Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou Zero - Volume 3 - Chapter 1

Chapter I: The Merry Band of Liberators

Rust-red rocks spread out as far as the eye could see. They looked like miniature mountains, tapered as they were. Because of their haphazard placement, they’d transformed the area into a labyrinth of stone.

This was the northern tip of the Crimson Desert. Though it had vast deposits of stillstone, which could dampen the flow of mana, it wasn’t very populated. Stillstone itself wasn’t in high demand. Especially since there were much more accessible stillstone deposits by the Red Dragon’s Mountain. Furthermore, the land in the area was barren, with only a few tough desert weeds capable of surviving in the climate. It required crossing an entire desert to reach, adding another reason on the growing list of reasons why no one wanted to come here. But today there were three people in this secluded land that normally only hermits might want to visit.

One was a young man whose glasses were more famous than him, Oscar Orcus. Another was a beautiful, sadistic dagon woman, Meiru Melusine. Lastly—

“So, darling. Can you take care of things here?”

There was a tall, buff... man? His purple hair had been cropped into a mohawk. Furthermore, he was wearing clothes that were possibly even more revealing than Meiru’s. His pecs were as exposed as Meiru’s breasts.

“I’ve told you a dozen times, Snowbell... don’t call me darling.”

“Oh darling, you’re so shy.”

His face looked like it had come out of Fist of the North Star, and every time he exhaled he unleashed a mini-cyclone. This man, Snowbell, was not the monster of this wasteland, but rather a member of the Liberators. In fact, he was captain of the expeditionary squad, which looked for areas to build more secluded villages.

His special magic, Mirage, allowed him to create large-scale illusions up to five-hundred meters wide. Those illusions could also be imprinted on mana crystals causing them to last until the mana crystal ran dry. During that time, Snowbell could leave the area and the illusion would keep going. His power was almost as impressive as his appearance. Snowbell’s job was not only to find new hidden villages for the Liberators, but also to hide them from prying eyes.

Originally, he’d been part of a circus troupe, and used his magic to perform dazzling stage tricks. But as always, the church had found him. One word from a disgruntled bishop who didn’t like his act, and he and his troupe been branded heretics. From there, things had gotten worse and worse. By the time the Liberators had found him, most of his comrades had been killed. The current expedition squad was made up primarily from his surviving circus buddies.

Incidentally, Snowbell had originally been a much more masculine fellow. However, the Liberator who’d saved him had inspired him to go down the path of a drag princess. What exactly had happened between them, no one knew. But Snowbell had come out of the experience a changed man. And right now, he was pinning a tearful Oscar to the wall of a nearby boulder. Meiru grinned at Oscar and said, “Oh my, am I perhaps interrupting something?”

She was quite enjoying this spectacle.

“I’m gonna fucking kill you, Meiru!” Oscar shouted desperately. However, the sadistic pirate princess wouldn’t be cowed by such mundane threats.

“Fufu. In that case, I guess I should go back before you get a chance to.”

“I’m sorry, I was out of line. Please don’t leave me here alone.”

Oscar gave in instantly. His Metamorph Chains wound themselves around Meiru’s waist as if clinging to her. Meiru’s smile grew wider.

Dammit, I picked the wrong person to come with me! Oscar had wanted someone to accompany him because he’d been scared of being alone with Snowbell, but Meiru hadn’t been any help at all. She’d been the only one who was free, but she was also the wrong person to ask to guard his chastity.

Mentally cursing Meiru out, Oscar nevertheless knew it was better to have her around than to be alone with Snowbell. He sidled away from Snowbell, doing his best to ignore the fact that Snowbell was staring at his butt. Once he was free, he got to work. This rocky area was like a small-scale version of the Reisen Gorge, but that was no obstacle for him at his current level. He placed his hand on a nearby boulder wall and said, “Transmute.”

He cast his favorite Synergist spell, and a large hole opened up inside the boulder. Stepping inside, he unleashed a dozen or so Metamorph Chains from his sleeves and had them attach themselves to various points inside the newly-formed cavity. Oscar then turned back and shot Snowbell a questioning glance. Snowbell nodded and started relaying orders.

“Darling, I’d like a skylight here. Considering the path of the sun in this part of the world, it’ll catch the most light. Try to make it as inconspicuous as possible. Add a staircase leading to the second story here. Ventilation shafts should go here and here, but be wary of the angle. Yes, that’s right, just like that. Put a spare bedroom here. I need a slope here as well, so we can escape through the underground waterway in times of emergency.”

Despite his outlandish appearance and demeanor, Snowbell stopped playing around when it was time to work. His expression was dead serious. That was only natural though. He was designing houses for a hidden village. In times of emergency, how well the escape routes were designed would be the deciding factor in whether a family lived or died. Every house needed to be resilient to attacks, and easy to escape from. Snowbell gave it his all because he knew lives depended on him doing a good job.

“Hey, you two. I’m getting bored, so can I go back?”

This was absolutely, one hundred percent, a vital job. Certainly not a job where it was okay for Meiru to carve graffiti into the walls using her water blades. To make matters worse, her art was so horrible it was hard to tell what she was even drawing. And on top of that, she was also using her godlike restoration magic to undo Oscar’s transmutation in places as a way of pranking him.

“Meiru-chan, people are going to be living here, so could you please not draw monsters on the walls?”

“Monsters? But this is a cat. Isn’t it cute?”

Even Snowbell shuddered at that. Oscar threw out a few more of his Metamorph Chains and restored the graffitied wall to normal in an instant.

“Meiru, I know I’m the one who asked you to come, but could you please calm down?”

“There’s nothing I hate more than being bored.”

“Okay, but even if you went back, what would you do there?”

“Hmm... It is almost noon, so I suppose I could help cook lunch.”

Oscar adjusted his glasses and asked flatly, “Meiru, let’s assume you had a cut of meat in front of you. How would you cook it?”

“Grill it.”

Seriously, that’s all you can think of?

“Aren’t there some other things you should do with it?”

“Boil it?”

“N-No, I mean like something you should do to prepare it.”

“It will become edible if you grill it or boil it.”

There’s gotta be a limit on how savage you can be... At this rate, Oscar was worried she might even say it was okay to eat meat raw. It was obvious from her responses that Meiru had no cooking ability to speak of, meaning if she tried to serve her food to others, it would just end with them screaming in terror. Most likely because she’d managed to infuse her food with a demon god or something.

Naturally, anyone who ate her food would be seeing the river Styx as well. Had it not been for Meiru’s restoration magic, she would have killed most of her pirate crew a dozen times over. In Chris’ case, perhaps a hundred times over.

Incidentally, Meiru was just as bad at cleaning as she was at cooking. According to her, she kept things in places that made sense to her, but in truth, her room was a disorganized mess. Plus, every time she did laundry she ruined clothes, and when she tried to sew she turned slightly ripped clothes into ragged cultist robes. Though Meiru looked like a gentle, caring older sister, in truth she was a sadistic, deadbeat outlaw incapable of doing even the simplest of household chores. Which meant—

“Even if you go back, you won’t have anything to do.”

You’ll just get in Miledi’s way back there, so the least you could do is stay out of her hair and act as my guard...

Meiru puffed out her cheeks and said, “Is it just me, or have you been looking down on me recently, Oscar-kun?”

Meiru didn’t like the way Oscar had been treating her.

“You’ll regret underestimating me.”

“That sounds like something a villain would say.”

Technically, she was a pirate. A pirate princess, in fact.

“Fine, if that’s how you want it... Torrential Bulwark!”

Suddenly, the house Oscar was transmuting became covered in a dome of water. Oscar and Snowbell watched the dome form, confused.

“You know, water barriers like these are soundproof,” Meiru said with a grin. Realizing what that meant, Oscar shuddered. Snowbell, on the other hand, eyed him hungrily.

“Wait, Meiru!”

“Have fun you two!”

Meiru turned on her heel and wreathed herself in a veil of water before walking out. Oscar desperately reached out for her, but his hand only got halfway before Snowbell grabbed it in a death grip.

“Hiii!” Oscar let out a pathetic scream.

“Darling, shall we do our best together?”

He’s talking about building houses. He’s definitely talking about building houses... Just because he’s panting and has bloodshot eyes and is licking his lips, doesn’t mean he’s thinking about anything sexual.

“Follow me, darling!”

“Wait, I already finished making that bedroom!”

A moment later— Flashes of light and loud booms spilled out from the doors and windows of the unfinished house.

“Like hell I’ll lose here! Corrin, Ruth, give me strength! Uwoooooooooooooooooooooh!”

Oscar sounded as though he was about to take part in the most difficult battle of his life.

Nearly a month had passed since that fateful day where the floating city of Andika had sunk to the bottom of the sea and its residents forced to live on a platform of boats chained together. Of the people living in Andika, 600 had chosen to leave their sunken home and join the Liberators. Most of them had been charmed by Miledi’s dazzling charisma.

That was hardly a surprise, considering she had bested not only the Holy Templar Knights, but also the Leviathan that had been slumbering beneath the city for millennia. Watching her legendary battle had reforged the shattered hearts of Andika’s residents and given them the strength to rise against oppression. Others had been hit with a cold hard dose of reality and been reminded that even this distant island wasn’t safe. Everyone had their own reasons, but the fact of the matter was that 600 people who had once fled from oppression had once again been roused to fight it.

After a long journey, those 600 people had been brought here, to this rust-colored wasteland. The area had been considered as a potential site for future Liberator villages for quite some time now. It was a place people avoided and required risking the elements to reach. Furthermore, the boulders created a complex maze, providing natural camouflage for any buildings that might be dug into the rock. Which was precisely why it had been an obvious choice to place another Liberator village.

However, the land was barren. So barren that a few hardy weeds were about the only things that could grow in this lifeless place. Fortunately, it was at the northern tip of the desert, and bordering the ocean. But while maritime people of Andika would be able to make a living through fishing, it wouldn’t be enough to support the population. Meaning it failed to fulfill the most important condition for a suitable village location—it wasn’t self-sufficient.

On the other hand, though, the Liberators’ other villages weren’t capable of taking an influx of 600 people. If they expanded too much they wouldn’t be very hidden, defeating the purpose of putting them in remote locations. Miledi and the others could have split Andika’s people across all the scattered villages, but they didn’t have the heart to separate friends and families. Especially since they’d only just lost their second home.

In the end, Miledi had been at a loss for what to do. So as always, she’d turned to her reliable partner, Oscar.

“Oh, enlightened man of spectacles! Please prove once more that those glasses of yours are not just for show, and grace us with your wisdom!”

Naturally, Oscar had blinded Miledi for that, and she’d stumbled around like a drunk for a few hours. However, he had given her an answer. After all, he knew that Melusine’s pirates had managed to grow crops even atop ships.

“Hmm. Things are progressing smoothly,” An old man rasped. Though he was well past his eighties, he looked to be surprisingly fit. He had a thick head of white hair and a wispy white beard. He appraised the land the hidden village would be built on with sharp eyes. What had once been a barren wasteland was now a fertile valley, the soil rich and damp. There were even a few plants sprouting from the earth.

“What do you think, old man Ben? Good enough to grow crops on?” Meiru asked. She’d just finished abandoning, or rather, selling out Oscar.

“What’s this? Did you abandon the young lad?”

“Nope, I sold him out!”

“......”

Meiru didn’t feel the least bit guilty about what she’d done. Even if she had, she wouldn’t have hidden it. That was the pirate queen Meiru Melusine’s creed. First Miledi, now Meiru. The young ladies of this organization sure are a handful. Ben shot a sympathetic glance in Oscar’s direction. Ben was another member of the Liberators and an agricultural wizard. He helped manage the villages’ farmlands.

“Soil from the bottom of the sea’s not half bad, lass.”

“Isn’t it? As long as you make sure to take the salt out, it’s usable.”

“A useful life lesson.”

The soil that had suddenly appeared all over the wasteland had indeed been dredged up from the bottom of the ocean. Of course, salt was lethal to most crops. So it would be impossible to grow anything here still. However, Meiru and her pirates had figured a way around that problem after spending so long living on boats. Furthermore, Meiru was an unparalleled genius when it came to water magic. She was capable of sifting out harmful minerals out of the soil with just water. Granted, it had taken her years of experimentation and effort to reach this point.

It was thanks to her abilities that even this wasteland could become habitable though. Finally, I can be useful! It had been weighing down on Meiru that, despite having recently joined the Liberators, she was unable to do anything helpful. Incidentally, it had only been with the help of Oscar’s Treasure Trove that Meiru had been able to transport this much soil in the first place. She’d purified the soil, then stored it all in his interdimensional Artifact. Any further fertilization of the soil Ben could do on his own, so after this, Meiru wasn’t even needed.

“I can’t believe you managed to get three harvests done in a single month though. No wonder your job is farmer, Ben.”

“Flattery won’t get you anywhere, lass.”

Why did she even come here... Ah, I suppose she must have been bored. Ben sighed inwardly. Before he could say anything else, he was interrupted by a high-pitched voice.

“Come on, Miledi! What’s the harm? I promise I’ll make myself useful! Please? Pleaaase?”

“K-Kia-chan. I uhh, really appreciate the sentiment, but...”

Miledi walked out of a nearby house, a bunny-eared girl trailing behind her. It was rare to see Miledi look troubled.

“Oh my, you two seem to be having fun.”

“You should tone the teasing down, lass.”

Ben gave Meiru a tired warning, but she gave the old man a thumbs-up and started walking over to Miledi anyway. She clearly had no intention of toning anything down.

“Look, Miledi!”

“I-I’m looking.”

Kiara—the poster girl for one of Andika’s inns—hopped away from Miledi and vanished behind a boulder. A second later, her presence started to vanish. She dashed from boulder to boulder, but so swiftly and so quietly that normal people wouldn’t even be able to see her.

Though rabbitmen couldn’t hold a candle to other beastmen when it came to physical power, their stealth and speed were a far cry above the rest. Which was why they were the best race at manipulating their presence. Kiara was only half rabbitman, since her father was human, but it seemed that hadn’t affected her racial talents in the slightest. Not only that, the lawless environment she’d lived in meant she’d had even more opportunities to hone her stealth skills than most rabbitmen. In fact, she could practically make herself invisible. However, her skills only worked against normal people.

“Kiara-chaaaaan!”

“Fugyaah!?”

Kiara had circled behind Miledi in an attempt to jump on her unawares, but she found herself wrapped in a soft embrace. At the same time, she felt her arms pinned against her back.

“Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-What!? Meiru-neesan!?”

“Yep, it’s me~”

Smiling, Meiru pressed Kiara’s head against her ample bosom. The girl’s ears perked up in indignation. But that only caused Meiru to smile in joy as more of Kiara’s fluffy fur brushed against her face.

“Jeez, stop getting in my way all the time, Meiru-neesan!”

“Oh my. What exactly was I interrupting? Were you trying to do something?”

Meiru’s genuine confusion caused Kiara’s ears to droop. Even though she’d been running with all her might, Meiru had been able to pick her out without even trying. Kiara had wanted to prove that she wouldn’t be a burden, that she had what it took to join Miledi on her journey. That she could be useful. And yet, not only had Meiru been able to follow her movements, she’d even managed to grab Kiara from behind. Looking like a deflated rabbit balloon, Kiara limply rested in Meiru’s embrace.

“Kia-chan... Um, are you okay?”

Miledi was hardly surprised that Kiara had been caught, but she tried to be sympathetic.

“Miledi... could you see me?”

“...Yeah.”

“...I see.”

Kiara laughed weakly, and Meiru finally realized what she’d been trying to do. Recently Kiara had been trying extremely hard to show she was useful—cooking for the group, serving as a messenger, taking care of Miledi’s every need, and so on. And her attempt to show off her stealth skills had been another way of trying to appeal to Miledi.

“Kiara-chan, you still haven’t given up on coming with us?”

“Ugh... I know, but...”

Kiara had been captivated by Miledi. Her friend had stood up against the injustice of the world, her sky blue mana a dazzling beacon of hope. But at the same time, Kiara knew how badly Miledi had been hurt in the battle against the church and the Leviathan. Which was why she wanted to help Miledi. She wanted to join her on her journey and ease her struggles. But, frustrating though it was to admit, Kiara knew she wasn’t strong enough to fight.

