Prologue

“Hmm? What is it, master?”

I was in the middle of reading the letter I’d gotten at the merchants’ guild when Hikari, who’d just returned from shopping, latched on to me.

She was a dark-haired, dark-eyed girl who had once worked as a spy for the Kingdom of Elesia. I’d been her target at the time, and we’d even ended up in a fight, but I’d let her travel with me after I learned about her situation.

Around her neck she wore a black collar with three silver stripes indicating her status as a special slave. It hadn’t been my idea to put her under a slave contract, but it had been the only way to get her an ID. She’d soon be old enough to register with the adventurers’ guild, and I was hoping to release her then.

While I was talking to Hikari, four other girls entered the room, chatting happily.

“Oh, Hikari. You shouldn’t run inside the house,” Mia cautioned her.

I’d met Mia in the Holy Kingdom of Frieren, where she’d been serving as the Saint. She’d been the victim of a demon plot and had nearly died, but I’d smuggled her out of the holy capital, Messa, disguised as a slave. She could have returned after the plot had been foiled, but because she’d once been targeted by a demon, she’d decided it was safer to leave the kingdom and travel with me.

Until recently she’d worn a collar to mark her as a slave, but we’d gone to the slave company a few days ago to release her from her contract. Before, it had been Mia who’d been reluctant to let go of it. She’d been afraid that I wouldn’t want to keep her with me if she weren’t tied to me as a slave, so she was using Ciel as an excuse to keep the collar on.

“It’s just, on our way back from fighting the shadow wulf, you said you wanted me to stay, so...I don’t need that as an excuse anymore. A-And I want to keep traveling with you too,” she’d said. I could still remember her turning beet red as she said it, one hand pressed to the slave collar. She’d apparently also thought it through from several angles: “I-I also looked into the situation at the Lufre Dragonlands, and it seems they look down on people who keep slaves there. I don’t want people to see you like that, Sora.”

“It’s good to see Hikari looking so energetic,” said the cat beastfolk Sera, handing me a bag of ingredients from the market. She must have been in good spirits, because her fluffy ears were twitching, and her tail was swishing side to side. “We finished shopping, uh...S-Sora.”

Sera had been captured during a war with the Vossheil Empire and made into a war slave. I’d found her in Frieren’s capital city and bought her for five hundred gold, but she’d since managed to save up enough in the dungeon to free herself.

She was clearly struggling with calling me by my name instead of “master,” though.

“You’d better get used to that already, Sera,” said Rurika, a girl with bewitching golden hair. “If you stutter Sora’s name every time you say it, you’ll sound like a maiden in love.” She seemed to enjoy the way Sera blushed as she argued with her.

Chris, meanwhile, giggled at the response. Chris was an elf, but she was currently using a magic item called the Secht Necklace to give herself a human appearance. Her hair and eyes appeared golden now, but they were normally silver.

Chris, Rurika, and Sera had been childhood friends, and they’d managed to reunite again here in Majorica.

“So, Sora, what’s going on?” Chris asked me. “Hikari looked worried, and you looked troubled.”

I told her what the letter said. It had come from Dredd of the Howler Slave Company.

When we’d parted ways in Tenns Village, I’d asked him to tell me if he got any information on Eris, and that was what he was writing to me about. Normally, he’d have sent a message through the guild, so I’d wondered why he’d gone to the effort, time, and expense to send a secret letter.

The reason became clear when I saw what was in it.

“An elf sighting?” Chris asked.

The letter’s contents weren’t about Eris but a general rumor about elves.

It seemed there had been rumors among the slave traders that, after the Vossheil Empire and the Eld Republic had signed a truce, elves enslaved in Vossheil had been traded through a back alley route. There were several of these elves, and it was said that a buyer from the human supremacist Kingdom of Elesia had paid a considerable sum to acquire them.

They couldn’t confirm that anyone had witnessed it directly, though, and there was no record of the trade. It wasn’t known who exactly had bought them either, but it had been a subject of talk among the slave traders for a while.

But those rumors too would disappear some day, and even the person who had told Dredd about it had forgotten about it until he’d asked.

“We were talking about going to the Lufre Dragonlands next, right? I was wondering if we should head back to the Kingdom first. What do you think, guys?” I asked. There was a saying that where there was smoke, there was fire, and the existence of the rumors could be a real lead to finding more elves.

“I think we should go to the Dragonlands,” Chris replied. “We went through Elesia’s slave markets and didn’t see her. And the rumors are from years ago, right?”

“I think so,” I said. The truce had been signed several years ago now, after all.

“I’d like to go to the Dragonlands first, then,” she replied. “I hear it’s an interesting place. You and Hikari would probably rather stay away from Elesia anyway, right?”

I had to agree with Chris there. The Kingdom of Elesia wasn’t exactly a safe place for us, even if they did think I was dead.

We’d spent some time discussing what to do next when Ciel, the angora rabbit-like being, came flying up to us. Ciel was a spirit I’d forged a contract with, and she was a bit of a lazy creature, eating and sleeping whenever she wanted. She was a reliable ally, though, and she’d always come through when it mattered. Not that I’d tell her that, of course—she had a tendency to let things like that go to her head.

Ciel had had a big meal earlier and still seemed a bit sleepy, resting blissfully in Mia’s arms with her eyes closed.

“Aw, Ciel’s as cute as ever. But I wonder why Mia can touch her...” Rurika whispered while she watched Mia pet Ciel.

Rurika was right. Even though we’d removed the slave contract, Mia could still see Ciel without the magic item Eyes of Eliana, and she could touch her too. Sera, meanwhile, had lost the ability to do both once the contract was gone, so she was also wearing the Eyes.

Ciel let out a lazy yawn while we all pondered the question.

Because we were about to head out again, we’d moved out of the house we’d been renting and into the one we’d bought for Norman and the kids. Things there were quite lively, and... Is this because we lived apart before now? I couldn’t help smiling when I saw how happy they all were to see us.

We also knew we’d be leaving this town eventually, so I think maybe they wanted to spend as much time with us as possible.

The children had been up late, so Mia put them to bed. After the kids were asleep, I talked to Syphon about the letter.

Syphon was the leader of a party called the Goblin’s Lament, and he had been very helpful to me when I’d started up as an adventurer in Elesia. When we’d run into each other back in Majorica, he’d been shocked and delighted to learn that I wasn’t dead as he’d feared. After that, we’d cleared the dungeon together, including beating the boss on the fortieth floor.

He couldn’t say it too loud, but Syphon was a sort of secret agent for the Eld Republic, and he’d been given orders to protect Rurika and Chris in Majorica.

“You want us to go to Elesia and check?” he asked me.

“Do you mind?”

“Nah, Elesia was our stomping grounds for a while anyway, so there wouldn’t be anything suspicious about us going back there. If we contact the Republic and tell them it’s about elves, they might send out other investigators as well. It’s not like we go to the Dragonlands anyway.”

“Why not?” I asked, surprised. Knowing Syphon’s party, I would have assumed they’d want to come along to protect Chris and Rurika.

“That place has been around for a long time. I hear it wasn’t always that way, but in the last hundred years or so, they’ve been cutting themselves off from other countries as much as possible. Dunno why, but apparently people who do work like ours are barred from there.”

He said that the Republic’s top brass had also stopped sending their people there so as not to provoke them. So, Syphon said, they couldn’t get close.

“Normally I’d tell you not to go there too, but I don’t think I could stop you ladies, right?” he added.

Chris, Rurika, and Sera nodded emphatically.

“Sora, make sure they stay safe.”

“You bet I will.”

“Glad to hear it. If I learn anything in Elesia, I’ll send a message through the guild.”

After finishing our conversation with Syphon, we all returned to our rooms. It looked like Ciel would be sleeping with Hikari today, since she’d been riding on her head when Hikari went to her room.

I lay in bed and called up my stats.

Name: Fujimiya Sora / Job: Sorcerer / Race: Otherworlder / Level: None

HP: 560/560 / MP: 560/560 (+200) / SP: 560/560

Strength: 550 (+0) / Stamina: 550 (+0) / Speed: 550 (+0)

Magic: 550 (+200) / Dexterity: 550 (+0) / Luck: 550 (+0)

Skill: Walking Lv. 55

Effect: Never get tired from walking (earn 1 XP for every step)

XP Counter: 436,927/1,310,000

Skill Points: 4

Learned Skills

[Appraisal Lv. MAX] [Prevent Appraisal Lv. 5] [Enhance Physique Lv. MAX] [Regulate Mana Lv. MAX] [Lifestyle Spells Lv. MAX] [Detect Presence Lv. MAX] [Sword Arts Lv. MAX] [Dimension Spells Lv. MAX] [Parallel Thinking Lv. MAX] [Boost Recovery Lv. MAX] [Hide Presence Lv. MAX] [Alchemy Lv. MAX] [Cooking Lv. MAX] [Throwing/Shooting Lv. 9] [Fire Spells Lv. MAX] [Water Spells Lv. MAX] [Telepathy Lv. 9] [Night Vision Lv. MAX] [Sword Tech Lv. 9] [Resist Status Effects Lv. 8] [Earth Spells Lv. MAX] [Wind Spells Lv. MAX] [Disguise Lv. 9] [Engineering/Construction Lv. 9] [Shield Arts Lv. 9] [Provoke Lv. MAX] [Traps Lv. 7] [Mountaineering Lv. 2] [Shield Tech Lv. 5]

Advanced Skills

[Appraise Person Lv. MAX] [Detect Mana Lv. MAX] [Enchant Lv. MAX] [Creation Lv. 9] [Mana Enchant Lv. 5] [Conceal Lv. 5] [Light Spells Lv. 4]

Contract Skills

[Holy Spells Lv. 6]

Scroll Skills

[Teleport Lv. 1]

Title

[Spirit Contractor]

I’d learned a new skill.

NEW

[Teleport Lv. 1]

It was a skill that let me transport a given object. At the moment it seemed to only work with small things, and I could also only move them about five meters, though these parameters would probably improve as my level went up.

Seris had said her comrade had used this skill to get them out of the dungeon boss room.

Incidentally, the rule of thumb with skill scrolls was that you would learn a skill after reading them. Sometimes people failed to learn the skill, though, but nobody knew exactly why.

I took out a magistone and teleported it from my right hand to my left. Then I checked my MP and saw I’d lost exactly 100 points. Sometimes a skill’s MP or SP consumption goes down as my skill level increases, so maybe I can count on that? I’d have to use it a lot in my free time so I could up my proficiency and find out.

I kept using the skill until I was almost out of MP, then let out a deep sigh. This was the longest I’d ever stayed in one place since coming to this world. My first time getting so deeply involved with the people there too. Setting out for the Lufre Dragonlands would mean saying goodbye to those people.

It was a sad feeling, but I still had to go. Rurika, Chris, and Sera had said that I could stay if I wanted to, but I’d made up my mind to help them search for Eris.

Of course, I was partly driven by my own desire to see more of this world too.

I’d discussed with the local lord Will and the adventurer Fred about how to handle things after we left, so everything would probably be fine. It would be nice if I could get Teleport to the point where I could come and go with no trouble, of course.

“I guess that’s too much to hope for?” I whispered, then lay down on the bed and closed my eyes.

Interlude 1

“So it failed, then...”

The whisper sent a shiver through the body of the man in black. Yes, the request that the Lord of Pleques had made of them—to kidnap or kill the daughter of the Lord of Majorica—had failed.

This was what the Lord of Pleques had asked them to provide in exchange for the heroes’ use of the Pleques dungeon. The request had been so sudden that they’d had to rely on the help of outside parties in the city, so he’d had a feeling it might fail.

“Well, no matter.” The cool, emotionless voice echoed through the quiet chamber. “The issue of the lord’s daughter is for them to deal with. Showing that we made our best effort should be enough.”

The King of Elesia, who occupied the elaborate seat in front of him, seemed not to care whether the request was completed or not. He must have simply been thinking of it as a potential bonus.

“So, how did the heroes fare?”

“My liege, they managed to slay a dragon in the dungeon.”

“And the Second Order of Knights? They were sent not just to guard them, but to observe the heroes’ growth, I believe?”

“The heroes refused the Knights’ aid. They said they’d hold them back, so the Knights were unable to observe the fight.”

“You’re saying the heroes defeated it themselves?”

There was a sudden silence. The man looked up and saw his master, the king, with his eyes closed in meditation.

He had been surprised to hear the news too, but it had seemed possible for the summoned otherworlders. He’d observed them fighting in the Black Forest, and the growth they’d shown there had been truly stunning. It seemed the Knights’ elites had declared them the victors in terms of experience and dueling strategy as well.

“And the materials?” the king asked.

The man hung his head silently for a moment in response. “Sir, we secured the materials. However...”

He stopped and wondered whether he should say the next part or not. But it wasn’t up to him to decide. There was a chance it would displease His Majesty, but he had to tell him.

“The Lord of Pleques requested a share of the dragon’s materials. What do you think?” He was downplaying the situation to the king, but the lord’s actual demand had apparently been made with a great deal of arrogance.

The man could tell the king was displeased. He was struggling to breathe. He could just barely keep his body from trembling.

The king looked like just an ordinary middle-aged man, but...was this the intensity of royalty? The man in black could feel sweat rising up along his back.

“We can sell him a limited amount,” the king said after a pause. “However...”

“Sir! I’ll charge an exorbitant price, and if he requests a large amount I’ll see that he pays compensation,” the man responded immediately, and the atmosphere relaxed.

“Good. When do you expect the heroes back?”

The man told the king the expected date. Of course, this was top secret information that could only be shared with a privileged few. If anything happened to the heroes, they would surely meet the king’s wrath.

It wasn’t that he was worried about their personal safety. The man knew better than anyone that they would be useful in a variety of ways even after they beat the Demon King.

“And what did the other realms say to our most recent communiqué?” the king asked.

“Most have replied that the current schedule is acceptable. But...we still haven’t heard from the Dragonlands.”

“The Dragonlands, eh? I won’t get my hopes up. I hear they were uncooperative with the slaying of the last Demon King as well.” Then the man heard the king whisper, “If they’re not there, so be it.”

The man thought he was finally free, but then the king seemed to remember something. “That reminds me, what happened to those test subjects?”

Test subjects... The words made the man’s heart pound in his chest, but he managed to keep his cool. “Forgive me, sir. I sent trackers, but they lost sight of them in Frieren. It’s believed they escaped into the Dragonlands.”

Frieren’s security had been tightened since all the demonic commotion, making the kingdom harder to infiltrate.

“What about the other test subjects?”

“They all died shortly after the others disappeared.”

“I see. Assemble the test results and close the facility for now. We can resume after the Demon King is defeated.”

The man bowed, and this time he made a quick escape from the room.

Chapter 1

“We’re about to head out,” Fred said to the children. “Do what all your big siblings tell you, okay?”

“Okay!” they responded cheerfully.

Fred had been an adventurer in Majorica for a long time, and we’d originally met him in the dungeon. We’d gotten close after working together there to beat a shadow wulf, and we’d partied up for a while after that. But after we brought some valuable ore back from the fifteenth floor, Layla’s father, Will, had offered him a job, and we’d split up there, though we remained in contact.

We explained the situation to the gatekeeper and left town, and as we got outside the walls the children stopped and started cheering. Norman, the kids’ leader, warned them to stop, but they couldn’t contain their excitement at their first time outside of town.

“Come on, everyone. If you make a commotion here, it will make trouble for the people trying to come into the city. Let’s keep moving,” Mia scolded them, and the clamoring children fell silent and started walking along with her.

“Lady Mia’s so impressive.”

“Yeah, I wish she’d scold me like that.”

“Why can’t I be a kid?”

I noticed some envious gazes aimed at them. They belonged to a group dressed in mainly white clothing and equipment—the Mia Appreciation Society.

When did they get matching outfits? I thought, agog.

Beyond them was Team Sera, who called their beastfolk namesake “big sis.” They just nodded in approval at the sight of Sera having fun with the kids.

Also walking among the children were Layla’s Bloody Rose and some other students from the Magius Academy of Magic. Since we were leaving town today, they were dressed in outing clothes instead of their usual uniforms.

“Hey, Sora. This party’s gotten pretty big, huh?” Syphon called out to me as I started walking.

“I didn’t realize we’d picked up so many, yeah.” I was surprised to see how many people were walking ahead of me. It was easily somewhere between fifty and a hundred.

The reason we were leaving town now was so we could make memories with Elza, Art, Norman, and the other kids before we left. I’d asked Layla and her party, who knew a lot about the area around Majorica, about a nice spot to take the kids, and they’d told me about the place we were heading to now. It was apparently a popular spot with kids at the school.

For some mysterious reason, monsters didn’t appear at that spot often, but it was still quite dangerous to leave the town. We’d invited Layla’s and Syphon’s parties to come with us for protection, and somehow that meager escort had ballooned to this impressive number.

Is this too many people? I wondered briefly. Still, the kids’ safety came first, and I had gotten to know a lot of people in Majorica, after all. After we left, we wouldn’t be seeing any of them for a while.

The people we passed on the road were surprised by the size of our retinue, but the children waved and smiled back at them. They seemed delighted by their innocence.

I called up my automap while I walked and used Detect Presence and Detect Mana to check our surroundings. I could see occasional human signals on the road, but the monster signals that existed were few in number and very far away. There also were none in the direction we were heading.

From what Layla had told me in advance, an adult could make it to this place on foot before noon if they left in the morning, and she said we’d probably arrive just after noon with the kids along. We were planning to stay the night, though, so I assumed there was probably no need to hurry.

I looked up and saw a cloudless sky sparkling with sunlight. No worries about rain here.

We started off on the road to Lokia, then took a side lane at one point to head south. We tromped along the small path cut through the grassland until a forest appeared up ahead.

“Should we have lunch now?” I asked.

The sun was at its zenith, and once we entered the forest we wouldn’t hit a clearing until we reached our destination, so we decided to have lunch before going in.

While the others were spreading out the tarp, I gave out sandwiches made the day before from my Item Box to each group’s leader. The children had made the sandwiches as a thank-you to Fred and the others for accompanying us, though given how many they had to make, we’d helped out.

Once we finished eating, we finally got moving into the forest. The path through it was just barely wide enough for two adults to walk side by side, so we walked in a double file line, pairing up adults and children.

Perhaps because students from Magius had used this path for some time, it was heavily trodden, but roots from the old trees still showed themselves here and there, making it tough to walk through. The sun was bright in the sky above, but branches got in the way, creating dark patches here and there.

“Okay, Ciel! Say ah!”

Our group took up the rear, with Rurika surreptitiously feeding Ciel at the very end. Though I couldn’t see them, I could imagine Ciel happily enjoying her meal.

“Oh, watch out there, it’s not safe.”

“You aren’t tired? You can say so if you are.”

“You’re always doing that. You did it in the village too, big sis...”

In front of us I could hear conversation between the kids, Fred’s adventurers, and the academy students.

For safety’s sake it would have probably been better if we could’ve moved through the forest more quietly, but there wasn’t much to be done about it. If there’d been monsters or wild animals nearby it might’ve attracted their attention, but I didn’t see any of those around.

I also noticed that some of the children—ones who’d had a tough time walking the trails—were riding piggyback on adventurers’ shoulders. They seemed to enjoy having such a good vantage point.

“Hmm, I feel like the mana in the air has changed somehow,” Chris said.

I could also sense more powerful mana as we reached a certain point in the forest. The quality of this mana... I’ve felt it before.

“It’s like the barrier around Majorica, isn’t it?” Chris asked.

I thought about it. “Do you think monsters stay away from the area because...”

“Yes, I think Seris arranged it.”

She was a mysterious person already, and I felt like this added one more mystery.

We’d actually invited Seris along, but she’d turned us down, saying, “Hmm, I think I might have to say no... It’s a nice place, so I do hope the children enjoy it, though...”

“So this is the place?”

We came out of the forest into a clearing, at the center of which was a lake. There was a large rock near the lake’s center, and I’d heard that was where the water bubbled up from.

One point of note was that the water was deeper on the other side of the rock. We’d warned the children about this in advance, but they might forget about it in their excitement, so it was important for the adults to keep an eye out.

Perhaps because the place was exposed to so much sunlight, it felt warmer out here than in the forest.

“Girls, come this way. If you peep...you know what you’ll get, right?” Layla said.

The men nodded firmly in response. We were all intimidated by her smile. Her eyes were not smiling, after all.

The men moved to a place far away from where Layla hung up the women’s changing curtain and hung up one of their own.

I decided to make some other preparations before I got changed, using my earth spells to get a barbecue pit ready for that evening.

“Man, that really is handy,” Syphon said as he approached.

“You’re not getting changed, Syphon?” I asked him.

“I heard that no monsters would show up here, but you never know what might go wrong. You can go get changed when you’re done here too. As long as you’re here, you should enjoy it with the others.”

He was being so kind that I had to accept his offer, so I quickly changed into my swimsuit and put on a jacket. I’d created both parts out of frogman materials so they repelled water.

“Hey, don’t rush so much. You want to get in slowly.”

The boys who’d gotten changed ran out, but the adults tried to stop them. They really were a handful. When they got the warning, they did as they were told and slowly put their feet in the water.

I followed their example and got into the water, letting out a sigh at the refreshing cold. The water was very clean and clear enough to see the bottom. I soaked my feet at the water’s edge and rested, while nearby the boys began entering the water one after another.

Soon enough, they were splashing each other, water crashing and droplets flying. Their first target was the big men of Team Sera, whom the children surrounded to focus their fire on. Art was one of the boys in the group, trying his hardest to send big sprays of water at the men. In response, the men started using their big arms to scoop up water efficiently and send it flying into the air.

The mass of water rained down on the children, who let out squeals of delight. “More, more!” they demanded, and the men kept up the pace. Joshua’s party, who’d gotten into the water with them, also joined in at the children’s request.

After playing for a while, one of the boys stopped and pointed. “Hey, it’s the girls!”

We all followed his finger and saw the girls coming out from behind the curtain one by one. The young girls were all very calm, and unlike the boys, none of them tried to run into the water.

Meanwhile, the men breathed, “Wow!” as they looked at the women, and their reaction was only natural. Adventurer outfits tended to reveal a lot of skin already, but swimsuits were a whole different ballgame. Some of the students seemed to have trouble knowing where to look, and even I felt a little embarrassed to look right at them. At the same time, I felt like I couldn’t turn my eyes away.

While the men struggled, the women strolled unashamedly toward us, then began sliding into the water. The little boys flocked to them and started splashing them, while the girls fought back. The innocence of it all slowly chipped away at the awkwardness until soon enough, everyone was just enjoying themselves again.

“You don’t want to play, Sora?” a voice asked me while I watched.

I turned around and saw Mia and Elza standing there. Mia was wearing a bikini with a skirt bottom and a jacket overtop, while Elza was in a cute one-piece with frills. Mia was definitely showing less skin than the others, but it was still more than she usually displayed, which was exciting in its own way.

“I’ve got work to do after this, so I think I’ll probably rest,” I answered, trying to keep my cool as I turned my eyes back to the children playing in the lake. I wasn’t remotely tired after all that walking, but it was true that I had some work to do after this.

“You know we can help you with dinner, right?” Mia asked.

“Yes, of course,” Elza agreed firmly. “So please come play with us, big bro.”

Frankly, though, I didn’t really know how to join in the fun. Should I try swimming?

While I was thinking that over, I suddenly felt a hard shove to my back and plunged into the lake with a splash. I heard cheerful laughter, turned back, and saw Rurika standing over me in a power pose.

Um, isn’t it a bit bold to do that in a swimsuit? I wondered.

“Confidence is important at times like these. Don’t overthink it; just get in the water! And...”

“And?”

“Now! Get him, everyone!”

At Rurika’s command, the children surrounded me and began splashing me. It was a drenching assault, but they were still only children...or so I thought, but it was hard to fight back against numbers like that. I might even hurt one of them if I wasn’t careful with my attacks, so I just had to get as much distance as I could while making the occasional defensive swipe.

Still, the children continued after me, splashing unrelentingly and laughing merrily as they did so.

“Oh no! Protect Sir Sora!” cried a member of Team Sera, and I suddenly found their members forming a wall around me.

“Break through the wall!” Mia said a second later, and the Mia Appreciation Society joined the fight against me.

“Heh, don’t forget about us!” Layla joined in as well, leading the Magius Academy students.

Still, my burly protectors had forged an ironclad defense, protecting me from my opponents’ assault. In fact, despite their numbers advantage, the tide seemed to be turning against them. It was good to have them on my side.

Just then, though, someone else entered the fray.

“Big sis, you’re joining them?!”

“Wh-What do we do?”

“Well, I don’t know...”

The appearance of Sera on the attackers’ side sent a shock through Team Sera, opening a fissure in the iron wall defense. One man fell, then another, and I found myself deluged by a relentless curtain of water.

I floated on the lake’s surface, gazing up at the sky. “An open-air bath is nice too,” I hummed, closing my eyes.

I relaxed and let the water carry me, listening to the sounds of the children at play. I sometimes heard voices cautioning them away from climbing the rocks, but Detect Presence told me that there were adults nearby, so I left it to them.

I was just thinking about how glad I was to have come here when a shadow blocked the sun above me.

I opened my eyes and saw Chris peering down at me. “Hey, Sora. Are you all right?”

I was so surprised to have her suddenly so close that I lost my buoyancy and sank into the water. The sight of her in her swimsuit flustered me a bit as well. She was wearing a one-piece with a jacket, so while she wasn’t showing a lot of skin, the visibility of her thighs made it hard to know where to look.

“I’m fine. Just a little tired,” I responded as I got back on my feet, making sure to keep my eyes focused on her face.

“Good. You were floating and not moving, so I got worried.” Chris let out a sigh of genuine relief. “Also, sorry Rurika pushed you in. I’m sure she didn’t mean any harm by it. She was just trying to help the kids.”

Chris explained that the children had been wanting to spend more time with me, but because I was almost always busy with something, they’d held back to avoid bothering me.

It was true that since we’d moved from our rental house to Norman’s, we’d been pretty busy with travel prep and making arrangements with Will and the others. I’d also been making storage cases to keep the monster bodies Fred’s party had bagged from decomposing. These were a kind of magic item that would consume magistones to maintain a particular internal temperature. In the future I was hoping to find a way to make a kind that didn’t consume magistones, but that wasn’t possible with my current skills.

So even though we were living in the same house, I hadn’t had many chances to be around the children.

“I’m grateful to her, then. I haven’t seen them smile so much in a while,” I said as I watched the children enjoying themselves.

“Heh, that’s true. What’ll you do next, then, Sora?”

“I’m going to take a little break. I feel like it would be bad to interrupt right now.”

“That’s because they’re all imitating you, Sora.” Chris laughed in amusement.

I looked around and saw lots of kids floating on the water as I had been doing. Some of them were having trouble with it, but Layla and the others were helping them.

I moved away from Chris to sit down on the edge of the lake again and watch. It was hard to believe they’d all been fighting just minutes ago.

The time passed peacefully. “Not a bad way to spend a day,” I murmured.

Right after we got back, we’d be heading out to the Dragonlands. This was our last chance for some leisure time.

“Sora. Do you have a minute?” I heard someone approach and recognized the voice as Casey’s. She sat down next to me. “I wanted to thank you officially. Thank you, Sora.”

I gave a strained smile in response. She’d said “officially,” but it felt like she’d been thanking me every time we met.

“You should thank Mia and Chris,” I told her. “They’re the reason you pulled through.”

“Mia and Chris said the same thing about you.”

“I see.” That sounded like something they would say.

“You’re sure you’re leaving?”

I nodded.

“We’ll miss you,” she said.

I found myself looking up and over at Casey. I felt like she’d loosened up a lot since her petrification had been cured. Before that she’d always seemed guarded, like she’d put up a wall, though it might have been in my head.

“Oh, I mean...I’m worried about Lady Layla,” Casey stammered, looking down.

Things stayed silent for a while, and the mood felt awkward. Then my salvation came splashing up.

“Hey, Art. What’s up?” I asked the new arrival.

“Um...tired.”

“Where’s Elza?” I’d always thought of her and Art as a pair.

Art pointed to Elza, who was with the girls she usually cooked with.

I looked back down at him. He was yawning and rubbing his eyes, which was understandable—they’d walked a long way today and then played in the water a lot.

“Hey, Art, let’s get changed.” Even though it was warm here, he’d probably catch a cold if he stayed in his swimsuit for too long. The sun had gotten pretty low already, and nightfall would be coming soon.

Art nodded and got out of the water.

With Casey’s permission, I used Cleanse to get the water off of us, then brought Art to the men’s changing curtain.

I spread out a tarp to make a simple resting spot and began preparing to make dinner. Art seemed to want to help, but I told him to rest.

The setup was already done, so I just had to put meat and vegetables on skewers and roast them, then put the cut ingredients into pots and season them to make soup.

“Sora, anything you need help with?” Mia and the others returned while I was cooking. It looked like they’d already gotten changed.

I looked at the lake and didn’t see anyone left in it.

“Looks like they’ve all tired themselves out,” Mia told me, perhaps noticing where I was looking.

I started cooking with help from Mia and Chris. Elza had said she’d help too, but they’d put her to bed with the other children. She’d obviously been too tired.

Once the food was done, we started eating. We handed out the food to everyone, and on Fred’s command, we started to eat. The kids must have been hungry from all the walking and playing, because the food I’d prepared disappeared in a flash. Seeing that, I made more food and ate my own while it was cooking.

I didn’t forget to talk to the kids around me as I did. They told me about how much fun they had, how big and cool the outdoors was, and other thoughts on their experience that day.

Let’s just say it was hard to get them settled down again.

Once they were mostly done eating, the kids lay down to look up at the night sky. There were no clouds, leaving all the sparkling stars visible. The kids, who usually spent their nights indoors, gazed up at it, entranced.

I also lay down to look up at the sky and heard a quiet snoozing sound beside me. I looked over and saw Art sleeping peacefully. Since he’d lain down after eating a full meal, he’d probably gone right to sleep.

I sat up and looked around me, took out some blankets I’d made from wulf pelts, and went around covering the children with them. It was strangely warm for nighttime, but I didn’t know what it would be like as the night went on.

“Hmm? Oh, Sora. If you’re heading out to stand watch, we can handle it.”

After I went around checking on the kids, I’d decided to go on a walk. I wanted to get some distance from the others to feed Ciel and increase my Teleport proficiency before I slept. Ciel was urging me onward, probably because she’d seen how much the children enjoyed their meal.

So when Fred noticed me and approached me to talk, Ciel looked deeply unhappy.

Try to hold out a little bit longer. I apologized telepathically, and she dove deeper into my hood.

“As long as we’re here, I thought I’d have a look around. I’m not sleepy yet,” I told Fred.

“Got it. After we get back I guess it’ll be goodbye, huh?”

“I’ll be leaving a lot in your hands. Is that okay?”

After we left town, Fred and his team would be looking after the kids. They couldn’t be with them every waking moment because they had their adventurer duties to take care of, but they’d be sure to hunt monsters for the kids to break down. The Mia Appreciation Society and Team Sera would be helping too. They’d said they’d formed a party together.

Syphon and the others had learned about this and given the magic bag they’d gotten on the fortieth floor to Fred. It was significantly better than the one we’d obtained on the tenth floor, and it could hold a lot of things and vastly slow their deterioration time.

Fred had tried to turn him down, but Syphon had laughed like it was nothing and said, “C’mon, it’d be handy, wouldn’t it?” It could have fetched big money at auction, so it was impressive that the Goblin’s Lament would let them have it just like that.

“I won’t push myself too hard. But meeting you guys here has made us think about a lot too.”

Fred explained that he’d always known that orphans like Norman worked as porters to earn money, but he didn’t actually know the kind of lives they were living—particularly that they were trying to earn money for kids even younger than them. Being around Norman and the others had opened their eyes, and they couldn’t pretend like the kids waiting for work in front of the guild weren’t their problem anymore.

“There’s no way we can look after all the orphans ourselves. The lord seems to be thinking things over too, and we’re talking about having the big clans pitch in to look after them.”

This might have been thanks to the actions of the Guardian’s Blade.

I parted ways with Fred, headed to an isolated spot, and prepared a meal for Ciel. I worked on my Teleport proficiency for a bit, then went back and rested.

The next morning, the children cooked, led by Elza. Cooking in the forest was different than cooking at home, so they struggled a bit more, but Mia and the others helped them a lot.

We left through the forest and had lunch, after which some of the smaller kids fell asleep, so the adults worked together to carry them. I helped out here by carrying Art. He slept through most of it, but as we got closer to the city he woke up and talked to me.

“Big bro. You really have to go?” he asked.

“Yeah. We have to find someone who means a lot to the girls.”

“I guess. Yeah.”

The sadness in his voice stung my heart, but there was nothing I could do to change it. Instead, I decided to make him a promise.

“But once we’ve done that, I’ll come back,” I told him.

“Really?”

“Yeah, so make sure you help out Elza until then.” Elza did tend to overwork herself, to the point that even Mia worried about her.

“Help big sis?”

I nodded. Art fell silent, as if worried he couldn’t handle it. But I knew better.

When he’d gone to Norman’s house with Elza to teach them housework, Art had sometimes joined Norman and the others in working out. He’d even fought in mock battles with Fred and Syphon. When we’d first met, he’d hidden behind Elza a lot and never did anything on his own. Seeing Art striving to better himself like that was surprising and also encouraging.

“Okay. Got it,” he said at last.

“Thanks.”

I could feel Art nodding behind me.

◇◇◇

At last, the day of our departure arrived.

Our acquaintances had gathered around the gate. Will had also prepared us an ornate wagon, which drew even more attention.

It would be the six of us—me, Hikari, Mia, Sera, Rurika, and Chris—departing Majorica today. Syphon’s party would be leaving with a different wagon the next day.

“Big bro...” Huge tears welled up in Elza’s eyes.

Mia patted her head and hugged her to comfort her, but that just made Elza wail. She kept crying for a while before she finally calmed down and just looked down, red-faced. It was understandable, as she’d been bawling in front of a crowd.

Do something! Rurika and the others implored me with their gaze.

I met Elza’s eyes. “Elza, I know I should have done this earlier, but there’s something I wanted to give you.” I took a piece of paper out of my Item Box. I’d prepared it a while back but had held off on taking the final step.

“What is it, big bro?”

“It’s a list of recipes for my dishes and seasonings.”

“What?” Elza said in surprise as she took it. I’d taught her verbally and given her demonstrations in the past, but I’d never left a document like this with her.

Rare foods could be very profitable. That included the ever-popular curry, of course, but also things seen as desirable to adventurers—seasoning blends you could use to improve the flavor of food just by sprinkling them on top, or mixes you could add to water to make soup.

“Iroha, Mia, and the others taught you reading, writing, and math, right?”

“Yes.”

“You may not be able to read all of this yet, but if you keep studying, you will eventually. Then you can make all kinds of things for Fred and the other people helping you out.”

“Okay,” Elza said after looking between me and the paper for a long time.

“Just watch out for the marked recipes. Those are only okay to make at home. Don’t show them to others.” I’d particularly marked the curry as a food not known in this world.

Before making the list, I’d asked Syphon, Chris, and the others if they had seen anything like the marked foods in their travels before. I didn’t want knowledge of my old world’s foods getting too widely known, in case Elesia used it to track me down. But as far as that went, it might have been too late...

That said, Chris had told me there were quite a few people who’d come here from other worlds in the past, so maybe I could make the excuse that they had popularized it?

“And when we get back to Majorica, please treat us to a great meal,” I concluded.

“I will,” Elza said enthusiastically. There were no more tears in her eyes now.

“Layla, thanks for everything,” I said then, turning to her. “We had so much fun...so many experiences here thanks to you.”

We’d gotten to go to the magic academy as Hikari had wished, and we’d also met Seris. Reading books in the library had vastly expanded the range of things I could do, too, including the ability to make the golems. Layla was the one who had made that all possible.

“Not at all,” she told me. “We’re the ones who should be thanking you...for everything. You’re the reason we’re all still hale and hearty.” The members of the Bloody Rose nodded in agreement with Layla. “So take care, Sora. Let’s meet again.”

We got into the wagon and set off as the others waved to us.

I would have preferred to walk, myself, but I couldn’t turn down Will’s kindness.

There were three routes that could take us to the Lufre Dragonlands. Our main options were the route that went there directly from Eva and the one that went through Frieren. The one from Eva would be the quickest, but it involved some treacherous mountain climbing on foot. The one from Frieren could be crossed via wagon, and thus it was the route used by most of the Lufre-bound. But that meant that route was more crowded, and since it required special wagons built for mountain crossings, it was harder to secure reservations. To take the Frieren route, we’d also have to go through a city to the south of Messa called Desant, so it would take quite a while to get there.

Lufre didn’t have any active trade with other lands, but they did produce a product called the moontree fruit that could only be found there, so individual merchants would still cross the border to buy it. Moontree fruit could be mixed into healing potions, antidotes, and cold medicines to make them much more effective—and they were apparently also delicious.

I was pretty sure I saw Ciel’s eyes light up when she heard that.

We decided to take the route directly from Eva to the Dragonlands. First, we’d go southeast from Lokia—a city we’d passed through on our first trip to Majorica—then move on to Border City Riell. From there, we’d head for Mountain City Lactear. I’d heard that the weather could be fickle in the mountains, and it got quite cold at higher altitudes, so we’d prepared warm clothing for that.

After finishing the procedures to enter Lokia, we got off the wagon.

“You’re spending all of tomorrow in town, then?” the coachman asked me.

“Yes, I plan to stock up on ingredients.”

The coachman nodded in response and agreed to meet us the next morning at the south gate. He said he’d be moving to an inn near that gate with a place to keep wagons. Meanwhile, we’d be walking around the market, so we planned to stay at a more centralized inn.

I was running low on ingredients in my Item Box. We’d gone through quite a lot more than usual lately, and we’d left some things at Norman’s house too. We were running especially low on veggies, but I’d let that happen because I’d known that we’d be stopping by Lokia soon.

“So we’ll spend tomorrow visiting the morning market and going around the stalls. It’s Rurika and Chris’s first time here, so let’s enjoy ourselves.”

“Yeah, lots of tasty things at the market.” Hikari sang the praises of the local market to them while Ciel nodded knowingly along with her.

At the inn that night, we had a meal consisting mostly of the vegetables that were the local specialty, then returned to our rooms early. Since we had money to burn after our time in the dungeon, I was about to get us separate rooms. But the girls said it would be cheaper to share a room, so we went with that instead.

Or maybe they just don’t see me as a guy? N-No, surely it’s because we’re saving up money to buy Eris back...

While I was thinking that over, Rurika and Hikari lay on a bed, enjoying the sight of Ciel eating.

“Ciel, do you like it?” Rurika asked.

“She’s eating a lot,” Hikari said.

The other three were checking their mountain climbing equipment.

While they did that, I practiced Teleport and checked my skill list. I had four skill points available and quite a few skills I wanted to learn, but not enough points to buy them all.

There were five skills I currently had my eye on.

[Attunement Lv. 1]

This seemed like the same skill that Luilui of the Bloody Rose used: one that linked your consciousness to that of another being. As the level increased, you could take control of your target, but this could only be used on small animals. Luilui had used it for scouting purposes, but it had its issues, since the user was defenseless and immobile while the skill was active. That said, I had a feeling that Parallel Thinking would give me a loophole there.

[Conversion Lv. 1]

This skill consumed any one of HP, MP, or SP to restore one of the other two. In other words, you could basically convert HP into MP or SP, MP into HP or SP, or SP into HP or MP. This would let me use HP or SP to restore my MP when I ran out while using Teleport, which would make me more efficient in raising its proficiency.

Both of these skills were ones which I could spend one skill point to use. The next one was an advanced skill, which cost two.

[Duplication Lv. 1]

This skill would let the user duplicate a specific item for a set period of time. The duplicate had a time limit, though, and it would disappear when it ran out. It looked like it could also duplicate weapons that were already enchanted with magic, and consumables as well. This one had caught my eye because I’d dropped my weapon in the battle with the man in black, which had put me in real danger. If Syphon hadn’t rushed to save me just in time, I could have died there and then.

These last two skills hadn’t been on the list originally but had appeared thanks to the skill scroll. The first of them cost one skill point to learn.

[Reduce MP Consumption Lv. 1]

This was a skill that reduced the MP you consumed when you were casting spells. At level 1 the reduction was five percent, and this would increase by another five percent for each level gained; at MAX level, it would cut every spell’s MP cost in half, which was easy to understand.

Maybe it unlocked because Teleport consumed so much MP with each use?

The second skill took three skill points to learn.

[Time Spells Lv. 1]

These seemed to be spells that affected the flow of time within a certain area. For instance, one could make everything within a certain radius of the caster seem to move slower. It wouldn’t last long at lower levels, so I wasn’t sure how useful it would be, but at MAX level I could even briefly stop time, so it seemed like a worthwhile investment. I could see why it cost three skill points to learn.

There was a problem with the time spells, though—the MP required to use them. Each one apparently cost 1,000 MP. I might learn them, but even with the Reduce MP Consumption skill, I wouldn’t be able to use them. The only way would be to raise my stats by increasing my Walking level or leveling up Reduce MP Consumption. My current job was sorcerer, so if there were a job I could change to that provided more MP, it would have to be an advanced version of that.

With an eye toward the future, I decided to learn Attunement, Conversion, and Reduce MP Consumption. That left me with just one skill point, which meant the wagon trip was holding me back a bit, but...

I’d just have to get some walking time in when I was by myself.

The next day, we bought food and ingredients from a man at the morning market, after which I asked if he’d take us to tour his farm and fields. I wasn’t planning on eventually becoming a farmer or anything, but I did want to get more steps in. I could have just gone on my own, but everyone else said they wanted to see, so we went as a group.

The people on the farm were friendly and taught us all about how they grew the crops. I hadn’t done any farming in my old world, so it was all very new to me, and it was fun just to hear them talk.

“I see. So that’s what these are for,” Mia whispered as she heard the explanation. I looked over at her, and she added, “I used to help out back in my old village, a long time ago.” She seemed to be remembering it fondly. “But I was just a child then, so it was only when things were very busy.”

