Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers (LN) - Volume 8 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Makoto Takatsuki Finds Out about the Northern Front Plan

“We’re riding those?” Lucy asked.

“Wow!” exclaimed Sasa. “They’re so big!”

The two of them were pointing to a collection of a dozen or so airships floating in the sky above the capital. This unit was called Scarlet Wing, and it was the pride and joy of Great Keith’s air force. It was an impressive sight, to be sure.

“Let us embark, Sir Makoto,” said General Talisker.

“Ah, General. We can get to Highland on my friend’s airship...” As I said that, I noticed that he’d brought a retinue of his subordinates to greet us. It almost felt like we couldn’t escape.

“Our destination is the same,” he insisted. “Scarlet Wing is not only here for you, but for our own hero, Lady Aya. It makes sense for all of us to travel together.”

“Hero Makoto,” Princess Sophia whispered into my ear. “Let us take the general up on his offer.”

I looked over to meet her gaze—her eyes said to give up.

“It is hot here. Let us hurry and depart, my knight,” Furiae said, parasol in hand. She was also glaring up at the sun. Twi was sleeping on Furiae’s shoulder in the shade, and to be honest, I was impressed that the cat was managing to not fall.

“Okay, Princess. Let’s go,” I said. We all quickly boarded the military airships.

A few hours had passed since we’d left.

I was sitting in a big conference room aboard the ship with General Talisker and the others. Princess Sophia, Prince Leonardo, Lucy, Sasa, and Furiae were all with us. The rest of the seats were occupied by various people from Great Keith’s military.

I can’t settle down...

I’d have honestly preferred to ride with Fujiyan. He was heading back to Macallan, though—Kawakita would be staying with Chris for the time being since she had no place to live. Macallan was probably the safest place for her. Fujiyan told us he’d catch up after he dropped her off.

“I have information for you all,” the general said, staring out at us from the center of the conference table’s curve. “Great Keith has been constantly sending large numbers of warriors to gather intelligence on the demon lords’ armies.”

Oh, that made sense. Had Roses been doing the same? I looked swiftly at Princess Sophia.

“We don’t have the people for that...” she replied quietly.

“I see...” The struggles of a weak country, I suppose.

“According to our intel, there has been a change in their forces. Zagan and Forneus are massing their troops.”

As one, we all drew a sharp breath. Zagan ruled over the plains of the continent, including the Ash Lake and Phantom Desert. Forneus controlled the entirety of the coast, ruling over the sea monsters. Normally, they would never join forces, which meant...

“Are they planning an attack?” Prince Leonardo asked.

The general nodded gravely. “Most likely.”

“The demon army’s brass have made moves before, but this time, the order came from the demon lord himself. That has not happened since the war a hundred years ago,” one of the knights explained.

“A hundred years ago... When Rosalie became a hero?” I asked.

“That’s right—she fought with Highland’s hero against Valac,” Lucy explained quietly.

This was definitely important news then. I considered what I’d learned about the northern continent in the Water Temple. During the dark ages a thousand years ago, the world had been ruled by the Great Demon Lord, Iblis. Nine lesser lords had served beneath him:

Astaroth, the King of Ancient Drakes.

Zagan, the King of Beasts.

Forneus, the Abyssal King.

Goliath, the King of Giants.

Bifrons, the Undead King.

Valac, King of the Flies.

Erinyes, King of Fallen Heaven.

Barbatos, King of Devils.

And finally, Black Knight Cain...Noah’s former disciple.

They had ruled the world—each continent in the cardinal directions, the seas between them, and even the floating continent. All of it.

The world had been shrouded in ceaseless black clouds, with the surface dwellers firmly enslaved. Then, Abel the Savior had defeated the Great Demon Lord. This had scattered the other demon lords, and now, only three of them remained on the northern continent. Those demon lords were currently plotting to rule the world once again.

The three of them—particularly Astaroth, who was known as the strongest of them—were the most powerful demon lords. Who knew how well they would fight?

“With that said,” the general continued, changing the overall mood, “according to Sól, their movements have been postponed for Iblis’s resurrection. Is that not so, Priestess Dahlia?”

“Indeed. Hence why we should strike while the iron is hot.”

Naturally, the fire priestess was also part of this meeting. The Hero of Incandescence was at her side, but she was being oddly meek.

“The events on the demon continent concern me,” said another soldier. “They usually aren’t ones for subterfuge...”

“The cambions—traitors of mankind in the form of the Snake Sect—have dispersed into the armies. This gathering of troops may have been at their urging. After all, they specialize in that kind of thing.”

