Chapter 1: Makoto Takatsuki Heads for Great Keith
“I’ve been waiting for you, Elementalist.”
The woman—white-haired and white-robed—had glowing red eyes. The Grandsage should have been in Highland, but she had come to the village chief’s home.
Immediately, she strode toward me.
“Guh!” I managed as she grabbed hold of my collar.
“Where are you taking him?!” Lucy cried out in shock.
Princess Sophia sputtered a confused “What the—?!”
“Son of Johnnie, I’m borrowing that room,” the Grandsage told the chief.
“O-Of course, Grandsage! Please, make yourself at home.”
“I shall,” she said.
Suddenly, my vision went black.
“Wha?”
“We teleported,” explained the Grandsage. “I wanted to talk for a while.”
So was this the room she meant? It was really dimly lit, and I could see a bunch of bookshelves. The whole space reeked of dust.
A solid clunk sounded behind me. Did she lock the door with magic? Things were getting even more serious...
“Is this some top secret meeting?” I asked.
She remained silent for a moment, ruby eyes piercing me through the darkness. Her usual easygoing smile was absent as she stared seriously at me.
“I heard you defeated Bifrons,” she said eventually.
“Yeah...somehow,” I replied. This was what she’d come all the way to Springrogue for?
There was silence for a while. The Grandsage’s head was bowed, and I couldn’t read her expression. Eventually, the slight woman began to speak.
“I told you that I am a vampire, did I not?”
“Yeah, back in Highland.” That revelation had been a real surprise. Then, she’d followed it up by outing my virginity and sucking my blood...
“You know, I was once a human. I was made into a vampire...by Bifrons. In that respect, he was my sire.”
“What?!”
H-Her sire? So I killed her father?
“U-Uhm?”
I felt a cold sweat prickling across the back of my neck. I’d taken it for granted that nothing bad would come of the demon king’s destruction—of course, this left aside the issue of Setekh in the demons’ faction.
But, the Grandsage was a demon...and related...?
“E-Er, I’m not entirely sure what to say...” I stuttered.
She grinned sharply.
“Well done, Elementalist. There was nothing I could do against Bifrons—vampires are unable to cross their sires. If any other demon lord appeared, I would destroy them the moment they made landfall on the continent. The Snake Sect must have wanted him as a tool against me...” The Grandsage began to chuckle cheerily at their misfortune. “But you well and truly put paid to that.”
“You’re not angry I killed your sire?”
“Why would I be? He ruled the western continent and treated people as little more than livestock. Back when I was human...he was the one that killed and ate my parents, the one who slaughtered the people of my village. If I could, I would’ve ripped him apart with my bare hands...”
She flashed her fangs and grimaced.
“Abel saved me just as I was about to join them, and that’s why I survived. He’s not here this time, though. I would’ve had to get our young Hero of Light to do something if Bifrons’s resurrection had succeeded... Yet, right now, he’s still too green.”
“Sakurai’s doing his best,” I said, instinctively defending my old friend.
“I know. He is steadily getting stronger. He’ll probably make something of himself before the Northern Front Plan.”
“He’s an earnest guy. Make sure you help him.” Even if he was a tad indecisive... Particularly with women!
My words seemed to remind her of something. Her lips quirked. “Are you really in a position to worry about others? The nobles of Highland—no, the continent as a whole—are after you.”
“They...are?” I asked. Princess Sophia had said that...but were they really?
“The greedy louts are focused on what will happen after the war. That’s why the reincarnated Hero of Light was pushed into the royal family. They need to know where to put the second ‘pivot.’”
I sighed. The war hadn’t even started yet.
“You need to be warier,” scolded the Grandsage. “You’re an inexperienced hero who defeated a demon lord. On top of that, you are a citizen of a small country. They’ll be plotting incentives to bring you to their sides. After the war, they’ll be happily claiming territory on the demon continent using that card.”
I sighed again. That was their thinking? “It’s all politics,” I stated. “Besides, I am technically engaged to Princess Sophia.”
“They’ll be pretty sure they can work around a small nation’s royals. Sophia’ll have a lot to deal with too.”
Roses is in a pretty weak position...
“So, what are you planning next?” the Grandsage asked me.
“We’re heading to Great Keith,” I told her. As things were now, it at least sounded like I could keep my head down...but I’d need to talk to Princess Sophia about it.
“Hm, the military country. Their forces will make up the core of the Northern Front Plan, so we need some form of cooperation with them... Their general and priestess are right pieces of work, though.”
“They are?” I’d have to keep that in mind.
“Make sure you don’t fall for a honeypot.”
“Charm magic doesn’t work on me. I’ll be fine,” I replied confidently.
She gave me an exasperated look and shook her head. “Fool. It has nothing to do with magic. You’ll wake up next to some naked woman, and then half a year later, a kid will pop up and they’ll demand you acknowledge it.”