We continued walking around, hearing their explanations, and we realized how vast the scale of the whole thing was. The farmers grew crops over huge tracts of land, and harvesting it all was probably very difficult. It wasn’t like they could use machines like in my old world.

There was only so much they could pick each day even if they had a lot of workers, so they’d done a lot of work arranging it so they could harvest everything each day. Alternating planting days helped with this, but weather and differences in the individual plants could affect their growing speed, so they used magic items to help fine-tune it. I remembered from my childhood school days that even flowers planted on the same day would grow at different speeds.

They added that the magic items they used had been developed at the Magius Academy of Magic.

“Ah, it seems like you folks are interested in farming,” the farmer said to us on our way back. “You want to take some seeds and seedlings from the farm?”

Is it because we listened so earnestly? I wondered.

If he’d offered before we’d left Majorica, we might have accepted so we could give Elza and the others a chance to start a vegetable garden at home, but unfortunately, we couldn’t grow plants while we were on the road. I was about to turn him down, but I couldn’t do it when I saw how brightly his eyes were shining.

Was he trying to make more farmer friends?

“Hearing all that made me realize how hard it is to grow even a single vegetable,” Rurika said once we were back. Chris and Sera nodded in agreement, as did Ciel.

“You’re amazing, though, Mia. You helped out with that even when you were a child.”

“It was a small village, and we were all like family. My mother, my father... I hope they’re all doing well.”

Watching Mia, I wondered what her village had been told about her. Her good name had been restored, but the world also thought she was dead, and word of her death might have reached Mia’s parents in that village. Maybe we should stop in and find out sometime?

“That aside, Sera,” Mia started, changing the subject. “How was life for you three before you were separated?”

“Yeah, I want to hear.” Hikari leaned over curiously.

Chris and Rurika stopped moving.

“When we were young, huh?” Sera glanced at the other two, and they shook their heads rapidly.

Is there something in their past they don’t want us to hear about?

Nevertheless, Sera smiled and began to talk. It felt a bit like payback for the way Rurika was always teasing her, with Chris just being caught in the cross fire.

“To be honest, I was surprised when we reunited.” Sera explained that when they were young, their personalities were the opposite of what they were now. The now-lively Rurika had been more docile, and the placid Chris had been a tomboy. “Chris always dragged us into crazy adventures.”

“Yes, and Big Sis Eris always got mad at us for it.” Rurika nodded quickly as Chris lowered her eyes and turned beet red.

“What was Rurika like?” Hikari asked.

“She was a big crybaby,” Sera said gleefully.

“Yeah, she’d trip and fall and cry her eyes out,” Chris added, as if for payback.

“That’s hard to imagine,” Mia hummed.

I agreed with Mia, but I didn’t say anything. I had a feeling that one wrong move could get their wrath turned on me.

Ciel was unashamed to nod firmly in agreement, and Rurika turned bright red when she saw it.

Interlude 2

I found myself flinching as I entered the room. It was steeped in the smell of medicine, and I struggled to find places to step through the mess on the floor.

No matter how many times I warned him, the old man never changed. Even if someone else tidied up for him, it would be back to this a few days later, and I would be the one told to warn him again. I knew that telling him wouldn’t change anything, but I’d pass on the word just to be safe. He clearly just didn’t listen to me, though.

“I’m back, elder.”

“Oh? That you, Ignis? What’s going on?” The old man didn’t stop working even as he answered me.

“I confirmed reports of the Saint’s survival.” I didn’t doubt Reese’s power, but it was important to make sure of these things with my own eyes.

As he heard that, the elder, a three-horned demon who was the master of this room, turned back to me and stroked his chin. “Ah, I see. When that whippersnapper Ado said he’d killed the Saint, I thought he’d ruined everything...but hmm, I see. She’s alive, eh?”

“I also confirmed the report about the high elf. It seems...”

“Ah, I can tell from your expression. Have you told the Demon King?”

“No, not yet. I wanted to report to you first.”

“I’ll pass it on later, then. It might change some things if we do.”

The elder was right. I hoped this would turn things around. To defeat the threat, we would need the power of the Demon King.

“But there’s one thing I don’t understand,” I added. “The Saint’s death was widely publicized, yet her survival wasn’t. Did they hide the information on purpose?”

It was definitely curious. Trust in the Holy Kingdom—or more specifically, the Pope—had plummeted in the wake of our plan. I would have thought they’d be more than happy to announce that they’d put one over on us and the Saint was alive, but nothing like that had happened.

Perhaps they’d left her “dead” to hide and protect her from us, but given their pope’s personality, I couldn’t imagine it was his idea. He wouldn’t hesitate to put her life at risk to preserve his own station, and I’d heard criticism of him had been mounting more and more.

“I believe the Saint was acting of her own accord, without the Holy Kingdom’s approval,” I continued. “We had some of our local agents search as well, and as far as they could see, the Pope and his retinue really don’t know she’s alive.” I’d watched the people the Saint was spending time with, and she didn’t...seem remotely like a prisoner. Reese’s report had said the same.

“What?! Then that defeats the whole point!” the elder shouted.

I understood how he felt. The previous Saints had always joined up with the Hero party to come here and defeat the Demon King. If she was acting on her own, she was less likely to come here, and there was nothing we could do to interfere.

Sora had told me there was a Saint among the summoned heroes as well, but that one was something else—similar to a Saint, but not truly one.

“Don’t worry,” I reassured him. “The Saint will come here.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Saint’s companions will head this way eventually.” Now that I knew what Sora and his party were after, that much was certain.

I’d also heard they were heading to the Dragonlands next, which was why I’d stopped by there instead of returning straight here. I didn’t know what choice that person would make—depending on what it was, I might have to take further action.

“Understood,” the elder said. “We’ll make the preparations, then. The experiments have made the prospects of completion seem brighter. Besides...”

“I see. So it’s that time at last.”

“Yes, the time of destiny is near.”

“How do you estimate our chances of success, elder?”

“I cannot say for certain, but I hope it can end with this.”

In that moment, I was sure he spoke for all demonkind.

“Ignis. Is it true that the Saint is alive?”

“Yes. I saw it with my own eyes.”

“Really? Then what did I get a scolding for?” Adonis pouted as he heard my words.

This was the attitude that caused him to be labeled a child, but Adonis never seemed to catch on to that. “The elder was angry partly because of the Saint,” I explained, “but also because you made the Demon King worry.”

Adonis was also a demon, and he’d lived far longer than the current Demon King. But because his mind had failed to mature, he remained childish. His appearance was that of a child as well.

I knew that the Demon King had looked after a little sister and younger children before awakening and so had developed a tendency to worry about “young children” like Adonis. That might have been the one emotion that lingered in the Demon King, who had lost all others.

“So is the, er...the Saint doing well?” Adonis asked.

At those words, I looked up, curiously.

“Why the disbelief?” he scoffed. “I have nothing against the Saint herself. She seemed like a good person, at least for a human.” I could see his cheeks take on a faint blush, and he looked away.

It was true that we had nothing against the Saint herself either. We pitied her, if anything.

Given everything, it might have been more merciful to just kill her outright, but we also knew there was no point in that. There would always be one Saint in the world—even if we killed the current one, a new one would always rise in her place.

The elder was so angry because it was inconvenient for us not to know where the Saint was. Also, if we interfered too carelessly, it would put a certain party on their guard.

“I’ll be going, then,” he said.

“Yes, very well.”

I parted ways with Adonis and headed for the Demon King to report what I’d learned.

Chapter 2

“Thanks for getting us this far,” I told the coachman.

“Not at all. It was an enjoyable trip for me as well.” He particularly thanked the girls for the good food.

“But how will you get back?”

“I’ll hire an escort from the adventurers’ guild. I believe Lord Will has already arranged it.”

Border City Riell was quite a bit smaller than Cite, the last border city we’d been to. It was also a border city in name only, as the real border between Eva and Lufre was the towering mountains beyond. That meant the adventurers’ guild was quite small, with very few people inside. Still...

“Wagon escort quests are quite popular here. People don’t like to walk,” he explained.

Apparently any escort quest that was posted got swarmed with hopefuls, and the rewards tended to be good as well. Of course, it was important to have people with the right skills taking the jobs, so they always ensured that the conditions were clear.

“So, Sora, what do we do now?” Sera asked me.

“I’d like to get some information about the mountains. The monsters that appear there, stories from people who have actually climbed them, that kind of thing.” If there were reference materials about the mountains, I wanted to look through those as well.

“So let’s go to the guild and look into it before the day is over,” Rurika said.

The sun hadn’t gone down yet, so I decided to try it. “We’ll explore the town tomorrow, okay?” I promised Hikari and Ciel.

Hikari had looked interested in the stalls, but she came along with us. Ciel looked back a few times, though.

As we entered the adventurers’ guild, all eyes fell on us. It must have been rare to see outsiders here, and the fact that so many members of our group were female probably also played a role. Still, nobody started any trouble, and they filled us in about the mountains—specifically about the most common monsters there.

“I wish we could’ve talked to people who’d been to Mountain City Lactear, at least.”

Sadly, nobody who’d done that had been at the guild. There were adventurers who had climbed the mountains to get monster materials, but they all said they’d never made it as far as the city.

They did manage to tell us about some things to watch out for on the mountains, though.

The real danger, they said, came around halfway up, after you passed the snow line. Past that point, you’d run into snow wulfs and white orcs. These monsters weren’t that strong individually, but if you weren’t used to moving in the cold and the snow, you could end up in a tough fight—they all agreed on that. They cautioned me to be especially careful when they appeared in large groups.

“And after a while in the snow region, you’ll reach a big tree. The weather gets crazy after that, so be careful. It’s like a different world.”

The adventurer explained that at that point, you’d hit a blizzard so violent you could barely open your eyes. He said the cold was on another level—your limbs would quickly go numb, and you’d be forced to turn back.

The other adventurers there trembled, apparently remembering it. That was why none of them had gone to Lactear.

“Would it be better to head for the Dragonlands by a different route?” Rurika proposed as we discussed the prospect of climbing the mountains.

“Yes, I hear the slopes are quite steep in some places. It might be hard to climb,” Chris added.

“They say wagons can traverse the Frieren route. The slopes might not be as bad there,” Sera put in.

“But wouldn’t you hear more stories of people taking the route on foot, then?” Rurika responded. “Since we don’t, maybe there’s a reason it’s hard to climb without a wagon built for that purpose. It takes a while to reserve one.”

“By the way, Sora, what are you doing?” Mia asked me as I lined up materials on a table.

“Yeah, you bought a lot,” Hikari agreed.

“It’s looking like the conditions up there might be more extreme than we expected. I was thinking I’d put together some things to make travel easier.” Specifically, I was thinking of using Creation to craft some items that would help protect fingers and toes from frostbite. These were the ingredients needed to make them:

[Kald Fabric] Particularly warm cloth. Produces heat when mana is channeled into it.

Materials needed:

Snow Wulf Hide

***

Magistone

It turned out that snow wulf hides were expensive. They were thinner than wulf hides, but far warmer, and the thinner your clothing, the easier it was to move in it. One of the materials was a mystery, but the fabric could still be made with Creation.

From this, I’d managed to make Kald Fabric, but that wasn’t the end of it. I’d still have to make it into garments, but with Alchemy...it wouldn’t be easy. Instead, I asked the local tailor if she could possibly make something, and she said that she could handle it. She took our measurements and told us to come back in five days.

It was an unexpected delay, but we decided to use it to its fullest. I needed to get more steps in to increase my Walking level, so I decided to do some walking every day to get the numbers up. People would think it was strange if I just did laps every day, though, so I figured it would be better to head out of town.

Rurika and the girls had just happened to take an adventurers’ guild quest at that time, so I tagged along with them. They said they’d taken a hunting quest to get some exercise after so much downtime, but they’d also learned that there was an herb patch in the forest where they’d be going.

“You like that, right, Sora?” Rurika asked.

I couldn’t deny it. “So what kind of hunting quest did you take?”

“A bigboar herd. They normally stay deep in the forest, but lately they’ve been coming out to the entrance.”

“Apparently a few people who went into the forest to forage have been attacked.” Fortunately, the people they attacked had dropped what they were foraging and ran, so they weren’t harmed.

“Bigboar... Is it tasty?” Hikari and Ciel seemed curious about the quality of the meat.

Sadly, the only answer I could give was “Sorry. I’ve never had it before, so I don’t know.”

“They’re slower than regular wulfs, but they’re also stronger, so be careful. The strongest individuals can fell a big tree with a charge,” Rurika cautioned us.

We all nodded, ready to be on our guard. Though we’d fought a lot of powerful enemies in the dungeon, it was always important to stay vigilant.

The first thing I did as we entered the forest was summon my shadewolf-type Golem Core—also known as Shade. We let him take the lead, and I used Attunement to see through his eyes.

Shade’s perspective was closer to the ground than mine, and he moved very quickly, so the scenery seemed to whiz by. Focusing on the view started to make me nauseous, a similar feeling to being carsick. I’d been hoping Parallel Thinking would alleviate the problem, but it seemed like I’d just have to do it until I got used to it.

I ended up cutting off Attunement halfway so I could check for monster signals on my automap, and I saw quite a few toward the back of the forest. Are those the bigboars, then?

“I see monster signals near the back of the forest. They’re the only ones visible, so that’s probably the bigboars.”

We started moving in the direction of the signals. Eventually, I ordered Shade telepathically to stop and wait for us once he got closer to the monsters. Next I watched his signal on the automap until I saw him stop, and then I used Attunement again. Perhaps because he wasn’t moving, it didn’t make me as nauseous this time.

There were bigboars right in Shade’s line of sight. These were big creatures, at least three times bigger than a wulf. Their most notable feature were their tusks; four protruded from their mouths, each thicker than my arm. Those must have been the materials that the quest giver wanted retrieved.

As we closed in, the bigboars started moving. The ones that had been lying down before now stood up, noses snuffling. Can they smell us?

As we came even closer, the bigboars’ guard went up. There was more movement, and one that had been concealed behind the others now showed itself. This one seemed darker than the others, with...more legs? The normal bigboars had four legs, but the darker one had eight.

Once it stood up, I got a better idea of its size. It was about twice as large as a regular bigboar.

“Could it be a mutation?” I asked.

“I’ve never heard or read about bigboar mutations. Are you sure it’s a bigboar?” Rurika asked, confused by my description. Chris didn’t seem sure either. It looked about the same other than the color and the legs, though.

“We can’t avoid battle, so let’s just be careful while we fight it,” Sera said.

“Sera’s right. Once we get close I’ll call out X too, and we’ll both engage, focusing on defense. Hikari, Rurika, and Sera, you work on beating the regular bigboars.” I also asked Chris and Mia to run support for me.

Once we were in visual range of the bigboar, I cut off my attunement with Shade and called up X, the guardian-type Golem Core. At the same time, Mia cast Protection.

“Master, heading out.” Hikari moved away from us along with the other fighters.

The plan was for us to draw the attention of the bigboars so that the others could mount ambushes from the side and the back. Hikari dexterously climbed onto a tree branch, while Rurika and Sera zigzagged through the trees.

After watching them go, I sent X on ahead. Since the bigboars were alerted to our presence already, having X barreling forward focused their attention on him.

One of the bigboars let out a howl and charged forward. X saw the charge coming, stopped, raised his shield, and waited. The bigboar sped up its charge, and when its head hit the shield it produced a thunderous sound. X wasn’t fazed, though. The bigboar tried to keep moving forward despite his resistance, but its legs couldn’t get purchase.

At that moment, Hikari jumped down from her tree and stuck her dagger into the nape of the creature’s neck. The bigboar let out a sharp cry and sank to the ground. I darted up to X and collected the bigboar’s body.

As if taking that as a signal, the other bigboars began their charge. X braced his shield, and I followed suit while casting the Earth Wall spell to create a wall of dirt, hoping to kill their momentum. Some were forced to stop when they hit the Earth Wall, but others broke through. The ones that were stopped were quickly taken out by Rurika and the others. I kept the ones that broke through at bay with my shield, while Hikari and Chris’s magic took them down.

The next thing I knew, we were down to the one darker boar.

[Name: — / Job: — / Level: 57 / Race: Blackboar / Status: Mutant, Cursed]

That was the result of my appraisal. Its status read “Mutant” and “Cursed.”

Cursed? I wondered, but before I could think more about it, the blackboar came charging. It felt more intimidating than the bigboars, perhaps because of its size.

X interposed himself and readied his shield.

The blackboar let out an air-rending roar that forced X back a few steps.

Just then, I noticed that the blackboar was being held in place by one of Shade’s shadow tendrils wrapped around its body. The blackboar thrashed, but it couldn’t escape its bonds. As its stamina ran out, it slowed down gradually. However, as we closed in to finish it off, it let out a new howl, and something strange happened.

“Get back, everyone!” Mia cried.

The rest of us, who’d drawn in to try to finish it off, leaped back.

“Master, below,” Hikari warned us.

I looked down and saw the grass had wilted in a rapidly growing circle with the blackboar at the center. It didn’t...seem to have any effect on X and Shade, though. X adjusted his grip on his shield, then drew his sword with his free hand. But as he swung the blade down, it failed to cut through the blackboar’s hide and bounced off instead.

Not enough power? I wondered, but maybe it was true. X’s physical strength far exceeded that of any average adventurer. Since the attacks weren’t working, though, we’d need someone even more powerful to run our offense. I felt sure that Sera could do it, but it seemed dangerous for her to approach. Since I could use a shield if anything came at me, I thought I should be the one to go.

I gritted my teeth and was about to step forward when Mia stopped me. “Sora, wait.” She ran up and cast the Blessing spell on me, then activated a Sanctuary. Its radius expanded until it covered the whole nearby area, and the dying of the grasses stopped.

I approached the blackboar again, infused my mithril sword with a light attribute, and swung it down. My sword sliced the blackboar’s head off without resistance.

After watching the blackboar fall, I found myself letting out a sigh of relief.

However, I suddenly realized that the effect of Mia’s Blessing had expired. I checked my stat panel and noticed I had light cursed status now. I wasn’t feeling too awful thanks to the effect of my Resist Status Effects skill, but I still felt a little logy, presumably because I didn’t have full resistance to the Curse status yet.

I cast Recovery on myself, then looked around again. The grass was only wilted around the fallen blackboar, and I didn’t see anything similar happening in the place it had been before the attack.

“Mia, did you stop me because you knew what the curse might do?”

“I didn’t know for sure, but I felt something...wrong...so...” Mia seemed to have trouble explaining it.

“I appreciate it. I saw the blackboar was cursed when I first appraised it, but I didn’t think that meant it would use curse attacks too. It seemed like a powerful curse, at that.” The fact that it had dispelled Mia’s Blessing so quickly, and purely on approach, had proven that.

“Sora, is the blackboar that monster there?” Chris asked while I was talking to Mia.

I told her that it was.

Chris seemed uncertain, but she said, “I’ve never heard that name before. And I’ve certainly never seen a boar looking like that in the documents.”

I appraised the blackboar again, and the status now said “Dead,” so I stuck it in my Item Box for the moment.

“But ‘cursed’...if I got cursed from being so close, that might be what happened to the ground too. What should we do about it?” I looked around carefully and saw that not only was the grass dead, but the nearby trees were decaying and the soil itself had turned black.

“The Sanctuary stopped the spread of the corruption, so maybe holy spells can purify it?” Mia suggested.

“We might want to leave this as it is,” Chris advised.

“Chris?” Mia asked in confusion.

“I think we should head back to the adventurers’ guild and report the situation first. Maybe they’ll want to run a survey, and they might not believe us if we don’t leave proof.”

Chris was right.

“Yes, that might be for the best,” Rurika said after she returned from her post-fight scouting. Her expression seemed quite serious, and her brow was furrowed. “Come with me; there’s something I’d like you to see.”

We followed Rurika for a while. When we saw it, I heard Mia and Chris gulp.

“Master, doesn’t feel good,” Hikari said. Ciel, who had come along with us, nodded in firm agreement.

Rotting plants and bigboars—halfway to becoming blackboars?—were lying dead before us. Some had six legs, or shorter legs that seemed to be in the process of growing. They must have died quite a while back, because the bodies were heavily decomposed.

“I got close to it, but I started feeling sick, so I came back right away. We should probably hurry back and report this as soon as possible.”

“Yes, agreed.”

“But shouldn’t someone stay behind and keep watch?” It seemed things had been like this for a few days now, so leaving it for a day or two shouldn’t have mattered, but I asked just in case.

“I think it should be fine, but...I know,” Rurika said. “Sera and I will return and report it in. That would go faster anyway.”

True, the two of them running alone probably would be much faster. Hikari and I could probably keep up well enough, but Mia and Chris might struggle with it. We could have Shade carry them, but it didn’t seem necessary to go out of our way. To make the explanation easier, I put one of the dead blackboars and some of the seemingly corrupted dead grass and soil into a bag of holding for them to take.

We watched them leave, then I put up a Shield around the dead bodies, and we headed farther away. I also made sure to leave Shade there watching the scene so I could check on it at any time.

“I’m not sure if it’s okay to eat the bigboars we got,” I said.

Hikari and Ciel looked deeply disappointed by this. I was sad about it too, since I’d never had bigboar meat before, but we’d just have to tough it out.

“Still, I wonder what could have caused this.” It was frankly rare to encounter curses at all, let alone one powerful enough to change a creature’s shape.

It could be an impure region created by a large number of undead, or the result of an advanced undead like a lich showing up, I thought, but I used Detect Mana on the surroundings and saw no sign of anything like that nearby. What other possibilities are there?

I shook my head and decided to set it aside for now. The people Rurika and Sera brought could handle the investigation, so we’d just do what we could for the moment.

Hikari and I picked some wood we could use for fires as we were scanning the area, while Chris and Mia worked back at camp. I had X on standby to serve as a bodyguard, and Chris would give him orders if anything happened.

◇◇◇

Rurika and Sera returned two days later.

Given how close we were to the town, I’d assumed they’d be back the next day, and so I’d started to get worried when they weren’t. But apparently the guild had taken the proof they’d brought back very seriously, and they’d ended up having to make preparations that delayed their return. Some of the group that returned with them turned out to be members of the alchemists’ guild as well.

I showed the investigators the cursed location. They spent the whole day examining the area, but they never found the cause of the phenomenon.

“We’ve taken more than enough samples, so now we just have to find a way to restore it to normal,” one said.

“We’ll have to get the church to send someone, don’t you think?” responded another.

Mia overheard them talking and told them that she could use holy spells. They asked her to try it, but it didn’t sound like they had a lot of faith in her. She was an unknown quantity, after all.

Mia seemed to pick up on their doubts, but she must not have let it bother her because she proceeded to cast her Blessing and Sanctuary spells. Her desire to break the curse was probably more important than anything else in her mind.

“Very impressive, Mia.”

“Now we can rest easy.”

“Yeah, nice job, Big Sis Mia.”

“It looks fine now.”

My companions all cheered her on as her holy magic purification seemed to take effect.

“Well done, Mia,” I said after using Appraisal to make sure things were back to normal.

The investigators gave her a curt thank-you as well.

Once that was done, we went back to town together, handed over the blackboar and bigboar bodies we’d taken earlier, and officially completed our hunting quest.

I heard later that the soil and plant samples they’d taken had been judged to need purifying before they were disposed of, so a priest was called from the church to do the job. But that priest’s holy magic turned out to be too weak, so the guild was forced to petition a higher-ranking priest from the capital instead.

◇◇◇

The equipment I’d ordered was now ready, and it was time for us to set out for Mountain City Lactear.

I gave the mountains a closer look and really took in the terrain we were about to go up against. I found myself gulping in the face of such a massive range. Even when I lived in my old world, I’d never been in the presence of mountains that big. I’d seen ones like them in pictures, but being there in person really gave you that sense of scale.

“Okay, let’s go.”

We’d decided beforehand on a number of rules for the climb, based on what adventurers who’d actually climbed the mountains had told us. The most important rule—no pushing it. The minute someone got tired, they should bring it up to the others. I wouldn’t have a good sense of it myself, since my Walking skill would keep me from feeling tired even when I was mountain climbing. I would also be taking the lead on the hike, so it would be hard for me to check on the status of the people behind me.

The reason I was taking the lead was because I had the Mountaineering skill that would tell me where to walk, so I could point out spots that were dangerous. I didn’t know how the people behind me were doing because the mountain roads were so narrow that we had to walk single file, so I didn’t forget to stop occasionally and turn around to check.

“Chris, you okay?” I called back.

Generally we stuck to more leisurely slopes, doing a lot of snaking back and forth on the sharper inclines. But when we couldn’t avoid climbing, I would go up first, then attach a rope and let the others follow behind. The agile Hikari seemed to want to hop her way up, but I made sure she kept herself safe.

“I thought we’d come pretty far, but I guess not.”

Along the mountain road were places set aside to take breaks. During one such break, we looked below us and saw that we hadn’t made much progress even after walking pretty far. Still, trying to rush things by leaving the path was more likely to lead to accidents than to save time.

“It’s not a place you can get to with just a day or two of climbing anyway,” I told them. “We just have to keep up a steady pace.” After this, we broke off our rest and went back to climbing.

After more climbing with a few breaks in between, we decided to eat lunch. It seemed the other girls didn’t have the strength left to cook, so I handled it myself. Ciel and I were the only ones still in top shape—in fact, Ciel ate so much food that everyone was shocked. Then, seemingly satisfied, she snuggled into my hood for naptime.

“Heh, Ciel never changes.” Rurika laughed in amusement, which made Chris laugh as well.

If her carefree behavior had the power to restore everyone’s smiles, maybe it was actually a praiseworthy thing?

We arrived at the mountain’s midpoint three days after we first set out. We’d had to fine-tune how far we walked in a day because rest stop locations were limited, but also because we’d run into a few hazards on the way.

One danger we’d encountered was a rockslide. We’d felt a sudden rumble and looked up to see boulders coming down toward us. We quickly moved to avoid them, but there was one we wouldn’t be able to fully dodge. It was nearly as big as the blackboar we’d fought.

The girls directly behind me, Sera and Rurika, would be hit at this rate for sure.

“Get down!” someone screamed.

I let out a big breath and focused. Timing was the important thing. I thrust my arms forward and struck a pose to better imagine it.

It was my first time trying this on a moving thing, but I had practiced a lot. My Teleport level was currently 3.

It’ll be within my effect radius... Now!

When I activated Teleport, the approaching rock vanished, then appeared on the other side of the girls and rolled down the hill, as if it had bounced over them.

Once I was sure the danger was past, I let out a sigh of relief.

Guess it worked, then.

Until now, I’d always teleported things I’d been touching, but reaching level 3 should have let me teleport more distant things too, in exchange for double the usual MP cost. Unfortunately, the effective radius was rather small, so I’d had to wait until the rock got close enough.

“Thanks, Sora,” Rurika said.

“You saved us,” Sera added.

I was glad they were safe, but it made me understand how important it was for me to test what my skills could do in advance.

◇◇◇

It really did get cold above the snow line. Our breath came out in puffs of white. We put on our snow gear, but it couldn’t completely counter the cold.

“It’s so white...”

“Hikari, have you never seen snow?” I asked.

“Snow? Yeah, never... So cold...” She said it had never snowed in Elesia.

Hikari took off her gloves, touched the snow with her hands, and shivered. Then she curiously scooped some up, tested how it felt, and then... Ah, she dove into it.

I could recall being similarly excited the first time I saw snow. But I don’t...think I went quite this far.

“Master, cold hands,” she told me when she was done.

Yeah, because you were burying them in the snow... I thought.

“The wind’s cold here too,” one of the girls commented.

“And it’s hard to walk in,” another added.

“I’d gotten used to it, but it’ll slow us down a bit too.”

“Good thing these things Sora made us are so warm.”

“Yes, they keep my hands and feet toasty.”

It seemed we’d have to get used to walking on top of snow. Everyone besides Hikari had seen snow before, but the type here was different from what they were used to. It was hard packed and almost like ice.

“The question is, what do we do if monsters show up?” Rurika asked.

She was right. Walking on the snow was harder than I’d imagined it would be. It was packed enough that we wouldn’t sink down into it, but we still had to be careful not to slip on it. We had spikes on our shoes, but I didn’t feel like they worked very well. Maybe because we’re not used to them?

I’d been hoping to rely on Shade and X in battle if it came to that, but when I summoned them to test out that theory, their weight made them sink into the snow. I could also tell that the farther up we went, the thicker the layers of snow would become. It would clearly be impossible to use the golems above the snow line.

We spent the rest of that day practicing walking on snow, then held some mock duels to get used to fighting on it.

“No more. Can’t breathe.”

“Yeah, I’m tired.”

“This is tough going.”

Even half of our usual sparring time left Rurika and the others slumping to the ground. Part of it was the air being thinner up here, but having to pay so much attention to where they were stepping was also a mental strain.

“You can handle it, Sora?” Mia asked worriedly, noticing I was moving the same way as ever.

I was fine, of course—the Mountaineering skill was still paying dividends. The assist function was particularly helpful with the snow, telling me how to move and where to put my weight. It wasn’t easy to pass that advice on to the others, though, and even the assist function probably wouldn’t have been easy to use without Parallel Thinking. The information just kept pouring in, especially when I was moving quickly, so it required split-second judgment.

I thought I would be forced to take care of any monsters we encountered myself, but either people in this world were more capable, or they just adapted quickly, because Hikari and Sera quickly seemed to pick up the method for moving on the snow, though not quite with their usual ease.

“Why can you two both move so easily?” Rurika pouted.

“Followed master’s advice.”

“Same.”

Hang on, I didn’t give you much advice at all... I thought.

Rurika tried her best, but she never managed to move like the other two. She ended up feeling pretty depressed about it, and Ciel had to comfort her.

We talked it over and decided that if we ran into monsters, Hikari and Sera would take point, with me and Rurika falling back to defend.

After that, we went back to climbing in the hopes of reaching the tree that served as a landmark for the last leg of the trip, but we ended up running into snow wulfs three times and white orcs once. As a result, we decided to turn back below the snow line and rest for the day.

We did this because we’d managed to beat the snow wulfs, and I’d wanted to break them down and get their hides—though Hikari and Ciel also seemed to be interested in their meat.

“Is this the tree the adventurers mentioned?”

Mysteriously, the one place that lacked any snow was the area around the tree, and the moment we passed it, the scenery changed on a dime.

“No way...” I don’t know who said that, but they spoke for all of us.

The moment we passed the tree, we found ourselves in the middle of a blizzard. Then, the instant we stepped back, the blizzard was gone without a trace and a clear sky hung above us, with the sunlight shining blindingly against the snow.

It’s almost...like going between dungeon floors, I thought.

Still, there was something that set this apart from the different floors of the dungeon: I could see both areas, and the entire mountain region, on my automap.

“It’s almost sundown. Should we call it a day now?” I asked while confirming that there were no monsters nearby.

“Why don’t we try to make a little progress?” Rurika proposed. “If it gets too dangerous, we can always turn back.”

“Yes, it might be necessary to get used to the environment,” Chris agreed.

We went a little ways past the tree, but the closer we got to the summit, the worse the weather became. We briefly thought about heading back, but we decided to set up camp in the blizzard instead. We hadn’t gotten any advice on how to proceed past this point in Riell, so it was up to us to figure it out.

I’d also decided to remove my mask. It was making it way too hard to see under blizzard conditions, and it wasn’t like anyone was going to recognize me out in the mountains anyway.

In terms of pure distance, if we set out in the morning, it should have been easy enough to reach Lactear that day. I had a feeling it wouldn’t be that easy, though. If it were, more people from Riell would have made it there. Maybe they just don’t sell anything worth making the trip for, though...

“I’ll make a kamakura, so we’ll rest there tonight,” I told them.

“Master, what’s a kamakura?” Hikari and the others seemed confused by the word.

I figured it would be easier to make one than to explain, so I put a hand on the snow and channeled mana into it to shape it into a protective dome. The method was the same as building a house with earth magic, just making it out of snow instead of soil.

Once I’d created the basic shape, I went inside, pulled some wooden slats from my Item Box, and set them down to create floorboards. I then laid a sheet of Kald Fabric on top of the boards to finish the floor. I’d made this fabric with my Creation skill, using the snow wulf hides we’d hunted yesterday.

“It’s nice and warm,” Chris said.

“Seriously,” Mia added, sounding equally impressed. “I thought it would be cold being surrounded by snow, but it’s not.”

After that, I stepped outside, formed a defensive wall of snow around the kamakura, and set even more traps. I also erected a Shield spell around the kamakura itself, to give us some time to rally in case we were ambushed. There was no sign of monster signals nearby, but it paid to be cautious, especially since we’d talked it over and decided to all rest tonight instead of taking shifts at watch.

After eating, I enchanted the Kald Fabric on the floor as well as the gloves and boots made from it with mana, and then we all went to sleep.

“Morning, everyone.”

“G’morn...”

“Good morning, all.”

“Morning...”

Mia and Rurika were still asleep, and everyone but Chris seemed pretty listless. Hikari and Sera said they’d had trouble sleeping because of the noise from the blizzard. I appraised them and saw “Sleep Deprived” and “Weak” listed in their mild form as their status.

“You’re both still tired, huh?”

They grudgingly admitted it, and we decided to take the day to rest.

After eating, I made beds for the two of them and cast a shell of Silence to completely shutter external noises. The rest of us practiced breaking down the monster bodies under Rurika and Chris’s instruction.

“You didn’t do any of this in Majorica, Sora. There won’t be any kids like Norman to do it for you moving forward, so you really need to get practice in. Right?” That last word, said with a cute tilt of Rurika’s head, made it impossible for me to say no.

On Rurika’s urging, we left the kamakura and...yeah, it was a bit cold. But the kamakura wasn’t spacious enough for us to do it inside, and we didn’t want to get blood everywhere either.

Chris had also said she had something she wanted to try outside. As we stepped out, she thrust out her staff and recited an incantation.

It looked like she was about to cast a spirit spell, so I activated Detect Mana and watched her. When she finished the incantation, I saw a kind of dome-shaped membrane spread out around her to form a barrier over the kamakura and its surroundings. This barrier kept out the blizzard and warmed the area around us.

“I can’t keep it up too long, but it should make it easier to work,” she said.

“What is this?” I asked her.

“Oh, Seris taught it to me. You don’t think it’ll melt the kamakura and the wall, do you?”

“I reinforced them with mana, so they should be fine,” I said.

Chris seemed relieved to hear that.

“So, we’re all ready. Shall we?” Rurika sounded positively giddy about it.

How long has it been since I last broke down monster bodies like this? Since before I’d started traveling with Hikari, maybe? Back then, we’d arranged it so that she would break down any monsters we hunted while I cooked in exchange.

“Hey, Sora, keep working!” Rurika suddenly yelled at me. I must have gotten lost in my thoughts.

“Mia, you’re doing great,” Chris told Mia meanwhile.

“Yeah, better than Sora,” Rurika laughed.

“Thank you. Hikari and Sera taught me,” Mia said.

Mia was better than me because of the way she always threw herself into anything she tried. It was the same attitude she’d taken to learning how to cook and how to fight.

As I worked, though, the process gradually started to come back to me. Rurika and Chris had given me so many lessons when I’d been a fledgling adventurer, and though it hadn’t lasted a long time, it had been intense. The muscle memory seemed to be there.

“Look at you, Sora, you really did it.” Rurika praised me at the very end. “Mia, I never saw you break down a monster before, but I have to give you full marks. Was Hikari that good a teacher?”

“No, Rurika,” Mia answered. “It was Sera who really made it easy for me.”

“Really?” Rurika looked surprised to hear her say that.

Mia hesitated. “Ah, right. Maybe I should tell you guys.” Mia explained that Sera was so good at breaking down monster bodies because she’d been forced to do it during her time as a slave.

They’d had to hunt monsters and then break them down, and they would be beaten if they didn’t do it well. To avoid that, Sera had explained—as casually as could be—that she’d had to pick it up quickly.

I could tell that Rurika and Chris were growing quietly more incensed as they listened.

“She made it sound like it was no big deal too,” Mia continued. “In Messa...when all those bad things happened and I was at my lowest point, Sera was the one who kept my spirits up the most. She was always there when I needed a shoulder to cry on.”

She seemed to be talking about their trip from Messa to Tenns.

After that, we went on working in silence, and we managed to get a good number of the bodies broken down.

“Then let’s get right to cooking it,” Mia said. Ciel seemed the most excited of anyone about the idea.

I left the cooking to the three others, then stepped out beyond the defensive wall to check on something. I had my automap, so I wouldn’t get lost walking around in the blizzard, but I knew that it would make them worry if I went too far. Still, I needed to find out how far we could see in the blizzard, so I made a big snowball, stained it with dye made using Alchemy, then threw it toward the peak.

The snowball got about ten meters away from me before I lost sight of it. I’d heard the blizzards got more intense the closer you got to the peak, too, which might limit the visible range even more.

I’d have to check my Alchemy and Creation lists to see if there were any items that could be useful.

“Meat! Looks so good!” Hikari was eyeing the snow wulf steaks and a bowl full of soup packed with white orc meat.

Hikari’s eyes sparkled and she beamed with joy as she stuffed her cheeks with steak. Following her lead, Ciel also took a big bite of the meat, which put an expression of ecstasy on her face.

Seeing their reactions, the rest of us started eating as well, smacking our lips at how good it was.

Once we were done eating, the conversation turned to Sera. Mia started complimenting her unreservedly, which seemed to deeply embarrass her. She looked around for help until her eyes met mine, at which point she immediately blushed and turned her eyes down.

“Let’s put this aside and go to bed early. We’ve got to get a fast start tomorrow, after all,” I said.

In response, Hikari stared at me and insisted she wasn’t sleepy, but Mia and Ciel eyed her suspiciously.

“Aren’t you going to rest, Sora?” Chris asked.

“I’ll sleep right after I make something.” I’d found a likely candidate that I could create with Alchemy right away, so I went straight to it.

[Magic Rope]

Materials needed:

Rope

Blood Snake Skin

Magic Crystal

Magistone

The Magic Rope looked like an ordinary rope, but it had an elastic property, and it could produce two effects when mana was channeled into it.

The first was to make the rope glow. This could attract the attention of monsters, though, so instead I made it so that you could see it only if you had a night vision item equipped. The second was to make the rope hard. The main effect of this was...to make it easier to pull, I guessed.

I’d made it as a safeguard to stop us from getting separated, so the ability to harden the rope was just a bonus.

Once it was done, I packed the rope into my Item Box, then studied our surroundings on the automap. I couldn’t see many monsters in the blizzard region, so maybe the conditions there were too harsh even for them.

With our preparations complete, I got to bed to prepare for tomorrow’s climb.

The next morning, I used magic to demolish the kamakura and explained to the others how the Magic Rope worked. Then, we set out.

Perhaps thanks to our excellent preparations, we made it through the blizzard region without any major problems. My Mountaineering skill was steadily rising the whole time, so much that it would even tell me the safest routes to follow.

Eventually we penetrated the thick cloud layer, and the blizzards stopped. Beyond that point, the sky was clear, and the sun shone down warmly on us. We could also take in the view of the mountains around us.

“That must be Lactear,” Chris said.

I followed her gaze down the other side of the peak and saw a settlement not far from where we were. It looked a little more like a village than a town and seemed to be surrounded by a simple wooden fence.

As we walked down the gentle slope toward the town, two men came running up to us in a panic.

“D-Did you guys come over the mountain?” The men, who looked like guardsmen, looked at us in wide-eyed shock.

In their hands, they held... Farming implements? Are those supposed to be weapons?

They explained that this was the first time they’d ever seen someone cross over the mountains from the Evan side.

Lactear had started as a single mountain cabin that served as a rest stop for travelers, but as more people had come and gone, the town had expanded.

The town also owed its growth to the care of special animals that lived on the mountains. The sheeplike creatures known as mutons were prized for their wool used in textiles and clothing. Their meat was first-rate—but only if they were raised in their natural environment.

This information piqued Hikari’s interest, and Ciel began to drool just listening to it.

Then we were taken to the town’s only inn, where the owners were once again surprised to hear that we’d come up from Eva.

“Do people often come from the Lufre side?” I inquired.

“I wouldn’t say often, but there are some merchants who come to buy wool and meat from time to time,” the proprietress explained. She added that on those occasions they’d ask those merchants to bring them vegetables in return. There weren’t many crops that could grow at this altitude, so vegetables were very precious in Lactear.

“Would you buy vegetables off of us?” I asked. “We’ll trade them for muton wool and meat.”

The proprietress looked suspicious of my offer, but her doubts vanished when I pulled several different vegetables out of my Item Box and laid them out for her to see. She sampled them and ended up introducing us to a local muton rancher.

Those Lokia-grown vegetables really are something else, I guess!

At dinner, the inn served muton meat, which tasted about as good as the orc lord meat. Everyone enjoyed it except for Ciel, who wasn’t allowed to have any and so went to bed in a huff.

The next morning, we went sightseeing around town. We ran into lots of people to whom we’d sold vegetables thanks to the proprietress the night before, so they greeted us with warmth and friendliness. It seemed vegetables really were a precious commodity here.

“M-May I touch it?” Chris asked the rancher as we came to the pasture.

“Yeah, go ahead. Just be gentle,” he responded.

“Eee...” Chris quietly squealed as she touched the muton.

The sound made all eyes focus on Chris. She seemed to realize what she’d done and turned red, but she still didn’t pull her hand away. Intrigued by her reaction, the girls immediately crowded around the mutons.

I approached one of the nonplussed, yawning creatures as well and touched its fleece. It was soft enough that I could press my entire hand into it with very little pressure. I could easily imagine getting a good night’s sleep on bedding made from this material.

While I was enjoying the pleasant feel of the muton, I heard a sudden, insistent voice. “S-Say, may I hug it?”

It looked like Mia had invaded the rancher’s personal space. The intimidated rancher nodded quickly, so Mia proceeded to hug the muton with an expression of absolute bliss. She even began rubbing her cheek against it.