The labeling of cambions as “traitors of mankind” bothered me, and I used RPG Player’s perspective switch function to look behind me. Furiae had an aggrieved look on her face. I turned my physical eyes to her, silently asking whether we should say anything. After a moment, she gave me a look that said, “Just stay quiet and listen.” This annoyed me a bit, but I did as she wished.

“The Northern Front Plan will commence in a month,” General Talisker stated. “This is based on the message from Lady Estelle about how the demons’ plans are delayed by over sixty days. The specifics of our strategy will be discussed when all the heroes are gathered in Highland. Does anyone have any questions?”

Silence filled the conference room.

So Iblis’s return could be only two months away...

It had been about two years since we’d come to this world. While there’d been a lot of trouble for us on a personal level, the continent as a whole had been at peace.

If I hadn’t purposely made my way into dungeons and fought against the Snake Sect, I’d have probably been able to relax and enjoy the otherworld life. But war was on the horizon—a war between the allied races of the western continent and the demons of the northern continent.

Something suddenly occurred to me. Huh... I’m pretty sure people live on the other continents, right?

“General, I have a question.” I raised my hand like I was back in school, and everyone turned to look at me.

“What is it, hero?”

“Are we coordinating with countries on the other continents?”

There were continents to the east and south of us as well, and I thought that humans and other races were probably living there. But, since our continent didn’t conduct much trade with them, I hadn’t found out much about these places in the Water Temple.

“Ah, of course. You are an otherworlder, so you would not know. Yes, we have sent envoys to the other continents asking for aid. However...”

The southern continent was split into three large countries. Highland had sent a representative to the largest empire, but after taking into account the distance between the northern and southern continents, they had declined to participate. Instead, they promised aid in the event that the Great Demon Lord returned. The other two smaller countries followed the empire’s example.

Things were even worse in the east—those nations were embroiled in a power struggle to rule the continent. It was impossible to tell who would win, and sending an envoy to any specific country could fan the flames even further. As such, there would be no assistance from them.

“When Iblis returns, he is likely to aim for the west first. We are closest to the demon continent, and Abel the Savior also came from this continent.”

“I...see. Thank you for answering,” I replied as his explanation wound down.

The western continent definitely felt the demons’ threat most clearly. The fear of the Great Demon Lord was still alive and well here. That was why there were hardly any conflicts between the various countries—we all needed to be ready to prepare for war with the demons. The other continents didn’t feel as much of the risk though. Ultimately, they would be no help here.

It’s a bad situation... I thought as the conference drew to an end.

Several days later, we arrived in Symphonia. The massive castle had been visible from quite a ways out. The castle in Gamelan was large as well, but not on the same level. A statue of Abel the Savior, sword drawn, stood in front of the massive fortress town, and its green tinge made me think of the Statue of Liberty.

Wait, what? 

Something felt really off. What was it?

“There’s the capital,” Sasa pointed out, leaning over the railing. “I wonder if Saki’s all right.”

I wanted to tell her that being so close to the edge was dangerous, but if she fell, she probably wouldn’t even get hurt.

“Hey, Sasa?” I asked.

“What’s up?”

“Was the statue always that color?”

“Huh? I think so?”

“It feels like it’s different than the last time I saw it...” Maybe I was just misremembering?

“I think I’d notice if it’d changed,” she said.

“Yeah, probably...” Sasa was right. I must’ve just misremembered.

“We will be arriving soon,” one of the general’s subordinates informed us. “There are carriages waiting below. We will take them to the castle.”

He soon led us down to them.

“Think Sakurai’s good, Princess?” I asked.

“Of course he is,” Furiae replied curtly. “He’s the Hero of Light, after all.”

I was looking forward to speaking with Sakurai again. He’d probably be busy with the demon army’s plots, though. Would we have time to talk? I looked out of the carriage at the city streets and saw as many people as ever.

Only humans though. I couldn’t see any elves or beastmen.

Unlike in Roses or Great Keith, there were clear lines between the races in Symphonia. I wondered how that mafia guy, Peter, was doing. The kids in the church in the ninth district were on my mind as well.

I can’t spend all my time worrying about everyone. We’re about to go to war...

Eventually, the carriage reached the castle gates and halted. As I moved to leave the carriage, Furiae called out to me.

“My knight. Disaster shall find thee...maybe?”

“Where’d that come from?”

“I just saw a moment of the future...” she murmured. “But I didn’t really understand it.”

“I really wish you’d quit making me worried,” I griped, staring flatly at her as we passed through the gate along the paved path.

“Stop, Takatsuki,” Sasa said, pulling at my arm.

“Wha?”

“What gives?” would’ve been the next words out of my mouth, but I didn’t get the chance—there was a sudden flash right in front of me. A second later, the ground shook and dust filled the air.