I had no words. That was terrifying! Besides, I was a virgin...
The Grandsage grinned at my expression. “When that happens, I’ll use my Appraisal and prove you’re still a virgin.”
“Could you not?!” That would mean the whole world knowing!
“Then keep your guard up so it doesn’t happen.”
“Fiiiine.” Society was a scary thing. “Thank you for everything, Grandsage... Uh, what’s wrong?”
I’d assumed we’d be going after I thanked her, but her gaze felt heavy on me. She didn’t look angry. If I had to describe it, she looked like a cat sitting in front of a fish.
“I am hungry.”
Right, that makes sense...
“Go ahead,” I said after a pause, kneeling down and opening my collar. She moved slowly to my neck, her cold breath ghosting over my skin.
“Good boy,” she laughed before latching on.
There was a faint pain along with a vague sense of pleasure. My body must have been getting used to it...not that I liked that idea. I could hear the slight gulps of her swallowing. It was a very refined way of drinking, very different from when I’d met Setekh.
That reminded me—he’d been around a thousand years ago as well. Did she know him?
“Grandsage, do you know a demon called Setekh?”
She gave a brief pause. “Don’t talk while I’m eating. Of course I do. He was annoying. Right, you were petrified by him, weren’t you? He can’t eat people, so there’s not much else he can do.”
“What?” He can’t eat people? “What do you mean?”
“You don’t know? He was a weak undead to begin with, but the Great Demon Lord used Awakening to make him stronger. The cost was a curse; Setekh couldn’t attack people. Since he can’t drink human blood, the demons derided him as barely a vampire... His eyes are a real threat, though.”
So that was why he hadn’t tried to drink any of our blood when we’d met him.
“You spoke with him?” asked the Grandsage.
“Yeah. He was pretty happy when I told him Bifrons’s last words.”
If he couldn’t attack people, then was he much of a threat? I guess the petrified fighters were essentially useless in a fight...so that probably counted as threatening.
“What?! You spoke with Bifrons?!” she exclaimed. That was the first time I’d heard her lose her cool.
“Y-Yeah...a little.”
“Impossible... He shouldn’t have had any sense of self... I’m sure that back then...” She trailed off in thought, voice shaking. “What did he say?” she asked.
“Um. He didn’t seem to remember much about himself. He wanted to know who he was.”
There was a long pause, and her voice became more serious. “Did he say anything about Abel? Or anyone else from back then?”
I couldn’t really think of anything... “Not really,” I said after a few moments.
She remained silent for quite a while. “I see,” she finally said. “Then...that’s fine.”
I couldn’t read her expression. What’s all that about? The noise of her drinking started up again.
Man, I’m bored. Besides, she’s having my blood, but I shouldn’t give it to her for free. Since I had the chance, I’d ask her for help.
“Grandsage, how can I become stronger?”
“You just defeated a demon lord...” she argued.
Well, I hadn’t really—he’d wanted to die. “My usual methods for fighting are going to be limited pretty soon.”
She hummed. “Your stats are the lowest mankind’s can be. Even so, using elemental magic and your weapons allows you to fight well...”
“I couldn’t follow anything the Crimson Witch was doing. And, if Bifrons had wanted to fight, I wouldn’t be standing here.” I couldn’t help but feel an immense gulf between us. How I currently was... My current power... I didn’t think I could manage.
“You want to become stronger?” she asked. “You know, if you increase in strength dramatically...it will be at the expense of your humanity...”
“What?”
“You’re not taking me seriously, are you?” She scoffed. “Take, for example, if I turned you—I think your physical abilities would certainly increase.”
“Oooh!”
“The cost would be your elemental magic. Elementals don’t like the undead.”
“Hm...not happening.” I doubted that would go well...and I didn’t feel like being a vampire anyway.
“Don’t look like that. Rely more on me. Do you know what Highland thinks of us?”
“They think we’re lovers,” I said, replying with what Princess Noelle had told me.
“Oh, you do know.” She pouted, maybe because she’d been after some sort of reaction.
On another note...
“Are you done?” I asked.
“A little more,” she begged cutely, looking up at me through her lashes.
“I feel pretty light-headed...” She’d drunk a lot today. Incidentally, she was currently perched on my lap and had her legs wrapped around my waist. Using RPG Player, I could tell just how dodgy it looked from an outside perspective.
I really don’t want Lucy or Sasa to see me like this...
“Wahhh, an affair!” came a sudden cry.
Someone had appeared in the room.
“Rosalie?” I asked. She’d gone out of her way to teleport in.
“Crimson brat! Why are you interrupting a meal?” The Grandsage was in a distinctly bad mood—she bared her fangs at Rosalie.
“You came into my territory without asking, now duel me!” demanded Rosalie. “I’ll win this time!”
“I’ll show you just how young you are, brat.”