When they saw that, the other girls did the same thing.

“G-Guess they’re quite a handful, huh, kid?” the rancher asked me, and I had to nod in agreement.

I asked if he would sell us some muton wool, and he said they’d be shearing them in a few days if we cared to stick around until then.

“Master, smells weird.”

“Hikari’s right. It’s pretty stinky over here.”

We were walking around a mountain cliff on the outskirts of the town when Hikari and Sera suddenly wrinkled their noses. I didn’t know what they were talking about at first, but we walked in the direction Hikari indicated, and after a little while, I started to smell it too.

Wait, is this...

“Hey, if it isn’t the veggie seller. You here for a bath too?”

“Is that a hot spring?” I asked in disbelief.

“That’s right. It’ll cure what ails ya!”

It was apparently an open-air bath that could be entered free of charge. The baths were surrounded by wooden fences on three sides, with a cliffside opening so you could take in the view from the water. There was no roof, so at night you could also see the full canopy of stars.

Obviously, genders were segregated. There was no mixed bathing allowed.

“You don’t think anyone will peep, do you?” Chris asked, eyeing the wooden fencing. It was about three meters tall, so someone could probably get a look if they really put their mind to it.

“There’s no one who would do that in this village,” the man scoffed, but his smile was slightly strained.

Did there used to be someone like that here, then? I wondered.

“But if you’re worried,” he continued, “you can come at night. The townsfolk tend not to use it then.” It seemed most tended to stop by when their work was done for the day, then enjoy a good drink—a good meal, rather—and not use the spring after that.

Maybe we’ll come back later tonight, then? I’d like to try it during the day at least once while we’re here, though. It would get dark at night, so we’d be able to enjoy the sky, but not the view... But maybe I could do it with Night Vision?

Well, I could use it whenever I wanted anyway, and a morning bath might be nice as well.

“Master, are we going in there?” Hikari really seemed bothered by the smell.

“Yeah. Hot springs feel nice,” I told her. I wasn’t the biggest fan of hot baths, but for some reason I’d always liked hot springs.

“Are you talking about your old world?” Mia asked, and Chris beside her seemed curious too. Perhaps because she was a naturally inquisitive person, Chris often asked me about things from my world.

“Yes, hot springs there had a lot of different beneficial effects. Good for keeping women’s skin looking young and all that.” I didn’t know how it worked, but when I mentioned that old saying I’d frequently heard, they started peppering me with questions. They must have been intrigued by the idea.

“I suppose we’ll have to try it sometime.”

“Well, I don’t necessarily know that this spring will have the same effect...”

“But if it will help us recover from the climb, it still seems worthwhile.”

The locals had said it was quite relaxing.

We had our dinner and headed over to the hot spring.

“Sora, don’t come onto our side if you feel lonely, okay?” Rurika teased me, but at least two of the other girls blushed red at the suggestion.

Of course I’d never break their trust in me by doing something so stupid.

I washed myself off and slowly sank into the spring. It was so relaxing that I couldn’t help but let out a sigh.

I stretched out and leaned back against the edge, positioning my body horizontally to look up at the canopy of stars. It was a sight I’d seen often since coming to this new world, but the stars felt closer now, perhaps because I was higher up.

Ciel managed to position herself on her back as well, and she gazed up at the starry sky while floating in the air.

While I was gazing up at the hushed night sky, I began to hear the sound of splashing on the other side of the fence, followed by voices.

“Ah, that feels good.”

“Yes, I feel like all my exhaustion is washing away.”

“It’s not like a regular hot bath.”

“The water’s a bit muddy.”

“Yeah, but not bad.”

The girls first said what they thought of the bath, then eventually started talking about how beautiful the night sky was. From there, their conversation grew more lively. They’d frequently bathed together in the past, but this was their first time doing it in a wide-open space like this, which must have been exciting.

Perhaps as a result, the topic of their conversation gradually got a bit dicey. Did they forget I’m on the other side of a very thin fence?

“Hey, I can hear you guys,” I called out.

I could immediately hear the sound of them panicking through the fence. “You heard all that?!” one of them shouted back desperately.

“Yes, I did!” I called back, protesting my innocence.

Part of me wanted to stay in the water a little longer, but I decided to call it a day. The bath was always free to enter, so I could just come back in the morning.

What will you do, Ciel? I asked telepathically.

She looked over at me briefly but apparently decided to float a little longer.

I left the hot spring, got changed, and decided to walk a little by myself until the others got out. I mainly wanted to gain some experience.

At night, Lactear was...noisy at the inn, but quiet everywhere else. The only sound I could hear was the occasional gust of wind.

I walked around for a bit until Ciel flew up to me. She’d apparently come to let me know that Mia and the others had gotten out of the water.

When we met back up, three of them were red-faced, but...

“Going back, master.” Hikari seemed the same as ever, and she led me by the hand back to the inn.

On our fifth day in Lactear, I was enjoying another morning bath. The inn’s proprietress had told me they’d be shearing the muton tomorrow, which meant our time here would be coming to a close.

Hikari and I borrowed a corner of a pasture from the rancher to show the men of Lactear how to make bacon. Ciel also came flying up to us the moment she heard the word. Meanwhile, Mia and the others were learning how the muton wool was spun.

“And that...bacon, you said? We can make it too?” one of the men asked.

“It’s not that complicated once you know how.” I told them I’d learned it from a village I’d visited as a traveling merchant and taught them all how to do it.

The reason they were all so interested in bacon was that the inn’s cook (the proprietress’s husband) had apparently been preparing it for them as a drinking snack. I’d initially taught him how to make it in the hopes that its rich taste would go well with sandwiches.

I’d asked to borrow a place in town where I could build a fire to make bacon from muton meat, and that in turn had drawn a crowd.

“And now it’ll last a lot longer? I bet even we could make this,” one of the men said, smiling broadly.

I chatted with the men until the bacon was done. It seemed like life was hard up here, because they had a lot of complaints. For some reason, they told me to be careful with who I chose to marry.

“But don’t you have to watch the mutons?” I asked.

They explained that they generally left them to graze freely and that once they let them out in the morning they didn’t have much work to do other than cleaning the barn.

“The mutons are smart,” one of the men said. “They’ll look for grass and exercise themselves, so they don’t take much effort. Our main work is cleaning the barns and checking them for illness.”

Aside from those assigned to watch the mutons, everyone had gotten their work done early so they could have time to kill today. Apparently nobody complained as long as the work got done, so they’d pushed themselves a bit to get it out of the way.

“But because we let them free graze, sometimes—not often—the mutons go missing.”

“Yeah, it’s rare, but sometimes wild animals get them. We had some losses this year for the first time in a while.”

About a month before we arrived in Lactear, they said, two mutons had gone missing, and several of their crops had been ruined at the same time. Then this had happened a few more times, which was why they’d increased their patrols.

“That’s why we appreciate you selling us your vegetables,” the man concluded.

That does explain why they were so happy about it, I thought. “Everything okay now?”

“Yeah. We haven’t had any more issues since we started the daily patrols. But it hadn’t happened in a few years before then, so it kind of had us in a little bit of a panic at the time.”

“Yeah, mom got mad at me. She said it was pathetic, that I should be calmer and so on.”

Apparently “mom” referred to his wife.

We spent a little more time talking after that. Hikari, our official expert, stopped by and gave her definitive ranking of the stall foods from the different towns we’d visited, which also went over well.

“But the food master makes is the best,” she concluded.

When the others seemed skeptical of this, Hikari got mad and told me to bring out some of my cooking from my Item Box. Since I’d sold them so many vegetables, they all thought I had a high-quality magic bag, so I could bring out my premade meals without arousing any suspicion.

The men tried the food and apologized to Hikari with surprised faces. Hikari seemed satisfied by the display and smiled happily at them.

We talked for a while after that, and at one point the town’s mayor mentioned he’d been to the Dragonlands’ capital, Altair.

“I’ve been there a few times on business,” he said. “It’s where the Dragon God’s descendants live.” He was apparently referring to dragonfolk. “Those with strong draconic bloodlines have the scales or horns to show it, but they’re people just like us otherwise. They like good wine, good food, and good times,” he concluded.

The next day, we got to try shearing mutons for ourselves. Thanks to my recent practice breaking down monster bodies, I thought I acquitted myself rather well. I still probably did the worst job of the six of us, but the rancher praised me for my efforts anyway.

“Are you heading out now?”

“Yes. Thank you for looking after us for so long.”

“We’ll miss you,” the proprietress said, and she gave us a few souvenirs.

The men of the village I’d spent time with gave us a friendly goodbye as well. “Sora, right? Next time you come by, bring more vegetables...and more delicious booze.”

The truth was that I hadn’t just bartered here with vegetables, but with alcohol as well. I’d bought some wine on the way out of Majorica and after arriving in Lokia. I didn’t buy any in Riell, though, since the only kind they had in stock was stuff I already had.

Why was I carrying wine when I couldn’t drink, you ask? It was advice from Syphon.

“Every region has its own brands of alcohol, and aficionados are starved for that variety since it’s hard for merchants to carry a lot of it without a high-capacity bag of holding,” he’d told me. Juno ended up yelling at him for what sounded like recommending alcohol to me, but I was happy for the advice.

In that spirit, I’d ended up trading for a Lactearian alcohol known as “Drop of Muton.” I gave them over ten barrels of what I had for five barrels of theirs—I assumed that it was a rare wine made under rare conditions and that it would be in high demand elsewhere.

I also wanted to be sure to give some to Syphon the next time I saw him.

Once we’d said all our goodbyes, we headed down the mountain. Our destination was Marte, a city in the Dragonlands.

The Dragonlands’ capital was Altair, the so-called “Aerial City,” but Marte was an important hub that linked the three mountain cities to three cities within Lufre proper—one of which was Altair. It sounded like the best place to go if we wanted to get anywhere else in the realm.

The road took us down a sharp slope for a while, and by the time it eased up we found ourselves at a mountain cabin. It wasn’t often used, but since it served as a rest stop for visiting merchants, the people of Lactear periodically came down to maintain it. From that point on, the roads would become wider and the slopes gentler, allowing it to be traversed by wagon. This meant that merchants often took wagons up to the cabin and used it as a base to carry goods up to Lactear.

We decided to keep going rather than stopping at the cabin, but the sun went down soon after, so we decided to camp out instead of traveling in the dark.

The next day, we came to an overlook and got a panoramic view of the Dragonlands.

The closest town within sight was Marte, and beyond that I saw the Aerial City Altair, which seemed to float on top of the mirrorlike lake on which it lay. The lake reflected the sky above as well, making it look like the city was hovering in midair.

According to the people of Lactear, that was why it had come to be called the “Aerial City.” They’d told me that there was a tower in Marte built to enjoy the view and that the green color that seemed to envelop the city itself was because of a single large tree.

Compared to how long the climb up had taken, the descent passed in a flash. The Dragonlands were generally at a higher elevation than the other realms, so this side was closer to the summit. We didn’t have to deal with any of the raging blizzards or snowpack that we had when going up from the Evan side either, so going down felt like a breeze.

At last the mountain path came to an end and we switched to the main road, arriving at Marte just before sunset.

I’d been going without my mask in the mountains, but I didn’t forget to put it on before we neared the city.

“Travelers on foot? That’s unusual,” the guard told us as we checked in at the gate.

They seemed friendly at first, but their eyes narrowed for just a moment. They softened a moment later, though, and let us into the town.

Interlude 3

I was standing in a room in Altair Castle, looking at the great tree from the window, when I found myself addressed.

“Was it really all right to let them go?” asked Alfried, who was clad in light armor.

“It’s not as if I could stop them,” I replied. “Besides, it should be good experience for them.”

Alfried frowned, but only for a second, before returning to a characteristically calm expression. I could still detect a trace of worry there, though—I wasn’t the only one who cared deeply about those children.

If either had been going alone, I might have been worried, but as the two would be together, I thought it would be fine to wait and see.

“Should we send an escort?” Alfried prompted me then.

“No need,” I said. “That little one is very observant and would surely notice.”

If that happened, it would defeat the whole point. Perhaps this city had grown too small for them anyway. It might end up interfering with their growth.

“There’s nothing in this realm that can escape my eye anyway,” I continued, although that wasn’t as true as it once had been. I could feel the power waning year after year. That was why I had to pin my hopes on that child—on both of them. “And there’s something else I’d like to learn more about.”

“The bandits?” Alfried asked.

“That is part of it.” Indeed, their behavior suggested that they were more than mere bandits. It hinted at a memory from an age long past, but I couldn’t quite recall what it was.

“The people he mentioned, then?”

Ah, the otherworld boy. I’d certainly been surprised when he’d told me his plan, and I’d been hesitant to go along with it. I wasn’t sure if it was all right to drag someone not of our world into what was going on here.

I understood why they wanted what they did...but my own feelings on the matter were complicated. After questioning myself for nearly a century, mired in resentment and guilt, I still didn’t have an answer. Besides...

“If you’re not sure, why not investigate with your own eyes?” Alfried prompted me.

“How?”

“Fight him, perhaps?”

It seemed to me that that could indeed work. I’d also heard the Saint was among them. Thinking back to the past again, I felt my fists clench. Then I let out a cough and returned to my right mind. “Forgive me.”

“Ah...”

Perhaps I’d try it, then. It might have been a bit cruel, but the fate toward which we were heading could no longer be avoided. It could be interesting, then, to see for myself if he had the strength to challenge that fate.

I also wanted to know what answer it would lead me to when the time came. Because...back then, all I could do was watch...

I stole a glance at Alfried.

“Not at all,” came the crisp reply.

How very strong you are, I couldn’t help but think.

Chapter 3

“Oh, awake already? Did you get a good rest?” came the surprised voice of the inn’s proprietress as I entered the dining hall. Apparently most people who crossed the mountains into Marte slept late into the day after their first arrival.

“I think all the noise outside woke me up,” I replied. I was pretty sure it was the sound of shouting outside my window that had kept me from sleeping longer.

“Oh, that’s right. I forgot the ship was arriving today.”

“The ship?”

“The regular one from Altair. Oh, do you know what a ship is?”

I nodded, and she seemed impressed by my knowledge.

Marte was built on the shore of a lake, and it periodically received ships from Altair. I was reminded that in all my time in Elesia, Frieren, and Eva, I’d heard no talk of ships.

“The ship delivers many different kinds of goods, so they’re probably setting things up to receive them.” She explained that most of the food in Lufre was shipped out from Altair. “The soil here is bad for crops, so we can’t grow much ourselves.” It must have had something to do with the high elevation.

“When does the ship arrive?” I asked her.

“Around noon. You can go watch, if you like. It’s not a sight you can see every day, after all.”

“I think I’ll do that.”

“And...I’m sorry about my husband last night,” the proprietress added.

“I’m just glad we cleared up the misunderstanding. And he made us that amazing feast, after all.”

The proprietress just smiled uncomfortably.

The others woke up a little later. Over breakfast, I told them what the proprietress had said, and we left the inn together.

Our first destination was the merchants’ guild.

We’d initially asked where to find the city’s slave quarter and had been told that there was none here—more accurately, there were no slave traders in all of Lufre.

That didn’t mean there were no slaves here, though. The Dragonlands took in slaves from other realms as refugees and freed them. The ones they accepted were those who’d been pushed into slavery under unreasonable terms, including war slaves and some debt slaves. Crime slaves and those with no hope of rehabilitation were generally not protected.

We’d asked where the refugee slaves ended up, and we’d been told that they typically went to the capital city, Altair. Then, after spending a few years there, they’d either return to their homelands or choose to remain in Lufre. This meant that the country housed many former slaves who had undergone brutal treatment, and tempers ran high on the issue.

This was why we’d had a fight with the innkeeper the day before—he’d seen Hikari’s slave collar.

“We don’t rent rooms to slave owners, kid. Get lost!”

I’d known that people weren’t fond of slave owners here, but I hadn’t expected that kind of outright rejection. I tried to explain the situation, but the innkeeper wasn’t having it. When the proprietress heard the hubbub and came running, I explained that I was a merchant who’d found Hikari as the last survivor of a village destroyed by monsters and that she’d wanted to keep traveling with me, so I’d had to make her a special slave. That was the backstory I’d given her when I’d first created the special slave contract, anyway.

Thankfully, this explanation resolved the misunderstanding.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” the innkeeper apologized, saying that he’d only seen the collar and hadn’t realized she was a special slave.

“So to find slaves, we’d have to go to Altair?” I asked the female attendant at the merchants’ guild.

“Well, that might be difficult. You’d need a permit from the lord to travel to Altair, and the current lord is somewhat...strict with foreigners,” she replied apologetically.

The rest of us shared a glance. We ended up giving her Eris’s information and asking if she’d inquire with the Altair merchants’ guild about her.

“I haven’t heard anything about any elves there,” the attendant responded when she heard what we had to say. “Even if your friend is there, I can’t guarantee that they’ll reply. Do you still want to try?” she asked us.

After that, we headed to the harbor. Our main reason for going there was to see the ship, but because a lot of workers would be coming to help with the cargo today, we were told there’d be a lot of stalls there as well.

“Master, think there’s anything good?” Hikari asked, extremely excited about the prospect of stalls. Ciel seemed to feel the same way, and Mia smiled as she watched them.

As we neared the harbor, things suddenly got a lot more lively. There were men running busily around, and others—perhaps those who had finished their work for the moment—leisurely enjoying food at the stalls.

As we approached, the stall owners who must not have had many visitors yet started hawking their wares to us.

You don’t need to make a hard sell. We’re going to get around to all of you! I thought as we began making the rounds of the stalls.

Most of them gave out free samples, and we ended up buying from the ones that got the group’s seal of approval. At first, everything we bought triggered a cry of distress from the nearby stall owners—they probably thought that any purchase we made reduced our chance of making it to their stalls. On top of that, the first stall was selling muton meat, and it was so delicious that we bought extra portions.

Fortunately, we had a lot more buying left to do. As we kept going around to more and more stalls, the sight of us buying more food than we could ever possibly eat must have reassured the other stall owners that we’d get to them eventually. They stopped hawking their wares and just waited for us to arrive instead.

That said, we didn’t necessarily buy food from every stall. We had a very strict judge making the call: If Hikari didn’t approve, we would convey our regrets and move on to the next. The stall owners seemed to catch on to this, and they began to watch her expressions with bated breath. Hikari would take a bite, and if she remained expressionless they would sink in despair. If she smiled—meaning that she liked it—they would rejoice.

The novelty of the sight even began to attract the attention of some of the dock workers, but Hikari ignored them as she went on her way from stall to stall.

Suddenly, Hikari stopped. She’d spied an array of skewers at a stall, but they weren’t like the usual meat skewers.

“What is this?” she asked the stall owner.

“You haven’t seen it before, dear? First time in Lufre?”

Hikari nodded.

“That explains it. This is...”

“Fish...right?” I gasped.

“Yes, fish! You know about it, son?”

“Yes...”

They were definitely grilled fish skewers. I bought one, tried it, and found that it was grilled and seasoned with simple salt. If you asked me if it was delicious, I’d be forced to admit that I’d had better in this world. And yet, the nostalgic flavor had me looking up at the sky, on the verge of tears.

When she saw this, Hikari assumed it meant that the fish was a true delicacy, so when she took a bite she seemed disappointed. “It’s not good...but...not bad?”

The merchant slumped over, assuming this meant we wouldn’t buy any more. But when I bought a huge amount, he was over the moon.

It seemed seafood was quite rare in general; Rurika and Chris said that they’d only seen it in the Las Beastland, and this was their first time having some.

After visiting all the stalls, we climbed to the top of the tower one of the sellers had recommended when we’d asked about the best place to watch the ship come in. It wasn’t just about the ship either—it was also a great place to get a look at Aerial City Altair.

We reached the top floor of the tower and looked down at Altair at the center of the lake. I’d heard that seeing was believing, and that truly was the case here.

“It’s beautiful. It really does look like it’s flying,” Mia whispered.

Chris nodded in agreement, looking enraptured. Ciel, who usually cared about nothing except food, gazed on in awe as well.

“That tree is amazing too. It’s so big, it looks like it’s covering the whole city.”

Rurika was right. The only part of the city we could see, besides the great wall that surrounded it, was a giant tree that grew even higher than the walls. Its branches spread over the whole place, almost like an umbrella.

We gazed at the sight for a while until we saw the distant wall begin to open, and a large ship set out from the newly opened path. The ship slowly came our way. It had no sail, and I couldn’t see any oars either. I watched it eventually pull into Marte harbor, wondering all the while how it moved.

Once the ship had docked, they extended the gangplank and started hauling out the cargo. I’d heard that there was so much on board that it would take two whole days to unload it all.

“Master, I’m hungry.” Hikari tugged at my sleeve and rubbed her stomach, seemingly serious about her plea. I’d thought she’d eaten a lot when we were testing the stall food, but apparently even that hadn’t been enough to fill her up.

It wasn’t noon yet, but we would be going to the adventurers’ guild in the afternoon, so we decided to go ahead and have lunch.

“Hikari’s recommendations are always so good.”

“Yeah, she knows her stuff.”

“She sure does.”

Hikari seemed delighted by the girls’ praise.

“Can we really eat this?” By contrast, Mia was handling the fish skewer I’d recommended very delicately before she eventually brought it to her mouth. The verdict? It wasn’t terrible, she said.

Apparently after so much high-quality monster meat, the simple pleasures of salted fish couldn’t compare.

After finishing our meal, we rested a while and then stopped by the adventurers’ guild, which turned out to be empty. Maybe because it’s lunchtime? I thought.

Rurika, Chris, and Sera went up to reception and checked in while the rest of us looked at the quests on the wall. There were very few there at all.

“Not many quests.”

“Seriously. And it’s unusual to see no monster hunts whatsoever.”

Indeed, there wasn’t a single monster hunt quest on the board. The only things up there were herb gathering, escort quests...and a quest for hunting bandits. The latter quest looked like the only new one.

“Oh, Rurika. How did it go?” I asked when she returned.

“No more info than what we got at the merchants’ guild. Oh, except...”

“Except?”

“The quest you were looking at, the bandit hunt, was put up by the local lord.”

I looked back at the bandit hunt quest form. The client’s name was listed as “Thadd.” Is that the lord’s name, then?

Rurika explained that they’d been attacking merchants more often lately. “It doesn’t seem like anyone has died, but there have been a lot of injuries. And more people have been getting hurt in the most recent attacks.”

The lord, believing the attacks were getting worse, had sent the knights to deal with it, but they’d had trouble even finding the bandits.

“Most of the merchants who got hit were in caravans heading from Marte to Lakootica, Clowa, or Folk.”

Lakootica was the mountain city on the border with Frieren, and it was the main hub for people coming to Lufre from abroad. Clowa was located on the west side of the lake, while Folk was to the east. Chris made it sound like the bandits were active over quite a wide area, but the caravans were only attacked when they were heading out from Marte, not the other way around.

Are they after goods being sent from Marte, then?

The route that had been hit the most often was the one from Marte to the mountain city of Lakootica. If it was merchants getting hit, their guild might have more info on the bandits.

“I know we were just there, but could we stop by the merchants’ guild again?” I asked. “I want to find out more about the bandits.”

“Sora, you’re sure you’re not pushing yourself too hard?” Rurika asked worriedly. “I’m sure the knights and the local adventurers can handle the bandits.”

Fighting bandits—or rather, other humans—was not exactly my favorite thing. I particularly wanted to avoid fights where it was kill or be killed.

I thought back on the fight with the man in black. I’d frozen as soon as I’d realized I was going to hurt a person, and the result was that I’d put Chris at risk.

“Don’t worry. I’m not planning on fighting the bandits ourselves or anything,” I told her. I meant it too—the main reason I wanted to ask about them was to figure out patterns in the conditions of the caravan attacks and make it less likely that we’d get jumped ourselves. If the bandits were after their cargo, then people like us, who didn’t carry much, would probably be spared.

“I see. There’s no guarantee the bandit problem will be resolved before we leave here, after all.” Rurika accepted my explanation.

“Oh, you were here earlier,” said the surprised attendant we’d talked to before as we returned to the merchants’ guild.

I guess not many people stop by multiple times a day, huh? I didn’t use the guilds much, though, so I couldn’t be sure. “I heard about the bandits. I was hoping you could tell me more about them,” I told her.

The attendant nodded in understanding. “I see. The attacks started about a month ago, I think? At least that’s when we started getting reports about the damages.” Then she launched into the rest of the explanation. “The main thing that the targeted people have in common,” she concluded, “is that they were traveling from Marte to another city. Most of what was stolen was food and medicine, including potions. Precious metals and gold were barely touched.”

It seemed weapons had also been stolen—not merchandise, but the equipment used by their adventurer escorts.

“What are they after?” I asked. It was the obvious question after hearing all that.

“We’re honestly not sure. The members of the caravans seem to have trouble recounting exactly what happened. They can’t recall what the bandits look like either.” It was as if their memories of the attack were under a fog, she explained. That made it hard to tell how many bandits there were or to get an idea of their scale.

“Is there anything else you can tell me?” I asked.

“Let me see... All those attacked were traveling in wagons. Nobody’s been attacked on foot, for some reason. Perhaps they assumed that anyone traveling on foot couldn’t be carrying anything worthwhile.”

But if you didn’t have much cargo, you could still be using a bag of holding. In fact, you would expect that to be the case for a merchant without a large cargo haul; that was why I always carried a dummy bag on the road.

“Then...” she continued. “Oh, yes. In case you do happen to get attacked by bandits, don’t resist. It’s said that as long as you do as you’re told, you won’t get hurt.”

“At the adventurers’ guild, they mentioned some people were getting injured lately.”

“Ah, those were adventurers who resisted. It seems they were quite skilled, so they tried fighting back, but they lost easily.” Some of the adventurers were Rank C veterans, she explained.

After that, I tried to think if I had any further business at the merchants’ guild, and I thought of two things.

“I’d like to buy some moontree fruit. Where might I go to do that?” I asked. Moontree fruit was only produced in Lufre, and it increased the effectiveness of healing potions made with alchemy.

“Moontree fruit? I’m sorry, but that’s highly in demand, so there’s a waiting list. Very few are exported to begin with, and the bandit attacks have sent the price up even further. Not to mention that the alchemists’ guild wants the moontree fruit as much as our guild does...” The fact that it was still selling out despite the price increase showed just how valued it was.

I cast a glance at Ciel and saw her face sink in despair.

“I’d also like to sell some liquor if I could...”

“L-Liquor?!” the attendant echoed. As she did, she leaned forward so intensely that I was shocked.

“Y-Yes, liquor,” I stammered.

“Ahem. What sort of liquor might this be?”

I realized my mistake, but it was too late to take it back. Was this lady an alcohol aficionado on par with Syphon, perhaps? “It’s Evan liquor,” I told her. I listed what I had in my Item Box and thought I saw the worker’s eyes shimmer for a moment.

“Evan liquor? Did you cross over the mountains...and pass through Lactear?”

I nodded.

“Do you have that Lactearian liquor... Drop of Muton?” she asked.

I’d taken that partly to give to Syphon later, so I assumed I’d made the right call there. While I was thinking about that...

“D-Do you?” she pushed me, her voice growing louder this time. The force of her initial inquiry had made me avert my eyes, and from that she must have intuited that I did indeed have some in stock.

Just then, another employee who seemed to have overheard this rushed up to us and dragged the first attendant away.

“Sorry. She always gets a little enthusiastic about wine,” said the local guild master abashedly. “Now, regarding your question—I’ll buy the Evan wine as well as the Drop of Muton if you’ll sell. What do you think?”

Apparently there was almost no trade of Drop of Muton, as it rarely left Lactear except to be taken to Altair as tribute to the Dragon God. The mayor there mentioned visiting Altair in the past. Was that to offer the tribute, then?

“The lord here is an unrepentant wine lover, and he often inquires about it,” the guild master added. It seemed the merchants’ guild had tried trading with Lactear but had always been rejected.

After some thought, I decided to sell a few kegs of the Evan wine, but I was surprised to learn that the people of Lactear had let me have wine they didn’t usually trade.

After we left the merchants’ guild, we stopped by various shops to check out their wares. Obviously I was sure to buy some Dragonland liquor here. They had booze from other lands available, too, but these were far more expensive.

In the end, I was able to buy over twice as much Lufrean wine as the wine which I’d sold, which showed just how prized foreign alcohol was anywhere you went.

After dinner, I returned to the room and got into bed.

We’d been talking over what we planned to do next, but until we could get to Altair, the only option was to wait for a response from the merchants’ guild.

“What about trading some Drop of Muton to the lord?” That idea had been proposed, but it had seemed unrealistic enough that we’d dropped it immediately. Even if the lord loved alcohol, he surely wouldn’t grant passage to Altair that cheaply.

We’d also talked to the people staying at the inn, and they’d told us that even among those who lived in Marte, only a few had ever been to Altair.

We considered getting a private boat to Altair, but we quickly learned that wasn’t possible. You could get reasonably close on the water, but we were told that you’d be prevented from advancing past a certain point. If you tried to force your way in anyway, you’d receive divine punishment. The only way to get to Altair was with the official ships.

Could we sneak on to the official ships, then? We’d considered that too, but from what I’d seen of the unloading work today, there were no openings for that. There were people specifically charged with running security.

The most realistic option, then, would be to deal with the bandits and claim this as our reward, but...

Deciding I wouldn’t get anywhere thinking it over by myself, I decided to check my stats one more time and then go to sleep.

Name: Fujimiya Sora / Job: Sorcerer / Race: Otherworlder / Level: None

HP: 570/570 / MP: 570/570 (+200) / SP: 570/570

Strength: 560 (+0) / Stamina: 560 (+0) / Speed: 560 (+0)

Magic: 560 (+200) / Dexterity: 560 (+0) / Luck: 560 (+0)

Skill: Walking Lv. 56

Effect: Never get tired from walking (earn 1 XP for every step)

XP Counter: 89,017/1,360,000

Skill Points: 2

Learned Skills

[Appraisal Lv. MAX] [Prevent Appraisal Lv. 5] [Enhance Physique Lv. MAX] [Regulate Mana Lv. MAX] [Lifestyle Spells Lv. MAX] [Detect Presence Lv. MAX] [Sword Arts Lv. MAX] [Dimension Spells Lv. MAX] [Parallel Thinking Lv. MAX] [Boost Recovery Lv. MAX] [Hide Presence Lv. MAX] [Alchemy Lv. MAX] [Cooking Lv. MAX] [Throwing/Shooting Lv. 9] [Fire Spells Lv. MAX] [Water Spells Lv. MAX] [Telepathy Lv. MAX] [Night Vision Lv. MAX] [Sword Tech Lv. 9] [Resist Status Effects Lv. 8] [Earth Spells Lv. MAX] [Wind Spells Lv. MAX] [Disguise Lv. 9] [Engineering/Construction Lv. MAX] [Shield Arts Lv. 9] [Provoke Lv. MAX] [Traps Lv. 8] [Mountaineering Lv. 7] [Shield Tech Lv. 5] [Attunement Lv. 3] [Conversion Lv. 2] [Reduce MP Consumption Lv. 3]

Advanced Skills

[Appraise Person Lv. MAX] [Detect Mana Lv. MAX] [Enchant Lv. MAX] [Creation Lv. 9] [Mana Enchant Lv. 6] [Conceal Lv. 6] [Light Spells Lv. 4]

Contract Skills

[Holy Spells Lv. 6]

Scroll Skills

[Teleport Lv. 4]

Title

[Spirit Contractor]

My Walking skill level had gone up thanks to all the climbing, but I still needed one more level before I could learn Time Spells.

As for my learned skills, I’d maxed out Telepathy and Engineering/Construction. I’d gotten a big boost to Mountaineering as well.

After confirming all that, I dismissed my stat screen and went to sleep.

◇◇◇

A day had passed since the ship had returned to Altair. The stalls that had set up shop briefly at the harbor returned to the central plaza, and what seemed to be normal life in Marte returned.

At least, it should have.

“How were things at the guild?” I asked Chris as she came back.

“It was packed with merchants,” she answered.

Yes, they’d loaded up the cargo they’d gotten and were on the verge of heading out, but with the threat of the bandits still going on, they couldn’t risk the journey just yet. That meant the adventurers’ guild was overrun with merchants posting escort quests and asking how the bandit hunt was going.

“Even experienced adventurers couldn’t handle it, so they’re all too scared.”

The bandits would reportedly spare your life if you didn’t resist, but there was no telling how long that would remain the case. As for the adventurers, the moment the cargo was stolen, they’d be considered as having failed their escort quest. Apparently, that meant nobody wanted to take on the quests.

“The rewards have doubled since the last time we looked,” Sera said, and Rurika and Chris nodded in agreement.

“The size of the bandit group is still unknown, too, which makes it hard to gauge the threat.”

I’d actually done a little looking into these bandits myself—specifically, I’d used my automap to investigate their outposts and numbers. Unfortunately, I’d learned nothing. Though I could channel mana into my automap to expand the view, it had its limits, and there was nothing within the range that I could see.

This meant the bandits’ base was either deep in the mountains or closer to either Clowa or Folk.

“What do we do, master?”

“For now, let’s just get something to eat,” I said, and Hikari and Ciel immediately rushed for the stalls.

Rurika and the others, who had been scowling in deep concentration, suddenly smiled when they saw that.

“Heh, Hikari never changes,” Mia said.

“Yes, and Ciel’s just as cute as ever.” Rurika didn’t miss a chance to praise her.

I wasn’t sure if she’d heard her, but Ciel looked back for a moment. Her appetite won over in the end, though, and she chased after Hikari.

It’s fine to follow her, Ciel, but remember not to eat out in public! I thought.

“Hey there, kids. You shopping again today?” said the man at the first stall we stopped at.

“Just for today’s meal,” I answered. I wasn’t going to buy out everyone every single day.

We bought some sandwiches from the disappointed shopkeeper.

But just as he handed them over, I heard a shout from the next stall over. “You don’t have any money?!”

I looked over and saw two children about Hikari’s size standing there. They were both dressed in a kind of outfit I’d never seen in this world—what would be called “Chinese style” in my old one. A boy with light blue hair was arguing with the shopkeeper while a pink-haired girl watched on in exhaustion.

“But you gave it to me!” the boy protested.

“No, I didn’t!” the shopkeeper shouted.

“Liar! I said ‘I’ll take this,’ and you handed it over!” The child seemed genuinely confused about the situation.

The purpling shopkeeper was about to shout back when Mia stepped in.

“Excuse me. How much will it be?” she asked.

“Oh, Mia. Well, it’s...” The shopkeeper looked between Mia and the boy, then finally gave up and accepted the money from her.

Interesting that he remembered Mia’s name, I thought flatly while we walked away from the stalls.

“You have my most enthusiastic thanks for saving my foolish older brother.”

Once we got a certain distance away, the pink-haired little girl thanked us. I was impressed by how well-spoken she was. Beside her, the boy with light blue hair was sulking.

Both children had purple eyes and some other quality that seemed different from other people I’d met here so far. They also looked very similar. Siblings? I wondered.

“O-Oh, please. I didn’t even do anything wrong,” the boy protested.

“Elder brother, at shops, you need to pay people to buy things. Didn’t you know that?” the girl scolded him with a world-weary air.

“They usually just give it to us, don’t they? And you ate some without paying, Sahanna.”

The boy was right. The girl—apparently named Sahanna—had a meat skewer in her hand.

“The shopkeeper gave this to me. And he didn’t actually yell at me, did he?”

“That shopkeeper is nice,” Hikari agreed, munching down on her sandwich.

That’s right. That particular shopkeeper is particularly nice to girls, especially children.

“Wh-What the heck? That’s not fair!” the boy protested.

I know how you feel, kid, but that’s just how the world works.

Sahanna sighed. “Anyway, I wish you’d learn some common sense, elder brother. I’m telling Elder Sister Euini about this when we get back. And I’m carrying the money too.”

The apparent threat seemed to send the boy into a panic. Maybe their older sister was a scary person?

“Now, enough about this. Let’s have proper introductions. My name is Sahanna. This is my foolish older brother, Sark.” Sahanna turned away from Sark, who had tears in his eyes, as she gave her name.

We introduced ourselves as well.

“I see. You’re traveling the world searching for someone, then?” Sahanna inquired. We’d moved away from the plaza as more people arrived and come to the now-quiet harbor area.

We’d arranged to have lunch in the tower that overlooked Altair. The two kids hadn’t seen the view yet, and they spent a good amount of time enraptured. But that ended when Sark’s stomach rumbled, so we got down to eating.

They must have been hungry, because they ate a lot.

Ciel watched them enviously. Sorry, I told her telepathically, and she just nodded listlessly.

Just then, I felt someone watching me. It was Sahanna. I was about to ask her what was up, but Mia addressed the two of them first.

“Do you two live in Marte?” she asked.

“No, we came from a different city,” Sahanna interrupted just as Sark was opening his mouth to speak.

Yeah, probably better not to talk with your mouth full, I thought.

“So what did you come here to do?”

“Vanquish evil!” Sark shouted, having swallowed his food.

“You’re so loud, elder brother. Can’t you say it any quieter?” Sahanna scolded him.

Sark fell silent but just looked at her pleadingly.

From talking to them, I learned that they were twins, with the kind of dynamic where the younger sister held the reins of the overactive older brother. It seemed Sark was the only person Sahanna was so hard on; she was always very polite with everyone else—at first she even called us “sir” and “ma’am,” but thankfully she’d stopped that. Being addressed so formally gave me an itchy feeling on my back.

Unfortunately, that was all I learned about them. Sark had seemed to be on the verge of letting something slip a few times, but Sahanna always interrupted skillfully.

“What do you mean by ‘vanquish evil’?” I asked.

“What, you don’t even know that?” Sark snorted at me haughtily. This earned him another glare from Sahanna—he really never learned his lesson—which was enough to immediately leave him cowed. “I-It means beating the bandits. That’s all,” he amended timidly.

“Beating the bandits? How are you going to do that?” Rurika asked with genuine curiosity.

Sark didn’t respond right away. It looked like they didn’t have a concrete plan. “Y-You can get info at the adventurers’ guild, right?” he asked at last, looking at Sahanna as if begging for a lifeline.

“That’s correct,” Sahanna said.

“Then let’s go to the guild!” Sark leaped to his feet and began to march off on his own...but then marched right back. “B-By the way, where is it?” he asked sheepishly.

“So this is the adventurers’ guild!” Sark said, striding in. We followed behind him.

The guild was overflowing with merchants today, with the adventurers sitting in a corner of the room and looking abashed.

“How can I help you today?” the receptionist asked him.

Sark showed no sense of embarrassment, even though all eyes were on him. “I want info on the bandits!” he proclaimed. “I’m gonna go beat them myself!”

Immediately, the previously bustling guild fell silent. A moment later, everyone began to laugh—not just the merchants, but the adventurers too.

“Wh-What’s so funny?!”

“This ain’t some playground, kid. Go home and do chores for your mommy,” one adventurer jeered.

Mocking agreement rang out from the adventurers around him. Some of the merchants were holding back laughter as well.

Sark shot an icy glare at the adventurer who’d made the comment. “So what are you doing, huh? There’s a bandit hunt quest up there, and it looks like everyone wants you to take it.”

The merchants seemed to think twice about Sark as he made this comment. Meanwhile, the adventurers had been struck dumb, with many of them looking away to avoid meeting his eyes.

“So, any info on the bandits?” Sark asked again.

“I’m sorry, but do you have a guild card?” the receptionist asked.

Sark didn’t seem to have an answer for this and just stood there, stammering.

Ah, then he’s not registered as an adventurer. He was around Hikari’s age, so he probably wasn’t old enough.

“So you’re just a brat who came here to talk trash, huh?” The adventurers, seeing Sark’s response, started up at him again.

Sark began barking insults back at them, and it quickly became a full-fledged war of words. Eventually, this escalated into a challenge to a proper duel.

“We’ll show you what adventurers are made of, brat!” the lead adventurer said.

I had to wonder why it had come to this, but Sark’s continuous stream of low-level provocations about them being weak or spineless must have driven them beyond what they could endure.

The receptionist seemed unable to stop them as the adventurers led Sark to the mock duel arena. The merchants followed them, seemingly curious.

“Shouldn’t we try to stop them?” I asked Sahanna after the others left for the back. It had all happened so fast that I’d barely been able to keep up.

“Heh, we’ll see.” She smiled. “Of course if my brother loses, I’ll tear him a—er, attempt to comfort him.”

You were about to say “tear him a new one,” weren’t you?

“Sora, we should go with them. If he gets hurt, we’ll need to heal him.” Mia seemed worried about Sark and followed the others, dragging me along.

As we arrived in the arena, both sides were already holding weapons and ready for the fight. Sark’s opponent was quite tall, but his gaze remained level, steady, and unfazed as he looked up at him.

“Wow, I didn’t know he could look so calm,” Rurika said in surprise.

“He’s not scared at all. He looks really natural and strong to me,” Sera added, impressed.

Just then, the signal to begin sounded out...and the match was over just as quickly.

The moment it began, Sark had leaped at the adventurer, who’d slashed down at him with all his might in return. Sark had deflected the strike with his practice sword, sending the adventurer tipping back. Having lost his balance entirely, he’d been defeated by a single blow from Sark.

The big man lay before him now, writhing and clutching his stomach. Sark had happened to strike him in his unarmored portion—only he knew if it had been a lucky hit or a deliberate one.

“Hah. That’s the best you could do after all that barking? Who’s up next to teach me what ‘real adventurers’ are made of?”

The adventurers who fell for Sark’s provocation lined up one after the other to avenge their fallen comrade, but the result was the same every time. They fought, they were defeated, and then they were retrieved by their comrades, over and over again.

Watching the battle, I got curious and used Appraisal.

[Name: Sark / Job: — / Level: 38 / Race: Dragonfolk / Status: Ecstatic]

“Dragonfolk?” I whispered. As I did, I felt like someone had turned to look at me. Just my imagination? I wondered.

I looked back and appraised Sark’s next opponent. He was more than ten levels weaker.