Still, at the very least, she wanted to be strong enough to protect herself, so she could take care of Miledi on her travels. Most importantly though—

“I want to spend more time with Miledi...”

In the end, all it boiled down to was that Kiara cared about her friend. A month had passed since they’d come to this rocky wasteland. Kiara knew that Miledi wouldn’t stay here much longer. Miledi sniffled.

“Kia-chan...”

Her nose was bleeding. That was just how cute Kiara was acting. Meiru quickly fixed Miledi’s nosebleed with restoration magic and said sternly, “This is a serious moment, you know?”

You really are hopeless, Miledi-chan... Even though Miledi showered others with unconditional love, she never knew how to act when others returned the favor. She’d always either try to change the topic, act annoying to disturb the mood, or escape the situation entirely. In truth though, she was just too embarrassed to return sincerity with sincerity.

They’d only been together for three months, but Meiru was already well aware of Miledi’s bad habits. She has the guts to pick a fight with the world, but she can’t even bring herself to face her friends honestly. My, what a clumsy girl. But that pathetic side of you is just so cute! Miledi Reisenseless-chan! Still, you need to do something about that soft spot you have for your friends. You know we can’t take Kiara-chan with us so dragging things out only makes things worse. You have to be sterner, Miledi-chan.

Meiru’s gentle smile disappeared, and she gave Miledi a stern glare. Miledi shivered and turned to look at Meiru. She knew what Meiru was going to say. For a moment, Miledi looked depressed, but then she shook her head and took a deep breath. Smiling forlornly, she looked Kiara in the eyes.

“You know, Kia-chan. I’m really happy you care so much about me.”

Sensing the seriousness in Miledi’s tone, Kiara’s expression stiffened. She didn’t want to hear what was coming next, but she knew she had to.

“But you saw what happened in Andika, didn’t you? You know what kinds of enemies we’re up against.”

“......”

Kiara said nothing. But she understood that this decision was final.

“There’s not just one way to fight. Remember what I told you about the Liberators? There’s plenty of other ways to help.”

The Liberators were roughly split into three categories. The first of them was the Fighters. The group consisted of all members of the Liberators with sufficient fighting strength. Their primary goal was to protect the hidden villages, rescue people who’d been branded as heretics, and recruit allies. They traveled all across the world, usually in small teams.

The second category was naturally the Villagers. It consisted of those who had no fighting ability or were too injured to fight. Most of them were civilians who’d been persecuted by the church. Or children who were too young to fight.

Finally, the last category was the Support Team. They took care of the villagers, relayed information to the various bases the Liberators had, such as the one in the Reisen Gorge where Corrin and the others were staying, and helped with discovering and developing new village sites. Snowbell and Ben were both part of this group. There were also a few spies in the support team who lived in large cities across the continent and kept an eye on world events. Some posed as merchants while others pretended to be adventurers. Some had more mundane covers, like doctor, butler, or farmer.

They didn’t do any truly dangerous work, like infiltrating castles. They simply lived their day-to-day lives and gathered what information they could. As a result, they were in no danger. However, the information they gathered was quite useful. Rumors, major events within cities, the prices of goods, and the flow of people were all useful details for the Liberators to know.

Of course, not all the information they gathered was significant, and a lot of time was wasted sifting through it all. Still, they were the foundation of the vast information network the Liberators had and the unsung heroes of the organization. Which was why Miledi and the others deeply respected the support team’s help.

“Kia-chan, the best way you can help me is by joining the support team.”

“And working at an inn?”

“Yep. I want you to work at an inn.”

Even if they were apart, Miledi and Kiara would still be friends. Distance wouldn’t weaken their bond. Gazing warmly at Kiara, Miledi pulled a small box out of her pocket.

“This is for you, Kia-chan.”

Confused, Kiara accepted the box. She glanced from the box to Miledi a few times before hesitantly opening the lid.

“Wh-What is this? It looks really expensive...”

Inside the box was a beautiful necklace. Kiara had never seen something so extravagant in her life. It was made of silver and inlaid with jade gemstones. The way it shimmered was reminiscent of how sunlight reflected off the morning dew.

“I...”

“It’s an Artifact I asked O-kun to make for you.”

Miledi urged Kiara to try it on, but she was too stunned to move. Smiling gently, Meiru walked over and helped Kiara fasten the necklace. The moment it was on, Kiara’s ears and tail disappeared, and her navy-blue hair turned blonde. From all angles, she looked like a normal human girl. This was a camouflage Artifact Oscar had made so that Kiara could blend in with humans.

“Even the largest tree needs branches and leaves to support it.”

Without them, the tree would be at the mercy of the elements, unable to protect itself from torrential downpours or excessive rain. Furthermore, no birds would come to roost. And the larger the tree, the more support it needed. It was this line of thought that had led Miledi to christen the Artifact “Dew on the Branches.” She wanted to be able to see a beautiful morning together with all of the comrades who supported her, not just the ones who fought with her.

“By the way, according to O-kun, it’ll run out of mana in half a year. Well, whenever that’s about to happen, I’ll come back to personally recharge it for you. Isn’t that great?”

Miledi laughed, and tears formed in the corners of Kiara’s eyes.

“Waaah... This isn’t fair. Miledi, you big dummy!”

Though she said that, Kiara still hugged her friend. Her expression was a weird mix between pouting and joy. Their wonderful, beautiful display of friendship seemed as though it might last an eternity.

“Dieeeeeeeeeeee you monsteeeeeeeeeeeeeeer!”

“Who do you think you’re calling an unsightly, disgusting, monsteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer!?”

But alas, it was interrupted by a thunderclap from above. A second later, something crashed into the ground with enough force to leave a crater. It was Snowbell, his chest impaled by a lightning-clad black umbrella. Oscar descended after him, panting heavily. Needless to say, Miledi and Kiara’s beautiful moment of friendship had been ruined.

Oscar pulled his umbrella out of Snowbell’s chest and held it aloft. His clothes were in tatters, and he was covered in scratches.

“Look, Miledi! I did it! I won! I defeated the source of all evil!”

Oscar let out an elated war cry. He was trembling from the combination of relief and joy that accompanied knowing he’d successfully protected both his dignity and his anal virginity. But neither Miledi nor Kiara had the background knowledge necessary to appreciate his victory so they just stared blankly at him.

“I realize the fault for this lies with me, but... Oscar-kun. You came at the absolute worst time.”

Meiru sighed in exasperation.

At the center of this village, Oscar had carved a meeting hall inside an exceptionally large boulder. It was connected to every single house via an underground canal, so it served both as a place to make important town-wide decisions and as an emergency evacuation area. An angry voice echoed through the hall, which was easily as large as the Church’s biggest cathedrals.

“Meiru, don’t think I’ve forgotten how you sold me out.”

Oscar dragged Snowbell, who he’d tied with multiple Metamorph Chains, behind him. The men who were busy working on the details and architecture of the building took one look at Snowbell and muttered, “Not again, boss...” They’d seen Snowbell come on to Oscar so many times that they were used to this scene by now. Fortunately for Oscar, he’d succeeded in fending Snowbell off every time.

“Come now, I apologized, didn’t I?”

Meiru gave Oscar a playful wink. It was obvious from her smile that she didn’t feel the least bit of remorse.

“I’m not sure you understand the meaning of the word, Meiru. When you apologize you’re supposed to bow your head to the other person.”

“Did you know, Oscar-kun?” Meiru’s smile grew wider, putting Oscar on guard. “I hate nothing more than bowing my head to others.”

“So you’re a failure of a human being...”

Oscar’s shoulders slumped, and Miledi came in to deal the finishing blow.

“Hey, O-kun! Mister popular-with-the-dudes! How does it feel knowing more guys hit on you than girls? Huh? You mad?”

Oscar glared at Miledi, who was hopping happily around him.

“O-Oscar-niisan, Is your... butt okay?”

“Like I said, Kiara. I defeated the source of all evil.”

Kiara fidgeted nervously. Though she’d grown up in a lawless city and was tougher than most grown men, she was also a pervert who had a habit of fantasizing about people. In fact, when Oscar and the others had been staying at Wanda’s Inn, she’d often tried to rappel down the roof to peek on Miledi. She’d also tried hiding underneath Miledi’s bed, or disguising herself as part of the wall. Her head was filled with delusions about Oscar, Miledi, and Naiz’s relationship. Of course, there wasn’t actually anything to their relationship.

“I understand! No need to elaborate! Everything is clear to me now!”

“Actually, I don’t think you understand at all.”

“But let me just say one thing!”

Kiara hopped over to Oscar. Her bunny ears stood on end as she prepared to defend her best friend.

“Make sure you satisfy Miledi too!”

“Kia-chan!?”

“At the very least, include her in a few threesomes with you and Snowbell-san! In fact, that sounds like the best solution!”

The best solution for you, maybe. Oscar thought with a sigh as he watched Kiara collapse from a nosebleed. As they were currently inside a spacious building carved entirely out of stone, Kiara’s voice had echoed quite far. All around, workers could be heard muttering things like “S-So this is what it takes to be the leader of the Liberators,” or “She’s so young... I’m worried about her future,” or “Miledi-chan! You’re free to do what you want, but just remember to keep it in moderation” or “Oi, four-eyes! How dare you lay a hand on Miledi-san! I’ll make you pay for this!” Kiara was one of Miledi’s dearest friends, but sometimes Miledi wished she could punch her. Not only was Kiara able to misunderstand just about any situation, but she was also exceptionally skilled in spreading her misinformation around at lightning speed.

“My, Kiara-chan! How could you say such cruel things?”

“Meru-nee!”

“Meiru!”

Miledi and Oscar turned to their savior, a little life returning their eyes.

“You forgot to include me in the fun!”

But their hopes were immediately dashed.

“B-But that would make it a foursome... Awawawah... Miledi, you’re ama—”

Kiara’s ears and tail swayed back and forth excitedly, but before she could finish her thought someone grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and lifted her into the air.

“Kiara! Stop causing trouble for people!”

“M-Mom!”

Kiara’s mother—Vera—put her free hand on her hips and glared at her daughter. Behind her, Marcus watched Kiara with a troubled look on his face.

“There’s a mountain of tasks to be done! Now get back to work!”

“Aaah! Wait, Mom! I still need to ask Miledi—”

“You’re causing Miledi-chan nothing but trouble! Get your head out of the gutter you vulgar girl! I don’t know where you get it from, but you need to shape up!”

Vera dragged her daughter out of the hall. Marcus bowed to Miledi and the others in apology then followed after Vera. As he left, they could hear him muttering, “I’m pretty sure she gets it from you.” Miledi and Oscar cradled their heads in a corner while Meiru laughed maniacally. Just then—

“Hm? What’s all the ruckus?”

Naiz appeared from a portal, bringing a wagon loaded with caged chickens behind him. He was in charge of bringing livestock from various regions to the area so they could start raising them. And it seemed he’d just returned.

“Nacchaaaaaan!”

“Naiz!”

Oscar and Miledi rushed over to their reliable comrade. His return was their only hope in escaping this chaos. But before they could reach him, he was swarmed by children.

“Welcome home, Naiz-sama!”

“Naiz-niichan! What took you so long?”

“Naiz-san! Thank you for bringing all the animals!”

Most of the children crowding around him were girls. They climbed onto his shoulder, hung from his arm, and hugged his legs. Before long, Naiz was wading through a sea of little girls. Naturally, the scene was so cute that even Miledi stopped sulking.

“Meru-nee!”

“Leave it to me.”

Miledi cast gravity magic on Oscar to pin him down while Meiru stole his glasses and put them on. By the time Oscar shouted “Ah!” Meiru had already activated the ability she’d wanted. There was an audible click.

“Wait! Why did you take a picture?”

“I can’t wait to meet Susha-chan.”

“Why’re you bringing that up now!?”

The girls suddenly started clamoring around Naiz while the walking disaster Miledi and the master sadist Meiru high-fived in the background. “Who’s Susha!?” “Where did you meet her!?” “Naiz-sama, won’t you choose me instead!?”

When Andika had been sinking, it was Naiz who’d gone around personally saving everyone with his spatial magic. As a result, the people of Andika adored him. Especially the girls. Women and girls of all ages threw themselves at him every chance they got. Since the children were the ones who actually had free time, Naiz was usually being swarmed by little girls. Terrified of what Susha might do if she saw that picture, Naiz shot Oscar, his only ally, a pleading look. As they were Oscar’s glasses, he was capable of deleting the evidence.

“Hmph!”

“What!? You’re awake already!?”

Snowbell had revived. He flexed his massive muscles, breaking free from Oscar’s Metamorph Chains. His biceps bulged to twice their size as he bore down on Oscar. There was a feral gleam in his eyes. Oscar no longer had the leeway to help Naiz. His battle with Snowbell resumed, and Naiz was left to fend for himself against Miledi and Meiru. However, the chaos stopped almost as quickly as it began.

“Oi, Leader! We’ve got a message from another branch!”

One of Snowbell’s subordinates ran into the meeting hall and waved a letter in the air.

“I see... So it’s time.”

The time to depart had come.

After eating lunch, Miledi and the others gathered in the meeting hall’s innermost conference room. The circular table in the center was a large slab of rock that had been carved out of the boulder. Miledi sat furthest from the door, with Oscar to her left, then Naiz, then Meiru. Directly across from her sat Snowbell and Ben, along with other important members of the Liberators. To her right sat Kiara’s family as well as representatives from each sector of Andika’s economy.

“Alright, let’s get started.”

At Miledi’s words, Kiara and the others tensed up. This was their first time sitting in on an official Liberators meeting. Even the representatives from Andika were feeling a little nervous, so it made sense that Kiara and her family—innkeepers who used to live in Andika’s poorest district and had never been in any position of power—were feeling stressed. They were here to represent the common citizens of Andika, but the only real reason they’d been chosen as representatives was because they were Miledi’s friends. Miledi flashed the three of them a quick smile, then got down to business.

“First of all, our informants are all ready to accept new people.”

All of the spies and informants living in various countries had been making various preparations to receive new comrades. Merchants had been opening new stalls, craftsmen had been expanding their workshops, and innkeepers had been buying up more land to put down new inns.

“For now, we can send about thirty people out.”

At Miledi’s words, Kipson furrowed his brows. Kipson had been captain of the guard that patrolled the outer districts of Andika and was now captain of the guard in their new village.

“That’s it?”

The biggest difference between this hidden village and all of the other ones belonging to the Liberators was that the majority of people living here weren’t civilians. They’d left Andika, their second home, in order to fight, not hide.

“We need to be careful.”

“Well, I figured as much.”

“Also, we need to consider which people to send. If we send all the best fighters, the village’s defenses will be weakened.”

Though about 600 people had left Andika to join the Liberators, only 30 of them were strong enough to even buy time against regular templar knights. In fact, Miledi needed to reduce the number of non-combatants staying in this village, or the 30 fighters wouldn’t even be able to buy enough time for everyone living here to escape. Meaning people like Kipson were needed here. Kipson nodded in understanding, and Miledi nodded her thanks back. She then turned to Snowbell.

“Give me a status report.”

“Roger, ma’am.”

Snowbell activated his special magic, Mirage. A three-dimensional hologram of the surrounding area appeared atop the stone table.

“As you can see, most of the residential buildings have been completed. Thanks to Oscar-kun’s help, we were able to finish half of the planned dwellings in an instant.”

Snowbell zoomed the hologram in and colored a section of it. That was the area that had already been carved into buildings.

“Many of our other villages are nearing capacity, so once people start leaving here, I plan to bring in residents from other villages to ease the burden on them. Fortunately, there’s more than enough space for people here.”

“Have all the escape routes been built?”

“Of course. We have canals running throughout the entire complex. And every house comes furnished with an escape raft. We’ve placed three large ships each with a capacity of two hundred people underneath the meeting hall. Lastly, we’ve run a canal connecting the meeting hall to the ocean, as well as laid down abundant traps to slow down pursuers.”

“Is the camouflage over the village functioning?”

“But of course!”

Snowbell puffed his massive pecs out as he said that, and Miledi smiled.

