit loose at times. She is my
childhood friend. Alice's presence often makes the atmosphere more
relaxed, so please compliment her.」

Liliana compliments Alice.

「Here...」

Alice smiles triumphantly, but she straightens her posture when her father
gives her a cold stare.

「It seems that the Duke is the one who's having a hard time.」

Liliana points out in a funny way.

「I am sorry. I think I have spoiled him a little too much because he is the
youngest.」

Duke Toskhana sighed with a hint of exhaustion,

「Alice, I have an important talk with Liliana-sama. You stay back. Do not
come in with news unless you have a visitor.」

He quickly pulled himself together and instructed his daughter.

「Yes!」

Alice salutes him and leaves the room.

「Please have a seat.」

「Excuse me.」

At Liliana's urging, the Duke of Toskhana sat down on the sofa opposite.
And..,

「Here you go.」

Fril, Liliana's maid, quickly put tea on the table.

「Frills, you're in the next room.」

「Yes.」
Frill bows and quietly leaves. Liliana and the Duke of Toskhana are the
only two people left in the room,

「So, what's the important story about Hero-sama?」

Liliana spoke directly to the audience.

「His Majesty the King has asked me to give you instructions, or rather, a
message... He asked me to wait and see how things are going and then tell
you, but I thought it was about time.」

「I see. I knew it was from the Father.」

This means that what the Duke of Toskhana is about to say is not a
statement of the Prime Minister, but is synonymous with the words of the
King.

「You knew what to expect. You're good.」

「Is this about..., Masato-sama?」

「Yes. Or Liliana-sama, to be precise.」

「...I repeat, if we are talking about the location of Masato-sama, we cannot

rush to a conclusion as to whether you belong to our country or Galarc, can
we?」

Liliana says as if she is trying to nail him. The king's instructions must
mean that he wanted Masato to do something to him. The first thing that
came to Liliana's mind as a way of urging Masato to do something was to
recruit him to his own country.

「Of course. His Majesty has no objection to that.」

「So, what does Father want me to do?」

「We are not asking you to do anything immediately. We are talking about
the future of the country.」

「For the future of the country, you say. That's a very roundabout way of
putting it.」

Liliana gives a wry smile.

「Please understand that this is something that is difficult to tell you.」

The same was true for the Duke of Toskhana.

「No problem. Please say so.」

「I'm sure you will. Then, let me tell you in no uncertain terms.」

Prompted by Liliana, the Duke of Toskhana finally opened his heavy

mouth.

As a matter of fact..,

「His Majesty is considering Masato-sama for Liliana-sama's betrothed.」

The message from the king, delivered by the duke's mouth, was about
Liliana's fiancée.

「Is that so?」

It takes a few seconds for Liliana to make a response.

「If there are no objections, he said to treat Masato-sama with that intention
from now on.」

「...」

Liliana was silent. She did not nod her head, though she did not object.
「You have an objection, is that it?」

The Duke of Toskhana asked the question as if he could see right through it.
His voice was calm, as if he had expected that Liliana would not nod her
head.

「I have no objection. Since I am not free to marry, it is my duty to marry

whomever you decide. However...」

「Something on your mind?」

「We have several.」

Liliana nodded deeply.

「Here you go.」

Duke Toskhana points his right hand toward Liliana to encourage her to
speak.

「...One reason is the age difference between Masato-sama and myself.

One of the reasons is the difference in age between Masato-sama and
myself.」

First, Liliana mentions the age difference between herself and Masato, but...

「But the age difference is within the range of one hand, isn't it?」

Masato is twelve and Liliana is sixteen.

The age difference is four years.

「I've heard that women four years older than you are are frowned upon.」

「I don't deny that there is such a tendency among male aristocrats, but I
personally don't agree with it. My wife is four years older than me, but I
love her dearly. We have five children. And...」
The Duke of Toskhana spoke passionately about his love for his wife, but
once he broke off, he looked at Liliana who was sitting across from him.

「And?」

「This is about the two of you, but I thought Masato-sama seemed to hate
Liliana-sama.」

「I think the Duke is mistaken.」

Liliana looks slightly wide-eyed, then smiles and tries to play it off lightly.

「Is that so? I have been present at several occasions when His Highness
and Masato-sama were in the same room, and I thought there were words
and actions that suggested that Masato-sama had a certain degree of
affection for His Highness.」

「Then, the duke is mistaken. Masato-sama is a very gentlemanly man.」

「I thought it was not Liliana-sama who was unaware of Masato-sama's

goodwill...」

The Duke of Toskhana tries to fill in the outer moat,

「Doesn't that make me sound like a devil woman?」

Liliana tries to make light of the situation by making a joke.

「Excuse me. Well, I understand your first concern, but I don't think it will
be a problem for your marriage. It depends on Liliana-sama's efforts.」

「...right.」

「So, what other concerns do you have?」

At first, the Duke of Toskhana was reserved to talk with Liliana because of
her position and state of mind, but it seems that he is not a prime minister
by any means. When the conversation turned to the main topic, he turned on
his duty and began to speak without hesitation even to the royal family.

「...I believe that the person to whom I am to be wed is originally called

Takahisa-sama. In fact, I have been treating Takahisa-sama with that
intention until this day. So you are saying that the agreement is null and
void?」

Liliana sighed and asked the duke.

「Yes, you may think so.」

「Now, I would like to explain why I have decided to change my marriage

partner to Masato-sama. There should be an option to marry my sister to
Masato-sama...」

「It is not Liliana-sama who does not know that, is it? Who would be a
suitable marriage partner for Liliana-sama should be considered based on
the royal code of our country.」

Centostella Kingdom is a closed state with a strong old-fashioned structure

within the Strahl region. Therefore, there is a difference in status between
Liliana, the first princess, and her sister. And this difference also applies to
their marriage partners. Briefly, there is a difference between Liliana's
marriage partner and her sister's marriage partner in terms of their future
treatment in the kingdom.

Therefore, the marriage partner of the sister should not be more important
than Liliana. A better match for Liliana should be given to her. That is what
Prince Toskhana is trying to say. And that's the point,

「...His Majesty has given up on Takahisa-sama. Or does he want to favor

Masato-sama over Takahisa-sama?」

This leads to the conclusion that

「I have not given up on him. As long as Takahisa-sama is a Hero, he is
still an important person for our country. However...」

「Yes?」

「Takahisa-sama likes a girl named Miharu, not Liliana-sama, right? Even

now, he goes to the mansion where the girl is, day after day.」

The Duke of Toskhana pointed out quite bluntly.

「...yeah.」

Liliana nods her head and looks a little sad.

「If so, we should choose a more likely candidate for Liliana-sama's

marriage. In this situation, Masato-sama is a suitable candidate for Liliana-
sama's marriage. If Takahisa-sama's preference is toward Liliana-sama,
there is room to change the situation.」

The Duke of Toskhana has probably already decided that this is unlikely.

Rather than--,

「Yes, I guess.」

Even the intelligent Liliana should have understood such a thing.

Nevertheless, Liliana's nodding motion is slow. And then..,

「And, well, you know...」

The Duke of Toskhana looked at Liliana's face as if he understood her

feelings and tried to add something.

「No need to be reserved or concerned.」

The duke says nothing, so Liliana urges him to continue.

「I am sorry to say this, but I think that Takahisa-sama's emotion is a little
unstable. It seems to me that his anti-war ideology is too strong, and I think
that he has a better sense of balance in this area, or perhaps he has more of
aptitude to lead the country...」

「...Masato-sama, I see.」

「Yes. Well, I can understand why you are emotionally unstable, and I'm
sure you can improve your anti-war ideology by learning more about it...」

Takahisa will not return as a potential fiancée of Liliana, at least not without
such improvements. The Duke of Toskhana told her so in his own words.

「...Okay.」

Liliana still nodded hesitantly.

「Is there anything else?」

「I will marry Masato-sama. If that is Father's or His Majesty's idea, I will

try my best to make Masato-sama happy. However, it may cause Masato-
sama's displeasure in some cases.」

「And you say?」

「Until this day, I have been a caretaker of Takahisa-sama. I wonder what

will happen if I blatantly switch to Masato-sama just because he has
become Hero...」

Liliana's face clouded over with a guilty look, as if she thought it was too
convenient.

「...His Majesty was also concerned about that. Therefore, I have asked
that you should always be ready to marry Masato-sama, and that you should
make any changes gradually, and that Liliana-sama should make it work at
her own discretion.」
「...you say that so simply.」

Liliana gives a weary look of self-mockery.

No wonder. The instruction to stay in the marriage is equivalent to saying

that we are to love him.

Until a few days ago, she was going to marry Takahisa and was going to
love Takahisa. For Liliana, who has no freedom of marriage, it can be said
that Takahisa was her first love.

But we are not so dexterous as to be able to change our mind and love
Masato immediately.

But still..,

「I understand that your feelings may not be able to keep up, but it is for
the sake of your country.」

Liliana-Centostella is royalty. They are born to sacrifice themselves for

their country.

「I am aware of that.」

Liliana nodded her head with a guilty look, whether to Masato or Takahisa.
 [Chapter 2] At Galarc Kingdom Castle

The morning of the day Celia went alone to Beltram Kingdom.

Galarc Kingdom at the castle training grounds.

Four Heros were gathered in one place: Emperor Satsuki, Sendou Masato,
Sakata Hiroaki, and Sendou Takahisa. Gouki and Kayoko were standing
near the four Heroes, and they were facing each other.

Apparently, they were about to start something. Christina and Liliana were
at a distance, and King Francois, Duke of Huguenot, and a few other
royalty and nobles were watching. Kouta and Rei were also there, probably
because they are Hiroaki's assistants.

「As you may have already heard, I have been officially appointed as a
martial arts instructor for Katsuki-dono and Masato-dono. So I thought it
would be a good idea to invite the other two to join us.」

He must have talked directly to Katsuki and Masato who live in the house
with him. Gouki explained the background to Hiroaki and Takahisa, who
are not housemates. And then..,

「Since you are here, can I assume that each of you has the will to become
stronger?」

I look at Hiroaki and Takahisa and ask them, "What are you doing?

「...uh, well, I want to be strong, that's for sure. But I'm not going to ask
someone weaker than me to teach me a lesson, am I?」
Hiroaki asked him if he could be Hero's instructor in martial arts.

「...I think Gouki-san is much stronger than you. I don't think the four
Heroes present here could beat him.」

Satsuki looks at Hiroaki with a strong sense of dismay. Satsuki and Masato
had played against each other many times while they lived together in the
mansion, but they had never won.

「An? Hey, that's a bit much, don't you think? Maybe he was just trying to
play on the air?」

Hiroaki is doubtful, as if in doubt.

「Ha-ha-ha, your suspicion is well founded. Then, seeing is believing.

Shall we have a meeting to see if I can be your instructor?」

Gouki asks Hiroaki for a handshake. Then..,

「Hou...」

The distrustful atmosphere that Hiroaki had been exuding instantly

disappeared, and instead, a sense of caution was revealed. The reason for
this is..,

（I know this old man is strong.）

He is probably aware that Gouki is probably stronger than he is, and that he
might lose if he fights with him.

Regardless of the extent to which he is aware of it, Hiroaki has so far

maintained a bullish attitude only in a safe situation in which he believes
that his position is superior or that he has a good chance of winning. This is
mainly due to his simple vanity, but it may also be because of his fear of
losing or being underestimated by others. In a sense, it is the reverse of
prudence.
But now Hiroaki knows defeat. In Rodania, he experienced the greatest
humiliation against a boy named Renji Kikuchi, who is also a Hero. He still
does not want to lose or be underestimated, and that is why he does not
change his tough attitude on the surface,

「Let's do it. Let's do it.」

Hiroaki accepted the meeting with Gouki. In the past, Hiroaki might have
been more aggressive or more talkative in the situation where he was afraid
of losing. However, Hiroaki did not say anything more and his expression
was tense.

「Superimposed. Okay, Kayoko. Judge.」

Gouki's mouth is slightly pursed, as if he can see into Hiroaki's mind.

「Yes.」

Then Gouki and Hiroaki moved to the center of the training area. Only
Kayoko followed them as a referee, while Satsuki and the others moved to
the edge to watch the game.

「Hiroaki-dono handles divine arms, Yamata-no-Orochi...is it? I was a little

interested in it. It is similar to a certain Kamaitachi.」

Gouki then pulls out his beloved sword "Kamaitachi" from the sheath at his
waist, which was made for him by Dominic the Elder Dwarf.

「I've always been interested in what he's got. It's the sword of the world.
Kamaitachi is such an exaggerated name.」

Hiroaki also grabbed a sword of divine arms, Yamata-no-Orochi, which

materialized out of nowhere.

（Let's see how my fighting style looks like from the perspective of this old
man who wields a weapon similar to a Japanese sword.）
Until now, Hiroaki has never had anyone teach him how to fight. Partly
because he did not want to take someone else's place as his apprentice, but
also because the sword is not a weapon in the Strahl region. He thought that
there was no way he could be taught how to fight with a sword by the
knights who used Western-style swords.

But now that he has lost to Renji and is looking for strength, Gouki, a
warrior who has long handled the sword as a weapon in the Yagumo region,
is the perfect person for Hiroaki to learn how to fight.

「The use of techniques other than body strengthening is forbidden. Let's

decide who wins by using only each other's swordsmanship.」

「Fine.」

Hiroaki was unusually motivated.

「Then, if it's all right with both of you, we'll get started.」

「Mm-hmm. Yeah.」

Both of them kept their distance from each other, and both of them held
their swords in the middle position. Gouki's stance and center of gravity
reminded me of a large tree, while Hiroaki's stance seemed as unreliable as
a branch stuck in the ground. Anyway--,

「Begin!」

Kayoko declared, and Gouki and Hiroaki started to play.

「Hey!」

First, Hiroaki tried to rush toward Gouki in a straight line. But..,

「What?」

Gouki was also closing the gap to take the lead, and Hiroaki stopped his
footsteps. Then Gouki stopped too, and they faced each other at a distance
of a few meters.

「I like your boldness in making your first move to frustrate a certain

player, but it was obvious to me. I didn't expect a certain person to rush into
the game, and thus I was beaten at my own game. It is not good to stop just
because it is unexpected.」

Gouki gave Hiroaki some criticisms at the beginning of the session.

「Hey, you're the one who's stopping, aren't you!」

Hiroaki is pissed off and refutes it.

「Ha-ha, this is a pain. Let's see...」

As soon as he said that, Gouki made a move. But--,

「...whoa!」

Hiroaki's reaction is delayed. He had been keeping his eyes on Gouki the
whole time, but he did not see that Gouki had started to move. He found
himself right in front of Gouki. Hiroaki hurriedly readies his sword to
defend himself, but..,

「Ggh...」

Gouki's sword easily caught Hiroaki's sword and thrust the tip of the sword
at his throat. The hand-to-hand combat was over, but Gouki quickly drew
his sword and fell back,

「It would be a shame if this is the end. Let's continue a little longer. We
will not attack you, so you may attack us.」

Hiroaki is invited.

「...Lick me! Fuck!」

Hiroaki again rushed at Gouki and swung his sword at him. Gouki,
however, did not even need to draw his own sword, but just moved lightly
and escaped out of the gap.

「If you are afraid of being attacked, don't be shy.」

「You've got some balls, man!」

Hiroaki's fighting spirit was further inflamed. From there, Gouki was on the
defensive and Hiroaki was on the offensive for a long time. Gouki
continues to avoid Hiroaki's sword, while Gouki is able to see and avoid
Hiroaki's sword,

「Hmm.」

And then, I say...,

「I see. I see.」

He was observing Hiroaki's movements, saying such things as "I'm not sure
if this is a good idea, but I'm not sure.

「Ha, ha...」

Eventually, Hiroaki's breathing becomes a little unsteady and he stops.

（It's a splendid sword of my own style, but it's shapeless. ) It's a waste.
This is worth teaching.）

Gouki evaluated Hiroaki with a happy smile on his mouth.

（This old man really knows what I'm going to do. (This guy really knows
what I'm going to do when I'm about to swing a sword.）

Hiroaki looked at Gouki impatiently, as if he had realized that there was a

bigger gap between the two players' abilities than he had expected. Then--,
「He is still very bold. I can see that he is using his head to hit the target.
However, there is a lot of wastefulness in his movements. The length of the
sword is such that it is supposed to be wielded with both hands. You should
consider that if you just swing it carelessly, you will be easily detected by
the sword's line of attack.」

Gouki stands still and tells Hiroaki for additional critique.

（Damn, if they can read my moves!）

Hiroaki was thinking of a countermeasure against Gouki while pretending

to control his breathing. After a while, he came up with a strange idea. If
Gouki could read our moves, we should make a gap between us at a speed
that Gouki could not deal with even if he could read our moves. He thought
so, and ran into Gouki with the fastest speed of the day.
「Oh...」

--Will it be even faster?

Gouki's eyes were wide open. However, despite the surprise in his eyes,
Gouki's body was moving calmly. He steps forward and swings the sword
in his hand. The next moment..,

「What the...?」

The sword of the divine arms in Hiroaki's hand was flicked off and flew
through the air. As the sword pierced the ground, it turned into a particle of
light and disappeared, just like a spirit transforming into a spiritual body.

「...」

Hiroaki did not even notice that the sword had been pulled out of his hand,
and he was posing as if he had finished swinging the sword. However, he
soon felt a sense of discomfort, and stood there in a daze as he realized that
the sword was missing from his hand. Soon after..,

「...seriously?」

Hiroaki's mouth broke into a grin as if to say, "Wow! His eyes are glued to
his hands that have lost Yamata-no-Orochi.

「As I thought, there is a lot of wasteful movement. Even if Hiroaki-dono

had moved twice as fast as he did, he would have been able to handle the
current assault, wouldn't he?」

Gouki talks to Hiroaki aloofly in the same tone as before.

「Oh, yeah.」

Hiroaki scratched his head with his swordless right hand.

「Do you still want to continue?」

Gouki asks, "What do you mean?

「No, I lost.」

Hiroaki admitted his defeat with a clean slate.

「Well. So you think it's okay for a certain person to be in charge?」

「Yes, I admit it. You'll be my instructor in martial arts. You, well, I'll call
you boss, if that's what you want.」

「Ha-ha-ha, call me what you like.」

Gouki laughed loudly with amusement.

◇◇◇

Satsuki, Masato, and Takahisa approached me after the handoff. I guess

they have some idea of the result since they have been watching the game,

「How was it?」

Satsuki asks Gouki.

「We were successfully approved.」

Gouki nodded emphatically.

「I see. Then, is it officially decided that Gouki-san will be the instructor

for the four of us here?」

Satsuki's gaze turns to Takahisa.

Rather, Masato and Hiroaki also looked at Takahisa.

Takahisa has a strong aversion to war and killing. Not long ago, he had an
argument with three other Heroes. I guess they are not sure why he is here,
trying to learn the art of fighting. And then..,

「Takahisa-dono, are you also okay with this? When I take over as your
instructor, I intend to teach you how to fight and how to be prepared for
actual battles. That is to say, the techniques to kill people.」

Gouki made a comment as if he was going to light a firewood and asked

Takahisa about it.

「I'm...」

Takahisa opens his mouth to say something, but the words do not follow.

「That's what I was wondering too. I'm against war and killing people. I
thought your stance was that it's stupid to pick up a tool to fight to avoid
fighting.」

Why are you here?

Hiroaki asked Takahisa with a hint of disgust.

「...」

Takahisa frowns.

「Hiroaki-san, let's listen to Takahisa-kun's opinion first, instead of making

a sudden decision and making things worse. He may have changed his mind
since then.」

Satsuki senses that the atmosphere is getting worse and gently calms down
Hiroaki.

「Hey, it's the class president! Isn't he the one who makes things worse? I
just don't want him to get in the way of what I need to learn because he's
against the war. I don't want my training to be delayed.」
「Well, I understand that, but... if you are so judgmental and quarrelsome
from the beginning, Takahisa-kun might not be able to express his opinion
honestly.」

I guess that is one of the reasons for Satsuki's attractiveness. People's

thoughts change, and he is willing to listen to what they have to say at each
moment. On the other hand, Hiroaki may tend to make preconceptions
about others once he has made up his mind about them.

I guess there is no right or wrong. There are cases where a problem can be
solved by maintaining a dialog, and there are other cases where the problem
is complicated. There may be situations in which the problem cannot be
solved without acting on the basis of a judgment. In any case, people tend
to believe what they want to believe.

And now, there is no one who can know which is the right stance to take
with Takahisa. If anyone can, it would be God.

「Then, even if you don't want to kill people, you have to be able to think
that if there are barbaric assholes who then try to violate you, you have to
fight them off, even if it takes a lot of force, right? Otherwise, you should
leave now.」

Hiroaki puts his demands to Takahisa. Then--,

「Please stop it. I'm only here at Lily's request. If you're in my way, I'll
leave.」

Takahisa said bitterly and left quickly.

「Oh...」

Satsuki reached out his hand to say something to Hiroaki, but he stopped. If
Takahisa's thoughts had not changed at all, as Hiroaki said, there was no
point in staying here.

「Look at me. I haven't changed my mind.」

I'm happy, Hiroaki says with a snort.

「...」

Masato seems to be keeping his brother completely out of this matter, or he

is not even trying to keep Takahisa in his sights.

「Already.」

As a senior, he is probably wondering if there is anything he can do to help

the brothers get along better. Satsuki sighs helplessly.

「Well, don't chase the one who leaves. We can't force them. We'll practice
on our own. It's a good time to vent our frustration. It would be good for us
to know each other's abilities and have a sense of competition.」

Gouki clapped his hands to make them change their minds. So now,
Satsuki, Masato, and Hiroaki are going to have a handshake.

◇◇◇

Takahisa leaves the training ground alone,

「Takahisa-sama 」

Liliana picked up the hem of her dress and ran to me.

「Lily... sorry, I guess I'm not going to be there after all.」

Takahisa looked away guiltily, probably because he was not going to

participate in the training. He then apologized in an embarrassed manner.

「No, I am sorry for making such a request. Thank you very much for
listening to my request.」
Liliana also smiled fragilely and apologized apologetically. Yes, Takahisa
was there because Liliana asked him to join the meeting. Takahisa had
refused at first, but Liliana asked him unusually more strongly than usual,
so he decided to join the meeting at least. However, the result is as follows.

「No, well... it's okay, don't worry about it. I'm thinking of going to
Miharu's place, if Lily wants to join me.」

Takahisa scratched his cheek awkwardly and changed the subject. He may
have wanted to change the subject, but it would be more accurate to say that
he wanted to go see Miharu.

Miharu and his group have not come to this training site because the royalty
and nobles have also come to observe the training. They would like Liliana
to come with them because it is difficult for her to visit them by herself.
But..,

「I am sorry. Masato-sama is going to participate in the training, and I think

I will stay here.」

Liliana turned down Takahisa's invitation as she watched Masato who was
just starting to play with Hiroaki in the arena.

「Uh... oh, I see.」

Did he think that Liliana would agree to it? Takahisa's words and actions
reveal his confusion. Liliana, who has a great insight, would have naturally
seen through this kind of thing, but...,

「Why don't you visit me alone if you like? When Masato-sama leaves, I
will follow him.」

Liliana suggested.

As a matter of fact..,

「No, I'm going to visit with you. I'll go with you when you're done.」
Apparently, he did not dare to visit Miharu's house alone. Takahisa seemed
to have an alternative solution. If Miharu had come to the training site and
observed the training, he might have been able to talk to Miharu. However,
due to his past mistakes, he might have felt more awkward to visit Miharu's
house alone.

「...Okay.」

Did Liliana make the earlier proposal in anticipation of Takahisa's

response? No one knew the answer except Liliana herself.

◇◇◇

In a corner of the training area, Charlotte, the second princess of the Galarc
Kingdom, and Christina, the first princess of the Beltram Kingdom, were
sitting side by side. Until a few minutes ago, Liliana was also there, and the
three princesses were standing side by side, but now she is talking to
Takahisa.

Flora is sitting a short distance away with Roana. There are no other royalty
or nobles around, so the conversation between Charlotte and Christina is
unlikely to be overheard. Then, as they watch the Heros in the training hall,
Flora and Christina are sitting in the corner with Roana,

「Christina-sama. No, Christina. Should I call you Her Majesty the

Queen?」

Suddenly, Charlotte approached Christina.

「I'm still a princess. I won't be named queen until after the coronation.」

Christina answers with a wry smile.

「I am sad that we will no longer be the same princess, but I sincerely hope
that Christina-sama's reign will be a glorious one. I will make a formal
congratulation speech later, but I would like to offer my congratulations.」

「Thank you.」

Christina smiles and thanks me, but seems to have a melancholy shade to
her. The reason for this is..,

「Are you still concerned about Celia-sama?」

Charlotte guesses. Yes, Christina is now sending Celia alone to the Duke of
Arbor as an emissary from Restoration to the home government of Beltram
Kingdom.

「...yes.」

Christina nodded without hiding.

「Don't worry. Celia-sama will be back.」

Charlotte says without the slightest hesitation. She does not say this lightly.
Her eyes show her strong will to believe in Celia.

「...you are strong, Charlotte-sama.」

Christina looked at Charlotte's profile blindingly and then expressed her

feelings of longing.

「No, it is probably due to the difference in relationship. From Christina-

sama's point of view, Celia-sama may still be a superior mentor, but from
my point of view, she is an equal friend.」

「I see...」

「I made you a promise. I'll come back safely. So please trust Christina-
sama too. Celia-sama will come back safely.」
He did not say, "That is the duty of a superior," but he did say it,

「...yes.」

Perhaps encouraged by Charlotte, Christina nodded her head slowly.

「Besides, when Celia-sama returns, she will probably get in trouble with
the others for leaving without telling them. At that time, I will have to tell
them what is and isn't true and embarrass them a lot.」

「Please, don't be too hard on yourself.」

Seeing Charlotte's mischievous little devilish smile, Christina's dimples

peek out from her mouth as if she were troubled.

◇◇◇

After an hour.

After the meeting, Katsuki and his team moved to the observation space.

「Whew, I'm tired, I'm tired.」

Since it was the first day of the event, there were many visitors, and we
finished the day early, but everyone seemed to have worked up a good
sweat and looked quite refreshed.

「Thanks for your hard work, Hiroaki-san.」

「Oh.」

Hiroaki raises his right hand to meet Rei and Kouta who come out to meet
him. On the other hand--,
「Oh, you're still here?」

Masato found Takahisa with Liliana and called to him surprisingly.

「Yeah, well... I was worried about Masato too.」

Takahisa replies, looking away from Masato.

「Hmmm.」

Masato gave a curt nod of the head. He looked a little embarrassed, as if he

was happy that Masato was concerned about him, even though they
sometimes have conflicting opinions. And then..,

「Thank you for your hard work, Masato-sama. Please, have a drink.」

Liliana put the cold drinks on the tray and handed them to Masato.

「Whoa, thank you, Princess Liliana!」

Masato, perhaps surprised at the fact that the princess personally brought
him a drink, took a glass from the tray with a polite hand. However, he
could not resist his thirst. He gulped the glass down with a gulp and drank it
vigorously,

「Oh, he's coming back to life!」

I sound like a man who has had a drink after taking a bath.

「You smell like an old man, Masato-kun.」

Satsuki giggles at Masato and--,

「Satsuki-sama is also available, please enjoy.」

Charlotte brought drinks to Satsuki, as did Liliana.

「Thank you, Char-chan.」

「Gouki-sama and Kayoko-sama. We have prepared them for you.」

「Oh, I'm so sorry.」

「Thank you.」

Gouki and Kayoko also thanked and accepted drinks from Charlotte's
attendants.

「Hey, hey, don't you guys have at least one cold drink ready?」

「No, well...」

Hiroaki looks at the empty-handed aide duo of Rei and Kouta and sighs
wistfully at the thoughtlessness of the pair. And then--,

「Please, Hiroaki-sama.」

Roana came over and offered Hiroaki a tray of cold drinks.

「Phew, that's Roana for you. Thanks a lot.」

「You see, that's the thing. I didn't think it would be nice to get a drink for
us poor saps, so I left it to Roana-san.」

Rei quickly explains from Hiroaki's side.

「Well, let's leave it at that.」

Hiroaki smiled and sipped his drink. Then..,

「Mr. Sakata.」

Satsuki calls out to Hiroaki as if he had just remembered him.

「An?」
Hiroaki must not have expected to be approached by Katsuki after the
training was over, even though he had nothing special to say to her. Hiroaki
replies doubtfully.

「We are having a dinner party with Princess Christina and Princess Flora
tonight, would you like to join us, Hiroaki-san?」

「Ah?」

Hiroaki looked at Katsuki quizzically.

「What are you looking at me like that? I was just thinking that the three of
us are going to receive instructions from Gouki-san, and that we should
have a get-together. Since we are here, I thought it would be a good idea to
have Roana-san, as well as Mr. Saiki and Murakumo, with us.」

Satsuki tells the direction in which he approached Hiroaki.

「Get-together, hey. Uh...」

I don't really feel like it, and I don't care. Hiroaki is about to say something,
but then--,

「Hey, Hiroaki-san.」

Rei tugged on Hiroaki's arm.

「Oh, hey, what's up, Rei?」

「Now, you were going to say no, weren't you?」

Turning his back to Satsuki, Rei talks quietly.

「Yeah, yeah, well...」

「Idiot. Hiroaki-san's idiot.」

「An, what, Rei? You want to go?」

「I want to go there! It's a rumor that Satsuki-san and his friends live in a
mansion where all the residents are beautiful girls. I haven't seen Sara-san,
Orphia-san, and Alma-chan in a while... but I have to thank them. Princess
Christina and Princess Flora are coming too, right?」

Rei made a passionate appeal to Hiroaki.

Roana and Kouta, who were standing nearby, could overhear the
conversation. Christina and Flora, who were talking with other royalty and
nobles at a little distance from us, also noticed that their names were
mentioned and tilted their heads, wondering what was going on.

「...No, you have a fiancée named Rosa, don't you?」

Hiroaki gives Rei a look of dismay.

「That's it, that's it! You want to play! I'm only 17.」

I'm engaged. But I'm 17. I want to have fun. Rei presented a broken
syllogism as if his age of seventeen was justified.

「Oh, well, thanks...」

Hiroaki's reaction is subtle,

「That's not like Hiroaki-san. That's not like him at all. I want to see
Hiroaki-san in a groove. Didn't he used to hold tea parties with his
daughters and have fun with them?」

Rei bites back.

「Yeah, but...」

Indeed, it was strange. Hiroaki used to be a person who would have actively
participated in the meetings where beautiful girls gathered, and would have
tried to play the leading role in such meetings. Hiroaki himself seems to be
somewhat aware of it, perhaps because he looks back on it objectively later.

（I'm not interested in women with boyfriends.）

Hiroaki thinks about the reason for his reluctance. However, he has never
heard that Katsuki and her friends have a fiancé. At least, as far as Hiroaki
knows, all the residents of the mansion should be free. This is the reason
why Rei is so eager to get married.

Then, Hiroaki pondered for a few seconds, and suddenly looked at Satsuki-
-,

（Ah, it's because of the nagging Satsuki.）

I concluded. When Hiroaki and I make eye contact--,

「What is it? Are you going to attend or not?」

Satsuki tilts his head and looks impatiently for a reply.

「Hold on a second. I'll decide now.」

「I'll be glad if you decide as soon as possible.」

Satsuki responded with a tight smile. It seems that Hiroaki's words had
annoyed him, but he seemed to have put up with them. Then Roana bowed
her head apologetically.