I watched the battle more carefully this time and noticed how the adventurer grimaced when his practice sword collided with Sark’s. He must have felt the intensity of the blows in his hands.

Sark ended up dominating all comers, and the adventurers hauled their companions off with them.

Wasn’t Mia going to heal them, you ask? She claimed she had no holy magic to spare for grown men who ganged up on a small child. She seemed quite angry with them.

The merchants watching the fight showered Sark with praise.

Sark was overjoyed by the reception and let out a boyish laugh. “Heh, see? I’m strong, right?”

After the merchants left, Sark walked up to us, and when our eyes met he puffed out his chest and looked at me smugly.

Looking him over again, I realized what about him had struck me as different when I’d first met him. He had slitted, reptilian pupils. Is that a characteristic of a “dragonfolk”? Sahanna had the same kind of pupils, so it seemed likely.

But someone came in to pour cold water on the festivities. It was Hikari.

“Can’t brag too much about beating weaklings,” she told him. “Master’s stronger.”

“I’ve been wondering since lunchtime. What’s your relationship to that guy?” Sark asked back.

Hikari seemed confused. “Master’s master. No more, no less.” She didn’t quite seem to understand what he was even asking, but she loosened and removed the scarf around her neck.

“That’s...a slave collar!” Sark shouted when he saw it, suddenly enraged. “You enslaved Hikari, you bastard?!”

“Shut up. I don’t mind it,” Hikari said.

“You’re even making her say that? I was a fool to think you were a good person. Fight me!” Sark advanced on me angrily.

Mia looked around, not sure what to do. Rurika, Sera, and Chris just watched Sark warily.

While I was trying to figure out how to respond, Hikari stepped in to defend me. “Master doesn’t need to fight. I’ll fight.”

Sark was about to respond, but...

“Shut up,” Hikari interrupted. “If you wanna fight master, beat me first.”

“Hikari, it’s fine. I can fight my own battles.” I’d honestly been hesitant to fight a small boy, but I was the one he’d challenged, after all.

“No. Master’s nice. You’d go easy on him. I’ll show him the truth,” Hikari said. She picked up a couple of practice swords, gave them a test swing, and then moved to stand in front of Sark.

“Just to warn you, I don’t show mercy when I fight,” Sark told her.

“Don’t need any.”

The two fought, and Hikari beat Sark so easily it felt hard to believe he’d been so dominant just minutes ago.

The reason for Hikari’s victory was her speed. She lithely dodged each of his slashes, never trading blows once but just waiting for him to try a powerful slash before she slipped in past it and delivered a blow to his side.

It looked like a solid strike to me, but he didn’t seem hurt by it at all, so maybe he was just very resilient.

Having lost the duel, Sark just stood there, mouth agape. He clearly couldn’t believe what had happened.

“And master’s stronger,” Hikari said, as if to deliver the finishing blow.

That was what she claimed, but the only time I’d fought Hikari seriously was the first time we’d met, so it was hard to say if that was really still true. She had been fighting a lot of mock duels with Rurika and Sera, so she probably had a lot more experience than me at this point.

Hearing that, Sark stumbled toward Hikari, bowed to her, then stood up forcefully and proclaimed...

“I’m in love! Will you marry me?!”

A moment later, he slumped to the floor, unconscious.

“Ah, please forgive my foolish elder brother.” The one who’d actually knocked him out, Sahanna, bowed deeply and apologized to Hikari.

◇ Sahanna’s Perspective 1

“Huh? Where am I?”

“The inn where Sora’s party is staying.”

My elder brother had finally awakened. I had been worried that perhaps I’d hit him too hard, but right now he seemed to be doing as well as one might expect.

“I thought we were at the adventurers’ guild,” he mumbled.

“You don’t remember your pathetic showing in your fight against Hikari?” It was actually I who had dealt the finishing blow, but it would be better if he didn’t remember that.

My use of the word “pathetic” caused him to twitch uncomfortably. “D-Did I do that?”

Elder brother, your voice is cracking... I thought listlessly, but I responded, “Yes, you were utterly helpless against her. You ended up crying yourself into exhaustion, then you slept until just now.”

“I-I don’t remember crying...”

Yes, perhaps I’d pushed the lie too far. Even he could tell that I was being less than honest. “In any case, you should thank Sora the next time you see him. He’s the one who carried you here while you were unconscious.”

He looked less than happy about the idea, but I would make sure that he did it. “Well then, elder brother...” I began.

“What?”

Why did you brace yourself like that? I thought, slightly offended. Then I asked, “Do you truly wish to vanquish the bandits?”

“Of course I do.”

I did appreciate his straightforwardness in matters like this, though I wished he would temper it with more consideration. “Well, I don’t believe you can handle it all by yourself, even with my help.”

“So, what, you want us to get help from those cowardly adventurers?”

I shook my head. The adventurers would surely just get in our way. “We’ll ask Sora and his friends.”

“Hikari was strong...I think, yeah...” he started, thoughtfully.

He still won’t admit that she beat him? Or perhaps I hit him a bit too hard and gave him amnesia?

“But what if the others aren’t as strong?” he concluded.

“That is unlikely. I stayed a while after and watched their party engage in mock duels. Quite frankly, they would tear you to pieces. No doubt in my mind.”

My words seemed quite painful to him, but they were true, and it was part of my job to tell him the honest truth.

Mia and Chris were mages, so they weren’t especially skilled in close-quarters fighting, but they still moved well. Sora, too, called himself a merchant, but he seemed like he would prove more than a match for my brother. Hikari, Rurika, and Sera were excellent fighters who would give the royal guard a run for their money. I felt like Sera was the best of them all.

I’d also heard Sora whisper the word “dragonfolk” at one point, which meant he was likely capable of using the Appraisal skill. This was my first time meeting anyone besides my father who had it, so it was quite a surprise.

“How do we convince them to come along, though?” he asked. “If they cared about beating the bandits, wouldn’t they have taken the quest for themselves already?”

That was true enough, but then, they had only just recently arrived in Marte. If Sora could use Appraisal, he was surely aware of the local adventurers’ baseline level, wasn’t he? Anyone with common sense would be hesitant to face the bandits without knowing their scale. They had already driven back high-rank adventurers, after all.

There was just one carrot to dangle before them, then—permission to enter Altair. It felt a bit underhanded to do things that way, though.

From listening to them talk, they—specifically Rurika and her friends—were here searching for the childhood friend they’d lost touch with during the war between Vossheil and Eld. They’d said they were traveling the world to find them, and they had likely come to this kingdom for that purpose.

This meant that Altair, the gathering point for all former slaves in Lufre, would be their next stop. I felt like I had heard of refugees from the Vossheil-Eld war coming to Altair as well.

“I think I know what to do. And...we will borrow some knights from the local lord as well.”

Hearing that, my brother made a face. Sark was surely thinking that if we met with the lord, he’d report to our sister, Euini, that we’d left Altair without permission, and he would receive a scolding from her when we returned. Unfortunately, I was fairly sure our departure from Altair was already known, so there was no point in worrying about it now.

If anything, it was more surprising that he thought it wasn’t.

“B-But...”

“You wish to defeat the bandits, don’t you?” I asked with a smile.

His enthusiastic nod drew a chuckle out of me. He really is quite amusing sometimes.

So, I told him, it was time to prepare. I made sure to inform him that Hikari was a special slave as well.

“A special slave? What’s that?” he asked.

I could have smacked him, but I managed to keep my cool. It would be better to report his dearth of knowledge to Euini and have her scold him in my place.

After that, I made my requests with Marte’s lord and the adventurers’ guild master, and we managed to get Sora and the others to take the bandit hunting quest. The lord seemed worried about us, but we must have convinced him to let us try, because he never actually attempted to stop us.

Sora and his party seemed confused by our request, but the guild master had seen them stomp on—er, defeat my brother, who had easily beaten his adventurers, and he had seen the way they’d moved in their mock duels in the arena afterward. He convinced them to accept it, though the tearful begging of the merchants and the lord’s offer of an incredible reward also seemed to play a role in their decision.

The incredible reward, of course, was permission to enter Altair.

We would also be accompanied by skilled knights disguised as adventurers. This would be kept top secret, of course. When the Marte Knights had first gone to hunt the bandits, the bandits had refused to show themselves, which suggested the possibility of a mole.

Still...I’d known they were strong, but I was surprised to see that the three members of their group were registered as Rank C adventurers.

◇◇◇

“My name’s Richard. I’m an adventurer who took the quest too. Mind if I see what you can do?”

The adventurer named Richard—he appeared to actually be a member of the Marte Knights—met up with us at the guild and quickly invited us to have some mock duels with him. The reason he was calling himself an adventurer was apparently to hide the fact that he was a knight.

“All right. I’ll take you on!” Sark was the one who replied, which surprised him.

There appeared to be five participants from the knights, and we held mock duels with each in turn. Mia, Chris, and Sahanna joined in as well.

It was certainly important to test the skills of the people you’d be traveling with, and perhaps Richard wouldn’t allow us to go if we couldn’t hit a certain baseline. He seemed particularly concerned about Sark, Sahanna, and Hikari at first.

In the end, all the knights except Richard lost helplessly to the three of them.

Richard seemed aghast about their poor showing. “What were you idiots doing out there?!” he shouted.

“C-Captain, whaddya want from us? We trained to fight with shields...” one replied.

“No excuses. And Sett, watch your enunciation. I’m always telling you to fix it!”

The other knights laughed as they watched their interaction.

“This is no laughing matter. Do I have to beat a little spine into you people myself?!” Richard barked at them.

The knights immediately stopped laughing and gulped.

While watching their mock duels, which seemed a little overly intense to me, I thought back on the fights with Sark and Sahanna. Sark fought with a sword and Sahanna with a polearm. They both seemed physically stronger than people of roughly the same level, and Sark in particular relied on his strength a lot. Meanwhile, Sahanna prioritized speed, and she’d said that she could cast spells too.

Sark was confident in his power and had looked genuinely shocked when I’d blocked his blow head-on. I’d taken advantage of his moment of surprise to take him out with a blow of my own. He’d cried that it wasn’t fair, but even in a mock duel, it was unwise to stop moving.

Still, he really was strong, and the only people besides me who’d managed to fully tank his blows were Sera and Richard. Fighting him had made me think he had stronger baseline abilities than a normal human, just like Sera did. I couldn’t shake my ideas that dragons had to be the strongest species too.

“You’re very strong, but your movements are too straightforward.”

“Yeah. Easy to read.”

I looked over and saw Rurika and Hikari giving Sark pointers.

“Heh, by all means, give it to him.” Sahanna, standing nearby, looked very pleased to see them ripping him to shreds. Meanwhile, Sark seemed to be on the verge of tears again.

“I’d say Sahanna’s the better fighter in practice,” Sera threw in. “She has a smarter approach.”

“Th-Thank you.” Being suddenly on the receiving end of praise had Sahanna looking hesitant at first, but then she smiled.

“I’m so sorry. I’m afraid we’re going to hold you back at this rate,” Richard said at one point.

“It must be hard to fight in a style you’re not familiar with,” I reassured him. “But why can’t they use shields? There are adventurers who use shields, even if it’s less common.”

“The shields we use are specially made and tend to stand out.” Carrying them would make it obvious that they were knights, he explained, so they’d opted not to use them.

“Why not just store them in a bag of holding while we’re on the move, then?” I asked. If they did that, they could just pull them out when it was time to fight.

Richard responded that it was impossible to get a bag of holding with space for more than one shield.

Are bags of holding rare in this kingdom? I wondered. I offered to carry them instead, and he took me up on the offer.

“But shields aside, I don’t think your men stand a chance right now,” Rurika said as she approached, having overheard our conversation.

Richard looked over at her. “What do you mean?”

“You usually wear armor, right? So when a light hit comes at you, you’re ready to tank it with your body. With armor you could tank the hit, but it’s dangerous to fight like that with what you’re wearing now.”

Richard nodded in response to her observation and asked if she’d noticed anything else.

Once the mock duels had wound down, we held a meeting to discuss quest strategy in a private room inside the guild. Our real objective was to take out the bandits, but we were conducting it like an escort quest.

The route we’d be taking was from Marte to Clowa. I’d assumed we’d be heading to Mountain City Lakootica, where more attacks had taken place than anywhere else, but apparently not. I assumed there was a reason for this decision, though, so I didn’t question it.

“We’ll set out in two days,” Richard said. “Be ready to go by then. By the way, even though we’re calling this a hunt, we’d prefer to take the bandits alive if possible. Those are the orders from up top, since they don’t seem to be acting like normal bandits.”

Richard might have been right that their actual banditry was on the tepid side. Normal bandits would steal all the cargo and kill all potential witnesses. Perhaps they were trying to keep things dialed down to avoid a crackdown, but the knights had already gotten involved, so if that was the plan, it clearly hadn’t worked.

“For the merchant accompanying us, we chose someone with a degree of self-defense skills, but since we don’t know how tough the bandits will turn out to be, we should keep a guard on him anyway.”

I was impressed that the merchant had taken on such a dangerous job, but he explained that he’d volunteered because being stuck in Marte just meant racking up lodging fees for no profit. Most of his cargo was perishable foodstuffs as well.

“We’ll prepare the healing potions and other consumables, but you’re on your own for equipment!” Richard declared as we wrapped things up. “Dismissed.”

The meeting broke up, and two days later, we set out from Marte to Clowa.

◇◇◇

“Nothing yet, huh?” Sark mumbled as we took a break from our travels.

Sett laughed. “I’d say that’s for the best, myself.”

But we’ll never accomplish our goal that way, right? I thought dubiously. It might have been good from the perspective of the merchant volunteer, but it wasn’t good for us. If Richard, their captain, had heard that, he’d probably have been groaning over Sett’s lackadaisical attitude.

“This is good stuff, though,” Sett said as he chowed down. “Never thought I’d be able to eat this well outside of town.”

“That is very true,” the merchant agreed.

They were exaggerating, of course; it probably just seemed amazing because it was a hot meal. Today’s dinner was sandwiches we’d bought from the stalls, wulf meat steaks, and a simple soup which I’d made with Mia.

“Really? Seems normal to me,” Sark said, and the other two stared at him in shock.

“My elder brother knows very little of the world,” Sahanna explained. “Starting tomorrow, we’ll feed him rations and see how he likes it. He’d better learn to experience these things for himself.”

Sett and the others laughed, but it didn’t sound like she was joking. In fact, she put her words into practice the next day, and Sark wept as he chewed his way through the flavorless rations.

That night, we took the first watch.

Generally the watch would be split between our party and Richard’s knights, with Sark, Sahanna, and the merchant excused. Richard hadn’t been pleased by the idea of Hikari standing watch at first, but she insisted she could do it, and he relented.

I asked Sett later why Richard was so against the idea, and he explained Richard had a child around Hikari’s age and was probably projecting his fears onto her. That explained why he was so protective of Sark too.

Sark declared at first that he wanted to help stand watch too, but Sahanna shot him down. “You’ll just get in the way,” she told him. “You’d be more useful shutting up and sleeping.”

Those were harsh words, and Richard and the knights couldn’t help but wince.

“How does it look? I don’t sense anyone nearby,” Rurika said as we actually started our watch shift.

“Me neither,” I agreed, checking my automap. There were no signals to be seen, human or monster. I’d secretly called out Shade and had him scout the mountains, but he hadn’t found anything either.

“Hey, Sora. Are you okay with this?” she asked me after that.

“With what?”

“This quest. You’re not good with this kind of thing, right?”

I wasn’t sure what to say to that. We’d taken the quest because they’d offered us passage to Altair in exchange, so when Rurika and the others had said they’d take it, I hadn’t objected.

“I’ll admit that I’m nervous,” I said at last. “But...this feels like something I’d eventually have to face.” The fight with the men in black had taught me that no matter how staunchly I tried to avoid danger, it would come for me at some point. I’d already been targeted more than a few times in my travels so far.

“Right. I won’t mention it again, then. Just try to remember that you’re not alone.”

I nodded.

“Glad to hear it,” she said with a smile. She continued, “But it’s weird how we can’t find any sign of those bandits.”

“Yeah.”

“You think they’re hanging out near Lakootica instead?”

“Maybe. After all, the knights’ hunting party is going over there.”

The day before we’d headed out, a grand departure procession of the Marte Knights had left the city en route to Lakootica. They’d declared that they were going to hunt the bandits, so quite a few townspeople had come out to watch them leave.

Their forces numbered over a hundred, and the sight of them marching out with perfect synchronicity was certainly memorable. Still, they’d seemed awfully heavily armored for a search that would go into the mountains. Richard had mentioned to me that they’d be changing their equipment on the way, and that this was why his team hadn’t managed to secure any good bags of holding. They did exist, but they’d already been committed elsewhere.

Our teams took shifts on watch that night without any issues, and our journey continued uninterrupted for two days after that.

“Hmm?” I said as I saw a blip on my automap.

It went out immediately, but at the same time, I felt something moving in my hood.

Ciel, something wrong? I asked telepathically.

Ciel had spent most of our journey so far tucked away in my hood. There were too many strangers around for us to interact with her, so she’d mostly been bored, and she only became active at night when we were standing watch.

Despite that, she woke up now and hovered uneasily upward. She looked all around, then abruptly went on her guard, her hair standing on end. I looked up suddenly, confused by Ciel’s strange behavior.

That was when they appeared.

“What?!” I don’t know who exactly called out, but they definitely spoke for all of us.

“W-We’re surrounded,” Sett groaned.

Indeed, he was right. But the encirclement wasn’t complete—there was a gap through which we could escape, though it wouldn’t be easy. In order to take the wagon through it, we’d have to turn it around, and the bandits surely wouldn’t let us do that.

“All we want is your food and your potions. Do what we say and we won’t hurt you.”

Judging from the voice, the speaker was probably male. The only reason I couldn’t be sure was because they wore a mishmash of clothing with what looked like festival masks over their faces. The weapons in their hands...were they part of their stolen loot? I could tell from the way they carried themselves that they were skilled combatants, at least.

They might be more than bandits after all, I thought grimly.

Just then, someone near the back ranks of the bandits collapsed, and all the bandits turned to look in their direction.

Richard took advantage of their moment of distraction. “Take positions, everyone!” he shouted. “Arrest them all!”

The merchants quickly retreated into the wagon with Sett and one other knight stationed at each side, gripping their shields tightly in their hands.

Sark was about to run out when Sahanna grabbed him by the sleeve. “Elder brother, we’re on guard duty.”

Mia, Chris, and I were on guard duty too. We’d come forward if the battle situation required it, but Rurika had asked us to protect the wagon when things got started.

“They move well, but they don’t seem organized,” the other guard knight commented.

“Yeah. Won’t be easy, though. They’re pushin’ us back,” Sett said.

They spoke casually to disguise their concern, but our forces really did seem to be at a disadvantage. We’d given them a run at first, but they’d gradually started turning the tide.

The three Marte Knight attackers, including Richard, were particularly badly off. They were standing back-to-back to eliminate blind spots, but their opponents were simply better than them.

I took a deep breath to quiet my racing heart and used Appraisal to learn more about our opponents.

[Name: Tohma / Job: Bandit / Level: 29 / Race: Human / Status: Feral/Exhausted]

[Name: Sumire / Job: Bandit / Level: 33 / Race: ** / Status: Feral/Weak]

I appraised the first one who’d spoken and the one who seemed to be their most skilled combatant. Their levels weren’t especially high, but the race of the latter was obscured somehow. Both of their statuses also contained a word I’d never seen before—Feral.

Sumire, who I assumed was female from the name, didn’t look like beastfolk from what I could see, and so I assumed she was human, but it was hard to tell with the mask on.

“Mia, are you all right?” said Chris suddenly from behind me, sounding panicked. I turned around to see Mia leaning on her staff, with Chris helping to hold her up.

“Y-Yeah. I’m fine,” Mia responded.

“Are you sure? You look so pale...”

Mia did indeed look peaked; there wasn’t a speck of color in her face. I also saw Sahanna behind her pressing her hands to her temples.

“Are you all right?” I asked her.

“Y-Yes. There was a sudden wave of magic power...” Sahanna replied.

Ciel nodded firmly in agreement, but she seemed a little less energetic than usual.

“Magic power?” I concentrated, feeling for fluctuations in the mana around me, and I did notice that they felt off somehow. I activated Detect Mana and was nearly bowled over by the waves of magic sweeping over me.

The one named Sumire seemed to be emitting a particularly large amount of it. In property, her mana felt more like a monster’s than a human’s.

“Chris, are you okay?” I asked.

“Yes, I think the spirits may be protecting me,” Chris said, her voice hushed.

“I’m going to help,” I said, making my decision after a moment’s hesitation. I was also worried about how sickly Mia looked.

Our front line was fatally outnumbered, but I couldn’t afford to get too far from the merchant either. He’d said he could defend himself, but based on how the opponents were moving, I doubted he’d last long against them. Even Sett and his companion might not stand a chance.

“Wh-What are those?!” Sett cried in shock as I called up my golems, Shade and X.

“Golems,” I told him. “X, you protect the wagon. Shade, neutralize the enemy.” Shade’s skill could bind them, which would help us capture them without killing them.

I couldn’t help wondering why the “bandits” hadn’t tried to kill us right away. I didn’t know exactly how they’d done it, but the fact that we hadn’t noticed their approach at all suggested that they could have ambushed us and killed us outright if they’d wanted to.

At the very least, this was clearly different from the fight with the man in black—I didn’t sense any particular hostility or bloodthirstiness from our enemies.

I threw a knife infused with mana. It was easily dodged, but it produced a little explosion when it hit the ground, which startled them. Then Shade and I joined the fray, and the tables turned again.

“What do we do?” one of the bandits asked in a panic.

“Focus on taking out that weaker trio first,” the leader quickly ordered, but it was too late. We’d already changed our fighting style. I didn’t press the attack myself but supported Hikari instead, hoping that her paralyzing attacks could slow them down.

As time passed, the strategy began to show its effectiveness. It seemed to be taking a little longer than usual, but I appraised them and saw that the word “Paralysis” now appeared on the bandits’ status. My appraisal also revealed that quite a lot of them had “Feral” in their status as well.

One after another was taken out of the fight, but then something strange happened. A bestial howl rang out, sending Richard and the others flying back.

“S-Stop her!” someone called out in panic, and I didn’t have time to wonder who it was. The next attack was already happening...and this one was indiscriminate. Even her own allies, the other bandits, were blown back by it this time.

In fact...she had actively turned it on her allies who had tried to stop her. A closer look revealed that the one attacking indiscriminately was one of the two I’d appraised before.

[Name: Sumire / Job: Bandit / Level: 33 / Race: Half-De* / Status: Feral/Berserk]

Her race now displayed as “Half-De*” and “Weak” had disappeared from her status to be replaced with “Berserk.” The Half-De* named Sumire turned around and set her eyes on her next target—me.

As she threw herself at me in a fury, I saw that she wasn’t carrying a weapon; she seemed to be wearing gloves designed for hand-to-hand combat.

Just before her fist hit me, I readied my shield to block it. The force of her punch vibrated through the shield, its power on par with boss monsters I’d fought in the dungeon. If I hadn’t already seen how out-of-control she was, that one would have knocked me back for sure.

As I blocked the attack, Shade targeted Sumire with his shadow binding. They seemed effective at first, but Sumire thrashed around until she tore free of the bonds. Then she leaped away from me, targeting her next attack at Mia and Chris. Sera rushed in, swinging her axe to stop her, but Sumire blocked the blow with her fist and sent Sera flying back.

“S-Stop. Can’t let this go on...” The one who took advantage of Sumire’s momentary pause to try to pinion her from behind was...another of the bandits, Tohma.

As he grappled with her, the other bandits also charged in to try to restrain her, but even together, they couldn’t stop her rampage. She sent them all flying, and they hit the ground hard but still seemed to be breathing. If Sumire had had a sword or other lethal weapon, the damage surely would have been much worse.

Tohma had been blown close to me, so I turned to ask him a question. “Hey, is there any way to stop...her?” But when I saw his face, I couldn’t help but stare.

More precisely, it was the glimpse of his face when it wasn’t obscured by the mask and wig he was wearing. Dark hair, dark eyes...and a pattern like a kabuki mask etched onto his face.

“When she gets like that, you just have to tie her up and wait for it to die down. It’s never been this bad before, though. She’s really gone berserk. Any more of that and she’ll...” He trailed off briefly, muttering, “And then its influence on us will...”

Hearing this, I cast a few holy spells on Tohma before I could think twice. “Heal. Recovery.”

Heal was because he was wounded. Recovery was a spur of the moment decision, but it paid off—right before my eyes, Tohma’s status lost the “Feral” label, and the kabuki-like pattern on his face disappeared.

You can heal “Feral” status with Recovery, then? I looked up and around for Sumire, and I saw that she was now going after Mia and Chris. X seemed to be holding her at bay, but that was only an illusion. With each hit she landed, even just to his shield, I could see his mana ticking down. It proved that he was taking damage.

I was too far away to use Recovery on her myself, but I ran toward the fray. “Mia, Recovery. Cast Recovery on her!” I shouted as I did so.

Mia heard me and did as she was told. I used Appraisal as I charged toward them and saw Sumire’s Feral status disappear...and then immediately reappear again. In that same instant, the mana she was emitting grew stronger.

That wasn’t the only change either. Something suddenly swelled from Sumire’s back, tore through her clothes, and revealed itself as a black shape. Though small, it looked like wings.

I also saw a change in her appraised stats: “Half-De*” had now turned to “Half-Demon.”

I could tell she’d transformed into something dangerous, though I didn’t know what it was.

No... I realized. I’ve seen something like this before.

“Mia, Sanctuary!” I shouted, looking at Sumire’s feet.

Yes, the grass was dying around her feet. It was just like the blackboar from before.

Mia quickly erected a Sanctuary, which collided with the mana Sumire was emitting, exploded, and blew Mia away, along with the wagon sentries and even the wagon itself. I just barely managed to keep my footing, but when the dust cleared, all I could see was Sumire standing there calmly. Blackness continued to creep along the ground, radiating out in a circle around her.

It would be dangerous to let her keep running free.

That was what my instincts were telling me.

To stop her...will I have to kill her?

Sumire turned toward me again, and I could see her face through her half-broken mask, contorted in pain.

This sight made my decision for me. I infused the mithril sword in my hand with mana and wreathed it in a light element. Maybe it was just in my head, but I felt like her eyes were begging me to save her—begging me to stop her. Telling me she would rather die than go on like this.

I pulled my Feyer’s Charm from my Item Box, took a step forward, and started to run, hoping I could finish things before my resolve wavered.

[Feyer’s Charm] Grants protection from curses. Durability: 100.

I heard Tohma shouting behind me, but I didn’t turn back. If I stopped even for a second, I would lose my chance.

I swung my sword down at Sumire, and she thrust her fist at it, causing a collision. Even though my blade was enhanced with mana, it still couldn’t cut through her glove—on the contrary, her mana only seemed to grow stronger from the contact.

I felt the magical surge most strongly from the nape of her neck. There was a kind of spot there that seemed to be emitting a nebulous blackness. It enveloped my body, the Feyer’s Charm shattered, and I quickly wreathed myself in light magic to counter it.

I could feel my mana draining away. I wanted to fight back, but I couldn’t make contact.

I was almost out of MP. I used my Transfer skill to swap my SP and MP, but it was only a stopgap until my MP ran out entirely.

While I struggled to figure out what to do next, I saw Ciel limp into my sightline. She seemed to be in pain, but when our eyes met, I heard a voice. It was small and weak, yet it felt somehow familiar.

I looked back at Ciel, and she nodded firmly to me. I hesitated, remembering what had happened last time, but since there were no other options, I just had to have faith.

While using my sword to block Sumire’s attacks, I intoned the word “Recovery.”

Instantly, the blackness pouring out of Sumire’s body dispersed...then immediately began flooding out again from the nape of her neck. But in the brief moment when it had stopped, Ciel had rushed at Sumire from behind and chomped down on the strange black spot.

“C-Ciel?” It had happened so suddenly that I was shocked, but Ciel was latched on now and wouldn’t be dissuaded.

One minute passed, then two, and Ciel’s body gradually began to swell. Just as it reached about twice its usual size, it began to shine with a bright light. It was so bright I almost had to shut my eyes, but I managed to endure it.

The light wreathed Sumire’s body, grew stronger for a moment, then vanished. At the same time, I felt the resistance against my sword die out.

Sumire collapsed, and the blackening ground beneath her returned to its normal hue. Ciel also fell to the ground before my eyes.

Once the battle was over, we had a lot to take care of.

Other than me, only Rurika and Sera were still in condition to move around...though Tohma also seemed unharmed, likely because I’d cast Heal on him before.

Sumire, who’d caused the most damage, was now sleeping peacefully.

After making sure that Sumire was alive, Tohma surrendered to us. I used Shade and X to round up the other bandits, then tied them up with my Magic Rope. They didn’t seem eager to resist, and I cast Recovery on anyone who still had Feral symptoms.

“What should we do next?” I asked Richard for marching orders, and he said he thought continuing on to Clowa as planned was still probably the best idea at this point.

Still, it came with problems.

The first was Tohma and the other bandits. They weren’t resisting now, but there was no telling what they might do later.

The second was the wagon. We’d come here with two wagons, but one of them was now damaged beyond use. The horses were alive, and though they’d been injured, Mia had healed them back to good condition.

“We’ll watch the bandits. You get the merchants to Clowa,” I told him. “Then get some prison wagons ready and head back our way, if you could.”

There were eighteen of the bandits in total, and we had to take them all to Marte.

“You’ll have to stay camping here until then. Will you be all right?”

“Yeah. I’ll make a simple jail.” I thought it over for a minute, then stepped away from the main road and created a building with earth magic.

“First the golems, now this... Who even are you?” Richard asked in disbelief.

“I did a lot of dungeon diving before I came here,” I told him. “I found some really valuable loot.” It wasn’t technically a lie, since I had gotten the materials to make the golems in the dungeon.

Richard must have known enough about the dungeon that he bought this as an explanation.

Richard and Sett ended up riding to Clowa while the merchant took the wagon with the other three knights acting as escort. Sark and Sahanna remained at Sahanna’s request.

“I know you well enough. I think you’ll be fine, but be careful,” Richard said, casting glances at Sark and Sahanna.

We watched until they’d set out, then went back into the building.

Inside, we split the bandits by gender in cell-like rooms. “Let me know if you need anything. And Tohma, can we talk for a minute?” I said.

“Sure, I’ll tell you anything I can,” he responded.

“Hmph. Stupid bandits,” Sark grumbled.

“Elder brother, could you be quiet for a minute?” Sahanna said with a broad smile. “Sora, do you mind if I join in the questioning?”

It wasn’t just Sark, but all the bandits who shivered at the sight of that smile.

In the end, Sark decided he’d step out to fight in mock battles with Hikari and the others. I decided to have the golems take part too, so I restocked their mana with Mana Enchant and left the rest to Mia.

“Put him through his paces,” Sahanna told them.

Mia smiled awkwardly, but Hikari thumped her chest and said, “I got it.”

Good luck, Sark. Hikari never holds back.

Sahanna, Chris, and I were the only three remaining. I’d have rather left Sahanna out of it, but she had insisted.

“So is what you’ve been doing connected with what made Sumire go berserk?” I asked him.

“Yeah. We came to this land looking for a way to cure it.”

“Did you have a reason to think there’d be a cure here?” I asked.

Tohma shook his head. “We couldn’t be sure, but I thought the moontree fruit might do something.” Apparently one of his other friends, who wasn’t among this group, had heard about the moontree fruit’s reputation as a panacea. They’d come to the Lufre Dragonlands as a kind of desperation move.

The moontree fruit had ended up helping, he said, so they’d been targeting merchants who carried it.

“But how did this happen to you?” I asked next.

“We were...experimented on,” Tohma finally said, after a look at his comrades.

The story he told us was so unthinkable that it made me want to cover my ears.

He showed me a sort of spot on the back of his neck. “This is the brand they put on us. They called it a slave crest. It’s apparently a lost art these days.” It sounded like he was just recalling what the people at the facility he’d come from had told him. He didn’t know all the details, but he told us, “They said it was designed to make strong warriors.”

It occurred to me that Tohma and the others were stronger than their levels implied. That was what I assumed after seeing them in action, but I wasn’t sure how true it was in reality. If the “Feral” status had played a role in that, well, it was gone now—but the slave crests were still there, so maybe it could recur.

But Sumire’s slave crest had been removed, so she should be fine...though it would still be important to keep an eye on her. Tohma also said that the effect varied by individual.

“So, where did you come from originally?” Sahanna asked.

“Elesia,” Tohma said eventually, spitting out the word with a venom that sent a chill up my spine.

I’d had a feeling that was the case, and it looked like I was right.

Once they’d taken off their masks and wigs, I’d seen that many of them had dark eyes and hair. Even those who didn’t have both still had one or the other. Dark eyes were rare, but they weren’t unheard of. It was unusual to see an entire group with those features, though.

Most of all, though, it really seemed like the kind of disgusting practice that Elesia’s higher-ups would engage in. I already knew what they’d put Hikari through, as well as the way they’d treated me after summoning me here from my world.

“You believe me?” Tohma seemed surprised by this.

I removed my mask and faced Tohma. “They’ve put me through a lot too. That’s even why I wear a mask.” I explained how the Kingdom’s people were after me, omitting only the fact that I was an otherworlder. I said instead that they were after me because of my rare skills, and I showed a few of them off, including my dimension spells.

“Um, may I ask a question?” Once Sahanna and I had finished our inquiries, Chris spoke up after being quiet for a while. “Can you bring over that person sleeping there?” Chris was pointing at one of the bandits who had been sleeping all this time. It wasn’t Sumire, but the one who’d collapsed at the beginning, right after they’d attacked us.

At a glance, she seemed to be sleeping peacefully.

“Does this happen to her often?” Chris asked.

“Y-Yeah. She passes out a lot after she uses that...skill of hers.” Tohma added that she’d wake up eventually.

“That seems bad to me,” Chris whispered, then muttered a few more words I couldn’t make out.

Suddenly, a mana signal flew out of the sleeping girl and stopped in front of Chris.

“I thought so,” Chris said. “She seems to have a contract with a spirit—a very strong one, at that. I think the skill she used earlier channeled the spirit’s power, but that doesn’t explain why it knocked her out like it did. It may be a side effect of that...slave crest, you called it? It really seems dangerous, so it would probably be best to cancel the contract. But the spirit doesn’t seem to want to leave, so I’d like to seal it to prevent some of its powers from being used.”

“You can do that?” Tohma asked.

“I have a contract with a spirit myself,” she said.

I looked over at Chris, who met my eyes and smiled.

Hearing this, Tohma and the others bowed and expressed their gratitude to her.

They seemed to care deeply about their team.

After that, we gave food to the bandits and left. I’d made sure the building I’d magically created was divided into several rooms. I doubted it would be needed, but just in case.

“Um, Miss Chris, ma’am, you know about spirits?” Sahanna asked Chris excitedly as we entered our own room. Her eyes were sparkling.

Huh? It’s “Miss Chris” now?

She continued giddily, “Are you a shaman? Or...an elf, perhaps?!”

At that second one, I gulped. Chris stopped abruptly and looked at her.

“Oh, you are, aren’t you?” Sahanna gushed. “Um, could I shake your hand?!”

Chris held out her hand automatically and...

“Oh, I just can’t believe it!” Elated, Sahanna shook it hard.

Meanwhile, the two of us just stood there in bewilderment. Sahanna had always seemed so mature with the way she kept Sark under control, but right now she looked much more like her young age.

After a while, she must have regained her senses, because she suddenly seemed embarrassed.

“So, what made you think Chris was an elf?” I asked her.

“I can use the same skill that you do, Sora. Appraisal, right? Something like it, at least.” As Sahanna spoke, her peculiar pupils narrowed further.

She’d intuited my Appraisal skill because she’d heard me whisper “Dragonfolk” when we’d first met. I’d also called Sumire by her name when we were talking with Tohma even though it had never been mentioned before.

“Your race displays as ‘human,’ but sometimes the letters get fuzzy,” she told Chris. “That reminded me of something my father told me once—fuzzy letters means either something is interfering with the appraisal or the person is in disguise.”

Sahanna was right. I’d given both Chris and Mia a magic item with a disguise effect to prevent them from being appraised.

“And then when I saw you could communicate with spirits... I could hardly believe it, but I thought you must be an elf.”

“U-Um...”

“Oh, don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone. But I also sensed a powerful mana presence around you. Would that be a spirit?”

She was probably talking about Ciel. I shared a glance with Chris, then answered Sahanna’s question with a nod.

“I see. I was wondering what it might be. So it really is a spirit... Oh, I hope I can see it someday!”

What in the world...? She was reminding me of the way Syphon and the others had reacted at first. Are elves really that impressive in this world?

I briefly considered giving Sahanna the Eyes of Eliana so she could see Ciel, but since she was still under the weather, I opted against it.

Later, Sark came back in, looking...exhausted. However, this apparently wasn’t because Hikari had been especially hard on him; it was because he had kept challenging her.

“I don’t think he’s happy that he wasn’t any help in the fight before,” Rurika said.

“He also challenged Shade and X a bunch of times,” Sera added.

Hikari and Mia nodded to confirm.

Hearing these stories, Sahanna looked over at Sark, seeming pleased.

◇◇◇

Richard and the others returned five days after they’d first set out. They’d prepared four wagons, two of which we’d be using as prison wagons for the “bandits.” I called off the spell holding the building together, and we got on board.

Over those five days, Sark had passed the time fighting mock duels, while Sahanna had remained glued to Chris’s side. Sark had been surprised to see the two acting so close and even seemed a little jealous, but when he saw how much fun Sahanna was having, he seemingly couldn’t object.

I’d spent most of the time walking while also keeping a close eye on how Tohma and the others were doing. Sark and Sahanna seemed to find it odd that I was just walking up and down the road with no apparent purpose, and they asked the others about it a few times. I guess they’re trying to be kind by not asking me directly? I thought.

I also asked Tohma and the others how they’d gotten from Elesia to Lufre, and I was surprised to hear that they’d entered Eva from Frieren and crossed the mountains just as we had. It made me wonder if the cursed ground we’d seen near Riell was the result of their crossing—or rather, of Sumire’s rampages.

Apparently their friend’s skill had played a big role in their ability to cross the mountain with minimal equipment.

Having finished the bandit hunt, we got our official permission to enter Altair.

Interlude 4

I’d been here for as long as I could remember. There were lots of children besides me here too.

One day, I asked one of the adults why we were here.

“Your mommies and daddies threw you away,” they told me.

“How come?”

“You don’t have any skills. Living here will fix that, and then you can go back.”

I didn’t know what that meant. What were mommies and daddies?

After that, the adults did lots of things to me. Sometimes it hurt, sometimes it was hard, but they always said I should just hold on and things would be fine.

It was painful, hot, painful—my muscles ached.

I opened my eyes.

I was bigger now. When I looked up, the faces of the adults were a lot closer to me than before.

Around that time, I started to understand the things I hadn’t understood back then. In this world, there were mysterious powers called skills. Everyone was supposed to have them, but I didn’t have any, so my parents threw me away. We didn’t have names, so they called us by numbers.

The place where we were living was a facility to learn those skills, and some of the other kids there had indeed learned to use them. There were even kids there who weren’t there anymore, and they said it was because their parents had come to get them after they’d learned skills.

But...that had all been a lie.

After we learned the truth, we decided to escape.

I don’t remember how we did it. I remember a dream about something bad happening. I remember lashing out.

Nineteen of us escaped from the facility in total. We ran away from the kingdom and headed south. Some of us were in bad shape—including me—so we decided to head for the Dragon King’s land. I didn’t know all the details, but Tohma said it was a good idea, so I believed him.

Around that time, I got a name too. He said it was weird to call me by a number, so he named me Sumire. I didn’t know why, but it made me happy.

But the journey was hard in many other ways. We did a lot of bad things. We stole. But we did it to survive—it was all we could do. I silently apologized time and time again.

On the way, I got sick and fell asleep, and one member of the group was gone when I woke up. Tohma said they’d gotten sick and died. Some of the other kids scowled at me then, but I didn’t know why.

We kept traveling and climbed a mountain. It was a cold place, but one of our friends could use a skill that helped us cross it. Far from us, there was a place on top of the mountain that had people, but we didn’t go there and kept moving instead.

We did get hungry and steal food from them, though. We killed some of their animals and ate them too. Some of the kids said they tasted good, but by then I felt like I had lost my sense of taste. It filled me up, though. I could tell something was wrong with my body.

After that, we sometimes attacked people and stole their food and medicine. Some of it made me feel better, so we did it over and over again.

I’d hurt someone.

I hadn’t done it on purpose, but I’d lost control of my body. I started blacking out more and more often.

Then, they said, people stopped coming by.

No... Actually, they did spot a group, but they didn’t seem to be carrying anything. They’d come down the mountain, too, so we didn’t attack them. They said they wouldn’t have the things we wanted.

Then, right when we were about to run out of food, a group of merchants left the city. Tohma said it might be a trap, but we still attacked them. There weren’t many people there, and we didn’t know when we’d get another chance if we let them go, so we sprang into action.

In the end, it was a trap, just like Tohma thought. They fought back hard.

I was trying to just disable my enemy, but I felt pain at the nape of my neck, and I started blacking out.

The next time I knew what was happening, I was attacking a masked man. I tried to stop, but my body wouldn’t listen. I woke up for just a second before I felt myself sinking back into darkness.

But in that second, I felt something holding me back. My body that had been so heavy felt light again, and there was a warmth all around me.

The next time I woke up, the mark on my neck was gone. That was what Tohma and the others said, anyway. I didn’t feel any pain after that, and Tohma and the others told me I was stable now. They said the boy who saved me was named Sora.

As soon as he took his mask off and I saw his face, I felt a kinship with him. What was it? The dark hair and eyes?

That night, a little girl with pink hair came up to us and said, “We won’t hurt you. Take some time to rest.” Then she left.