“Alright, good work. You did well considering how little time we had. Thanks, Snow-nee. And thanks to all of you guys in the building team too.”

“You honor us with your praise, ma’am.”

Snowbell sat back down with a smile. His subordinates all looked pleased with themselves too.

H-Hey, Oscar-kun, Naiz-kun. What’s wrong with Miledi-chan? She’s actually acting like a charismatic, competent leader of a secret organization! Is this real!?

I-I’ve never seen Miledi like this either. In fact, I’m not sure this is Miledi at all!

Tell me about it. A Miledi who’s not annoying can’t be real... Don’t tell me she has a doppelganger!?

Meiru, Oscar, and Naiz all whispered fervently to each other. Miledi shot the three of them a dirty glare. It was only Kiara’s look of abject awe that prevented her from making a fuss.

“O-Old man Ben. How goes the agriculture side of things?”

“I’d like to observe the situation for another month or two before saying anything definitive but... the soil seems workable. In fact, it’s quite fertile. If it’s possible to transport such large quantities of soil using a Treasure Trove, I think it would be worth considering the coastal settlement proposals we abandoned before.”

“I see, that’s good to know. The church has been growing more active recently, so there’s a greater need for more villages. The coast would be good since people could flee at a moment’s notice.”

Miledi put a hand to her chin thoughtfully.

“Is anyone else capable of de-salting sea soil?”

“I may be able to, but I would need to train first.”

“In that case, once you’re done here, I’m taking you off all active missions, Ben. I want you to return to headquarters and practice your skills. Can you do that for me?”

“You really know how to run an old man ragged, Leader. But well I’ve already appointed a successor, and it is a personal request from you. I’ll do it.”

“Thanks. I’m counting on you.”

Ben sounded reluctant, but there was an eager glint in his eyes. Most of his motivation came from a desire to help Miledi.

Oh no, at this rate Miledi will stop being annoying. She’ll lose her only notable trait!

Should I cast restoration magic on her?

No, I’m pretty sure this is a fake—

“You three! Shut up!”

Unable to bear it any longer, Miledi cast gravity magic on her three comrades. Their heads slammed into the table with a surprising amount of force. They were quiet after that.

Embarrassed by the way her friends had been talking about her, Miledi blushed slightly as she struggled to maintain the facade of a leader. But when she turned back to her council, she found they were all grinning. Snowbell especially.

“Good for you, ma’am.”

“Wh-What do you mean?”

Snowbell smiled suggestively, declining to elaborate. He didn’t need to say anything, though. Everyone knew he was referring to the fact that Miledi had finally found comrades who could stand on equal footing with her. Naturally, there was no real hierarchy among the Liberators. Their driving tenet was freedom after all. But even so, Miledi had been a special existence. Her ancient magic had given her strength far greater than that of her other comrades, meaning she was always the one protecting them. Even though she was only fourteen years old.

She’d joined the Liberators at age ten, and after four years of desperate fighting, she’d become their leader. Even if everyone was equal on paper, the truth had been that Miledi was always the one protecting others. But now, she’d finally found comrades she trusts to have her back. Comrades she could fight shoulder to shoulder with. Comrades who’d protect her as often as she protected them. Comrades capable of saving her if she got herself into a sticky situation. These were the kind of truly equal comrades that she’d wanted. And no matter how badly Snowbell and the others wanted to, they’d never be able to reach that level. The most they could do was support her from the rear.

“You can be more annoying if you want, Leader.”

“It looks like you’re scaring your friends by being too serious. Feel free to be your usual self, lass.”

“M-Miledi! I think it’s really cool when you act like a leader and all, but I like the normal, annoying you more!”

“Yeah!”

“You don’t have to try to show off in front of us, Leader!”

“Show us just how annoying you can be!”

“Yeah, we wanna see peak annoying!”

“Bring it, Miledi Annoyingsen!”

With surprisingly gentle looks, everyone in the meeting room started calling for Miledi to become annoying. She gripped the hem of her skirt with both hands and trembled in embarrassment.

“You’re bullying me, aren’t you!?”

Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. Things got heated after that, but in the end, it was confirmed that this village would be fine even if Miledi and the others left. Kiara’s family was also confirmed to be part of the group of 30 that would make up the first wave of spies infiltrating various points on the continent.

The Entris Federation was where the first wave of former Andikans, including Kiara, would be going to. It sat in the center of the northern continent, bordered to the north by the Elbard Theocracy, to the west by the Kingdom of Velka, to the south by the Grandart Empire, and to the east by the Dukedom of Uldia. As its name suggested, the area was a federation. Its government was run by a council, and each country sent a delegation to sit on that council. Because of that, it wasn’t a nation, but more a collection of cities. As a result, it had no borders. Anyone could enter and exit the area as they pleased.

The federation spanned 300 kilometers and was comprised of seven cities. Esperado, the city that sat at its center, was the federation’s capital. Between the six cities sat numerous villages, large and small. It was said there were so many that it was impossible to visit them all in a year. The biggest thing that separated the federation from other areas, though, was the mana-powered trains that connected the cities. Railroads linked all of the cities, allowing both people and goods to be transported quickly. With how freely goods moved around the region, it was little wonder that it was considered the trading mecca of the world.

The federation’s capital, Esperado, was filled with towering buildings the likes of which were only seen in the grandest of cities. Crowds in the city were so large that it often seemed as though the entire world had been crammed inside it. Even smaller streets were wide enough that four wagons could ride abreast. The city’s parks and streetlamps were all meticulously maintained, and goods from all over the world were on display. Shops sold everything from clothes to weapons, to accessories and food.

“M-Miledi, I think I want to go back to the hidden village after all,” Kiara whimpered as she took in the sights. The grandeur of the city had broken her will. “Cities are a scary place. They’re like a different world. Doesn’t a country bumpkin like me stand out too much?” Kiara continued complaining as she held on to Miledi’s arm for dear life. Kiara feared that if she let go of Miledi’s slender arm, she’d be swallowed up by the city, trapped in its belly, doomed never to return. Since she was wearing her disguise, Miledi and the others couldn’t see her ears or tail, but they had no doubt they were waving back and forth frantically.

“For starters, Kia-chan, the whole point of a hidden village is to keep it hidden, so don’t talk about it in public.”

Miledi had a point. Naiz had teleported the group here over a series of hops, so they’d skipped most of the desert and quite a few villages along the way. The few villages they had stopped in had been small. Meaning this was Kiara’s first time seeing a large city. And judging by her reaction, it seemed not stopping by a few medium-sized cities along the way had been a mistake.

“K-Kiara! Get a grip! I didn’t raise my daughter to be such a wimp!”

“You say that, but you’re trembling too.”

Of course, Marcus was trembling as well. The Wanda family was one giant ball of nerves. And since it would have been too conspicuous if all thirty of Andika’s former residents had flooded in at once, Kiara and her parents were the only ones here. The rest of the potential spies were waiting outside the city. Naiz didn’t know the exact coordinates of the Liberator branch building in this city, so he couldn’t teleport directly there. He needed to go there by foot first, and only after he had an exact sense of its location would he be able to teleport everyone in. Chances were, the moment most of those guys saw the city, they’d be just as overwhelmed.

“Now now, the city seems like a fun place! My, what might that be?”

Meiru staggered over toward some flashy display window, like a child enthralled by a butterfly. Even here Meiru was unwilling to dress thickly, and so she was wearing the same revealing outfit she normally did. Like Kiara, Meiru was wearing one of Oscar’s camouflage Artifacts to hide her dagon ears. However, that meant to passerby she just looked like a normal human girl wearing extremely seductive clothes.

“Ah, jeez. Meru-nee, you can’t just wander off by yourself!”

Naturally, most of the nearby guys were staring at Meiru. Miledi tried to drag her back onto the path, but failed. This was Meiru’s first time in a big city too, and she was too excited to stop. Her lack of nervousness set her apart from Kiara, but in a way that was causing even more problems. And whenever Miledi tried to chase after Meiru, Kiara would cling to her, begging her not to abandon her.

“O-kun!”

“Yes, yes, I’m going.”

Oscar tried to chase after Meiru in Miledi’s stead, but— “Oscar, don’t leave me.”

“......”

Naiz grabbed onto his shoulder, holding him back. Upon closer inspection, Oscar realized Naiz was trembling too. The desert warrior had spent his childhood in a small tribe and most of his adult life in seclusion. Only recently had he seen Andika, and to him, that was a huge settlement. A massive city like this had given Naiz quite a shock.

“Naiz, I promise I’m not leaving you behind, but I need to get Meiru.”

“You mean to abandon your friend!?”

“Just how terrifying is the city to you!?”

Apparently, it was quite terrifying. While Oscar was trying to shake Naiz off, Meiru was getting even farther away.

“Huh? There’s an easy job where I can make a lot of money? Oh my! You say you’re only willing to introduce me to it because I’m beautiful? You sure know how to flatter a lady.”

She was on the cusp of being taken away by some very bad men. This was dangerous. For the men, mostly. Meiru had the look of a predator in her eyes. There was no doubt that once she found out the location of these men’s brothel she’d steal all their assets and then whip them into submission.

After a few seconds, Miledi managed to pull Kiara off her. But before she could chase after Meiru, Vera and Marcus were swept away by the crowd. Miledi shook her head in exasperation and shouted, “Jeez! Can you people please just stick close to meeeeeeeeeeeee!”

Miledi then activated her gravity magic. With pinpoint precision, she dragged all the lost children back to her side. Her gravity magic was so precise that, to a passerby, it just seemed as though Meiru and company were walking back to her.

“Whoa, nice going Miledi.”

Despite Oscar’s praise, Miledi looked quite displeased.

“O-kun, you need to keep a better handle on things! You grew up in the capital so I’m counting on you to keep these kids in line!”

“Ah, okay. Sorry.”

What an unbelievable sight. Miledi, who was normally the one causing trouble, was keeping everyone in line with a straight face. Recently, Miledi had been so serious that it had left Oscar feeling a little lonely. Wait, did I seriously just think that!? That almost makes it sound like I want Miledi to mess with me! Oscar shruddered. He most definitely did not have masochistic tendencies. He hoped.

“O-kun, I’ll keep an eye on Meru-nee and Kia-chan, so you take care of Nacchan and the others!”

“G-Gotcha.”

I can’t believe I got scolded by Miledi of all people! What a disgrace! As he was thinking that, Oscar suddenly felt someone staring at him. He whirled around, but all he saw was a few older women smiling at him.

“Do you think he’s showing his friends around?”

“Fufu, look at him. His girlfriend’s scolding him for letting them out of his sight.”

“She sure has a good head on her shoulders.”

To onlookers, it seemed as though Miledi and Oscar were a young couple who were showing their friends from the countryside their home city. Furthermore, Miledi was currently giving off the impression of a levelheaded girlfriend while Oscar seemed to be the whipped boyfriend.

“Unacceptable! This is Miledi we’re talking about!”

“Wh-What’s gotten into you all of a sudden!?”

Miledi watched in confusion as Oscar flashed his glasses and grumbled to himself. She wasn’t the only confused one, either. However, Oscar ignored the stares people gave him and pushed his glasses up a few inches.

“Listen up! From now on, I’m taking care of you lot! I won’t let a single one of you out of my sight. So long as I’m here, you won’t get lost!”

“So Miledi, rest easy. You can go back to being your old annoying self. I much prefer the usual you, who’s a walking disaster, always in high spirits, and causes nothing but trouble for people!”

“Oi, Oscar, I dare you to say that again. I’ll cut your glasses in half.”

But Oscar wasn’t cowed by Miledi’s threats. He linked everyone together with fine metallic wires and started walking confidently down the street. After a few seconds, Miledi said, “O-kun, that’s the wrong way.”

The old ladies watching the exchange giggled to each other.

Some time later, Miledi and the others found themselves on the city’s main street. The buildings around them were even more majestic than the ones they’d seen earlier. None of them were smaller than five stories. And all of them seemed to be competing with each other for height.

Most buildings at the time were built out of wood or, if you were especially rich, stone. But here, the massive skyscrapers were made out of molded steel, something so rare and expensive that other nations had perhaps only one or two buildings made out of it. The upside to using steel was that it allowed for stable buildings as tall as fifteen stories high. But despite how tall the surrounding buildings were, the street had been constructed such that sunlight poured into it at all times of the day. And so, the main street never felt dark or crowded. The grandeur of the main street seemed almost intentionally designed to overwhelm country bumpkins, and Miledi kept a tight hold on Kiara and Meiru’s hands.

“Umm, Miledi. Is this really the right place?”

They were going further and further into the heart of the capital. Since the Liberator branch office was meant to be hidden, Oscar had expected it to be tucked away in an alley somewhere. So he was surprised to see they were heading straight for the center.

“Hey, O-kun. You feeling nervous? Need the great, smart, and beautiful mage Miledi-chan to take care of you? Bahaha!”

“Is it just me or did your title get longer?” Oscar gave his usual reply. But his heart wasn’t really in the retort. If anything, he was relieved Meiru and Kiara had calmed down enough that Miledi could go back to being her usual self. Competent Miledi felt so wrong that she terrified Oscar.

“You’re thinking something really rude, aren’t you?”

Miledi glared at Oscar, and he averted his gaze.

“J-Jeez, Miledi, stop flirting with Oscar-niichan and take us where we need to go.”

Kiara fidgeted nervously. They were attracting even more looks now that they were in the main street. Kiara felt as though she looked out of place in this ostentatious city, but in truth, Miledi had helped her pick out new clothes at a famous store before they’d come to the main street. Her one piece was elegant and refined, making her fit in perfectly with the ladies walking down the street. Vera, Marcus, and Naiz were all wearing new clothes that fit the style of the city as well.

The only people who hadn’t changed their outfits were Oscar, whose suit blended in perfectly well with city life too, and Meiru, who had refused to wear anything that covered too much of her skin. However, Meiru was bold enough that she didn’t feel embarrassed, even in her revealing outfit.

“Ugh, such frilly clothes don’t suit me... I shouldn’t have bought this...”

“Oh my god, Meru-nee. Kia-chan looks so cute. I’m gonna get a nosebleed.”

“You already have one, Miledi-chan. Here, let me wipe your nose for you.”

Kiara tugged awkwardly on the hem of her skirt. She was clearly uncomfortable in this outfit. Though Kiara’s ears were invisible, Miledi could tell what they were doing. She cleared her throat as Meiru wiped the area around her nose and said, “You would have stood out in your travelers’ clothes. Besides, that store was the place we needed to go to.”

It seemed there had been more to Miledi’s visit than a simple desire to get her friends new clothes. Oscar gave Miledi a thoughtful look.

“Come to think of it, even though I paid for the clothes, the store clerk asked Naiz and Meiru to sign the receipt. I thought that was weird at the time... Was this all part of our goal?”

“Yep, you guessed it. Well, I’m with you guys this time so it’s not necessary but... I figured they should know what you look like.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

Naiz and Meiru shot Miledi questioning glances as well.

“The owner of that shop back there is a pal of mine.”

Miledi had used the codeword “pal,” meaning that clothing store owner was actually a member of the Liberators. The woman who’d run the shop hadn’t seemed anything like a Liberator though. Nor had she given any indication that she was anything but a refined old lady.

Miledi grinned mischievously as she watched the shock spread across Oscar and the others’ faces.

“Her name’s Melissa. And she possesses the special magic Penmaster.”

Normally, Liberators coming to Esperado needed a letter of introduction before they were accepted by the city branch. Melissa’s special magic allowed her not to analyze people’s writing, but rather to see a memory of that person writing whatever she was looking at. So she knew right away whether or not those Liberators had been sent by the organization’s higher-ups or not by examining their letter of introduction. It would be impossible to forge.

Now that Oscar, Naiz, and Meiru had all signed something in front of Melissa, their letters of introduction would all be valid in case they needed to send someone here.

Oscar and the others nodded in admiration at Miledi’s explanation. The only reason Miledi hadn’t introduced her in the shop was because she’d wanted to surprise them like this. Elated that her plan had succeeded, Miledi pointed at the collars of Kiara’s, Vera’s, and Marcus’ clothes.

“Also, once she knows the letter of introduction is genuine, she’ll give you clothes that have this special embroidering on them.”