（Why is such a good girl devoted to such a man?）

Satsuki sighed as if he did not understand and shook his head sadly.

「Look, we shouldn't keep Satsuki-san waiting, so let's reply by attending

the meeting.」

「I don't think the kids in that mansion will take you anyway.」
Kouta mutters to Rei who urges Hiroaki to attend the meeting.

「Shut up, just because you and Mikaela-chan seem to be going out lately.
Shut your mouth.」

Incidentally, Mikaela is a friend of Rosa, Rei's fiancée, and a girl born to a

low class noble family in Beltram Kingdom.

「No, no, it's not like that.」

「What? Hey, I didn't hear that, Kouta.」

「No, that's not why I'm telling you...」

「Listen, Hiroaki-san, he's a cowardly waiter...」

The three men get off on a tangent, and the conversation gets sidetracked,

「Um, Hiroaki-sama.」

Roana couldn't help but call out Hiroaki's name.

「Hmm, what is it?」

「Well, it would be rude to keep Satsuki-sama waiting forever, so I'll have

to get back to you as soon as possible...」

「Uh, let's go then. Hey, Satsuki, everyone here is present.」

Hiroaki finally answers, "I don't have plans anyway. Hiroaki then
announces his intention to attend the meeting to the waiting Satsuki.

「Okay, okay. I'll see you later.」

Satsuki waved his hands in the air and turned on his heel.

「Yes! Good!」
Rei clenches his right fist and strikes a full-fledged gut-pose,

「If you get too carried away, I'll tell Rosa later, won't I?」

Roana muttered to Rei with a cold look in her eyes.

「No, of course not, Roana-san...」

Rei instantly fell down weakly. Takahisa, on the other hand, was watching
the exchange between the three boys and the duchess. And then..,

「So there's some sort of dinner party tonight?」

Takahisa asked Masato and Liliana, who were chatting together, a question.

「Oh, by the way, I didn't tell you about that.」

「Oh, why don't you come if you want to?」

Both Masato and Liliana had already heard about the reception, or
apparently they had already decided to attend it.

（You had time to talk to me before you came to the training site, you
should have told me earlier...）

Takahisa, however, felt a little left out,

「Yeah, I'm in.」

There is no reason to refuse. Rather, he would like to participate. I nodded

my head in agreement.

「Well, I think it might be a good idea to go back to my room and change

my clothes.」

Takahisa is now wearing a thick close-armor for the training. Liliana

suggested that he should change into a more comfortable uniform.
「Yeah, I guess so. Okay, then...」

Takahisa tries to ask her to go back to the castle with him,

「Yes, I'll see you later. I'll go with Masato-sama to the residence first.」

Takahisa-sama will come later, Liliana said.

「Uh... uh, yeah.」

Takahisa nodded his head like a pigeon that has been hit by a peashooter.
Perhaps, Liliana's preference to work with someone other than herself was
unexpected.

「Well, shall we go, Princess Liliana?」

Masato's eyes widened slightly, perhaps a little surprised that Liliana left
Takahisa alone. However, he thought it was a good medicine for his brother
and went with the flow.

「Yes, Masato-sama.」

Then, Liliana and Masato walk side by side as if it were a matter of course.
Before, Takahisa was at Masato's position. No, Liliana was next to
Takahisa. And then..,

（How did you...?）

Are you standing next to Masato, not me?

Liliana may not have any particular intention. It may be that Liliana does
not have any particular intention, and that it is not something to be
concerned about.

But for some reason, I felt isolated, as if I had been despised... I didn't want
to let go, but I felt lost... I felt frustrated, as if I were falling from a great
height... --,
「...」

Takahisa continued to watch their backs in amazement.

◇◇◇

And that evening.

The house where Satsuki and his friends live was filled with many guests.
The reception was a standing style, with many dishes lined up on the tables
in the dining room. Of course, if you are tired of standing and talking, you
can sit down.

「Hey, Masato, next time I won't lose.」

「Heh, I hope so. I want to beat Satsuki-neechan next time, too.」

「Damn it. Damn, I never thought I'd lose to this woman...」

「It's chemistry, chemistry. My divine arms are long and I've been learning
naginata for a long time.」

These are the conversations among Hiroaki, Masato, and Satsuki who
participated in the training. As can be seen from the conversations among
the three players, Satsuki won against Masato and Hiroaki, Masato won
against Hiroaki, and Hiroaki was defeated by both Masato and Satsuki.

They wielded their divine arms, and although there were some poor
moments when they were too inexperienced to attack each other, they were
able to grasp each other's current abilities. This seemed to have led to a
good sense of rivalry between Hiroaki and Masato. On the other hand--,

「...」
Despite being a Hero, Takahisa, who did not participate in the training, is
unable to join in the conversation. He can only watch the other Heroes and
feels awkwardly excluded.

「Why don't you participate in the training as well, Takahisa-sama? We can

have something in common.」

Liliana, perhaps out of concern, made a suggestion to Takahisa from next

door.

「No, I'm... fine.」

Takahisa shakes his head as if he is chewing a bitter bug, as if he is not

going to change his mind. On the other hand..,

「Hey, shut up, Rei.」

「Wait, wait, wait, please wait, Hiroaki-san.」

Rei made some kind of a joke about Hiroaki and got a headlock on him. He
tapped his head and complained that he was going to give up.

「Ha-ha-ha, interesting, Hiroaki-niichan.」

Masato laughed funny.

「Aww, is everything okay?」

Flora is worried about Rei. From her royal upbringing, this must be a very
exciting scene. In fact, such an act between nobles could lead to a family
conflict.

「Don't worry. Boys at that age are like that. It's a common sight in the
schools of the world we went to.」

Satsuki, perhaps remembering the childish boys of his age, says, "Oh, dear.

「Is that so?」

「Yes, I haven't seen it in this world for a long time, so I guess I missed
it.」

Satsuki smiled funny, perhaps remembering the time when he was on the
earth.

「I was also surprised at first, but it seems that in Hiroaki-sama's world,

gentlemen of the same age group are supposed to have skinship with each
other like that.」

Roana, who often works with Hiroaki and his group, explains to Flora.

「I see...」

Flora groaned in amazement and agreed.

「No, when you explain it in such a formal way, the meaning is exquisitely
different. It's more like, it's just childish...」

Satsuki tries to explain with a puzzled look on his face, perhaps sensing a
strange misunderstanding.

「Hi, Hiroaki-san, are you sure you don't want to talk about Kouta? Please
listen to Mikaela-chan.」

Rei tries to get Kouta to put the white feather on it.

「Oh, yeah. Kouta, tell me more. What's this about a wait-and-see thing?」

「Hey, stop it, there's really nothing here.」

「Well, I don't expect anything from you, either. But I think there's a good
chance Mikaela will do something. Isn't that right, Rei?」

Hiroaki, who has a keen sense of smell when it comes to such a juicy topic,
guesses it right away and asks Rei about it.
「That's exactly right.」

「No, there's really nothing!」

Kouta tries desperately to put the conversation to rest, but--..,

「You don't get to decide if something is there. I'm the judge.」

Hiroaki finally let Rei go at this point, and pointed at himself with his
thumb.

「Such an unreasonable...」

「Ha, I want to hear about Kouta-niichan, too.」

「To Masato-kun.」

Masato raises his hand in curiosity, and Kouta slumps his shoulders as if he
is in a quandary.

「Okay, Hero, these two guys asked for you. So talk to me, Rei.」

「Yes, sir!」

Rei makes a silly saluting pose and begins to talk about the recent events
between Kouta and Mikaela. We watch the conversation between the
Japanese boys,

「Seeing that they get so excited about such stories, there may not be much
difference in their level of spiritual maturity even if the world has
changed.」

Christina says smilingly. It is true that we get excited about such a trivial
talk, even if the world has changed.

「Maybe.」
Satsuki giggles and agrees. I noticed that a group was naturally formed with
men from the earth and women from other parts of the world.

Roana usually stays close to Hiroaki, but now she is staying close to
Christina and Flora, as if she thinks it's not her place to get involved in the
conversation of boys who know each other well.

The exceptions are Gouki, who is watching over the young people with
Kayoko as an elder, and Takahisa. Takahisa is from the same world as
Kayoko, and although they are close in age, he is distant from Hiroaki and
the others, so he seems to be out of place.

Takahisa was placed next to Liliana by the process of elimination. However,

she did not join the women's circle,

「Hey, Lily, do you know how Miharu is doing?」

He was concerned about Miharu, who was not here.

「...it seems that he is cooking himself to welcome us. He will join us later
with the rest of you.」

Yes, Miharu is working behind the scenes as a cook.

Latifa, Sara, Orphia, Alma, Gouki, Kayoko, Komomo, and the rest of
Yagumo group are also doing some cooking and serving. The house does
not accept any servants from the castle, and they do what they can do by
themselves.

「...I see. I'll go help you with something.」

Perhaps it was because of his impatience that he had not been able to repair
the relationship with Miharu even though he had been going to the villa
every day, or perhaps it was because of his alienation from the place,
Takahisa was completely out of his mind, and he left the hall and went to
the kitchen where Miharu was. Liliana, with whom he was working, was
out of his sight.
「Please stop. Takahisa-sama is here as a guest of honor.」

Liliana gently admonished Takahisa. And then..,

「But it doesn't matter if I'm here...」

After all, Takahisa says such a thing.

If so, why did you attend this get-together?

I'm talking about that.

That is the first question that comes to everyone's mind.

But I don't think a productive answer will come from there. Besides, Liliana
knows the answer without even bothering to ask.

Because Miharu is there. Because Miharu lives in this mansion, Takahisa

was willing to attend this get-together. After all, Takahisa still sees only
Miharu. It is not Liliana who does not understand that.

「No, that is not true. Takahisa-sama's presence here is certainly

meaningful.」

「Is that so? I don't think it would make any difference to anyone if I wasn't
here...」

Takahisa answered with a self-deprecating smile, still gazing longingly in

the direction of the kitchen. Then, I took my eyes off the table and looked
around the hall,

「Hey, Masato, I envy you. You usually live surrounded by pretty girls,
don't you?」

「No, no, no, Rei-niichan has a lovely fiancée, doesn't he?」

「Senpai, I can't believe you're finally jealous of an elementary school
boy...」

Takahisa sees Masato who is getting along well with Hiroaki and the others.
Perhaps it was because of the contrast between Masato and himself,

「...it's like I'm not even here. It's like no one remembers me from the
beginning, no one sees me. The only one who looks at me is Aki, but even
Aki...」

Takahisa looked longingly toward the kitchen where Miharu was again,
saying that he was with Miharu and his friends now. And then..,

「That's exactly what I'm saying. I don't see the point of being here, that no
one is looking at Takahisa-sama, I'm..., I'm not trying to look at...」

Liliana unusually tried to argue with Takahisa with an emotional tone.

However, her words were cut off in the middle of what she was going to
say.

From his words, it seems that Takahisa's words that no one is looking at him
and that no one will change even if he is not there, may have unexpectedly
stuck in his mind.

Because, until this day, Liliana has been watching Takahisa. But Takahisa
only sees Miharu...

--I've been looking at Takahisa-sama. But you never looked at me... Was
there any point for me to be by your side?

Liliana stared at Takahisa's face, as if she wanted to say, "I'm sorry, I'm
sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Then their gazes met,

「What's wrong?」

Takahisa tilts his head as if he does not understand anything or as if he

would not understand unless you tell him.
「...No, there was certainly someone who was watching Takahisa-sama.
Please remember that, even if you don't know it now.」

Liliana took a resigned breath and slowly shook her head.

Then--,

「What's wrong with you two?」

Komomo approached us. She seemed to think that Takahisa and Liliana
were acting a little strange, and was concerned about them. Perhaps he was
embarrassed to have a girl so many years younger than him pay attention to
him,

「No, I'm afraid I got a little choked up. I'm fine now.」

Liliana's expression that had been clouded just a few minutes before
disappeared and she smiled beautifully.
 [Chapter 3] Returning Home

In a city in the eastern part of Beltram Kingdom. At sunset, two women run
into an inn. They are Celia and Aria.

After visiting several inns, I was lucky enough to find a place to sleep for
the night. When I entered the room, I was surprised to find that the room
was full,

「I'm glad you got the room in one piece.」

Celia sat down on the bed and breathed out her exhaustion.

「Yes. Thank you for your hard work on the long distance travel.」

「Aria Mone.」

「I was just sticking with you.」

Aria shakes her head, saying there were no particular factors that made her
tired.

「But the ride...or rather, the comfort of being carried, or rather, the
comfort of being held? But the ride... or rather, the comfort of being carried,
or rather, held, wasn't so good, was it? We were going too fast.」

After all, Aria had remained in Celia's arms throughout the flight from
Amande to this city. Celia twists her head and wonders what the correct
word choice would be,
「No, Celia's body was wonderful to hold.」

Aria giggles and says.

「Don't make fun of me anymore.」

Celia's cheeks flushed and she turned over.

「I'm not making fun of you. I'm not making fun of you. What was more
amazing was that I hardly felt any air resistance even though I was
accelerating so fast...」

When an object moves through the air, it collides with the air as it moves,
and thus is subject to the resistance of the air in the opposite direction to the
direction of motion. This is the so-called aerodynamic drag,

「When the wings of light are deployed, it seems that a wind shield is
deployed around the user to neutralize air resistance. We don't know how
much speed it can withstand yet...」

Celia herself does not yet have a full understanding of her newly acquired
《flight wing flying magic>. However, since Rio said that when he is flying
with spirit arts, he puts up a ward around himself to reduce air resistance,
she seems to have judged that this magic has a similar ward.

「So, could the speed be increased?」

「Yes. It depends on the amount of magic power the user puts into it. But
the faster you try to go, the worse the fuel consumption becomes, so if you
try to travel a long distance with my amount of magic power, that's about
the limit.」

Rio can keep flying without a break even at higher speeds, but that is just
because Rio's magic power is wrong.

「I see... at this rate, we should be able to reach Claire by tomorrow

morning, but do you think you can keep your magic?」
「Yes. I also have the magic crystals that Liselotte-san gave me. I'll sleep
and rest tonight, and use the stones to make up for what I can't recover
before we leave.」

Generally speaking, it is said that 30% of our magic power is recovered by

sleeping at night, although the amount may slightly increase or decrease
depending on our physical condition. Since the speed of recovery of magic
power decreases while we are awake, sleeping is the best way to recover the
consumed magic power naturally and quickly.

「Okay. If necessary, I'll hunt monsters and collect magic stones.」

「Thank you. But I'm okay for now. Aria, take a good rest.」

「Okay.」

◇◇◇

On the other hand, it was around the time when Celia and her friends
entered the inn.

The location has changed, and it is now in Claire, the seat of the Earl of
Claire in the Beltram Kingdom. The guards patrolling the Count's mansion
have been caught off guard,

「Hey, Alain. The others have taken their places.」

There were mercenaries operating outside the premises. They are members
of the Heavenly Lions, formerly led by Lucius Orgueil. A large man named
Lucci approaches Alain, a colleague of mine. On his waist is a jet-black
magic sword, a memento of Lucius.

The sun has completely set, and it is now dimly lit outdoors,
「Okay. Then we wait for Reiss to get here. We'll take turns sleeping. You
go to sleep first.」

Alain instructed. However, Lucci stood still and looked at the Count's
residence,

「Hey, Alain... Reiss wants the Countess, right? Then, why don't we just go
ahead and take him into custody?」

He suggested that they could take action on their own without waiting for
Reiss' arrival.

「You idiot. We're supposed to leave the fort and head for the Galarc
Kingdom. Even if we infiltrated Count Claire's territory first and took him
into custody, what are we supposed to do after that? Are we just going to
report that we've taken him into custody and surrender him?」

Alain asks Lucci with a look of dismay on his face. Aside from his son
Charles, his father, the Duke of Arbor, is a shrewd man. He does not fully
trust Reiss. If it is known that he has been doing whatever he wants on his
own, he may lose even the minimum amount of trust.

Even if he could have handled the situation well and given the custody of
the Countess to the Duke of Arbor, there is a high possibility that Reiss
would have been suspected under the circumstances. So..,

「We don't want to make things worse, but we don't want to make a move
and have them think we're on to them. It's best to wait for Reiss to come
and take Charles into custody through the proper channels.」

Alain added. From their point of view, they did not know whether Celia was
heading for the Count's estate of Claire or not. Even if she comes, they do
not know if she would try to take the countess with her. She may or may not
come earlier than Reiss.

Is it necessary or urgent for Alain and his team to take action and seize the
Countess when there is a possibility of seizing her without any problem,
even if they have to do something that may cause a controversial situation?
If they are going to take action, they should do so in a way that does not
make the story more complicated.

「...but... If she comes, you'll take action then, won't you?」

「That's right. If that woman appears before the masters on the magic ship,
we've been instructed to erase her if we can. We don't want her to know it
was us.」

「So you're saying that our mission is to get rid of the little bitch, but not to
take the countess into custody?」

「Yes. If we can get rid of her, we can prevent her from taking the countess
away.」

「So that's how it is... Well, if I can fight that woman, I'll be fine.」

Lucci smiles belligerently.

He would like to have a rematch with Celia when they crossed swords at
the fort.

But--,

「You know what? We're not going to fight them head-to-head when they're
fully prepared. Why do you think they brought in the people in Galarc as
reinforcements to watch the house from the perimeter?」

「To make sure we get her, right?」

「Well, when you get right down to it, it's about getting to her first. And
why do we need to get to her first?」

「To kill her before she can use her strange magic?」
Before Alain could tell everyone, Lucci guessed with a not-so-amused look
on his face.

「Yes. You know what I'm talking about. I don't know how it works but
that strange magic she used at the fort. If she didn't use that magic, she'd be
as strong as any other woman around here. If she doesn't use magic, she's
not a threat.」

So we kill Celia before she can work her magic. That's what I'm saying.

「Assassination ain't funny.」

He would like to fight Celia in a head-to-head match and crush her. Lucci
blurted out,

「In that way, you're probably the most like the Commander.」

Alain, perhaps remembering the late Lucius, mentioned something about

him.

「...huh? But you're the current leader. Alain... I'll follow the plan you've
laid out.」

「That's my line. It's been decided that I'll manage the group, but you've
inherited the Commander's magic sword and you're our signature. Don't
forget that.」

They look at each other with fearless eyes, but..,

「Yeah. I will not be ashamed of this sword.」

Lucci touched the sword at his waist and nodded with a mysterious
expression on his face.

◇◇◇
And the next day. Leaving the city in the early morning, Celia and her
friends arrived at Claire, the capital of Count Claire, in the early hours of
the morning.

We passed through the gate together and proceeded through the city. As in
previous visits, the streets are lined with people who seem to be out of
work.

Celia also learned later that the Duke of Arbor has been working to bring
immigrants to the estates of the pro-Royalist nobles. The immigrants
include those who used to work in the territories of the Duke of Huguenot's
faction and obtained jobs.

Roland is doing its best to prevent the deterioration of public safety by

providing temporary positions, but the situation must be very difficult.

Such a cityscape--,

「...」

Celia looks around gloomily. However, there is nothing she can do now, and
she sighs a little. And then..,

「Are you concerned about the state of the city?」

Aria asks from the side.

「Well...? Yes, I was here a few months ago... but I didn't get to see much
of the city then either.」

The last time I came here was with Rio. Celia's eyes are shining sadly, as if
she remembers that time.

「Well, then, maybe we can have a little sneak peek on the way back. We
haven't done much traveling because we moved too fast, and...」
「And?」

「I would also like to have a relaxing vacation once in a while. It would be

even better if it was with an old friend who I know well.」

Aria, perhaps considering her old friend's feelings, sighs and says
something like that.

「I see. Well, let's take it easy on the way home. In return for taking care of
my business, I'll take you on your vacation.」

Celia smiles happily.

「Then let's get our business done as soon as possible. We can't let the
Duke of Arbor's forces get to us before he does.」

「Yes, let's go. Shall we go?」

Celia nods her head and tightens her expression.

「But first, a few words. It's possible that the Duke of Arbor already has a
force here, so I have an idea.」

「...you mean?」

After a brief meeting, they set out for the Count's residence.

◇◇◇

Then, the Countess Claire.

Alain and Lucci hide in the outskirts of the compound and watch the road
leading to the front gate. They see someone approaching the house.
「...hey.」

It was Alain who first discovered it.

The number of people approaching the house is one.

「Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey,
hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.」

Lucci's eyes widened when he saw someone approaching the house.

The subject is a strangely aged woman dressed like an adventurer. Her hair
is blonde. She has a slim and toned body, as if she has been working out a
lot. She also has a glamorous body with a feminine fleshy quality.

What is more remarkable than anything else is the sculptural beauty of her
face. I would like to say that there is no one, even a man or a woman, who
would not stop and gaze at her beautiful face once they pass by her on the
street and catch her face in their sight.

The woman turns out to be Aria, an old friend of Celia's, but Lucci, who has
been preoccupied with Aria's appearance, is not the only one who is
interested in the woman,

「You idiot. Watch my back.」

Alain noted.

「Yeah, you sure have a nice waist. I'd love to have you as my partner.」

「No. It's a sword. That's a pretty good sword, that one.」

「An? Oh, a magic sword?」

At this point, Lucci's eyes finally fell on the magic sword at Aria's waist.

「I think you have a visitor, a knight from some noble family? I've seen
him before...」
Alain stared at Aria, perhaps with a sense of deja vu.

「You want me to go check it out for you?」

Lucci suggests, as if trying to pick up a girl.

「Screw you.」

「Damn it, there's another guard. It's all right.」

Perhaps because Aria is so attractive, Lucci looks at her regretfully.

「The other guys are watching somewhere else.」

In the meantime, Aria entered the house from the main gate without any
hesitation. Then, she gave up..,

「Oh well...」

Lucci sighs and gives up.

More than ten minutes have passed since then? I could see guards and
servants moving around in the garden of the house, but nothing unusual had
happened.

However, when another person appeared on the path leading to the villa, the
attention of the two mercenaries turned to him.

「...damn, you're wearing a hood.」

Lucci clicks his tongue. He is right, for the person who has come is wearing
the hood of his cloak deeply drawn over his head. Their faces are not visible
from where they are hiding. It's just--,

「That's a weird look on his face.」

Alain muttered.
「Surely, it matches the little woman's height.」

Lucci also stares at his subject with a steely gaze.

「It's got a sword on it. It doesn't look cheap, but it doesn't look like it's
been used much either.」

The distance between Alain and Celia was easily seventy meters, but they
were watching each other closely.

「Hmm, the little bitch came back to her parents' house with a new sword
of her own?」

「I suppose it's possible.」

「So, is it a hit this time? What do we do? If it's the little bitch, it's too
much trouble to get into the villa, isn't it? Shall we kill her anyway?」

「...」

Alain does not give an immediate answer to Lucci's question because if the
hooded figure is not Celia, it would be more troublesome to dispose of the
corpse. There is also a small risk of being seen by the soldiers on guard.

However, as Lucci said, Celia had come to the house, and it would be even
more troublesome if she entered the villa. Now is the best time to attack
them unilaterally, in a place where they can be seen from the side.

As a matter of fact..,

「It's no use. Let's do it. I'll do the magic from here. You're gonna close the
gap and finish him off and make sure he knows it. And get back here right
away. And if it's not her, don't forget to collect the body.」

Alain made the decision.

「Roger.」
「...okay, go, Lucci!)》」

At the same time, Alain held his hand toward Celia. Then, he chanted a
spell.

「Oh.」

When Lucci responded, he too had pulled out Lucius' magic sword,
enhanced his body, and was running toward the hooded figure. At this
point, the distance between Lucci and Celia was sixty meters. Lucci, who
had strengthened his body with the magic sword, would be able to fill the
distance in a few seconds. But...,

「What the...? Huh?」

A magic circle appears at his hand, and Alain, who is about to launch an
attack, makes a strange sound. He feels something strange behind him and
turns around immediately.

Then, there is--,

「What the hell are you doing here?」

Aria was standing there, holding a magic sword and having knocked Alain
into a stupor.

◇◇◇

Celia continues on the path leading to the mansion.

As Lucci and Alain had suspected, the hooded figure approaching the house
was Celia. About sixty or seventy meters away from the house, Aria had
just set the trap for Lucci and the others,
（It's so quiet...）

Celia did not know that. Aria had instructed her to go to the house without
showing any signs of being concerned about her surroundings, so she was
moving her feet only thinking about approaching the house.

Incidentally, here is the plan they made before going to the villa. We cannot
deny the possibility that the Duke of Arbor's forces are already there.
Therefore, Aria goes to the house first, assuming that there may be enemies
lurking around the house.

Aria enters the house, briefly explains the situation to the Count and
Countess, and then goes out the back door to search the area. Meanwhile,
Celia visits the house from the front door to see if there are any attackers
lurking in the house. If there are any enemies, he will surprise and reap
them, and if not, he will return to the house and meet up with Celia. That is
the plan.

It has been a few minutes since Aria entered the house. The gatekeeper
must have known that Celia was coming.

And so, as Celia approaches the mansion, she finds that

「What the...?」

From inside the front door, she sees her parents looking outside. Celia is
tempted to run out of the house, but she holds her ground.

If someone is watching this scene right now, Celia's running to the house at
this moment may lead to giving a bad judgment.

So, I kept my composure, walked up to the front door, and went inside,

「Father, Mother, I love you!」

Celia lets go of her emotions and is reunited with her parents. Using all the
strength in her small body, she hugs them collectively.
「Celia-chan!」

Roland pats Celia gently on the back and pulls her close.

Meanwhile, right next door--,

「...Celia, Celia. Oh, my sweet girl.」

A small silver-haired woman was also hugging Celia lovingly. She looked
to be in her twenties at most, but her actual age was over forty, and her
name was Monica = Claire.

Yes, this person is Celia's mother. It seems that Celia's young appearance is
also inherited from her mother.

Anyway, Monica was not present at Celia and Charles' wedding, nor was
she able to see Celia when she and Rio snuck into the basement. Therefore,
it had been a long time since Celia saw her mother Monica again.

「Mother...」

Celia's clinging to her mother strengthens, as if to make up for the

loneliness of not being able to see her.

Incidentally, there is a reason why we could not meet again for a long time.
It is related to an inborn special constitution that is rarely found in those
who have the blood of the Countess Claire.

In other words, some of them are born with unstable physical condition.

When you are healthy, you can even exercise. As long as you keep these
conditions, your life span will not be shortened, and you will be able to lead
a normal life.

However, there are times when, without warning, a patient becomes ill and
his/her physical functions deteriorate to the point where he/she is forced to
be on absolute bed rest.
It is not so fatal as long as you stay in bed and rest, but it can be fatal if you
try to move your body with reduced bodily functions. However, if a person
tries to move his/her body by force while his/her physical functions are
impaired, it can be fatal. The length of time that a person remains in poor
health varies from person to person, but during that time, he or she is forced
to live a completely bedridden life.

Every few weeks, months, or even years, I don't know when I'll get sick
again, even if I recover.

Therefore, it is basically considered safe to spend one's life without leaving

the city of birth, and Monica has never left this Claire since her birth. And
Roland has also spent as much time as possible at his parents' house, not at
his villa in the capital.

Incidentally, it is said that the first symptoms appear in the first few years of
life in those born with this constitution. On the other hand, if the symptoms
do not appear in the first few years of life, it proves that the child does not
have a special constitution.

Fortunately, Celia was not born with such a condition, but Celia's mother
was a woman born with such a condition.

As a side note, it is a gamble whether the Countess Claire, who was born
with the same symptoms as Monica, will be able to give birth to her child
safely or not. If she has any symptoms of illness during the delivery period,
it would be life-threatening. That is why Roland and Monica once had a
dispute over whether or not to have a child as an heir.

Roland was initially thinking only of his wife's safety, since he would be
able to choose an heir from a branch of the family. Monica was determined
to have a child. After many twists and turns, their only daughter, Celia, was
born.
「I'm really sorry it's been so long. Now that you are here, how are you
feeling these days?」

Celia looks anxiously into her mother's face.

「Yes. The last time Celia-Chan visited the basement of the house, she was
bedridden. She's been feeling much better since about two months ago.
However, she was bedridden for about 6 months and her muscles were
weak, so she is not completely back to normal yet.」

Monica answered with a charming smile, as if she was not unhappy at all
about her condition.

It is hard to believe that she is over 40 years old. Even a teenage boy could
fall in love with her.

「Oh, yes, that's right...」

「Don't look at me like that. As long as you rest, it's not life-threatening.」

Monica gently touched Celia's cheek.

「I wish we could have hugged like this again, the three of us. Haa.」

Grrr, grr, grr, Roland tries to hug his wife and daughter at the same time,

「It's too hot, so you stay away.」

They tell me to get away from Monica, y'know, y'know.

「Oh, yes...」

Roland nodded softly, and his attempts to hold them both together
weakened.

「...」

Celia's cheeks smile happily. Celia smiles happily. But..,

「Oh, by the way, I think it's time to get down to business...」

Unfortunately, we cannot continue to enjoy our family time. Considering

that Celia was attacked by the Duke of Arbor at the fort, there is a
possibility that the Dukes of Arbor will show up at any moment to try to
make a move on Roland and Monica as well. I came to this house in haste
to report the situation before they do so.

「...Yes, I know. Aria-kun told me briefly. She went to check on the

outside, just as we planned, but... is everything all right, Celia-chan?」

Roland takes a step back, his expression tightening as he worries about

Celia's safety.

「Yes, as you can see. But now I'd like to talk about the two of you. The
Duke of Arbor may have designs on Father and Mother. That's what I'm
here to tell you today.」

Celia hugged her mother Monica and looked at them alternately.

「Hmmm...」

Roland growled annoyingly. It was right after that that the roar came from
outside the house.

◇◇◇

On the other hand, we go back in time a little.

The location is also moved outside the grounds of the house where Aria and
Lucci are facing each other.

「What the hell are you doing here?」

Aria hit Alain in the medulla oblongata with the hilt of her sword, knocking
him into a stupor, and then questioned Lucci, who turned around in alarm.

「Oh, hey... Look who it is... the woman with the topknot who went into
the villa.」

Despite the surprise attack, Lucci's demeanor was very calm. On the
contrary, he was smiling with a smile that made us feel he had enough time
to spare. This is probably because he understands from his experience that
there is no use in being impatient when an unexpected situation occurs.

「Could you please answer a few questions?」

「How about you try playing with me?」

「...is there no room for conversation?」

Aria shakes her head in exasperation.

「Oh, come on, don't be like that. I'm happy to talk to you, okay?」

Despite this, Lucci was on his guard and ready for battle.

They are so skilled that they attacked us by surprise without being noticed
and knocked Alain, who is very skilled, unconscious. There was no way
they would let their guard down. On the other hand..,

（Despite his thuggish appearance, he is said to be a skilled swordsman. )

From his features, it is likely that he is the Heavenly Lions' magic sword
wielder that Celia mentioned. If so, what is the power of that sword...）

Aria also knew Lucci's ability and even his identity from his appearance
without even crossing swords with him. That may be why she started to
walk around Lucci, keeping an eye on the magic sword in his hand.

（We have no choice. Worst-case scenario, the only person who can be
captured alive is the man who fainted.）
Aria took one look at the stunned Alain and made her decision.

「If you left me, does that mean I'm more your type than him?」

Lucci also sees Alain and asks Aria.

「...」

Aria sighs heavily, as if she is too lazy to deny it.