We weren’t sure whether to trust her or not, but she was right that they hadn’t done anything to hurt us even though we’d attacked them, and so we ended up going with them to the city on the lake.

Chapter 4

“Sora, how’s Ciel doing?” Rurika asked as she woke up.

Ciel was lying listlessly on the pillow.

“No worse than before,” I said. “But she seems to be having a hard time moving right now.”

Perhaps reacting to Rurika’s voice, Ciel opened her eyes for a moment, then closed them again. Seeing her so lethargic made me miss the times I saw her tumbling through the air without a care in the world.

At first she’d still been able to fly a little, but even that seemed too hard for her now. Every day she seemed to get worse, and as she’d lost her flight ability on the wagon trip back, she’d taken to sleeping inside my hood.

Before making breakfast, I asked Ciel if she wanted anything, but she shook her ears in refusal. Even that gesture seemed somehow listless.

“So the next ship will come in ten days,” I murmured.

Sahanna had come to visit the day after we returned from the bandit hunt and filled me in. The two of them weren’t staying at the inn with us, but rather at the mansion of the Lord of Marte. Sahanna hadn’t looked happy about this at first, but the lord’s messenger had begged her until she’d reluctantly agreed.

I didn’t know what their relationship to the lord was, but maybe dragonfolk were just held in high esteem here.

“I’m sorry. That’s how long it will take, even at the fastest,” she responded apologetically, perhaps because of how I’d sunk into thought.

“Oh, I’m not really upset. Actually, it may be convenient.” I decided to tell Sahanna about the blackened ground and dead foliage we’d seen near Riell and how it matched what we’d seen when Sumire had gone berserk. “I asked Tohma and the others if they’d seen anything like that before, and they said they thought they might have, so we were talking about checking on those spots ourselves.”

“We were wondering if you might like to come along,” Chris added.

“What? Us?”

Chris’s sudden invitation made Sahanna smile a little despite her surprise. In talking to Sahanna more lately, Chris had learned that she’d originally come along with Sark out of worry, but she seemed to have a lot of interest in the world outside of Altair herself. That was why she wanted to invite her.

“I, er, I’d like to go. But...wouldn’t we be in the way?” Sahanna averted her eyes nervously.

“I’m just tagging along as well. It’s mainly Mia who will be doing the work, so you won’t get in the way at all,” Chris said to reassure her, and Sahanna nodded happily.

Just then, Rurika returned, noticed Sahanna, and asked, “Oh, Sahanna. You’re not with Sark today?”

I knew why she’d said it. I tended to think of them as an inseparable pair as well.

“I-I don’t have to take ca—er, be with my elder brother every hour of the day,” she objected.

“Really? What brings you here, then?” Rurika asked.

I told her that Sahanna had come to tell us when the next ship would be arriving and gave her the time it was expected.

“Oh, okay,” Rurika responded. “You want to run those checks, then?”

“That’s the plan. I’d like to head out tomorrow. Is that okay with you, Sahanna?”

“O-Of course!”

“I-I see,” I stammered, taken aback by her enthusiasm. “I need to buy a few things, then. Do you guys want to come along?” I asked the group, and they agreed.

“So, what do you need to buy? We’ve still got plenty of food ingredients,” Mia asked as we headed out.

“I guess...getting materials for something I want to test?” I wasn’t sure how much to tell her. I didn’t know if it would work, and I didn’t want to get her hopes up only to dash them.

We did a round at the stalls for lunch, then I went around buying a lot of materials like wood, ore, and rubber. The girls watched me, talking about how I was probably going to try to make something new with Alchemy. Sahanna was surprised to learn that I could use that skill as well.

“Can we meet up at the gate tomorrow, then?” I asked her when we were done.

“Yes, and are you sure my brother can come along?”

“If he wants to come, he’s free to. But we’ll be walking rather than taking a wagon this time.”

Sahanna laughed. “That’s fine. I’m sure he’ll want to come.” With that, she skipped her way back to the lord’s mansion.

“H-Hikari. I-It’s so good to see you again,” Sark said, voice cracking.

Sahanna let out a sigh. Hikari just nodded, not seeming to notice.

“Okay, let’s head out,” I said.

“Y-You’re not the boss of us!” Sark shot back at me.

“So loud,” Hikari complained.

“Really, you should keep your voice down,” Sahanna agreed, and the scolding immediately put Sark in a sulky mood. Mia and the others could only smile in response.

Tohma and the bandits explained that there were three of the cursed spots we were after—two were on the way to Clowa, and the third was in the opposite direction, toward Folk. If we couldn’t get around to all of them in nine days, we’d have to finish after we got back from Altair or have Sahanna tell the lord of Marte about it.

Things were completely uneventful on the way there, although there were a lot of changes from the last time we’d headed out. With the threat of the bandits gone, I could see the coming and going of wagons appearing on my automap, as well as monster signals. The latter made me wonder if they’d been cowed before by the presence of Tohma and the others. Monsters and animals had a better danger sense than most people.

“Those two really do talk a lot, don’t they?” Mia asked, glancing behind her.

We were walking along the main road with me and Mia in the lead, followed by Chris and Sahanna, Hikari and Sark, then Rurika and Sera bringing up the rear. The road was straight and wide, which made walking easy, and Sahanna was having the time of her life talking to Chris. Sark was also talking to Hikari about all kinds of things, but she didn’t seem particularly responsive.

Incidentally, it was Sark and Sahanna who had requested the walking order.

“Hey, Sora. Is Ciel still not feeling any better?” Mia asked.

“Yeah, no improvement. She doesn’t have an appetite either...”

Mia was worried about Ciel, who was still sleeping in my hood. Everyone else felt the same way.

Each time I made eye contact with Rurika, she asked how Ciel was doing, and Hikari seemed to have lost a bit of her appetite as well. Chris talked to her often, but it sounded like it was hard for Ciel to even muster up a response.

I had a feeling it was connected to her removing Sumire’s slave crest, but Mia and I had cast Recovery on her to no avail. Mia said she’d tried Blessing and Sanctuary, and neither of those had worked either. I’d tried checking her with Appraisal a few times, but unfortunately, that skill didn’t work on Ciel.

Tohma had said that when the slave crest’s effects were especially torturous, eating the moontree fruit had relieved the symptoms for a time. Would we need to get some of that fruit to cure Ciel from her current state? We were heading to Altair to look for Eris anyway, so that added one possible objective.

“I think we should take a rest now,” I said. “It’s around noon anyway.”

Once again, Ciel barely responded to my words, but Mia said her eyes had opened for a moment, so at the very least she could hear us.

“You two aren’t tired?” I asked Sahanna and Sark, since we’d traveled in a wagon last time.

“Heh, this is nothing,” Sark insisted.

“Yes, we’re fine,” Sahanna agreed.

“I don’t need training just to know how to walk,” Sark added, as hard on me as ever. There was almost something competitive about it.

For lunch, we had some of the premade food from my Item Box. We took a short break after that, then started walking again.

“Should we sleep here, then?”

The sun had gone down, so we moved a little off the road and set up camp. This time we would put up tents, and everyone except the people on watch would sleep inside. We didn’t use the tents often, but it was awfully cold in the Dragonlands.

Everyone who wasn’t cooking split into groups to put up the tents and keep watch.

“It’s very good,” Sahanna commented as we ate.

“Do you want to cook with us tomorrow?” Mia asked her. She’d noticed the younger girl sneaking glances at us while we’d been cooking earlier.

“I’m sure I’d mess up,” Sahanna replied hesitantly.

“That’s okay. Nobody’s perfect when they first get started. I made a lot of mistakes too,” Mia encouraged her.

“If you’re interested, you should try it,” Chris agreed.

Sahanna did indeed look cautiously intrigued.

After the meal, Sark and Sahanna asked to hear some stories about our travels, so we told them a few, then sent them to bed. They seemed to want to hear more, but we had a long walk tomorrow. If we’d had a wagon they could have rested in that, but good sleep was necessary when you were on foot.

We split into two groups to keep watch. The first group was me, Chris, Mia, and Sahanna, with the other four taking the second shift.

I called out to Shade and had him keep an eye on our surroundings. I had checked the automap to confirm there were no monsters around; though I was hoping to do a little work on my project, I also wanted to be careful.

I started pulling different tools from my Item Box, when...

“I knew you were making something,” Mia said.

“I’m still not sure if it’ll work, though,” I responded.

“What is it?” Chris asked curiously.

“I thought I’d try to make a wagon.”

What’s with that baffled expression, you two? At least Sahanna seems appropriately awed...

I activated Alchemy and created the basic frame of the wagon. I mainly used wood, careful not to let it get too heavy. Then I crafted a canvas hood, using frogman materials to make it water-resistant. Finally I made the wheels and put them all together.

The reason I’d made each part separately was because I wanted to make the perfect wagon from the best parts.

Once it was done, I used Transfer to restore my lost MP.

“A-Amazing,” Sahanna said, unabashedly impressed.

“The question is, how should I do the interior?” I’d thought about what I wanted, but I decided to consult with Mia and Chris as well.

“Let me see. If you put seating along the sides with an open space in the middle, it would be easier to get out if something happens.”

The cheaper wagons on which we’d bought passage frequently made you sit on the floor. This was particularly the case for merchant caravans, because seating would take space away from their cargo.

We didn’t have to worry about cargo, though, so I decided to put in cushions to make a more comfortable ride. I made sure to add brakes as well. The three girls looked confused about this, as if they’d never seen it before.

Once that was done, I had the three of them check how comfortable the seating was.

I checked once again to make sure there were no suspicious signals on my automap, then called up X and stored the wagon in my Item Box. I ordered X to keep watch over the tents, walked out to the road with Shade, then pulled out the wagon and hooked it up to him.

Chris and the others got inside while I took my place in the coachman’s seat.

“How’s the comfort level?”

“Not bad.”

“Yes, I like that it’s not too bumpy.”

“It’s much better than the wagons I’ve been in before.”

The three of them seemed to approve.

Shade seemed to handle pulling it by himself rather well, although we were moving a little slowly.

“Let’s go a bit faster.” I gave Shade the order, and he began to trot. After a while, we turned around and went back to where we’d come from.

“So, how was it?”

“I-It got a bit bumpy when we sped up,” Mia said. Sahanna nodded in firm agreement.

It looked like the ride lost its smoothness when you traveled quickly. I’d need to improve the design.

“Really? I was fine with it. I didn’t feel any problem at all,” Chris said, seeming unaffected.

Mia and Sahanna looked at her in shock.

“Will we start using this tomorrow?” Chris inquired after that.

“It might be hard to use it in the daytime. But we can ride it at night when everyone else will be resting.” I didn’t see any signals moving on the automap at the moment.

“That’s true. The golem would stand out.”

We went back after that, talked about the wagon until our watch shift ended, then got some rest.

“Are we eating here today?” Rurika asked dubiously.

Her concerns were understandable. Normally we’d set up camp farther from the road and eat there.

Mia, Chris, and Sahanna smiled knowingly and nodded in response. I even said we didn’t need tents, which made Rurika even more suspicious.

I hadn’t told Rurika and the others about last night’s wagon escapade. I had planned to, but the other three wanted it to be a surprise.

When it was time to start cooking, I saw Sahanna anxiously holding a knife in one hand and a vegetable in the other. She was apparently going to dice up the vegetables. She listened earnestly to Chris’s explanation, but her nerves showed through even from a distance.

I could tell that Sark was even more nervous, though. He was fidgeting restlessly.

Then Hikari mercilessly interjected, “Sahanna is fine. Not like Sark,” which caused him to grip his chest in pain.

Sahanna finished cutting her vegetables, then began frying them up on the pan. She was making a stir-fry using only the fresh vegetables. Mia would be handling the meat.

Once the veggies were cooked, they added the final seasoning. Sahanna had chosen the consommé-flavored spice, and she continued tasting it while sprinkling it on bit by bit.

It took over double the usual time to finish the meal prep.

“How is it, Sora?” Chris asked.

“Yeah, it’s good.” I didn’t forget to compliment her.

Sahanna seemed to grow bashful when she heard it. The vegetables’ size was a little uneven, but they were properly cooked through, and the seasoning was great for a first-timer.

Sark...was eating very quickly. Maybe he should chew more? I thought, but Sahanna seemed very happy about the reception. Maybe she’d made it to suit Sark’s preferences.

“So, we didn’t put up the tents. What are we going to do instead?” Rurika asked when we’d finished eating.

Chris and the others looked at me, so we started walking toward the road. I checked our surroundings with my automap, called up Shade, and then pulled out the wagon from my Item Box.

“Master, a wagon?” Hikari asked.

“Yeah, a wagon.”

“Sora, where did this come from?” Sera asked.

“I made it yesterday.”

“Oh, is this why you said we didn’t need the tents?” Rurika asked.

I nodded.

Hikari seemed interested and got in first, with Sark following after her. Sera and Rurika climbed in too, followed by the other three.

I got in the coachman’s seat and ordered Shade to start pulling. We had four more people on board this time, but he still had no trouble pulling us. As for the speed... Maybe I should keep it slow?

“You guys can sleep, though I’m not sure there’s enough space for all of you to lie down.” There was room for about four people to rest, but it would be a bit cramped for seven. Some kind of bedding would also be necessary for people to really sleep on, so of course I’d already made it.

“Chris told me about this. It’ll be more restful if you lie down, so Sora, roll out the bedding.”

“For seven? Seems like a tight fit.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Sera responded. “Rurika and I will sit on the coachman’s bench with you.”

So if it was just Hikari and the other two kids, they could squeeze in five to sleep... It might be a little hard for Sark, but not a huge problem.

“Sora, we’ll take over later, so wake us up then.” Chris and Mia slept first because they were the best at giving Shade orders. Anyone in the party could do it, but Mia and Chris were most accustomed to it.

I said it would be fine since I had Parallel Thinking, but they yelled at me and told me I had to rest.

Partway through, Chris, Mia, and Hikari woke up and took over. Hikari joined in because of her ability to detect enemies. I asked them to wake me before sunup and went to sleep.

Given how far we’d gone before we swapped, I figured we’d probably reach our destination by then. It would also help us avoid meeting others on the road.

“Just keep us going about this fast, okay, Chris?” I cautioned her before I slept, worried she might decide to speed up.

I packed the wagon in my Item Box, then we took an early breakfast and started walking again. One of the spots Tohma had mentioned was close by, but I didn’t know the exact location, so we decided we’d split up to look for it.

We left the main road and started walking toward the mountains. Eventually the grassland ended and we came to a forest, and the path that had previously been flat now began sloping upward gradually. It seemed we’d managed to enter the mountains.

“Wait.” Suddenly, Hikari stopped.

Sark and Sahanna looked confused, but the rest of us already knew why.

“Monsters nearby,” she added.

Then they readied their weapons and began looking around.

“Calm down. Still far away. Probably wulfs. Five of them.”

The two took in a deep breath and held it.

I pulled out my shield and was about to come to the fore, but Rurika stopped me. “How about Sera, Hikari, Sark, Sahanna, and I each take one?” she proposed. “You two have never fought them before?” she asked the two siblings.

“N-No,” Sahanna said. “Not wulfs.”

“You’ll be fine. You’re so good you can easily beat them.”

They visibly relaxed at Rurika’s words. They were a lot calmer than I had been my first time facing a monster. That said, I’d been caught by surprise and fully acting on instinct at the time.

“Wulfs are fast. Sark, be careful to make tight swings,” Hikari told Sark.

Chris gave advice as well. “And remember that we’re in a forest, so be judicious in your spellcasting. Sahanna, you’re good enough with your spear to beat them just with that. Just make sure you don’t get it caught on the trees.”

Mia cast Protection, and I added Shield to the two kids on top of that.

“Hey, Sora. Can you lure the wulfs to us?” Rurika asked.

“I think so,” I said, checking Shade’s location on my automap.

“Let’s move to a place where it’ll be easier for Sahanna to fight, then.”

We moved into a more open space with fewer trees, and then I sent Shade to lure the wulfs to us.

Meanwhile, we made our preparations. Hikari, Rurika, and Sera hid in the forest to take out the wulfs there. Hikari had leaped into a tree. Sark saw it and shouted, “I wanna do that too!” but got stopped. He looked upset about it, and Sahanna scolded him immediately.

“Incoming,” I said. A few minutes after we readied our weapons, I could sense Shade approaching.

As if on cue, I saw him appear, weaving through the trees and heading in our direction. He was being trailed by two wulfs, but the signals of three others had already disappeared. The girls had done quick work.

After Shade arrived in the clearing and leaped over us, the wulfs appeared and threw themselves at our two frontline fighters. There was no way they could beat the two well-trained warriors, and that battle was over before it began. Meanwhile, Sark kept his swings tight, and when he dealt the fatal blow, the wulf couldn’t dodge it. Meanwhile, Sahanna dodged the wulf’s first attack, then finished it with one strike of her spear as it ran past.

“Oh, done?” With the battle finished, Hikari came back. Sark puffed out his chest boastfully, but Hikari’s response was “Bad grade. Low reward,” which left him completely deflated. Then she turned to Sahanna and said, “Sahanna, good job. Good price from these.”

I explained to both of them what Hikari meant. When you were going to try to sell materials to the guild, it was important to minimize damage to the pelts and other materials.

“Good job, though. Keep tight movements and you’ll get stronger...maybe.” Sark seemed flattered by Hikari’s praise, though he might not have heard the final word.

Sahanna rolled her eyes at the sight, but her cheeks turned pink when Chris gave her similar praise.

We resumed our travels, but there were no clear signs of where to go, so searching was difficult.

“Should we split up to cover more ground?” I whispered to myself. Then, suddenly, it happened. I felt Ciel stir in my hood. She crawled out and plopped onto my shoulder, then pointed her ears in a certain direction after a while.

“Ciel?” I found myself whispering. I looked over at her and saw her eyes open wide for just a moment. “You want us to go that way, then?”

She gave a tiny nod, so I started walking. She fine-tuned the direction of her ears little by little on the way, and I adjusted our course accordingly. Mia and the others saw me suddenly start to stride out, but they just followed silently after me.

As I followed Ciel’s instructions, I felt a strange sensation around me, like the air suddenly growing heavier. I could smell something rotting too.

When we arrived...we found the ground turned black and covered in dead greenery.

“Ciel...” I looked at Ciel and saw that she’d retreated into my hood. She must have endured great pain to guide us here. Thank you, I said telepathically and felt a faint bob inside my hood.

“Ciel did that?” Mia asked.

“Yeah.”

“We have to purify it.” Mia was about to cast when Sahanna stopped her.

“Wait,” she said.

“Sahanna?”

“I’d think I’d like to take some back with us.”

Mia looked at me with a frown.

The conditions in this area did look much worse than the ones in Riell. I used Detect Mana and felt something like a distortion in the ambient mana. I thought about what to do...and decided to use Appraisal.

[Eroios’s Earth] Soil tainted by a curse. Produces undead.

This label hadn’t shown up so clearly in Riell.

I told Sahanna what my Appraisal said. In response, she muttered, “Should we look it up in the library? Or maybe ask my father...” But she must have eventually decided it was too dangerous to take back, because she bowed deeply and said, “It’s dangerous, so let’s not bother. Mia, please proceed.”

Mia nodded, sprinkled some holy water, cast the Blessing spell, and then put a Sanctuary over the blackened patch of ground. We didn’t see any changes at first, but I soon saw something like black steam rising up, and the dark color gradually receded.

I appraised the area and saw that the unfamiliar label, “Eroios’s Earth,” had now disappeared.

It had gotten pretty dark by now, so we decided to spend the night in the forest. We went back to the place where we’d fought the wulfs, and I made us a house with magic.

“You want to break them down?” Sark asked Hikari.

“Yeah.”

Hikari was apparently teaching Sark how to break down wulf bodies, so we broke into teams for that and for cooking. Hikari, Rurika, Sera, and Sark had agreed to break down the bodies, so I created a room for them to do that, and they got to work.

“Um, may I ask you a question?” A little while after we started cooking, Sahanna seemed to remember something.

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Who is Ciel?” she asked.

“Where did you hear that name?”

“I heard you and Mia say it earlier. You were muttering it by yourself too.”

Ah, I did say that out loud instead of using telepathy, didn’t I?

I stopped cooking for a moment and gave Sahanna an appraising glance. She already knew a lot about our situation. She seemed to admire spirits, too, so it was probably all right to tell her. I wished I could do it at a time when Ciel was feeling better, but I didn’t really have a choice.

“Ciel is the name of the spirit I’ve contracted with,” I told her.

“Oh, are you an elf too?”

Apparently, most people in this world thought of spirits as having a connection to elves.

“No. She’s a bit of a strange spirit, and I don’t know why, but we formed a contract.” I wasn’t sure what normal spirits were like, but the fact that Ciel was the only one I’d ever seen seemed to be enough to qualify her as strange.

“R-Really?”

“Yeah, but seeing is believing, so take this.” I handed her the Eyes of Eliana.

Puzzled, Sahanna took them, and then her eyes opened wide. When she looked at my hood, she exclaimed, “Huh?” Perhaps surprised, she dropped the Eyes of Eliana, then quickly picked them up again. “Th-There’s a little white creature in your hood!”

My hood briefly rustled in response, then went quiet.

“Um, I don’t think she’s feeling well,” Sahanna added.

“Well, actually...” I explained what had happened with Sumire, what Ciel had done, and why the two were probably connected. I added that the Eyes of Eliana were a magic item that let you see spirits.

“I can hardly believe it...” Sahanna certainly seemed very surprised to hear all this.

“She’s used too much of her power at once and gotten tired before, but she always bounced back right away. This time, she’s been this way for days.”

Sahanna asked hesitantly, “Is she all right?”

“I’d actually like your help with that, Sahanna. I heard about something called a moontree fruit at the Marte merchants’ guild. Is it really easy to get in Altair?”

“Moontree fruit?”

Tohma had mentioned that moontree fruit alleviated their symptoms a little. Over half of their group had been sick then, so they’d probably had to split it up so each person got less. Maybe eating a whole fruit would do the trick? It at least felt like it was worth trying.

Or, more accurately...it was the only thing I could think of.

“Sorry. I don’t know much about that kind of thing. My elder sister might know something, though.”

“That’s right, you mentioned her before,” Mia chimed in.

“Yes, we’re all very proud of her,” Sahanna responded happily.

“Would you mind if I talked to her, then? We were going to ask at the merchants’ guild when we got to Altair anyway.”

“All right. Oh, but when I ask, may I tell her about your spirit...about Miss Ciel? You may need to speak with my father as well. He treasures spirits, so I’m sure he’ll treat her well.”

“Please do.” I didn’t mind at all if it would improve our chances of getting a moontree fruit.

After we made preparations to eat, we chatted casually for a while until Hikari and the others came out of the next room.

When I was taking the different processed parts from Hikari, Sark chimed in and handed me another set of parts. “Hey, hold on to these too, but give them back to me when we’re back in Altair.”

Rurika explained later that these had come specifically from the wolves that Sahanna and Sark had hunted, and they wanted to give them to their family when they got back.

That night, I had Shade and X stand watch while the whole party slept.

The next day, we started out a bit early and arrived near the main road before noon.

When we stopped to eat, I somehow ended up in a mock duel with Sark. He was moving a lot better than he had in our first mock duel, but I was still the better fighter.

We had lunch, rested for a while, then started down the road toward Clowa. On the way, we were overtaken by several wagons, and we also passed by several going in the other direction.

We walked until dark, then had dinner, checked the map, and got on the wagon pulled by Shade.

“We have quite a ways to travel, so I’m going to pick up our speed,” I warned them, then set us racing. Mia, who was sitting beside me, seized my arm in surprise. A softer part of her body pressed up against me as well, but I kept my cool.

In the end, Shade might have proven a bit too overeager, because we arrived at our destination well before sunup. I woke everyone up, and we started walking again. After breakfast, we took a little nap, then arrived at the corrupted spot that same day with Ciel’s guidance.

The damage here wasn’t as bad as in the other location, and my Appraisal hadn’t identified the soil as “Eroios’s Earth” either. Mia said purifying it was a cinch.

Then we walked back to the main road, retraced our original path, and passed by Marte on the way to Folk. If we’d been cutting it close, we would have stopped by Marte to have Sahanna update the lord and ask about adjusting the ship’s departure date, but at our current pace, it probably wouldn’t be necessary.

Since they had to unload cargo, the ship always stayed there for a full day, at least.

“Damn, I lost again.”

It was the seventh day after our departure from Marte. I’d been fighting a mock duel with Sark once a day, and he seemed frustrated about the results of this latest one.

“Want to talk about what went wrong again today?” Rurika asked as she offered water to the fallen young man.

Sark took the water, gulped it down, nodded earnestly, and stood up. After each of his mock duels with me, Hikari and the other fighters would give him advice on how to improve.

Rurika had done this for me too in the early days, and I began to recall how badly things always seemed to go for me whenever Syphon joined in.

“Why do you look so haunted all of a sudden?” Mia asked me in confusion while Chris, who knew the situation, laughed.

“Sora, how is my elder brother doing?” Sahanna asked.

“I think he gets better every day,” I told her, and she smiled in response. As hard as she could be on him, she was clearly happy to see him improving.

“I see,” she said. “But he often lets success go to his head, so I hope you’ll keep doing what you’re doing.”

Is she telling me to keep beating him up? I wondered. Maybe my surprise had flashed on my face, because Chris and Mia laughed.

We walked the rest of that day while the sun was up, then rode in the wagon pulled by Shade at night again.

The next morning, we left the main road and headed for the forest at the foot of the mountain. Tohma had said the forest there was thick enough that the branches formed a proper roof in places, so they’d used it as a base for a while.

“I’m picking up monster signals.”

“Yeah, not wulfs.”

They weren’t in the direction Ciel had pointed us to earlier, but we decided we’d better hunt the monsters just in case. I told the others we’d be taking a detour, and we headed off toward the monster signals.

What we encountered was a set of three massive boar-like creatures. Hikari was delighted to see them.

“Mia.” I turned around and handed Ciel to Mia, then pulled my shield from my Item Box. “Hold on to her. I’ll draw their attention.”

“Sark, you finish the ones master stops,” Hikari said as she jumped onto a tree branch.

I made sure Hikari was in position, then activated Provoke. The bigboars’ attention immediately focused on me, and they let out a cry and charged. This must have been their turf, because the trees were far enough apart that the hulking things could weave between them with ease.

I used the spell Earth Wall on the three beasts, as I’d done back in Riell. The wall slowed down two, which would be finished off by Hikari and...Rurika, probably? Sera seemed to be sitting this one out, anyway—maybe she was pulling double duty, guarding Mia and the others while being ready to back up Sark if he failed to finish the job.

That was my assumption, anyway, but the mock duels must have paid off. When I blocked the last bigboar’s charge with my shield, Sark finished it in one strike.

I stored that bigboar in my Item Box, then went to fetch the ones Rurika and Hikari had taken down.

At Hikari’s feet, the last bigboar was still alive, struggling to breathe.

“Master, is this one okay?” she asked me.

I understood what she meant. “I don’t see anything wrong with it. It should be okay.” I’d used Appraisal, which showed no sign of the boar being cursed.

When she heard that, Hikari finished it off. I wouldn’t have been able to appraise it after it was dead beforehand, after all.

“We can’t do it just now, but let’s break it down later.”

“Yeah.” Hikari gave me a beaming smile. She’d been disappointed that we’d had to burn the bigboars we’d hunted in Riell.

“Elder brother? What’s wrong?” Sahanna asked suddenly.

I looked over at Sark to find him staring at Hikari, absolutely spellbound. Hikari seemed to notice him, and she looked back at him in confusion. He immediately turned red and looked away.

“Hikari’s smile sure has an impact.” Mia laughed, amused. Hikari was smiling a lot more than she used to these days, but it was still a rare sight.

I stashed the bigboar Hikari had killed, then we went back to the road and traveled farther into the forest in the direction Ciel indicated.

After walking for about an hour, I stopped to look at something.

“What is it?” Chris asked, snapping me out of my reverie.

“Oh, nothing. Let’s move on.” I shook my head, and we got to walking. I’d noticed a place that looked like an herb patch, but I held back for the moment.

After walking for another hour, we arrived at the last spot Tohma had told us about.

“Mia, if you please.”

“Sure, leave it to me.”

While Mia got down to business, I kept an eye out around me. I could tell with Detect Presence that no one was around, but you never knew when that might change.

But the purification once again went through without a hitch, and all three locations were officially purified.

“Should we take a break? Or head right back?” I asked them.

Chris exchanged a look with the others, then said, “Let’s head back.”

Everyone but Sark nodded in firm agreement. I could handle it, since I didn’t get tired while walking, but I was surprised to see how tough the others must have gotten.

Maybe they’ve grown from their time in the dungeon, I thought as I was walking along. But then...

“Sora, wait,” Chris said abruptly. “Maybe we should take a break after all?”

“Okay,” Rurika agreed. “How about over there?”

She was pointing at...the herb patch I’d seen before.

“You wanted to go there earlier, right, Sora?” Sera asked.

Rurika, Chris, and Mia all laughed. Sark and Sahanna didn’t seem to understand what was funny. Hikari...was probably thinking about bigboar meat.

“We weren’t going to make it back to the main road today anyway, so it should be fine to take a detour,” she added.

I wasn’t quite sure what to say, so I decided to accept their kindness.

I’d been going through quite a lot of potions myself recently while I worked on my skill proficiencies, so I was hoping to spend some time gathering new herbs the next time we found a patch. Chris and the others seemed to have realized that, too, which was why they had arranged this for me.

“Well, Sora, good luck with your usual gathering. Sark, you go with Hikari. Sahanna...help with gathering. Chris can teach you how to identify different kinds of herbs,” Rurika said. Sark and Sahanna nodded in response.

Apparently they hadn’t just arranged this as a favor to me, but also as a way to teach the kids about picking herbs. Knowing this made me feel a little better about focusing on my gathering. The patch looked untouched, as well, which suggested that most people didn’t come out this far anyway.

We used up about two hours picking herbs, so we decided to spend the night in the forest. Since we were so far off the beaten track, I could build us a house, which would give us a more comfortable night overall.

“Master. Want to break it down now.”

The bigboars were very large, so they seemed to want to break down the one Hikari had beaten. None of us had processed a bigboar before, so Chris, who had at least read about it, went along to give advice.

“Sahanna, do you want to go with them?” I asked Sahanna, who had been watching Chris go.

“I’ll cook,” she replied.

In that case, I decided I’d make a dish I hadn’t cooked very often before. I prepared a stone oven with magic to make a pizza. Sahanna seemed surprised by my mention of the unfamiliar food, but she listened intently as I explained how it was made.

Hikari also asked us to roast up the bigboar meat they’d broken down, so we seasoned it to her liking. Sark seemed enchanted by the gusto with which Hikari ate, but I guess anyone would be charmed to see her eating so happily?

While the rest of us slept, I left watch duty to Shade and X. I didn’t go right to sleep, though; instead, I called up my stats.

Name:Fujimiya Sora /Job:Sorcerer /Race:Otherworlder /Level:None

HP:580/580 /MP:580/580 (+200) /SP:580/580 /Strength:570 (+0) /Stamina:570 (+0) /Speed:570 (+0) /Magic:570 (+200) /Dexterity:570 (+0) /Luck:570 (+0)

Skill:Walking Lv. 57

Effect:Never get tired from walking (earn 1 XP for every step)

XP Counter:158,171/1,410,000

Skill Points:3

We’d been using the Shade-drawn wagon to get around, but we’d also spent most of the days walking, so I’d earned a lot of experience on the trip as a whole. When I’d checked my stats last night, I’d predicted my Walking level might go up today, and as expected it was now 57. I now had three skill points to spend.

I was still interested in learning Time Spells, but I realized it would reduce my point total to zero, and since raising my Walking levels was getting harder and harder in general, I decided to save them. I still might need to grab a skill on the fly, after all.

Besides, I’d need to raise my level in Reduce MP Consumption before I could practically use any time spells. Even once I got there, using one would consume so much MP that I wouldn’t be able to use Teleport or any of my other useful spells.

Interlude 5

“What...did you just say?” The king’s voice was filled with anger.

The man bowed his head, gulped...then repeated himself. His Majesty would surely hear of this eventually, so there was no point in lying. “The heroes’ wagon was attacked by a demon.”

There was an audible sound of grinding teeth, followed by a long silence. The man felt his throat drying out as he waited.

“What happened then?” the king finally said in a lower voice than usual.

The man trembled as he responded. “My liege. Half of their escort, the Second Order of Knights, were wiped out. Many died.”

“And the heroes?”

“The Swordmaster and the Fencer King are unharmed. The Paladin is wounded. The Saint and the Sorcerer King are unconscious from mana exhaustion...and the Shaman was taken by the demon.”

According to the report, the demon had caused a lot of damage but hadn’t actually killed anyone. Personally, the man thought they should be praised for driving back the demon with the kind of equipment they had, but the king likely wouldn’t see it that way.

“How did this happen?” the king questioned him, finally, seeming as displeased as expected. “I thought the heroes were a closely guarded secret.”

The man paused, then spoke. “It’s just a theory, but we’ve heard that rumors about the dragon materials are spreading among those staying in Pleques. Only a few people knew about the dragon slaying in the first place. Which means...”

“Somebody talked?”

The man gulped again. “Yes.”

“So you think the demon heard about the dragon slaying and decided to target the ones behind it?”

“That is one possibility. But...”

“Is there another?”

“The demons might have already known about the heroes’ existence.”

“Oh? What makes you think that?”

The man brought up the boy who’d been summoned with the heroes and pointed out that he’d gone missing at the same time the first demon was sighted. They couldn’t be sure if he’d been killed by the orcs or the demon, but if it were the latter, the demon might have gotten him to confess to the existence of other summonees first.

“That little brat whose only use was as a porter? I thought he’d be a useful smoke screen, but perhaps that was a mistake.”

“Y-Yes, my liege,” the man stammered.

It was just a possibility, but no adventurers of a high enough level to slay a dragon had been active in the field for at least ten years. There were some dragon slayers in the Empire, but they wouldn’t have left their own lands to ply their trade. It wouldn’t take a huge leap of logic to connect rumors of a dragon hunt and rumors of an otherworld summoning, then.

The king thought for a moment, then said, “For now, go to Pleques and investigate. Find out how information about the dragon got out, and force the person responsible to pay an appropriate price.”

The man was about to answer when someone suddenly burst in. It was a surprise, as only a handful of people in the castle knew how to find this room. The man looked over and saw an older gentleman with a bright red face—the leader of the Court Sorcerers.

“What?” the king said flatly, clearly displeased—and understandably so.

But in his excitement, the older man failed to notice this as he approached the king and bowed. “The sword has awakened,” he said.

Suddenly, the air of displeasure that had hung about the king for the whole meeting vanished. “Is this true?” he asked.

“I saw it myself.”

“Hmm. I’ll join you to check it myself later.”

“Please do, my liege.” The older man bowed deeply.

The sword—the sacred blade that only the true hero could wield.

It was held in a room in the castle known as the Sword’s Chamber, which only those of the royal bloodline and the heroes could enter. The reason the older man would have known was probably because of the jewel in the chamber’s door.

According to legend, this jewel would change from blue to red when the sword had awakened, which meant the hero would awaken as well.

“Hmm. As soon as the heroes return, try to find out which one it is,” the king said. “Keep this information tightly under wraps.”

The man had thought the existence of the true hero among them would raise the spirits of their allies, but...if the king wanted to keep it a secret, he must have had plans of his own.

With a deep bow, the man took his leave.

Chapter 5

We managed to make it back to Marte on the morning of the tenth day after we’d left, and we owed it all to the Shadewagon.

As we approached Marte, we noticed a large structure in the harbor.

“Wait, isn’t that...” Mia started.

I knew just what she was going to ask. “Yeah, that’s the ship.”

Maybe it had arrived early, but I was sure I hadn’t seen it when we’d passed by before...though maybe that was just because we’d upped our speed to avoid being seen at night?

When we reached the entrance to Marte, we caught sight of a finely dressed middle-aged man looking around in a bit of a panic. He finally noticed us and came running—which must have tired him out, because he looked very out of breath by the time he reached us.

“What is it?” Sark asked the man in confusion.

“Th-The ship’s here. You hadn’t made it back, so I waited...” the man replied through heaving breaths.

“Did it arrive ahead of schedule?” I asked.

“Y-Yes. It’s preparing to depart now. What would you like to do?”

He explained that the ship had arrived two days ago—in other words, the day just after we passed Marte. Tohma and his gang were already on board.

“What should we do, Sora?” Sahanna asked me. “If you’re tired, we could spend the night at an inn.”

The man grimaced at the thought.

“I’m fine, but what do the rest of you think?” I asked them. I felt hesitant to delay any longer when I saw the man’s expression.

When the others nodded in agreement with me, the man breathed a sigh of relief. “I’ll show you there right away!”

He guided us through the entry procedures at the gate, then led us toward the harbor.

As we entered the city we found Richard and the other knights waiting, and for some reason, they formed a perimeter around us as we walked. This resulted in the townspeople staring at us, which felt extremely awkward. The only ones who didn’t seem to mind were Hikari, Sark, Sahanna...and Sera.

The stall owners in the central plaza that knew us shot us some especially curious glances.

“Take care, then!” The man was still bowing deeply to us as we boarded the ship.

Seen up close, it really was imposing.

The first thing I saw as I entered the hold was a large stack of crates. There were stairs leading up on either side as well, and you could climb them to get to the deck. Normally the people and cargo would sit in this area and rarely if ever go on deck.

Incidentally, it seemed the furnace that powered the ship was below, but Sahanna told me we couldn’t go down there. You don’t have to sound so apologetic about that, you know? It was probably because I’d mentioned during the trip that I wanted to know how the boat moved.

“Can we go out onto the deck?” I asked her next.

“Yes, of course. But there’s nothing up there.”

Hearing that, I met with Tohma’s group and confirmed through Appraisal that their status hadn’t changed before we went topside. The ship hadn’t left port yet, but it began to set out just as we came out on deck.

“Moving,” Hikari said, and she ran out to the edge. There was a railing to prevent people from falling off, so it was probably fine, but we walked after her anyway. All of us did—except for Sark, who ran.

“Master. Moving on the water. Weird.” Hikari seemed excited by the ship slowly moving forward.

Meanwhile, Mia and Chris stayed below deck, peeking up sheepishly.

“The wind feels great,” Sera said.

“I wish our wagon could be this smooth,” Rurika added.

Rurika, I thought. How exactly do you expect me to make that happen?

I gazed at the sparkling surface of the water, then looked straight ahead. Ahead of us was Altair, which could be seen more clearly as we approached. It had looked as beautiful as a painting from the tower in Marte, but seeing it closer up, I couldn’t help but gasp.

It’s a fortress. That was the impression it gave off now.

“It really is something, isn’t it?” Mia said, looking up at that massive outer wall.

I’d heard that ships other than this one couldn’t approach the island, so I wondered what that solid outer wall was meant to defend against.

Demons? The word flashed through my mind for an instant. But demons could fly, so that seemed unlikely.

“Well? Impressed?!” Sark puffed out his chest as he noticed us staring at the walls.

“Sark didn’t build it,” Hikari said.

“Indeed. Don’t get the wrong idea, elder brother,” Sahanna added.

Sark immediately deflated in the face of their barbs. Hikari being involved seemed to make it hurt worse than usual.

“We’re almost there,” Sahanna said at last.

As if it had been waiting for her cue, the outer wall before us split open. The ship slowed to match it and took us inside. At last, we stopped completely, and I heard the sound of the outer wall closing behind us.

There were only a few people at the port, but they quickly prepared a gangplank to haul the crates out. Most of them were empty, so they didn’t seem to need that many people. The burly men carried the boxes easily, and Sahanna said the ship wouldn’t leave port again for ten days at the earliest, so there was no need to hurry.

Still...

I found myself looking up—specifically, at the branches of the giant tree that seemed to block out the sky above.

“It’s mysterious, isn’t it?” Chris, who’d also been looking up at the tree, turned her gaze to the city.

Yes, although the branches blocked off the view of the sky above Altair, sunlight still shone through, as if the leaves were selective about what they let pass. But most of all, gazing at the tree filled me with a strange sense of calm.

“So, what should we do next?” I asked.

At the very least, I thought, we should secure a room at an inn. After that, we’d have to gather information on the city’s former slave population and the moontree fruit... Sahanna had said she’d ask her big sister about the fruit, so we’d leave that up to her for now.

“The two of us really should stop off at home,” Sahanna said. “We can set you up with a room at an acquaintance’s inn—well, if you’d call it that, so you should take a nice rest there.”

Sahanna’s statement that they were going to go home caused Sark to tremble a little.

We disembarked and let Sahanna guide us around Altair.

The city was built in a more or less circular layout, with the castle at the center. We were currently at the city’s highest point, and the streets led downward to the center, which had us walking down a leisurely slope.

Like in Messa and Majorica, the buildings were largely Western in design. But while Messa and Majorica had seemed neatly laid out, in Altair, the farther you got from the center, the more disorderly the city layout became. This seemed related to the uniquely small size of the land they were working with, combined with the fact that their population grew every time they took in more slaves.

That said, slaves who took refuge in Altair weren’t forced to remain there. If they’d been injured during their time as slaves, they’d receive healing, and if they’d had trouble making a living, they’d be given jobs and a chance to save up money before being allowed to move on.

Nevertheless, most people chose to stay in Altair, which was why its population continued to rise. It must have been a nice place to live.

“Oh, ah, Sahanna, my—my dear. It’s been a while. And...”

As we entered the building, the woman inside started greeting Sahanna, then amended her words in a fluster when she noticed us.

“These people have been taking care of us,” Sahanna told her.

The woman suddenly smiled. “Oh, really? We do have rooms available, so please take your time.”

“Sora, we’ll see you tomorrow,” Sahanna told me. “And do you think we might be allowed to take our wulf materials with us?”

“What about the bigboar?” I asked. I was still holding the one Sark had slain in my Item Box as well.