Is it a bomb?! The Snake Sect?!

Hurriedly, I unwrapped my right arm and got ready to fight. When the dust gradually cleared, it revealed a blond swordsman in golden armor. His aura was sparking off his armor.

Oh, it’s you.

“It’s been a while, Hero Makoto Takatsuki of Roseeees!”

He was so loud. Seriously. He didn’t need to shout.

“Hey, Gerry,” I replied after a moment. “You seem...well.”

“C’mere!”

I couldn’t help but let out a noise. Yeah, he’s just as rude and haughty as ever. This was the Hero of Lightning, Gerald Ballantine.

“Did you have some business with me?” I asked, trying to keep things low-key.

“You...! ’Course I do! You pulled one over on me.”

“Pulled one over?”

He was approaching me rapidly, a glare on his face. Oh no. The blond hoodlum was coming my way. Scary. I wanna run.

“Brother!” a blonde woman yelled, running up and grabbing his arm before tugging him back.

“Let me go!” Gerald shouted.

“I will not! Why are you being so belligerent?! You just want to talk to him about the demon lord in Springrogue, don’t you?!”

“Don’t tell him that!”

Oh...that’s what this was about.

“I just got lucky there,” I told him.

“Pull the other one!” Gerald yelled. “No one’s been able to do anything about that grave for a thousand years! They couldn’t even get near it! You took out a demon lord first, you bastard! That was your plan from the start, wasn’t it?!”

I could almost hear... Actually, scratch that, I did hear him grind his teeth.

“Come on, you’re bothering him,” Janet scolded before turning to me. “My apologies. I had been looking forward to seeing you again, but it seems now is not a good time.” She started pulling her brother away.

“Stop yanking me!” he protested as they moved farther back.

“Oh, right,” Janet said, turning to smile at me before they actually left. “Makoto Takatsuki, please make some time tonight.”

Gerry and I uttered noises of confusion at the same time.

“Ah...Janet? What is it you need...?”

“The hell do you mean, ‘tonight’?!’”

“It has nothing to do with you,” she told her brother. “Until later, Makoto Takatsuki.”

She left, dragging her brother behind her. He probably could have overpowered her, which meant...she was probably in a stronger position. That was definitely a meaningful request from her though. I’d been looking forward to finding Sakurai and catching up. Oh well.

The meeting with the Ballantines had been a surprise, but I figured we should probably head in now. “Let’s go,” I said, turning to look at my friends.

Three sets of eyes glared silently back at me.

“Umm...guys?”

Furiae and Twi just sighed.

“Aya, he made arrangements with another girl as soon as we arrived,” Lucy said to Sasa.

“Yeah. Oh, the pains of being with a popular hero. Sophie, what do we do about the Player of Roses?”

“A grave question indeed. Lucy, Aya, make sure he does not get involved with girls from the other countries.”

“Leave it to us!” they chorused.

So...the three of them were all in it together.

Should I say something? No... Trying to make excuses would just cause more trouble.

“The women of Roses are strong,” the general murmured in my ear.

“They’re not like that in Great Keith?”

“They are rather similar, actually. Her mother is just as spirited...” he replied, gesturing with his eyes to the Hero of Incandescence. Though Olga had been quiet recently, our first meeting could definitely be described as “spirited.”

“I suppose they’re the same everywhere,” I commented.

He laughed. “You might be right.”

His words didn’t really help my current situation though—Lucy and Sasa took up flanking positions on either side of me as we entered the castle.

The general had a meeting scheduled with the king, so we parted ways after entering the castle.

“Let us meet with Princess Noelle,” said Princess Sophia, apparently wanting to hear her ally’s thoughts first. I had no idea how ties between the different countries worked, so I just nodded. She’d already made arrangements, so we headed toward the meeting place.

“Why, if it isn’t Sir Makoto!” came a call from a burly warrior. He didn’t look human—his skin and other features had a distinct reptilian look.

He was a dragonoid. A familiar one.

“Maximilian,” I greeted. “It’s been a while.” This was indeed the Hero of Swaying Trees. He had a friendly smile that was completely at odds with his fierce stature.

“I’ve already heard rumors about all the wild times you had in Great Keith.”

“All of that just happened. How about Springrogue? Is it still the same?”

“The Demon Lord’s Grave is gone, thanks to you,” he replied cheerily. “The trees giving off miasma are gradually abating as well. I suspect that the Forest of Fiends will be gone in a few decades. Then, Springrogue will be able to develop even further. The village elders are all grateful to you.”

“Oh...the Forest of Fiends.”