I attacked Alain first because Alain was going to attack Celia unilaterally
from a long distance. I wanted to kill Lucci first, since I knew from the
outside that Lucci was equipped with a more troublesome magic sword.

「Silence is an affirmation, right?」

Lucci chuckles, looking nonplussed.

「I don't know what you're so happy about, but if you don't want to die, I
suggest you give yourself up immediately. Or, if you are a relation of the
Countess Claire, please reveal yourself.」

Well, when you are lurking in the trees on the outskirts of the road and
trying to attack passers-by from the shadows, you are nothing but a
suspicious person, but there is a way of doing things.

「Are you the one who is related to the Countess Claire? I've never heard
of a woman knight as skilled as you.」

Lucci responds to questions with questions.

「I take it that you are not a party to this, since you have been vague. I
assume that you are a mercenary hired by some other country, but I will
neutralize you by force as a suspicious person.」

「Is that so?」

Aria hinted that she knew Lucci's true identity. This made Lucci's eyes
sharper and the two were in full battle stance.

The two men closed the gap between them.

We are both wielders of magic swords. The degree of their physical strength
is almost equal. When they catch each other in time, they swing their
swords at the same time.

Immediately afterward, a myriad of high-pitched metallic sounds echoed

through the air. In just a second or two, their swords touched each other
several times.

The two men were not able to settle the fight with a single cut, so they
stepped backward and reestablished a good distance between each other,

「Hyuu. You're really a nice girl, aren't you! Not only do I want you to use
a sword, but I also want you to be my partner for the night!」

Lucci whistles lightly in praise of Aria.

「I don't want to be here.」

Aria does not play along with Lucci's flirtations and moves forward to
reestablish the distance between the two.

「Woohoo!」

Lucci tried to counterattack Aria's attack, but Aria quickly backed off again
and moved away from Lucci. She did not stop her footsteps and quickly ran
around Lucci in an arc.

（Damn, he moves around a lot. (Or rather...）

Lucci was tongue-tied, but he had a strange feeling. It seemed that Aria was
overly cautious of a counterattack from Lucci. She keeps moving without
stopping even in a situation where she would normally stop.
Lucci can use his magic sword to slice through space, and then he can shift
the blade of the sword to aim directly at an opponent in his line of sight, a
killing blow at first sight. However, it is still difficult for Lucci to aim at a
moving opponent and slash accurately while fighting, so there is no chance
to use this ability when Aria is moving around like this.

Then, looking at Aria, who never stops walking--,

「You know what my sword can do, don't you?」

Lucci guessed.

「...」

Aria neither denies nor confirms. However, Lucci does not weaken his
doubtful eyes, as if he is half-convinced that Aria has detected his magic
sword's ability.

（Not many people know what this sword can do...）

It has been only a short time since Lucci has been working with this sword.
We cannot deny the possibility that we have seen Lucius using the sword
before, but it is hard to believe that Lucius would show his sword's ability
to a stranger so easily. Then...

「Celia=Claire told you? Then that hooded guy in the cloak who just tried
to enter the house...」

Lucci's consciousness momentarily turns toward Celia's house. Aria then

takes advantage of this moment and closes in on Lucci. Aria then swings
her sword and overpowers Lucci, pushing him backward. And then..,

「Have you had time to look away?」

「Damn...!」

Lucci's posture was greatly disturbed. Although he did not let go of the hilt,
his sword was thrown backward.
Aria then closed in on Lucci and swung her sword at him,

「What the...?」

Suddenly, as if he had noticed something, he jumped to the side and moved

away from Lucci. At about the same time, darkness spreads from the
ground one step ahead of Lucci, and the tip of the magic sword extends
from the ground. If Aria had been even one step closer to Lucci, the sword
blade would have pierced through Aria's leg. The tip of the sword in Lucci's
hand was swallowed by the darkness, and the sword blade was shortened.

「Seriously, I'll avoid that one.」

Lucci grins.

They seem to be very happy, even though they lost the attack.

（So, it was on purpose that he was pushed into the room after showing an
opening. (If it can be used like a trap like this, it is troublesome...）

Aria looks down at the blade of the sword as it extends from the ground.
When the opponent is caught off guard thinking that she has won, she
activates her sword's ability, and the sword reaches out from an unexpected
place to kill the opponent. It is not so easy to avoid this kind of attack. It is
just--,

（As long as you watch the sword closely, you can read the activation of
the ability. (It will take some steps and handling to finish him off...）

The game is won. Lucci's ability has been confirmed with my own eyes,
and I am done exploring. Aria is just about to make another move when she
thinks to herself, "I'm not going to make another move,

「Hey, what's this all about?」

Men wearing cloak hoods appeared.

There are three of them. They deploy and surround Aria.

（...I knew there were others...）

Aria sighs in annoyance.

After explaining the situation to Roland and the others, Aria went out of the
house and her first priority was to watch the front entrance where Celia was
coming to visit. Then, she found Lucci and Alain hiding in the woods near
the house and attacked them.

「As you can see, I've been hit on by a woman who's too good to be true.
But she's a bit too much of a horse for my taste.」

Lucci sees Alain still unconscious and explains the situation to his fellow
mercenaries.

「Then, let's get rid of this woman right now! The sound of a fight was
echoing through the yard. The longer we wait, the more the guards will
come.」

「Damn, I've got no choice.」

Lucci and his team try to finish off Aria with the four of them.

And, there--,

「《Magic Cannon》」

Aria chanted a spell in a whisper and held her hand up to the sky. A magic
circle emerged from it,

「What the...!」

The mercenaries rushed to stop them.

However, Aria leaps to the ground and jumps onto a tree branch. From
there, she fires a volley of magic power over her head. As soon as the magic
is activated, a roar echoes through the house.
It is a wonderful feat that he invoked his magic so quickly, without
hesitation, and without the slightest bit of panic in this situation,

「You son of a bitch...」

The mercenaries look up at Aria in the tree and glare at her reproachfully.

「I saw that you didn't want to be discovered by the mansion's security.」

I have been summoned, Aria says nonchalantly. Within a few minutes, the
guards of the house should be approaching Zorin.

「Tsk.」

Lucci wields his magic sword and tries to cut Aria from the ground by
shifting the blade. However, Aria leaps again and jumps to another branch,
landing on the ground. Only the branch Lucci sliced through falls to the
ground. But--,

「Surround them!」

The mercenaries close in on Aria as soon as she lands. They are determined
to finish her off, perhaps not wanting to give away too much information to
the arriving guards.

All members of Heavenly Lions are equipped with mass-produced magic

swords. Since they are not unique pieces like Aria and Lucci are equipped
with, the magic contained in them is only physical enhancement, but it is
much more powerful than the enhancement of physical abilities by magic
alone. The speed at which the mercenaries were approaching was
unexpected,

（FAST）

Aria's eyes widen slightly. However, despite her surprise, her body moves
quickly and calmly. She deals with the swords of the three mercenaries,
except for Lucci, coming at her from the front, left, and right, and retreats
so that her back will never be taken.
「You bitch!」

Three of them are attacking, but they are not able to attack enough. The
mercenaries' faces are filled with impatience as they experience Aria's
ability to cope with the situation.

「Ha-ha, you're really strong!」

Lucci is the only one standing back, smiling pleasantly.

「It's not funny!」

「You better shut your mouth or you're gonna be in big trouble!」

We outnumber them. If you take your time, you may be able to finish them
off. However, the odds may not be in your favor given the situation.

All three mercenaries felt the same way.

However, Aria did not have much leeway either.

（Each and every one of them is unusually skilled. Is this the Heavenly
Lions we've heard so much about? The odds are against us...）

If it had been, for example, three knights who had only enhanced their
physical abilities by magic, they would have been overwhelmed without
any problem.

However, this is not the case against three skilled warriors who have
enhanced their physical abilities with magic swords. Moreover, Lucci, who
should be the most careful of the mercenaries, is waiting behind the
mercenaries, so we have to pay some attention to him as well. Considering
Lucci's ability with the magic sword, there is a risk that the sword may
reach out from unexpected places. In such a disadvantageous situation, Aria
deserves to be praised for her excellent prevention of the attack.

「Hey, Lucci!」
The mercenary's impatient shouts were directed at Lucci. And then..,

「Don't panic. It's the order of the day. You guys get dumped, and I'll go for
him!」

With that, Lucci thrust his magic sword forward and tried to pierce the
empty space. But he was not trying to pierce the air.

Lucci's sword is swallowed by the darkness from the tip, and the darkness
floats behind Aria as she retreats. The tip of the sword came out of the
darkness. Thanks to the three friends' good diversion, it was easy to aim at
the target. It is an impromptu collaboration, but a brilliant one.

「Huh!」

Aria noticed the attack, as she had expected Lucci to attack from behind.
However, whether she would be able to cope with it or not was a different
matter at this time.

Because now Aria is surrounded by mercenaries in front of her and on her

left and right. If she turns around and tries to flick her sword, she will be cut
on her back by the other three mercenaries. On the other hand, if she
continues to fight against them, Lucci's magic sword will pierce her back.

The mercenaries' combined attacks had turned into a blow that could not be
stopped even if they knew it was coming, just like a move in a game of
chess.

Aria can do only one thing. She should look away from the cutting edge
coming from behind her and avoid it. There is a high possibility that she
will be killed by the cut, but it is still the only option that might get her out
of this predicament with no damage. He was in too bad a position, so he
could not evade the attack by jumping. He could not gain much distance
and would be killed on the landing.

Hence, Aria twisted her body with her feet on the ground.

But--,
「Of course you do!」

Lucci slides the magic sword in the direction of the evasion, as if he knew
that Aria would evade.

「What the...?」

Aria was forced to hold her sword at the ready to block Lucci's magic
sword. This would create a gap that would prevent other attacks, but it was
the only choice. And then..,

「Aria!」

A girl's voice echoed. It was a voice that Aria was familiar with.

「What the...?」

A moment later, Aria saw the fifth blade of the other mercenaries' blades
extended into her field of vision. The blade bounces Lucci's magic sword,
which was about to reach Aria's body, from the bottom to the top. A dry
metallic sound rang out.

Lucci's sword unexpectedly changes its trajectory and slices through the air,
disappearing into the darkness and returning to where it belongs.

As it turned out, it was Celia who repelled Lucci's blade as it approached

Aria. Celia repelled Lucci's magic sword and returned it to the other three
mercenaries,

「Whoa!」

With his brilliant swordsmanship, he pulled the three mercenaries away

from Aria. And then..,

「Sorry I'm late.」

Celia steps back and lines up with Aria to apologize.

「No, thank you. I'm surprised. When did you learn to use a sword so
well?」

Aria asks blindingly. Celia's swordsmanship was really splendid, even to

Aria who is a master of swordsmanship. Even though we were in the
middle of a battle, I couldn't help but ask her. When I looked at Celia's
expression from the side, I found that her eyes were sharpened as if she was
a different person. It's just that..,

「I'm kind of in a cheating situation. I'll explain later.」

Celia's expression was still hers as she smiled bitterly saying so.

「I'd love to hear about it. Anyway, may I have your back for now?」

Aria smiles and asks Celia a question.

It was strange. Not theoretically. The Celia that Aria knew was a typical
mage, who should have been protected in this situation, but she felt safe to
trust her back.

「Yes.」

Celia nodded emphatically.

Thus, the game has changed from one against four to two against four.
Although Aria's team is still at a numerical disadvantage, the difference
between the former and the latter is as great as the difference between
heaven and earth because the burden per player is spread out. With a
reliable partner next to them, there is no longer any cause for concern.
Both Celia and Aria are keeping their eyes on Lucci and his team.

「Damn. Oh, no choice. Let's back off, guys.」

Lucci took one look at the unconscious Alain, then clicked his tongue and
suggested that the others retreat.

「What's the plan?」

One of the mercenaries asks Lucci.

「It's a mistake. We may not win, but the worst thing that can happen is for
one of us to get caught if this goes on too long.」

Lucci said, after giving his reasons,

（Reiss would still be able to keep his mouth shut, though...）

He frowned as if he had something bitter in his mouth.

Perhaps he recalled the previous raid on Rio's mansion in the Galarc

Kingdom castle, where all of his captured colleagues were silenced by
Reiss' magic item. One of them was a man named Venn, who had been
working with Lucci for a long time.

Those who fail in their missions are silenced. Since they are mercenaries,
they have no reason to hold a grudge against Reiss. However, whether or
not they are willing to lose their friends may be a different matter.

「Let's go get him and get the hell out of here.」

Lucci glanced at Alain again, as if he were concerned, and then hurried his
companions on. Celia and Aria, however, had no reason to return them
quietly.

「You seem to be talking on the assumption that you can go home.」

Aria asks coldly.

「Yeah, I think so.」

Saying this, Lucci thrust his magic sword into the ground. Immediately
after, he saw darkness spreading on the ground,

「What the...?」

Aria and Celia quickly take notice of their surroundings. However, despite
their warnings, Lucci's purpose in activating the sword was not to harm
them.

Darkness spreads not beside them, but on the ground where the unconscious
Alain lies. Alain is swallowed by the darkness on the ground, as if he were
being dragged into a swamp. Then, Alain's body emerges from the ground,
where Lucci has pierced his magic sword.

「Hey, take care of this.」

One of the mercenaries carried Alain's body. Then..,

「...Aria, let's just let them leave like this.」

Celia whispered to Aria.

「Are you sure?」

「Yes, we want to avoid unnecessary battles as well. As long as he's here,

we can be sure that the Duke of Arbor was after Father or Mother, and the
main army could come at any time. Even they may be a diversion...」

Yes, even at this very moment, it would not be a surprise if another group of
people were rushing to the house and attacking Roland and Monica.
Therefore, Celia decided that it was not a good idea to prolong the battle.
Oddly enough, like Lucci, she made this decision because she had someone
she wanted to protect.

「...Okay.」
Aria nods her head with her sword at the ready.

Then--,

「...」

Slowly, slowly, the mercenaries fall back. The mercenary who first carries
Alain leaves, and the other two mercenaries accompany him to protect him
from both sides.

「Hmph.」

Lucci is acting as a lord, threatening Celia and Aria so that they can use
their magic sword at any time. However, when he saw that there was no
sign of pursuit, he ran away.

◇◇◇

A few hours later. Just before noon. Several magic ships of the Beltram
Kingdom military landed on the lake in Claire, the capital of the Count of
Claire.

Led by Charles, the knights and soldiers of the Beltram Kingdom main
army march slowly through the city toward the Count's mansion.

Then, without warning, I rudely entered the property and roughly opened
the front door,

「Count Claire! Count Claire!」

Charles shouted the Count's name at the entrance.

「...what's with all the noise?」

Roland, the Count of Claire, soon appears. He catches a glimpse of Charles
and his armed knights, and Reiss and Renji in the rear,

「And you seem to be very pensive.」

Roland's face turns sad and he sighs.

「Where is your wife?」

Charles omitted even a brief greeting and directly stated his business. This
is an extremely impolite behavior, not only when dealing with a high
ranking noble like Count Claire, but also even if he was dealing with a low
ranking noble. He could not complain even if he was offended and told to
go home. However, there are not many nobles who can make such a
statement to the current Charles.

「Why are you talking about my wife?」

Roland paused for a moment and then asked why. Roland asked him the
reason, and I guessed he thought Roland was worried about his wife's
safety,

「I've heard that your wife is a renowned healing mage. I have an important
person in need of urgent medical attention. In the meantime, I would like
you to come to the capital.」

Charles was in a good mood and told the Countess why he wanted to see
her.

「...I'm sure you understand that my wife's body is naturally weak?」

Roland asks, his face tense.

「Of course, I know that. But we'll take you there by magic ship. As I
recall, you're only getting sicker, not dying, aren't you? It's an emergency. I
hope you can bear with it a little.」
Charles was very brash in his remarks. It was a delicately worded remark,
because he did not understand the congenital disease that Monica was
suffering from.

「...when you're sick, you can't even rock the boat.」

Roland raises his eyebrows, but responds calmly.

「You think this is exactly the time to be in bad shape?」

「No. But if he develops symptoms during the trip... Can't you invite him
to the house?」

「No. The dignitary is more vulnerable than that. It is absolutely imperative

that the lady come to King's Landing.」

「...parallel lines.」

「No, this is a decision. If you refuse...」

Charles implicitly threatened Roland who refused to hand over his

extradition, saying that he was willing to be forcibly seized. Then--,

「...I see. If that's the case, is it unavoidable?」

Roland reluctantly backs down.

「Phew.」

Charles smiles triumphantly, but for a man known for his loving wife,
Roland seems to have accepted the situation too easily.

If there had been someone here today who knew Roland's personality well,
he would have wondered about it. Normally, Roland would have been
furious when Charles said he was going to take Monica to the capital,
saying "You've got to be kidding me.

Then--,
「But I'm afraid I can't give you my wife.」

Roland shrugs his shoulders and says something like that.

「And if I refuse? We'll take him a little rougher...」

「I'd take you with me, but my wife is away from the house.」

「...what?」

Charles tilts his head as if to say, "I don't get it.

「My wife has given up on me, perhaps because I've been so ungrateful.
She ran out of the villa today. I told her I was going to check on my
daughter.」

Roland sighs heavily, as if lamenting his own helplessness.

「Stop screwing around! Find them! The port too. Hurry up!」

He must have had a bad premonition, or perhaps he predicted it. Charles

hurriedly ordered his knights to search the house. However, Monica was
nowhere to be found, and more angry shouts from Charles echoed through
the house. In the midst of all this..,

（...take care of Mom for me, Celia-chan...）

Roland went alone outside the front door and looked up at the eastern sky
leading to the Galarc Kingdom.

◇◇◇

Over the eastern part of Beltram Kingdom.

A magic ship belonging to the Count of Claire was flying.

They are in a great hurry, perhaps not minding the increased consumption
of magic power, and are heading toward the direction of the Galarc
Kingdom at a speed far beyond the normal speed of operation.

In the guest room of the ship, Monica=Claire was sitting on the bed. A
caretaker woman who had come with her from the house was sitting near
her.

There was a knock at the door of the guest room.

「Here you go.」

Monica tells us that the next day, they will be back at the hotel,

「Mother, it's me.」

Celia comes in.

Aria was in the background.

「Welcome.」

「Are you feeling okay?」

「Yeah, I'm doing great.」

Monica replies with a soft smile.

「By this evening, they will be able to reach Amande in the Galarc
Kingdom.」

When Celia and her friends came to Claire, they left Amande in the
afternoon, so they had to cross the day, but they were lucky to leave Claire
in the morning on the way back. If we kept on flying, we could make it
back to Amande before the end of the day.
「Well, I'm looking forward to it. He's so worried, so overprotective, I've
never been outside the city.」

For the first time in your life, you are outside the city.

I'm sure he's not lying. It's just--

「Well, Father...」

「It's okay.」

When Celia mentioned her father, who remained alone at Claire, Monica
smiled fleetingly and shook her head. And then..,

「It's okay.」

I look out the window and continue to say to myself. Perhaps she is
thinking of her husband Roland.

A ray of light flashed across Monica's profile as she turned away with
distant eyes. It looked like a drop of water from her eye.

◇◇◇

Time goes back.

Celia and Aria had just left the Luccis and returned to the villa.

「...Celia-chan...can you take my mom to the Galarc Kingdom castle?」

Roland suddenly asked Celia.

「...Father?」
「I will remain in my house. Even if I leave the city temporarily, I cannot
abandon the lands and people entrusted to me by His Majesty. Besides, I
will be of no use to His Majesty King Philip and Christina-sama if I follow
Galarc Kingdom.」

Roland explains why he should remain in the Beltram Kingdom. It is the

duty of a nobleman. That's why--,

「...」

I could not ask Celia to give up her duties and come with me. However, it
was easy to see the look of concern on her face.

「It's okay. Don't look at me like that, Celia-chan. Or rather, he will have to
for the time being.」

Roland said in a calm tone of voice that he did not fear that he was being
interfered with.

「Except for Mom. I don't know when or how the Duke of Arbor is going
to try to get his hands on me. I don't have the real power to push back
against their efforts. If they try to touch her while I'm away from Claire...」

Since Lucci's group has been hiding out near the house and trying to take
some action, it is already certain that the Duke of Arbor will try to get his
hands on it.

If Monica remains in Claire, Roland will not be able to protect Monica,

since the other party is becoming more and more desperate.

「So, I'm going to have to ask you to go to a safe place. I just hope she
doesn't get sick during the trip... Take care of your mom, Celia-chan.」

He was not at all anxious about sending Monica out of the city. However,
Roland entrusted Monica to Celia, thinking that it would be better than
staying in the house.
「...yes, I understand. Father.」

Celia nodded with a mysterious look on her face.

「And Monica-chan. Celia-chan, I asked you to take care of Celia-chan.」

Roland continues, looking at Monica.

「Yes.」

「I know you're anxious to go out for the first time, but...」

「It's okay. You're overprotective.」

They exchange words, but look at each other as if they are communicating
with each other beyond words.

「...But it's because you were protecting me. Because you protected me, I, a
sickly man, can live peacefully and happily today. Thank you for
everything. I love you.」

Monica thanks Roland.

「What's the matter, all of a sudden?」

「I'm leaving behind a husband who works hard for the family. I will say a
word or two of gratitude and love. No, not enough.」

「Are you in love with me again?」

「Yes, every day.」

Monica nodded and reached out her hand lovingly to Roland's cheek. She
then hugged Roland.

「Ha ha.」
Roland beamed with amusement. Then they hugged each other for a while
longer,

「Take care, sweetheart.」

Monica says goodbye to her husband.

These are bad times. Even Roland is in the middle of a power struggle. We
do not know when we will see him again, and possibly never again. Instead,
it may be the sickly Monica who may suffer an unfortunate event.

--Forgive me, my wife, for being nothing more than a liability.

Monica's expression tells us that she is not going to say these words, but she
does not say them. She understands that Roland does not consider her a
burden. Monica understands that all she can do as a wife is to run away to a
safe place so that Roland can fulfill his aristocratic duties without any
worries. So she does it.

「Yeah. Take this opportunity to enjoy the outside world. Have a good day,
Monica-chan.」

And so, the Count and Countess Claire parted ways.

◇◇◇

And so time goes on, on the magic ship of Count Claire to Amande.

「Well, Mother, if you need anything else, please call me immediately.」

Celia and Aria left the guest room of the magic ship where Monica was
resting. They went out into the corridor of the ship,

「...」
Celia looked kind of vague and let out a lustrous breath, as if she was
letting out some difficult-to-verbalize emotion. It was as if she was letting
out an emotion that was difficult to describe... Not exactly out of her mind,
but she was certainly thinking or thinking about something. And then..,

「...If it's all right with me, I'll listen to whatever you have to say.
Complaints, problems, anything.」

Aria looked at Celia with a sidelong glance and took the role of a
companion.

「Uh...? Yeah, thanks.」

Celia comes to her senses and thanks him. And then..,

「...it's not that it's hard. I believe in Father.」

Celia reveals how she feels now.

「Yes.」

Aria also affirms her feelings honestly.

「Just...」

「Just?」

「...Yeah. I don't think it's a complaint, or a problem, or anything like that.

Maybe I shouldn't be thinking like this, but... but I thought it was nice. I
was looking at Father and Mother.」

「They are wonderful parents. I admire them too.」

Aria smiles and agrees.

「Yes, I longed for it. I admired them. I could feel that they were
communicating with each other in a way that went beyond words, that even
though they were apart, their feelings were shared, and that's what a married
couple is all about.」

「I see... have you started to desire marriage?」

Aria.

「...I don't know. I used to think I didn't want to get married...」

Celia was a bit puzzled, but did the word "desire for marriage" strike a
strangely comfortable chord in her heart? I won't deny it out of anger.
Rather, she wondered if there was someone of the opposite sex who was the
first person who came to her mind,

「...」

He was late, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

「...I'm surprised. By the looks of it, do you have someone you're interested
in?」

Aria blinks in surprise, as if she had no idea who Celia might like.

「Don't make fun of me anymore.」

「In any case, I don't think this is a story that can be told in a
straightforward manner. Let's talk about the rest of the story some other
time, shall we?」

「Oh, I see. I'm sorry, Aria.」

Celia spun an apology abruptly as if she remembered something.

「Well, I don't expect you to apologize for anything.」

「I told you I'd take my time on the way back and let you have your
vacation, didn't I? But I'm going to Amande in the shortest possible time.」
「What do you mean? We can talk about it another time.」

Aria's mouth softly relaxes, probably because she is happy that her best
friend remembers her story, even though it was not a promise but a
conversation that took place right after her arrival at Claire.

「Well, not to make it up to you, but when we get back to Amande, why
don't we have a nice long talk tonight?」

「Yes, please.」

「Yes, I promise.」

This time, Celia and Aria make a firm promise to each other. It happened in
the magic ship, returning from Claire to Amande.

◇◇◇

On the other hand, the location is once again in the Countess of Claire. The
capital of Claire.

Reiss told Charles that he was going to check on the town for a while, and
left the Count's mansion with Renji in tow. When they went out to the town,
the mercenaries hiding in the town tried to contact them. They visited an
inn. They met up with Lucci and other mercenaries in a room and were
informed of what had happened before Reiss and the others arrived in
Claire.

「I see. So that's how it is.」

「...I'm sorry, Mister Reiss. I was completely off guard. It's my fault.」

Alain apologizes to Reiss, perhaps feeling terribly ashamed of having been

the first to faint under Aria's attack.
「It is unavoidable. We can't say for sure, but it is highly possible that this
person is Liselotte=Claire's sword, Aria=Gavanes, according to his features.
It is completely unexpected that he accompanied Celia = Claire to Claire.」

In fact, if Celia had come to Claire alone, it is highly probable that Lucci
and his group would have succeeded in their assassination attempt.

Since Celia's close combat ability is acquired through magic, there is a

chance for her to be taken advantage of if she is not allowed to use that
magic. However, Aria, a powerful escort, has filled the gap that Celia
should have had.

（They really exceed our expectations, don't they? I wonder... Should we

think that they can see through everything?）

Who or what is he/she looking through? Reiss thinks as if he is on the

lookout for some unseen supernatural opponent. And then..,

「...But won't the Duke of Arbor hear about what we've been doing behind
the scenes? If that happens, Reiss may be distrusted in the future.」

Alain worried about the negative effects of the plan's failure.

「Yes, it may be somewhat troublesome, but it's within the limits of what
we can overlook. Well, it'll happen when it happens. We will consider it just
fine.」

「What?」

Alain and the others tilted their heads, perhaps not understanding the
meaning of "just right".

「I thought I'd collect some trump cards for future use. I'm going back to
my old home. That way, I won't have to face the Duke of Arbor until things
cool down. Renji-san, Alain-san and Lucci-san will continue to accompany
me.」
「Of course. This talk of teaching me how to fly, can't be put on the back
burner.」

Renji seems to be greedily seeking only to make himself stronger, and is not
too dissatisfied with the fact that he accompanies the group wherever they
go.

（If they can see through it all, then we have no choice but to prepare a
force that can't cope with it. I have to think about activating the thing,
though it is out of my hands now).）

Few people know the answer to the question of who Reiss is fighting
against and what kind of battle he is waging.
 [Chapter 4] Erika's Path

Just as Celia and her friends were returning to the Galarc Kingdom.

Rio and Sora were visiting the Holy Erika Republic.

The main reason for this journey was twofold: to separate from Aishia, who
remained at the castle of Galarc Kingdom to watch over Miharu and the
others, and to spread out the forces that were on the way.

One is to explore the events of the Divine-Demon War era.

Seven Wise Gods Lina, who seems to have the power of foreseeing the
future and is also Miharu's previous life, predicted that something would
happen in this age and reincarnated a former Dragon King as Rio. However,
we do not know what will actually happen. So I decided to travel to the
lands where the lore of the Divine-Demon War has been passed down, even
if I could not find any clues.

And the second purpose. The reason why I am visiting the land of Holy
Erika Republic is to fulfill the second purpose.

The purpose of this project is to release the transcendental authority in the

battle against Rio, and to bury the body of Hero Erika who has passed away
without being noticed.

--People are very stupid and ugly creatures. So, I don't regret what I did. I
still wish those stupid people would be destroyed. But some people are
kind. Stupidly kind people. I'm sure you're one of them. So I have a favor to
ask you. I don't need you to listen to me.
Rio remembered Erika's last will and testament on her deathbed.

--It's about 50 kilometers east of the capital of the country I built. There's a
village in the middle of nowhere. A village of the lowest kind of people.
Deep in the mountains, by a waterfall, his grave... if I could, I would be
there...

Honestly speaking, Erika's explanation was not sufficient, but it seemed that
she wanted to be buried next to her late fiancé.

He is the one who waged war against Galarc Kingdom and caused so much
trouble. I do not owe him a favor.

But Rio still tries to fulfill her wish, perhaps because he is simply a good-
natured person. Or perhaps it is because he feels some sympathy for Erika
who, as a former vengeance victim, has devoted herself to the vengeance
that made her hate the world.

Anyway--,

（Is this the capital? ）

Rio has arrived in the capital of the Holy Erika Republic.

Her name is Erika Burg.

（About fifty kilometers east of here, I guess. You can continue on your
way, but...）

Flying in spirit arts, Rio looks down on the capital from the sky. He had
been wondering a little about what had happened to the country after the
loss of its leader, Erika. So--,

「Since we're here, let's take a look at the city for a moment, Sora-chan.」

Rio suggests.

「Yes, sir!」
With no reason for Sora to refuse, Rio descended to the ground to have a
quick look at the capital.

◇◇◇

If we want to get a simple idea of the current situation and the future of the
country, it is quicker to look into the upper echelons of the country.
Therefore, Rio and Sora decided to make invisible wards with their spirit
arts and to take a peek at the congress, the highest decision-making body of
the Holy Erika Republic.

When I entered the capitol building, I found that the congress was in
session... As it turned out, the future of the Holy Erika Republic was dark
and gloomy.

「Next, I would like to talk about the protest from the Galarc Kingdom.
How should we respond to their demand for compensation in exchange for
the return of the prisoners of war? Today is the time to reach a
conclusion.」

A man named Andrei, who holds the position of the Prime Minister of the
country, was presiding over the meeting. Although he is older than Rio, he
is still a young man, but his expression shows that he has been through a lot
of hardships.

「I don't know how to deal with this...」

「You can't wear sleeves you don't have.」

「So what do we do with the prisoners? Abandon them?」

「That's not what I said. We're going to talk to them and try to negotiate to
get them to return it somehow...」
「Ha, do you have anything to bargain with?」

「Well, if money is no longer an option, then something else, like food...」

「Food! We're going to offer food to another country when we don't know
how we'll be able to secure food for the next year and beyond? You've got
to be kidding! I'm against it!」

Some of them show a hypersensitive reaction to the offer of food in

exchange for money.

In the first place, agriculture and land development in the Holy Erika
Republic were planned to be carried out based on Erika who has the divine
arms of the soil. Since Erika has disappeared, it is only natural that the plan
would collapse. In addition to that..,

「...Why did we start a war against the distant Galarc Kingdom in the first
place?」

「It is for our cause to overthrow the evil royalty and nobility...」

「But why did we even have to fight with other countries in the first
place?」

「...」

Erika, who became transcendental, has been forgotten just like Rio. Even
the process of her decision to invade the Galarc Kingdom and her passion
may have slipped from her memory. Perhaps that is why she is silent at the
very beginning of the discussion. And then..,

「I understand your opinions. But, can we come to a conclusion now? Are

we going to save our fellow prisoners or abandon them?」

Andrei steers the discussion.