That embroidery was what served as a secret passcode for the branch office in the area.

“My, but doesn’t this mean Oscar-kun and I need new clothes as well?”

“Heh... Don’t worry about that, I’m a VIP here. In fact, you could even say I’m in charge.”

Miledi grinned proudly and puffed out her chest. So long as she was accompanying them, they needed no further identification. As they walked, she kept shooting Oscar furtive glances, hoping he would praise her for her capable leadership. Annoyed, Oscar subtly adjusted his glasses. In his place, though, Kiara bounded up to Miledi, her eyes sparkling with admiration.

“Wooow! You’re amazing, Miledi!”

“Oh, uh, yeah. It’s not that big a deal though, you know? Hehe.”

Miledi wasn’t used to honest praise, so she didn’t know how to react when she received it. Noticing that the remainder of her comrades were grinning at her, she quickly cleared her throat and returned to acting like a capable leader.

“A-Ahem! Anyway, we’re almost at our destination! Actually, you can see it right now. Look, right over there!”

Miledi grabbed Kiara’s hand and pointed it at their destination. A massive, ostentatious building. Like everything else on the main street, it was a good 15 stories tall. The walls of the building were covered with magnificent, detailed engravings. Carved in golden lettering on the archway in front of the entrance was the building’s name: Hotel Lusheina. It was obviously a first-class hotel. Moreover, it sat in the heart of the city.

“I changed my mind. I’m going home,” Vera said flatly, her expression stiff.

Marcus turned to her and said, “C-Calm down, dear. Our home... sunk to the bottom of the sea, remember?”

Though he tried to play it cool, he was obviously shaken too. Miledi cocked her head, confused by their reactions. Kiara looked up at her, tears in her eyes.

“Milediiiiii. I’m sorry for failing you. But this is way bigger than any inn I’ve ever seen. I don’t think I...”

“Huh? Ohhh, it’s okay, don’t worry! I’m not asking you to manage this place!”

Kiara and the others had thought this was the “inn” they were being given. It was natural they’d misunderstand, considering the conversation they’d had with Miledi earlier.

“This is where our pals live.”

This was the headquarters of the Liberator branch office in Entris. Furthermore, the inn Kiara and the others would be managing wasn’t here in Esperado, but rather one of the villages along the trade routes connecting Entris to the other nations. It was only after Miledi had explained all of that to the Wanda family did they breathe a sigh of relief. Kiara and the others had received quite a shock when they’d first laid eyes on the capital.

It was at this time that Naiz, who’d mostly been focused on not getting lost until now, opened his mouth. His expression was as stiff as the Wandas.

“Miledi, are there any businesses here whose buildings look like churches?”

“Nope. If they modeled their buildings after churches they’d be branded heretics.”

Oscar instantly saw where Naiz was going with this. Right across from the hotel was a large open square that happened to be the perfect center of the city. And on the other side of that square was a towering building surrounded by four spires. In other words, a church. That was the reason Naiz looked so worried.

The church enshrined at the center of Esperado was no normal church. It was the centerpiece of the Holy Church, the Celestial Cathedral. If the cathedral that sat atop the Divine Mountain in the Elbard Theocracy was the most important building in the church, then this was the second most important. And more to the point, the second-largest.

Yet sitting right across it was the Liberators’ hideout. On top of that, the hideout was a hotel, a building that attracted all sorts of people.

“You were serious about picking a fight with them, huh?”

Oscar couldn’t help but be amazed at Miledi’s audacity. Standing guard in front of the beautifully wrought iron gates that marked the entrance of the church was a group of Templar Knights. On the surface, they looked like a graceful, modest, and pious group of guards.

“Hey, moroooooons! It’s me, your sworn enemy, the beautiful Miledi~ I just kicked the asses of your strongest knights a few weeks ago, you worthless losers! Got a problem with that!? Bleeeeeeh!”

Miledi taunted the templar knights at the top of her lungs. She was using wind magic to make sure no noise actually reached them, but Kiara, Oscar, and even Naiz were utterly shocked.

Meiru was the only one who seemed to approve, saying, “Well played, Miledi! Insulting them while they can’t even hear you! These are the kind of cowardly tricks I expect from you!”

Honestly, it was hard to tell if she was actually praising Miledi or not though.

“Miledi. Come on, let’s go.”

“Hm? Oh, sure. We can continue from our hotel room. I always get the best room on the top floor, so we’ll be able to insult them to our heart’s content from there!”

“That’s kinda petty, you know?”

Everyone else nodded in agreement with Oscar’s comment, then followed Miledi into the hotel. They still couldn’t believe she’d hidden a Liberator base right under the church’s noses.

The first thing the group noticed upon entering the hotel was the luxurious spiral staircase sitting in the center of the lobby. Their eyes naturally followed the staircase upward, which brought their attention to another thing. The ceiling was exceptionally high. In fact, the entire room was an atrium of sorts, with the ceiling sitting five floors above them. Hanging from that distant ceiling was a gigantic, glimmering chandelier.

Looking back down, Oscar and the others saw numerous soft sofas lining the right wall. By the far wall, a magically-created waterfall cascaded into a pool, providing some relaxing background noise. Finally, on the left was the reception desk. The counter was one long, glossy slab of wood. Behind it stood an army of polite receptionists dressed in wine-red uniforms.

Miledi led the group to the reception desk and a young woman met them with a smile.

“Yo! It’s me, the beautiful prodigy mage, Miledi-chan!”

“Good afternoon, beautiful prodigy mage Miledi-sama. Your reservation seems to be in order. Welcome to Hotel Lusheina.”

The young woman had grey eyes, grey hair, and a charming smile. Most surprisingly, there wasn’t even a hint of insincerity in the smile. On top of that, she hadn’t even batted an eye at Miledi’s overblown self-introduction. Her customer service skills were unbelievable.

“So this is first-class service...” Vera muttered with a shiver. Had this been Wanda’s Inn, Vera or Kiara would have just laughed Miledi off with a, “Ahaha, you’re a funny one!” or given her a curt, “The heck are you talking about? Anyway, what do you wanna order?” For a rural inn, that kind of response was expected though.

“Allow me to guide you to your rooms. Please, follow me.”

“Thanks!”

This receptionist was likely a Liberator too, but she didn’t even signal anything to Miledi with her eyes, let alone engage her in conversation. Like the old woman who’d run the clothing shop, Melissa, there wasn’t anything out of the ordinary about her. While there was a mountain of questions Oscar wanted to ask, he just quietly followed Miledi and the receptionist.

“Please step into the elevator.”

“Elevator?” Oscar asked. As a craftsman, it was only natural that his interest was piqued.

Miledi snickered and gave Oscar a meaningful look. It was obvious she’d expected that comment to catch his attention. I wish I could punch that smug face of hers.

“Yes. By using a magical tool to adjust the water pressure surrounding this box, we can raise and lower it at will. We can hardly expect our esteemed guests to walk up and down a dozen floors every time they wish to leave their room.”

Oscar nodded in understanding, and the doorman respectfully opened the elevator’s doors, which were decorated in silver leaf. Kiara, Vera, Marcus, and Naiz stepped timidly inside, while Oscar and Meiru leaped forward with excitement.

“This is pretty wide. Considering the total weight of the box and the people inside, it must take a lot of water pressure to take this all the way to the top...”

Oscar’s eyes glittered with excitement behind his glasses. He was eager to see the inner workings of the elevator’s engineering. There was a soft dinging of a bell, and the elevator doors closed around them. Then, with another ding, the wall behind them slid away to reveal a passage.

“What... the...”

“Bahahahaha! You thought it was gonna go up, didn’t you!? You really thought that, huh!? You looked so excited to ride in your first elevator, O-kun! Hey, how does it feel knowing it was all a trick? You mad? Mwahahaha!”

Miledi roared with laughter, and Oscar expressionlessly grabbed her head. He looked deeply into her eyes and fired off a beam of light from his glasses.

“Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!? My eyes! I can’t see! My poor eyeeeeees!”

Miledi covered her eyes with both hands and tilted her face up toward the ceiling.

“Leader... you’ve managed to somehow get even more annoying in the time since we last met.”

The receptionist shook her head in disappointment. Then, she bowed respectfully to Oscar and the others.

“Everyone, it’s an honor to meet you. My name is Shirley Nelson.”

“Hey, Shirley. I can’t really see, can you help me out here?”

“I’ve been looking forward to meeting the new users of ancient magic our leader found, as well as our new comrades.”

“Shirley, that leader you’re talking about could really use some help right now.”

“All of us here at the Esperado branch are overjoyed that our leader finally found comrades who can stand shoulder to shoulder with her.”

“I’m really happy you’re thinking about me. But you know, what I need right now isn’t your feelings, but some help.”

“Now then, the manager of this branch is waiting to see you. Come, this way.”

“H-Hey, Shirley? Do you hate me or something? Is that why you’re ignoring me? Hey. Heeeeeey!”

Shirley scooped Miledi into her arms without a word and led the party down the corridor with a smile.

“I see. So this is how a pro does it.”

“She certainly seems used to dealing with Miledi-chan.”

“We could learn a few things from her.”

Shirley looked like she was barely in her twenties, but it was clear she was a veteran with how easily she dealt with Miledi. Oscar, Meiru, and Naiz all watched in amazement.

The passageway behind the elevator was made of stone, and completely straight. Shirley’s footsteps echoed on the flagstones as she led the party.

“This corridor’s really well-maintained considering it’s a secret passage... Does your guys’ pride as a first-class hotel compel you to clean even places like this?”

“Not at all, Oscar-sama. This isn’t actually a secret passage, but rather a service corridor.”

No wonder it’s so clean then. This led Oscar to another question, but before he could ask, Shirley suddenly changed direction.

“What the, she just disappeared!?”

She turned directly into a wall and passed right through it.

“I haven’t disappeared. Everyone, this way please.”

Shirley poked her head back through the wall, finally clueing everyone in on what was going on. There was a narrow passageway that was nigh unnoticeable unless someone was standing directly across it. Thanks to the unevenness of the walls, it was extremely easy to miss otherwise.

“Okay, now we have to be going down a hidden passage.”

“Though it’s a bit difficult to spot, this is just another service corridor.”

Shirley smiled at Miledi, who was still in her arms. Isn’t that right, Leader?

“Yeah, this is just another service corridor. Fufufufu,” Miledi said, returning the smile. It seemed her sight had returned. But she was too lazy to walk, so she was having Shirley carry her still. Truly, she was the laziest leader there was.

The group passed through another corridor with floors so polished they nearly slipped on them multiple times. From there, they went into a corridor filled with the sound of girls’ sobbing. They then passed through a door that looked like a boulder and went down a staircase leading to the basement. Finally, they reached their destination.

“Is this a wine cellar?”

Beyond the door was a five-meter wide room made of stone. Oscar’s question made sense, since the old wooden shelves on either wall were packed full of wine bottles. After all the secret paths they’d walked through, Oscar had been expecting to find some kind of amazing hidden room, so he was a little disappointed.

“Fufufu, this is where it gets interesting.”

Miledi grinned and floated out of Shirley’s arms.

“Everyone, please stand back. Oh, make sure you aren’t standing in that area.”

Shirley walked over to the shelf in the back, grabbed a wine bottle, and placed it into an open spot. She then shoved it against the wall with all her might. Oscar and the others watched in disbelief as Shirley continued exchanging bottles in some unreadable pattern.

Finally, after the last bottle was placed, there was a metallic clang. Shirley grabbed the shelf and pulled, causing the entire wall to swing outwards.

“Hehehe. Look, Shirley! Look at everyone’s expressions!”

“Thank you all for the wonderful reaction.”

Miledi and Shirley gave each other a high-five.

“This certainly is elaborate. I suppose I should have expected nothing less from the Liberators.”

“This really gives it that secret society feel.”

Oscar nodded in agreement.

“I can’t believe I’ve actually joined a secret society...”

“It certainly didn’t feel real until now.”

“I just hope we can actually help...”

Flustered, Kiara and her family peeked timidly through the door. Before they could go inside though, Naiz scrunched up his face and sniffed the air.

“I smell something weird. Is it just because we’re underground?”

Naiz didn’t want to insult whatever hidden room they were about to enter so he kept his words vague. But to his surprise, Shirley and Miledi grinned.

“No, you’re definitely smelling that. After all, this isn’t a hidden room, but rather—”

“A path leading to the sewers.”

“Where the hell’s the hidden room, then!?”

All these puzzles, just to hide a path to the sewers!? You’ve gotta be kidding me! Oscar wasn’t the only one getting fed up. Even Naiz looked a little annoyed. But just then, there was another clang from underneath the floor. It came from the same spot Shirley had said not to stand on. A second later, the floor rose up.

“It’s been a while, Miss Miledi.”

A fashionably-dressed old man with swept-back gray hair and a curly gray mustache popped out of the floor.

“And it’s a pleasure to finally meet the rest of you. I am the manager of this hotel and the leader of the Esperado branch of Liberators, Rigan Nelson.”

The first thing everyone thought was, What was the point of the wine bottle switching, then? Shirley sensed the confusion in everyone’s expressions and grinned.

“This way we have a decoy we can show the church if they ever come calling.”

“Why is there a hidden passage behind the elevator?”

“For convenient access to the service corridor.”

“Why do you have a hidden door camouflaged as a boulder?”

“For aesthetic reasons.”

“Why did you make such an elaborate contraption in the wine cellar?”

“For fun.”

“And after they come all this way, they’ll find that the only thing this secret wine cellar is protecting is a boring old path to the sewers.”

Naturally, no one would want to check the sewers for any more hidden paths. Of course, they might wonder why the wine cellar was directly adjacent to the sewers, but Shirley’s answer to that would just be that there was another, proper, wine cellar and the architect had simply added all these rooms for fun.

“Hmph...”

“Damn...”

“Oh my...”

Naiz, Oscar, and Meiru all shook their heads. Half in amazement and half in disgust. Incidentally, there was some meaning behind the bottle switching. Inputting the correct sequence sent a signal to the real hidden room in the hotel. If anyone tried to put in the incorrect code, those in hiding would know it wasn’t one of their comrades. That being said, it was unlikely any investigator from the church would really be fooled by tricks like this.

Shirley and Miledi exchanged smiles and said simultaneously, “All of this is just to exasperate any investigators.”

They both gave Oscar and the others a thumbs-up.

“After all that effort and hard work, all they’ll get is a path to the sewers!”

Then, they dragged their thumbs across their necks in a cutting motion.

“Meanwhile, we’ll be laughing our heads off!”

Then, they reversed their wrists to make their thumbs-ups thumbs-downs.

“Take that, you church bastards!”

Shirley and Miledi high-fived each other again. They were in perfect sync. Though their words didn’t match their gestures at all. Taking their gestures literally, it implied that Miledi and Shirley’s plan was to lure church investigators into this room and then murder them.

“Wait, don’t tell me you put this next to the sewers so you’d have somewhere to dump bodies...”

“The sewers are the perfect place to get rid of shit, after all.”

“Shit, huh...? Come to think of it, all of the wine in this cellar is red wine.”

Naiz’s expression stiffened as he said that. Upon closer inspection, he realized the stone walls were heavily stained. He just hoped those stains were wine and not blood. At the very least, they smelled like wine. Though, perhaps a little too strongly. Almost as if someone had been trying to mask some other scent with the scent of wine...

“Now then, everyone. Please follow me.”

Rigan smiled to everyone. Though his smile was gentle, the party’s newfound context made it seem as though there was something sadistic behind it.

“What’s with the weird looks, guys? Oh, are you getting scared? Hey, are you really getting scared? Bahaha.”

Miledi managed to be so annoying that she snapped Kiara, Vera, and Marcus out of their delusions and back to the present. They followed Rigan down another set of stairs, silently seething at Miledi.

Meiru, on the other hand, took a more direct approach to vent her anger and started pinching Miledi’s cheeks. Oscar turned to Naiz and said, “I guess we should expect this from the Liberators, huh?”

“Any organization led by Miledi was bound to be full of oddballs.”

The two men smiled ruefully to each other.