Now that Bifrons had been destroyed, there was no source of miasma. As such, the dungeon filled with undead would eventually vanish. I thought back to using Transform with Sasa to explore the forest.

In the end, I’d only been in the dungeon once. I would’ve liked to check it out more.

A time-limited dungeon... Maybe there’d even be treasure.

Sasa soon interrupted my pondering. “Takatsuki, your face says you’re thinking something stupid again.”

“What do you mean, Aya?” Lucy asked her.

“I bet he was thinking he wanted to go farther into the Forest of Fiends.”

“Can you quit reading my mind?” I asked. How did she know exactly what I’d been thinking?

“What? But I was brought up being told to never go near it... What are you thinking?” Lucy demanded.

“As was everyone else in Springrogue...” Maximilian added. “Sir Makoto, I believe you are the only one who will be saddened by its collapse.”

“Hang on! You misunderstood,” I protested. “I’m not upset about that.” He and Lucy were treating me like I was a weirdo.

Just as I was trying to distract them from this silly topic, an angry voice barked an order. “Get out of the way!”

I whipped around to see a group of priests. They were all wearing robes of fairly fine quality.

“There is a limit to the disrespect you can show,” snapped one of the priests. “You stand before His Holiness.”

“It’s the bumpkin from Roses and the animal from Springrogue,” another spat.

“We need not even ask for their assistance.”

These men were well and truly looking down on us, so they were probably fairly high-ranking. We just stepped out of the way so they could move past us. In the middle of the group was an old (but still dignified) man. I immediately recognized him.

It was the pope of the church—the second most important person in Highland.

He didn’t even look our way, just passed quietly on by. Actually, no, he glanced toward us for a brief moment.

As his eyes passed over Furiae and me, his expression twisted in distaste.

Wait? Me?

Furiae shot him a defiant, challenging look.

Your beauty’s wasted on a face like that.

“What’s with him?” she remarked in irritation.

I wondered the same thing. Something must’ve caused it, right?

We watched the group leave the castle.

“The current pope is famed for his attitude,” Maximilian explained. “He looks down on any that are not humans of Highland.”

Such intense elitism.

“I’ve got a bad feeling,” Furiae warned. At this point, it didn’t feel right to just continue chatting.

“Another time then, Maximilian,” I said.

“Of course. I would appreciate having some time to talk properly.”

After that, we parted and headed toward the meeting with Princess Noelle. She met us near the castle training grounds. As we drew closer, I understood why she’d picked such a place.

Her fiancé was here.

As we entered the area, a familiar face greeted us. “Welcome to Highland. The Hero of Light is waiting for you.”

I nodded. “It’s been a while, Ortho.” The leader of the first division, Ortho, was the one to receive us. We’d fought together with him while defending Symphonia against the monster stampede.

Princess Sophia had entered the building to one side of the training grounds—there, Princess Noelle was waiting. We’d been asked to speak with the knights while the two princesses discussed matters.

We’d partnered with the Soleil Knights during our last visit to Highland. Sasa and Lucy were currently catching up with the specific people they’d fought alongside—Sasa had dragged Furiae along with them.

I walked with Ortho through the training grounds. A wide sparring area was situated in the middle of the area, and...

Heaps of corpses were piled up in the ring.

Well, not quite. These people were all still alive at least. They had, however, fallen in defeat like corpses, breathing only shallowly.

“Enough!” someone yelled. “The Hero of Light wins!”

“This is a mock battle,” the commander said to me, providing an explanation for the strange sight. “The exercise is called ‘The Hero of Light versus a hundred knights.’ It is exactly what it sounds like.”

Well, that was really easy to understand. There was something I just had to ask though.

“Aren’t there more than a hundred of them?” I asked. Even a rough estimate put the body count at closer to two hundred.

“A hundred wasn’t enough,” Ortho insisted.

“Ah...I see.” I’d guessed as much.

Well, it made sense that a force of a hundred men wasn’t strong enough to defeat the Hero of Light. I glanced at the defeated warriors again. All of them were high-ranking knights at the very least. Some of them were even more skilled. Every warrior was clanking around in full armor too. Against them...

“Takatsuki!” called their opponent. The handsome guy caught sight of me and waved. He was wearing a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and not a single piece of armor covered his body. The outfit was about as much as we used to wear while playing soccer in P.E. class.

His right hand grasped a sword made of wood...and ridiculously enough, that wooden sword was glowing like a blade right out of legend.

The ability to convert light into aura... The Hero of Light’s aura was both the strongest sword and strongest shield, and it could turn even that wooden sword into something on par with the strongest of weapons. The aura filling his body meant that actually injuring him was far from easy, and any wounds he did receive were healed in an instant. He had the same legendary skill as Abel the Savior, and there was no time limit to it either, not like Sasa’s Super Star.