「...we're trying to come to a conclusion.」

The council members look away from Andrei guiltily.

「But we are repeating the same story over and over again. They are eager
to debate, but when it comes to the question of whether or not to abandon
the POWs, they fall back on their heels. That's all I can see.」

This is probably because they do not want to assume the responsibility that
comes with drawing conclusions. They make statements that are the
premises for drawing conclusions, but they do not speak of the conclusions
themselves. Those who are in the Congress have become masters of such
sophistry. This is no way to have a constructive discussion.

「Of course! We decide what happens to the prisoners of war! You're

responsible for them too!」

「That's right. That's why I want to come to a proper conclusion without

running away. I wonder how long the emissaries of the Galarc Kingdom
will wait for me...」

「...Then, how about taking the emissaries of the Galarc Kingdom as

prisoners and exchanging them for hostages?」

When someone says something like that-- ,

「Don't be silly! What if the Galarc Kingdom gets really angry?」

「Coward!」

The shouting begins.

It was kind of a mess. Whereas before, the parliament was a monolithic

body led by Erika, it is now nothing more than a collection of disparate
individuals. It is also fatal that there is no one who has a political
background in the parliament, since the main aristocrats were executed or
exiled at the time of the founding of the country.
Frankly speaking, it was unbearable to watch and listen to, and Rio decided
to leave the room within a few minutes.

（Shall we go, Sora-chan? ）

Rio touches Sora's shoulder and speaks to her telekinetically. Then he went
out of the capital city and soared into the sky with spirit arts again. Then
Rio went to the village where Erika once lived.

◇◇◇

A few dozen minutes out of the capital Erika Burg.

Just fifty kilometers to the east, Rio discovers a village that looks like it. He
stops flying and checks the topography of the area.

（There is a mountain and a waterfall can be seen. (There is a village at the

foot of the mountain.）

The information given by Erika was fragmentary, so it cannot be said to be

definite yet, but it is highly possible that it is applicable in terms of the
distance from the capital city.

「Maybe it's over there. Let's go down near the waterfall.」

Rio descends with Sora right next to the waterfall. And then--,

「Dragon King-sama, that...」

「Yeah, something's up.」

We find an artifact that looks like a tomb, and we both land right in front of
it. The material is a huge stone. It was a simple, rectangular stone design,
worked into a slab shape.
（Tombstone... I'm sure it's a tombstone. This is...）

Perhaps hand-carved? There are letters carved on the stone.

「What does it say?」

Sora stared at the letters.

「Akira Teshigahara, Kana.」

Rio reads out the name carved in stone.

「I see you can read! You are the Dragon King-sama!」

「It just happened to be letters I knew.」

The name was engraved in Roman characters.

Nothing else is mentioned.

So, I didn't know what kind of kanji they were.

Rio touches the ground and lets his magic flow into the ground. Like
palpation, he tries to confirm the shape of the object buried in the ground.

（Bones are buried. There is no sign of digging. There is no doubt that they
belonged to Erika-san's fiancée.）

Rio surmises this and stands up, letting go of the ground. He could have
buried Erika at this point, but he did not,

「Let's go to the village at the foot of the mountain.」

I'm a little curious and want to check something out. Once there, Rio
decides to go to the village where Erika may have lived with her fiancé.
◇◇◇

The village at the foot of the mountain was very quiet.

As Rio and Sora enter the house, they are met with stares from the villagers.

Rio, which has become transcendental, has become less visible in the sense
that it is difficult to be remembered and to be noticed by people, but it
seems that people are wary of Rio. It seems that they do not want to get
involved with strangers as much as possible, and a closed atmosphere can
be felt.

Rio still called out to the wary villagers and went to the chief's house. He
knocked on the wooden front door, which slowly opened a few moments
later.

He was a mature man.

「Who is it?」

The man looks at Rio's appearance from top to bottom, and then asks a
question to confirm his true identity.

「I am a traveler. I would like to ask the village head a few questions about
the village. If you can give me the information I want to know, I will be
very grateful.」

Rio says so and shows a small bag of copper and silver coins. Perhaps the
offer of gratuity was effective, I could see the color of the man's eyes
change.

「Is it a nobleman, sir?」

They judged this from Rio's outfit with high-quality equipment.

「Well, I used to be. But don't worry about your identity.」

It is true that I was an honorary knight. Rio answered the mayor's question,
thinking that he was not lying and that it would make the other party's
mouth lighter. And then..,

「Come on in.」

The man invited Rio and Sora into the house.

「Excuse me, are you the village head?」

「Yes, yes. Well, have a seat.」

「Hi.」

At the mayor's urging, Rio and Sora sit down in the dining room.

「So, what do you want to talk about?」

Are you going to make small talk?

「In the last year or so, have any men from the outside settled in your
village? His name is Teshigahara Aki La.」

Rio also speaks directly to the question.

「What the...?」

The village head does not answer questions right away.

The first thing that came into his eyes was a strong surprise.

Continue, awkwardness and guilt.

「You were there?」

Rio infers this from the reaction of the village head.

「Yeah, well...」
The village head was very conflicted, and then he affirmed it in a very bad
way.

「Did anything memorable happen to the man? I'm talking about the kind
of thing that gets people killed.」

「What was your relationship with this man?」

The village head was very distraught and asked about the relationship
between Rio and Erika's former fiancée.

「We don't know each other directly. I'm a stranger, if you will. However, I
know a little bit about the woman who was his ex-fiancee. Well, she is dead
now, but I am trying to find out a little bit about her, and I would like to
know about the man she was engaged to.」

and Rio tells why she tries to explore men honestly.

「Okay, well...」

Did he think that he would not be resented if he was not directly involved in
the case? Perhaps relieved to hear Rio's story, the mayor regains his
composure.

「Will you tell us what happened in this village? I only want to know the
facts, not to do anything with what I know. If you tell me the truth, I will
give you this as a reward.」

Rio took a small bag of copper and silver coins from his coat, which he had
prepared as a reward, put it on the table, and presented it to the village
headman.

「...!」

The village head was conflicted, but eventually he grabbed the sack. Then,
as if he had come to his senses, he recounted the events of the past.
◇◇◇

One day, a well-dressed dark-haired man moved to the village alone. The
man tried to gain the trust of the villagers by actively doing jobs that they
did not want to do. The man became smart and started to do jobs that the
villagers could not do.

In this way, the men gradually begin to fit in with the village.

However, the villagers sometimes did not take kindly to the idea of the
artist flaunting his unknown knowledge or showing off his precious items in
the midst of a difficult life in the village.

One day, a man is chosen to visit the city to trade. Then, a great incident
occurred that shook the whole village.

A man shows off his valuables in the city, which attracts the attention of the
nobility. This leads to a situation where the nobles come to the village.

And then...

It turned out that the man's belongings were stolen. The nobleman had come
to the village to recover the stolen goods.

The villagers were angry and blamed the man. The nobles tried to settle the
matter peacefully, but the man showed no remorse and refused to return the
stolen goods.

The man was particularly attached to a ring containing an expensive-

looking jewel. He lied that it was his engagement ring and refused to give it
back to the nobleman, despite the villagers' efforts to persuade him
otherwise. But when the ring was eventually taken from him...

The man began to rage violently with unusual stupidity. The nobles tried to
settle the matter peacefully, but they had no choice but to order the knights
they had brought to kill the man.

The nobles did not blame the villagers for their cooperation and promised to
exempt the villagers from taxes in return for their cooperation, and the theft
case was solved.

I thought. But...

Soon, a new big problem arises.

A group of aristocrats visiting the village were all slaughtered just after they
left the village to go home. Another family of three, a young couple and
their baby, were also slaughtered.

Who slaughtered the noblemen and their families in the village?

The village was in a panic.

Of course. Even if he was not staying in the village, a nobleman was

slaughtered right next to the village, and the villagers are the first to be
suspected. If they were not, the whole villagers might be executed. In fact,
the government has brought an unscrupulous suspicion against the village.

Fortunately, there were traces of magic used by the nobles at the scene of
the slaughter, and there were several knights with enhanced physical
abilities, so they concluded that the villagers could not have killed them. So
the villagers were exonerated.

However, the question of who slaughtered the nobles and their families in
the village remained a mystery. The mystery has not been clarified to this
day. There was a possibility that they were attacked by a powerful demon or
a beast, but there were no such sightings around the village.

Maybe that's why...

--Perhaps the man who was killed had a grudge against him and cursed the
nobles and the villagers to death?
The villagers began to think that the "the world is a big place" and that the
"the world is a big place".

This is because all of the slaughtered victims were people who would have
been strongly resented by the men. The nobles who ordered the murder of
the men, as well as the families who were slaughtered testified against the
men, even though they were indebted to the men for the birth of their
children.

There is ample reason to be damned.

And...

--The men may have cursed the villagers as well.

The village is said to have become infested with the fear of the man's death.
After the man's death, ominous and mysterious phenomena began to occur
in the village.

The earthquake, which rarely happens in the Strahl area, the destruction of
fields, and the discovery of dead livestock have made the villagers fear that
they are being cursed by the murdered man. Some of them are even
suspicious that it might be the work of someone in the village.

Although these strange phenomena have not been occurring recently, the
villagers are still anxious that something strange may happen again
anytime.

The distrust of strangers has become widespread in the village, and recently
the relationship between villagers has become awkward.

◇◇◇

This is roughly what the village head said...

The fact that Erika became transcendental just before her death may have
triggered God's rule and caused the completion of memories among those
who knew her. There were several events in which I felt that the male fiancé
and Erika had switched subjects.

Moreover, Rio does not know how close to the truth the village head told
his story. There were many subjective expressions of the speaker, so it is
very possible that he/she may have fictionalized the past events to suit
himself/herself.

According to the village head, the man who was Erika's fiancée is described
as an evil man with a bad character, but this is also doubtful.

But still...

Some facts have been glimpsed from the village headman's story.

In other words--,

（...The theft of the man's suspected valuables was definitely a false

accusation. There is no way that a man could have stolen the goods of a
nobleman, having moved from Japan and living in this village.）

It was probably in her possession when she had moved from Japan. Rio
had, in all probability, discovered that Erika's fiancé had been falsely
accused of murder.

Perhaps the villagers were afraid of the nobles, or perhaps they were
blinded by greed after being told about the tax exemption in advance, but
no one tried to help Erika's fiancé. As a result, Erika's fiancée was declared
a liar by the villagers and killed by the nobles.

And--,

（The nobles were killed on their way home, just after they left the village.
(The nobles were killed on their way home, right after they left the
village.）
The question of fact that "What is the difference between the two?

If her fiancé was about to be killed in front of her eyes, she would not just
stand by and watch him be killed. That may be why Erika was not present
at the scene of her fiancé's murder,

（No, the chief said he killed the man because he went berserk with
unusual force. So was she the one who went berserk? So, she was killed
once?）

Rio guesses again.

Indeed, even if Erika was not as strong as she was when she faced Rio, it is
hard to believe that she would easily fall behind against knights who can
strengthen their physical abilities with magic.

However, Erika was originally an ordinary woman born and raised in Japan.
It is unlikely that she had any experience in killing each other. It is difficult
for such a person to suddenly kill a person when she has the power of Hero.

Even if they had no choice but to get involved in the struggle, they would
have been shy or frightened. There must have been more than one knight
escort brought by the nobles, and they must have been outnumbered, so it is
quite possible that they fell behind and were killed. Rio knows firsthand
that Erika can revive even if she is mortally wounded. So, in any case--,

（She was definitely the one who killed the knights and their families in the
village after her male fiancé was killed.）

Rio judged that Erika had certainly taken her revenge on the nobles and the
families in the village. I don't know if she didn't touch the other villagers
because she was less involved or because she wanted to make them suffer
without killing them...

（She was a desperate fighter who had to be revived. (Perhaps it was also at
this point that she realized that Hero would not die easily.）
The secret of Hero's strength lies in "assimilation" with the sealed Great
Spirit. Assimilation is a technique in which the contractor and spirit are
literally united through a special contract called "spirit pact.

By assimilating with the Great Spirit, the Hero approaches the inhuman
existence and becomes able to handle the power beyond human beings.
They can also materialize divine arms.

However, Hero cannot completely assimilate with the sealed Great Spirit. If
Hero is completely assimilated without any restrictions, the sealed Great
Spirit will come to the front and may take over the control of the body.
Therefore, a safety spell to limit the degree of assimilation is built into the
divine arms or the Hero system.

However, Erika was clearly taking off the safety and bringing out the power
of Hero. Renji, who fought in Rodania, also drew a lot of power, but it was
still not as strong as Erika's. It remained unclear how Erika was able to
loosen the safety, though,

（Could it be that Hero's condition for being able to draw power is...?）

Is it to die?

Rio thought with a chill down his spine.

In fact, Erika's ability to recover from her injuries, which was close to
resuscitation, was probably the result of assimilation. If so, it is possible
that the safety of assimilation may be removed by sustaining one or more
fatal wounds that would kill a human being instantly.

This interpretation makes a lot of sense when we look back at what we

know about the events that took place in this village and Erika's desperate
fighting style.

（But...）

There is no way to verify it. If one tries to verify it, it is necessary to ask
Hero to commit suicide or to attack him in such a way as to kill him. If
anyone tries to verify it, he or she is completely out of the ordinary.

It is an act that one would have to be a vengeful spirit like Erika. I don't
know if Erika herself was aware of the secret and fought in a desperate way,
or if she let her power run wild without knowing it. But either way--,

「...」

What a helpless story, isn't it?

（I never understood why she hated the world...）

Now that he understood Erika's past and her circumstances, Rio felt that he
finally understood Erika's heart.

Rio would never enter into other people's affairs. He tries to live his life at a
certain distance from others. However, when Rio took the trouble to visit
the village to find out what had happened in the past, he had some degree of
empathy for Erika, the avenger.

The degree of immigration must have increased dramatically now that all
the necessary pieces were in place. Rio frowns as he feels uncomfortable.

Then, the chief of the village, who had been speaking ill of the men's
personalities, came to an end,

「Thank you very much. I was also very distressed, and I feel a little bit
relieved to have someone to listen to me.」

The village head breathed deeply, as if to let out his guilt. He looks
refreshed, as if he has done his penance and is forgiven.

「...」

Rio is bitterly disappointed.

The reason why the village head had such a look on his face may be
because he felt some kind of guilt toward Erika's ex-fiancee who had passed
away. Therefore, he feels relieved after confessing his guilt.

But that's...

It's...

Is this allowed?

「Did the people in the village do something against him, too?」

Rio looked as if he was wondering whether to ask or not, and then asked the
village head.

「What...? Why?」

The mayor was at first amused. Later, when the color of guilt began to
return to his face, he asked Rio why he had asked such a question.

「I was feeling guilty about the man who passed away, and I thought
maybe I could get it off my chest because I felt lighter about it.」

Rio tries to guess the chief's mind.

「No, no. No, no, no, no, I didn't do that, I...」

The village head denied it rather unnervingly and looked away from Rio
awkwardly. It was a reaction that suggested he had something to be guilty
about. However, Rio did not intend to prolong the conversation,

「...I see. Well, good.」

He tries to cut the conversation short and get back on his feet. But..,

「What, what...」

「Eh?」

「What was so good about it?」

The mayor stopped Rio as he stood up and asked him a question.

「...It's hard to live with something you want to apologize for when
someone is dead and you can never apologize again, isn't it? You're going to
live with regret for the rest of your life.」

Rio ponders for a moment and then chooses his words to answer the
mayor's question.

「...」

The village head was so stunned that his eyes turned into dots and his face
became a scowl. Rio then told him, "I'm sorry, but I'm not sure if this is a
good idea or not.

「But even if the other person wants you to apologize, it is often only you
who will feel better if you apologize. If you have made a mistake that
cannot be forgiven even if you apologize, you should not apologize for the
rest of your life, and you may regret it as you are hated.」

「...」

The village head still remains silent, but he looks much worse.

「That's why. If you have nothing to feel guilty about, I'm glad. That's a
strange thing to say. I'll leave you to it. Thank you for talking to me.」

Rio said this last and got up this time. He looked at Sora and walked
quickly to the front door.

「Ah!」

The village head still sounds as if he wants to say something and reaches
out his hand to Rio's back. Rio, however, either does not notice or pretends
not to notice, and walks out the front door without stopping.

Then--,
「...」

The mayor looked as if he was chewing a bitter bug, and kept staring at the
small bag of rewards on the table.

◇◇◇

After leaving the chief's house.

Rio left the village early and returned to the grave where Erika's fiancée lay.
Both Sora and Rio were not very talkative, wondering what they felt after
listening to the mayor's talk...

「...」

Rio looked down at the gravestone and remained silent for a while.

（Strong negative emotions from the murder of her fiancé. It turned her
into a saint Erika. If she had not wandered into such a world, she would not
have lost her fiancé. She hated the world and the people living in it. So, she
tried to make the world itself unhappy.）

I think this vengeance is really distorted and unreasonable. Moreover, Rio

had no other choice but to fight with Erika, and no other choice but to kill
her, since Rio's close friends were living in the world where Erika was
trying to spread her misfortune.

However, Rio was not unsympathetic to Erika's anger. Because Rio was
also a person who had lived his life with a passion for revenge. There was
no way he could deny that Erika's anger was wrong.

Maybe that's why I felt so irresistible that we had no other choice but to kill
each other like that. It would have been easier if I hadn't bothered to know
about Erika's past...
But, it is precisely because of the knowledge of Erika's past that I was able
to make the decision to go with her,

「...《Discharge》」

Rio wanted to pay his respects to Erika. He took out a carving knife from
the storehouse of space-time and began to carve Erika's name on the
headstone where her fiancé's name was engraved.

（Sakuraba, Erika）

Rio remembers Erika's name, but does not know the Chinese characters. It
is fortunate that her fiancé's name is engraved in romaji. Or, perhaps he
engraved his fiancée's name in romaji so that he could have his dead name
engraved even if he did not know the Chinese characters.

（No, that's... too much to think about...）

On second thought, Erika, who carved her fiancé's name in Roman

characters, is already dead. Rio decided to carve the name carefully,
thinking of Erika's full name. When she finishes carving the name, she finds
that..,

「《Discharge》」

Rio digs up the soil under the grave, and then emerges Erika's frozen corpse
from the space-time storehouse. After gently placing Erika's corpse in the
dug-up soil, Rio attempts to complete the burial by reburying all the dug-up
soil. However, before she finishes burying the corpse completely, the last
glimpse of her peaceful expression may have made a strong impression on
the audience,

「...」

Rio stopped his work for a moment and looked at the dead Erika's face. But
the dead Erika would not tell him anything. Rio shakes his head and
completes the burial this time. He then looks down at the dead stone where
Erika lies with her fiancé,
「Dragon King-sama...」

Sora is standing right next to Rio, looking into his profile with concern. The
height difference between the two of them is about the same as that of an
adult and a child, so they are looking up at each other...

「I'm sorry. I was just thinking.」

Rio gently smiles and pats Sora's head. Sora's cheeks relax in a ticklish,
furtive manner, but either she thinks it's not the time, or she feels she has to
say something to Rio,

「Oh, um, Dragon King-sama!」

Sora raises her voice.

「What?」

Rio tilts his head and softly urges the audience to continue.

「...Lina said. The Six Wise Gods were fed up with the stupidity and
ugliness of humanity. Although she hates them, Sora thinks she can
understand why a little bit...」

Sora speaks her mind. I guess she is speaking what she actually felt after
listening to the stories in the village.

「Yeah, I guess so.」

Rio, too, has felt many unpleasant aspects of people in the past. Therefore,
he could sympathize with what Sora was saying and nodded his head with a
more complicated expression on his face. However, Sora does not seem to
have wanted to see Rio's expression,

「No, no! That's not what Sora wants to say... Sora wants the Dragon King-
sama to cheer up. Don't worry about those jerks...」
Wishing she could be more persuasive and energizing, Sora faltered as she
tried to verbalize her thoughts.
「...Thank you, Sora-chan. I know. It would be wrong to despair of the
human race as a whole, looking at only one aspect of human beings. I don't
think that one bad aspect is all there is to mankind. So...」

Rio tells that story, takes a small breath, and then--,

「So, let's change our minds and continue our journey.」

He spoke strongly and looked to the future.

「...yes!」

Sora shakes his head vigorously.

（I'll be back someday.）

Now that everyone in the world has forgotten Erika's existence, only a very
few can mourn her. Rio takes one look at the headstone, bows lightly, and
turns his back to leave. But just before she takes off in spirit arts..,

「Thank you.」

「What the...?」

Rio thought he heard Erika's voice and turned around with a start. But there
was no one there.

「What's the matter, Dragon King-sama?」

「No, it's nothing. Let's go to the place where the Divine-Demon War is
said to have begun.」

To accomplish the real purpose of their journey, Rio and Sora took to the
skies westward in the Strahl region.
 [Chapter 5] Takahisa's Reminiscence

Sendou Takahisa has had a crush on someone ever since he first met her.
Her name was Ayase Miharu, and for the first time in his life, he fell in love
at first sight.

Takahisa first met Miharu on a day shortly after his father's remarriage. It
was Aki, his sister-in-law who was born after his father's remarriage, who
introduced Miharu to Takahisa.

Aki was shy at the beginning of her second marriage, but she soon became
friendly with Takahisa and Masato. At that time, Aki was traumatized by
the loss of her father and brother due to her mother's divorce, and there was
a hole in her heart. Unbeknownst to Aki, Takahisa and Masato filled that
hole.

Anyway, Aki decided to introduce Miharu, whom she loved like a real
sister, to Takahisa and Masato.

When Takahisa met Miharu for the first time, he was about to enter junior
high school. Takahisa still vividly remembers the shock he felt at that time,
even now that he has grown up.

「...」

Miharu was so cute that Takahisa was speechless.

「Miharu-oneechan, I told you before. I have a brother! Takahisa-oniichan

and my little brother Masato!」
At that time, Aki was very happy and proud to introduce the two of them.

「...Yes, what's this? I'm Ayase Miharu. Nice to meet you.」

Miharu greeted them with an awkward smile, perhaps because she was
nervous.

「...」

「...Oni-chan ?」

Aki gently looked at Takahisa's face because Takahisa kept stiffening up.
Then Takahisa came back to himself with a start,

「Eh? Uh, yeah... uh, Takahisa. I'm Aki's brother. Nice to meet you.」

Nervous, Takahisa's voice sounded hollow. On the other hand--,

「Miharu-neechan, you are so cute! I've never seen such a cute girl
before.」

Masato was honest in expressing his feelings.

「Oh, yeah? Oh, thank you. That's the first time anyone's ever said that to
me.」

Miharu blinks her eyes and thanks me with a coy smile.

「Masato...」

Takahisa mentioned Masato's name enviously and reproachfully. Maybe he

was jealous of Masato who could express his thoughts honestly. I want to
express my feelings honestly, too.

「Hey, Masato, you're not good enough for Miharu-oneechan, you can't do
it.」

Aki hugged Miharu's arm.

「I know, I know, I know.」

Masato scratches his cheek. And then..,

「Onii-chan would be a good match, wouldn't it?」

Aki says such a thing in a questioning tone as she hugs Miharu's arm. She
looked at Takahisa and Miharu's faces alternately, and it sounded like she
was addressing both of them.

「Eh? No, no, Aki...!」

Takahisa was so excited that he shook his body violently. I couldn't think of
a good response and was at a loss for words,

「Ha-ha-ha. Aki-chan, Takahisa-kun will be in trouble if you say such a

thing out of the blue.」

Miharu rebuked Aki first. Takahisa was impressed by the fact that Miharu
herself seemed to be laughing with annoyance.

「How are you, Oni-chan?」

「Eh? No..., you got me.」

When Aki pointed water at him, Takahisa did his best to smile shyly.

--No, it doesn't bother me.

At that time, Takahisa was not able to say, "I am not a good person.

That is how Takahisa and Miharu met. I don't know if Miharu remembers it
or not, but Takahisa still remembers it.

Then, a few days later...

「Hey, Aki...is there anyone you like, Miharu?」

Takahisa boldly asked Aki a question.

「Eh? Miharu-oneechan ni...?」

At first, Aki asked back happily.

However, Aki's expression seemed to become tense for a moment, as if she

remembered her former brother, Amakawa Haruto, from the questions she
asked,

「Aki?」

Takahisa looked into Aki's face.

「No, no, no. Miharu-oneechan doesn't have anyone she likes.」

Aki shook her head vigorously, her voice rising a little. And then..,

「Oh, yeah. I see...」

Takahisa was relieved and then relaxed his cheek muscles in a very happy
way. Because he had been worried about what if Miharu liked someone
else, envying an unseen rival. There was no way Takahisa could have read
Aki's subtleties of mind at that time, and he was happy to hear the good
news. Then..,

「Oni-chan, could it be... could it be?」

Aki's face had lost its fading look before I knew it. She was looking at
Takahisa with a smiling face, smiling with anticipation.

「No, no, I mean...」

Takahisa did not deny it, though he did not affirm it clearly. However, his
blushing face and scratching his cheeks in an embarrassed manner were
almost as if he was affirming it.

「Phew~」
Takahisa's feelings for Miharu were easily detected by Aki.

◇◇◇

Just .

Then, during the three years of junior high school...

Takahisa and Miharu's relationship did not progress. This is because

Takahisa did not make any aggressive approach to Miharu during the three
years of junior high school.

In the first place, Miharu's feeling is not toward Takahisa. There was no
room for progress without Takahisa's approach.

Well, even if Takahisa had made an approach, Miharu still had Amakawa
Haruto in her mind. Even if Takahisa had been aggressive, it might have
been difficult to make Miharu fall in love with him. Still, it is true that
Takahisa did nothing. The possibility might have been literally zero...

Takahisa left the possibility at zero. Or rather, he might have expected that
there might be a possibility without any approach.

Because Aki was there, Takahisa was always there for Miharu. Miharu was
like an older sister to Aki, and Miharu loved Aki like a real sister. In other
words, Miharu and Aki are inseparable.

Therefore, as long as Takahisa remained a good brother to Aki, he would

inevitably have an excuse to talk to Miharu. In fact, Takahisa was the
closest male student to Miharu at school and outside of school. Although it
was partly because Miharu was not used to the opposite sex, there was no
one around Miharu of the opposite sex other than Takahisa.

So, Takahisa felt relieved. And he was afraid that he would do something
unnecessary and change the relationship between him and Miharu. He was
afraid that he would do something unnecessary and change the relationship
between him and Miharu... Because he liked and loved Miharu so much, he
was afraid that he would be rejected by confessing his love to her.

Besides, it might have been fun.

Miharu was so cute that all the boys in the school paid attention to her, and
I always felt special just by being next to her. I was so happy that the
students of the school gossiped that they were probably dating.

There is no need to be in a hurry. You are the closest opposite sex to

Miharu. If you are the closest opposite sex to Miharu, Miharu will be aware
of you in some way. If you keep this relationship, you will naturally get
together with Miharu someday.

I told myself that...

Takahisa's three years of junior high school came to an end.

◇◇◇

Then .

The junior high school graduation ceremony is over.

As we approach the start of high school...

Takahisa became anxious. Although he and Miharu are going to enter the
same high school, their relationship will change drastically once they enter
the high school. Then, a new boy who likes Miharu might appear and
confess his love to Miharu.

Besides, what if Miharu falls in love with someone else?

Takahisa started to get impatient. During the spring break, he was worried
and worried and worried. He wondered if he should confess his feelings to
Miharu.

So, Takahisa made up his mind. He decided to be more aggressive in high

school, if not to confess his feelings.

Then comes the day of the entrance ceremony.

Not only on the way to school, but also after arriving at school,

「Wow, isn't she so cute?」

「Is that guy next door your boyfriend?」

「You're a hottie.」

I sometimes hear the students around me talking about it, and I feel a little
superior.

That's right. Be confident. And be proactive. You are still the closest to
Miharu in this school.

Takahisa was secretly enthusiastic.

Miharu had a childhood friend, Amakawa Haruto, in her mind, and she did
not know at that time that Amakawa Haruto had also entered the same high
school.

Well, knowing this does not change anything, because on the way back
from the entrance ceremony, Takahisa is summoned to another world. There
is no future where Takahisa lives with Miharu in high school.

Yes, Takahisa was with Miharu, Aki, Satsuki, and Masato until the moment
he was summoned.

And then I find myself--

「What...?」

The scenery changed drastically. Takahisa was standing alone in a strange

place, even though he was walking in a residential area in Japan.

It was a spacious and elegant space. It was a temple in the style of ancient
Greece or Western Europe. Takahisa stood on the altar, staring at the scene
in front of him.

On the other hand, there were people other than Takahisa in the room. All
of them were dressed in luxurious clothes that modern people on the earth
would not wear. They were dressed as if they were in a fantasy movie,

「Oh, oh...」

Takahisa was staring at him dumbfoundedly and letting out a mournful

voice. Everyone in the room could not understand what was going on, and
there was a moment of silence,

「What, what's this? Everybody, are you okay...?」

Takahisa comes to his senses and turns around. He tries to call out to those
who should be there, but that is an illusion...

Takahisa was surrounded by no one.

「Miharu?」

Takahisa raised his voice in a panic. He looked for familiar faces among
those who were standing under the altar and looking up at him, but none of
them looked Japanese...

「No, no, no, no, no, no, no.」

Takahisa fell to his knees.

Then, out of the crowd of people gathered under the altar, two people
wearing extravagant clothes came out. They were followed soon by knights
who looked like guards, but they were as far apart in age as father and son.
They were obviously not Japanese.

One looked like a king and the other like a princess. As we will soon see,
they are King Centostella and his daughter Liliana, the first princess.

「...」

Takahisa kneels at the altar in a daze,

「Are you... no, are you Hero-dono?」

The king asked.

「What?」

Takahisa turns his eyes to the king and Liliana. However, he did not seem to
have heard what the king said at that time.

「Are you the legendary Hero-dono? I ask.」

The king asks the question again. This time, Takahisa heard the question
clearly,

「What?」

Takahisa's eyes are dots.

「...」

The king remained silent and looked at the person Takahisa as if he was
assessing him. Then--,

「What are you talking about?」

Takahisa finally comes up with some words. It is natural to be puzzled

when suddenly asked if he is a Hero. Suppose--,
「Eh, am I a Hero? Did I get summoned to another world?」

If there is a person who can easily accept the situation, he or she is quite out
of the ordinary.

「The altar on which you stand now...」

The king raised his hand and pointed to the altar.

「Sai, dan...」

Takahisa's gaze turns to his feet.

「There was a national treasure of our country, the Sacred Stone. The
sacred stone suddenly produced a huge pillar of light. When the light
disappeared, the sacred stone disappeared from its stand, and you were
standing there instead.」

The king explains the facts before Takahisa's arrival in a simple way.

However, that doesn't mean that--

「Is that so?」

There is no way that Takahisa will ever develop a sense of being a Hero.

So, what's the problem?

I'm talking about that.

「...there is a scripture once attributed to the Six Wise Gods. The prophecy
about Hero written in the scripture is consistent with your appearance.」

The king then deflects a passage from a scripture said to have been left by
the Six Wise Gods, which relates to the prophecy of Hero. In other words...

Heroes who embrace fierce divine arms and protect mankind.

The gods and demons are at war, a thousand years in the future.

When the six-colored sacred stones shine and the pillars of light soar into
the sky.

Returning to the land of Strahl.