“We’ll take that back with us another time. I’m sorry, but could you hold on to it for us until then?”

“Yeah, no problem.” It wasn’t exactly taking up space, after all.

I gave the wulf materials to Sahanna and Sark, told them I’d see them tomorrow morning, and then left.

Incidentally, the first floor of the building was a dining hall, with the second floor containing rooms for temporary stays and the third floor and above rented out for residents of Altair. It had all been a true inn once, but since so few people had come here from the outside over the last dozen or so years, it had been restructured.

However, she hadn’t completely shut down the inn portion because people like us did still occasionally come by. The proprietress explained that this was where the mayor of Lactear had stayed during his visit as well.

We ate lunch at the dining hall, then the proprietress told us where the merchants’ guild was, so we headed in that direction. One thing she cautioned us about before we left was to steer clear of the areas near the outer wall. It wasn’t that it was unsafe there, but people unaccustomed to the area could get lost.

We walked downhill from the inn a little ways and had no trouble finding the merchants’ guild on the right. We entered but found it empty.

Yeah, nobody here. There was something like a bell on the counter, so I rang that, and I heard a listless response followed by the appearance of a shaggy-haired girl.

“Yes? How can I help you?” she asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes. Then when she looked up and saw us, her eyes widened and her expression froze. “Er, ah, and who might you be?” She seemed extremely flustered.

There were so few outsiders visiting that she must have originally assumed it was someone she knew.

I showed her my guild card and explained the situation.

“R-Right. Sora, was it? Y-Yes, I did hear your request. I’m afraid the person you’re looking for doesn’t seem to be here.”

Rurika, Chris, and Sera looked despondent when they heard that.

“I-I’m sorry,” she told them. “But, um, we do have several people we’ve taken in from the Eld Republic. Here is the list.” The guild employee quickly showed us the list.

Our message said that the person we were looking for had gone missing during the war with the Vossheil Empire, so maybe she looked into it for us? Though I found it strange, I gave the girls the list. The three of them seemed hesitant for a minute, but they began scanning it intently, their eyes moving carefully up and down the page.

Suddenly, Sera froze.

“Somebody you know?” I asked.

She nodded. “Do you know where this girl lives?” she asked the guild employee, pointing to a spot on the list.

The guild employee looked and replied, “I see. I will check, but what is your connection?”

“She’s a friend from my childhood. We lived in the same town.”

“Understood. This is that person’s residence.” The employee thought for a minute and finally handed over a piece of paper with a building’s name and location written on it. “But it might be a bit hard to find, and some people don’t care to talk with outsiders, so be careful when asking for directions.”

We weren’t quite sure how to handle it, then, but we decided to head out into the city and give it a try. We’d return if it turned out to be impossible, so we just followed the directions on the note for the moment.

We left the merchants’ guild and went further down the slope. At the bottom, we found ourselves arriving at the wall around the castle, with a grand front gate guarded by sentries. They seemed to keep a wary eye on us, probably because we were new in town.

We turned right and followed the wall around until we ended up on the side opposite the gate.

“If we walk up from here, we should find a plaza. She’ll be in a house nearby.” Rurika took the lead as we walked up the hill.

The plaza eventually came into view, and we heard voices coming from it. The voices sounded like children, and they were...playing? Yes, playing... It looked like they were playing war with branches from the great tree.

They seem to be taking the melee pretty seriously, though... I mentioned this to Rurika and the others, and they said that was fairly normal.

“The note says...this way?” We found ourselves in a residential area packed with many similar-looking houses. It would be easy to get lost in a place like this, but I called up my automap to keep an eye on our location, and we could always trace our steps back to the big tree if we got truly lost.

While I was thinking about that, I heard the sound of children’s voices once more. They were coming from inside a rather large white-walled building.

This house appeared to be our destination. Rurika used the knocker but received no response. She tried it again a little harder and heard footsteps within.

“Yes? Who might you be?” The person who answered was a petite beastfolk girl. I would learn later that she was a year younger than Chris.

She tilted her head when she looked at us, but then she looked at Rurika and Chris, then finally at Sera, and she stopped.

“No way. Are you...Big Sis Sera?”

“It’s been a while, Tia,” Sera said.

The girl was taken aback for just a moment. Then she threw her arms around Sera and began to cry.

“Feeling better?”

“Y-Yeah. Sorry.”

We were currently inside the building where Tia lived.

The sound of her crying had drawn a crowd and caused a bit of a commotion, but after we explained the situation, we were shown into the house.

Currently, there were four people born in the Eld Republic present in the room, including Tia, plus the three of us. Mia and Hikari went outside to look after the children. I was about to leave, assuming the others had a lot of catching up to do, but they stopped me for some reason.

This house was a place that looked after children who were former slaves as well as ones whose parents had gone off to work and needed looking after. Tia explained that she had also been taken in here when she’d first arrived as a refugee, and she had ended up living here. Tia was a bear beastfolk, and her personality was more demure than I would have expected from a bear girl.

“I never thought I’d see any of you again.”

Tia explained that she’d been small and weak when she’d first been captured, and she’d been sent away after proving unable to endure the battle training they’d put her through. Her next assignment had been to a village in the Vossheil Empire where she’d been made to do farming, sewing, and other household chores. This spared her from the rigors of any more battle training, but she’d still collapsed from overwork several times, and getting scolded each time for that had made it even worse.

Sera and the others told her what they’d been up to and explained that they were now traveling in search of Eris.

“I see. The four of you really were close, weren’t you?” Tia muttered.

Rurika and Chris looked apologetic.

“It’s all right,” she told them. “I didn’t do very much with the two of you when we were young. Big Sis Sera lived nearby, so we would have chances to talk sometimes. But...”

“What is it?”

“You weren’t quite the way she described you, so I was surprised.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s what I thought at first too.” Sera laughed when she heard that.

“And... This must be your old master, Sora.”

“Yeah,” Sera replied. “Rurika and Chris told him about me when they first met. Then he found me in Frieren and bailed me out.”

The four of them went on talking until the sun went down. If the house’s mistress hadn’t come in, they probably would have kept at it for even longer.

“Big Sis Sera. Can we see each other again?”

“Sure, I’ll be back.”

It was too bad that they hadn’t gotten to see Eris, but I was really glad they’d still gotten to have a nice reunion.

I told Mia and Hikari about it later, and they were happy to hear about it as well.

◇Sahanna’s Perspective 2

We had made it back.

Now that I thought about it, this was my first time being away from my father and my elder sister, Euini, for so long. Would they be angry that I’d slipped out of the castle without telling them? I didn’t think so, but I was still nervous about how they would react when I saw them again.

As expected, our return to the castle sparked quite a commotion.

My elder brother went pale at the sight, which suggested that he somehow had not anticipated this reaction. It left me feeling slightly...no, considerably worried about the future of our kingdom. I assumed things would be fine with my father and my sister present, but I would have to step up my own efforts as well.

First, the royal guards took us away to meet with our father. He’d proven unbothered by the fact that we’d left Altair and listened to my brother’s stories with an amused smile. He seemed very pleased to hear that we’d dispatched the wulfs as well.

We had fought monsters in the past, but only humanoid ones such as orcs, so fighting the wulfs had indeed proven a nerve-racking experience.

We handed over the materials harvested from the wulfs we’d killed, and it was decided that we would have them for dinner. I decided that for the occasion, I would also like to surprise them with my cooking.

“Yes, I’m just glad to see you’re both safe,” my father concluded. “I have no complaints about what you’ve done. But I do hope you’ll go to see Euini at once.”

Then, as father advised, we went to see Euini. She was a hardworking person, so I assumed we would find her in her office.

As we started moving, several members of the royal guard came along. I would normally have turned down the escort, finding it stifling, but it was only to be expected under the circumstances.

My brother didn’t try to hide his annoyance on the matter, but he’d brought it on himself. It would probably go on like this for several days at this rate. I wondered what we would do if they tried to tag along when we went to see Sora.

I was planning to invite them to the castle to tell them about us, but I was sure they’d be surprised when they found out who we really were. Of course, I’d be sad if it made Chris pull away from me.

I had decided not to tell anyone that she was an elf. My brother didn’t know either, and I wanted to keep it a secret until I got her permission to share it.

“Hey, Big Sis Euini,” Sark said cheerily.

Indeed, our elder sister, Euini, had just appeared from around the bend in the corridor. She must have noticed us when he called out, because she smiled and waved. She then quickly began to head toward us, her movements as always the picture of an elegant lady.

“Oh, you worried me so much. Don’t put me through that again.” As she came close, I could see tears brimming in her eyes.

“Sorry, Big Sis Euini.”

“We’re very sorry, Elder Sister Euini.”

As we apologized, she put her arms around us to draw us to her. Seeing that relieved expression on her face felt... Ow, ow, ow!

I had forgotten. My sister was very strong, and she often forgot to check that strength when she was feeling emotional. I-It was quite hard to breathe, in fact, but I’d let it slide under the circumstances... We’d worried her so much, after all.

Euini was probably several times stronger than my brother. Some time ago, a much aggrieved Alfried had described her accidental destruction of a desk. I had asked what had caused it but was never told the answer.

I washed off the weariness of travel in the bath, then went to the kitchen to help with cooking. The head chef tried to dissuade me when I offered to cook, but I bowed and asked that I at least be allowed to prepare the wulf by myself. My sincere request must have made an impact, because he allowed me to cook under his supervision.

I decided I should impress them with my strongest dish, vegetable stir-fry. I’d already asked Sora to give me some of his seasoning for that. I also wanted to use the wulf meat, though, so I decided to make steaks out of it.

Really, I’m just chopping. It’s not a big deal.

It’s hard to relax and chop the vegetables when you hover over me like that!

Be careful around open flames? Yes, I know, of course.

What is this, you ask? Why, it’s consommé-flavored seasoning!

When the head chef finally tasted the finished product, I almost took offense at how surprised he looked.

B-But I suppose it is understandable, since I’ve never cooked before...

A genius, you say? Oh, hardly...

“S-Sahanna, my lady... Wh-When did you learn how to cook?! The flavor of the vegetables is quite delicious, and the steak is cooked to perfection!” the head chef raved.

“Did you make this, Sahanna? It’s very good,” my father said as he tried it.

“Sahanna, you’re amazing. This is delicious,” my sister added.

I was happy to hear their praise of my cooking.

After dinner, we told the two of them about everything we’d seen and heard, including Sora, the others, and Tohma’s group. My father frowned as he listened, but he returned to his usual expression after a moment. Euini fretted the entire time and urged us not to do anything so dangerous again.

“I also have a favor to ask of you, elder sister.” I told her about Ciel and asked if I could have some moontree fruit to help her.

“A spirit? She’s in pain?” my father asked, reacting first.

“Yes.”

“I don’t know if it will work,” he said thoughtfully, “but it seems they have been of great service to the two of you. Euini, please arrange it.”

“Yes, of course,” my sister agreed.

I was relieved to hear that they would offer aid, but my father’s uncertain expression concerned me.

“I would also like to thank them directly,” he continued. “Invite them to the castle, and I’ll give the moontree fruit to the spirit then. But...”

I’d wanted to invite them to the castle from the beginning, so I was very grateful that he had made the offer himself.

My sister giggled. “That’s right. I can’t wait to meet the girl Sark’s fallen for.”

“Hah, indeed,” my father agreed.

My brother turned a rare shade of red at this.

“What about you, Sahanna? Did you find yourself a match?” Euini asked me, eyes sparkling.

I hadn’t expected her to turn that on me. Brother, why are you grinning? You can’t hide it; I already saw you!

“Hey, Sahanna, you’re too young for that. Right? Right?” my father began desperately.

“Father, don’t worry. I have no interest in anyone at the moment. Besides...”

“Besides what?”

“I think you should share yours first, Euini,” I responded with a smile.

At this, the two of them...rather, all three of them turned flustered. My father and brother shouted, “Unforgivable!” and “Who is it?!” while Euini’s face turned bright red.

In fact, Euini’s love life was uneventful as far as I knew. That, I remembered Alfried saying with a sigh, was because of my father’s overprotectiveness.

I did feel that Sora had a lot of redeeming features, but he already had Chris and Mia.

Thus concluded our first family meal in a while. I’d gotten permission from my father to invite the others to the castle, so we’d head into town to see them first thing tomorrow.

I was also curious whether they’d found the person they were looking for.

◇◇◇

After we’d eaten breakfast and started chatting with the proprietress, Sahanna showed up to tell us her family wanted to talk. Since we had to ask about the moontree fruit anyway, we had no reason to say no, so we followed her.

As we approached the gate, we were greeted politely by the same gatekeeper from yesterday, though he now wore a slightly nervous expression. He gave us passes in the form of arm bands, then we went through the gate and followed a long path, lined with buildings on both sides, that led to the castle. Apparently the houses beyond belonged to people who worked at the castle, because there were guards posted at each of them.

We followed the path until we came to a lake with an island at the center. The large tree grew from the island, and the castle stood there as well. Overall, the sight resembled the view of Altair itself from Marte. The only difference was that there was a stone bridge leading to the island.

We crossed the bridge and looked back up at the castle before us. Seen up close, it was clearly a very fine building, but I couldn’t help finding my eyes drawn to the towering tree behind it. The castle looked small by comparison.

“Now, everyone, this way,” Sahanna said, urging us out of our stupor.

Standing in front of the castle was a group of what looked like armed knights whose equipment was very different from that of the guards. They looked different, as well—the guards outside had been beastfolk, but these people were dragonfolk. They all appeared to be humanoid, but I could see what looked like scales through the gaps in their armor.

“Ah, Lady Sahanna. Were these the ones you mentioned?” the lead knight asked.

“Yes. I hope that’s not a problem,” she replied.

“Certainly not. We were informed in advance,” the knight said, then opened the door.

We passed through it into a large entrance hall leading to a grand double door, flanked by stairs leading up.

There were armed guards posted here too. They began to approach when they saw Sahanna, but she stopped them with a raised hand.

“First, this way,” she told us, then led us up the stairs to the right.

But...Lady Sahanna, eh? I mused. I’d known Sahanna was a dragonfolk, but maybe she was more than that. After all, her sister was in a position to give away moontree fruit, Altair’s most precious export, which suggested her family must have been of a fairly high station.

“Oh, Sora. Could you take off the mask?” Sahanna asked as we walked. “I understand your situation, but you should be safe here.”

I thought for a moment, then did as I was told.

We eventually arrived at a large door two floors up. Sahanna knocked on it, then it opened from the inside and a maid poked her head out. It looked like she was a dragonfolk too.

“Lady Sahanna,” the maid said. “Lady Euini is still working, but...”

“Yes, we’re here to see her. May we wait inside? We won’t disturb her work.”

The maid looked back for a moment. “Yes, that seems to be fine.”

As we were let into the room, we found a woman sitting across the desk from us. Her face was pointed down, so I couldn’t actually make out her features, but I’d assumed she was a woman based on how Sahanna had referred to her.

Eventually Euini seemed to reach a stopping point, so she looked up and over at us. Her face was so beautiful that she could’ve been a model for a painting, and I found myself catching my breath.

What intrigued me more, though, was that above her ears, there were coral-like structures growing from the sides of her head. Antlers?

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, everyone. I am Euini, first princess of the Lufre Dragonlands.” While I struggled to decide what to say, the woman, Euini, stood up and spoke. Her every movement was the picture of elegance, and though she looked about Mia’s age she had a truly mature air about her. Her eyes were heterochromic, and there was something calming about her different-colored gaze.

Hmm? But what did she just say? First princess?

“Sahanna, could it be that you haven’t told them?” Euini seemed to pick that up from our reactions and gave a proper explanation of who she was. “My father wishes to thank you as well. Wait a moment while I call him here.”

“U-Um, Lady Euini. When you say your father...” Chris spoke up hesitantly.

“Yes, my father is the Dragon King, but there’s no need to be nervous around him. And you can also just call me Euini.” Euini smiled gently as she reassured us.

Her words allowed us to relax while we accepted her hospitality and waited for the Dragon King, but I couldn’t help but tense up when I heard the knock at the door.

An elderly man entered the room. “Ah, so sorry to have kept you waiting. Hmm, hmm, yes, I see...” He looked into each of our faces in turn and took a seat. “I am Alzahark, the king of the Dragonlands, also known as the Dragon King. I believe Sark and Sahanna might have caused you a great deal of trouble, and I do apologize for that.”

The impression he gave off was less like the king of a country and more like a kindly old man.

“Now, Sahanna told me everything,” Alzahark continued. “This little one is a spirit, then?” His red eyes narrowed and turned to my hood.

Ciel must have noticed his gaze, but the only reaction I felt was a slight stirring in my hood. Thinking Alzahark could probably see Ciel, I pulled her out and laid her on the table.

“She does look to be in poor health,” said a female voice. I turned and saw Euini studying Ciel intently.

“Elder Sister Euini, you can see her?” Sahanna asked.

“She looks like a white rabbit, doesn’t she?” Euini responded. “Her ears are drooping, and she appears ill.”

Ciel was visible to Sahanna because I’d given her the Eyes of Eliana, but it sounded like Euini could see her without them.

“Euini, the moontree fruit.”

At Alzahark’s words, Euini nodded and produced a box. Inside was something shaped like an orange crescent moon.

[Moontree Fruit] An omnicure. Fine to eat or drink.

Incomplete product. A devolution of ***.

That was what Appraisal told me, but...that last line worried me. They’d said the moontree fruit was hard to acquire, so was this the only option?

“Ciel, can you eat it?” I brought the moontree fruit to Ciel’s mouth.

Normally, she could’ve eaten a fruit of this size in one bite, but though she tried to open her mouth wide enough this time, she couldn’t seem to muster up the energy.

“Would liquefying it make it less effective?” I asked. My appraisal had told me it was fine to drink, but I wanted to be sure.

“No, I don’t think it will,” Euini responded.

Encouraged, I used alchemy to turn the fruit into a drink. I checked with Appraisal and found that the name had changed to Moontree Juice, but the text below had stayed the same.

I held Ciel in my arms and slowly gave her the drink.

Ciel drank the liquid down little by little until the vessel was empty, then I laid her back on the table and watched. Soon, her drooping ears perked up a bit, and her eyes slowly opened. She hovered up into the air, but she couldn’t maintain her flight and returned to the table soon enough.

Clearly, her condition had improved, but she wasn’t completely cured.

“Hmm, as I thought,” Alzahark said as he looked at her. “I don’t believe this spirit of yours is fully recovered.”

“Then the moontree fruit can’t cure her?”

“This moontree fruit is not the true fruit.”

Was that why Appraisal called it an “incomplete product”? I wondered.

Alzahark continued. “The true moontree fruit—the matured version—shines when it’s exposed to moonlight, but we can’t pick mature ones now.” He went on to explain that mature moontree fruits had grown rarer and rarer over the years, until about eleven years ago when they stopped appearing altogether. Even before then, they’d only been able to get one or two mature ones per year.

The moontree fruits they were picking now were still useful for improving healing potions and so on, but they weren’t as efficient as the mature kind. And even these crops were growing smaller and smaller.

“Um, is it all right for you to be telling us this?” I asked. The moontree fruit was the Dragonlands’ most renowned product, which made this a fairly dire national secret. I couldn’t help but wonder why they were sharing it with us.

“No need to be alarmed,” Alzahark reassured me. “You don’t seem the type to gossip about this, after all.”

I couldn’t exactly argue with him there.

“Now, Your Majesty, may I ask a question?” Chris inquired.

“Oh, the elf girl. Go ahead,” Alzahark said.

Chris was surprised by that response and looked over at Sahanna, who protested her innocence with her eyes.

Alzahark chuckled as he watched their interaction. “My eyes are special. I can also see that this young man is an otherworlder.”

I couldn’t be too surprised. It wasn’t as if Appraisal were some unique ability of mine, after all. I’d also known that there would be people who could even see through my countermeasures. Not to mention that Sahanna had already figured out that Chris was an elf.

At the same time, Euini and Sahanna both looked shocked to hear I was an otherworlder.

“So, how can I help you?” Alzahark said, putting the conversation back on track.

“Do you know why the moontree fruit won’t mature?” Chris asked.

At that question, Euini and Sahanna both looked at Alzahark.

Alzahark took a moment. “Yes, I do know, and I also know how to fix it. Unfortunately, the cause itself cannot be avoided.”

“Father, is that true?” Euini asked.

Alzahark nodded and explained that the tree that produces the fruit had been weakening. To be cured, it needed to be infused with mana, but there was only one race that could do that.

“Father, if you knew that...” Euini started.

“It simply can’t be done,” Alzahark interrupted. “The race needed...is elves. And the demands are quite severe.” When the tree was infused with mana, he explained, it had to be fully recharged all in one go. “And while your mana does appear to be higher than that of a standard elf your age, it’s still not enough to my eye. The process also comes with risk.”

“What is the risk?” Chris asked.

“Once you begin the mana transfer process, the tree will drain all it needs from you by force. So if you don’t have a sufficient amount, it could kill you. Normally if there wasn’t a single elf with enough mana to endure the process, I’d ask more than one, but that’s an impossible task with the way the world is now.”

I couldn’t dispute that. Seris and Chris were the only elves I’d met so far. “How many would you need?” I asked.

“It depends on how much mana they possess. For instance, that girl’s mana value seems to be 1,500 or thereabouts? Given the state of the tree the last time we restored it, you’d need about six people with a similar value.”

I saw then why Alzahark had said it wasn’t possible. He also made it sound like a mana value of over 1,000 was quite rare, even among elves.

“Speaking of which, your own mana is quite high. I’d say it’s around 800?” Alzahark said, looking at me.

Hearing that made me think about my stats. With modifiers, that was about the value my MP and magic values were at. So when Alzahark talked about mana, he probably meant MP—that was the stat that ticked down when I infused things with mana, after all.

Incidentally, Euini had the highest mana out of anyone present; hers was close to 2,000. Because she’s the Dragon King’s daughter? I wondered.

I asked if there was any other way, and Alzahark said he didn’t know of any.

I thought about what he’d told me. Perhaps we could give Ciel multiple moontree fruits, or find a way to improve the effectiveness of the current one—something I could do with either Alchemy or Creation. Also, he’d said the tree could only take mana from elves, but maybe there was a way to make use of Mana Enchant.

“That’s also the only moontree fruit I can get you for now, but we should be able to harvest more soon. I promise to reserve a few for your little one. Perhaps multiple fruits will work where a single one didn’t. I could also ask the alchemists’ guild to look for ways to make moontree fruit more effective.”

Alzahark’s words made my heart skip a beat—he’d said just what I was thinking. Probably just a coincidence, of course.

“I’ll give you permission to stay in the castle as well, since I hope you’ll tell the young ones a bit more about the outside world. As you can see, they’ve never left the Dragonlands.”

Sahanna was delighted to hear that, and Euini seemed interested as well.

We parted ways with Alzahark, then Euini and Sahanna showed us around the castle, including some places we weren’t actually allowed to enter.

“Hey, Sahanna. Why didn’t you tell us you were royalty?” Rurika asked after Sahanna showed us to the room we would be staying in.

“Yeah, that surprised me,” Sera added.

“Surprised,” Hikari agreed.

“I didn’t think you would believe me if I told you,” Sahanna sighed, “given the way my brother is.”

The three of them nodded in understanding. I probably wouldn’t have believed that loose cannon was royalty, though the behavior itself was natural for a child his age. It was actually Sahanna who seemed unusually mature—probably from years of having to keep Sark in line.

“Ciel, which would you rather have?” I asked as I lined a few foods up on the table.

Ciel examined them all, then eventually picked the bacon.

I returned the other foods to my Item Box, and Rurika cut the bacon into bits. Normally, Ciel could’ve eaten a fist-sized chunk of the stuff in one bite, but that might have been hard for her now.

“Okay, Ciel. Say ah,” Rurika said. She and Hikari began feeding the bacon to Ciel, who slowly chewed it.

“I’m glad she can eat again.”

“Yeah, but we’ll have to be careful,” I told her. “She still seems pretty under the weather, and her condition might eventually get worse again.” I’d heard Tohma and the others say their symptoms tended to keep worsening with time, so Ciel’s improvement might be temporary as well.

It wasn’t realistic to keep feeding her moontree fruit every time she felt worse, so we’d have to find a way to completely cure her. This didn’t just go for Ciel, but for Tohma and the others as well. Alzahark had said that he’d give them moontree fruit the next time they picked some, but since they could only get a limited amount, they’d have to see how it affected a small number of them first.

Alzahark had also told us we might be able to learn more about slave crests in the castle’s library. He said the library contained books from all over the world, both past and present.

“But I don’t particularly like reading, so I don’t know what’s there,” he’d concluded with a smile.

It made me think it would be worth checking out the library after all. Learning more about the slave crests could give me a clue about how to remove them, and maybe also lead us to a way to restore Ciel.

Chris was also intrigued that there might be rare magic books there.

The next morning, we shared a meal with Euini and the others as we’d done at dinner the night before.

“Will you be returning to the city for now?” Euini asked.

“Yes, I’d like to explore the town a bit and check in with the people who run our inn.” We’d stayed at the castle the night before, after all. They might be worried about the fact that we’d just gone missing.

Euini nodded in acknowledgment.

I’d thought Sark and Sahanna would want to come along, but apparently they had a lot of catching up to do at the castle from their time away. That was apparently why Sark hadn’t been at dinner last night either.

“And my brother can’t keep a secret, so it’s better not to tell him anything too important,” Sahanna added gravely.

We finished our meal, headed back to our inn to check in with the proprietress, then walked around Altair for a while.

“Master.”

We were walking along when Hikari suddenly tugged on my sleeve.

“What is it, Hikari?”

“No stalls,” she responded, looking around the avenue we were walking down.

She was right—we hadn’t seen a single stall since we came here. We’d barely seen anyone at all, in fact. Even Detect Presence revealed fewer human signals here than the number of houses would suggest. The same seemed to be true anywhere in town we went too. Any voices that I heard belonged to children, and I didn’t see many adults.

But the oddest thing about the city was the lack of visible farmland, even though I’d heard that most of the cargo that came to Marte from Altair was foodstuffs.

“So where do they do the farming?” I asked, but nobody had the answer.

“This is the library.”

After lunch, Euini and Sahanna finally showed us to the library. We’d stopped by yesterday, but we hadn’t been allowed in at the time.

When I went in, I could see that “amazing” didn’t do the room justice.

It was a huge room packed with shelves. There had been lots of books in the Magius library too, but if I’d seen it after this, it would have seemed like a pretty poor showing. It would take at least two or three years for one person to read every book in here, even if they read all day every day.

“Slave crests... That information could be in books about magic, or, because of the name, maybe a book about the history of slaves? At any rate, that’s probably where we should start.” After getting an explanation of how the books were organized, we quickly got down to business.

We were about an hour into our silent reading when Hikari, Rurika, and Sera seemed to be reaching their limit. Since they’d eaten recently, the quiet of the room seemed to be making them sleepy.

Then someone appeared to break up the silence.

“Hikari, you want to have a mock duel?!” Sark asked, running into the room moments after we heard his footsteps.

“Elder brother. It is not polite to shout inside a library.”

“That’s right, Sark. Haven’t I told you that before?”

“Big Sis Euini?! What are you doing here?” Sark looked surprised, but he smiled as he confirmed that Hikari was there.

“My goodness,” Euini muttered as she noticed, placing her hands on her cheeks.

Hikari then weighed in, calling Sark “too noisy.”

This reaction left Sark feeling despondent. He ended up taking a book, sitting down, and earnestly beginning to...not read at all. He had the book open, but he spent all his time casting glances at Hikari. He must have thought we couldn’t see him, but she definitely noticed. Sahanna didn’t even try to hide her exasperation.

After that went on for thirty minutes, Sark seemed to remember his original reason for coming here. “H-Hey. Hikari, want to go to the training facility? The royal guard...the strongest people in the kingdom should be practicing right now.”

Hikari was definitely intrigued by that. Part of it was because she was always interested in strong people, and she also didn’t like reading very much.

At least two other members of our party seemed interested in going too.

“Oh, perhaps I’ll go too, then!” Euini chimed in. “I haven’t seen you practice in a while, Sark!”

Sark’s face froze when he heard that, but it didn’t seem like he could say anything to dissuade Euini, who had clasped her hands in glee at the thought. In the end, it was decided that we should all go together.

Sahanna just let out a sigh.

We arrived at the entrance to the training hall—through the doors on the first floor just past the entrance—together. As we opened the door, we heard the clashing sounds of mock swords within.

The knights seemed to be split up into four groups all fighting simultaneously. There was another door ahead of us, suggesting more to the facility farther in.

“Oh, Master Sark. How can I help you today?” a figure asked as Sark led us into the room.

This person had green eyes and matching green hair down to their waist. They had a slender, almost unreliable-looking build, but they seemed completely aware of their surroundings. I thought they were a dragonoid because of the scales on their neck and wrists, but they wore a mask over the lower half of their face, so I couldn’t judge their gender. Their voice was also muffled by the mask.

“Alfried. We’d like to join in the training!” Sark demanded.

At this, the dragonfolk known as Alfried looked at us, then at Euini, and let out a sigh. At least, I thought they let out a sigh. It was hard to tell with the mask on.

Sark’s voice must have been audible across the room, because all the dueling parties stopped and looked our way. Their gazes seemed to fall on one particular spot, and then...

“I’m gonna go all out today. So don’t you guys hold back, okay?” said one.

“Feel free to hurt me today. Actually, I hope you do,” said another.

“I have some wounds that haven’t healed yet,” said a third.

“I’m thinking I’ll challenge the captain,” said a fourth.

Euini giggled at the sight. “I don’t come here often myself, but I love to watch everyone being so industrious. I would join in if I could, but I’m afraid I’m just not built for it.”

The mock duels resumed, with the knights’ movements now looking harder and sharper than before.

“Ah, I knew it would turn out like this,” Sahanna said with a relenting expression as she watched. She explained to us that Euini was refined, beautiful, and capable. She was also tremendously kind, and she liked using her holy spells to cure the people wounded in mock duels. This meant she was extremely beloved by the people who worked in the castle.

“Sahanna, you really love Euini, huh?” Chris said in response to the torrent of compliments.

Sahanna must have realized what she’d done, because she blushed bright red.

“I understand. I had a big sister too,” Chris responded with a smile, but there was a little bit of sadness in it.

Seeing how Euini was enjoying the mock duels, Alfried seemed to relent on something, paused the duels, and brought everyone to meet us. This was where Hikari and the others were introduced.

I hadn’t planned on participating myself, but for some reason Sark challenged me and I ended up joining in anyway. I wanted to say no, but it was hard to back down when he called me out and everyone, including Euini, started looking at me.

Our battle began, and though it wasn’t easy, I still won. Sark was definitely growing stronger by the day, but I was learning too. I’d fought him often enough to learn the quirks of his style.

Sark was mad about losing, but many of the people watching seemed surprised by his performance.

“Master Sark, you’ve improved a great deal. Your movements look so much better!” Alfried said.

“Really?” Sark asked happily, seeming particularly pleased by this comment. “Hikari, you fight me next!” he demanded, and he promptly got the tar beat out of him again.

Now that I thought about it, while they’d had a lot of mock duels during our travels, they’d started treating them almost like real fights toward the back half, and Mia and I had had to heal them several times with our holy spells. This time seemed a lot like those, and Hikari was the stronger one when she was fighting another person. When her opponent got serious, too, she showed little mercy to match them. She was bad at holding back.

“Better, but still not there,” she said to the collapsed Sark, then explained what he’d done wrong as always. She was so blunt that I had to wonder how much he was taking in, but Sark seemed delighted to listen.

The royal guard looked shocked by the fight as well. At first they hadn’t seemed to think much of the idea of him fighting a little girl, but they’d clearly reevaluated.

In the end, the win rate was Hikari, then Rurika, then Sera. Sera had the highest level of the three, but Hikari and Rurika had more experience fighting people. Alfried said all three of them were strong enough to join the royal guard right that moment.

Meanwhile, I was standing before a crowd of unhappy-looking royal guards.

“Heal,” I intoned, and the one I’d just helped muttered a thank-you and slunk away.

Seriously, it’s not my fault. Complain to Sahanna and Alfried.

The mock battles had been fierce, with plenty of injuries. There were a lot of reasons for this—Euini’s presence; Sark’s growth; Hikari, Sera, and Rurika joining in—but the result was just too many injuries for Euini to heal all by herself. And so, Mia and I ended up joining in to help.

This meant one-third of the guard—the part I was tending to—looked despondent and sad as they got their treatment, while the other two-thirds looked shy and happy. They seemed to be trying to hide it, but you could see the bliss in their eyes.

Alfried also watched them with a glare.

I didn’t know exactly what was going on there, but I wished them luck in dealing with it.

◇◇◇

By our third day spending time in the castle, we’d found a book about slave crests, but it didn’t say anything about how to remove them.

“Any luck?” Alzahark appeared suddenly.

I was surprised by his unexpected entrance, but I regained my cool before answering him. “I’m afraid not. I haven’t learned anything beyond the fact that slave crests definitely did exist in history. But I did find an interesting book about something else.”

I showed Alzahark a centuries-old book that I’d found about alchemy. It was a catalog of different items the author had made, which included some things that I’d made with Creation. I’d briefly wondered why this knowledge had been lost, but after looking at the recipes, I understood.

For instance, making a full potion with the Creation skill required the consumption of one healing, one mana, and one stamina potion, plus a magistone. However, making one with alchemy required five of each kind of potion. Clearly, just using each potion by itself would be far more efficient.

In addition, the tome contained recipes for potions to temporarily increase mana and advanced versions of each kind of potion, which I had never seen in stores before. There must not have been many people who could easily make them either—the margins were scribbled with lamentations and accusations like “This didn’t work for me.” “Liar.” “Am I just that bad at this?!” “What am I missing?”

“I’d like to ask you something, Your Majesty,” I said after that. “May I?”

“Yes, what is it?”

I wasn’t sure if he’d tell me, but I was curious enough to ask. “I’ve been looking around the town and the castle for the last few days, and I’ve noticed there aren’t many people around. I was under the impression that Altair sends food to Marte, but I haven’t seen any farmland either. Where do you grow your food?”

“Ah, a fine question. I was thinking I might send you to have a look at it anyway, so I can tell you. But there’s one condition.”

“I can’t tell anyone?” I guessed.

“That is part of it, yes. But I’d also like you to take Euini with you.”

I didn’t understand, so Alzahark told me everything.

He explained that there was a dungeon under the castle where they did their farming. The moontree fruit was harvested on the seventh floor of that dungeon.

“Isn’t that dangerous?” I asked. I couldn’t help but remember how Majorica had almost fallen victim to a monster parade.

“Ah, no worries there,” he responded. “Our dungeon was created by the Dragon God, so it’s a bit different from other dungeons in this world, and the interior is tightly regulated. As for powerful monsters...we do occasionally see an advanced subtype, but no more. Euini can tell you more if you ask her.”

“But why ask us for this?”

“I was thinking I’d send Euini at some point, but I’ve been holding back. A father’s love and all that. But it’s been a long time since I’ve seen her enjoy things so much, and I’d be happy to see you take her,” Alzahark said.

At this, I glanced to the side, where I saw Euini chatting happily with Mia and Chris.

Euini spent most of her time working, but during her break periods she’d come visit us to chat. At one of those times, I’d realized that Euini could touch Ciel. I was surprised the first time I saw it. Rurika and Sahanna had both insisted that it wasn’t fair, with Rurika seeming particularly jealous.

I looked back at Alzahark then, and I saw him watching her with a gentle look in his eyes.

Alzahark told me to tell Euini what he’d said, then left the library. I closed my book and headed over to the three of them, then conveyed her father’s words to Euini.

“What? Father wants me to go to the dungeon?” At first she looked surprised, but gradually she broke out in a smile. However, it was short-lived and quickly replaced by worry.

“Is that not okay?” I asked.

“Well, I think I would stand out and make trouble for you,” she replied.

I looked at her eyes and antlers and frowned. Euini seldom went outside. This was partly because she had so much work to do, but also because she often drew attention when she did go out. She’d at least interacted with the royal guard enough that it wasn’t as bad by comparison, but they always used to treat her as fragile.

“Some of the people from the city who work in the dungeon will start praying when they see me,” she added.

“Oh, in that case, Euini... Would you like to try this?” Chris said, then removed her Secht Necklace.

Chris’s golden hair turned silver, and her rounded ears took on points. Euini was shocked by the sight.

“The Secht Necklace has an effect that disguises your appearance,” Chris continued. “But I don’t know if it will make your antlers invisible, so you’ll just have to try it.”

Chris was right to be unsure. In her case, the changes to the color of the hair, her eyes, and the shape of her ears were just adjustments to features that already existed. But apparently seeing the momentary delight on Euini’s face had made her think it was worth a try.

“Here’s what you should do.” Chris did her best to explain how to use the Secht Necklace. Euini listened earnestly and tried different things, but none of them seemed to work right. Perhaps it had worked so easily for Chris because she’d already had so much practice with her disguise spell.

But Euini just laughed. “It seems I’ll need practice.”

“We’ll go back to reading so we don’t get in your way, then.”

I continued poring over books on alchemy while I listened to Euini struggle, interspersed with the occasional noise of delight.

That day, we ended up having our lunch under the big tree.

We did it because Chris had said Ciel was interested in it. Ciel didn’t seem to have an appetite at the moment, though, and she just napped on the tree’s roots instead. Rurika couldn’t help but smile at seeing her look so peaceful, but I was worried to see that her appetite seemed to have decreased from the first time we gave her the moontree fruit.

For cooking, we employed the castle’s kitchen, and Mia and the others made packed lunches. Euini’s coral-like antlers seemed to have vanished at this point, and her hair and eyes were now gold.

“Would you like to visit with your friend after lunch?” Euini asked. She was nervous, though, because leaving the castle walls would be the definitive test of whether her disguise really worked.

“Don’t worry,” Chris reassured her. “You’re properly disguised. But you’ll want to be careful—your antlers will still be there even if they’re invisible, so someone who touches them will know they’re there, and they might get caught when you’re passing through a narrow space.”

Euini nodded firmly in response. Yesterday she’d returned to work after her break, and last night she’d stopped by Chris’s room to practice more.

“Big Sis Euini, are you really going to the dungeon with us?” Sark asked, looking really worried.

Euini laughed. “It’s all right. I’ve wanted to go there at least once anyway. Father has never let me go before, and though I know about the trade of foodstuffs from the documents, I don’t know how they’re made. So I’m happy for the chance to have a look.”

Euini was so obviously looking forward to it that Sark couldn’t argue with her any more.

“Have you ever been there, Sark and Sahanna?” Hikari asked.

“Yeah, we’ve gone as far down as the fourth floor. We’ve fought orcs there too!” Sark responded boastfully.

Orcs were definitely among the stronger kinds of monsters, but they weren’t exactly impressive for our current level. Maybe Sark didn’t know that we’d fought in the Majorica dungeon?

“He probably wasn’t listening,” Sahanna said with a sigh. The fact that she knew suggested someone had told them.

By the way, the subsequent fifth floor was where monsters like wulfs would start to appear. Since they hadn’t been down far enough to fight them before, was that why they’d been nervous when we’d fought the wulfs in the forest?

“Well, we’ve got our gift, so let’s go.” After we finished our meal, Sera stood up purposefully. She was clearly happy about getting to see Tia.

By the way, the gift we were bringing was the bigboar meat.

The nine of us left through the gate and then walked along the wall. Euini goggled at the sights around her.

“Oh, Big Sis Sera!” Tia cried as we crested the hill and arrived in the plaza. She had been playing with the children, but she stopped to wave when she noticed us.

“Good to see you again,” Sera said.

“Yes, um...” Tia hesitated, looking over at Sark, Sahanna, and Euini.

“Don’t worry, they’re friends,” Sera reassured her. “Are you watching the kids by yourself?”

“Yes, I usually have others to help me, but they’re feeling under the weather...”

I estimated that there were at least thirty children playing in the plaza.

“We can step up, then,” Sera offered. “We looked after a lot of kids in Majorica.”

Rurika seemed to agree. “Tia, you introduce us. Sora, you can take it easy over there.”

I didn’t argue with my assignment. I’d briefly met the children before, but they’d seemed particularly suspicious of me for some reason. Tia, with a pasted-on smile, had said that it was probably the mask—I’d taken it off while I was inside the castle, but I’d put it back on here in town.

So, I sat on the bench and watched the others having fun together. Soon, Tia left the group and came to join me. She sat a little ways away from me and let out a big sigh.

It had looked like she really was struggling to look after so many kids. It was the kind of job that took a lot of energy, and because the really little ones were so unpredictable, it left you no time to rest.

“Chris told me to take a break, and Rurika said you’d be lonely by yourself.”

Rurika’s trying to be considerate, I guessed.

I looked back at the children and saw they’d broken into groups. Hikari and Sark had started a game of tag with the feistier kids, while Mia and Euini were caring for the younger ones. Mia held them with practiced hands, but Euini seemed a little more unsure of herself.

The remaining children broke into groups around the pairs of Chris and Sahanna and Rurika and Sera to hear them talk. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but the children seemed engrossed by it.

“You know, Tia, I’ve worked with kids before, but nothing like this,” I told her. “You’re pretty amazing.”

Tia didn’t look happy. “I’m not amazing at all.”

“Something on your mind?”

“Well, the grown-ups all seem so busy lately. I know their work is hard, but their kids miss them. I know what it’s like to miss your parents, so I understand.”

Tia told me how things had been in the neighborhood recently. Of course, she added, it was common for parents to be busy when harvest periods overlapped.

We ended up playing until evening, and when we were leaving each other, Sera gave Tia our gift. Tia was shocked to hear that it was meat from a monster that the girls had hunted.

The kids thanked us, then we parted ways and returned to the castle.

Interlude 6

“May I ask a question?”

I looked up to find Alfried staring at me with narrowed eyes. I nodded, and she went on.

“What made you decide to send Euini to the dungeon now?”

“Do I need a reason to send any of them to the dungeon?”