As long as the sun was in the sky, no one could beat the Hero of Light.

Despite all this power, he was also my childhood friend, joyfully waving to me after a few months of being apart.

“Been a while, Takatsuki,” he remarked.

“Glad to see you’re as OP as ever, Sakurai,” I replied.

We were both happy to see each other again.

“I heard how you defeated the demon lord in Springrogue. And how you saved the capital of Great Keith.”

“Don’t say it like that. Makes it sound like I did it on my own.” Rosalie had helped in Springrogue, and Noah had done the same in Great Keith.

“Well, I’m glad that you’ll be part of the Northern Front Plan.”

“Barely, though.”

Sakurai, Gerry, and Maximilian were all chosen by their goddesses, so they were part of the military strategy. Since I was just a hero from a small-time country, there wasn’t much need for me to butt in.

“I doubt you’ll manage to get away with that,” Sakurai teased with a half smile.

“I’ll let you deal with all the enemies,” I said, looking at the heaps of high-ranking knights collapsed on the ground.

He looked somewhat surprised at my words. “You’ll be fighting too, right?”

“I’m just a weak water mage,” I protested.

“You helped a lot in Labyrinthos.”

“There was an underground lake, so I could use the water elementals. I was just lucky.”

“So...you’ll be up if it rains then?”

“I’ll just stop it from storming.”

Sakurai gave a long pause. “You can do that? I heard even the Grandsage finds it hard to control the weather.”

“I can go from rainy to clear at least. But there’s no way I can do the opposite.”

“Tell me more!” Sakurai insisted.

“Well, if I musssst.”

At that, the two of us chatted away for a while. I noticed that there were a lot of water elementals around the castle. This was a big difference from Roses Castle. They were likely more present here because of the huge river flowing behind Symphonia. And, unlike in Roses, there were no religious functions here—Highland had a separation of church and state, and the Sacred Deities were worshiped in the cathedral, not the castle. This meant that there were many elementals around the training ground.

Well...there were. They’d been there just a second ago. But suddenly, all of them had just vanished, like the turning of the tides.

I peered around and soon realized why.

“Sakurai, who’s that over there?” I asked.

About a hundred meters away stood a huge warrior. He looked around two meters tall and was even bigger than Maximilian, despite looking like a human rather than a dragonoid. He had blond hair and pale skin, but his musculature seemed rather like a wrestler, so I doubted he was a noble. The elementals had disappeared as he arrived.

“He was recently appointed as the State-Authorized Hero of Highland. I’m pretty sure his name’s...Alec.”

“Have you spoken?”

“Nope. He’s part of the Temple Knights, not the Soleil Knights. Anyone can use the training grounds, so it’s not exactly rare to see him here... I’ve barely interacted with him though.”

“Hmm...”

“We can go over there if you’re curious,” Sakurai offered.

“Nah, I’m not that interested.”

I glanced at my right arm. Bandages were currently hiding my Right Hand of the Elemental. However, it wasn’t the elemental mana that had my attention—it was Noah’s anima. The Temple Knight was giving off some power that felt similar. Though, maybe I was just imagining things.

I hope I’m not in the same squad as him... I’d be in trouble without the elementals.

At that moment, the two princesses arrived.

“It has been a while, Makoto,” Princess Noelle said in greeting, a sunny smile on her face. She was practically the textbook image of a princess, cute and refined.

“It has, Princess Noelle,” I replied. I went to kneel, but she stopped me.

“There is no need for that. You are engaged to Sophia. More importantly, all heroes and priestesses have been requested. Let us go together.”

“Of course.”

We’d barely arrived in Highland, but apparently, they already needed us. We met up with Lucy, Sasa, and Furiae before Princess Noelle led the way.

The large conference room was already occupied by priestesses and heroes from every country. There were people I knew, and those I didn’t. Among the crowd were the royals and highest-ranking nobles from Highland. I spotted General Talisker as well.

Alec, the new hero, was nowhere to be seen.

The leader of the meeting stepped up onto a raised area at the head of the room. “Everyone, your attention please. I will be explaining the Northern Front Plan now. However, first, His Holiness has important news.”

I wondered what it could be. Everyone in the room seemed to stir—I suppose no one else expected this speech either. The pope we’d passed earlier stepped up onto the raised area and peered at me coldly. For several seconds, he was silent. Then, he slowly began to speak.

“There is a disciple of a wicked deity among us,” he declared solemnly.

Twin noises of confusion sounded in my head—one from me and one from Noah.

Goddess...we’re in trouble, aren’t we?