On behalf of the six wise deities, I ask you to guide the world of men.

「I see...」

Takahisa is at a loss for a response, as if the passage of the prophecy does

not ring a bell.

I mean, that's not the point,

「Excuse me, was there anyone else here besides me? There was a girl
named Miharu with me!」

I was curious about the whereabouts of Miharu and his friends. Takahisa
was distracted and asked where Miharu and his friends were.

「...Unfortunately, no one has shown up except Hero-dono.」

「...Oh no...」

There are so many things to worry about: where am I, what is Hero, why
am I in this place...

Perhaps his mind was not able to process the situation, or perhaps he was so
shocked that Miharu was not here that he could not afford to worry about
it... Takahisa was completely at a loss, and he was in a state of complete
blankness.

「I am King Centostella. Giovanna Centostella. May I know the name of

Hero-dono?」

The king reveals his name and asks Takahisa's name.

「...Takahisa... Sendou, Takahisa...」

Takahisa's mind could not catch up with his understanding and he uttered
his name with a dazed look on his face.

◇◇◇

Then, the kingdom treated Takahisa as a Hero and a guest of honor, and
even assigned Liliana, the first princess, as a sponsor to explain the
situation to him in detail.

Then, Takahisa understands what is happening to him. This is not the earth,
but another world. He was summoned as a Hero regardless of the will of
Centostella Kingdom. Miharu and the others who were with her when she
was summoned are still nowhere to be found, and she is alone in another
world...

No matter how much they searched in the castle and in the capital, they
could not find Miharu and his friends. Besides, Takahisa had a strange
dream in which he was taught how to use the divine arms, which are the
proof of Hero. He was even able to materialize the divine arms. The legends
and the circumstances of his life truly told us that Takahisa was a legendary
Hero. Such a thing..,

（I never wanted to be a Hero.）

Takahisa He didn't want this at all, but...

If it was a dream, I wanted it to wake up. But whether you go to sleep or

wake up, you will never return to the earth. This is not a dream, but a
reality. From Takahisa's point of view, it was nothing but a nightmare, but
he had to admit that it was real.
Whether Takahisa's heart can endure this reality or not is another matter.
Will he ever be able to return to the earth? Will he never see Miharu and the
others again?

「I don't know, I don't know...」

Takahisa could not give up, and he was blocked up day after day.

（It was just the beginning... Once I entered high school, I would become
Miharu...）

Is it because I am the only one who has wandered into a different world? I
felt like a fool when I was wondering how I should approach Miharu when
I entered high school.

Because we may never return to the earth again.

Since I came to the other world, my relationship with Miharu was

physically cut off, and I could never express my feelings to her again.

（If this is the way it's going to be, I should have had the courage to do it
earlier...）

Takahisa began to regret his cowardice and thought that he should have told
Miharu how he felt about her.

Over and over again, I think the same thing, have the same feelings..,

「Oh, God...」

Takahisa gets frustrated and raises his voice.

However, no matter how angry we are, we cannot release our negative

feelings. The frustration and anxiety that have no place to go just keep
accumulating...

「Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God. Oh, God, God, God!」
It has been like this for a few days since Takahisa was summoned to the
other world.

Every day, in the morning--

「Good morning, Takahisa-sama 」

Liliana visits Takahisa's room at a fixed time. Liliana's maid, Frill, is

nearby.

「Yeah, yeah.」

Takahisa's gaze turns to the door where Liliana stands.

However, even though I recognized them, I did not pay attention to them.
This is because I did not have the mental capacity to respond properly to
them when they appeared.

In other words, from Takahisa's point of view, Liliana was the same
whether she was there or not. It took a few more days for Takahisa to start
getting to know Liliana.

◇◇◇

And a few days later .

It has been ten days since Takahisa wandered into this world.

Then one day.

「Good morning, Takahisa-sama 」

In the morning, Liliana visited Takahisa's room again today to prepare

meals. As usual, Frilly pushed the serving table and they entered the room
together.
「Good morning. I'm here today.」

Takahisa on this day was a little different from the previous days. He
seemed to be depressed and blocked up as before, but I wondered if he was
tired of being blocked up all the time.

She was aware of both of them, and said something that seemed to continue
the conversation. Liliana could tell that they were interested in her in some
way,

「Yes. If it's not too much trouble, may I join you for breakfast today?」

Liliana, who was appointed as Takahisa's caretaker, did not talk to Takahisa
unless Takahisa talked to her. Liliana, who was appointed as Takahisa's
caretaker, did not try to talk to Takahisa unless Takahisa talked to her. It was
probably because it was obvious that trying to establish a relationship with
Takahisa, who had closed his mind, would be counterproductive. So, I had
been going home as soon as I prepared breakfast, which was my routine
until yesterday. Today, however, it is different.

「What? Yeah, yeah, it's fine, but...」

Takahisa blinked his eyes in surprise, but readily agreed.

「Thank you very much. Okay, Frills. Yes.」

At Liliana's order, Fril took out a meal for two from the serving table. Then
she began to arrange the plates on the table in the room. Takahisa and
Liliana are seated and wait for the serving table.

（...they had prepared for two people from the beginning...）

Takahisa wonders "what is there to talk about? Takahisa wonders. He had

actually prepared a meal for both of them so that he and Takahisa could eat
together every day, but he hadn't thought of that possibility. And then..,

「Takahisa-sama, was there anything in yesterday's meal that was not to

your liking?」
Liliana, sitting opposite him, asked Takahisa a question.

「Oh, no... it wasn't, I guess.」

Takahisa gave a very poor answer to the question. It is not that he did not
eat at all, but he always left the food served to him.

You may not have tasted much because you were feeling so depressed, and
you probably don't remember what you ate.

「If there are any flavors you don't like, please feel free to tell us.」

Liliana must have known that Takahisa always left his meals. However, she
could not tell whether it was because of her feelings, her likes/dislikes, or
both, so she was trying to confirm it implicitly.

「Oh, yeah. I'm okay, I think... thank you.」

Takahisa thanked him in a very awkward manner, and went on to say--,

「...and I'm sorry. I've been living in a castle, and you've been taking care
of me for days without doing anything, and I've been stuck here...」

He apologized and bowed his head. I wondered if he had become calmer

because he had been too much depressed, and had reflected on himself
objectively.

Certainly, if I were to use a metaphor based on Takahisa's modern Japanese

sensibilities, the current situation is like living in the penthouse floor of an
ultra-luxury hotel with unlimited food, clothing, and shelter without paying
a single fee. It is reasonable to think that such a lifestyle for ten days might
not be good for one's health, even if one has been in a state of depression.

「No, I think it is inevitable considering the situation Takahisa-sama is in.

Please don't worry about it.」

Liliana smiled kindly at Takahisa and shook her head.

「...really, I'm sorry.」

I think it was because he was willing to speak to me in an understanding

way. Takahisa bowed his head apologetically.

「Our apologies. Although we did not foresee it, the sacred stone we kept
in our custody brought Takahisa-sama into our world.」

「No, well... you, I mean, the result would have been the same even if the
princesses hadn't kept it, right? Then you shouldn't apologize. I'm just glad I
was summoned to the castle.」

Takahisa looks down as if he is trying hard to suppress his emotions.

Liliana stares at Takahisa like that,

「Thank you very much for your kind words. Since Takahisa-sama was
subpoenaed, we have been in the process of investigating various issues.
Unfortunately, we have no direct solution to the problem Takahisa-sama is
facing. However, it is possible that other people who were with Takahisa-
sama may not be in this world at all.」

He started to talk.

「What?」

「I don't know if it will be a hope. Since it is not confirmed information, it

may cause more despair to Takahisa-sama. So I was wondering whether I
should tell you or not, but now that I have talked to you, I have decided to
tell you.」

「What do you mean? Does it mean that Miharu and the others are here in
this world?」

Takahisa gets up from his chair, unable to stand still.

「I am talking about the possibility that there is no possibility. They may or

may not be in our world. It may be difficult to find and meet them
immediately. If you don't mind, I will be happy to explain it to you.」

「Uh, yeah. Let's hear it!」

Takahisa answered immediately, as if he did not need to think about it.

「Yes, sir. But there is one condition.」

「...conditions?」

What kind of conditions would they impose on him? Liliana stared at him
and Takahisa tilted his head awkwardly with a nervous look.

As it turns out..,

「Why not have breakfast while it's still warm?」

「What...?」

Liliana's conditions were surprisingly disappointing.

「I see that you have not been eating well since you came to this world. If
Takahisa-sama falls ill because of that, there is nothing we can do. Please,
please, please... take good nourishment.」

Liliana looks at Takahisa with a worried look.

「...」

Takahisa blinked his eyes and looked back at Liliana. By staring at each
other head-on..,

（...oh, she's worried about me, isn't she?）

I could feel that the audience was very interested in the event.

And at the same time--,

（Did this girl have such a face?）

Liliana was a very pretty girl. For the first time, Takahisa felt that he could
recognize Liliana as a person. She had been so focused on herself that she
had never tried to see how the people around her were feeling about her.

I have noticed that.

（Oh, I'm such an asshole.）

Takahisa was so disappointed and pathetic that he held his head in his
hands. Liliana is astonished to see Takahisa like this.

「Uh, Takahisa-sama? Is your taste buds that bad for our cuisine? If so, I
don't mean to impose on you, but...」

Liliana stood up hurriedly and approached Takahisa, groggily.

「No, no, no. No, no, I'm... I'm, I'm, I'm really, I'm sorry.」

Takahisa sighs deeply and apologizes to Liliana.

「Takahisa-sama has nothing to apologize for...」

Perhaps, this moment was the first time that Liliana could touch the human
side of Takahisa and get to know his personality. Liliana smiles warmly at
Takahisa, who is hanging her head and reflecting.

What we can say for sure is that it was Liliana who stood by Takahisa, who
was lost in another world and depressed, and who gently helped her up.
Only Takahisa, the one who was given her hand, can realize how much
weight that fact has...

Anyway--,

「...breakfast, I'll eat it. We'll talk about it later.」

Takahisa preferred to have breakfast rather than to listen to the
conversation.

「Yes. Please sit down.」

The food has already been served.

So they began to eat together.

The moment I took my first mouthful of food-- ,

「...I didn't know food was this warm.」

Takahisa blinks his eyes and then mumbles something.

Ever since he wandered into this world, Takahisa has never touched the
food served to him right away, but only takes a small sip when the food has
cooled down.

So, it had been a while since I had eaten freshly prepared food. It had been
a long time since I had tasted food. It must have been a long time since I
had a meal with someone like this...

（Yeah, I, I...）

Takahisa could not stop moving the dishes. He realized that his body was
feeling hungrier than he thought it would be.

I found myself with tears welling up in my eyes,

「Hey, something's wrong...」

Takahisa wipes away a tear.

「Takahisa-sama...」

「I think I got dust in my eyes.」

「...yes.」

Liliana nodded quietly without pointing anything out.

Then--,

「Um, well, um, the princess, she's...」

Takahisa, who had finished wiping away her tears, looked at Liliana's face
and tried to say something to her. However, she was strangely indisposed
and started to look at Liliana awkwardly. The reason for this is..,

（Oh, no... What was the princess's name again?）

It is because I have just realized that I did not know the name of the girl
who is now sitting in front of me eating breakfast with me.

No, it is not exactly that we did not know. When Liliana was assigned to be
Takahisa's sponsor, she introduced herself to me. However, Takahisa at that
time did not try to remember her name. Her mind was not in the mood and
her brain thought the information was unimportant.
But not now. He is looking at the girl in front of him and wants to know
more about her. So, Takahisa is wondering how to ask her name again,

「Takahisa-sama. My name is Liliana. Please call me by my name.」

「What? Uh..., yeah.」

Takahisa nodded his head, his body shaking with excitement.

（...oh, was I that easy to understand?）

Takahisa feels ashamed of what he has done. However, I am very grateful to

him for telling me, and I am the one who is to blame,

「Sorry. I thought I heard Princess Liliana's name, but I forgot.」

Takahisa makes an honest apology.

「Is that so? But please don't worry about it. It is natural, considering the
situation Takahisa-sama was in.」

If I hadn't told her that I had forgotten about it, the matter would have been
undone. Liliana's eyes widened in surprise at Takahisa's apology, but she
smiled prettily and shook her head, as if she liked Takahisa's sincerity. She
did not seem to be bothered in the slightest that she did not remember my
name.

「No, to forget the name of a girl to whom you have properly introduced
yourself, that is the worst thing you can do as a human being and as a
man.」

「I really don't mind, so don't be discouraged, okay?」

Liliana called softly to Takahisa who was deeply sorry.

「...I've decided. I'll remember the girl's name from now on. I promise.」
Takahisa says such a thing with a very serious face. It seems a bit out of
place, but I guess that Takahisa has made up his mind after reflecting on the
situation. Then..,

「Mmm, mmm.」

Liliana starts to laugh funny, as if she can't take it anymore.

「Hey, why are you laughing?」

「Takahisa-sama said some strange things. Please remember the gent's

name, too.」

「No, no, no, no. Men who make women cry are the worst, Dad.」

Takahisa is embarrassed and scratches his head.

I don't know what exactly triggered it, but our conversation took off from
there. Takahisa himself may not have known it, but he sometimes laughed
as he did when he lived on Earth.

Takahisa is told after the meal that Miharu and the others may have been
summoned to this world as Hero. And hope is lit...

After this day, Takahisa became more positive. He especially took an

interest in Liliana, who did a lot of things for him, and they developed a
good relationship. Soon he learned that Katsuki had been summoned to the
Galarc Kingdom, and his hopes turned to expectations.

Maybe I can meet Miharu, too? If I see Miharu again, I will tell her how I
feel about her...

Deciding so, Takahisa attended an evening party at Galarc Kingdom Castle.

◇◇◇
And yet...

How did this happen?

Really, why, why...

How did this happen?

Takahisa, who attended the evening party, lost everything.

When Miharu did not accept his feelings for her, he became desperate and
tried to take her back to Centostella Kingdom.

The possibility of my marriage with Miharu became not only zero but also
negative. Satsuki and Masato must have been disappointed in me.

So, Takahisa was forced to go back to Japan, and after returning to the
castle of Centostella Kingdom, he stayed in his room for a long time. It was
so awkward that he avoided talking to Liliana as well. The only person he
could talk to face to face was Aki, with whom he shared the same pain.

Then one day.

It was the day when Rio became transcendental. Takahisa himself did not
know what triggered it, but...

--Yeah, I'm...

--What a stupid thing I have done!

--I owe you an apology. I owe everyone an apology...

These thoughts rapidly sprouted, and Takahisa came back to himself as if he

had just woken up from a nightmare. The guilt that he had been keeping in
his heart and stifling in his chest started to overflow like a torrent. Then,
Takahisa couldn't stand it any longer and jumped out of the room he had
been locked up in as if it were a lie.
Then, an incident had just occurred in the castle. Liliana and Masato
disappeared from the castle without a trace.

Both Takahisa and Aki were very impatient when they found out the fact
and worried about them sincerely.

The cause was revealed within a few days. Masato was forcibly summoned
as a new Hero, and Liliana was also involved in the transition.

He heard that they were protected by the Galarc Kingdom. So Takahisa

asked the king directly if he wanted to go to Galarc Kingdom too. He
explained that he was worried about Masato and Liliana, and that he wanted
to apologize to Miharu and the others for his past behavior, and bowed
down desperately.

So, Takahisa is allowed to visit the Galarc Kingdom castle again. He meets
Masato, Liliana, and Miharu... Takahisa apologizes for his past behavior
and asks Miharu and Satsuki's permission to stay at the castle for a while.

But...

--Will I ever be forgiven? Will we never be able to have the kind of

relationship we had when we were on earth again?

I could not stop such anxieties from creeping into my mind. The anxiety
grew as time went by. No, it was about to go beyond anxiety and become
fear.

--I'm not sure if I'm right or wrong.

--What if Miharu hates me this time?

I don't want to. I don't want to be hated.

This time, we cannot afford to be disliked.

I was afraid, afraid, afraid that you would hate me...

「What the...?」
Takahisa wakes up in his bed in his room, jumping up and down. His face is
pale and he is drenched in night sweats.

I couldn't stop the unpleasant palpitations. Takahisa looked around the room
anxiously, breathing hard. It was still late at night, and the room was dark.

Eventually, you realize that the present is real,

「A dream.」

Takahisa was relieved as if he had just woken up from a bad dream.

But reality is no different from a nightmare. No, it is precisely because it is

real that we have to face some problems.

Imagine if I messed up again in real life..,

「...no, no. I don't want to fail this time. I don't want to go back to
Centostella Kingdom.」

Scared out of his wits, Takahisa's face contorted into a crumpled mess.
 [Intermission] Miharu's Dream

Before she realized it...

Ayase Miharu was alone in a blank space.

Miharu knew this feeling. She recognized this view, because she has just
recently had a similar experience.

Is it called lucid dreaming?

Miharu realized that she was dreaming. She did not know why, but her
intuition told her this was not reality. However, her other thought was...

「Is this... really my dream?」

Really? And then..,

「Hello there. Or rather, good evening perhaps?」

Someone, a woman, talked to Miharu.

She couldn't see them.

But the voice sounded strangely familiar...

「...It's you again?」

Miharu was sure that the woman who called out to her was the same person
who had appeared in her previous dream.
「Yes, it's me again. You seem to remember all right.」

The woman readily affirms it. It's just that--

「So then, who are you...?」

「Since you're dreaming, perhaps I'm your unconscious psyche.」

「My what...?」

「All I can say for sure is that you are certainly asleep in reality, I suppose.
Oh, it seems to be more established than last time. That's a good sign.」

「...Established?」

「Don't worry about it.」

The owner of the voice did not intend to give clear answers to any of
Miharu's questions. Many of them were simply avoided outright. And
then..,

「Do you remember what we talked about last time?」

The woman asks Miharu a question.

「That I'm going to be asked to make an important decision sooner or

later?」

「Good girl. Exactly, you have an important, very important decision to

make. And I also told you something else, yes? That I strongly encourage
you to make the choice you think is absolutely wrong.」

「...Um, what kind of decision did I have to make?」

If Miharu didn't know that, she wouldn't know anything about the correct
decision. Miharu asked the owner of the voice. But--,
「I can't tell you that, which is why I'm doing this roundabout method. Use
your brain a bit.」

A woman's sigh was her answer.

「But how am I supposed to...」

「...Well, I'll give you a couple of hints since you seem slow on the uptake.
One, the time of choice may be drawing near. Second, your decision will
determine your future. Three... Nah, I can't go any further. This is all the
information I can give you now.」

What's going on?

When she was about to say the third word, Miharu thought she heard the
woman's voice waver.

「Huh, huh? That's almost the same as not knowing anything...」

「Can't do anything to fix the impossible. You have to accept that it is what
it is.」

「Oh, no...」

Miharu tries to say, "That's unreasonable", but...

「This world's an unreasonable place, you know.」

The owner of the voice spoke before Miharu could. Her voice was mixed
with a sigh and sounded like she was fed up with the situation.

「...」

Miharu lost the words she was about to speak and simply stared blankly.

「...Fine, though we don't have much time left. I have one last thing to tell
you.」
「...What is it?」

Somehow, the woman's voice sounded a little irritated. Miharu asks

fearfully, not understanding why the woman was in a bad mood. Then...

「I think I despise you.」

「Eh...?」

Miharu doubted her ears when she heard those words, before she lost
consciousness.
 [Chapter 6] Impatience

The day Celia arrived at Count Claire's estate.

Liselotte was visiting the castle of Galarc Kingdom aboard a magic ship. He
reports to King Francois and Christina that Celia has gone to her parents'
house. Upon arrival, Celia is quickly received in Francois' office and reports
to him. As a result--,

「Hmmm... I see...」

Both Francois and Christina were puzzled. Charlotte, the second princess
who lives with Celia, was also in the room, but she was the only one who
looked as if she had heard something interesting, saying "Oh my goodness,
oh my goodness.

Incidentally, the report can be summarized very briefly as follows. Celia

was almost captured by the Duke of Arbor and had a battle in the fort. She
fulfilled her role as a messenger and returned to Amande. However, fearing
that the Duke of Arbor might interfere with her parents' house, she flies
away to the Count of Claire's territory.

「...It's fortuitous that you were able to fulfill your role as a messenger
safely, but there have been a series of unexpected events. I don't mean to be
skeptical, but there are stories of magic and magic flying through the
sky...」

Francois' words implied the question, "Did you know that Celia could fly?
Francois's words implicitly included the question, "Did you know if Celia
could fly? And the question is directed to Christina and Charlotte, who have
a close relationship with Celia.

「I had never heard of it. I didn't know about it either. If you can do
something so interesting, I wish you had told me about it earlier.」

Christina and Charlotte are shaking their heads.

「It is true. With my own eyes, I confirmed that Celia-san grew wings of
light and flew in the sky with Aria. If they can travel like that, it seems to
me that it is not so difficult for them to get there and back safely, unless
something happens at the destination. Aria was also attached as an escort,
and she would be able to return here within a few days.」

Liselotte added his own subjective guess that there is not much to worry
about.

「Is...」

Francois takes another look at Christina in her chair. The developments at

Celia are entirely Christina's business. He does not intend to say anything
more, as it is not his business.

「...thank you for your report, Lady Liselotte. In that case, we will have to
wait and see what happens over the next few days.」

Christina could not do anything in particular in the present situation. Thus,

it was decided to wait for Celia's return for the time being, although some
anxiety remained.

◇◇◇

On the other hand, in the grounds of the Galarc Kingdom castle. The house
where Satsuki and his friends live. Except for Charlotte, the others are
going about their daily lives without knowing what Celia is doing.

During the day, Satsuki and Masato go to the castle training grounds with
Gouki and the others.

Miharu remained in the house with Latifa, Sara, Orphia, Alma, Sayo,
Komomo, and Aki.

They have been processing foods and designing and making their own
clothes, trying to prepare what they can by themselves as much as possible.
If something looks good, Rikka Company buys the right to commercialize
it... Now, in the backyard of the villa, they have started to grow a small
vegetable garden.

「Hey, Sayo, we're done here.」

「Okay, now help me with this one.」

Sayo and Shin, who came with Gouki to the Strahl region, are siblings who
were originally born and raised in a farming village. They were leading a
group of other followers of Gouki to prepare the soil for vegetable
cultivation.

In addition, in the space where the soil preparation has been completed
prior to--,

「Is this the right way to plant?」

「Yes, I'm fine.」

「Now we can eat tomatoes in this region too. Pasta with tomato sauce,
omelette with rice, I'm looking forward to it!」

「Ha-ha-ha, they're just starting to grow up. You're getting ahead of

yourself, Suzune-chan.」

Aki, Komomo, and Latifa are planting tomato seeds. Komomo's follower,
Aoi, is also there.
Tomatoes are not originally found in the Strahl region, but they are a useful
ingredient that can be used in a wide range of recipes and seasonings. For
those who know its existence, it is quite inconvenient that there is no way to
obtain it.

The stock in the storehouse of space-time is still available and can be

replenished by returning to the spirit village, but "Then why don't we grow
them in the Strahl region? The seeds were brought by Gouki and the others,
and they were to be grown in the villa. The seeds were brought by Gouki
and his friends. There is also a proposal to grow rice, but that is beside the
point...

Sara, Orphia, and Alma were also there, planting another vegetable seed.
They are looking at us smiling, as if they have heard the girls of the
younger group talking to each other in a friendly manner. Miharu is also
there with Sara and the others,

（I really wonder what that dream was about...）

Miharu stopped his work and remembered the dream he had again last
night.

--I may not like you.

is so impressive that I can't get it out of my head.

Who was I talking to? I guessed it was my subconscious, since it was my

dream, but it seemed like I was talking to someone else. I have no idea why
people don't like me. Besides..,

（...you said you were close to the choice, didn't you?）

I don't even know what "choice" I was going to make, but I was still
strangely interested in the word "choice" that the woman said in the dream.
Well, it was just a dream, so perhaps it is not something to be taken
seriously...

（Well, is it a prophetic dream? No, I don't think so...）

Miharu laughed, thinking that it was not a matter of course. And then..,

「Miharu?」

Sara looks into Miharu's face curiously.

「Oh, yeah. What?」

「No, you looked like you were thinking about something. Are you
worried?」

「No, I'm fine. I just remembered I had a weird dream...」

Miharu and Sara were talking about such things,

「...Aki!」

A young man's voice echoed in the backyard. Miharu and his team
members become aware of the source of the voice. Who was there?

「...Onii-chan.」

It was Aki's brother, Takahisa. The other three Heros were being trained by
Gouki at the training site, but Takahisa decided not to participate in the
training. Liliana had gone to the training ground accompanied by Masato,
so she must have come to the mansion alone.

「Well...」

Aki was just working on a project, so he looked at Takahisa with a worried

expression on his face as to how to respond to him.

「You can go, Aki-chan.」

「Yes. This is Suzune-chan and me.」

Latifa and Komomo were considerate and pushed Aki back.

「...yeah. Thank you, both of you.」

Aki thanked him and ran to Takahisa. And so on, until Aki arrived,

「...」

Takahisa was obviously conscious of Miharu and was glancing at her. Sara,
Orphia and Alma, who were with Miharu, could see this clearly.

「Let's keep working, guys.」

Miharu awkwardly looks away from Takahisa and urges Sara and the others
to resume their work.

「...yeah.」

Sara and the others casually resumed their work around Miharu, blocking
Takahisa's eyes.

◇◇◇

Miharu looked away from me...

「Oh...」

Takahisa's body trembled as if his heart jumped out of his chest.

（I wonder if he's still avoiding me?）

Takahisa's brain is filled with negative thoughts.

--No, no.

--I don't want to think that we can never go back to the way things were.
Takahisa's impatience grows. And then--,

「Oni-chan, what's wrong?」

Aki approached and called out to me.

「Oh, no, I came to see Aki.」

Takahisa asks such a question with a very sneering expression, perhaps

because he feels that Miharu is avoiding him.

「Eh? No, not really, but I'm glad Onii-chan came to see me.」

Aki was a bit taken aback, but she shook her head and frankly expressed her
feelings.

「I see...」

Takahisa looks a bit relieved,

「Miharu, what are you doing?」

He asks about Miharu in a pinpoint manner.

「Eh? Well, we're all working on a vegetable garden in the yard, and
Miharu-oneechan and the others are planting seeds, too.」

Aki answered a little awkwardly, perhaps because she did not want
Takahisa and Miharu to get together anymore, or perhaps because she
realized that Miharu would never like Takahisa again.

「I see... then, do you want me to help you? It's better to have more men on
hand.」

Takahisa's offer was backed by his motive of wanting an excuse to talk with
Miharu naturally. This was transparently obvious.

「I think we have enough manpower...」

Aki must still like Takahisa as a big brother. However, I guess he does not
think it is good for Takahisa to get close to Miharu anymore, and he made
an excuse to say no softly.

「Don't be shy.」

Takahisa knows nothing and will not back down easily.

「But I'm wearing nice clothes, and they get dirty.」

「Don't worry, it's only clothes. I can wear them even if they get dirty, and I
have spare clothes.」

Certainly, clothes can be worn dirty. It does not mean that the functionality
is lost. However, what people around you think of a hero wearing dirty
clothes is a different matter. It is a matter of the good name of Centostella
Kingdom.

And, quite naturally, clothes do not come for free. The everyday clothes
worn by Takahisa, the Hero, are basically custom-made. The production
costs are covered by the treasury of the Centostella Kingdom.

「Then, I think you'd better change into something you don't mind getting
dirty.」

「No, thanks.」

Takahisa seems to have spared himself the trouble and time to return to his
room in the castle to change his clothes.

「...Oni-chan is a Hero, so is it OK to let her help with this kind of field

work?」

「It's okay because I'm the one who said it's okay. Besides, it's not like I
wanted to be a Hero.」
Takahisa's expression is darker than usual, as if he is feeling alienated from
the tightness of his position as a "Hero".

「Oni-chan ...」

Aki looked as if she did not know what to say to me. So Aki seemed to be
reluctant to say something to me,

「Hey, Aki?」

Takahisa is begging for it with an earnest look on his face.

「Well, will you help me bury the seeds with me?」

「Of course.」

「Okay, follow me.」

Aki started walking with Takahisa's hand, keeping an eye on Miharu who
was in the vegetable garden. First, they returned to the place where Latifa
and Komomo were,

「Suzune-chan, Komomo-chan, and Oni-chan are going to help me, so I'm

going to bury the seeds in the next row.」

「Yes! Yes, please.」

After Latifa and Komomo, who were working with us, refused to plant the
seeds, Takahisa and I decided to plant the seeds by ourselves.

「Oni-chan , over here.」

Aki takes a sack of seeds and goes to the row next to Latifa's group and
crouches down. Miharu and the others plant seeds from the opposite side
and come close to Aki's side, so Takahisa will not have a chance to talk
with Miharu until the end of the work.
Except when Takahisa tried to get close to Miharu himself. Takahisa was
standing next to Aki, looking toward Miharu and the others.

I want to talk to Miharu. You cannot talk to Miharu at the place Aki
specified. You thought so, didn't you?

「I'll start from the row next to Miharu's group. It would be more efficient
that way.」

And so on. But how can Takahisa's joining Miharu's side improve the
efficiency?

「Well, Miharu-oneechan's side has four members, and ours has five with
the addition of Oni-chan, but the efficiency won't change no matter which
way we go, I think...?」

The reason for Takahisa's suggestion was not clear at all. It would be
understandable if Miharu and his group were slower than us, but that is not
the case. Aki expressed her opposition to the proposal in a way that seemed
to be difficult to convey.

「No, well, maybe, but...」

Takahisa looks at Miharu with a longing gaze.

「...Oni-chan, can I have a word?」

Aki looks distressed and then stands up and pulls Takahisa's hand. She
leaves the vegetable garden, probably to avoid being overheard by Latifa
and her friends who are standing right next to her.

And--,

「Oni-chan, you still love Miharu-oneechan, right?」

Aki boldly asked Takahisa.

「...oh, no, I mean, I like, I mean...」

Takahisa's eyes were shining intensely, and he gave a rather clumsy answer.

「...I think the people who live in the house can see through it. And maybe
even Miharu-oneechan...」

「What?」

「You can tell by looking at him. He is always looking at Miharu-

oneechan, and even now he was trying to find an excuse to approach
Miharu-oneechan in such a blatant manner.」

Aki touches her forehead as if she is holding her head in her hands,
wondering how people around her are looking at her and whether Miharu is
aware of it.

「...It's not that I want to talk to Miharu because I like her. I just want
Miharu to forgive me and I want to get back to the relationship we had
before and be able to talk to her without hesitation as if the incident never
happened...」

I guess that's why Aki is the other party. Takahisa has revealed his true
feelings in a few words. Aki is one of the few people to whom Takahisa can
express his weakness. It was the same at the night meeting.

「...I can understand why Onii-chan feels that way, but...」

Aki wants to be on his brother's side. But Aki already knows that there is no
chance that Takahisa's love will be rewarded. There is no chance that
Takahisa's love will be rewarded.

「We were originally talking about going to apologize to them, even if they
don't forgive us, right?」

「Yeah, but...」

Takahisa nodded reluctantly.

In fact, before coming to the Galarc Kingdom, I really wanted to apologize.
I didn't think I would be forgiven, but I still wanted to apologize. So when I
came to the castle of Galarc Kingdom and met Miharu and his friends for
the first time, I was able to bow down to them immediately.