The party was ushered into a large underground space whose walls were covered with bookshelves. From the layout of the tables, it seemed like an underground cafeteria. All of the bookshelves were packed to the brim with documents and folders. To one side of the room was a bar counter piled high with food and drink.

There were around thirty or so tables, each large enough to seat four people. Staff members of all ages ran around the room, storing and retrieving documents. All the way in the back was a partition, behind which was a large wooden table. The moment Miledi entered the room all of the staff members got to their feet and turned to her with a smile.

“Welcome. For real this time.”

Rigan and Shirley both bowed to Miledi, as did all the other staff members. It was almost as if this was an organization that actually respected their leader.

“You know, you really don’t have to do the whole bowing thing! I’ve told you guys a dozen times already!”

Miledi crossed her arms in an X and puffed her cheeks out unhappily. Rigan smiled wryly and turned to Oscar and the others.

“Our leader doesn’t like being shown respect. She’s quite the handful.”

He reluctantly got to his feet and Miledi waved for everyone else to do the same.

“Alright, alright, that’s enough! Long time no see, everyone! I brought us some new comrades!”

The moment Miledi said that, everyone rushed up to the party. They mobbed Miledi, giving her status reports and asking her what she’d been up to.

“Whoa... How do I put this... Miledi’s kinda amazing.”

“Indeed. Even though Miledi-chan is supposed to be mine and mine alone, I’m getting jealous.”

Kiara watched in amazement as Miledi was jostled around by her fans while Meiru looked legitimately jealous. Oscar and Naiz just watched on quietly. Despite this being their welcoming party, Oscar and the others were being completely ignored. However, they had no desire to interrupt Miledi’s reunion. Especially considering how happy she looked to see everyone.

“My apologies. It has been close to a year since everyone last saw our leader, so they’re rather overexcited.”

Rigan walked over to Oscar, his brow furrowed slightly. He knew the Liberators wouldn’t let go of Miledi anytime soon, so he guided the group over to the round, wooden table in the back. Once they were seated, he brought out cups of tea from seemingly nowhere.

Meiru cocked her head and asked Rigan, “They’re like this even though Miledi-chan’s their leader?”

“It’s precisely because she’s our leader.”

Rigan’s expression grew pained and somewhat lonely.

“She’s too strong for us.”

Because Miledi’s abilities far outstripped her regular comrades’, she’d ended up acting alone most of the time. The other Liberators would have just slowed her down. Even the organization’s strongest fighters had been no match for her.

“But no matter how strong she is, there’s only one of her.”

Most of the Liberators’ work was information gathering. But Miledi didn’t have the time to travel across the world and personally visit all of the Liberator headquarters whenever she needed info. Nodding in understanding, Meiru asked a followup question.

“So why is it they adore her so if they barely ever meet her?”

“Because she glows as brightly as the sun. Surely you understand what I mean?”

Meiru and the others thought back to the feats Miledi had achieved. Creating an abyss within the Greenway, supporting an entire island by herself, parting the seas, and even destroying a legendary monster. Her blazing spirit and overwhelming might certainly did make it seem like Miledi Reisen was a burning sun. Especially since she always seemed to descend from the heavens clad in sky blue mana. Even Oscar and the others were amazed by her abilities, and they were fellow ancient magic users. To normal people, she seemed practically godlike.

“Those who have been saved by her personally worship her.”

It made sense.

“Does that include you?”

Rigan’s smiled in response to Oscar’s question.

“I’ve been with the Liberators long before she joined. In fact, I’ve been with the group since its inception.”

He turned to look at Shirley, who was hugging Miledi with a smile.

“Our leader can’t bring herself to abandon anyone, even when she should. But I have her to thank for saving my daughter’s life.”

Rigan thought back to the day when the branch where Shirley and her mother were staying at had been raided by the church. They’d been captured, and the fate that awaited them was worse than death. They’d be tortured endlessly for the church’s enjoyment. But the members who’d been captured knew not to expect any help. They’d been taken to one of the church’s most heavily guarded cathedrals. And they knew that there was no saving them now. Those who could fight couldn’t afford to risk their lives for those who couldn’t, or the Liberators would never grow strong enough to take on the gods.

It wasn’t for some grandiose reason like duty, but simply to protect his remaining comrades that Rigan had been unable to go to save his family.

I’m sorry. I couldn’t make it in time. Please forgive me. An eleven-year-old girl cried in front of Rigan. She was hugging Shirley and apologizing over and over for failing to save Shirley’s mother. She looked so sad that it was as if it was her own mother who’d been killed.

Later, Rigan had learned that she’d ignored the warnings of her comrades and charged into the church alone to save the captured Liberators. Though she’d still been inexperienced with her powers, and utterly outnumbered, she hadn’t hesitated at all.

Rigan hadn’t been the only one moved by her actions. Her unbending, unbreakable desire to help others no matter the situation had shone so brightly that everyone who’d seen what she’d accomplished had been captivated.

“It was inevitable that she’d end up our leader.”

After that incident, everyone had pushed for Miledi to become their leader.

“Miledi... That girl bears the burdens that are too heavy for—”

Rigan trailed off, thinking about how she was far too young to be carrying such a heavy load.

“I see... That’s great...” Oscar muttered, sounding strangely relieved. He looked up, his expression gentle. Everyone turned to look at Oscar. Naiz tilted his head in confusion.

“What do you mean?”

“Huh? Oh, uhh...”

It seemed Oscar hadn’t meant to say that out loud. Noticing that everyone’s gazes were centered on him, he hesitated. But after a few seconds, he adjusted his glasses, took a deep breath, and said what was on his mind.

“It’s just, I was a little worried.”

“Worried? What for?”

“Because Miledi’s a Reisen.”

She was from the Reisen family, a family of famous executioners from the Grandort Empire. For the longest time, her job had been to execute criminals. Criminals like the Liberators.

“And Belle... the former leader of the Liberators, was executed by the Reisens.”

“Oh... I see.”

Naiz didn’t know what else to say. Kiara and the others gulped. Hesitantly, they all turned to Rigan. Meiru did as well, trying to see through Rigan’s true feelings. However, Rigan kept looking at Oscar, a gentle smile on his face.

“I know just how much Miledi cared about Belle. But I cannot say for certain that everyone among us understands that. Nor are they all aware of what Belle entrusted to Miledi.”

Thinking about it normally, it would make sense for many of the Liberators to think Miledi was a mole. After all, until recently she’d been the Liberators’ sworn enemy. Even if she had destroyed the Reisen family with her own two hands, it was natural for people to doubt her.

“I’ve met a few of the Liberators already. And seeing how they treated Miledi, I figured everything was fine, but...”

Anyone Miledi trusted, Oscar would trust. It was because Miledi had trusted her comrades that Oscar had felt safe leaving his family with them. However—

“I was still a little worried that you guys had propped Miledi up as a figurehead. That a lot of you still didn’t really believe in her.”

Because of her strength, Miledi would have made for perfect advertising. Oscar had been worried that the higher-ups in the Liberators had made Miledi their leader just to get more followers and that they hadn’t actually liked her at all. That they’d all secretly hated her guts. Of course, he hadn’t really believed that theory, but it still had been a niggling worm of doubt in the back of his mind.

“And if that really was the case, I knew that Miledi would still accept all the hate without complaint.”

Not because she was particularly tolerant or broad-minded. But because she was the one who’d inherited Belta’s will and she was the one who grieved Belta’s death more than anyone.

“I made it in time. This time, I wasn’t too late.”

Meiru thought back to when Miledi had rushed back to save her. The fact that she’d said “this time” was proof that even now, the pain of losing Belta was still fresh in Miledi’s mind.

“That’s why I’m glad. Because it looks like I was just overthinking things.”

Oscar smiled gently as he watched Miledi get paraded around by her comrades. Kiara’s eyes glittered when she saw that smile, her mind filling with R-rated delusions.

“Oh, Oscar-kun...” Meiru muttered to herself quietly. Though she already knew the answer to her question, she smiled playfully and asked, “If the other Liberators truly did hate her, what would you have done?”

“Nothing, really. I’d just keep following Miledi like I have been. We’re here because we believe in her, right?”

Meiru chuckled and nodded, while Naiz just shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

“Then, what if we attempted to harm her?”

It was clear from Rigan’s tone that he’d never actually do that.

“In that case, we’d run,” Oscar replied casually. Rigan seemed surprised by his response.

“No matter what happened, Miledi wouldn’t ever want to hurt you guys, so we’d just take Miledi and run.”

Oscar turned back to Naiz and Meiru.

“That’s right. Running away is a specialty of mine. It’d be a piece of cake.”

“I’m sure Miledi-chan would want to come back and talk to you guys even if you were trying to kill her, so I suppose my job would be to keep you tied up until you could work your differences out through words.”

“Meiru’s wording could use some refining, but yeah. I’d come back.”

Oscar looked Rigan in the eyes and said resolutely, “I’d convince everyone to trust her. No matter how long it took.”

“I see,” Rigan replied, nodding slowly. Then, he said, “Fake Gentleman with Evil Glasses.”

“...What?”

“Gang boss. Fake intellectual. A loser who always gets scolded by Corrin-chan.”

“Okay, you’re clearly picking a fight, right? Fine, you’re on.”

You’re about to see just how evil my glasses really are! Oscar brought a hand up to the frame, but before he could fire a beam off, Rigan interrupted him.

“A kind man who cares very much about his family.”

“Huh?”

“A hard-working, strong, dependable person. That was how she described the comrade she finally found.”

“You mean...”

Oscar suddenly blushed. He realized whose words Rigan was relaying to him. Rigan then turned to Naiz and said, “Pedophile.”

“Let go of me, Oscar! This is all Miledi’s doing! I’m going to cut her in half!”

“C-Calm down, Naiz!”

Still blushing, Oscar pinned Naiz’s arms behind his back to keep him from running at Miledi. Rigan ignored the scuffle and continued his descriptions.

“Has a strong sense of responsibility and doesn’t hesitate to sacrifice himself for his friends.”

“Wha—”

“Though he gets hurt the most, he’s also the most scared of hurting others. A truly gentle man.”

“Mrrrgh.”

Naiz blushed so deeply it was visible on his dark skin. He looked away, too embarrassed to meet Rigan’s eyes. Finally, Rigan turned to Meiru.

“A sadistic pirate with a sister complex. Unless she does something about her personality, she’ll never find a husband.”

“Fufufufu. My, what a naughty girl. She must really want me to play with her.”

Meiru pulled a whip out of seemingly nowhere and smiled dangerously. There was a darkness in her pupils that shouldn’t have existed, considering how well-lit the room was.

“She reminds me of Belle.”

“......”

“Even though she likes bullying people, she’s kind at heart. And though she’s always causing problems, I feel like I can count on her. She’s like a big sister.”

“U-Umm, Meiru-neesan. Would you like this handkerchief? Your nose is bleeding.”

“My, thank you, Kiara-chan.”

Meiru took the handkerchief and dabbed at her nose. Oscar and Naiz watched her with smiles on their faces while Rigan continued.

“Even through just a letter, we could tell just how happy Miledi-sama was to have met you, Oscar-sama.”

“Oh, well...”

Oscar scratched his cheek awkwardly.

“In fact, all of the letters she sent recently have been filled with joy. To be honest, most of us here are actually a little jealous of you three.”

Naiz and Meiru also blushed in embarrassment. Rigan bowed deeply to the three of them.

“Finally, at long last, Miledi-sama has comrades who can protect her. I cannot thank you enough for joining her.”

“Rigan-san...”

“Oscar-sama, please just call me Rigan. There is no need for honorifics with us. After all, we are your support.”

Rigan’s smile was a mixture of relief and joy. When he lifted his head back up, Oscar could see tears in the corners of his eyes.

“Oscar-sama. Please don’t leave her side.”

“Of course. I’ll follow her to the depths of hell if I have to.”

Oscar straightened his back and looked Rigan in the eyes as he said that.

“Naiz-sama. Please protect her.”

“I have no qualms about risking my life for her.”

Naiz nodded, fierce determination etched onto his face.

“Meiru-sama. Please take care of her.”

“I was planning to regardless. She’s like a sister to me.”

Meiru’s gentle smile belied the resolute glimmer in her eyes. Finally, Rigan turned to the Wanda family. In particular, to Kiara.

“These are the people you’ll be supporting.”

“O-Okay.”

“Know that even their strength won’t be enough to protect us all. That’s what it means to wage war against the entire world.”

“......”

Rigan’s words were heavy. They carried with them the weight of a veteran who’d been fighting this fight long before Miledi had joined.

“Are you resolved to stay the course?”

Rigan had lost his wife, and his daughter had been prepared to die. It was entirely possible something similar could happen to the Wandas. Rigan needed to be sure they were still willing to join the Liberators even after knowing the risks. Vera and Marcus hesitated, unsure of what to say. But Kiara answered immediately.

“I won’t know if I have the resolve to fight against the whole world until I have to make that choice.”

Her voice was surprisingly firm. It was hard to believe she was the same girl who’d been cowering at the sight of skyscrapers minutes earlier.

“But Miledi is my friend. And if it’s for my friends, I’m willing to do anything.”

Kiara glanced back at her parents.

“I’ll stay the course. But Mom, Dad, if you—” Kiara trailed off, her gaze making it clear that she’d honestly prefer it if they turned back here.

I’m sorry, but I want you guys to be safe.

Vera and Marcus gulped nervously. But then, their expressions cleared up and they said, “Don’t be stupid. Did you forget? I used to be part of the Devault Family. I can take care of myself.”

“Remember what we said when we left Andika? We’ll be together forever, no matter what.”

The two turned to Rigan and smiled fearlessly. Though there was still a hint of nervousness in their smiles.

“Very well. Welcome to the support branch, Kiara, Vera, and Marcus.”

The three of them bowed to Rigan. Just then, Shirley walked over to the group, carrying an exhausted Miledi in her arms. It seemed the other Liberators had finished fawning over Miledi.

“Oof, everyone’s way too energetic.”

“They’re just excited to see their leader again.”

Shirley turned to Rigan, and he nodded slightly. It seemed it wasn’t a coincidence that everyone had let Miledi go just now. They’d been told to keep her busy until Rigan finished speaking with Oscar and the others. And Shirley had been the one who’d coordinated the timing perfectly with Rigan.

Meiru got to her feet and took Miledi from Shirley’s arms. She then buried Miledi inside her ample bosom.

“Mmmpf!? Wh-What’s going on? What’re you doing, Meru-nee?”

“I’m showing you something that’s impossible for you to do, Miledi-chan.”

“Okay, you’re clearly picking a fight, right? Fine, you’re on. I’ll flatten you like a pancake.”

Get those useless lumps of flesh out of my face! Miledi pulled her head back and glared at Meiru. But before she could do anything, she felt something soft on her head.

“Huh? O-O-kun?”

It was Oscar’s hand. Confused, Miledi was hit with another surprise attack before she could react.

“N-Nacchan, you too?”

Naiz had also started patting Miledi’s head.

“Wh-What’s with you guys? Hold on a second. Oho, now I get it. You guys were getting lonely because the support branch guys took me away from you, weren’t you? Hehehe. It’s fine, it’s fine, I understand. I’ll have to write a letter to Corrin-chan and Susha-chan and Diene-chan that you’re all a bunch of clingy babies, though. Ufufufufufu.”

Miledi covered her confusion by acting like her normal annoying self, but it didn’t work for once.

“That’s fine, Miledi.”

“Yeah, it’s fine, Miledi.”

“Indeed. It’s fine, Miledi-chan.”

All three of Miledi’s comrades seemed completely unfazed.

“H-Hang on, what the heck’s gotten into you!? Come back to your senses! You’re scaring me!”

Despite Miledi’s protests though, Oscar, Naiz, and Meiru simply continued to smile at her. Their reaction ended up terrifying Miledi even further.

Afterward, Oscar and the others were treated to the same greeting Miledi had been. Theirs was even rougher since everyone was continually apologizing for not introducing themselves initially. They also kneeled to Oscar and the others like they had to Miledi, which caused them to beg everyone to treat them like regular comrades too. Their efforts backfired however, and the Liberators all extolled how humble Oscar and the others were, despite being masters of ancient magic. Their praise for Miledi’s comrades turned to near-worship.