I had to admit, I had been surprised to see a high elf—I never thought I’d see one again. Ignis had only mentioned that an elf girl searching for her sister was coming to my land with an otherworlder and the Saint.

A high elf—one who’d inherited a great deal of that person’s power.

Her quantity of mana was far greater than that of a normal elf. Having such power at her young age would have partly been a result of her own efforts, but largely due to her race.

Even so, she wouldn’t have enough on her own. When I’d checked the status of the Spirit Tree with my Dragon’s Eye, I’d seen that the mana it possessed was presently a little over 2,000. Currently this had caused no side effects besides the moontree fruit failing to mature, but if things continued on their present track, Altair would eventually grow incapable of supporting the rest of the kingdom.

If things ever get that bad... I shuddered to think about it.

It was far from unprecedented for the moontree fruit to stop growing. But when it had happened in the past, we’d simply asked for the aid of the elves, and they’d imbued the Great Tree—the Spirit Tree—with their mana.

But that was harder with the world in its present state. There were fewer elves every year, and I’d heard rumors of them being hunted as well.

I’d learned fifty years ago that a certain realm had been responsible for this, but unfortunately I had lacked the ability to stop it.

If I were to interfere carelessly... The tragedy of that day replayed in my mind.

“I would imbue the Spirit Tree with mana if I could,” I lamented. “In the old days, perhaps I could have.”

I had lied to them in one way.

Even if she didn’t have enough mana, that high elf girl could still save the Spirit Tree using a method not available to normal elves—a method that involved offering up one’s life.

In the old days, perhaps I could have hardened my heart. I would have told myself that to save this world, even only to save my kingdom, the life of one high elf was a small price to pay.

“What is it?” Alfried asked.

“Oh, nothing.”

I had since learned the meaning of true warmth.

In some ways, perhaps I deserved the anger I’d provoked.

Perhaps having more people to protect had made me weak.

“We’ll just have to bear it a bit longer,” I admitted. “I think we can hold out until the girl matures a bit more.”

I’d sent them to the dungeon because I hoped that bringing the high elf girl closer to the Spirit Tree’s core might make something happen. The effect of the Spirit Tree would likely be stronger in the dungeon, and I’d thought that it might ease the spirit’s suffering as well.

“What about those young people?” Alfried asked me next. “The...slave crest, you called it? Can it really be cured?”

Ah, yes, there was that issue as well.

“I believe an elixir could cure it,” I told her. “But a slave crest is a kind of forbidden curse. Many people who’ve had it inflicted on them have died.”

“‘Many’ suggests that some have survived, doesn’t it?”

“Yes...for a time,” I admitted.

Slave crests were based on a kind of magic that had been invented long ago—when the world was wilder with more realms in constant conflict—as a way to subjugate a conquered people en masse. A side effect was that it created artificial demons.

One kingdom fell for the allure of the slave crests’ power to create perfect soldiers and ended up falling into ruin as a result. The survival rate of those afflicted with the crests had proven extremely low.

This failure led to the creation of slave collars instead. There was also subjugation magic, but it was rare and functioned differently to the slave crests.

I thought for a moment. “Alfried, have you heard what Sark and Sahanna had to say?”

“Yes, about the girl called Sumire?”

They’d explained that the girl had grown wings. It had only been for a moment, though, and they’d immediately disappeared.

I’d asked Sahanna more about it later, and she said that the otherworlder boy’s spirit had absorbed the spotlike slave crest. The trauma of this act was what had left the spirit weakened. It was also what had led him to seek the moontree fruit to restore her, as eating it had previously restored the health of the boys and girls afflicted with slave crests, albeit temporarily.

His theory was plausible. The moontree fruit improved the efficacy of healing potions, and it was highly compatible with spirits, so if it had that effect on humans it would likely work with his little one. It hadn’t ended up working, but I thought that might have been inevitable due to the unripe nature of the fruit.

Would a ripe fruit be able to save her, then? The spirit had inspired a sense of nostalgia in me, and I wanted to save her myself.

Sadly, that brought us back to the issues with the Spirit Tree. I simply didn’t know what to do.

“Let’s leave the question of the moontree fruit for later. What do we do about Elesia’s request?” Seeming to notice how troubled I was, Alfried changed the subject.

“The Demon King hunt, you mean?”

“Yes.”

“Let me see. Let’s tell them, ‘We’ve taken a group of young people who have marks on their necks into custody, and it’s proven too distracting for us to aid you.’”

“You wouldn’t rather be more straightforward?”

“Overaggressiveness could lead to trouble. Oh, and could you pass the message under the table to the Beast King as well?”

Alfried nodded and left the room.

Chapter 6

That morning, we gathered in the training hall.

“Are you really going, Lady Euini?” Alfried asked.

“You wouldn’t recognize me, would you?” Euini asked, doing a spin in her disguised form.

Alfried, seeing how happy she seemed, must have decided it was pointless to object; she called a member of the royal guard to accompany us. “Dutina. Show these people the way. I don’t expect anything to go awry, but keep them safe if it does.”

“Y-Yes. L-Leave it to me.” The guard was moving stiffly, and I could tell she was nervous. “I am Dutina,” she told us. “Call me Tina. I’m new, b-but I’ll do everything I can to protect you!” She gave a hearty introduction, and we told her our names as well.

“Oh, that’s right,” Euini remembered. “Please call me Yun as well. Since I’m, well, in disguise right now.”

It was true that using her real name would expose her. I’d have to be careful not to let it slip. By the way, Sark and Sahanna had already met the workers in the dungeon, so they didn’t need disguises.

Dutina led the party through the door farther into the training hall. Behind it was a downward staircase with a dais beside it.

“It’s your first time here, Master Sora, so place your hand on the dais,” Dutina said.

I did as I was told, and the dais lit up.

“Your registration is now complete. There’s a dais like this by the stairs on every floor. Master Sora, place your hand on it again and see what it says.”

As I did so, a transparent display similar to my stat panel opened before me. The panel displayed the phrase “To which floor would you like to travel?” with the first floor as the only option.

“Each time you register a new floor, you gain the option to move directly to it. It works the same way when you return. For instance, if you choose the first floor from the second floor dais, you can come right back here.”

It looked like a more convenient setup than the dungeon in Majorica, and the others seemed to agree with me on that.

“Let’s go, then,” I said.

The first thing we saw as we arrived at the bottom of the steps was buildings, and beyond them lay a massive stretch of farmland. It was set up like the Majorica dungeon’s field floors, a wide open space with blue sky visible above. I could even see small clouds here and there.

“We keep different storehouses and residences near the stairs. But the floor is huge, so there’s a great deal more than what you see here. The tree grows at the center of this floor—and at the center of every floor, actually. You’ll understand if you see it for yourself.”

The first floor of this dungeon—I decided to call it the Altair dungeon—was where they grew their crops. The floors here never went through transfiguration, so we could always march in a straight line to reach the stairs.

“The floor is so large that it takes over three days to walk from one end to the other, so we use wagons for transporting goods and people.”

“The deeper you go, the smaller the floors get,” Sark added. So it was the opposite of the Majorica dungeon in that respect.

“What shall we do, then?” Dutina asked. “I prepared a wagon for transport if you’d like.” She must have arranged it in advance.

If we wanted to go to the seventh floor, a wagon would definitely get us there faster. But I knew my answer.

“I’d like to walk,” I said. “The rest of you can take a wagon if you want.”

Dutina froze up at a reply she clearly hadn’t expected. Mia and the others shared a knowing look, while Sark gawked at me as if to say, Is this guy stupid?

I ignored them and checked my stat panel. We’d used a wagon during the bandit hunt and the purification of the cursed earth, but I wanted to walk here to boost my Walking level.

“U-Um! I would like to walk as well,” Euini said.

That one surprised even me.

“Y-You too, Lady Euini?!”

“Y-You mean it, big sis?!”

“I do. And Tina, see that you call me Yun. Sark, no more ‘big sis.’ And of course, I will refer to you as M...as Sark.” She seemed to wonder briefly whether she should call him “Master Sark,” but the rest of us just called him “Sark,” so she decided to follow our lead.

“Y-Yes, Lady Yun,” Dutina stammered.

“No. Just Yun.”

I understood why Sark and Dutina were worried. Euini had said her office work rarely let her get out, and this kind of long-distance walking was hard on people who weren’t used to it. I would probably have chosen the wagon too, if it hadn’t been for the benefits of my skill.

In the end, they decided to indulge her (they couldn’t actually stop her) and so we all walked. We could get on a wagon later if things got too hard, and Euini promised she’d let us know if she needed it.

“You don’t look too surprised, Sahanna,” Rurika said to her as we were walking. While everyone else had been shocked by Euini’s announcement, Sahanna alone had remained calm.

“I thought she might say that,” Sahanna replied. “She’d been looking jealous when we talked about our travels all over the Dragonlands.”

Hearing this, I looked over at Euini and saw her walking along, chatting happily with Mia and Chris.

“And if she ends up not being able to walk, I’m sure you can carry her,” Sahanna added.

“He could, but it’d make Mia and Chris jealous,” Rurika chimed in.

Of course, that seemed like a highly unlikely outcome to me.

“If it gets too hard for her, there’s always Shade,” Sera pointed out. “If we’re too far from a wagon boarding point when that happens, Sora can produce his own.”

She was right about that, although the Shadewagon would freak out the farmers.

As we strolled along, we caught sight of people at work here and there all around us. They must have been informed about our arrival, since they didn’t seem surprised to see us. Some even waved.

At Euini’s request, we stopped awhile to watch them work. She listened to what they had to say and asked questions wherever she had them. The farmers seemed pleased by her curiosity and explained their processes thoroughly.

Comparing what they said to what I’d heard in Lokia, I learned a few things.

For instance, this dungeon had a warm climate and could grow almost any vegetable from seed. Time passed here like it did on the outside, with a proper day-night cycle. Rain fell, but only once every five days, and so they’d dug several reservoirs from which they could pull water for the fields.

The farmers here also tended the crops in shifts, which meant they spent several days in the dungeon at a time. No one was forced to stay overnight, but facilities were provided for it, and some people didn’t like going through the trouble of returning home every day. But many of the ones with families preferred to return at the end of the day, and they lamented that they couldn’t do that now.

“Because you’re busy with the harvest season?” I asked.

“Well, the crops seem to be developing slowly, which means tending to several kinds of vegetables at once. Their harvest periods are overlapping too. This has happened every so often before, but it’s getting more common lately,” the farmer replied.

This seemed to be the reason Tia had mentioned all the adults being busy lately. It wasn’t just men who worked here; there were a lot of women too.

By the way, the first floor was used to grow vegetables, and the second to grow grains. The grains were used for food as well as fodder for livestock on the third floor.

On the evening of our second day in the dungeon, we reached the midpoint.

We could tell it was the midpoint because we could see the giant tree trunk growing up out of the ground and into the sky above. According to Dutina, this was the same tree that grew beside the castle, which penetrated through the many floors of the dungeon to reach the surface.

“Sora, the food’s ready,” Mia said, and Ciel came out from resting in my hood to fly over to Hikari.

Yes, the dungeon had clearly had an effect on Ciel. She’d been more or less the same yesterday, but this morning, she’d started acting a bit different—she had a bit of breakfast after previously eating no more than one meal a day. Moreover, by noon I saw her riding on Hikari’s head, and she could even fly in short bursts. She wasn’t back to her normal appetite, but knowing we could eat meals with her was always a huge morale boost.

At first, Sark and Dutina didn’t understand what we were celebrating, so Sahanna briefly lent them the Eyes of Eliana to let them see that there was a spirit among us. Sark seemed jealous of Ciel’s close relationship with Hikari, while Dutina was awestruck and began praying to her.

I wished I could have made Eyes of Eliana for everyone, but I didn’t have the materials.

After dinner was over, we spent some time chatting, but went to bed early after a long day of walking. I leaned against the big tree to increase my skill proficiencies, calling out Shade to attune to him or teleporting small objects around. Then I checked my Creation list and thought about what to make next.

“Sora, you aren’t sleeping?” Chris came up and sat beside me—more precisely, she left a space in between us for Ciel to rest against the tree.

“Ciel seemed interested in the big tree,” I told her. “I was about to lie down when she said she wanted to check it out.” She’d communicated this with gestures, of course.

“She does seem to be feeling a bit better. My own spirits have seemed more active since we entered the dungeon too. It’s a mysterious place. Also, I didn’t realize it when we were on the surface, but when I look at this tree here, I feel strangely calm,” Chris said, gazing up at the Great Tree.

The Great Tree really was mysterious. Its trunk even went all the way through the dungeon. Alzahark had said he could tell how much mana it needed just by looking at it, and he seemed to know how much Chris and I had too. It was odd; even with Appraise Person, I couldn’t see that much detail.

I wished I had a skill that could do the same thing, but I didn’t see anything else in my skill list that seemed to have that kind of effect. I let out a sigh of frustration.

“What is it?” Chris seemed worried when she saw me do that.

I thought for a minute and eventually decided to ask Chris for advice. I’d asked her a lot about skills when we’d first met too, so it was a bit of a nostalgic feeling.

Chris answered very thoroughly. “There’s a lot we don’t know about Appraisal, and there aren’t many people who can use it. In addition to Appraisal and Appraise Person, there’s supposed to be an Appraise Skill that lets you see what skills other people can use...and then I read about some kind of analysis spell? But it didn’t say what it would let you appraise...”

Based on this, I searched for “Analysis” in my skill list instead.

NEW

[Analysis Lv. 1]

It did seem to be a kind of magic, and it required two skill points to learn. Its effect said it would let me examine things in more detail.

The point cost suggests it’s an advanced skill, so should I try it?I don’t see any more likely skills, so...

I sat.

I thought it over.

I learned it!

“Sora, are you okay?” Chris asked.

“Y-Yeah. I’m fine.”

“Um, was that helpful?”

“Yes, thanks. It was great advice,” I said, then got ready to test the Analysis spell on the Great Tree.

When I used Appraisal, it said...

[Great Tree]

A tree that has existed since ancient times.

Then, when I used Analysis, it said...

[Great Tree]

A tree that has existed since ancient times.

No difference whatsoever. Is my skill level just too low?

“Sora, are you sure you’re all right? You look pale,” Chris said, suddenly worried.

I couldn’t deny that spending those points for nothing had been a pretty heavy blow. My disappointment must have shown on my face, especially since I wasn’t wearing my mask.

Then I used the Analysis spell on Chris.

[Name:Chris /Job:Adventurer /Level:37 /Race:High Elf /Status:—]

Exactly the same as Appraise Person...

The main difference was that my Analysis skill was level 1, compared to level MAX for Appraise Person.

Did I screw up and take a redundant ability? The terrifying thought briefly popped into my head.

But just then, it was followed by a message.

Use Appraise Person?

I answered “Yes” telepathically...and then started laughing wildly.

“S-Sora. Are you sure you’re all right?” Chris asked, now slightly distressed.

“Y-Yeah. I’m fine. I mean it.” I tried to play it cool, but I must not have done a good job.

I took a few deep breaths and pushed down the nervousness rising up in me. Then, while looking at the Great Tree with Appraisal, I also applied the Analysis spell.

[Spirit Tree (Tree of Eliana)]

Tree created by ***

Mana Value 2,197/10,000

The displayed information was indeed different from when I’d used Appraisal alone.

So if we can max out the tree’s “mana value,” like Alzahark said, it’ll be able to produce mature fruit again? I mused. I also noticed the appearance of the name “Eliana,” the same one as the item that let you see spirits. Is there a connection?

I let out a deep sigh of relief and told Chris it had worked.

She looked relieved as well. “I’m glad. But Sora, why all the mood swings? I was really worried about you,” she added after a moment.

I couldn’t help smiling at her cute, sulky expression, but this only seemed to make her angry, so I quickly regained my cool and explained. “I learned the Analysis spell, and it worked just the same as Appraisal at first, so I thought it might do the same thing. And you know how much walking I have to do to learn new skills...so when I thought I’d picked a worthless one...”

Chris nodded in understanding. I was glad she followed my logic. I’d told them about Walking to explain why I could learn so many skills and why I always wanted to walk everywhere.

Unfortunately, things only got worse from there, as the extremely curious Chris started peppering me with questions. In the end, Ciel seemed to get a little annoyed at us for talking so much.

“I think I’ll go to bed now. You should get some rest too,” Chris said, and she walked off.

I watched her go with a small sigh of relief.

There was actually something I hadn’t told her—something I would probably take to my grave.

When I’d combined Appraise Person and Analysis the first time, it had shown me her stamina, magic, willpower, job, skills, and other physical attributes.

The problem was that those physical attributes included height, weight, and measurements.

Fortunately, because of my low level, everything but height was listed as ***...

It’s true. I mean it.

We spent two more days walking through the dungeon before arriving at the second floor. Euini, Sark, and Sahanna must have been very tired by the last day, because they didn’t do much talking, but they also didn’t complain.

◇◇◇

We took a two-day break so Euini could get some work done, then moved on to the dungeon’s second floor.

I said I wanted to walk again, and the three dragonfolk grimaced in response, so Rurika suggested that everyone but me could go in a wagon. She said there were no monsters or bandits on this floor of the dungeon, so it shouldn’t be a problem for me to walk alone.

But just as everyone else had boarded the wagon, Hikari, who’d been waiting until last, ran up to me. “Wanna walk with master,” she insisted.

Even Mia was surprised by this. “You can’t, Hikari. Come with us, okay?” she urged her.

But Hikari refused. “Not safe for master alone.”

This statement made us all pause for a moment. It hurt to hear it, but I knew that I tended not to know my limits, so I couldn’t object either.

“All right, then,” Mia relented. “Sora, look after Hikari.”

“I think you mean that the other way around,” Rurika corrected Mia, who nodded in agreement.

“I-If Hikari’s walking, I’ll walk too!” Sark said.

He was about to get off the wagon, but Sahanna stopped him. I thought I heard a dull thud. I hoped he was okay.

“I’ll let the people on this floor know that two dark-haired people are walking just behind us. If you have any questions for them, feel free to ask.” Dutina gave instructions to the horse, and the wagon set off at a swift pace. Not as fast as the Shadewagon, of course.

“Shall we get going too?” I asked Hikari.

“Yeah,” she responded.

We began to walk slowly while looking over the large fields of grains. Wagons passed us in a nearly constant stream, probably running the day’s harvest. The coachmen waved when they saw us, and we waved back.

“Guess they don’t have time for us to ask them questions,” I said.

“Yeah. Working hard.”

We ended up walking all through that night too. Naturally, Hikari couldn’t walk like I could, so she ended up riding on my back after a while. It was night, so she could have ridden on Shade, but she said she wanted to be with me.

“It’s been a while since we walked together, or since I carried you,” I said.

“Yeah. It was me and master first...um, Ciel too.”

“Right. Then Mia and Sera joined us, and I met back up with Chris and Rurika.”

“Yeah. Everyone’s nice,” Hikari said.

They did seem to dote on her like a little sister.

“Want to have fun and travel with everyone again,” she added, probably implying that she hoped Ciel would get better.

For Hikari’s sake... I thought, then stopped and smiled. No. I have to get Ciel her strength back because it’s something I want.

Hikari cocked her head at me. “Something funny?”

“I was just thinking about how you and Ciel always lead me around by the nose,” I said. Especially when it comes to food.

“Yeah. Wanna go to stalls...with Ciel again...” Hikari murmured. Soon I could hear her breathing slowly on my back. It sounded like she’d reached her limit and fallen asleep.

“Morning, master.”

“Oh, you’re awake?”

“Yeah, smelled good stuff.” Hikari nodded, a hand on her stomach. “Ciel, hungry?”

Ciel nodded too.

Until recently, she hadn’t been able to eat even a fist-sized lump of meat without having it cut up for her, but today she ate it in one big gulp. It seemed being in the dungeon really had restored her strength, though she still couldn’t pack it in like she used to.

The three of us finished our meal and then started walking again.

“Hmm? Master, it’s...”

“You just noticed?” I guessed it made sense for Hikari to be too focused on her food to spot it.

“Not feeling well?” she asked, one hand on the tree’s trunk.

Ciel, who was sitting on Hikari’s head, nodded.

“Yeah. The Dragon King said it’s not in good shape,” I told her. “Could you tell, Hikari?”

“Kinda. Like Ciel’s feeling.”

I could see its condition based on its stats by using Appraisal and Analysis together, but Hikari could sense it instinctively. Amazing.

I touched the trunk as Hikari had done and could feel something like a flow of mana within, but it seemed weak. When I’d secretly tried Mana Enchant on the upper floor, it had felt like it was resisting me somehow.

I used Analysis on the Spirit Tree again.

[Spirit Tree (Tree of Eliana)]

Tree created by ***

Mana Value 2,201/10,000

The mana value was a little higher than before.

“Wanna go, master?”

“I think so. Will you be okay walking, Hikari?”

“Yeah.”

“You can tell me if you’re tired, okay?”

“Yeah. I’m okay. Better than last time. Powered up now.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at the way she put it.

I ended up walking with Hikari on my back when night fell again, but we still arrived at the third floor before dawn.

◇◇◇

“I can’t believe you slept here. If you made it this far, you should have come back to the room.”

When I opened my eyes, I found Rurika staring at me in disbelief. Behind her were Mia and the others, looking much the same way.

We were currently lying in front of the third floor stairs, right by the registration dais.

“Rurika, morning.”

“Hikari, were you all right?” Rurika asked her.

“Yeah, master’s back was warm.” Hikari stood up, rubbed her eyes, and let out a little yawn.

“And Sora, why were you sleeping here?” Mia confronted me next.

“I thought about coming back, but Ciel wanted to stay,” I told her. Indeed, Ciel was sleeping peacefully just then. She must really have felt more comfortable inside the dungeon.

“Well, what’s the plan today, everyone? Shall we rest?” Dutina asked, looking at me and Hikari.

“I’m fine either way,” I said. “Hikari?”

“Yeah. Fine.”

“Don’t push yourself too hard, okay?” Mia urged me, and the others nodded in agreement.

The third floor of the Altair dungeon was used for raising livestock, so we heard the lowing of animals as we came down the stairs.

“What will you do today, Sora?” Dutina asked me, looking at our wagon for the day.

My answer was the same, of course. Hikari tried to insist on walking with me, but the others forced her to take the wagon this time.

In exchange, I’d be supervised by—rather, accompanied by Mia and Chris. Obviously I couldn’t carry them both on my back, so on Dutina’s urging, I said we’d start using a wagon halfway through. Naturally, I meant the Shadewagon, which I showed off to make my point.

Dutina was shocked by the sight, but Euini immediately ran her hands all over Shade in curiosity. “Let me ride him next time,” she begged me.

Sark and Sahanna were apparently staying home today. They were already registered on the fourth floor, so they were taking care of other business for now.

We walked across the third floor recounting the day before. I’d just spent mine walking through the dungeon with Hikari, so it was mostly Mia and Chris filling me in on what they’d been up to.

Apparently the four of them had stopped to see Tia and played with the children. They’d asked Tia if she’d be returning to the Eld Republic, and she said she’d be staying in Altair.

She explained that she’d been nervous when she was first brought to the Dragonlands, but the people had been so welcoming, and they’d cried with her when they learned of her circumstances. “That must have been so hard”—the words, said to her so offhandedly, began to heal the heart that had been gradually broken over her time as a slave.

“So I want to pay them back,” she’d concluded.

The sight of Tia so happy made it impossible for Chris and the others to argue with her decision. They just wanted to see her thriving no matter where she was.

After the sun went down and it was time to sleep, I called out Shade and prepared the wagon. I let the others sleep inside it while I walked alongside. Ciel came out of my hood and enjoyed a ride on Shade’s back for the first time in a while.

We soon reached the Spirit Tree at the floor’s midpoint, and I decided to take a rest there with the others. Ciel leaned against the trunk as well and fell asleep soon enough.

I decided to go to sleep for the day, and I woke up before dawn. It was still early, so no one was awake.

[Spirit Tree (Tree of Eliana)]

Tree created by ***

Mana Value 2,201/10,000

The numbers hadn’t changed. I’d last checked yesterday, so maybe they didn’t change that fast? But the question remained as to why they’d gone up again.

It would be nice if they’d keep going up, but I doubt it’ll be that easy.

While I was looking at the mana value, I decided to check my Attunement and Transfer skills, which were now up to level 5. My other skills had gained new effects when their levels got high enough, and these two skills also gave me new abilities when they reached level 5.

Attunement let me match the quality of my mana with my target, and Transfer let me shift that mana quality to someone else, both temporarily.

I was thinking that this might enable someone other than Chris to transfer mana to the Spirit Tree. Then we could revive it, get a ripe moontree fruit, and save Ciel.

But there were limitations on this too: I couldn’t change the quality of mana for long, and I could only attune and transfer mana quality simultaneously between two other people. This was because the only way to do it was for us to hold hands, palm to palm. I’d have to have one person in the right hand and one in the left, more or less.

If we brought together the three people with the highest mana totals—me, Chris, and Euini—we’d have over 4,000 MP. If I could then use potions to temporarily increase our MP, maybe we could get that up to 8,000. I had a feeling Alzahark might have more mana than Euini, so I thought I should ask for a meeting with him first.

But first I’d have to create potions that could increase MP, and there was another item I’d have to make before I did that.

So I made two items.

[EX Mana Potion] MP restoration: Great. Temporarily raises MP recharge rate.

Materials needed:

Mana Potion x5

Magistone

It was like a major upgrade to a regular mana potion, then? It seemed designed for people with lots of MP—with high mana values—since regular mana potions did the trick well enough otherwise. But I’d need to test it out to see how much it actually recovered.

[MP Boost Potion] Temporarily increases max MP.

Caution: Comes with side effects.

Materials needed:

Full Potion x5

EX Mana Potion x5

Magistone

I’d have to test it to find out how much it increased, and that supplemental text scared me a little bit.

The side effects... Could I find out what they are with Analysis? I tried it and learned that the side effects were sluggishness—basically, a full day of the feeling of running out of SP or MP. That actually seems pretty rough, huh?

I also tried using Analysis to find out how much it would restore or boost my MP by, but it wouldn’t give me that information.

Mia and Chris soon woke up, so I had breakfast with them, and then we resumed our walk to the fourth floor.

We ended up reaching the stairs before sundown, so we registered at the dais and decided to leave the dungeon for the night.

◇◇◇

The next morning, I asked Euini if I could speak with Alzahark, and I managed to get a meeting that same day.

He was surprised by my suggestion, but he said that he couldn’t help me. Seeing the pain in his expression stopped me from trying to push harder; he obviously had his reasons.

We were taking that whole day as a rest day, so I went to see Tohma and his companions for the first time in a while. I used Analysis on them while I was at it, hoping to gain new information about the slave crests, but unfortunately it didn’t reveal anything. I did see a light “Feral” status on several of them, though, so I used Recovery to keep that at bay.

I asked how things were going, and they said they’d been encouraged to take it easy for the moment. The words, Tohma said, had brought them to tears.

Given the environment they’d been raised in, they were apparently delighted to be on the receiving end of kind words from someone besides their own companions.

The next day, we were set to start moving through the fourth floor. But on our way through the training hall, we saw a group hard at work.

“Oh, are you guys going into the dungeon again?” asked one of them. It was one of the farmers who’d explained things to us on the first floor.

“Yes, we plan to go to the fourth floor.”

“I hear monsters show up there. Be careful.”

“Taking out the cargo today?” I asked. The training hall was lined with wooden crates that the group was hauling outside, accompanied by members of the royal guard.

“Yeah, it’s time to load up the ship,” he said. “Once we clear through these, the lion’s share of the work should be done. Besides planting seeds for the new crop, at least.” Then he got back to work.

He acted harried, but the look on his face told me he found the work satisfying.

Though it was said that monsters appeared on the fourth floor, Sark and Sahanna would be staying home again. Sark had initially put Dutina in a tough spot by insisting on coming along, but Alfried had come by and taken him away.

The fourth floor consisted mostly of forest, and the only monsters that appeared there were orcs. I’d heard that advanced subtypes sometimes showed up, but this hadn’t happened for several decades now. In addition to hunting orcs, you could use the forests to gather fruits, berries, and healing herbs.

The only people who did much activity on this floor were people trained in monster fighting. This would include dragonfolk warriors as well as members of the royal guard coming in shifts.

In preparation for fighting orcs, Dutina also came equipped today with proper armor and spear instead of her usual light equipment and sword. We had four more royal guard members accompanying us as well.

“To get through this floor, we may have to fight orcs,” Dutina explained. “Their usual range is...”

Generally, she said, orcs built their settlements on the side of the field closer to the downward stairs, so those coming to harvest fruits and herbs tended to stay on the entrance side. Even on this floor, though, there was a wagon-traversable road leading from one side to the other. More roads had recently been carved out, too, for carting around the fruit and herb harvests.

After we’d walked through the forest for about an hour, a large building came into sight.

“That’s one of the forts,” Dutina explained. “We have several like it here, which the fighters operate out of. This one is less used for fighting orcs and more like a waystation for storing harvested goods or transporting foodstuffs to the front lines, though.”

Dutina then showed us around the fort—though it felt more like a lodging house to me, perhaps because it was so far from the front lines. That said, the walls were very solidly built, so it probably could hold up against an orc attack if necessary.

“I am curious. Does the Great Tree grow on this floor as well? Do monsters not attack it?” I asked her.

“They don’t, no,” she said. “In fact...monsters can’t get near the Great Tree at all. When I first came to the fourth floor, I was taught to run to the tree if things ever got dangerous.”

Soon after, we reached the center of the map where the Spirit Tree grew and had lunch.

“Ciel, are you sure you want to eat so much?” Rurika asked, looking at the little spirit.

She did seem to be feeling better when she was in the dungeon, and she was even asking for seconds. I couldn’t help but notice that Ciel’s condition had been improving the deeper into the dungeon we went, though it seemed to get worse again whenever we left.

Maybe we could just live in this dungeon? That thought entered my mind, but I knew that wasn’t possible. We had to keep traveling until we found Eris, and I didn’t want to leave Ciel behind in the meantime.

Before we started moving again, I checked the status of the Spirit Tree one more time.

[Spirit Tree (Tree of Eliana)]

Tree created by ***

Mana Value 2,258/10,000

Its mana had increased by 50.

“Everything okay, Sora?”

“It’s nothing. Let’s head out.” I still hadn’t figured out what was behind the value changes, but we didn’t have time to dwell on it.

We didn’t end up running into a single orc during our entire time on the fourth floor. It was as if they’d hunted all the ones near the central road in anticipation of Euini’s passage. The same seemed to be true on the fifth floor as well—we had Sark and Sahanna along for that, and Sark seemed disappointed that he hadn’t gotten to face any monsters there either.

“Hikari, want to do a mock duel?” Sark asked her around noon.

We’d already reached the stairs by then, so Hikari agreed. Rurika and Sera joined in too, seemingly wanting to get a little exercise.

By the way, when I analyzed the Spirit Tree on the fifth floor, it said:

[Spirit Tree (Tree of Eliana)]

Tree created by ***

Mana Value 2,263/10,000

When I asked later, Dutina confirmed that they’d cleared out the monsters to keep Euini safe, but she added that the monsters had been fewer in number recently as well.

Interlude 7

“Still no word at all?!” the Vossheil Emperor cried, not even bothering to hide his annoyance.

He was in his early thirties and the youngest person in attendance. He was a very ambitious man, but his lack of experience led to a lack of control over his emotions as well.

I, the King of Elesia, watched him silently beside four other sovereigns and representatives of the various lands.

His annoyance was, of course, understandable. We’d come here today to discuss the Demon King hunt. Due to the difficulties posed by the task of gathering men of such high station together in one room, we were using an invaluable magic item to communicate visually instead.

This item was considered so precious because it had been made with lost technology. Unfortunately, in exchange for the convenience it provided, it consumed magistones very quickly. This naturally put a burden on the kingdom that hosted the meeting—which, at the moment, was the Empire.

The emperor had nominated himself for the task, perhaps due to his youth and eagerness for the limelight. I’d allowed it—manipulated him into wanting it, in fact—because I’d known that something like this might happen.

I already knew what I wanted to happen after the Demon King’s defeat. But to achieve it, it was important to exhaust the resources of any potential rivals. To wear them down just enough without compromising our invasion of the Black Forest—it really was a hard balance to strike.

“Time is of the essence,” I said. “I suggest we discuss it without him.”

The man in question claimed to be the descendant of the Dragon God, but he was still of an inferior race. There was no need to waste any more time on him.

The emperor agreed with me, and so we began our discussion.

The representative of the Holy Kingdom, the Pope, had found himself in a difficult position of late, and thus he was being slavishly cooperative on the matter of the Demon King.

Historical records suggested that the Saint had always taken part in the slaying of the Demon King, yet due to his own failure—the manipulation of a demon, no less—she had been killed. It was his own position on the line, then, if the Demon King wasn’t slain as quickly as possible.

In my opinion, a blunder on that level should have instantly disqualified him for his position, and the way he’d clung to power instead had proven rather comical. It seemed there were a number of factions with eyes on the throne, but perhaps none wanted to throw their hat in the ring just yet.

Still, I didn’t mind. His circumstances made him easy to control, and I’d gotten him to volunteer a plethora of holy magic users for the Demon King hunt as a result. I’d promised to attribute the victory to his holy mages as soon as the Demon King was slain, and he’d been delighted to take the deal.

From the Magic Nation of Eva, the Lord of Pleques had agreed to send knights and adventurers from his domain. The representative of the nation itself was an unremarkable man, but he had talented aides. One of them was the wife of the Lord of Majorica, whom the Lord of Pleques seemed to view as something of a rival, so he’d petitioned our aid to have her removed.

Of course, we had never officially agreed to do this. We’d simply dangled the promise of dragon materials and cooperation against his rival before his eyes, and he’d taken the initiative in offering aid.

“Can’t send a lot of people ourselves. We’ve got a border with the Black Forest too.”

This crude utterance came from the Beast King of the Las Beastlands, doing little to dispel the contempt in which I held those animals.

He went on to state his intentions to send some of his people to our kingdom’s fortress city and capital.

Quite frankly, I didn’t want beastfolk in my territory at all...but I couldn’t deny that reinforcements to the fortress city on the front lines of the Black Forest invasion would be appreciated. Fighting was the one thing the brutes were good for, after all.

He said that they had put out quests to recruit people from the adventurers’ guilds, but because they’d had to deal with demons themselves, they were having trouble getting takers.

I’d been hoping to keep their stink out of the capital, but I couldn’t just refuse them... The prospect of using them as meat shields if circumstances required it suggested it was an indignity worth enduring.

“I’ll need to arrange lodgings for your people,” I said. If I set up their housing myself, it would be easier to keep an eye on them. “Could you send me a roll of those you intend to send?”

“Hey, thanks, buddy. I’ll get on that right away.”

Look at how happy he is about it too. The fool.

The last to speak was the representative of the Eld Republic. “We can’t spare any soldiers right now. I’m sure you can deduce why.”

The emperor glared at the representative, whose gaze remained dispassionate.

“Yeah, understandable,” the Beast King chimed in. “You reap what you sow.”

This made the emperor turn purple, but the beast wasn’t wrong. The Empire hadn’t kept its promise to return all its war slaves after the truce was signed, and it had soured relations between the countries to the breaking point.

I was just musing on how much the mood had soured when a new participant appeared on the previously nonfunctional terminal. It was the Dragon King.

“Old man, where have you been?!” the emperor shouted furiously.

“Oh? Strange. I told the Elesian representatives that I’d be late.”

What is he talking about? I thought. Then an official suddenly ran up to me and handed me a note.

We have in our custody a group of boys and girls affixed with slave crests. -Dragon King.

I cast a glance at the Dragon King, and our eyes met briefly. He’d shaken me, but I managed to swallow it down. “There was a mistake in the communication, but my official just gave me a message,” I told the emperor with a bow. “It does indeed explain why he was delayed.”

It would be best to act subservient for now. But was it true, or an empty bluff? Or had someone leaked the information? I couldn’t confirm it one way or the other. Asking questions would effectively be admitting it.

“Fine, then,” the emperor huffed. “How many soldiers can the Dragonlands offer for the Demon King hunt?”

“None, at the moment. Things are a bit chaotic here now.”

“What?!” The combined refusals of both Eld and Lufre had the emperor in a fury.

I couldn’t afford to speak out one way or the other, lest I be caught in the cross fire.

“Well, it’s because of a war a certain empire started, you see,” the Dragon King lilted. “Most of their slaves ended up fleeing to our country, and we’ve had to look after them. It’s strange, though... After signing a truce, they were supposed to return all their war slaves, but it never happened. I wonder why.”

It was because the nobles who’d owned those slaves had returned only some of them and sold off the rest to enrich themselves. The emperor surely knew that, but he had let it slide. The carrot and the stick—both were needed to keep the aristocracy in line.

The emperor could say nothing in response to this and backed off.

We went on to discuss rewards to offer the adventurers’ guilds, the makeup of the expeditionary force, and our plan of attack against the Black Forest. We also went over assets like food and consumables, talking late into the night with occasional breaks.

“We’ve received reports that monster attacks from the Black Forest have grown fiercer of late. We’ll use our next meeting to confirm final preparations, then initiate the plan to slay the Demon King.”

With those words from the emperor, the conference ended.

I listened to it all, thinking I’d have to pick up the pace on preparing the heroes and mulling over my plans for what came after.

Chapter 7

“We’re going to the sixth floor now. From this point on, don’t get too far from me...or Yun,” Dutina warned us before we went down the stairs.

The sixth floor of the Altair dungeon was a lake, and the only land there was the path through the center. We’d met up earlier than usual on this particular day, but Sark and Sahanna weren’t with us this time.

“The monsters here are lizardmen,” Dutina added. “The ones in this dungeon won’t attack dragonfolk like us.” That was why she didn’t want us to get too far away.

The moment we stepped onto the sixth floor, all the lizardmen moved into action together. My automap showed me that they were clustering around us, and I could see their noses start to poke out of the water on either side of the path.

“Reminds me of the frogmen,” Rurika said.

I had to agree. I flashed back to the way they’d surrounded the island on the Majorica dungeon’s twenty-fifth floor. Euini also seemed unsettled by them, and she clung to Chris in fear.

Dutina was right that the lizardmen didn’t attack us, but they did follow us while maintaining a certain distance. Euini was clearly struggling under their unrelenting attention. She seemed to be trying hard not to look at them, but she couldn’t fully avoid them entering her sight lines.

“How are none of you bothered by this?” she asked with tears in her eyes at one point.

We didn’t really know what to say. Maybe we’d gotten used to it after encountering the frogmen?

“No point in worrying about it,” Sera said.

“Yeah. If they’re not attacking you, just ignore them,” Rurika agreed. Still, I could tell she was keeping a close eye on them for any signs of aggression.

I also had a Shield spell cast over the group, and I recharged it every time it ran out.

A bit after noon, we reached the Spirit Tree at the center of the floor.

[Spirit Tree (Tree of Eliana)]

Tree created by ***

Mana Value 2,261/10,000

My analysis showed a slightly lower mana value than the last time. The source of the fluctuations remained a mystery.

We ate a late lunch, rested, then set off again. At our current pace, we could reach the seventh floor before the day was out. That was why we’d set out a bit earlier than usual.

As planned, we managed to register on the seventh floor later that night. Euini looked understandably tired from all the walking, so we had Shade carry her the last leg.

I held an MP boost potion in front of me. My Analysis level had risen to 4, but it still couldn’t tell me how many more MP I would get out of this.

“I guess I’ll just have to test it,” I said, but the thought of the side effects gave me pause. I’d been through that lethargy several times before, and it wasn’t exactly fun.

“What’s going on, Sora?” Mia asked, coming up to me while I was thinking it over.

I looked over at her...and decided to tell her. Although she was smiling, her voice carried a What are you hiding? tone, and her eyes were less than friendly.

“Side effects,” she hummed when I told her. “Is there any way to remove them?”

I thought it over. I hadn’t considered that. There hadn’t been a way with Creation, at least. What about modifying it? With Alchemy, perhaps?

As I tried to figure it out, I reviewed what I’d seen so far.

The mana value of the Spirit Tree had been 2,261/10,000 yesterday, which would require 7,739 mana. Chris, Euini, and I had 1,550, 2,069, and 790 MP respectively—that added up to 4,409, which left us 3,330 short. I also wanted a little more of a cushion than that, given how the Spirit Tree’s numbers seemed to fluctuate day by day.

If the MP boost potion doubled a person’s MP, it would get us where we needed to be, but I was curious as to whether it would take my job modifier into account. Maybe it would only double the base stat.

I’ll just have to take the potion and see, I thought, then stopped. I’d gotten off the subject.

I turned my attention back to the immediate question. Could I mitigate the side effects with a moontree fruit? I wondered. It seemed worth a try, but that fruit was also a limited resource. For now, I should probably wait and try it on the seventh floor. Then, even if it immobilized me, I would at least be in a comfortable spot for Ciel.

I’m not just putting it off because I’m afraid of the side effects, okay?

“I don’t have permission to enter the seventh floor, so I’ll be leaving you now,” Dutina told us the next day, and she went to help with loading the cargo onto the ship instead. Apparently they’d sent her, a newer member of the guard, as a means of letting her get more experience.

The dungeon’s seventh floor was an expansive grassland, with a path that ran straight through it just like on the other floors. The Spirit Tree was straight ahead, visible from the entrance.

We walked about six hours before we reached the Spirit Tree. It was probably about fifty thousand steps? Most people would consider that pretty impressive, but my allies seemed a lot more resilient than people from my old world. I was once again glad to have the benefit of my Walking skill.

The Spirit Tree looked different here compared to the other floors. Here, it had branches instead of just a trunk.

“Is that a moontree fruit?”

Growing from the end of a branch about three meters up was a yellow fruit. Not every branch had a fruit, and those that did never had more than one. Most of the fruits seemed to have reached the final stage of their maturity as well.

As the moontree fruit matured, its color turned from yellow to orange, and the darker it got, the heavier it became, until its branch would droop far enough for it to be picked. They typically picked it after it descended, but they could also pick it earlier. Doing this wouldn’t yield the fruit’s full effect, however.