However, human beings are not easily satisfied with the status quo. Even if
we have made a step forward with a goal, if we think that there is more to
come, we will try to reach for the next step. We reach out to get a better
result. It is difficult to eliminate such greed. It is precisely because of this
that we are human beings.

Therefore, just apologizing was not enough for Takahisa, and the desire to
be properly forgiven by Miharu grew up in him. The longer he stayed in
Galarc Kingdom, the stronger this desire became. Without realizing it, it
turned into a desire. I couldn't resist the desire...

「Are you in a hurry, Oni-chan?」

「I'm not in a hurry...! No, I am in a hurry. I don't know how long I can stay
in Galarc Kingdom, and if I miss this opportunity, I don't know when I can
meet Miharu again...」

「...But it might be difficult to go back to the relationship we had before

and talk to each other without hesitation, you know? We've done that much
to each other... we can't just pretend that the incident never happened.」

Aki says with a sense of anguish. We can't pretend that the events of the
past did not happen. That was the decisive factor,

「No, but...!」

Still, Takahisa distorted his face and raised his voice in sorrow, as if he
wanted to pretend that it had never happened. The others in the vegetable
garden seemed to have sensed something was wrong.

「What's wrong?」
Everyone stopped working and started to look at Aki and Takahisa as if
they were checking on them. Miharu also looked at Aki anxiously, as if she
was worried about him.

「Don't say that to Aki..., don't say that to Aki...! I'm not, I'm not, I'm not
trying to confess to Miharu. I just want to be with Miharu...」

「I'm sorry. But, Oni-chan, I can see that you are getting more and more
impatient. I understand your impatience, but I think you should go back to
the beginning. Don't try to get forgiveness...」

Aki's words were made out of consideration for her brother. However,
Takahisa seems to have no time to accept his words now. Maybe that's why,

「Aki is... okay. Miharu has already forgiven you.」

I say the worst words.

「I'm sorry.」

Aki looked very guilty and apologized with a heartbroken face. The
expression on her face was decisive. Miharu must have judged clearly that
there was something wrong.

「Aki-chan?」

Miharu shouted unusually loudly. She was the first one to move her feet and
run to Aki before anyone else in the vegetable garden.

「Oh...」

Both Aki and Takahisa shivered. It was as if they had seen something they
did not want to be seen.

「What's wrong, Aki-chan?」

Miharu came close to Aki and looked into her face.

「Uh, well...」

Aki hesitates to say whether she is defending Takahisa or not.

「...Takahisa-kun?」

Miharu looked at Takahisa with a confused look.

「No, no, I...」

Takahisa, who had been trying to find an excuse to talk to Miharu, turned
his eyes away as if to run away from Miharu when she expressed her
reproachful feelings toward him.

「What did you say to Aki-chan? Didn't you promise me when we came to
this castle that you would never do anything to make Aki-chan sad
again?」

Miharu does not let up in his pursuit.

「No, no, I don't, I don't, I don't...」

Please stop, don't look at me like that, I won't do anything wrong anymore,
please trust me--, said Takahisa, his face distorted with grief. Then..,

「...already, what's wrong, Miharu-oneechan?」

Aki interceded for Miharu in a cheerful tone.

「...Aki-chan?」

Miharu's face turns troubled, as if she somehow understood that Aki was
trying to protect Takahisa. As the three of us were looking at each other like
this..,

「I'm home!」
Satsuki and Masato came back from the training session. Gouki and
Kayoko, who were teaching, are also there.

「Oh, Satsuki-san and Masato and the others are back. Hey!」

Aki shouted in a brighter tone and waved her hands at Satsuki and the
others.

「Oh, my...」

Satsuki and the others also turned their eyes to Miharu and the others.
However, did they think it was unusual to see Miharu and Takahisa together
even though Aki was there?

「...Hey, Suzune-chan, Komomo-chan, Miharu-chan and the others, aren't

they acting a little strange? What's wrong?」

Satsuki, as one might expect, sensed immediately that something was a

little off. Squinting at Miharu and the others from a distance, he approached
Latifa and Komomo to gather information.

「Oh, uh, Takahisa-san came to the house just now...」

「Mm-hmm. I see.」

Latifa and Komomo looked at each other and told what they had seen.
Neither of them had seen or heard the entire exchange, so their information
was fragmentary,

「...I see. Thanks for letting me know.」

They seemed to have guessed what was going on. Satsuki thanked them and
gave a small sigh before turning his attention to Miharu and the others. And
then..,

「Hey, Takahisa-kun.」

He called out Takahisa's name.

「Uh...? Uh, yes!」

Takahisa rolled his eyes and replied, perhaps not expecting to be addressed
by name.

「I came to the mansion alone today.」

「Yes. Am I wrong?」

「No... but Princess Liliana, for Takahisa-kun's sake, you went to the castle
to call her, so it was a wasted trip.」

Satsuki looked distantly at the castle where Liliana was now visiting.

「I see. Well, I thought I could be alone once in a while...」

It could be said that the reason why he is visiting the house alone is because
he is in such a hurry. Takahisa looked away from me in the opposite
direction, as if he was very unhappy.

「I see... well, since you're here, why don't you have dinner at my place
tonight?」

「...What? Are you sure?」

Takahisa's eyes were filled with a mixture of surprise and happiness.

Takahisa has been visiting Satsuki and his friends' house every day, but his
basic routine is to go back to his room at the castle and have dinner alone in
the evening. Since he was invited to dinner only when there was some kind
of an event, he might have been happy to be invited to an ordinary dinner as
well, as if he had been trusted. However, I was not sure...,

「Yeah. I've invited some other people, and I just want to talk to you.」

「You want to talk about it?」

Takahisa is a little nervous when he is told that he needs to talk to you.

「So. I'll tell Princess Liliana. Keep your schedule open. Miharu-chan, can
I have a word?」

「...yes.」

Satsuki did not tell Takahisa what he was going to talk about, and left with
Miharu. Takahisa and Aki are left alone.

There was an awkward atmosphere in the room, perhaps because of the

earlier argument, or perhaps because of the fear that Miharu's impression of
me had worsened.

「...Aki, that, sorry.」

Whatever he feels bad about, Takahisa says he is sorry.

「No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry.」

Aki apologized back. He was smiling a very healthy or tragic smile. I

guessed she was concerned about her brother. I could see that she was
trying to keep her voice cheerful as much as she could.

「...I'm really sorry. I promised myself I'd never do anything like that again.
So I just wanted you to believe me...」

「I know. I know, Oni-chan, how you feel, I feel your pain. So please don't
lose yourself in your haste. I'm here...」

Aki makes an appeal to Takahisa with an earnest look on her face.

「...」

Takahisa neither denied nor affirmed. His face was distorted as if he was
crushed by oppression, and he remained silent.
◇◇◇

And then it was time for dinner.

Christina, Flora, and Liselotte, who had come to the castle to report on
Celia's case, were also invited to the dinner,

「Liselotte-oneechan!」

As soon as Latifa saw Liselotte at the entrance of the house, she was so
moved that she ran to her. It may be because she cannot meet Liselotte
whenever she wants to, but it may also be because she loves Liselotte like a
sister.

「Good evening, Suzune-chan.」

Liselotte patted Latifa's head gently as she would have done with her own
sister. Then Latifa hugged Liselotte.

「I see you've come to the castle. Welcome.」

「Yes, I have some business to attend to. Charlotte-sama invited me, so I've
taken the liberty of visiting the house. Nice to meet you.」

「Yes! Liselotte-oneechan is always welcome. I'd like to live with you!

But, what's that? Isn't Aria-san here today?」

Aria usually accompanies her, but she was not seen today, which made
Latifa wonder why she was not there.

「I...um... I've got some business to attend to. I should be in King's Landing
in a few days.」

Liselotte's expression clouds slightly as Charlotte tells her not to tell anyone
about Celia until she comes back. It's just that--,
「I see. But does that mean Liselotte-oneechan will be in King's Landing
for a few days?」

「Yeah, I'm here.」

「Yes! Then sleep over at my place again. We'll talk a lot.」

「With pleasure.」

Seeing Latifa's innocent joy, Liselotte acted cheerfully so as not to cause

any unnecessary worry.

「Come here, come here. Come sit with us!」

Latifa pulls Liselotte's hand and goes to the dining room.

Soon after, Christina and Flora arrived at the house. Gouki's followers who
live in the house show them to the dining room,

「Thank you for inviting me tonight, Satsuki-sama, Charlotte-sama.」

「No, please take your time.」

First, we greet the landlord, Satsuki, and the princess, Charlotte. Then we
continue..,
「Takahisa-sama and Masato-sama are also in good health. Princess Liliana
is also in good health.」

Christina greeted the other two Heros in the house. She also called out to
Liliana, who was accompanying them. Flora also bowed to her sister.

「Yes, yes. Good evening.」

Masato responds a little awkwardly, standing up straight and in awe.

Perhaps it is because he is not yet acquainted with Christina and Flora, or
perhaps he is nervous about Beltram's two beautiful princesses.

「Good day, Christina-sama, Flora-sama.」

Liliana greeted Masato with a giggle next to him.

And finally--,

「Good evening. Is Hiroaki-san not here today?」

Takahisa asked Christina about the whereabouts of Hiroaki, who was

nowhere to be seen, while his eyes wandered around as if he was on alert.
The reason was--,

「Yes. I have an appointment with Lord Saiki and Lord Murakumo.」

「I see.」

Takahisa and Hiroaki have been at loggerheads lately. Takahisa himself

seems to think that he and Hiroaki do not get along very well. I breathed a
sigh of relief when I heard that Hiroaki did not participate. However, it was
obvious that Takahisa was relieved to hear that Hiroaki was not going to
participate in the meeting,

（It's too obvious, you know...）

Satsuki felt an urge to sigh. It is not good for a member of society, or even
for a human being, to be happy to know that someone in particular is not
participating in a social gathering like this.

It was probably because they thought so. And it would be even more
impolite since the other party is a person whom Christina and her friends
have as a Hero.

「...」

Liliana bows silently as if to say "I'm sorry". Christina also silently tilted
her head as if to say, "What are you talking about? Christina also silently
tilted her head as if to say, "What is it? And then..,

「Hmmm. It's a pity that Hiroaki-sama is not here, but let's have fun tonight
with this group of people. Come on, come on, this way, please.」

Charlotte asks everyone to move to their seats. Perhaps it was not my

imagination, but her voice sounded cheerful, as if she was expecting
something interesting to happen in the future.

◇◇◇

Anyway, the dinner party started. Satsuki and Charlotte orchestrated the
separation of Miharu and Takahisa's seats. As a result, Satsuki, Masato,
Liliana, Christina, Charlotte, and Takahisa were seated at the table where
only Hero and the royal family were seated. By the way, Flora is seated at
the same table as Miharu and the others.

（Another seat with Miharu...）

After they are seated, Takahisa notices the table where Miharu is sitting and
lets out a sigh. Masato is annoyed to see his brother in such a state. And
then--,

「Takahisa-kun 」
「Eh?」

「What's wrong with a sigh?」

Satsuki, who knew the reason for this in almost all cases, asked Takahisa in
confidence.

「Oh, no, it's nothing like that.」

「Well... Then let's have some fun.」

「...yes.」

Takahisa seemed to have changed his mind and nodded his head looking at
the table in front of him. Masato seemed to have calmed down and the meal
started in a friendly atmosphere.

「Koo, today's food is delicious, too.」

Masato took a mouthful of the food before anyone else, and expressed his
impression with a satisfied look on his face.

「Yes.」

Liliana looks at Masato smilingly and agrees with him profoundly.

「Really, the food at this mansion is delicious. Hiroaki-sama seemed to like

the food he had at the mansion the other day. Sir Saiki and Sir Murakumo
too.」

Christina joins the discussion in agreement.

「I guess there is Miharu-neechan here, and I think he may have a taste for
Japanese people. Oh, by the way, Hiroaki-niichan and his friends were very
eager to have white rice and miso soup when they found out that it was
available.」
Masato says to Satsuki as if he had just remembered.

Masato is a friendly guy. He and Hiroaki and his teammates have met each
other at the training with Gouki, and they have already become good
friends. He must have learned the existence of white rice and miso soup in
today's training, and Masato must have asked him to help Katsuki with
them.

「You didn't serve it at the other get-together. I'd be happy to give you the
ingredients if you want.」

「No, I'm not sure I can make it taste good enough, so he wants to go out to
eat...」

Can I? Masato asked the owner of the house, Katsuki.

「Sure. Well, let's invite them over after the next training session.」

Satsuki agreed, saying, "Good grief.

「Sorry, Satsuki-sama.」

By chance, Hiroaki and his friends are invited to the house for dinner, and
Christina is quick to open her mouth.

「It's a hometown thing. Don't worry about it. By the way, Princess
Christina and Princess Flora have never had white rice and miso soup, have
they? Please come if you can make it.」

Satsuki also invites the princess sisters.

「Thank you very much. We look forward to working with you.」

Then, Christina and Flora joined. And then..,

「Satsuki-senpai, I've never heard of rice and miso soup before either...」
Takahisa talked to Katsuki fidgetily, as if he wanted to join in the
discussion.

「Oh, come to think of it, I have never served Takahisa-kun when he came
over for dinner...well, then, Takahisa-kun is welcome to join us then, too.」

Satsuki looked back to the time when Takahisa had dinner at the house, or
perhaps he had something on his mind, and after a short pause, he invited
Takahisa to join him.

「Yes, thank you!」

Takahisa thanks him happily. But..,

「Don't be so happy, I'll give you some ingredients to eat back in

Centostella Kingdom.」

Satsuki's words made Takahisa's face tense up. The hint of his return to the
Centostella Kingdom may have made him feel threatened,

「But I'm sure it tastes better when Miharu cooks it than when I do.」

I could see a bit of impatience in Takahisa's tone.

「...A man who can cook at least one dish is more popular with the ladies,
right?」

Satsuki managed to hold back a sigh of exasperation as she swallowed her

words, "I mean, why do they assume that Miharu-chan is going to make it?
And then..,

「If so, could you please tell me how to make it, along with the
ingredients? I think I can remember how to make ruffles.」

Liliana speaks up with an alternative.

「All right. Then, let's adjust the time when we make the next one.」
Satsuki readily agrees,

「Oh, no, I'd like to learn how to cook with you.」

Takahisa interrupted me in a hurry. He must have thought that he could talk

with Miharu on the pretext of asking me to show him how to make it. It was
too obvious what he was trying to do.

「Well, then, ask Mr. Frill to teach you when you get back home.」

Satsuki takes it lightly.

「...It's too early to tell. We haven't even decided when we're going to
return home.」

Takahisa tried to make a precautionary statement in a slightly pouty tone of

voice, as if he felt he was being asked to return to the Centostella Kingdom.
It's just that..,

「Yes.」

Satsuki nodded his head in agreement with Takahisa's statement, as if he did

not intend to drag this topic in front of Christina. Satsuki nodded his head in
agreement with Takahisa's statement, as if he did not intend to drag out the
topic in front of Christina.

After that, Satsuki and Charlotte were the hostesses, and the conversation
was well organized. As one would expect from a gathering of the brightest
princesses from various countries, there was never a shortage of topics of
conversation.

「Ha-ha-ha.」

Takahisa had been casually checking Miharu's condition from time to time,
but the earlier impatience seems to have disappeared as the conversation is
going well. They were in a good mood and started to laugh. Time goes by
and the meal time is about to end,
「Ladies and gentlemen, do you have any difficulties during your stay in
Japan? If there is any problem that I can solve, I will be happy to help you,
so please do not hesitate to ask me.」

Charlotte looked around Christina, Masato, Takahisa, and Liliana, who are
currently staying at Galarc Kingdom, and asked them such a question.

「Thank you. But you've been good enough for me.」

Christina answers first.

「Yes. I met Satsuki-neechan and Miharu-neechan again, and Gouki-san

even gave me a training session, so I'm very satisfied.」

Masato agreed with me. And then--,

「Me too. The food is better than in Centostella Kingdom and I feel more
comfortable there, so much so that I don't want to go back.」

Takahisa also expressed his satisfaction with the quality of life in the Galarc
Kingdom.

But, so..,

「...」

Satsuki and Masato looked a little confused. Perhaps Takahisa was a bit too
frank, or perhaps he felt uncomfortable with the way he talked about the life
in Galarc Kingdom while he talked about the life in Centostella Kingdom.

It is not intentionally said as a protest, but it sounds like she is saying "I
don't want to leave" without any intention. And if he said such a thing in
front of Liliana, the royalty of Centostella Kingdom, it would be a disgrace
to her face. Nevertheless..,

「I, too, like Masato-sama and Takahisa-sama, am satisfied. Like Masato-

sama and Takahisa-sama, I am satisfied.」
Liliana does not seem to be bothered by it and speaks with a smile on her
face. However, it might not be my imagination that her eyes are shaking a
little sadly. Masato looks as if he wants to say something to Takahisa with
her at his side. However, he might have been self-conscious because of the
presence of Christina, and he closed his mouth and kept silent.

（Sorry, Princess Christina）

Satsuki makes a silent eye contact with Christina and gently bows her head.
She must have felt sorry for the delicate atmosphere caused by her family's
troubles.

（No.）

Christina knew exactly what Satsuki meant and smiled softly, saying that
she did not mind.

◇◇◇

And then the dinner is over...

After Christina and Flora left.

「Takahisa-kun, hey...」

Takahisa was told by Katsuki to stay behind and was taken to the drawing
room of the villa. He was told to wait alone for about ten minutes.

（What on earth is there to talk about?）

Takahisa sits down on the sofa with a hard expression on his face, as if he
has been thinking and feeling anxious in the midst of waiting. Suddenly,
there is a knock at the door,
「Yes, go ahead.」

「Takahisa-kun, thanks for waiting.」

Satsuki comes into the reception room. Masato comes in later. There was no
one else in the room. Takahisa's expression was wary, perhaps because he
thought that the topic was not very cheerful.

「Do you have any inkling of what we're going to talk about?」

「...I don't know.」

Takahisa shook his head, his face growing even tighter.

「Well, okay. Masato-kun, let's sit down too.」

「Oh.」

Satsuki and Masato sit down across from Takahisa.

「I hope you won't be so defensive.」

「...I'm sure I'd get defensive if I got a call like this.」

「Well, yeah. Well, yeah, but... I don't mean to sound mean, but isn't there a
reason why you have to be so defensive?」

「So, I don't understand why you're being so roundabout about it. I don't
know what you're going to talk about, or why you're so defensive...」

「But you know what? Before I and Masato-kun came back from training
today, you had an argument with Aki-chan, didn't you?」

Satsuki asks more specific questions.

「...Aki told you that?」

Takahisa avoided giving his own statement as to whether he and Aki had an
argument or not, and tried to confirm Aki's statement.

「You sound like a suspect being interrogated.」

「Well, if they do this, like an interrogation...」

「...Aki-chan says he never argued.」

Satsuki has no choice but to tell Aki's statement to Takahisa.

「Then...!」

There was no argument.

Takahisa says with a little more vigor, "I'm sorry, I don't know,

「But the kids around us heard Takahisa-kun raising his voice, he said, and
we all saw that Aki-chan looked like she was going to cry. They also saw
that Aki-chan looked like she was going to cry.」

Satsuki covers his words.

「...」

When confronted with the testimony that he had had an argument with Aki,
Takahisa awkwardly fell silent.

「What does this mean? I would like to hear from Takahisa-kun what he
talked about with Aki-chan.」

Satsuki smiled smilingly and asked for Takahisa's statement. He was

rational and tried to proceed the conversation calmly.

「Nothing. I just wanted to talk to you about Miharu.」

「I knew it had something to do with Miharu-chan, didn't it?」

Takahisa talks as if he is in despair, and Satsuki presses his forehead with
his right hand as if he is distressed.

「For your information, I wasn't talking about anything strange. I wanted to

ask for Miharu's forgiveness, but I haven't had a chance to talk to her even
though we are so close, so I was wondering if Aki could help me...」

「I want Miharu-chan to forgive me, huh? I see... I guess that's where I got
it wrong, and Takahisa-kun is going in a strange direction because he's
dissatisfied with the current situation.」

「You misunderstood me, you can't say that...」

「You're putting it all wrong.」

Masato, who had refrained from speaking up to this point, opened his
mouth to criticize Takahisa.

「What?」

Takahisa frowns.

「Sorry, I said I'd leave it to Satsuki-neechan to talk to my brother, okay?」

「...please.」

「Brother. Shouldn't you go back to Centostella Kingdom by yourself

first?」

「Hey, Masato doesn't have the right to decide such things!」

Takahisa was suddenly urged to return to his country, and he unintentionally

lost his temper and rebutted.

「I think there are some. Well, even if Masato-kun is not alone, I agree with
Masato-kun. I think Takahisa-kun should go back to Centostella Kingdom
alone first.」
Satsuki also opened his mouth and urged Takahisa to return to Japan,
although Masato's comment may have changed the expected flow of the
discussion.

「Why? I haven't done anything wrong! I'm not going to force Miharu to
go with me like I did before, I swear!」

「That's not important at this point. What matters more is that Takahisa-kun
got distracted by Miharu-chan and lost sight of himself.」

「No, I didn't lose them!」

「You've lost it. You're missing out on so much that it's affecting your daily
life. I think I had a lot of problems with dinner earlier...」

「You just had a normal meal!」

「...You really only see yourself and Miharu-chan, don't you?」

Satsuki says without hiding his disappointment and dismay.

「No, that's not true. I'm looking out for everyone.」

「Then, isn't it strange that Aki-chan looked like she was about to cry
because of Takahisa-kun's comment today? Takahisa-kun, what did you say
to Aki-chan?」

Satsuki asks in a thoroughly rational and calm voice.

--Aki is... okay. Miharu has already forgiven you.

Takahisa almost made Aki cry, and this was the final word. I wonder if he
remembers what he said,

「But, that's...! That's because I'm looking out for everyone, for everyone's
sake! You don't like this kind of strained relationship, do you? That's why I
wanted to get things back on track and asked Miharu to forgive me...! I
want our relationship to return to the way it was before...」

Takahisa explained in a guilty tone of voice. But..,

「Okay, okay.」

「Eh?」

「I'm saying I'm done with the pleasantries. I know you mean it, but it
sounds like you're trying to justify yourself.」

Satsuki pointed out with a fed-up look on his face.

「No, it's not!」

「No, it's not. It's Takahisa-kun who wants to be forgiven, isn't it? You can't
talk about it as if it's our consensus.」

「So, is it OK with you guys? Even if we can't go back to the way things
were before? Are you okay with things continuing to go on like this?」

Takahisa said like a spoiled child,

「So, don't make the subject so big by saying 'everyone' without asking me.
It's selfish and cowardly to ask in that way. That makes Miharu-neechan
look bad for not forgiving my brother. Don't use us as an excuse to make
Miharu-neechan look bad.」

Masato denounces Takahisa without hiding his irritation.

「I'm not trying to make you look bad! I'm not! They're all trying to...!」

Takahisa couldn't say that everyone was trying to make me look bad.
Because...

「Takahisa-kun is the bad guy. He's the one who did that.」
Satsuki confronts them in a straightforward manner.

「I know that... it's my fault. But...」

「But, what?」

「Don't, don't, don't look at me like you're looking through me like that.」

「Then don't do anything that I can't see through.」

Satsuki says bitterly, "We don't want to be seen through, either.

「No, sir. They're wrong about me. They don't look at me right...」

「We were watching. We were all trying to see if Takahisa-kun was really
sorry and reformed, and we were all trying to look at him in the most
favorable way possible. Takahisa-kun is my friend, Masato-kun and Aki-
chan's Oni-chan, so I gave him a chance and grace for that.」

「Chance and grace...? When?」

「This is how we allowed him to stay in the Galarc Kingdom and allowed
him limited access to the villa. When we were together, we watched
Takahisa-kun's attitude and behavior, too.」

「He said he was watching...」

Wasn't there anything else you could have done instead of just watching?

No way, were you really just watching?

If so, why do you do such a thing?

Takahisa tells the story clearly with his face.

「I told you so. I'm trying to find out if Takahisa-kun is really sorry and
reformed. That's what I'm trying to find out. I thought it would show in his
daily behavior and attitude.」

「...So, you didn't say anything to me, and you were just observing me?
About me.」

「Observation, huh? Well, yeah. And I've officially decided. Takahisa-kun

shouldn't have appeared in front of Miharu-chan yet.」

「Oh, no... why...」

Why are you trying to test people like that?

That sucks.

Takahisa's face was appealing.

No, that's not all.

「Why are you so suspicious and testing me?」

Perhaps he felt cheated, or perhaps the words of reproach actually came out
of Takahisa's mouth. He completely put aside the fact that he had been in a
position where he could not help being suspected and tested.

（It's in bad taste. You should have given me more chances to talk with
Miharu. I could have...）

He was not deprived of the room in his heart. Takahisa feels as if he is

blaming the other party, even though he is the one being blamed.

「Yes, I know. I'm sorry to say this, but I was testing Takahisa-kun with
doubt. But that's because I wanted to believe in Takahisa-kun.」

「That's exactly what you're doing. You're just trying to justify yourself.」

Takahisa was completely emotional, and he argued against Satsuki without

being able to suppress his dissatisfaction.
「Hey, bro. Don't be so naive...」

Masato frowns and tries to open his mouth,

「It's better than being abandoned from the beginning and not even being
given a chance to be rehabilitated, isn't it?」

Satsuki reached out his hand and interrupted Masato's words.

「What the...?」

Takahisa bit his lower lip so hard that it might ooze blood. He kept silent, as
if he thought there was no point in what he was going to say. Both Satsuki
and Masato looked at Takahisa with complicated faces.

The rest of the discussion can be concluded by urging Takahisa to return to

Japan once again. You could have done that. However, did you think that
would not be enough to change Takahisa in the future?

「Takahisa-kun, you know what? Didn't you come to Galarc Kingdom to

apologize, even if you don't get forgiveness? It was not for the purpose of
being forgiven. But it became your goal to be forgiven. Isn't that right?」

Satsuki talks to Takahisa in an admonishing tone.

「...is it wrong? I want to be forgiven.」

「I don't know. Depends, doesn't it?」

Satsuki avoided giving a universal answer, saying that it is impossible to

talk in terms of good or bad. But then he added

「But I'm sure that Takahisa-kun went crazy because he wanted to be

forgiven, right? I don't know what he said in the end, but he did something
that made Aki-chan sad.」

「...」
「You know how that happened, don't you?」

「...」

「Takahisa-kun, you still love Miharu-chan, don't you?」

「What the...?」

Takahisa kept silent, but Katsuki found out his deep-seated feelings and
made him tremble.

「I take your silence as an affirmation, so here is my advice. Why don't you

start by giving up on Miharu-chan?」

「What? It's not that easy...!」

Takahisa opens his mouth, perhaps unable to resist his rising emotions.
However, he soon swallows his voice when he realizes that Satsuki and
Masato are staring at him.

「After the evening party, Miharu-chan rejected you once, didn't she?」

So why can't you give up? Satsuki asks Takahisa, knowing that it is
probably difficult for him to give up.

「Well, of course I can't give up so easily because I love you...」

「...I honestly think it's amazing how strong your feelings are. It's a one-
way street. So, you have to give up on Miharu-chan. If you can't do that,
Takahisa-kun will never be able to move forward.」

Satsuki advises Takahisa to face the reality.

「You've got to give it up.」

--I have wandered into this world, despaired, and given up many things. I
have endured. I have tasted loneliness. And yet...
--Why should I be the only one to give up?

Takahisa's facial expression said it all.

「Well, it's hard to give up right now. So, Takahisa-kun, go back to

Centostella Kingdom by yourself. And the next time you come to see me
will be when you are ready to give up your feelings for Miharu-chan.」

Satsuki again urged Takahisa to return to Japan.

Rather, I ordered it.

「Just so you know, this is a done deal.」

Masato also reminds us.

「Why did you two do that on your own?」

「Yes, that's right. If anyone has the right to decide, it's Princess Liliana and
Miharu-chan.」

「Then...」

「Would you like to be asked to leave directly by both of them? I didn't

bring Miharu-chan and Princess Liliana here now, though it was the kindest
thing I could do for you.」

「What the...?」

Takahisa looked frightened, perhaps because he was afraid that Miharu

would reject him.

「Well, that's the way it's going to be. I'll have you back in a couple of days
at the latest. I'll treat you to some rice and miso soup before that.」

「...」
Takahisa hangs his head in frustration, as if he has no more reason or
material left to argue against Satsuki.

「Well then, Masato-kun.」

Satsuki looks at Masato and gives him some instructions.

「Oh.」

Masato got up and went to the door of the parlor. On closer inspection, the
door of the parlor was not completely closed. As a proof, the door opens
without any resistance when Masato pushes it. And on the other side of the
door, there is...,

「...」

Miharu, Aki, and Liliana were standing there. The door was not closed
properly, so the conversation in the room must have been overheard.

Or rather, everyone except for Takahisa may have agreed to this from the
beginning. As if to confirm this, neither Satsuki nor Masato seemed to be
surprised at the presence of Miharu and the others outside the door. Only
Takahisa, who was drooping his head, did not notice the presence of Miharu
and the others outside the room.

「...it's done.」

Masato looks around the room and catches a glimpse of his brother lying on
the ground. He sighs ruefully and invites Miharu and the others into the
room. Miharu, however, bowed his head to Satsuki and walked away down
the passageway.

「...」

Aki did not follow Miharu, and her face became a mixture of various
emotions. Then she looked at Takahisa in the room. Then--,

「Excuse me. Takahisa-sama, we're here for you.」

Liliana said so and went into the room alone. Aki remained standing outside
the room. Takahisa is still lying on the ground with a bitter look on his face,
not moving a muscle.

「Let's go back to the castle, Takahisa-sama 」

「...」

Takahisa is not moving.

But...

「Get up, Takahisa-kun. Stop whining like a child.」

Satsuki warns Takahisa in a harsh tone.

「What the...!」

Takahisa's face twisted in frustration and he sat up reluctantly. He walked

out of the room without meeting Satsuki and Masato.

「Onii-chan ... ...」

Passing Aki in the corridor, Takahisa pauses for a moment. However, he

contorts his scowl until it becomes more crumpled, and starts walking again
toward the outside of the mansion.

「Um, may I... may I see Onii-chan off to the outside of the house?」

「Yes, please.」

Liliana made eye contact with Satsuki and shook her head in agreement.
Aki and Liliana followed behind Takahisa.

Then, Satsuki and Masato are left in the room,

「...sorry, Satsuki-neechan 」
Masato mouthed a few words of apology.

「What are you talking about?」

Satsuki blurts out in a gentle tone.

「It's about my brother. It's about us two brothers...」

「It's okay.」

Satsuki shakes his head from side to side in a cheerful voice,

「Satsuki-san, Masato-kun 」

Miharu came in through the open door. She was probably hiding in the
corner of the corridor, probably avoiding to see Takahisa. He seemed to
have come after confirming that Takahisa had left.

「Welcome, Miharu-chan, as you heard, it's over.」

Satsuki smiles softly at Miharu, showing a little mental fatigue.