In truth, neither Oscar nor anyone else knew how to handle their newfound fame. After all, Oscar had been raised in an orphanage, Naiz had been a shut-in for decades, and Meiru was a pirate raised in the slums. It was hardly surprising none of them could handle being treated like heroes. Of the three, it was Meiru who got accustomed to all the attention the fastest. However, her eyes started getting that same glint she had when she was torturing prisoners, so Oscar was forced to calm her down with a light flash from his glasses.

And thus, Oscar and the others’ first real meeting with a large group of Liberators came to an end. Naiz went back and teleported all the other people who’d asked to join the support team into the hotel, and they were put through an orientation of sorts. All of them would spend some time at Hotel Lusheina, learning about the locations they’d be posted to, how to get in touch with their comrades, what to do in cases of emergencies, and anything else they might need to know as newly minted members of the Liberators.

Meanwhile, Miledi was still confused by her comrades’ sudden transformations. She was so unused to being treated with genuine kindness that she kept shooting Oscar and the others furtive glances all throughout their meeting. Rigan started the meeting off by reporting the current situation in all the countries the Liberators had informants posted in, as well as any dangers Miledi and the others should watch out for. He also mentioned any requests and issues other branches had.

Despite continuing to give the oddly docile Meiru suspicious looks, Miledi nevertheless fulfilled her role as leader spectacularly. Just like she had during their meeting back in the desert, she swapped over to capable, charismatic, leader mode and gave precise instructions to Rigan while asking for Oscar and the others’ opinions where appropriate.

“There’s one other small matter that needs to be resolved. It’s about our vice-leader.”

“Oh yeah, Badd! I told him to get over here since I wanted to introduce O-kun and everyone to him, but... is he not gonna make it in time?”

Badd Virtus was the vice-leader of the Liberators and the man who’d managed the organization in the time between Belta’s death and Miledi’s promotion to leader. In a way, he could be considered the second leader of the Liberators after Belta, with Miledi being the third. He was also the first person who’d recommended Miledi take over his position. Oscar and Naiz turned to each other.

“Miledi told us about him didn’t she?”

“Isn’t he the person everyone calls the knight hunter?”

During their travels, Miledi had often told Oscar and Naiz tales about the other Liberators, and Badd was a name that had popped up often. Miledi nodded and said, “Yep, that’s him.”

Oscar and the others had already come all this way to one of the Liberators’ branch headquarters. They definitely wanted to meet the organization’s vice-leader. Curious, Oscar and Naiz turned to Rigan, waiting for his next words.

“Virtus-dono has... gone missing.”

That wasn’t the response anyone had been expecting.

“What do you mean?”

Miledi’s voice quavered. It can’t be...

“No one has heard from him for over a month. He was last seen at the Angriff branch office.”

The Principality of Angriff was the leader of the Odion Federation, an alliance of nations that was far to the east, near the border of the Pale Forest. Naturally, such an important location had a Liberator headquarters.

“Do you have any clues about where he went? He’s killed so many Templar Knights that there are wanted posters out for him all over the world. If the church had captured him, you’d think they’d be talking about it.”

“It’s as you say. However, we doubt the situation is quite that serious.”

Rigan passed Miledi a piece of paper. Written on it was: “I’ve turned 45 this year, but I still haven’t found a wife or even a mistress. And yet, that annoying brat Miledi managed to score a partner already? Who the fuck is this O-kun anyway? Not only that she’s got herself another guy too? Nacchan? What is this, some kinda reverse harem? Why do popular people have all the goddamn luck? That brat’s always— [redacted] —Anyway, I’m going on a journey of love, so don’t look for me.”

“......” Miledi smiled and balled her fingers into a fist, crushing the letter in her hands.

“That is the original letter we received from Angriff’s headquarters. Lady Melissa confirmed that the handwriting is indeed Virtus-dono’s... When she used her special magic to check, she said that she saw Virtus-dono muttering ‘I want a wife’ over and over while crying tears of blood as he wrote this. Apparently, copies of this letter were sent to every branch. Along with this.”

Rigan brought out another letter. Everyone leaned over to read it.

“If anyone sees that good-for-nothing excuse of a vice-leader, report to me immediately. Also, give him a good beating for me. If you can’t manage that, make sure you report his location to the leader as soon as possible. And tell her I want her to beat the shit out of him for me.”

The supplementary letter had been written by the head of the Angriff branch.

“Alright, let’s just forget about Badd.”

Miledi’s tone was utterly dismissive. But then, it appeared the vice-leader of the Liberators was a pathetic man who was jealous of a teenager.

“Indeed, he’s the kind of man who’s impossible to kill anyway. If he doesn’t want us looking for him, we can probably let him roam free for a while without worrying. Now then, there’s one last worrying report.”

“What is it?”

“Before I tell you, there’s one thing I need to confirm. When was the last time you were in contact with Tim, Miss Miledi?”

Tim Rocket was a bright young man, with brown eyes and hair. He always wore a distinctive newsboy cap and carried around his signature leather bag. His special magic, Animal Harmony, allowed him to strengthen animals, and his animals were the primary means of communication between the various Liberator bases.

Originally he’d been an orphan living in one of the theocracy’s rural towns, but then Belta had found him communicating with animals and granting them power. That had been around ten years ago. Meaning despite his youth, Tim was one of the organization’s senior members. His stalwart partner, the cream-colored isoniol eagle Creme, was Miledi and the others’ primary means of communicating with the Reisen branch.

“Umm, about a month ago? Right around the time we reached the boulders in the desert. We had Creme-chan deliver a letter for us.”

Normally, a reply would have arrived before they left the desert. But the rocky area they were terraforming was a new location for the Liberators. The safest travel routes to and from the area still hadn’t been discovered, so it wasn’t too surprising that a reply was taking more time than usual.

“Did something happen to him?”

“The thing is, recently we’ve stopped receiving any letters from Tim.”

According to Rigan, no one had seen any of Tim’s messenger eagles for the past two weeks. Miledi’s expression clouded over in worry. She was quite fond of Creme, who’d always perch on her shoulder whenever he came with a new letter.

“Is this the first time his letters have stopped?” Oscar asked. Rigan smiled faintly and shook his head.

“No, it’s happened a few times before. Tim’s eagles aren’t just messengers, they’re his family. He gets lonely if they’re away from him for too long, and they need to spend time with him periodically anyway, or they’ll lose the enchantments he casts on them.”

In other words, the eagles stationed at the various Liberator headquarters needed to be regularly cycled out so that Tim could take care of them. Occasionally the timings would match up so that Tim needed to recall all his eagles, causing communications to be delayed.

“But he’s the captain of the messenger corps right now. And for the past few years or so, he’s scheduled his eagles well enough that there’s always been some on active duty at all times.”

To make matters worse, Miledi hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Creme, the eagle assigned exclusively to carry correspondence to and from her.

“Hmm, yeah that’s definitely concerning.”

“Susha and the others sometimes ask Tim to help them move stuff around in their village, so maybe he’s just busy with something...”

“Or maybe he just got sick...”

Miledi and the others looked down worriedly, and a little guiltily. They had crossed the desert and even gone all the way out into the ocean. And while they were in Andika, they’d frequently exchanged letters with Susha and the others back in Reisen. Crossing that distance so many times had undoubtedly placed a large burden on Creme, and by extension, Tim. Their overuse of Creme might have caused both Creme and Tim to fall ill. Sensing their thoughts, Rigan smiled gently and shook his head.

“Don’t look so worried. After all, you’ve finally found comrades capable of using ancient magic. Even Tim was happy when he learned more ancient magic users were joining the Liberators. It’s quite possible he and his animals simple got so excited that they slipped up somewhere.”

The meeting came to an end with everyone deciding to wait a little longer before drawing any conclusions. Then, Rigan relaxed a little and turned to Miledi.

“By the way, Miledi-sama. What do you plan on doing now?”

“Well, for now, I’m going to take a bit of a break. We’ve already had a lot of success finding ancient magic users through rumors. Besides—”

Miledi turned to Oscar.

“I’ve kept you waiting long enough.”

Oscar shook his head and said gently, “I told you before, you don’t need to worry about that.”

“I know, but...”

It was obvious from Miledi’s expression that the plight of Oscar’s family had been weighing down on her all this time. Especially since even after finding Meiru, they’d put off healing Dylan and Katy.

“You really worry too much...”

“Wh-What? It’s only because I kept—”

“Miledi, I’m a Liberator too.”

Oscar’s brothers and sisters were more important to him than his life. But that didn’t mean he was going to just abandon the people who’d lost Andika, their second home. Especially not when they’d pledged to give their lives to help Oscar and Miledi’s cause. Besides, the moment Oscar had sworn to follow Miledi, everyone important to her had also become his family. Not once had Oscar resented Miledi for asking him to help Andika’s residents before going back.

“You better not underestimate me.”

Oscar Orcus met Miledi’s gaze, his eyes resolute.

“Ehehe, sorry.”

Miledi blushed and scratched her head awkwardly. Oscar looked confused, wondering why anything he’d said had caused her to blush. Rigan, on the other hand, realized exactly what was going on and smiled.

“In that case, Miss Miledi, you should probably get going as soon as possible. For Dylan-kun’s sake. Incidentally, the head office was asking us to send you to them, but...”

“Why? Did something happen?”

“No, they’re just jealous only the people from the Esperado branch got to speak with you.”

“Ahahaha... Well, I do want to show O-kun and the others the main headquarters sometime, so we’ll head over there after curing Dylan-kun and Katy-chan.”

“That would be much appreciated. Especially since the headquarters chief is starting to get lonely without you. In fact, it’s gotten so bad that people have overheard him saying things like ‘Maybe I should just abandon this mortal coil if my cute Miledi won’t come back.’”

“O-Oh... Sal’s the same as always, I see.”

Sal was a grizzled old man who took care of managing the Liberators while Miledi was out in the field. His abilities as a commander were outstanding.

Incidentally, Sal was a nickname. His full name was Salus Gaistrih. Though he was pushing 88, he was as sharp as ever. Furthermore, he was one of the founding members of the Liberators and the one who first set up the support branch. He doted on Miledi as if she was his real granddaughter, and whenever she was gone for more than a few months at a time he started pining for her. Despite his constant claims that he’d die unless Miledi came back more often, everyone in the support branch was certain he’d outlive all of them.

“Well, thanks to Nacchan we won’t keep him waiting long.”

Miledi turned to Naiz, and he nodded.

“Yeah, leave it to me. We’ve got Meiru now too, so we can go even faster.”

Thanks to Meiru’s restoration magic, Naiz could teleport more times than he could before. On top of that, he could also hold some mana in reserve in case of emergencies. Distances that would take a month to cross on horseback could be covered in three or so days now.

“Your powers truly are splendid.”

Rigan nodded, amazed by their powers. Oscar turned to him and asked, “That being said, we did come all this way to the trade capital of the world. This is a good opportunity to stock up on equipment. Rigan, could you get us a place to stay for a few days and help us find the stuff we need?”

Oscar had burned through a lot of his stockpiled materials during his numerous clashes with the Holy Templar Knights. And neither Andika nor the few hidden villages they’d stopped at along the way had sold many supplies. Though he didn’t want to keep his family waiting, Oscar did want to make sure he was at full strength in case anything happened.

“Of course. Ask and you shall receive. I’ve already prepared our best single rooms for all of you.”

“Nyufufufu, what a shame, O-kun. Were you hoping you’d get to share a room with me? Too bad. I’ll have you know, I’m not such an easy—”

“That sounds great, Rigan. Mind showing us to them?”

“It would be my pleasure. Come, follow me. We’ve prepared meals for all of you as well.”

“Great. Can I get something light though?”

“But of course.”

Oscar headed toward the exit with Rigan following behind him. They looked like a young nobleman and his trusted butler.

“I-Is it just me... or does he look more like a leader than I do?”

“That’s your own fault,” Naiz shot back mercilessly. Miledi sighed and brought a hand to her chest as she watched Naiz get up and follow after Oscar and Rigan. Meiru suddenly showed up behind her and started pulling on her cheeks.

“Come on, Miledi-chan. We should get going too. You’ll be sharing a room with your dear old sister, won’t you?”

“Whoa, Meru-nee!?”

Meiru had been so quiet the past few minutes that Miledi had forgotten she was still there.

“We’re finally in a big city, so we should go clothes shopping!”

“What’s the point, Meru-nee? The only thing you ever wear is that swimsuit.”

“I know, but I want to dress you up, Miledi-chan.”

“Ugh...”

Grimacing, Miledi let Meiru pull her toward the exit. The rest of the Liberators saw her off with heartfelt smiles.

Oscar and the others spent two days in Esperado. On the first day, the Liberators threw them a welcoming party, and on the next day, they threw them a farewell party. During both parties, Miledi fulfilled her role as the Liberators’ idol, singing and dancing for everyone. On the second day, Kiara and Miledi got dead drunk as well.

“Milediiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii I love youuu!”

“I love you more, Kia-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!”

As the two of them had hugged, Shirley had walked up to them.

“Leadeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeer, was I just a casual fling to youuuuuu!?”

Unsurprisingly, she’d gotten wasted as well. A bunch of other Liberators had come to Miledi as well, lamenting that she hadn’t chosen them.

“Sorry guys. But Miledi-chan belongs to me!”

Meiru would never turn down free alcohol, so naturally, she’d gotten hammered too. She waded her way into the crowd and kidnapped Miledi away from them. Afterward, a coalition led by Kiara and Shirley had led an effort to rescue Miledi from Meiru’s clutches, creating a huge commotion within the hotel.

Meanwhile, many of the male members of the Liberators had surrounded Oscar and started asking him questions like “Hey, tell me the truth. What do you plan on doing to our idol, hmm, O-kun?”

For some reason, no one had bothered asking Naiz similar questions. When Oscar had asked them why, they said things like “Hm? I mean, Naiz-sama already has those two girls he’s in love with, right?” “You know, it’s kinda weird he’s into girls that young when he’s almost thirty...” Needless to say, Naiz had spent most of the party drinking alone in the corner to drown his sorrows.

After two very hectic days in Esperado though, Miledi and the others left the city behind. Naiz was able to teleport dozens of kilometers in a single hop, and thanks to Meiru’s restoration magic, he could make a lot of hops in a day.

Technically, Naiz was able to traverse over a hundred kilometers with just one hop, but that drained all of his mana. So long as their destination wasn’t 100% safe, Naiz wanted to leave some mana in reserve just in case. Likewise, Meiru didn’t want to drain all of her mana using restoration magic either, so the party didn’t travel as far as they theoretically could each day. But even then, they were able to travel a few hundred kilometers and cross Entris’ border by mid-afternoon without breaking a sweat.

“I guess we’re in Velka now.”

Oscar looked wistfully at the Velka Mountain Range in the distance.

“Seriously, O-kun? It hasn’t even been a year since you left and you’re already homesick? Or what, do you just miss Corrin-chan? Kukuku...”

Oscar blinded Miledi with a light beam from his glasses.

“That riverbank over there looks like a good place to take a break. Let’s have lunch here.”

Oscar dragged Miledi, who was doing the usual “My eyes! My eyeees!” routine over to the riverbank and sat down. He put his hand to the ground and quickly transmuted a simple dining table and four chairs. Then, he pulled out cooking utensils and ingredients from his Treasure Trove and started preparing lunch. He looked like a housewife with the way he deftly handled a knife.

“It never ceases to amaze me just how girly Oscar-kun is.”

“Meanwhile, you’re not girly at all, Meru-nee!”

Miledi’s eyes had started growing accustomed to Oscar’s light beams, and she was able to recover much faster than before. As a result, she was able to start being annoying again much faster than before too. Meiru pinned Miledi’s arms behind her back and started playing with Miledi’s cheeks.

Naiz, who was helping Oscar by taking out the bread and cheese for him, smiled ruefully and said, “Well, in your case, you should at least learn how to cook food that won’t make people pass out, Meiru.”

“I don’t make food for weak people.”

Only those who can withstand my cooking deserve to eat it. Such was the pirate queen’s logic. But despite how unflappable Meiru was, even she was a little hurt when the rest of her party gave her pointed glares.