Immediately, the two of them vanished, teleporting again...without even chanting the spell. Yeah, I definitely couldn’t imagine fighting on their level.
A moment later, I heard an explosion above. They must be battling now...and with king rank magic! They were crazy.
The brawl lasted well into the evening.
The next morning, Rosalie was kneeling with her head bowed. “I won’t pick a fight with you again,” she mumbled. “My regret is as deep as the Seafloor Temple...”
Whoa...a perfect victory.
The Grandsage didn’t have a scratch on her. Then again, being undead might’ve allowed her to heal immediately.
“Why do you try and win with brute force?” the Grandsage asked with folded arms. “You’re better than me in terms of skill.”
“Jeez, mama...” Lucy complained.
“Do the two of them have a bad relationship?” Sasa asked Lucy.
“Well, mama insists that they’re rivals, even though she’s never won.”
Furiae didn’t seem to care and was focused on stroking Twi’s throat.
“Guh...I’ll remember this,” Rosalie said.
“You don’t regret it at all, do you?” The Grandsage sighed as Rosalie glared up at her. The Crimson Witch was strong, but the Grandsage was on another level. She’s definitely the strongest mage, I thought. While I watched the scene play out, Princess Sophia walked up to me.
“Hero Makoto, we should leave for Roses soon. We have been here too long.”
I nodded. “Got it.” Now that I was all healed up, we could head for Great Keith.
“We’ll return to Macallan by carriage,” she explained. “The carriage has a barrier to ward off monsters.”
“Once we get home, we can take the airship to Great Keith,” I suggested. There were no avian dragons in that direction. Some sand dragons lurked on the land route, but none of them could fly.
“Wait, you two,” the Grandsage called out, interrupting our planning.
“What’s up?”
“I wouldn’t return to Macallan,” she said. “Highland nobles are waiting for you.”
“What?” the princess and I chorused.
My face was fixed in a scowl, while the princess wore a look of shock.
“It’s hardly a surprise. Everyone knows that the hero works out of Macallan. Waiting there in ambush is the easiest method to catch him.”
“Well, that’s an issue...” We had to go back, or else we couldn’t use the airship. “What should we do?”
“Well...” Sophia mused. “It will take longer, but we’ll need to take the land route.”
“There’s a better method,” the Grandsage interrupted. She stared meaningfully at Rosalie. “Crimson brat, send them off with your teleport.”
“What? But taking so many people is really tiring!” Rosalie griped.
“You can just split the trips. You have plenty of mana, so put it into something worthwhile.”
Right! Rosalie had taken Lucy and me all over the place.
“Lucy, do you think she’ll do it?” I asked quietly.
“Normally, she definitely wouldn’t...but since the Grandsage is asking, she probably will.”
I felt kind of awkward asking a great hero of a country to do an errand like this, but it’d really help.
“No way! It’s so annoying!” Rosalie whined. “You do it! You’re the Grandsage!”
“I don’t have as much mana to burn as you do. Elves have lots of it, so use it for the hero.”
Rosalie sighed. “Fine... Mr. Boyfriend, I’ll send you off in turn once you’re ready.”
“Th-Thank you.” It seemed like they’d come to some form of agreement, so we all hurriedly got ready for the journey. We made sure to say farewell to the village chief, Maximilian, and Florna, along with everyone else in Canaan.
“Sir Makoto! I look forward to meeting you for the Northern Front Plan!” boomed Maximilian. “We can fight together next time.”
“Right, look after yourself,” I said, returning his handshake. The biggest thing we managed was building a good relationship with this hero. His hands sure were huge and rough... Mine were like a baby’s in comparison.
“Are you ready?” asked Rosalie. “You and Lucy first.”
“Me and Makoto?” Lucy asked. “Well, fine. Let’s go, Makoto.”
“Me too!” Sasa interrupted. “They’ll be alone together.”
“Don’t you trust me?!” Lucy demanded.
“You’ll try and get ahead!”
I glanced at Rosalie as the arguments began.
“Come on, let’s get this over with,” complained Rosalie, grabbing my arm.
My vision went white with the teleport.
Thus, we all started our journey to Great Keith.
◇
“All right... That’s the last of you...” Rosalie mumbled listlessly, dark circles visible under her eyes. The excessive teleportation must have made her lose a lot of mana... Would she be okay?
“Thank you, Rosalie,” I said.
She just let out a sigh. “You’ve worked me to the bone. I’ll beat that damn sage next time!” As she spoke, a magic circle formed around her. It was more complicated than the teleports she’d done between here and Springrogue.
I wonder if it’s a different type...? “Where are you going, Rosalie? That spell’s not the same.”
“What?” Lucy asked. “You’re not heading back to the village?”
“Oh, well spotted, Mr. Boyfriend! You can read the formulae. I’m actually heading to the moon to train! The Grandsage hasn’t even managed that yet!”