「...I'm sorry, Satsuki-san.」

「Just now, Masato-kun apologized to me, too... What are you talking
about?」

「I should have told Takahisa-kun about it myself, said Satsuki-san. I have

forced Satsuki-san to take an unpleasant role.」

「...I don't know. As I said before, I don't think Miharu-chan should see
Takahisa-kun any more until Takahisa-kun blows up and shows himself.」

「...」

Perhaps driven by a strong sense of responsibility, Miharu's bitter

expression does not clear up.
「You know what? In the first place, Miharu-chan was just liked by
Takahisa-kun on her own, so you don't have to feel responsible for it, do
you? You even rejected him at the party, didn't you? But Takahisa-kun just
can't give up on you forever. If Miharu-chan tries to go to Takahisa-kun
again without any choice, that's exactly what Takahisa-kun wants. That's
why I think I should have been the one to face him, yes.」

Satsuki is trying to cheer Miharu up, or so he tells her emphatically. And

then..,

「...thank you very much.」

Miharu smiled awkwardly and bowed her head.

「Well, sure. This may be a problem for all of us. But it's Takahisa-kun
who needs to solve it. It is a problem that we cannot solve for you. So, I
understand that you are impatient because Takahisa-kun is not solving your
problem, but let's wait. Together, all of us, right?」

Satsuki called out to me, and I wondered if I had made up my mind for the
time being,

「...yes... ah...」

Both Miharu and Masato nodded quietly.

Then, Miharu's eyes naturally go to the passage. She may be more

concerned about Aki who followed Takahisa to see him off than about
Takahisa.

「I guess Takahisa-kun must have left the house by now. Do you want me
to check on Aki-chan?」

「...yes.」

Satsuki made a proposal, and Miharu and the others left the reception room.
◇◇◇

As Satsuki expected, Takahisa was already outside the house. It was almost
bedtime, and of course it was already dark outside.

In the darkness, Takahisa is walking silently along the path leading from the
house to the castle. Liliana and Aki are right behind him, and the three
knight guards, Hilda, Chiara, and Alice, with magic lighting items in their
hands, surround Liliana and the others, accompanied by Frill, their
handmaiden.

「...」

Takahisa must have sensed the tense atmosphere. We have arrived at the
boundary of the villa without anyone saying a word. Aki is not going to
follow us to the castle, so we need to say goodbye to her.

「...Onii-chan.」

Aki boldly called out to Takahisa's back.

「...」

Takahisa stops dead in his tracks.

Though she did not say anything and remained silent, Aki was relieved to
know that her words had been heard.

「Me too... I will definitely return to Centostella Kingdom later, just wait
for me.」

She is getting used to life in the mansion, she has mended her relationship
with Miharu, and if possible, she would like to live with Miharu and her
friends again. However, Aki told Takahisa that she would return to
Centostella Kingdom and that she would return to Takahisa's place.

「...Hey, Aki, Lily.」

Takahisa opens his mouth hesitantly and turns to Aki and Liliana.

「...what?」

「Yes, sir?」

「Everybody... everybody, they're wrong about me.」

Takahisa appealed. But there is no misunderstanding. Takahisa is the reason

why he is doing what he is doing. In fact, it can be said that he is showing
his side of himself more strongly because he is mentally trapped. That part
cannot be denied. But..,

「...yes, I guess so. I guess so.」

Aki did not deny it. She knows that Takahisa is hungry to be seen as she
should be. She tries to accept Takahisa gently.

「Maybe not...」

「...yeah. I know. I know Oni-chan.」

Aki approaches a heartbroken Takahisa and hugs her gently. She patted him
on the back as if she was soothing a crying child.

「Do I really have to go back to Centostella Kingdom alone?」

Takahisa sounded very anxious and squeezed out a weak question from his
mouth.

「...」

「Since you all say so, we have no choice.」

Liliana answered from the side instead of Aki, who seemed to be having
difficulty saying something.

「But, if Lily and Aki can convince everyone! ...can't you two arrange
things with Katsuki-senpai and Masato? I don't think I can ask them to do
that. Can't you do something about it?」

They must have understood that there is no other way. Takahisa clutches at
straws with his clinging eyes and asks them to help him.

「It's...」

You can't do it," was clearly written on Aki's face. Even in the darkness of
the night with only the dim light of the magic item to guide me, I could
recognize it,

「Aki, you want to be with Miharu, don't you? Then, I think it would be
good if you come to Centostella Kingdom this time. We can have everyone
else come!」

Takahisa hurriedly added the words before Aki could say a word of
rejection.

「...I want to be with you all again, too. I want to support Onii-chan, too.」

Aki's words must be true and honest.

「Well, then!」

「But... But you know what? I don't want to betray your feelings
anymore.」

This was also Aki's true intention without any falsehood.

「What?」
「I can't betray you all anymore. So, I'm sorry. I can't convince them. No,
Oni-chan should go back to Centostella Kingdom first. I think it's for Onii-
chan's sake, now.」

Aki looked extremely distressed as she told Takahisa about her decision.

「Oh, no...」

Takahisa was often at a loss for words--,

「...no kidding, right?」

I asked, my voice trembling.

「...」

「Hey, Aki...」

「I'm not lying. Let's think about what we should have done. Even without
Miharu-oneechan, Oni-chan is not alone. So, let's try to win back everyone's
trust again. Because I'm here, so...」

Aki faced Takahisa and appealed to him.

Then--,

「...trust, what do you mean... you're not alone... you, all of you, don't
know what it's like to be alone! You don't know what it's like to be alone,
that's why it's so easy to tell people to go home! You've been told to be
alone, to give up!」

Takahisa shouted angrily in the darkness, as if to vent his pent-up anger.

The place became quiet and still.

「...If Oni-chan misses you, I'll leave with you soon, not later. I'll be with
Oni-chan.」
Aki persistently called out to Takahisa that Oni-chan is not alone. But--,

「...no. No. No, that's not, that's not what I'm saying.」

Takahisa shakes his head in frustration.

Then, what does it mean?

「I'm not good enough, am I?」

Can't I fill Oni-chan's loneliness? Aki asked with a lonely look on her face.

「Yes, no. No, it's not that... you want to be with us, don't you? You want to
be with Miharu, don't you? Then let's do something so that we can all be
together. Not like this, not like this, not like this...!」

Emphasizing everyone, Takahisa's argument remains the same throughout.

But--,

「...Onii-chan wants to be with...」

Aki already knows this. He has already realized that Takahisa's logic is
nothing but sophistry. Or, maybe he had already noticed it. I have been
aware of it and pretended not to notice it. But now I can no longer pretend
to ignore it.

But still...

--Onii-chan wants to be with Miharu-oneechan, not everyone.

Aki could not say that one word yet.

So--,

「...」

Aki could only remain silent. "I can't do Oni-chan's wish," she complained
silently. Takahisa must have sensed it, too,
「...hey, Lily!」

Impatient, he looked at Liliana this time.

「...」

Liliana stands there silently, not saying anything immediately.

「Can we do something, anything? Please, please. Lily's all I have left...」

Takahisa clings desperately and begs for help.

「...Frankly, I am puzzled as to why Takahisa-sama is in such a hurry.」

Liliana let out a sigh and slowly opened her heavy mouth.

「I'm about to be sent back to Centostella! I'm in a hurry!」

「It was before that. When he first came to Galarc Kingdom, Takahisa-
sama was a very rational person. He seemed to regret his past deeds and to
be sincerely sorry for them. However, as the days of his stay increased, his
regret and remorse faded away, and he became more and more impatient.
Even when I talk to him like this, he only talks about himself and makes
excuses...」

Where have your regrets and remorse gone? Liliana asked Takahisa
curiously.

「No, I haven't disappeared... I still regret it and I still feel remorse. That's
why I'll never try to force Miharu to go to Centostella again. I really, really
regret what I did... that's not the real me. That's why I wanted you to know
and see the real me...」

Takahisa clenches his fist and replies bitterly.

「If so, why couldn't you wait and see? You say that you want people to see
and know the real you, but it is not so easy to regain trust once it is lost. It is
no use to keep your distance from me now. No matter how you are treated,
you should reflect on it and accept it. Couldn't you think that you would be
able to regain trust little by little?」

Liliana made a straightforward argument.

「...well, that's a technicality. It's a sophistry. It's not a guaranteed result to

regain trust.」

「In any case, if the castle is the cause of Takahisa-sama's spinning out like
this, it is very reasonable to keep Takahisa-sama away from the castle. I
also think that Takahisa-sama should return to Centostella.」

「I'm free to be where I want to be! Why do you all have the right to
restrict me? That's ignoring my feelings! You can't convince me with such a
blanket statement without looking at me!」

「In the first place, Takahisa-sama's disregard for Miharu-sama's feelings is

the origin of the current situation. This is also the reason why Takahisa-
sama cannot stay with Miharu-sama. We have been asked to leave because
we are bothering you.」

It does not matter what Takahisa says. Liliana is unperturbed, and she
sharpened the blade of her words without hesitation.

「So, that's...」

Takahisa's face turns hurt, as if he is aware of being annoyed. However, he

still seems to have something to say,

「I didn't become a Hero because I wanted to. Because I became a Hero, I

was forced to stay in Centostella Kingdom, and I couldn't be with everyone
else...」

It was also a roundabout way of saying that it was bad that Centostella
Kingdom has been binding on us.
「I'm going to...」

--Did life in Centostella Kingdom seem that bad to Takahisa-sama?

Liliana looks as if she is hesitating, as if she wants to ask "What is it? But
then, without a pause, she shakes her head as if to break the hesitation,

「Even if you quit Hero, Takahisa-sama won't be able to stay with Miharu-
sama, will he?」

Liliana still confronted Takahisa with the reality.

「Oh, no! No way...!」

You don't know! Takahisa could not deny it. Because Takahisa really
understands it. Liliana is right. But he still doesn't want to accept the reality,
wants to change it, and tries to resist. But..,

「Hey, Lily, don't be so hard on me...」

Takahisa Yes, I guess he is about to lose his mind, he says with a very
sneering face.

「...I don't want Takahisa-sama to suffer either.」

「Then why do you say such terrible things?」

「It's all about Takahisa-sama.」

「You said you were doing this for me.」

Takahisa's face turns bitter as he bites his tongue,

「Really? Really, for me?」

I wondered what he was thinking, and he looked at Liliana suspiciously.

「...what does that mean?」

Even the bright Liliana could not see what Takahisa suspected, and she
tilted her head and asked Takahisa back.

Then--,

「Lily likes me, doesn't she? For the sake of Centostella Kingdom, you
don't want me and Miharu to get married, so you are saying such terrible
things, aren't you?」

Did he think he had hit them where it hurts? Takahisa had a sly smile on his
face.

「...oh, my God...」

Liliana was stunned and speechless for a while. She tried to move her
mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She turns her head down
sadly, very sadly. Her tears fell down and wet the ground.

No wonder. What Takahisa said to me was a fatal low blow. No matter how
impatient he was, no matter how much he lost himself, we cannot overlook
it.

That's why--,

「...Hey!!!」

A voice filled with strong anger echoed throughout the grounds of the villa.

「What the...?」

「Masato!」

Takahisa shudders and looks in the direction where he heard the voice. It
turns out to be his younger brother, Masato, hiding in the darkness. Miharu
and Satsuki are behind him.

「Don't be stupid, asshole brother... I don't think that's a good idea.」

Masato was glaring at Takahisa with an angry look on his face, as if he was
about to strike him. However, he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder
from behind.

「Hey...?」

Don't stop, Satsuki-neechan -- turns around to say Masato,

「...Miharu-neechan?」

Miharu stopped Masato from behind.

「Wait, Masato-kun.」

「Oh, uh...」

At that moment, Masato nodded his head, understanding that Takahisa must
have been scandalized by Miharu. Because Masato had never seen such an
angry face of Miharu.

「Miharu-chan...!」

Immediately, Satsuki tried to stop Miharu, but she must have lost her
intention to do so. He withdraws his outstretched hand intentionally and
scratches his head. Miharu walks silently and approaches Takahisa.

Takahisa, perhaps thinking of some kind of explanation, rushes to open his

mouth,

「Mi, ha-ha-ha?」

Miharu slapped Takahisa on the cheek and covered his mouth. A slap.

A dry thud sounded, and Takahisa's words were physically interrupted.

Takahisa could not even utter Miharu's name until the end.

「Eh? What...?」
Takahisa is terribly confused and--,

「You're disgusting...」

Miharu said with strong indignation.

「...Takahisa-kun, you are the worst.」

Miharu piles up words with anger and sadness.

「Sorry! Miharu, it's me!」

Takahisa apologized reflexively. But..,

「What?」

「Eh?」

「What are you sorry for?」

Miharu asks Takahisa in a curious way.

「I said a lot of strange things.」

Takahisa weakly explains why,

「Stop apologizing when you don't know what's wrong. Takahisa-kun's

apologies are not credible.」

Miharu cuts Takahisa off and discards him.

「Oh, sorry, sorry...」

Takahisa apologized to Miharu several times. But--,

「I'm not the one who should be apologizing, am I? Liliana-sama, I'm sure
you're very hurt.」

Miharu's voice was trembling. No, not just her voice. I guess she has never
slapped someone's face before. The hand that slapped Takahisa's cheek was
still trembling. His arms, his body, his whole body was shaking. I felt as if I
would collapse at any moment. But that did not stop him from moving his
mouth to accuse Takahisa.

「Oh, uh...」

Takahisa's gaze turns to Liliana.

「Did I hurt Liliana-sama? Did you say those terrible things?」

Miharu's face was filled with a strong sense of remorse for what she had
done to herself.

「No, no, no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no!」

「No, that's okay. Takahisa-kun is always going off on tangents, so I don't

want to hear anything more from Takahisa-kun. So, I'm going to say this
one thing clearly from my own mouth. After all, it was not good that I was
not clear.」
Miharu prefaces his speech by saying that --,

「I hate Takahisa-kun. I hate him. I can't be with him. I don't want to. So
don't ever show your face in front of me again.」

He rejected Takahisa with strong words and with great care.

「Oh, no...」

Takahisa looks like the end of the world.

「Hilda-san, can you take Takahisa-kun, or rather, this person, to the castle
room? Liliana-sama will go back to the house, please pick her up later.」

Miharu saw Hilda, the captain of Liliana's knight escort, and asked her to
transport Takahisa.

「I understand. Please take good care of the princess. Frill, you're to stay
with her.」

Hilda bowed deeply to Miharu and motioned to her handmaiden Frill. Frill
shakes her head nodding her head.

「Liliana-sama, I am so sorry. It's my fault, I put you in this situation...」

Miharu approached Liliana and bowed deeply.

「No, no, it's not Miharu-sama's fault...」

Liliana wipes her tears and shakes her head dazedly.

「...come on, Takahisa-sama.」

「Hey! Wait! Miharu, wait...!」

Takahisa shook off Hilda's arm and shouted at Miharu.

「...」
Miharu does not look at Takahisa. It is impossible for him not to hear her,
but he pretends not to hear her and looks in the direction of the day after
tomorrow.

「I was lonely! I didn't want to be alone! I've been alone since I came to
this world... and I was so afraid of being alone again, I hated it! I love
Miharu too. So, I got weirder and weirder and weirder...」

Takahisa is a little too shy to confess his weakness, but he does so in the
midst of the confusion,

「I hate myself like this! So, please, please. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm so
sorry. Please forgive me... I'll be sorry this time! Please...」

With a deathly look on his face, he kneeled down on the ground and bowed
his head desperately.

「...」

Miharu's face turns cloudy in a very distressed manner, as if she thinks there
might be some extenuating circumstances.

But I had a feeling that if I forgave Takahisa at this point, the same thing
would happen again. I knew that it would be absolutely wrong to forgive
Takahisa at this point. Therefore, I had to reject him properly.

「Let's go, Miharu-sama.」

Liliana, perhaps thinking the same way as Miharu, gently pushes him back.

「Yes. Aki-chan, come here. Let's go home.」

Miharu shook her head firmly and called Aki who looked at Takahisa
anxiously.

「...yes.」
Aki looked away from Takahisa and nodded her head as if she wanted to
break off any lingering feelings. Then Satsuki approached Takahisa.

「Takahisa-kun, until the moment you leave for home, stay in your room
and cool your head and think about what you did wrong. I will go to see
you off, and I would like to hear your words again.」

It's your last chance, really, really last chance," Satsuki tells the drooping
Takahisa. Satsuki tells Takahisa, who is drooping, though she doesn't tell
him that much.

「Damn it, ugh...」

Takahisa does not reply, but sobs on the ground. Miharu and the others go
back to the house, and Takahisa is taken back to his room in the castle.

◇◇◇

Two mornings later.

The time has come for Takahisa to return to Centostella Kingdom. Liliana
told Takahisa yesterday that he would leave Galarc Kingdom this morning.

「Okay, I'm off.」

Satsuki was leaving the entrance of the villa to see Takahisa off. Miharu,
Aki, and Masato are there.

「...Satsuki-san, please take care of Oni-chan.」

Aki bows her head to Satsuki.

「Yeah...」
Satsuki nodded.

「What's that? Princess Liliana?」

Masato was about to say something, too. Masato looked out the front door
and saw Liliana coming along the path from the castle to the house.

Was she in a great hurry? Liliana was running to the venue, clutching the
hem of her dress. Seeing her, we all looked at her with astonishment.

「Hey, hey, what's going on?」

Satsuki rushes out of the house and runs to Liliana. Miharu, Aki and Masato
followed her. They meet up with Liliana outside the mansion,

「I'm sorry, sir.」

Liliana apologized in a heated exhalation.

「What is it, sir?」

Satsuki and the others tilted their heads quizzically, wondering what they
were apologizing for.

As it turns out..,

「...Takahisa-sama is nowhere to be found.」

Liliana confided the fact of Takahisa's disappearance with a pale face.

 [Chapter 7] The Holy City of Tonelico

The story is very different.

More than a thousand years ago.

The Divine-Demon War is said to have started from the west side of Strahl
region. At that time, the demon army appeared in the west of Strahl region
and marched eastward. Therefore, the west side of Strahl region was
controlled by the demon army and was uninhabitable.

It was not until after the end of the Divine-Demon War that the land became
inhabited. Historical documents say that the descendants of the former
inhabitants returned to the western lands and established the country.

It is also widely known as a historical fact that the first appearance of the
demon army was in the westernmost part of the Strahl region. So, strictly
speaking, the Divine-Demon War started from the westernmost part of the
Strahl region.

The eastern powers in the Strahl region are Galarc Kingdom in the
northeast and Centostella Kingdom in the southeast. The next two great
powers in the central Strahl region are the Proxia Empire in the north and
the Beltram Kingdom in the south.

And when we think of a major power in the western part of the Strahl
region, the name of Almada Holy Kingdom, located in the westernmost part
of the Strahl region, always comes to mind.

「...you're here.」
Rio, who had buried the corpse of Saint Erika, was now visiting the
westernmost city of Almada Holy Kingdom. As I have already mentioned,
Tonelico is the place where the Divine-Demon War started when the demon
army appeared for the first time in the world during the Divine-Demon War.

「Long trip, good job, Dragon King-sama 」

Sora stays suspended and bows her head to Rio.

「Sora-chan, too.」

Rio smiles at Sora and then turns his eyes to the holy city below. The most
eye-catching artifact in the city is the palace where the ruler of the city
lives, but it is the non-artifacts that are even more eye-catching. That is to
say--,

（That's the labyrinth.）

Yes, a labyrinth. On an open plain by the sea, a huge cavern gaped open,
radiating darkness. It is said that during the time of the Divine-Demon War,
the demon army emerged from this labyrinth.

The labyrinth is surrounded by a wall more solid than the city walls that
cover the city, but I am not sure if we can call it a part of the city. Although
the labyrinth's entrance to the city is well landscaped and has a road leading
to it, the distance between the entrance and the city is more than one
kilometer.

Although people can be seen coming and going between the city and the
cave, the area is completely uninhabitable. It is clear that the cave has been
isolated as a precaution.

（Armed city soldiers and... adventurers? I had heard about the labyrinth
when I was a student at the Royal Academy, but I guess it is true that
demons still appear in the labyrinth.）

Rio guessed from the information he could see that this was the case, since
they were on high alert and adventurers were going in and out of the
labyrinth.

（I hope there are some clues as to what happened during the Divine-
Demon War...）

Lina, the Seven Wise Gods, foresaw that something was going to happen in
this time period. So she reincarnated the soul of the Dragon King and put it
in Rio's body.

However, it is still unclear what is going to happen and what they want Rio
to do. Currently, there are too many things that Rio and his friends do not
know.

That is why Rio and the others visited this place this time to gather
information. If this is the place where the army of demons is said to have
appeared for the first time during the Divine-Demon War, there might be
some clues. We have come here on such a vague basis.

However, what Rio knows about the Holy City and the labyrinth is
currently very limited. This is because he had never thought of coming to
the city until he heard about Lina, so he only has a general knowledge of
the city that he learned in his days at the Royal Academy. So--,

「...Let's just go down to the city and find out about the labyrinth and the
Divine-Demon War.」

「Yes, sir!」

For now, we must act.

Rio and Sora decided to go down to the holy city of Tonelico.

◇◇◇
Rio and Sora entered the Holy City of Tonelico and gathered information
about the Holy Kingdom, the Holy City, and the labyrinth.

As a result, we have learned many things.

First of all, to summarize what we have learned in terms of governance,

Alma da is a country with a strong belief in the Six Wise Gods, as it calls
itself the Holy Kingdom.

The head of state is the king, who is also the ruler of the whole country, but
there is a separate entity called the pope, who holds the position of the
religious head of the country.

The name of the present Pope is Fenris = Tonelico.

Although the king has the higher political position and power, the pope has
an autonomous region with extraterritorial jurisdiction within the Holy See,
and is allowed by the king to rule by himself. We learned that the
autonomous region is the Holy City of Tonelico, which Rio and his group
are now visiting. The royal capital, where the king lives, seems to be
located separately from the holy city.

So, after a couple of hours of walking around the holy city and gathering
information, we were ready to go,

「I guess it's enough to know this much about political matters.」

Rio went to a suitable coffee shop and organized the information he had
gathered with Sora.

「Yes. If anything, I think it's a labyrinth.」

Sora is right,

「Right.」

The important thing is about the labyrinth, isn't it? We have learned some
things about the labyrinth. As Rio had predicted before entering the Holy
City, it seems that demons still appear from the labyrinth. If left unchecked,
the number of demons may increase and come out of the labyrinth, and
many adventurers come and go on a daily basis to thin them out.

「Dragon King-sama and I would be able to go to the deepest part and

come back in a jiffy.」

Sora says confidently.

「Well, since we've come all the way here, I'd like to dive. But if no one
has reached the deepest part of the cave for a thousand years, there might be
other things to watch out for besides demons.」

Rio, in contrast to Sora, remains cautious in his stance. I don't know what's
going on inside the labyrinth, but it is a closed and unknown area.

Since we lack experience in exploring such spaces, we cannot predict what

kind of dangers we may face, and we may get lost inside. There may be
other problems that cannot be solved only by simple combat skills.
Besides..,

「Do transcendental restrictions affect the way we fight demons?」

Rio asked a question that suddenly caught his attention.

Yes, now that Rio is transcendental, it is under the rule set by God. God
prohibits transcendental from taking unfair advantage of mankind.

In other words, transcendental should use its power for the good of
humanity as a whole, and it is not allowed to fight only for a specific person
or force. If transcendental violates this rule, it will be penalized by losing
the memory of those whom it has tried to support.

「It depends. If the demon is in a secluded place, you should not be

penalized by the rule if you kill some of them, but it is a problem if you kill
too many of them. It is also a problem if there is someone nearby. If you are
going to dive into the labyrinth, I think it is better to wear a mask.」
Sora answered thoughtfully. There are now five masks that allow us to
escape the rules of God. One of them was broken in the fight to get Celia
and the others out of Rodania, and is now in Celia's possession to be
analyzed. The other was left behind for Aishia, who remained in the castle
of the Kingdom of Galarc. Thus, Rio has three masks.

「Yes, sir. I'll buy any missing supplies and store them in the storehouse of
space-time, and if possible, I'd better ask about the labyrinth at the
Adventurers' Guild.」

Since the labyrinth is a territory of the Holy City, the Pope has the right to
manage it. And the Adventurers' Guild sends adventurers to the labyrinth at
the request of the Pope. Therefore, it is necessary to register as an
adventurer with the guild in order to enter the labyrinth.

The Adventurers' Guild, which sends adventurers to the labyrinth, is the one
who knows the labyrinth best. Since we are about to enter a dangerous and
unknown territory, we should do our homework. And so..,

「Thank you for your patience.」

The waitress brought the items ordered by the waiter. Rio is served cold tea,
and Sora is served juice and assorted fruits.

「Wow...」

Sora gazed at the items on the table with sparkling eyes.

「For now, let's just clean up what's in front of us.」

Rio chuckles and tells him.

「Yes!」

Sora looked very happy and ate the fruit.

◇◇◇

Rio and Sora left the coffee shop and headed for the Adventurers' Guild.

「It looks like this is the Adventurers' Guild.」

By the way, the Adventurers' Guild is an organization established by the

government. The guild is a group of lowly workers who are forced to do
rough jobs such as exterminating demons and guarding the country.

It is said to be of great benefit to the country because it reduces the cost of

deploying military forces to exterminate demons. Perhaps this is why the
guild has become a semi-international organization, with its management
methods shared by many countries.

In other words, the Adventurers' Guild is an organization that exists only

because of the existence of demons, and this is especially true here in the
Holy City of Tonelico, where demons come out of the labyrinth. It is said
that the first adventurers' guild was established in the Holy City of Tonelico.

Therefore, Tonelico is a sacred place for adventurers and is said to be the

most adventurer-friendly city in the world. The Adventurers' Guild
established here also has the title of the headquarters of the Adventurers'
Guild.

Rio had seen the Adventurers' Guild headquarters in Galarc Kingdom and
Beltram Kingdom before. Both of them were magnificent and luxurious
buildings like mansions,

（This place is more of a fort than a mansion. Amazing）

Here in the holy city of Tonelico, the Adventurers' Guild was even more
impressive. This is probably because most of the adventurers here make
their living by diving into the labyrinth. The building of the Adventurers'
Guild is integrated with the wall separating the city and the labyrinth.
And in case the labyrinth is overflowing with demons, this is the place to
hold them back. The exterior of the guild looks like a solid fortress. It
seems that adventurers need to pass through the Adventurers' Guild to go
back and forth between the city and the labyrinth.

「Shall we go?」

Rio enters the guild building through the front door, which is left open.

The outside of the building looks rugged stone, but the inside is quite an
elegant space. It was spacious, and armed adventurers could be seen. At the
back of the room, there was a reception counter made of solid wood, and a
number of staff members were waiting there. Some of them were working
with adventurers.

「I guess you can register over there.」

Rio points to a corner of the reception counter. It is marked in writing as the

registration counter for new adventurers, although many of us cannot read it
because the literacy rate in this world is not high. There was no one in line
at the moment, so I quickly go to the counter before someone else gets in
line.

Sora, who looks like a 7 or 8 year old girl, should stand out from the crowd
of various heights and grooming at the front desk of the guild.

However, Rio is not so much in the public eye now that he has become
transcendental. He is usually recognized by people who pay attention to
him by talking to him, but he is no longer noticed even if he is dressed a
little conspicuously. Sora is also strongly influenced by the rule, especially
when she is with Rio, and no one pays attention to them.

「I'm sorry.」

「Eh? Oh, yes.」

The woman at the reception desk also seemed not to recognize Rio until he
spoke to her in front of her, and she responded with a startled shiver.
「I'm thinking of signing up as an adventurer, and I'd like to talk to you...」

Rio tried to gather information by registering with the Adventurers' Guild.

In order to dive into the labyrinth, one needs to register with the
Adventurers' Guild and present a registration card, but whether or not one
actually registers depends on the flow of events.

This is because registering with the Adventurers' Guild would also create a
certain obligation to the city. This would violate the rule of God that one
should not be beholden to any particular group or force.

More importantly, Rio and Sora would be able to sneak into the guild
without registering with the guild. Even if they fail to sneak in and cause a
commotion, they will not be remembered for a long time because of the
God's Rule.

So, I decided to visit the Adventurers' Guild and gather information about
the labyrinth.

If you are told that there is information that can only be disclosed to those
who have actually become adventurers, you should consider registering
with the Adventurers' Guild,

「Oh, I see... I'm free at this time of the day, if you don't mind.」

The receptionist shook her head readily, probably because recruiting new
recruits is a part of her job.

「Thank you very much. I have never been involved with the Adventurers'
Guild before, so there is a lot I don't know...」

「I see. By the way, you can register...」

「Me and maybe her.」

Rio looks down at Sora standing next to him.

「Eh? Uh...」
The woman at the reception desk got up from her chair and looked at Sora
standing across the counter. Rather, she looked down at Sora. It was not that
she did not recognize Sora, but she wanted to make sure of her appearance,
because Sora was so small that only her face was visible over the counter.

Since the main occupation of the guild is the extermination of demons,

there is a rule that a person must be at least twelve years old to register with
the guild. Since the guild has no way to know the exact age of the applicant,
it is possible for the applicant to lie about his/her age, but this does not
mean that the guild does not need to confirm the age of the applicant.

「He's two years younger than me.」

Rio, looking a little guilty, falsely tells Sora's age. There was no way to
make her believe me when I told her that her real age was much older than
1,000 years old.

「Excuse me, but how old are you?」

「I'm almost seventeen.」

「Yes, sir. Then there should be no problem.」

It is probably because Sora looks like a little girl. The woman at the
reception desk looks down at Sora and says confidently.

「Sora is an adult!」

Sora's frustrated voice echoed across the counter. Then, after a brief
argument, the interview at the Adventurers' Guild begins.

I decided to take this opportunity to ask them some questions, since by

God's rules, they would not remember what I asked them anyway.

As a result, although we did not obtain any information that would lead us
to the core of the matter, we were able to obtain some information, mainly
concerning the labyrinth, that we could not obtain from the residents of the
town.
「Thank you very much. I learned a lot.」

「No, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask.」

Thus, they have obtained the minimum information they needed to know
before going into the labyrinth. Therefore, Rio and Sora leave the counter
without registering with the Adventurers' Guild.

The sky was blotchy red as I stepped out of the guild building.

It seems that nightfall is approaching.

「After a little shopping, we can go back to the rock house for a good
night's rest. We can dive the labyrinth tomorrow morning.」

Rio thought about the list of supplies that he had been told that he would
need if he wanted to enter the labyrinth. It seemed that the supplies in the
storehouse of space-time would be sufficient, and in the case of Rio and
Sora, spirit arts might be able to solve the problem, but just to be safe.

「Yes!」

After that, we did some shopping and finished our activities in the city
during the day. After setting up the rock houses outside the city, we went to
sleep early to prepare for the next day's labyrinthine exploration.

◇◇◇

For a thousand years since the end of the Divine-Demon War.

Numerous adventurers have tackled the labyrinth.

However, no one has ever reached the innermost part.

The reasons for this are manifold, but can be briefly summarized as follows:
the difficulty level is too high. The interior of the labyrinth is vast, complex,
and has many layers. The deeper you go, the more demons there are, and
the more dangerous they become, as well as more formidable ones.

Even so, however, there is no end to the number of adventurers who seek
the depths of the labyrinth.

Every adventurer at one time or another dreams of conquering the labyrinth

himself. This is because they are looking for riches and fame.

You can get magic stones by defeating demons. You can sometimes unearth
highly pure natural magic crystals or spirit stones, which are called magic
balls in the Strahl region. If you bring back a certain amount of them and
sell them, you can live like a nobleman.