“These days, once the fruit reaches a certain ripeness, we find that it won’t mature any further no matter how long we wait, so we have to pick it anyway,” Euini explained. She went on to add that once they turned orange, you had to harvest them within ten days or they would spoil. She said it took between twenty and thirty days for the fruit to mature. “With these, it’s probably best to wait a little longer.”

The fruit did look almost orange, but it was still too far away to reach.

“Would you prefer to stick around or head back for now?” she asked me.

“Could we spend a little time here? There’s something I want to try. Ciel’s looking energetic too.”

Ciel flew up to one of the moontree fruits. I was just hoping she wouldn’t suddenly chomp it down when she dropped back down and started snuggling up against the tree to sleep.

When they saw her dozing so happily, Hikari and Rurika decided to lie down next to her.

I decided to check on the Spirit Tree’s current status.

[Spirit Tree (Tree of Eliana)]

Tree created by ***

Mana Value 2,265/10,000

Its mana value had gone up again.

I joined the others near the Spirit Tree and pulled the MP boost potion from my Item Box.

“You’re really going to use that?” Chris asked worriedly. Mia must have told her about it.

“I need to find out what it does. I’ll have some things to figure out, depending on it.”

I pulled out other foods and ingredients from my Item Box and gave them to Chris. I doubted I’d be completely immobilized, but the side effect might make it harder for me to move around after I used it.

Once I’d finished all my preparations, I quaffed the MP boost potion in one gulp.

I felt my body grow hot as it entered my stomach. I looked at my stat panel and saw my MP steadily ticking up. In just about a minute, the value had risen to MP 590/885 (+200).

It seemed to be a 1.5 multiplier to my original stats—the modifier from my job wasn’t included.

“Do you feel anything, Sora?”

“Yeah, I feel a little flushed, but not bad.”

The MP boost potion’s effects lasted about ten minutes. The moment the effect ran out and my MP max returned to normal, I was bowled over by a feeling of sluggishness and collapsed to the ground.

Euini was completely panicked until Mia managed to calm her down by explaining the situation. I had told Euini what I was doing beforehand, but she must have forgotten in her panic—a natural enough response to the sight of someone hitting the ground. Mia was surprised too, at first, but she’d also seen this sight many times before and had even experienced it.

I eventually managed to get myself lying face up when Ciel flopped herself down on my chest.

“You were worried?” I asked her.

Ciel nodded firmly and curled up to snooze on my chest. I felt strangely like it reinvigorated me a little. Was it just my imagination?

“Sorry, but I think I’m going to have to take a nap,” I said, closing my eyes.

“Sora, are you awake?”

I opened my eyes to find Mia’s face close, peering into mine.

“How are you feeling?”

“The same way.”

It was dark now, and everyone but Mia and Chris seemed to be sleeping. The moons were in the sky, providing a gentle light. I knew it was an image created by the dungeon, but it looked like the real thing.

Without sitting up, I looked around for Ciel and saw her sleeping between Hikari and Rurika.

“Ciel’s really perked up here in the dungeon, hasn’t she? She had a huge appetite earlier too,” Mia said.

Chris giggled at the memory, then asked, “So, Sora, how did it go?”

I tried to answer, but it was hard to do while I was lying down, so I managed to pick myself up enough to lean against the Spirit Tree. “Unfortunately, even with MP boost potions, we won’t have enough mana.”

My words brought them both down to earth.

“I wish it were easier to raise it with my Walking skill,” I lamented. I was at level 58 now, but I’d get to 59 soon. Unfortunately, my MP only went up by ten points per level, so I’d need to gain at least fifty more levels to get what I needed.

That meant I’d need to find another way to raise the Spirit Tree’s mana, but I didn’t know how to go about doing that. Finding other elves would be just as hard, and if Alzahark knew another way, he probably would have done it already.

Hoping the Spirit Tree’s mana might have recovered a little on its own, I decided to activate Analysis to see what its values were at the moment. But as I turned to look up at it, I suddenly lost my balance and fell away from the trunk.

I was about to hit the ground when Mia caught me, but I ended up using Analysis on the earth below.

[Altair Dungeon’s Earth] Seventh floor earth.

Nutrient Value 97/100 Mana Value 100/100

When I’d used Appraisal on bits of earth before now, it hadn’t revealed much—except maybe the earth stained black by the slave crest corruption? But even then, it hadn’t displayed the nutrient and mana values, probably because I hadn’t had Analysis at the time.

Suddenly remembering something, I took out some of the earth I’d gotten from Lokia in my Item Box and analyzed it.

[Lokia’s Earth] Earth enriched for farming. Crops grow well in it.

Nutrient Value 100/100

The “Lokia’s Earth” seemed to have only the nutrient value, which suggested the mana value stat was unique to this dungeon. And the name tells you where it comes from? That makes it nice and simple, at least...

“Sora, what is it now?” Mia asked.

I told her and Chris what I’d just seen.

“That Analysis skill is incredible,” Chris said. “But I wonder what it would say on the other floors, then...”

I was as curious about that as she was. This soil was identified as coming from the Altair dungeon’s seventh floor, so would other samples reflect the floors they came from as well?

“Sora, it’s written on your face that you want to look into it right away,” Mia chided me.

I put a hand to my face instinctively, and the other two laughed. Mia really seemed to know me well.

“Anyway, Sora, please rest for now. We were going to sleep soon anyway. If you’re still curious tomorrow, we can split up to get some earth for you,” Chris said.

I did as she told me, shut my eyes, and went to sleep.

“Okay, Sora, hold down the fort. Ciel, watch over Sora so he doesn’t push himself too hard,” Rurika said.

Ciel waved her ears as if to say, Leave it to me.

I’d still need over half a day before I could fully walk again, so in the meantime Chris had told the others the situation and organized a plan to gather dirt from the first through third floors—specifically, from multiple places on each floor. Rurika and Sera would be going to the first floor, Hikari and Mia to the second, and Chris and Euini to the third.

After they left, I summoned X and Shade. I had a feeling I could move if I pushed myself a bit, but for the moment I’d do what I could with my current situation.

I sent the golems in opposite directions and used Attunement.

I was currently sharing my vision with Shade and decided to test what would happen if I used my appraisal-type skills at the same time. I found that I was able to use Analyze, but it seemed to consume a lot more MP. Appraisal was off-limits.

Then I called up my stat panel, analyzed the Spirit Tree, and analyzed the ground X was looking at through Attunement. That made it clear that casting spells while attuned used a lot more MP.

After succeeding with Analysis, I tried some other spells, but unfortunately they wouldn’t work. However, I might unlock more options once I got my Attunement level high enough, so I’d have to try it out here and there. It might shock people if Shade were suddenly breathing fire or X were casting spells, so I’d make sure to tell people in advance once that happened.

If I did it out of nowhere to try to surprise them, they’d just get mad at me.

I ordered the two golems to come back, then asked X to help me to my feet. I was still tired, but I’d run out of other things to try, so I decided to walk for a little while. I left Shade and X active to catch me if I collapsed.

“Yeah, I was thinking of taking a walk. I won’t push myself too hard.”

Ciel, having been entrusted with the task of watching over me by Rurika, tried to stop me. But since I wouldn’t be deterred, she rode on Shade’s back to keep an eye on me. It was the opposite of our usual dynamic.

“How are you feeling, Ciel?” I asked.

She bounced on Shade’s back as if to say, Feelin’ fine! but I knew she’d only stay that way while we were in the dungeon. She also seemed to get more comfortable the deeper we went. She’d been especially energetic on this floor.

Hoping to ensure she could stay that way when she went outside soon, I took a step. A change came over my body the moment I did. The lethargy faded. When I paused, it returned and I almost lost my balance, but Shade and X caught me.

“I’m okay. But I seem to feel better when I’m walking, so I think I’ll do that for a while. What about you, Ciel?”

Ciel wanted to come along, so we started walking around the seventh floor. We’d already walked the whole road from the entrance to the Spirit Tree, and there was another road leading the other way, so we decided to take that one this time.

When we arrived at the end of that road, we found it led to a blank wall with no stairs in it.

“Oh? Something interesting there?” I asked Ciel. She had been tapping on the wall with her ears, but she came back when I called her.

I walked a little while longer after that, occasionally using Analysis to get my proficiency up.

“Sora, what in the world do you think you’re doing?”

That was the first thing Sera said to me when she returned with Rurika.

“I feel better when I walk,” I explained, earning disbelieving stares from the two girls.

The others returned soon after as well, but I kept walking until the side effects finally went away. Only then did I start analyzing the samples they’d brought me.

[Altair Dungeon’s Earth] First floor earth.

Nutrient Value 33/100 Mana Value 72/100

Nutrient Value 10/100 Mana Value 39/100

Nutrient Value 89/100 Mana Value 0/100

[Altair Dungeon’s Earth] Second floor earth.

Nutrient Value 100/100 Mana Value 100/100

Nutrient Value 92/100 Mana Value 52/100

Nutrient Value 15/100 Mana Value 93/100

[Altair Dungeon’s Earth] Third floor earth.

Nutrient Value 97/100 Mana Value 99/100

Nutrient Value 88/100 Mana Value 82/100

Nutrient Value 55/100 Mana Value 100/100

It did seem like the values were different at each location.

In talking to them about it, I learned that the places with low nutrient values were fields where crops were currently growing—and on the third floor, pastures where the livestock grazed. Nutrients were high and mana was low in places where the next crop had been immediately planted after harvesting. The place on the second floor where nutrient and mana values were both 100 was one where nothing had been planted yet.

Maybe you need nutrients to grow crops, and when nutrients run out, mana fills the gap? So how do you restore the lost mana?

There was too much I still didn’t know. But just as I was thinking that, I realized I’d gotten Analysis to level 5. When a skill’s level went up, it often unlocked new abilities. Would that be the case with Analysis too?

I tried it on the earth I’d gotten from the first floor and found that the text displaying the nutrient and mana values sometimes blinked.

I selected the term “nutrient value,” and it pulled up a new display which explained that the higher the nutrient value, the faster and better quality the plants that would grow, and vice versa. Nutrient value also went down as the plants grew.

Then I selected “mana value,” which explained that when the nutrient value reached zero, the mana value would begin to deplete to restore the lost nutrients. Left to their own devices, both point values would gradually recover themselves—unless mana reached zero, in which case it would stay there. If both values reached zero, mana would be pulled from the Spirit Tree to restore it.

Is that why the Spirit Tree’s mana is so depleted? But the last few days, when I’d looked at the Spirit Tree’s mana value, I’d seen the numbers go up, suggesting the Spirit Tree itself would regenerate with time.

If that was right, I just had to create an environment in which the Spirit Tree’s mana values would stop decreasing. But how?

I opened up my Alchemy list and looked for a way to make fertilizer. It seemed to be possible, but...

“Hey, Euini,” I asked her. “Are there any books about agriculture in the castle library?”

My question was so out of nowhere, she didn’t seem to know what to say at first. But when I told her what Analysis had taught me, she seemed to understand.

“I’ll go back and check. My father...probably wouldn’t know, but I’ll speak to someone who would.”

I had a reason for asking Euini. There was a way to make something like fertilizer with Alchemy. It would take time, but that fertilizer might let me improve the dungeon earth’s nutrient and mana values and restore the Spirit Tree’s mana in the process.

That would just be a temporary solution, though. It was clear from Altair’s history that even if we restored its mana value, it would eventually deplete again. I might not be around when that happened, and since I wasn’t one of the long-lived races, I might not even live to see it. I’d have to think of a way for them to keep it up even after I was gone.

“Ciel, we’re going back topside for a bit. Is that okay? Or do you want to stay here?” I asked.

Ciel thought for a while but eventually decided to go back with us.

◇◇◇

Things got pretty busy after that. We got out of the dungeon at night and then rested in preparation for the next day. Euini went off by herself to talk to Alzahark.

When I woke up the next day, it seemed Euini must have convinced him, because the workers from the first three floors had begun preparing soil for me to work with. In the meantime, I analyzed the soil on the fourth and fifth floors to check out their nutrient and magic values.

Chris and Mia were also searching the library for books about farming, while Hikari went around the fourth and fifth floors with me, and Rurika and Sera helped with transporting the earth.

Before noon, I met up with Rurika and Sera, and I quickly used Alchemy to make fertilizer out of the soil with high nutrient values.

[Magically Enriched Earth] Earth with high nutrient value.

Quality: Normal.

It was easy to make. I broke up a magistone and sprinkled it on some earth, then activated Alchemy, channeled in some mana, and there you had it. The quality depended on the magistone and its ratio magistone to the earth. In this case, quantity was important, so I didn’t try to shoot higher than normal.

The minute it was done, the enriched earth was taken to the fields. The most effective method would be to mix it with the earth that was already there, but they couldn’t do that in a place where crops were already growing, so they ended up sprinkling it on instead. Fortunately, that seemed to be just as effective.

The only problem with this method was that we didn’t have enough people. The volunteers we had were doing this on top of their standard farmwork, but the request had come from Alzahark himself, so they did it without complaint. Even the royal guard and Tohma’s team were helping out.

There were a few people in Altair who could use Alchemy, but even after I taught them the method to make the enriched earth, no one else seemed to be able to do it. My own Alchemy level was MAX, so maybe you had to be at a certain level to succeed.

Three days after the enhanced earth work had begun, Euini and the others came by with despondent looks on their faces.

“We didn’t find any books of the kind you asked for,” Euini said, adding that she’d even had the maids help her.

It made sense. I remembered seeing books about cooking in the academy’s library, but nothing about farming there either. That said, I’d never thought that I might need to learn about farming, so maybe they were there and I’d just overlooked them.

“No choice, then,” I said, and took a new skill.

It was a measure I’d decided I’d take if there were no books about farming to be found. The fact that the Altairian alchemists still couldn’t make the enriched earth played a role in my choice too.

NEW

[Farming Lv. 1]

It worked similarly to my Cooking skill, giving me tips and knowledge about farming.

I immediately called up my new Farming skill and used it to learn how to make fertilizer...in this case, humus. It mainly required dead branches and leaves, as well as cattle dung.

I told Euini what I needed and asked her to gather the needed components from the third and fourth floors. There were monsters on the fourth floor, so Chris and the others went with her.

“Chris, I’ll give you Shade’s and X’s golem cores,” I told her. I’d already infused them with mana, so she should be able to use them without me. “What do you want to do, Ciel?”

Ciel looked between us and eventually decided to stay with me. Given how she was moving, it was easy to forget that she was anything but the picture of health. But I’d seen her condition slowly worsen after a few days out of the dungeon, so I’d decided to stay there instead of returning to my room in the castle the last few days.

The farmers who stayed in the lodging house with me often made comments like “I can’t believe you’re passing up time with those pretty young ladies.”

Once I’d done enough Alchemy, I started helping haul the enhanced earth while occasionally paying visits to the Spirit Tree.

[Spirit Tree (Tree of Eliana)]

Tree created by ***

Mana Value 2,417/10,000

Its mana was steadily rising.

That was good to see, but I was worried about the people doing the work. Most of them had been staying overnight and hadn’t been home in several days, and the exhaustion seemed to be catching up with them.

We still had to make our next visit to the seventh floor, so I decided to talk to Euini about it the next chance I got.

That meant I also had to teach the others how to make fertilizer so they could do it even after I was gone.

◇◇◇

We entered the dungeon’s seventh floor soon after noon and reached the Spirit Tree around nightfall. The moontree fruit was orange by now and had descended low enough that we could pick it, but it wasn’t sparkling in the moonlight.

“Looks like it hasn’t ripened,” I said.

A use of Appraisal confirmed this.

[Moontree Fruit] An omnicure. Fine to eat or drink.

Incomplete product. A devolution of ***.

Limit of growth reached.

Perhaps because I’d learned Analysis, it added the part about it reaching the limit of its growth. I assumed that meant it was as ripe as it would get.

There were about fifty moontree fruits on the tree at the moment, so we split up to pick them.

“These are for you, Sora.” Euini handed me ten of them when we were done.

I thanked her and then thought about what to do next. “Even if we give several moontree fruits to Ciel now, it probably won’t cure her, right?”

“I think we need a way to boost their effectiveness first. Is there anything you can do with Alchemy?” Chris asked.

I’d looked into it with both Alchemy and Creation, but I hadn’t found any way to enhance the moontree fruit itself. There was no way to concentrate several into one either.

“Well, there is one thing I’d like to try with Alchemy,” I told her. “Is it all right if I use one?”

“What are you going to use it for?”

“I’m going to fuse it with an MP boost potion.” I wasn’t sure what effect it might have, but maybe it would double its effectiveness and give us enough mana to infuse the Spirit Tree with.

Chris said it was okay with her, so I got to work.

After converting the moontree fruit into juice, I took the MP boost potion in my right hand, held the bottle of moontree juice in my left, and channeled mana into both while activating Alchemy.

[MP Boost Potion+] Temporarily increases MP quantity.

No difference between this and a normal MP boost potion...except that the sentence about the side effects was gone. Would I just have to use it again and see how much my MP went up?

“Did it work?” Chris asked me.

“Yeah, I combined the moontree fruit with an MP boost potion and made one that doesn’t have side effects.” I would have to make more magically enriched earth tomorrow, so I decided I’d try it out then.

The farmers I’d talked to yesterday seemed to be feeling better after a day of rest, but I noticed some new faces among them today.

“What are Tia and the kids doing here?” I asked Sera.

“Oh, I’ve been meeting up with Tia from time to time, and we talked about it.” Tia had told Sera how much the kids missed their parents, and Sera had passed it on to Euini.

This, then, was the result of her talking to Alzahark and the farmers’ representatives about giving them permission to enter the dungeon. The idea was for the children to help out with the work—they couldn’t do labor that required brute strength, but they would be able to pitch in enough to make time for lunch breaks, which would make everyone happy.

The children’s main job was spreading the fertilizer, so I taught the farmers and children I was placed in charge of how to make it. “Taught” felt like an overstatement, of course, as I was just repeating the knowledge my skill conveyed to me. Still, what mattered here was that, unlike the Alchemy method, anyone could do this if they knew how.

We kept on working until noon, at which point the people working on the other floors returned to the first floor to eat with their families.

After the family time ended, the work started again. The children moved to their next job, and many of them seemed happy to get to ride in a wagon for the first time. The actual mixing of the magically enhanced earth with the regular soil would be hard labor, so the children would be planting seeds instead. Some also carried large baskets on their back for harvested vegetables.

I was worried about putting inexperienced children through this kind of work for the first time, but nobody complained, and they all worked hard. I could also tell that the adults around us cared about the children a lot.

I’ll have to do my best too, I told myself.

I drank the MP boost potion+ and checked the numbers on my stat panel. Same boost as before, huh? The loss of the side effect was still significant, though.

Keeping in mind how many magistones I had left in my Item Box, I switched my focus back to the production of magically enhanced earth.

Ten days had passed since the children had joined in on the work. I’d been worried they wouldn’t be much help at all, but in fact, their presence seemed to greatly relieve the burden on the adults.

In fact, the kids started saying they wanted to stay in the dungeon overnight, with one being bold enough to declare they would do it. Once one expressed interest, others followed, with their parents smiling awkwardly over them.

Part of it was that they could spend time with their parents, but they also seemed to like the idea of having a big sleepover with their friends.

I was checking the Spirit Tree’s mana value once a day, and it had gone up to 3,459 when I last looked. Still not quite high enough for us to get it to ten thousand, even with one MP boost potion apiece.

Chris and Euini had also tried out an MP boost potion+, and then a use of Analysis had revealed that our combined total with them would be 6,528. They must not have had modifiers.

“Let’s give it one more push,” Rurika said, and we nodded in agreement.

Five more days passed, and the Spirit Tree’s mana value finally made it to 3,600.

When we saw that, we sent word to Alzahark that we were going to infuse the Spirit Tree with mana. Alzahark seemed worried when he heard about the method we were going to use, but he understood that we weren’t going to change our minds and simply replied, “Be careful.”

After we arrived at the Spirit Tree, we decided to rest until nightfall before we tried infusing it. We’d entered the dungeon around noon, so the sun should be going down in less than an hour.

I decided to check my stats before then.

Name:Fujimiya Sora /Job:Sorcerer /Race:Otherworlder /Level:None

HP:600/600 /MP:600/600 (+200) /SP:600/600

Strength:590 (+0) /Stamina:590 (+0) /Speed:590 (+0)

Magic:590 (+200) /Dexterity:590 (+0) /Luck:590 (+0)

Skill:Walking Lv. 59

Effect:Never get tired from walking (earn 1 XP for every step)

XP Counter:1,227,398/1,510,000

Skill Points:2

Learned Skills

[Appraisal Lv. MAX] [Prevent Appraisal Lv. 6] [Enhance Physique Lv. MAX] [Regulate Mana Lv. MAX] [Lifestyle Spells Lv. MAX] [Detect Presence Lv. MAX] [Sword Arts Lv. MAX] [Dimension Spells Lv. MAX] [Parallel Thinking Lv. MAX] [Boost Recovery Lv. MAX] [Hide Presence Lv. MAX] [Alchemy Lv. MAX] [Cooking Lv. MAX] [Throwing/Shooting Lv. MAX] [Fire Spells Lv. MAX] [Water Spells Lv. MAX] [Telepathy Lv. MAX] [Night Vision Lv. MAX] [Sword Tech Lv. 9] [Resist Status Effects Lv. 8] [Earth Spells Lv. MAX] [Wind Spells Lv. MAX] [Disguise Lv. 9] [Engineering/Construction Lv. MAX] [Shield Arts Lv. MAX] [Provoke Lv. MAX] [Traps Lv. 8] [Mountaineering Lv. 7] [Shield Tech Lv. 5] [Attunement Lv. 5] [Conversion Lv. 6] [Reduce MP Consumption Lv. 5] [Farming Lv. 3]

Advanced Skills

[Appraise Person Lv. MAX] [Detect Mana Lv. MAX] [Enchant Lv. MAX] [Creation Lv. 9] [Mana Enchant Lv. 7] [Conceal Lv. 7] [Light Spells Lv. 4] [Analysis Lv. 5]

Contract Skills

[Holy Spells Lv. 6]

Scroll Skills

[Teleport Lv. 6]

Title

[Spirit Contractor]

We went over the plan one last time: Chris would infuse the Spirit Tree with mana, and Euini and I would back her up.

First, we’d drink an MP boost potion+ to increase our MP. Then I’d use Attunement and Conversion to change the quality of my and Euini’s mana to “elf,” allowing us to match Chris. Once the preparations were complete, we would have Chris lead the mana infusion.

I’d practiced Attunement and Conversion any number of times, so I knew it should be fine, but the prospect of actually going through with it still made me extremely nervous.

◇◇◇

After the sun went down, the dungeon was illuminated by moonlight. It had been about half a month since the last harvest, and the moontree fruit was still small and yellow, indicating that it was unripe.

“Shall we get started, then?” I asked.

Chris and Euini nodded, looking nervous. Ciel came out from my hood and sat on Hikari’s head.

I guess she doesn’t want to get in our way?

[Spirit Tree (Tree of Eliana)]

Tree created by ***

Mana Value 3,614/10,000

The Spirit Tree’s mana value seemed to be in the safe range. I drank an MP boost potion+, and Chris and Euini did the same. Then we drank EX mana potions, and I used Appraise Person and Analysis to confirm that their MP was maxed out.

“Okay, let’s go,” I said.

I took hands with Chris and Euini and used Attunement and Conversion to align my and Euini’s mana to Chris’s. Next, I used Detect Mana to make sure we all had the same kind of mana. Once that was all confirmed...

“Chris, go for it.”

Chris let out a long breath, then placed her open hand on the moontree fruit’s trunk. Euini’s hand started trembling as she watched it, but...

“Don’t worry,” I told her. “I’m in control.” My reassurance seemed to calm her down.

“I’m starting.” Speaking for the first time, Chris began channeling her mana into the tree.

I kept Detect Mana active and watched as Chris’s mana level went down. Then I used Regulate Mana to restock her with my and Euini’s mana stores.

I looked at the Spirit Tree with Analysis and saw that its mana value had gone up quickly, and by about the amount that we had lost.

When its mana value was over 9,000, the Spirit Tree began to glow. Then, when it finally reached 10,000, the whole thing became wreathed in light.

The glow eventually flowed down Chris’s hand on the trunk to encompass her, then me and Euini as well. I thought I felt something warm flowing into my body and a voice speaking words like “Thank you” into my mind... Was it just my imagination?

We didn’t know this until later, but apparently at the same time, the people in Altair, Marte, and the other nearby towns had seen the aboveground leaves of the Spirit Tree shine bright enough to light up the sky.

The glow remained for a while, but the light gradually subsided and all returned to normal.

In that same moment, Chris took her hand off the trunk and started to topple. I quickly reached out to support her, but I must have pulled on Euini’s hand in the process, since she began falling toward me as well. I let go and caught her as she fell.

Hikari and Sera had seen the sight and came running.

“Chris, you okay?”

“You too, Euini. How are you feeling?”

The girls nodded, still seeming semiconscious.

“Master, the fruit!” Hikari cried.

I looked up and saw the small fruit begin to grow and sink down until it was within our reach.

It was shining in the moonlight.

[Moontree Fruit] An omnicure. Fine to eat or drink.

Complete product. A devolution of ***.

I appraised the moontree fruit and saw that the “incomplete” had turned to “complete,” but the comment about it being a devolution of something remained.

“Here, Ciel.” Hikari picked a fruit and offered it to Ciel.

Ciel chomped it down, then sank to the ground and began to shake. We all watched her worriedly, but she immediately looked up, eyes wide, then turned back to me and started pounding her ears on the ground.

Euini was shocked by this sudden turnaround in her spirits. Her condition had improved when we were in the dungeon, but she’d still never done anything so vigorous in front of Euini before.

By the way, her manner was the same as when she was saying, I’m hungry! Gimme food! When I mentioned that to Euini, she looked slightly perplexed.

“That’s our Ciel!” Hikari declared.

“Yeah. That’s the Ciel we know,” Sera agreed.

“Knew it. Looking at this, there’s no doubt that Ciel’s back to normal,” Rurika added.

The three of them were openly delighted by the sight. Mia and Chris looked a bit more abashed, but they were smiling as well.

Since none of us had had dinner yet either, we decided to eat while we were here. As I finished up the dishes, I laid them out, making sure there was a lot for Ciel.

“B-But...can she really eat all that?” Euini seemed shocked by the sheer volume.

It would be a lot under most circumstances, but I felt like Ciel could handle it in her current state, and I could just put away anything she didn’t finish.

Once the food was laid out, I nodded to the fiercely staring Ciel, which was the signal for her to begin. She immediately leaped onto the food, one dish after another disappearing into her small body like she was making up for lost time.

Hikari seemed to take this as a challenge, and she began wolfing down her own food.

“Be careful, Hikari,” Mia cautioned her. “You’ll get a stomachache if you eat too much.”

Even as the rest of us finished our meals, Ciel kept going. She had at least slowed down a bit now, and she seemed to be savoring it more.

Euini just watched, wide-eyed.

When I woke up the next day, Ciel flew over to me from the direction of the Spirit Tree. She must have been hungry again.

“We can eat after the others are up,” I told her.

Ciel seemed to think that over, then flew back to the Spirit Tree.

I couldn’t help but smile at seeing her so energetic again, but I wouldn’t let my guard down until I was absolutely sure she was cured. She seemed to have returned to the level she’d been at before she absorbed the slave crest, but I’d seen her looking healthy in the dungeon before only to revert back to a listless state after we left.

As usual, Appraisal wouldn’t work on Ciel, not even with the new addition of Analysis, but Mia and Euini had both said they thought she’d be fine. They couldn’t explain why; they just felt like it was true.

The others woke up soon after, so we had breakfast together, then decided to leave the dungeon.

“Ciel? What’s wrong?”

As we’d packed up our things and begun to walk toward the exit, Ciel had remained where she was, floating in midair. She was holding perfectly still, facing the direction opposite the stairs.

But she quickly realized that we were all waiting, and she finally flew our way.

After we left the dungeon, we went our separate ways for a while. Euini had to report to Alzahark, so she went with Alfried, who’d come to see her. Alfried added that someone would come by to collect us later, so we had lunch and went back to rest in our rooms.

◇◇◇

Around sundown, there was a knock on the door to our room. It was Dutina, who led us to a door we’d never seen before. It was carved with an elaborate design and large enough for a colossus to pass through.

Dutina told us that through the door was the throne room. Then she nodded to the people standing on either side of the door, which slowly opened before us.

As we entered, the first thing we saw were the royal guards lined up along both sides of the throne room. We’d seen them many times in the training hall before, but now they were clad in full regalia.

We walked forward until we came upon Alzahark, sitting upon a large throne. Euini stood to his right and Alfried to his left.

“Euini and Alfried have told me what happened,” Alzahark said. “It seems you’ve helped in many ways, including the Great Tree. Thank you.” He remained seated but bowed to us.

The members of the royal guard began to whisper at the sight, but Alfried tapped a lance on the stone floor to silence them. It hardly seemed like becoming behavior for a throne room, but Alzahark said nothing.

“Therefore, I would like to give you some kind of a reward. I do not know precisely who it is you are searching for, but I will tell you what I know about elves.”

His words made Rurika, Chris, and Sera gasp audibly. We had only been doing this to save Ciel, but this was certainly a welcome reward—yet at the same time, I thought, a peculiar one.

“Ah, I can see that it’s sufficient. Euini, give this— Euini?”

“Ah, yes sir.”

Alzahark handed something to Euini, who walked up to us and gave it to me. As it passed from her hands to mine, I caught a look at her face. She looked troubled, but she bowed to me and returned to her station.

The thing she’d handed me was a small box.

“The item inside that box... It’s something like a pass.”

“A pass?” I asked. I could tell the rest of my party were just as confused as I was.

“If you channel mana into it while you’re in the Black Forest, it will guide you to a certain place. It is a town where elves live. The pass is also a talisman that will keep you from getting lost there.”

“R-Really?” Chris asked. She stepped forward, an action which the royal guard did not miss.

“Yes, it is all true. I would not lie to people to whom I owe so much—and if I even tried, my children would hate me for it. That is a fate that I fear more than death! So you need not worry. Tonight I shall hold a banquet, and I hope that you will all join us.”

Once Alzahark finished speaking, we left the throne room.

◇Euini’s Perspective

“Father, are you serious? It’s the Black Forest. It’s full of savage monsters and controlled by demons. Even if there is an elf town there, surely it’s too dangerous.”

I waited for Sora and the rest of the royal guard to leave the throne room before I addressed him. I was being so firm on the matter because I had imagined the Black Forest to be an extremely dangerous place.

“Ah, yes, I see. I suppose I can tell you now.”

Father looked at Alfried. She nodded back, and then he began to tell me about my mother.

I’d asked him about her many times before, and he’d never told me until now. I’d known she was a user of holy magic, but I’d never known she was the Saint.

He told me why she never came back after being sent to fight the Demon King, and he told me about the current Demon King. He didn’t tell me how he knew all this, but he made sure I knew that I was not to tell anyone.

“But... But then Sora and the others... Can’t you simply keep them here?”

“I think you know better than anyone that that would be impossible.”

I knew what they were trying to accomplish, of course, and I understood how Chris and her friends felt. They certainly wouldn’t be deterred, and father had already shown them the way there.

Still...

“It just seems too awful.”

“That is why I wish to be sure. I owe that boy a debt for saving our kingdom, and I want to help him if I can. So if he can prove to me that he stands a chance...”

My father stood up and left the throne room. As he walked away, he seemed somehow diminished from the father I had known for all these years.

“Alfried, did you know?” I asked.

“Yes,” she responded simply.

I glared at her, angry about her casual reaction, but when I saw her face I realized I’d been wrong. I knew that Alfried cared deeply about my mother as well.

“I have faith in King Alzahark. Let’s leave this to him,” she added.

Unfortunately, there was nothing else we could do.

Epilogue

“Ah, you’ve come.”

I arrived in front of the Spirit Tree on the dungeon’s seventh floor to find Alzahark gazing up at it. He looked like he’d been talking to someone or something, but I didn’t see anyone else around. Something I couldn’t see? Spirits, maybe?

“As promised, you’ve come—well, not alone after all, I see,” Alzahark said, looking at me—rather, at Ciel—with an abashed smile.

Euini had sent me a message telling me to come here. Obviously, I’d known it was Alzahark I would be meeting and not her, and because he’d said he wanted to talk in secret, I hadn’t brought anyone else with me.

I’d done as he asked because I had something to ask him too.

“May I ask a question?”

“Yes. Are you wondering why I asked you here?”

“I am curious about that too, but...if you knew where the elves were, why did you let things with the Spirit Tree get this bad?”

Alzahark looked surprised. He must not have anticipated this question, but he immediately answered it. “Because I only knew where normal elves were.”

“Normal elves?”

“Yes. You’ve seen it, haven’t you? You know what that girl—what Chris really is.”

Chris was an elf, but not just any elf.

“So you needed a high elf?”

“Yes. At least one high elf is needed for the procedure, so there was nothing I could do. If I’d known in advance, perhaps I could have brought others here...but the timing was not right.”

Alzahark told me how all the lands were mobilizing to fight the Demon King.

“So it might be dangerous to go to the Black Forest now. However, I doubt they’ll move into action too soon. Their plan has no room for failure, after all.”

“I understand. Then may I ask why you called me here?”

“Well, I wanted to get an idea of your power.”

“My power?”

“Yes. This world will challenge you in unreasonable ways. It’s cursed by fate,” Alzahark began. Then he suddenly cried out, “So if you truly wish to protect your friends, show me that you have the power to overcome it!”

All the color drained from the world around me. Alzahark’s body also seemed to warp for a moment...and then where he’d been standing, a dragon appeared.

It was larger than a gigant. I looked up and analyzed it almost instinctively.

[Name:Alzahark /Job:* * /Level:Immeasurable /Race:Dragon* /Status:—]

I wondered why his level was listed as “immeasurable.”

Messages began to flow into my mind.

The Transcendent.

The Fallen.

The Monarch.

The Hermit.

The Fall*...

I couldn’t read his stamina, magic, or will ratings, but they were all written with five asterisks. If each one represented a power of ten, it suggested his stats were in the ten thousands.

I didn’t know exactly what Alzahark was trying to get across to me, but the dragon in front of me was definitely emitting killing intent. The only reason it hadn’t just attacked me... Is it waiting for me? But I see no reason to draw my sword and fight it...

“Even if you have no wish to do it, your opponent will not wait for you!” Alzahark spun around, and his tail came flying at me almost immediately.

I quickly leaped back to dodge it. Did he just...read my mind?

“Yes, all of your thoughts are known to me. You think you can protect your friends like this?!”

He attacked again, and this time I pulled a shield from my Item Box to block it. The force of the impact sent me flying through the air, but I managed to catch my balance and land safely.

“What’s wrong? Your foes won’t take it easy on you! Holding back your sword could mean the death of all you care about!” the Alzahark dragon barked at me.

His words brought an image to mind—my fight with the man in black.

“Yes, you’re only alive now because you got lucky. You could have gotten her killed as well.”

Hearing those words, I drew my sword and launched my attack. He’s right. Sometimes I’ve had to fight. But...

“Commit yourself, boy. A moment’s hesitation could mean the end of everything!”

My body moved, as if spurred on by the Dragon King’s words, but none of my attacks seemed to land. He dodged every one of them, as if he knew they were coming. Adding feints didn’t help. Trying to strike his blind spots didn’t help. Using magic didn’t help. He was reading my attacks straight out of my mind.

How am I supposed to fight an opponent like this? I thought desperately. It’s not fair!

“Crying about it won’t change reality, boy!”

I rolled to avoid his next attack, then sprang back to my feet. If he’s reading my mind, then...

“Hmm?!”

I ran up to him and raised my sword without caring about defense. But instead of countering, Alzahark hesitated and drew back.

What I’d done was quite simple. If Alzahark could read my mind, I would use his ability against him. I’d activated Parallel Thinking to have my right and left sides think of different attacks. That must have confused him.

I decided this was my chance and pressed the attack again.

“Very impressive. However...”

I should have expected it, but Alzahark reacted instantly. He’d been on the defensive before now, but now he moved to the offensive himself.

Even without the ability to read my mind, he was still an intimidating foe. Previously, he’d probably been planning his attacks to match mine. Now that he could no longer do that, everything he dished out—tail strikes, body slams, rakes with his claws—was faster and fiercer than before.

If he decided to use breath attacks or spells, I’d probably be finished—assuming he had those in his arsenal. More importantly, if things continued the way they were going now, I’d definitely end up tiring out way before he did. I’d learned a lot of skills and gotten high stats thanks to Walking, but there was no way my basic stamina was anywhere near Alzahark’s.

Is there a way to beat Alzahark with the skills I’ve learned? Or should I learn a new skill for the occasion?

I called up my stat panel and realized something. Somehow, my Walking level had gone up and I’d gotten three skill points. That shouldn’t have been possible just from the steps I’d gotten when I’d checked yesterday, but my level had indeed gone up.

I’d been thinking of getting this eventually, but it’ll definitely be a gamble...

“Ah, preparing a final push, are you?”

I drank an MP boost potion+ and an EX mana potion. Alzahark politely waited for me to finish, suggesting he really was testing my strength. He’d said he wanted to see my power, and he’d made it sound like it would be impossible for me to even land a hit against him.

In that case...

I went back on the attack and waited for the right moment. Then, just as one of Alzahark’s parries sent me flying back, I used Teleport to get right up in his face.

Even Alzahark was surprised by this, but he reacted instantly, taking a defensive posture.

Yeah, I can’t beat him by fighting fair.

I made my decision in a split second, and the next words that appeared in my mind were...

Euini is...

Alzahark loved his three children equally, but I’d been told he was especially protective of Euini. I’d overheard Sahanna mention to Chris how surprised she was when Alzahark had ordered her to go into the dungeon, so I thought it might be a weak point I could strike.

“What?!” Alzahark immediately grew enraged.

In that same moment, I swung down my mana-infused sword in as powerful a blow as I could muster. But as shaken as he was, he still managed to defend.

That was when I used a new spell.

NEW

[Time Spells Lv. 1]

The spell’s effect would let me slow the movements of all creatures within a certain area around me. It was just level 1, so I could only do it for a few seconds, but that might be just enough to give me the chance I needed.

Alzahark was moving slowly enough that I could see him flexing the draconic arm I was striking at, tensing up the muscle to render my slash ineffective. A seemingly impossible tactic, but it was the kind of thing the Dragon King could get away with.

So just as my sword was about to hit, I used Conversion to refill my MP, then used Teleport again. This time, I reappeared on the opposite side of the arm he was blocking with. There was nothing he could do to stop me.

“Hrnk...” Alzahark snorted, then drew back.

I saw him drop back but stopped hopelessly. I’d definitely caught him off guard, and though I’d attacked him with all I had in what seemed like a defenseless spot...my strike had had no effect.

“Very impressive.” But Alzahark praised me nonetheless.

While I stood there in confusion, Alzahark showed me the part of his arm that I’d cut. Looking closer, I saw that I had dealt a small scratch, and a scale was missing from that spot.

“You dealt a blow to me, the strongest of the dragons. I really am surprised. I didn’t think you’d make it this far. I suppose I’ll give you your prize, then.” Alzahark closed his mouth. I heard a growling sound, and then he spat something out.

Something landed on the ground with a thud—it was a fang. At first it was as long as I was tall, but it grew smaller as I watched until it was just a little bigger than my head.

“I leave it to you to decide how to use it. And I will give you this as well.”

He also gave me a piece of a scale which looked like the one I’d struck earlier. Though it was only a fragment, it was large enough to make a shield out of.

But more than any of that, there was one other thing I wanted to ask.

“Why did you do this?”

“Hrm. Your destination, the Black Forest, is a dangerous place. It is the demons’ territory, after all.”

“So it’s because I might have to fight demons? Or because I’ll get caught up in the war between the humanoids and the Demon King?”

I had met a demon named Ignis before, but I didn’t know what other demons were like. There was also Adonis, who had tried to kill Mia. The others might attack me the same way, no questions asked. In fact, even Ignis had almost killed me the first time we’d met. Then there was what Alzahark mentioned earlier about the humanoids going on the attack against the Demon King soon.

“You will go and see for yourself, though you may also make the decision not to go. What will you do?”

My answer was obvious. “If it’s what the others want, I’m going. I admit, I’m also curious about what a town in the Black Forest might look like.” It was hard for me to even imagine such a thing.

When he heard that, a complicated emotion appeared on Alzahark’s face. “Then I shall say no more to dissuade you. You should see it with... No, never mind. More importantly, earlier...I believe you mentioned something about Euini, and I’d like to hear more about that.”

All of a sudden, Alzahark was suddenly looming over me. I tried to tell him more than once that I’d said it just to throw him off, but it seemed he wasn’t convinced. Sahanna had told me that he took things related to Euini very seriously, but I hadn’t expected it to be quite that effective.

Still, the Black Forest... When I’d been in Elesia, I’d heard it was a dangerous place, but I never thought I’d actually end up going there.

Afterword

It’s a pleasure to meet you, or good to see you again. I’m arukuhito. Thank you for picking up Isekai Walking 5 ~Lufre Dragonlands Arc~.

Right now, I’m facing a challenge in my writing. After all my struggles with the story...I only have one page to dedicate to the afterword this time! Which means I’d better use this precious page for thanks and announcements.

First, the announcement. By the time this volume comes out, the manga version of the story that’s running in Magazine Pocket, drawn by Kei Ogawa, will have its third volume on sale. I hope you’ll check that out as well.

Last, the thanks. Thanks to my editor, O-shi, who gave me suggestions and advice for writing this volume. Thanks to Yu-nit-san for the illustrations, and thanks to everyone who did proofreading too.

And to you, the reader, who picked up this book and read it to the end, and to everyone always reading the web version, thank you so much. I hope you enjoy this latest volume.

Let’s meet again next time.

arukuhito