“U-Uhm...” Princess Sophia sputtered as she watched the Crimson Witch roll up her sleeves. “I would like it if you would aid us with the Northern Front Plan before you challenge the Grandsage...”
Sophia was right—we couldn’t have our allies embroiled in a rivalry while a war raged on around them.
“Oh yeah! Dad said something about that, didn’t he?” remarked Rosalie. “Well, there’s still time until you raid the demon continent. Sure, sure, I’ll join in. Make sure you leave some demon lords for me!”
With that said, she vanished in a teleport. Free-spirited...was definitely the word for her.
Either way, we were now in Great Keith. “We” included me, Lucy, Sasa, Furiae (with Twi on her shoulder), Princess Sophia, and her guardian knight.
“We’re here, Takatsuki!” Sasa exclaimed.
Indeed, this town was Great Keith’s capital, Gamelan. Sasa’s cheer prompted me to look around at what I could see. The whole town seemed to be white. Were the buildings made of sun-dried bricks, maybe?
A lot of the clothing people wore was also white, and many of the folks milling around were much darker-skinned than us. To use terms from my old world, the whole place gave off a kind of “Middle-Eastern” vibe.
However, the biggest impression...was the heat.
It must have been nearly forty degrees. I was pretty sure that Great Keith should be at about the same latitude as Roses, but the vast difference in climate was apparently due to the Goddess of Fire—Sól—and her power.
Great Keith was a tropical country. I could mostly ignore the heat with Calm Mind set to 99%, however, there was a bigger problem...
This place had an utter lack of water elementals.
I’d more or less expected that since I’d learned about the country’s climate in the Water Temple. I’ll be pretty much useless here, I thought with a sigh.
“Lady Sophia,” the geezer guardian knight greeted as he clattered toward us. “The formalities are now complete.”
Since we couldn’t just teleport into Great Keith illegally, our entry into the country had to be legitimized properly. Rosalie had just been confused. She’d exclaimed, “What? I’m always in and out though!” I had a feeling that she’d forgotten her common sense on one of her trips.
“Let us head for the lodgings that our family usually utilizes,” Princess Sophia said. “Hero Makoto, have you contacted your friend?”
“I have. Fujiyan said he’s on his way.” I’d used the magical communication tool. Fujiyan had actually been in Gamelan on business, and he’d apparently turn up in a few days. Until then, we’d all be staying in the same place as Princess Sophia.
“I’m melting. Let’s hurry up,” Furiae griped, wiping the sweat from her brow and loosening her clothes to waft some air around her chest. The fanning led to an indescribable eroticism as it teased glances at her chest.
The men moving down the street stopped as one to stare at her. She...really stood out.
“Lu, you good?” Sasa asked.
“I’m too hot. Your skin’s so nice and cool, though.”
Lucy never dealt well with the heat and was currently draped over Sasa. We needed to get moving already, so we headed for our lodging.
As we did, Princess Sophia told us more about Great Keith. It was a military-led country that dispatched its army at other countries’ requests. The land here wasn’t particularly fertile, but they had good hunting and fishing industries and focused a lot on trade. Currently, there was a swarm of people in the capital because of the upcoming tournament, which was the largest of its type on the continent. The winner of this contest would be treated as Great Keith’s State-Authorized Hero and be given privileges as a state guest for a year. The country as a whole definitely focused on combat.
As I listened to her explanations, I used RPG Player to look at as much of the city as I could. After a while, we ended up taking a bit of a break. The girls were drinking chilled fruit juices they’d gotten from a nearby store. I was a little farther out, looking for water elementals. Not that I was having any luck...
Suddenly, the keening wail of Sense Danger sounded in my head.
What? But we’re in a town?
There shouldn’t have been any monsters around, and my Scout skill—which I’d started up as soon as I heard the alert—wasn’t showing me any enemy.
“Takatsuki! Watch out!”
Sasa had grabbed me as she yelled, dashing away from the spot where I’d been standing. A moment later, there was a massive crash—the recently vacated spot was covered in a dust cloud.
W-Was that a bomb?! Do they have terrorists?!
Yet, as the dust cleared, it revealed a figure. Had they fallen from the sky?
“Aw, you dodged. Well, you are the hero who’s defeated a demon lord.” The person who spoke was a woman, and her tone sounded slightly languid. She had dark skin and glossy black hair cut short. Her narrowed eyes made her look like a panther or something similar. She wore light armor, but her legs and shoulders were bare.
However, she had masses of aura covering her body... She was obviously anything but defenseless.
“Nice to meet you...” she remarked. “I’m the Hero of Incandescence, Olga Sól Talisker.” I couldn’t tell where she was looking. “So...Hero of Roses. How about a fight to the death?”
Her lips quirked into a crescent... A fierce smile.
This wasn’t good!
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