The size of the magic stone proves the strength of the defeated monster.
Since magic crystals and balls cannot be obtained in the shallow layer, their
acquisition proves the depth of the depth of the dive. In other words,
bringing them back is a clear sign of having accomplished a feat. They are
envied by their peers and admired by the general public.

As an adventurer, there is no better place to make a name for yourself than

in the labyrinth. This is also the reason why adventurers from all over the
Strahl region gather in the holy city of Tonelico. Therefore, many
adventurers in the city challenge the labyrinth, competing with each other
day and night for their lives.

In such a labyrinth, now...

Rio and Sora were about to take on the challenge alone.

The time is early morning.

Using invisible spirit arts, we quietly enter the walls surrounding the
entrance to the labyrinth. Once inside the walls, we are no longer
recognizable from the adventurers, so we deactivate our spirit arts and
proudly enter the entrance of the labyrinth. And then..,
「This is the entrance to the labyrinth...」

Rio and Sora stood side by side, looking up at the entrance to the labyrinth
from close up.

It must be several hundred meters wide and a hundred meters high. It had a
strong presence when we looked down on it from the sky, but when we
looked up at it up close, it was a mountain.

There are other adventurers who are about to enter the labyrinth besides Rio
and his friends, but the entrance is so wide that there is no room for them to
fight over who will enter first.

Then--,

「Let's go in. - Yes!」

Rio and Sora follow the other adventurers into the labyrinth. However, as
soon as they entered the labyrinth, they stopped again. This is because--,

「Wow...」

The labyrinth's interior was so fantastic. It seems that the height of the
entrance of the labyrinth is the same as the height of the ceiling inside the
labyrinth.

Although there were no artificial lights of any kind, Rio and Sora could
clearly see a ceiling more than a hundred meters high in their field of
vision.

This is because there are non-artificial lights in the cave. The entire wall of
the cave was faintly illuminated, so we had a good visibility. I had heard
about it from the receptionist when I visited the Adventurers' Guild, but it
was quite surprising to see it in person.

It seems as if the walls inside the labyrinth might contain some special ore,
but the light seems to disappear immediately even if the walls of the
labyrinth are sampled.
So, how does it work?

「The whole wall seems to contain a small amount of magic. Maybe that's
why it's glowing.」

Rio tries to look at the ceiling carefully with his eyes. Her eyes clearly see
the walls are covered with magic.

「The concentration of magic in the air is also very high.」

Sora was also looking around the cave with great interest.

「Yes. Maybe it has something to do with why demons keep appearing

from the labyrinth...」

Rio took his eyes off the ceiling as he said this, and looked at the scene
ahead.

The first level, where they are now, is simply a vast space, with a path
leading to the lower level. It seems to be three kilometers long, and we
could not see all the way to the bottom.

With such a large space, it is not difficult to fight in such a crowded place. I
can see adventurers fighting with goblins from a distance, but it does not
seem to be difficult to fight. As I look around the inside of the room, I think
to myself

（...If the memory that Lina implanted in Aishia is true, it is likely that the
Six Wise Gods experimented something in the depths of this cave more
than a thousand years ago. As a result, the Divine-Demon War occurred.）

Rio remembered the story that Aishia, who had regained her memory right
after the battle with Saint Erika, had told him. The Six Wise Gods had once
imprisoned Lina and opened a hole in the dimension of this world. As a
result, demons came from the outside world. And the demons are still
coming and going from this labyrinth.
So, if something Lina feared would happen, would it not be in this place?
With this in mind, I visited the labyrinth in the holy city of Tonelico,

（I still feel like there's something in this labyrinth.）

Rio felt this way again as he looked at the scene spread out before him.

「I heard that there are strong demons guarding the tenth level. I heard that
you can't challenge it without permission from the Adventurer's Guild, but
let's just go as far as we can to get to the front of it.」

「Yes, Dragon King-sama and I can do it easily!」

Sora says that the highest level of the human race is the tenth level. It is said
that there were adventurers who defeated the demons that seemed to be
guarding the tenth level and advanced to the eleventh level, but they all
turned back soon after entering the eleventh level.

Moreover, there may be more than one gatekeeper who guards the ten
levels, and the same gatekeeper may be waiting for you when you try again.
However, it seems that...,

「Well, be on your guard. 《Discharge》」

Rio knows what Sora is capable of. He does not expect Sora to fall behind
in the face of a challenge. Rio takes out a mask from the storehouse of
space-time, puts it on, and begins to attack the labyrinth.

◇◇◇

It is a boy who has become transcendental, even though he is human, and

his familiars, I should say. Rio and Sora's labyrinthine attack went well.
We ran straight through the first level toward the back, and reached the
second level in a few minutes. Most of the monsters in the first level were
goblins, with a few orcs in the mix.

In the second level, too, only goblins and orcs appeared, but the number of
them was larger than in the first level. In terms of geographical conditions,
it was an open space as in the first level, but there were rocks scattered all
over the place as if they were obstacles. Since demons sometimes lurked
behind them, ordinary adventurers would be required to proceed cautiously.

However, Rio and Sora are not ordinary adventurers. As in the first layer,
they were told that there was a way to the third layer if they proceeded to
the innermost level, so they ran through the third layer as fast as they could,
aiming at the innermost level. Their progress did not slow down, and they
had reached the second level in a few minutes, just as they had done in the
first level.

Then, when we entered the third level, the number of adventurers obviously
decreased. This is because the difficulty level is higher than that of the
second level. The geographical conditions are the same as those in the
second level, but what has changed are the monsters that appear.

Among the demons, there are rare individuals called mutants whose skin
color differs from that of normal individuals, but this one was mixed in with
them. The darker the skin color of a mutant is, the stronger it becomes, but
the one in the mix was a mutant with dark skin. However, it was still not an
enemy of Rio and Sora, and the two of them managed to overcome the third
layer with a minimum of fighting.

The fourth level. This time, there were some jet-black skinned mutants
among the mutants, but again, mutants of goblins and orcs are not enough
to pose a threat to Rio and Sora. The number of adventurers we see is even
fewer, but the geographical conditions are the same as those in the second
and third levels, so we still manage to get through the level without any
problems.

And the fifth level.

The geographical conditions changed. The space, which up to the fourth
floor was a single vast hall-like space, is now lined with a number of paths.
The ceiling height has also been lowered. The ceiling height has been
lowered, though it is still several tens of meters high.

「Just as I had heard at the Adventurers' Guild.」

Rio stopped at the fifth level and looked ahead at the many roads branching
off ahead.

When I gathered information at the Adventurers' Guild, I was told roughly

about the characteristics of the first ten layers. It was right that I gathered
information from the Adventurers' Guild. If we had entered the labyrinth
without any preliminary investigation, we would have been at a loss which
way to go.

「Which way do you want to go?」

Sora asks, "What do you mean by that?

「Every path seems to lead to the next level, but... let's take the middle
path. But from the fifth level, it seems that the paths are all over the place,
so we'll walk on, even if it takes a little longer.」

Rio decides on a path to follow at random.

「Yes!」

Thus, the two began to conquer the fifth layer.

After a couple of minutes' walk..,

「Bumooooooooo!」

I heard a yell from up ahead.

「What the...?」
I can see who's screaming. It is a minotaur. Since they had been searching
for the Minotaur with their wind spirit arts while walking, they knew in
advance that the Minotaur was ahead of them. However, his yell is so loud
that both Rio and Sora frown.

「Shut up... shut up!」

Sora sticks out her index finger and focuses it on the onrushing minotaur.
Immediately afterwards, a burst of magical light is shot out. The Minotaur,
having seen Rio and the others, screams and gets ready for battle,

「Boo...? Mo...?」

Sora shot a light bullet through his heart. It seems that he saw Sora's
fingertip light up, but there was no way for him to avoid the attack, since it
had hit him directly when he saw it. The minotaur is blown away and
vanishes into dust. With a crunch, the minotaur's magic stone fell to the
ground with a sound.

「This is also what I've heard. From the fifth layer, there will be
minotaurs.」

「I don't care if a thousand minotaurs appear.」

Sora puffed her chest out.

「But if the demons keep getting stronger at this rate, it may be difficult to
get below the tenth level. Unless you're using a magic sword, I think you'll
hit your ceiling around the 6th or 7th level.」

If we form a team of warriors and mages who can use magic, we may be
able to defeat one or two minotaurs, but we still cannot be too careful. It is
not necessarily that they will try to challenge us head-on like they are doing
now.

As we advance to the sixth and seventh levels, the number of minotaur

variants will increase and their numbers will also increase. In the search for
the labyrinth, we have to think about taking a rest and returning home, so it
may be safe to fight around the fifth level even if you can fight at the sixth
or the seventh level.

To go further, a skilled warrior equipped with an ancient and powerful

magic sword or a skilled spirit caster is indispensable.

「Well, that's about right. Oh, Dragon King-sama, Sora will pick up the
magic stone!」

Sora rushes ahead of Rio when she sees Rio pick up the magical stone of
the Minotaur and start walking to retrieve it. She picks up the magical stone
and looks at Rio expectantly, as if asking him to praise her.

「Thank you, Sora-chan.」

Rio gently pats Sora's head.

「Sora is a familiar to the Dragon King-sama, of course.」

Sora was smiling happily like a puppy as she said so.

◇◇◇

Time moves on a bit.

It was around the time Rio and Sora entered the ninth layer of the labyrinth.

Somewhere deep in the same labyrinth. In a wide, wide hall-like space,

there stood a small child wearing a pure white hood. His face was hidden by
the hood, and from the side it was hard to tell whether he was a boy or a
girl.

「...」
The child gazes up at the ceiling of the labyrinth, which glows dimly,

「...a long-time intruder in the ninth layer... Two. Who are they? They look
very strong.」

What on earth do they foresee?

「Do you want some squid?」

An eerie voice sounded from nearby.

At first glance, it looked like just a rock, but there was a dark-skinned
human-like creature kneeling right next to the child. If Rio or Aishia had
been there, they would have noticed that it was a revanant.

「At this rate, we'll reach the tenth layer. I'll take you home, so go check on
them.」

and the child gives instructions to Levant.

「Ha.」

Revagnant treated the child reverently, as if he were clearly superior to him.

He nodded his head in a very intelligent and submissive manner.

Soon after, the Jet-Black Revanant disappeared from the scene.

◇◇◇

And time goes a little further.

Rio and Sora had reached the passage connecting the ninth and tenth layers.
「It looks like this is the way to the tenth level. I heard that you need
permission from the Adventurers' Guild to try it...」

Rio looks down at the cave that leads to the lower level.

The reason why we need the permission of the Adventurers' Guild to

challenge the tenth level is that we do not want to easily lose good
adventurers who are able to dive to the ninth level. The guild's permission is
necessary in order to encourage adventurers to make careful decisions.

Nevertheless, no one from the Adventurers' Guild stays in these dangerous

depths to watch for adventurers who break the rules.

The last time we saw adventurers was in the seventh layer, and it seems that
there are no adventurers in the ninth layer except Rio and his friends at this
point. If Rio and Sora continue to challenge the tenth layer, they will not be
noticed by the adventurers' guild. In fact, Rio and Sora are not even
adventurers.

「Let's go, Dragon King-sama.」

Sora, without hesitation, urges Rio to challenge the tenth layer.

「Well, that's what we're here for, isn't it?」

Rio seems to have made up his mind, though he seems to have some qualms
about breaking the rules. We descend the path that leads to the tenth layer.
And then..,

「This is the tenth layer...」

Upon descending to the tenth level, Rio stopped at the doorway of the
passage connecting the two levels and looked around the area. The space is
quiet and still.

While the ninth layer was an intricate maze, the tenth layer was an open
dome-like space, just like the first layer.
However, the size of the space is very different from that of the first level.
While the previous levels were all several kilometers in diameter, the tenth
level is probably only seven or eight hundred meters in diameter. However,
the ceiling is unusually high,

（...Amazing...) We must be deep underground, but the ceiling is over a

hundred meters high. The ceiling height is more than a hundred meters,
even though we must be deep underground.）

Rio gulps as he estimates the approximate height of the labyrinth. With

such a height, he should be able to fly around the labyrinth with some
degree of freedom.

（How deep is this labyrinth, really?）

The entrance to the labyrinth is along the coast, and after entering the
labyrinth, we have been descending diagonally forward toward the sea. The
current location is probably further below the seafloor. The sum of the
heights of the ceilings of each level does not directly correspond to the
depth of the labyrinth, but we must still be far below the ground.

The highest level of human habitation is the tenth level, but if there is a
lower level, how deep can we go? So far, we have not seen any man-made
structures, but I wonder if a space of this size can be created naturally.

Such a question crossed Rio's mind. However, Rio turned his eyes forward
without thinking. In the innermost part of the room, there is a passage
leading to the tenth level,

「Oh-oh-oh-oh!」

The tenth layer's gatekeeper was waiting for us, and he let out a vindictive
yell. He was a huge man of several tens of meters in height, with a single-
handed sword of several meters in length. And there was a skeleton knight
wearing a shield and full body armor. On his back were jet-black wings,
making him look like a fallen angel or a demon. He was lying on his knees
in front of the passageway as if he was asleep, but then he suddenly stood
up and shouted.
Since we knew that there was a gatekeeper before we went into the
labyrinth, and since we could see him even if he was hundreds of meters
away due to his size, neither Rio nor Sora seemed surprised.

（I noticed this one. (I noticed this one. Is it a demon that Aishia had fought
before?）

Draugr, the Hero Killer. It is the monster that Reiss used to confront Aishia
when Rio went to the Kingdom of Paradia to take revenge against Lucius.

While Rio went to rescue Liselotte kidnapped by Saint Erika, it once

appeared in the castle of Galarc Kingdom and was repulsed by Celia and
Gouki. It is not known at present whether it is a demon or not, since it is
said to disappear without leaving any magic stone when it is defeated.

Although this is the first time that Rio has directly confronted them, he
seems to have concluded that they are the same entity, since their
characteristics are consistent with those he had heard from Aishia and
Celia. In fact, he was right in his assumption. I had heard that they were
quite tough opponents,

「Oh, is that him?」

Sora opened her mouth as if she had just met someone she knew. He
seemed to know how good he was, or he didn't seem to be alarmed.

「Sora-chan, you know?」

「I have seen them in the Yagumo region during the Divine-Demon War.
They are a little stronger than other mooks.」

「I see. Then I'll fight them anyway. There don't seem to be any other
demons here, but stay alert.」

Rio says so and tries to fight on his own,

「No! I don't need to bother you with such a small fish, Dragon King-sama.
Leave it to me, the familiar Sora!」

Sora put her hand on her modest chest and bravely offered to fight.

「No..., yeah. Yeah. Well, can I see what Sora-chan can do?」

Rio seemed to be reluctant to fight with the young Sora, and for a moment,
it looked as if he was about to refuse, but he let Sora fight with him. I know
Sora's ability since I saw her in a previous match against Aishia. However, I
have not yet grasped its true value yet, so I may have thought that I would
take this opportunity to confirm it.

「Yes, please look at it as much as you like!」

Sora nodded her head very happily, as if she was happy to be given a role as
a familiar. Then, she ran forward at a brisk pace. As she was spinning her
shoulders in a circular motion, as if she was doing some kind of preparatory
exercise...,

「OHHHHH!」

The hero-killer flapped his wings and flew up.

With that figure in view - ,

（The space is just right for that huge body to fly around... This space, it
seems to be built for fighting against that thing. It's like an arena...）

Rio observes the room calmly even in this situation, and thinks such a thing.
And then..,

（But still, what is this sticking feeling? What is this sticking feeling...?）

With an indescribably bad feeling, Rio looked around quizzically in the

space that was supposed to be empty except for them and the hero-killers.
As expected, there is no other demon in sight. Meanwhile, the Heroes'
Killer is approaching us in flight at a very high speed. With a strange
feeling of uneasiness, Rio turns his attention to the battle between Sora and
the Heroes' Killer that is about to take place in front of him. And then..,

「I'm coming!」

Sora kicked the ground with her spirit. At the same moment, Sora was
within sight of the hero-slayer, who was still more than a hundred meters
away from her. The dragon body, which is usually made into a spirit body,
had materialized before she knew it, and she was wearing it on her arms.

Thus, Sora and the Hero Killer confront each other in the air of the
labyrinth.

「Ah!」

The hero-slayer quickly pushed out his shield, which was held in front of
his torso, and tried to push Sora away. The difference in height between the
two men is more than ten times. The difference in weight is not ten times as
great.

It is like a big human man trying to hit a palm-sized small animal as hard as
he can with his shield,

「It's depressing!」

It was Sora, who was physically inferior to the others, who was the one to
beat him up.

He violently swings his right arm, which has been partially transformed into
a dragon body, and strikes back at the approaching shield. Immediately
afterward, a thunderous roar echoes through the labyrinthine space.

Sora's blow is a violence that cannot be described by the word

"unreasonable. The shield of the hero-killer is shattered and collapses.

「Huh?」
The shield, which the hero-slayer pushed forward, bounced back to his
chest. His own hand which grips the shield hits his chest with such force
that the hero-slayer's body is thrown back in the air. And then..,

「Let's get this over with!」

Sora came right in front of the hero-slayer and punched him in the face with
his dragonized, burly left fist. Then, even though it was not his dominant
arm, he struck him in the face with his left fist,

「What?」

A dull thud rings out, and the head of the heroic killer is snapped off. The
bones of his face are shattered, and the blown fragments evaporate and
fizzle away. At this point, he is on the verge of extinction,

「And the final nail in the coffin!」

Sora aimed at the heart of the armored hero-slayer, and struck a blow with
her right arm with all her might. As a result, the armor, which had been
unaffected by the attacks of many heroes in history, is shattered by a single
blow. The hero-slayer's ribs are also punched through. The huge skeleton,
more than ten meters in height, is blown violently to the ground,

「Ah...」

The hero-slayer died before colliding with the ground. The sword in his
hand, the shield and the armor he was wearing are all gone, crumbling
neatly along with his torso. His death scene is very similar to that of a
demon dying, but he does not drop a magic stone.

Anyway, Sora defeated the hero-slayer with only three shots. To be precise,
the second shot almost killed him, but we should honestly praise the
endurance of the hero-slayer who survived Sora's attack with a shield, even
if it was only a single shot. However, Sora's one-sided and overwhelming
victory was really impressive.

「...wow.」

Words of praise came out of Rio's mouth.

「It's over, Dragon King-sama!」

Sora turns around with a smile, buoys, and makes a peace,

（My fears are unfounded.）

Rio smiles back. He shakes his head, wondering if he had imagined the
discomfort he felt before the fight began.

Even after defeating such a strong demon, the masks on their faces do not
seem to have been burdened. It is probably because there is no one in the
hierarchy except Rio and his friends.

However, on the road leading to the eleventh level, there was one person, or
rather one person, who was observing the current battle. It was the jet-
black-skinned revenant. He was watching Sora slaughtering the hero-slayer,
and for a moment, he was in a state of exclamation,

「...!」

They leave in a hurry for the tenth layer.

「Hmm?」

Rio looked at the cave leading to the eleventh level from the side of the
cave leading to the tenth level. Both of them were several hundred meters
away from each other, but he might have sensed some strange presence.
However, the revanant had already left, and the cave was only eerily open.

◇◇◇

11th level.

There have been countless adventurers in the past, but all of them either
died or turned back soon afterwards, leaving it unknown to mankind. The
reason for this is...

「Bumooooooooo!」

Almost as soon as Rio and Sora stepped on the tenth layer of soil, the cry of
the Minotaur echoed through the air. We can't make fun of the Minotaur
now, because there were too many of them. Because there were too many of
them.

（How many are there?）

Rio looks around the 11th floor with a grim face. The structure of the space
was similar to that of the second level. The space was probably several
kilometers in diameter, and the floor was dotted with numerous rocks,
creating blind spots. However, the demons of the eleventh level might be
swarming around the entrance. We could not see the depths of the room.

I knew what had happened in the past in this eleventh level from what I had
heard from the Adventurers' Guild, and I had explored the eleventh level
with the wind spirit arts while passing through the cave connecting the
levels, so I knew that a large number of demons were lurking in the area,
but the number was far greater than I had imagined.

Goblins, orcs, minotaurs. A few Levantines are also in the mix. It is a

bargain sale of demons that Rio has seen in the past.

No wonder the adventurers who have attempted this challenge in the past
have either given up or turned back. A thousand, two thousand, or even
three thousand monsters would not be enough. Such a large number of
demons are coming to kill adventurers who have visited the eleventh level
with overwhelming numbers.

It doesn't matter if you're good at it. It doesn't matter if you are facing a
demon that can beat you easily in a one-on-one fight. If you go headlong
with a small number of demons, you will be swallowed up without a choice.
If we turn back and the demons chase us to the upper levels, there is no
guarantee that we can escape.

Adventurers who challenged the eleventh level in the past probably made
up their minds to retreat the moment they saw this scene. Any experienced
adventurer with common sense would have done so.

However, neither Rio nor Sora can be described by common sense. They
are a boy who became transcendental while he was a human being, and his
familiar.

「Stay away from the Dragon King-sama! Stay away from the Dragon
King-sama!」

Sora takes a few steps forward and opens her mouth wide. At the same
time, a hot beam of light converges at the tip of her mouth. Immediately
after that, Sora unleashes a burst of hot light from her mouth toward the
swarm of demons approaching from the front. The searing light gushes out
like a dragon's breath.

「Bumooooo...」

Nearly a thousand demons in front of the herd are swallowed by the

diffused light breath, and are helplessly extinguished. However, Sora seems
to have taken some precautions so as not to cause damage to the interior of
the labyrinth.

「Dragon King-sama, I'm going to reduce the number! Please wait!」

Sora then tries to attack the rest of the demons,

「No, I'm going to fight too! We'll fight together! Sora-chan, can you take
care of the demon on the right side?」

Rio called out to Sora and pulled out two daggers from his waist.

「With Dragon King-sama... Yes!」

Sora responds in high spirits, happy to be able to fight with him.

「Okay, let's get started.」

As soon as Rio said that, he charged toward the army of demons still
swarming on his left. Around them, he deployed countless magic energy
spheres with his spirit arts,

「Huh?」

The photoballs turned into rays of light all at once, and reaped the demons
towering in the direction of their movement. In addition, Rio's daggers in
his hands were also covered with magic power, forming huge blades of
energy. With a single swing, he slaughters several demons at once.

「You're the best, Dragon King-sama...!」

Sora was entranced by Rio's fighting spirit, but..,

「What? I can't stay like this! Sora must help the Dragon King-sama! Let's
go!」

He comes to his senses and, with renewed vigor, charges into the army of
demons. Waving both arms of his dragon body, which is usually in a
spiritual form, he reaves any demon that comes into his sight.

Thus, the war of transcendental and its familiar versus the army of demons
began secretly in the depths of a labyrinth that mankind does not know
about.

◇◇◇

11th level.

Hundreds of meters away from the entrance to the hierarchy where Rio and
Sora are. Watching Rio and Sora fight from behind,

「Nah...」

The jet-black Levant was speechless.

Every time they attack, I see demons bundled up like little dolls, blowing
away with great force.

「Nante, bullshit...」

The sheer volume of the battle meant nothing. The Jet-Black Revanant
shuddered, wondering if it was not Rio and Sora who would lose their will
to fight, but the demons.

「...」
This is not something we can handle by ourselves. The jet-black Revanant's
face shows his impatience, as if he is convinced that it is only a matter of
time before thousands of demons are defeated.

Then, that's when it happened.

--Hahaha, that's great.

A child's laughter echoed in Levant's mind.

（I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I've given you these demons.）

The jet-black Reverend reflexively ponders an apology.

--It's not your responsibility. There are still plenty of demons out there, and
there's nothing you can do about them, no matter how many demons you
have ready. Especially little girls. I'm sure. She's a transcendental familiar.
A being beyond reason.

（...household, genus?）

A question mark appears above the head of the jet-black revanant, as if he

does not understand the word.

--The other guy looks human, but he's strong too. What do you mean?

The child did not answer Levant's question. A curious voice echoed, as if he
had seen something that didn't add up.

--Well, that's okay. The path to the 12th level is sealed. There's no way to
find them, so you can come back now.

The child immediately dismisses the thought, or gives instructions to the

revanant to return.

（Gyoi）

At the same time as he nodded his head, the jet-black revanant disappeared
from the scene.
◇◇◇

Then, Rio joined the game, and the speed of the destruction of the demons
accelerated. Soon there were no more demons attacking them,

「Looks like it's all taken care of.」

Rio and Sora have joined us.

「We apologize for the trouble we have caused you. Dragon King-sama has
been a pain in the ass.」

Sora apologizes with a drooping head, probably because she was so happy
to be able to fight with Rio.

「Okay, I can't let Sora-chan fight alone. Let me fight too.」

Rio said cheerfully that Sora didn't need to worry about it. Then, looking
around the quiet floor..,

「Well, let's find a way to the twelfth level. Let's pick up as many magic
stones as we can.」

Sora is instructed to do so.

Naturally, there are magic stones scattered all over the place. Since the
magical stones of the Minotaur can be sold at a high price, if we bring back
all of them and sell them, we can live for a long time, can't we?

「Okay.」

Rio and Sora begin their search for the passage leading to the twelfth level,
which has never been explored before. Since it is more efficient to split up
and pick up the demon's magic stone, they decide to split up the search for
the floor. However, something strange happens,

（...strange. I don't see any holes leading to the lower layer.）

In all the other levels, there was a path leading to the next level across from
the entrance, but in this eleventh level, there was no path at that position. So
we tried tracing along the wall, but still could not find a path. Since Rio
traced the wall only on the half side, I thought there might be a passage on
the opposite side, but--,

「Dragon King-sama. I can't find any holes that might lead to the next
level.」

The other side is what Sora was looking for.

He came to report that he could not find a passageway.

「I couldn't find it either.」

「Is this the lowest level of the labyrinth?」

Sora tilts her head curiously.

「Maybe... but let's look around some more. I'll fly inside and look for it,
Sora-chan, would you try to go around the wall again?」

So Rio and Sora decided to search the levels more carefully. However, no
matter how hard they searched, they could not find a path leading to the
twelfth level...

Rio and Sora's labyrinthine strategy, which had been progressing at

breakneck speed, came to a halt at the eleventh level.

◇◇◇
On the other hand .

Somewhere deep, in the labyrinth.

「I'm still looking, even though it's no use.」

A child looks up at the ceiling of the labyrinth, smiling pleasantly. In the

corner is a jet-black revanant, kneeling on the ground.

「But what should we do? Maybe it would be interesting to invite them to

the 12th level. No, or I could go up to them and say hello.」

And, when the child is lost--,

「Good evening.」

Someone else's voice echoed.

It was an adult, male voice.

「Oh, it's you. Long time no see.」

The child replies, but remains looking up at the ceiling, as if he is not

interested in the person who appears.

「I need a golem, and I've come to collect it... What are you looking at?」

The man asked the child, telling him what he wanted to do.

「Hey, no, there's something very interesting. How's the outside world
these days?」

The child still looks up at the ceiling and returns the question to the man.

「It's... unusual. I didn't know you were interested in the outside world.」
The man says, quite surprisingly.

「Oh, I'm suddenly interested. I wonder if it might have something to do

with why you're here to collect the golem... Hey, Fenris.」

The child finally took his eyes off the ceiling and looked at the man
(Fuenris) with a mischievous smile.

◇◇◇

Then, time moves forward for about an hour.

The location is also moved to the Holy City of Tonelico, outside the
labyrinth.

Palace where Pope Fenris Tonelico is said to live.

A chair in the Pope's office--,

「Oh, man...」

A man sighed and sat down. Dressed in a pure white robe, his appearance
told us that he was the pope. Or rather, only the pope would be allowed to
sit in this chair. And then..,

「Your Eminence, may I?」

「Come in, come in.」

A young woman who appeared to be a high-ranking priest entered the office

after receiving permission from the pope.

「Thank you very much for the months-long sealing ceremony.」

The priestess said so and bowed reverently to the pope.

「Yes. I am very tired. I have to go back to the sealing ceremony soon, and
I need to rest.」

「I'm afraid not. While you have been away, there are a number of matters
that I would like you to look over. Please take a look.」

The woman who was shaking her head was holding a bundle of documents
in her arms.

「That's why I didn't want to come back. Could you please explain it to me,
Priestess, Anna?」

The pope lets out a sigh of amorous exhalation and smiles at the woman he
has called Anna. The pope and the high priestess. The pope and the high
priestess must have known each other well.

「With pleasure, Your Eminence.」

Anna sighs and nods her head, as if to say, "It can't be helped," and smiles
back at the Pope, the master of the Holy City of Tonelico.

Pope Fenris =Tonelico.

This is totally ludicrous...

The Pope looked exactly like Reiss-Wolff, the diplomat of the Proxia
Empire who had just appeared in the depths of the labyrinth.
 [Epilogue] Sinner

The location then returns to Galarc Kingdom.

Royal city Galtulk.

It was almost dusk.

Located near slums and brothels, in a deserted back alley...

Pichari, pichari.

The sound of dripping was heard.

「Oh, uh...」

Sendou Takahisa, holding the sword of divine arms, is trembling.

「Hey, you...」

A man who looked like a burglar with a bad face was glaring at Takahisa as
if he wanted to kill him.

「...」

A girl wearing a ragged cloth is lying on her backside right next to Takahisa
and the ragdolls.

The sound of dripping, dripping, dripping never stops. There were red
puddles in the back alley. All of them were a lot of blood.
「Ah, ah, ah...」

Takahisa was repeatedly comparing his hands, the red pool of blood, and
the chest of the thug with the sword of the divine arms. His eyes wandered
over and over again, as if he was trying to find a way out of this situation.
However, Takahisa's divine arms had pierced through his heart mercilessly.

「No, no...」

Yes, no.

You shouldn't have...

If you kill someone...

Only murderers...

You can't, you can't...

「Goh...」

A large amount of blood is spewed out from the mouth of the thug.

「Hiccup...」

A muffled scream escaped Takahisa's mouth.

At the same time, Takahisa's sword, which had pierced through the heart of
the ragdoll, is pulled out of his body by reflex as if he were running away.
A large amount of blood pours out of his chest.

「Oh...」

With a thud, the thug fell to the ground. And then--

「...」

Become a mute corpse.

It was too late.

Everything was too late.

We can't get it back now.

On this day--,

「Ah, ah...」

Sendou Takahisa killed a man for the first time in his life.
 Afterword

Thank you for your kind attention. My name is Yuri Kitayama. Thank you
very much for your kind attention to "Seirei Gensouki 23.

So, here is the first volume of 2023 from me to you! Thanks to the support
of our readers and all those involved, we were able to successfully release
volume 23. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you from the
bottom of my heart. I have written everything I wanted to write in this
volume, and I am very happy if you think "Hurry up! I would be very happy
if you think "Hurry up! I am very glad if you think "You've done it" or
"Who are you? I'm looking forward to your feedback!

Also, as you may have seen in the preview at the end of this volume, we are
going to produce the fifth drama CD! It will be included in the special
edition of volume 24. Well, that's all for now. I hope to see you all again in
volume 24!
That day, the girl made her choice. The correct choice, or so it should have
been.

Either way, her choice pushed forward the wheels of fate.

And so, the hero’s blade is stained with fresh blood. As the boy’s heart
shatters into pieces, he lets loose a horrific scream.

Does this path led to destruction, or perhaps…

「I’ll find the damned immigrant brat and murder them, no matter what!」

Seirei Gensouki 24 - “Torch of Darkness”

Volume (and Drama CD) scheduled for August 1st, 2023.