“O-Oh yes, Miledi-chan. How many Liberators are there?” Meiru tried to change the subject, but that just caused Miledi’s glare to grow stronger. It went from passive exasperation to active scorn. Meiru’s position as a dependable older sister was beginning to crumble.

“During the meeting, Rigan told us the total number when he was giving us an overview of the Liberators’ current situation.”

“Meiru. I thought you were paying attention during his report? You looked really focused.”

“Yeah, you didn’t even say a word.”

Oscar and Naiz had expected the leader of a large-scale pirate organization to be used to meetings regarding logistics and the like, and they’d actually been somewhat impressed with how seriously Meiru seemed to have taken the meeting back in Esperado. And yet here she was now, asking an extremely basic question.

“You know, there’s a saying about water magic.”

Meiru suddenly started talking about something completely unrelated, and Miledi and the others stared at her suspiciously. She skillfully avoided meeting any of their gazes and continued, “Since it lets you control water, you can effectively do anything in the world with it. For example, you can make sure your eyes don’t dry out even if you’re not blinking.”

“M-Meru-nee. Be honest with me. During the meeting, were you actually—”

“I was sleeping!”

Meiru had been sound asleep with her eyes wide open.

“Why!? Why did you fall asleep!?”

“The things you were talking about were too complicated.”

Within one minute of the meeting starting, Rigan had started talking about things like the world economy and the relative political machinations in each country. Meiru hadn’t been able to understand any of it, so she’d given up on paying attention. And because of that, she’d been asleep even when the discussion had moved to simpler matters like the total number of active Liberators.

“But Meru-nee. You were awake at the end, weren’t you?”

“I’m both capable of falling asleep whenever I want and waking up the moment I sense whatever’s boring me is over.”

“What a worthless skill...”

Miledi looked over at Meiru in disappointment.

“And this is the woman who was planning on taking over Andika. Can you believe it, Naiz?”

“The world is full of terrifying things.”

Meiru pursed her lips, pouting. As a way of venting her frustration, she buried Miledi’s face in her breasts.

“What do you expect from me? I was raised in the slums of a lawless city, then became a pirate.”

It was certainly unlikely that Meiru had received any official schooling, and she seemed to be using that as her defense.

“Yeah, but Chris and the others were smart.”

“Kyaty and the others were always asking us questions about what they didn’t understand too.”

“Oh yeah, she’d always come to me and ask about economics on the continent or how trade worked and stuff. Unlike a certain someone, she actually cared about learning.”

Though it was possible that the only reason the rest of the pirates had been so inquisitive was that their leader was so clueless.

“I hate it when other people make sense.”

Miledi and the others gave Meiru disapproving looks.

Oscar dropped a few sausages on a self-heating frypan that he’d invented and started cooking. He’d christened the invention “The Hot-Blooded Fry Master.” Miledi sighed at Meiru as the pleasant noise of sizzling sausages reached her ears. She raised her index finger and said, “Right now, there’s a total of about 3000 Liberators.”

“My, that’s quite a bit.”

Miledi smiled sadly. That number was nowhere near enough to wage war against the whole world. The Liberators were horribly undermanned. Worse—

“Of those 3000, about a third are non-combatants living in hiding within our villages.”

“There’s a bit less than 2000 Liberators on active duty,” Oscar added, looking over his shoulder. He’d brought out a few vegetables and was chopping them with a super-sharp knife enchanted with the Light Blade spell. He named this invention “You are Already Cut.”

Miledi nodded in agreement.

“Yep. And of those, 80% are on the support team. It’s only 20% of them who can actually fight.”

“Meaning when we end up in an all-out war with the church, there’ll only be...”

Meiru brought a finger to her lips and started doing some mental math.

“400 people who can fight.”

“Naiz-kun... For a shut-in, you sure are good at math.”

“I made my living selling iraks, after all.”

Naiz had effectively been running a one-man business. And he’d been very skilled at managing his finances. Meiru shot Naiz a spiteful glare, but Miledi cupped Meiru’s cheeks and forced her gaze back onto Miledi.

“Well, even if there aren’t too many of them, all of our fighters are elites. Most of them could take on 4-5 Templar Knights on their own.”

“What about Holy Templar Knights?”

“They might be able to beat them in one-on-one duels, but they probably can’t take on anyone captain-class or stronger...”

“Well, they might be able to manage now, since I’ve been sending them all artifacts.”

Oscar started serving everyone cheese hotdogs and vegetable soup. No one had any idea how he’d managed to finish cooking all of that while Miledi had been talking.

“My, this looks delicious. You’d make for a good wife one day, Oscar-kun,” Miledi said with an annoyed smile. But despite her sarcastic comments, she still dug in. “But you know. In a way, Oscar-kun’s the scariest one among us.”

“I know what you mean. There’s plenty of other strong people out there, so we’re not all that unique, but...”

“As long as he has the materials, he can strengthen his comrades too. Plus, he’s quite intelligent. In some ways, he’s an even more dangerous person to make an enemy out of than the Liberators or the church.”

“Wh-What’s with you guys all of a sudden? You’re just buttering me up cause you want more food, aren’t you? Fine, I’ll give you all an extra sausage.”

Everyone thrust their plates toward Oscar, eager for more food. Smiling, Oscar started grilling more sausages.

Meanwhile, Meiru started thinking about the relative numbers of all the Liberators. As she absently spooned some soup into her mouth, she realized she’d accidentally dripped some onto Miledi’s head. It was hard to eat while keeping Miledi in her lap, but her sister complex was so strong that she refused to let go of her. Instead, Meiru did her best to ignore the soup stain spreading across Miledi’s hair.

“Are there a lot of hidden villages and support branches?”

In an attempt to hide her mistake, Meiru went back to asking questions.

“You really didn’t listen to anything, did you?”

Despite her joking attitude, there was an air of refinement to the way Miledi ate her food. On the other hand, despite looking elegant and refined, Meiru was spilling sauce everywhere as she ate her hot dog.

“Whoops.”

Meiru accidentally dropped a bit of brown sauce on Miledi’s ponytail. This time, even Oscar and Naiz noticed. Both of them exclaimed, “Ah.”

“In order to explain how many there are and where, you need to first understand the layout of the world. Meru-nee do you know your geography?”

“Huh!? O-Oh, I suppose I don’t. But I do know all of the currents of the western seas better than anyone.”

For a moment, Meiru looked flustered, but then she recovered and gently smiled again. Oscar and Naiz exchanged glances.

Meiru silently glared at them, commanding them not to say anything about the sauce on Miledi’s hair. The glare of a pirate queen was quite convincing.

“Sheesh, you’re hopeless. Fine, take a look at this. You can keep eating, but pay attention.”

Actually, you really should make her stop eating... Oscar and Naiz both tried to silently signal to Miledi to stop Meiru, but she didn’t notice. Instead, her Treasure Trove glowed as she pulled something out. While they’d been in Andika, Oscar had built Treasure Troves for everyone. The one Miledi was using was shaped like a necklace instead of a ring. Once the glow faded, a large map appeared in Miledi’s hands. She spread it out in front of her.

“This is a world map. Now listen up, because I’m only giving this lecture once, Meru-nee. You better not fall asleep on me.”

“I know, I know. I’ll pay attention, Miledi-chan.”

Now’s not the time for a lecture, Miledi-chan! Oh no, now the sauce is staining your hair... Maybe I can mask my mana well enough to cast restoration magic without her noticing...

“Eyes on the map, Meru-nee! Sheesh, we haven’t even gotten started yet!”

“Ngh, she has no openings.”

Miledi scolded Meiru as though she were an unruly schoolchild. Reluctantly, Meiru shifted her gaze toward the map. Miledi nodded in satisfaction and began her explanation.

“First of all, we have the northern continent. I’m sure you know this, but humans control all of it.”

More specifically, the church controlled all of it. Miledi pointed to a spot in the central-north part of the northern continent.

“See that big mountain? That’s the Divine Mountain. It’s the church’s headquarters. From here to the Sharod Federation in the west, the Uldia Dukedom in the east, the Velka Kingdom in the south, is the Theocracy of Elbard.”

“Sharod is where the Crimson Desert and the Red Dragon Mountain are, right? And the Velka Kingdom is where the Greenway is. This is my first time hearing about the Uldia Dukedom, though.”

Meiru, pay more attention to your food! You’re dripping sauce again! Oscar implored Meiru with his eyes, but she didn’t notice. Sauce was dripping from her hotdog onto her fingers.

“The Uldia Dukedom used to be an independent monarchy.”

Its territories hugged the northern mountain range, encompassing Ur Lake and the surrounding fertile wetlands.

“But that was a hundred years ago. The people of Uldia used to worship the spirits said to dwell within Ur Lake, but then...”

“The church colonized them, right?”

Drip... Drip... Drip... Oscar and Naiz were both screaming internally. Miledi’s beautiful blonde hair was covered in sticky brown sauce.

“By the way, that’s where our main headquarters is.”

In practice, Uldia was basically a neglected Elbardian colony, so it made for a convenient hiding place.

“Anyway, east of Uldia is the Odion Federation.”

“That’s where the vice-leader was, right?”

“Yep. All the countries in the federation have a pretty strong military. There are nine of them in total, but they have a centralized government where all the power lies in the hands of the leader of the alliance. The other countries function more like satellite colonies for the federation leader.”

Every five years, all nine countries held a grand tournament to decide who the federation leader would be, so each country had a chance to seize power.

“I never knew there were such bloodthirsty countries out there...” Meiru muttered absently, ignoring the fact that she was a pirate queen hailing from the most lawless city in the world.

Thanks to Miledi’s serious attitude, Meiru was actually paying attention to her lecture. Unfortunately, that also meant she wasn’t paying any attention to her half-eaten hotdog.

“Oh no!”

“Watch out!”

Oscar and Naiz both shouted out warnings, but it was too late. A few sauce-drenched vegetables slipped out of the bun and fell onto Miledi’s hair with a wet splat.

“O-kun? Nacchan? What’s wrong?”

To say, or not to say. That was the question. They wanted to tell Miledi what was happening to her hair, but they also didn’t want to incur Meiru’s wrath. Besides, this was the first time that the haphazard pirate queen was actually paying attention to a lecture. Such a rare occurrence might never happen again, so Oscar and Naiz decided to remain quiet for now.

Miledi wasn’t fully convinced by their half-assed deflections to her question, but since Meiru was paying attention, she decided to continue her lecture.

“Anyway, south of the Uldia Dukedom and the Odion Federation is...”

“Your birthplace, right? The Grandort Empire, home to the world’s strongest mages.”

“Yep, the only country on the northern continent to hold territory in the southern continent, past the Reisen Gorge.”

That was a full list of all the human nations. Each of them had a Holy Church cathedral somewhere in their capital, and each nation was controlled either directly or indirectly by the church. The Uldia Dukedom wasn’t the only vassal state Elbard possessed. Effectively every human nation was a vassal state in some capacity.

“I see. Now that I think about it, our opponent is quite formidable. Incidentally, you said our goal is to slay the gods, but do you even know where they are?”

Tears welled up in Miledi’s eyes and she looked reproachfully over her shoulder at Meiru.

“You weren’t even paying attention when I told you that? It was back when we were on the Melusine...”

Do you not care about me at all? Is that it? Seeing the hurt in Miledi’s eyes, Meiru started to panic. Unfortunately, that panic caused more of her hot dog to fall into Miledi’s hair. However, neither of them noticed.

“I-I was paying attention! But your story about Belle was so moving that I forgot everything that came after. Besides... when you told me all that, I still had no intention of joining the Liberators.”

“So you forgot all about it?”

The tears disappeared from Miledi’s eyes, and her glare turned cold.

“I’m the kind of person who doesn’t sweat the small details...”

Meiru whistled innocently, refusing to meet Miledi’s eyes. Sighing loudly, Miledi turned back around and folded her arms. She looked pissed.

“Do you remember how I told you I went to the church’s main cathedral?”

“I do. You said you wanted to see for yourself whether or not Belle’s claims were true, right? After you snuck into the cathedral, you were discovered by one of God’s Apostles and needed to run away.”

Wondering why Meiru only seemed to remember details regarding Miledi’s mistakes, she started talking about the Liberators’ primary goal. Namely, the destruction of the marble pillar that stood at the center of the cathedral at the top of the Divine Mountain.

“When I was in there, I saw one of God’s Disciples talking to Ehit in that room. The room where Belle nearly died once.”

The marble pillar had been emitting a radiance and sentience unlike anything Miledi had seen before. It was there, where the priestesses received oracles from Ehit, that God was connected to the mortal realm.

“Honestly, I have no clue where Ehit is. But it’s obvious he’s using that pillar as a medium to connect to this world. So we’re going to invade the theocracy, blow up the main cathedral, and cut him off from this world. That is our immediate goal.”

Of course, the Liberators didn’t have nearly enough strength to attempt an assault like that yet. On top of that, even Miledi had been no match for a God’s Apostle on her own, so she’d relied on rumors and legends to try and seek out people who could use ancient magic like her.

“And that’s how we’ll defeat a god?”

“Nah, that’s not enough to actually kill him. It’s just at the moment we have no idea where or what kind of existence he is, so this is the most realistic solution we have.”

Miledi grinned and added, “But you know, the main cathedral is the symbol of the church, and everyone calls it ‘The House of Ehit.’ Hey, Meru-nee. Do you think a god who sees people as nothing more than playthings will just stay quiet if we barge into his house and blow the whole thing up?”

“Oh my, Miledi-chan! That’s a wonderfully wicked smile you have there!”

At the very least, Meiru knew that she wouldn’t stand for something like that. If someone destroyed her house, she’d personally make them pay.

Miledi nodded in satisfaction, glad that her hopeless comrade finally understood the Liberators’ primary objective. She then said, “While I’m at it, do you want an overview of the world’s current political situation?”

“Yes please, I— Ah!?”

Glad that she’d succeeded in repairing Miledi’s mood, Meiru plopped the last of the hot dog into her mouth. And as she did so, she finally realized just how much she’d dripped on to Miledi while listening to her lecture. Miledi’s hair was an absolute mess. Shocked, she looked over at Oscar and Naiz. They both looked like they were nursing headaches.

“First, let’s talk about the Pale Forest in the east. This is where the beastmen live. Their country is closed off from the rest of the world, and even most of our Liberators can’t get access to it. We know they have some kind of centralized government, but we have no idea what kind, so... Hey, Meru-nee, are you listening?”

“I’m listening, don’t worry. In fact, I’m paying very close attention to everything. Your explanations are so easy to understand, Miledi-sensei.”

“R-Really? Hehehehe, alright I’ll keep going, then.”

Oscar and Naiz could both tell she wasn’t listening at all. She was just pretending to pay attention while she tried to figure out a way to use restoration magic without Miledi noticing. As cautiously and surreptitiously as she could, Meiru began gathering mana. But the moment she did, Miledi looked over her shoulder and gave her a confused look.

“What’s wrong, Miledi-sensei?”

Meiru smiled her most innocent smile as if to say “I’m not doing anything suspicious at all.” Miledi blushed upon being called Sensei again and turned back to the map.

“The forest is perpetually covered in a thick fog that’s impossible to traverse without the beastman king’s blessing. Just once, the church managed to brainwash one of the beastmen they captured into leading them through the forest, but...”

In the end, they’d gotten lost as well. Thanks to the fog, the Pale Forest was the only place on the northern continent free of the church’s influence.

“Though there are a few other places where the church’s influence doesn’t reach...”

“Such as?”

Pretending to stroke Miledi’s hair, Meiru frantically searched for the vegetable chunks that had fallen into it. I have to get them out of there without Miledi-chan noticing!

“The mountain range in the north. Far past that range lies the land of dragons. But the deeper into the mountains you go, the stronger the monsters you find. The range serves as a natural fortress, preventing anyone from marching across it. The only feasible way past the mountains is to fly.”

But attempting to fly over the mountains meant certain death. After all, dragonmen were masters of the sky.

“Their country is closed off from everyone else as well. I’ve heard that dragonmen are intelligent, wise, and noble, so I’d wanted to enlist their help if I could, but...”

“Wait, does that mean you actually went to visit their land, Miledi? Actually, hold on, aren’t dragonmen a myth?”

Oscar interrupted Miledi’s explanation. Dragonmen were a legendary race said to be capable of transforming into dragons. They often showed up in children’s books and the like as evil tyrants.

Supposedly they loved treasures, demanded virgins be sacrificed to them, and burned everything in their path. In stories, they were always defeated by valiant heroes. Most children grew up hearing at least one or two stories about dragonmen.

“That’s just propaganda spread by the church. They’re the exact opposite of what everyone says they are.”

“I-I see...”

“Yep. That’s precisely why they don’t show themselves in public.”

Miledi looked off into the distance, reminiscing. However, Meiru rifling through her hair interrupted her trip down memory lane, and Miledi reached out to stop her.

“You can’t, Miledi-chan!”

“Huh!? I-I can’t what?”

Meiru grabbed Miledi, surprising her.

“Don’t stop me, I’m fixing up your hair. It’s fine, I know what I’m doing. More importantly, please continue with your lecture. Oh, yes... you still haven’t told me about the southern continent.”

“U-Uh, okay, but... sheesh, Meru-nee, you really are obsessed with me. Diene-chan’s gonna get jealous.”

Fortunately, Miledi didn’t get the real meaning behind “fixing up your hair,” so Meiru urged her to continue explaining things.

“Now turn back around and keep talking! I really want to hear more!”

“A-Alright.”

Meiru realized she wouldn’t be able to use restoration magic. Miledi was too sensitive to the flow of mana. Her only choice was to wipe the sauce off with a napkin.

“Ummm, so you wanted to hear about the southern continent, right? Well, 60% of it is controlled by demons. Their empire, Igdol, is ruled by what we call the Demon Lord.”

Miledi went on to explain that after the last large-scale war ten years ago, Igdol had started focusing its efforts on domestic affairs. In that time, there had only been a few small skirmishes between Igdol and the human kingdoms.

“Oh my, does this mean the demons have become pacifists?”

“Hmm, I dunno about that. Both sides suffered heavy casualties during the war ten years ago. The demons managed to raise an army of monsters, which was completely unheard of, but then that army got eradicated. Rumors say they’re focusing on building another huge monster army.”

The year after the war, Igdol got a new demon lord. And it was this new demon lord who seemed more focused on domestic affairs than international ones.

“Humans and demons have been fighting with each other since time immemorial. But I suppose it would be nice if this new demon lord was a pacifist.”

Miledi smiled and nodded in agreement with Meiru’s statement.

“In the eastern edge of the southern continent sits the Obsidian Tundra, and on the west lies the Azure Marsh.”

The Obsidian Tundra got its name from the ominous black clouds that covered the region almost year-round. On the other hand, the Azure Marsh was shrouded in a perpetual faint blue mist. Bottomless swamps dotted the marsh, and it was considered very hazardous terrain. Furthermore—

“Deep inside the Azure Marsh lies the vampire kingdom... Dastia.”

“I see... The vampire kingdom, huh?”

Meiru stopped combing through Miledi’s hair for a second. Vampires were also a very reclusive race. They were the least populous of all the races, but also the strongest. Like the dragonmen, the church had gone to great lengths to paint them as wicked and cruel.

They also happened to be the race Meiru’s real father belonged to. Meiru’s crimson eyes were proof that she’d inherited vampire blood. She still didn’t know what to think of the father whose face she didn’t even know. Miledi, Oscar, and Naiz all gave her inquisitive looks.

“Miledi-chan, turn back around.”

“Oh, yeah. Okay.”

Meiru had gotten even more sauce in Miledi’s hair while trying to fish the vegetable chunks out of it, and right now she was more focused on fixing her mistakes than anything else.

I can’t let her see the sauce-stained handkerchief! And where did those vegetable chunks even end up? Oscar-kun, you cut them too fine! Of course, cutting them fine had helped improve the taste, so Meiru was just irrationally angry at him because she didn’t want to accept responsibility for her mistakes. Meiru glared at Oscar, who glared stonily back. He knew her anger was misplaced, and that he had nothing to apologize for.

“Ummm, all that’s left is to explain the situation near the frontlines. So everything near the Reisen Gorge, from the western tip of the continent to the land controlled by the Grandort Empire, is known as the frontlines.”

“Is that where most wars take place?”

“Well, it feels more like the whole area’s been designated a battlefield for the sake of waging war.”

Either way, the Reisen Gorge was what separated the human and demon sides. Neither army wanted to be the first to make the trek across a ravine that dispersed mana and was inhabited by all manner of dangerous monsters. Especially demons, who relied primarily on magic. Attempting to cross the gorge during a battle was paramount to suicide. It made much more sense for demons to let humans be the ones to cross, then blast them with magic once they did. If they were lucky, they’d be able to push their opponents into the gorge, saving them the trouble of disposing of the corpses.

“That’s why the demons erected a heavily guarded wall a short distance from the outpost. It’s pretty impressive, too. No one has any idea how long the thing is, and people call it the Impenetrable Demon Barrier.”

Miledi sounded pretty impressed by the demons’ handiwork. Oscar and Naiz both grew excited. Anything impressive enough to awe Miledi had to be amazing. Meanwhile, Meiru was excited because she’d finally found the elusive vegetable chunks.

“Anyway, that’s the basic overview of the world. Now, as for the locations of all the hidden villages and headquarters...”

“Got you!”

Meiru grabbed the pesky vegetable strip out of Miledi’s hair, ripping a few hairs in the process.

“Owww!?” Miledi screamed. Meiru held the vegetable chunk and attached hairs up to the sky, like a pirate admiring her treasure. Oscar and Naiz shook their heads and looked up at the sky in exasperation.

“Hey, Meru-nee! Don’t just pull on my hair like! Wait, what the heck!? Why is my hair all sticky!? And why does it smell so sweet!?”

At long last, Miledi realized what had happened to her hair. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

“Miledi-chan, calm down. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. I think it’s important for a leader to be merciful and forgiving.”

Upon hearing that, Miledi grinned. Meiru’s expression stiffened in response.

“Alright then. Let me ask you this, Meru-nee. Did you at least pay attention to what I was saying?”

“Of course?”

“Then explain everything I just said. Go on.”

“......”

After a long pause, Meiru smiled gently and said, “All beastmen are shut-ins. Humans have a lot of countries. And demons are really cool!”

“Heavensfall.”

Meiru hadn’t scored nearly enough points to pass Miledi-sensei’s test.

Afterward, Meiru used restoration magic to bring Miledi’s hair back to normal. Once Miledi was done chewing Meiru out for her negligence, she went on to explain where all the Liberators’ bases were.

Wanting to be respected by the girl she saw as a younger sister, Meiru paid attention and memorized everything perfectly this time. She wanted to prove she wasn’t a deadbeat. Unfortunately, she basically was one.

The party then resumed teleport-hopping across the continent. The sun was starting to set around the time Naiz said wearily, “Miledi, can we stay the night in the next town over?”

“Yep. We’ve got a branch office there too.”

It appeared Miledi was planning on using her connections to get everyone a free room.

“Phew, traveling across land sure is inconvenient. On the sea, you can move without having to do anything.”

“Only lazy bums like you would think of something like that, Meru-nee.”

“Is it just me, Miledi, or do you suddenly get more competent whenever you’re around Meiru?”

“Hey, O-kun. What’s that supposed to mean? I’ll have you know I’m always competent, serious, and beautiful.”

“Yeah, that’s more what I normally expect.”

While Oscar and Miledi were chatting, Naiz activated the final teleport of the day. He took the party to the coordinates Miledi specified, and they teleported in at the base of a small hill. Their destination was at the hill’s summit. It was Prantz, a small village in northeastern Velka.

The party entered the village and headed straight for a wheat merchant’s office, which was the location of this town’s Liberator headquarters. The three-story building they stopped in front of had a sign hanging from the door that said “Lumond Trading Firm.” Behind the main building was a warehouse several times its size.

“Good afternoon! It’s your favorite regular, Miledi-chan!”

“Lea— Ledi-sama!”

The young receptionist stood up so fast her chair fell down behind her. She’d almost accidentally said “Leader.” At the last second, she’d managed to turn it into a nickname for Miledi, but considering she was a veteran receptionist, she never should have made such an amateur mistake to begin with. Most of the trading firm’s business was done in private rooms, so there were few people in the lobby, but those few were now curious about these newcomers.

Realizing she’d messed up big time, the receptionist froze up. But a second later she plastered on a professional smile and said, “We’ve been expecting you, world-famous wheat gourmet, Miledi-sama. Is your Wheat Superiority Society doing well?”

Everyone present looked befuddled, Miledi included.

“O-Of course it is! I’ll be needing another large order of wheat to continue my research! Naturally, once I’m done with it, my staff will be able to enjoy the fruits of my labors!”

Despite her surprise, Miledi masterfully played along with the ad libbed scenario.

The nearby customers’ jaws dropped open. Is there seriously a society like that, with a girl like this at its head?

A few of the other receptionists went around and started whispering something furiously to the spectating customers. After a few seconds, the customers all gave her pitying looks, then walked out of the office. Whatever story they’d been told, it was clear it hadn’t reflected Miledi in a positive light. Regardless, she’d safely managed to keep her identity secret.

“Please wait a moment. I’ll bring the president immediately.”

“Okay...”

There was something off about this receptionist. Not only had she made such an elementary mistake, but her attitude was also oddly formal. Realizing something wasn’t right, Miledi quietly waited for her to come back with the president. The receptionist scurried into the back, vanishing in seconds.

“Do you think something happened?”

Oscar had sensed that something was off too. He wasn’t the only one. Naiz and Meiru looked puzzled as well. Before they could speculate any further, a well-built man in his fifties emerged from the back. His black hair was beginning to thin out, and his jowls and stomach were plumper than average, but that much was expected for a successful businessman. The president of this wheat company, Brad Lumond, was also the manager of Prantz’s Liberator headquarters. He gave Miledi his best business smile. Not a natural, affectionate one a subordinate might have for their beloved leader, but a stiff, obviously fake, business one. Even though normally, he’d welcome Miledi with as much warmth as the people from Esperado had.

“It’s been a while, Brad. Were you busy?”

“It’s been far too long indeed, Miledi-sama. And I suppose you could say that.”

Brad then added, “But I am overjoyed you decided to stop by my humble establishment. I sent you a letter, but it seems it must have missed you. However, I suppose it’s a stroke of good fortune that you came here so quickly.”

“Did you need me for something?”

“Yes. There’s something that requires your immediate attention. Please follow me to the warehouse.”

Miledi didn’t bother asking anything else. Behind his smile, Brad’s eyes were serious. There was something he needed to tell Miledi so badly he’d sent an express messenger. Miledi glanced back at her companions. They looked relaxed on the surface, but it was obvious from the look in their eyes that they were tense as well.

“Follow me.”

Brad led them into the back. He passed a few rooms, then took them into the large warehouse they’d seen from the outside. Passing by countless rows of stacked wheat, he took them to the very back of the warehouse. Here, bags of wheat of all sizes were strewn about haphazardly. It seemed as though these held no saleable value. Brad started moving them around in a set pattern. They still looked scattered about, but it was obvious their placement wasn’t random this time.

“My apologies for the late introduction, gentlemen. I am the manager of this Liberator branch, Brad Lumond. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Oscar-sama, Naiz-sama, and Meiru-sama. I sincerely thank you for agreeing to aid Miledi-sama in her quest.”

It was obvious from his words that Brad was being sincere, which made Oscar and the others even more confused about his earlier attitude.

“Normally, all of the branch staff would be here to welcome you but... unfortunately, that won’t be possible now.”

Brad finished rearranging the bags, and, with a loud creak, a section of the floor sunk in a few inches. Another section of the floor slid over it, revealing a staircase leading downward. It seemed this secret passage operated on a weight scale.

“I have heard that you are a master of ancient magic that specializes in healing magic, Meiru-sama. Is that true?”

Brad looked over his shoulder at Meiru as he led the way down.

“Yes. So long as someone is alive, I guarantee I can heal them.”

“Thank goodness. You’ve just barely made it in time, then.”

“Brad, what the heck—”

Unable to hold her curiosity back any longer, Miledi turned to Brad. But her question was answered before she could finish asking. There were a few Liberators in the underground room Brad had taken them to, but they all looked grim. However, hope sparkled in their eyes the moment they laid eyes on Miledi.

“Leader!”

“You came!”

They started to huddle around Miledi, but Brad shouted, “Out of the way! We don’t have much time!”

The Liberators quickly backed away, and Brad led them to the room furthest in the back. As they approached, the party noticed something strange. The door was surrounded by a flock of Isoniol Eagles. They all stared at the door, chirping mournfully.

“They all gathered here a few days ago. No one could convince any of them to carry letters anywhere. I can’t really blame them, though.”

Miledi suddenly realized why the Liberators’ mail had suddenly stopped coming. The eagles that carried it had all come to roost here. And there was only one reason they’d neglect their duties.

Feeling a mounting sense of dread, Miledi opened the door. Inside—

“Ah!? Tim!”

She spotted the captain of the Liberators’ messenger corps, Tim Rocket. He was covered in wounds, barely clinging to life. Miledi rushed over to his side, the blood draining from her face. Oscar and Naiz, who’d both met him before, also looked worried. His wounds were terrible. His whole body had been wrapped in bandages and casts. He wasn’t the only one in such an awful state, either. Creme lay sleeping beside his pillow, its wings torn off.

It was a miracle either of them was still alive. A massive pile of empty potion bottles sat on the table beside Tim’s bed. Everyone in this branch office had done everything they could to keep Tim and Creme alive.

“Meru-nee!”

“Leave it to me.”

Meiru got to work instantly. Sunset-orange mana swirled around her and quickly expanded to fill the entire room. For a moment, it looked as though this room was bathed in sunlight, even though it was underground. That light filled everyone watching with hope.

“I won’t forgive anything that makes Miledi-chan cry— Tetragrammaton!”

Meiru rejected the very existence of this tragic phenomenon. Her power wasn’t healing, but restoration. So long as someone wasn’t dead, Meiru could restore them, no matter how severe the damage. Ancient magic had the power to deny even the reaper. Naturally, Tim’s wounds were a trifling matter. His wounds vanished as if they’d never existed, and Creme’s wings grew back as good as new.

“U-Unbelievable...” Brad muttered in awe. The other Liberators in the room looked just as stunned. Everyone was speechless, their eyes wide.

After a few seconds, the glow of Meiru’s mana faded, and the divine spectacle came to an end.

Tim slowly opened his eyes and muttered, “Wh-Wha?”

“Tim! Can you hear me!? It’s me, Miledi!”

“L-Leader?”

Tim’s eyes, which were the only part of his face visible through his bandages, looked bewildered. Next to him, Creme chirped in confusion. The watching Liberators all sighed in relief.

“Yeah, it’s me, Tim. Look, O-kun and Nacchan are here too. This is your first time seeing Meru-nee, but she’s here too. She’s the one who saved you and Creme, actually.”

Miledi turned to Meiru and squeezed her hand. There were tears in her eyes.

“Thank you! Thank you so much, Meru-nee! You made it in time!”

“Fufu, you’re welcome.”

Meiru smiled and patted Miledi’s head with her free hand. Tim watched the two of them blankly for a few seconds until Oscar and Naiz called out to him.

“Tim, it’s good to see you safe and sound. Creme too.”

“What happened to you two?”

He returned to his senses upon being spoken to, and his eyes suddenly widened in panic.

“Leader, we’re in big trouble. This isn’t the time to be celebrating!”

Tim ripped off the bandages wound around him and struggled into a sitting position. Miledi and the others were surprised by his sudden actions, but he ignored their shock.

“How long have I been asleep? Shit!”

“Hey! Calm down, Tim! You’re okay! It’s safe here—”

“Nothing is okay!”

His voice tinged with desperation and despair, Tim shouted, “The Reisen village was attacked! The whole place was destroyed!”

Tim’s voice echoed through the underground chamber. Miledi’s eyes widened in shock, Oscar and Naiz turned pale, and Meiru closed her eyes. A cold draft wafted through the room, chilling everyone’s already frozen hearts even further.