Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers (LN) - Volume 8 - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Makoto Takatsuki Fights the Demon Army

◇ First Division Commander of the Soleil Knights, Ortho’s Perspective ◇

Several days ago, we held a meeting among the commanders of the Soleil Knights.

◇

“I’m coming in.”

“Grandsage?!” Commander Owain cried out as a legend appeared in our meeting. “What brings you here today?”

The Grandsage was the descendant of one of the heroes that saved the world a thousand years ago...at least, publicly. In truth, she was the actual hero from back then—she was a guardian of Highland, and as a vampire, she’d been alive for over a millennium. Even we, the leaders of the Soleil Knights who were the greatest fighting force in the country, could not hide our nerves when she was so close.

“Nothing major,” replied the Grandsage. “There’s just something I’d like to ask, and a favor I want.”

“And that would be...?”

This was a rarity. The Grandsage usually had no interest in authority or politics. In fact, I had no memory of her ever giving someone an order, so this odd occurrence likely had something to do with the war. What could she possibly want?

“Who is accompanying the elementalist from Roses?” she asked.

“I-I am!” I said quickly. “Commander of the first division, Ortho!”

I hadn’t even considered that her request might have something to do with me. She peered over in amusement. “Oh? Now isn’t that taking it easy? They’re sending one of our aces. Shouldn’t you be heading to the main battle?”

Commander Owain took up the response smoothly. “Naturally, Sir Sakurai and I will be taking care of that. Laphroaig is far from safe though, and is said to be home to many of the Snake Sect. It needs a careful hand on the reins.”

“I suppose so. First commander?”

“Yes?!” I responded nervously.

“About the elementalist...if he wants to mess with the army, let him do so.”

Her request was not something I would’ve ever expected. I was silent for a moment before finding my voice again. “What do you mean by that?”

“Grandsage, you are aware that we are to prioritize the preservation of our forces in these battles, no?” asked Commander Owain. He apparently had the same doubts as I did. Hero or not, we could not allow Makoto Takatsuki to just do as he pleased. While he might’ve wanted to fight against all the monsters, we still needed him to align with our strategy.

The Grandsage answered his question with one of her own. “You’ve heard about him stopping the comet in Great Keith, haven’t you?”

“Well, General Talisker has reported on that, but...”

There were many people who doubted the story—how he’d prevented the massive comet from wiping out the whole capital. Still, I had personally seen him use water magic to take out five thousand ancient monsters all at once, so I could believe it.

“He’s worth more than ten thousand monsters,” she continued. “Not utilizing his strength would be foolish, no?” The Grandsage usually had a scowl on her face, but it’d been replaced with a smirk.

Conversely, Commander Owain’s face was severe. “Hmm, but...”

Her request was completely at odds with our current strategy. Besides, allowing a wicked deity’s believer to do as he wished would also invite the pope’s rage.

At that, I broke into the conversation, offering both of them a suggestion.

“If you will pardon me, Grandsage? Allowing just Sir Makoto to do as he wishes will foul our military discipline. Could we class his actions otherwise? Perhaps...as secret orders from yourself?”

“Ortho, that would—”

But the Grandsage cut off Commander Owain. “I don’t mind. If the others get rowdy, then tell them you had to follow my orders.”

I’d honestly thought that my request might be futile, but she’d agreed almost instantly.

“His Holiness will not accept that,” Commander Owain pointed out. “Complaints alone would be one thing...but, Grandsage, this could also be seen as you interfering in the military structure and attempting to create a faction of your own. I am aware that you dislike such bothers, so are you still willing to support this?”

His concerns were rather valid. The nobles and clergy in Highland would be far from welcoming of new influences.

“I don’t care,” she said flippantly. “Their foolishness will be silenced by the results. The elementalist can manage it.”

I could feel the utter certainty present in her voice. Why did she put so much faith in a foreign hero?

“You have a rather good opinion of the Hero of Roses,” Owain remarked, putting our feelings to words.

“Hardly. The little Hero of Light over there could take on a hundred thousand. The elementalist isn’t quite at that level yet,” she responded curtly.

Everyone’s gazes gathered on the Hero of Light, who commanded the seventh division of the Soleil Knights. He took in the stares for a moment, then modestly said, “I have never fought against that many foes, so I cannot really comment.”

Regardless, it was clear that he thought he could take on that many. And I quite agreed.

Though, the Grandsage was apparently not pleased with this response. “Come on, don’t be so wishy-washy. Abel fought against an army of one million a thousand years ago.”

She was probably talking about the legendary battle—Abel and his four-man party had defeated a million soldiers in the demon lord’s army.

“Grandsage...” Commander Owain said mildly. “That was back in Abel the Savior’s time period. Our scouting has shown us that there are currently no enemy forces of that caliber.”

“Hmph, I know that. Anyway, the elementalist’s magic will be useful on the battlefield. Don’t play around, just use it. I’ll take responsibility.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she vanished with a Teleport.

Silence reigned in the room for a while before Commander Owain broke it.

“Ortho?”

“Yessir?” I asked, straightening.

“Follow the Grandsage’s orders—do not restrict the Hero of Roses. However, if it seems like the hero will have a large impact on the strength of our position, give your own orders as commander of the first division. The army of Roses is under the Soleil Knights’ command. He likely won’t disobey any such orders.”

“Yessir! Understood!”

If our commander in chief had made the decision, then I’d abide by it.

“Still... I wonder what she is thinking,” someone mused.

“That rumor...might be true.”

I had heard the gossip about her as well.

“Hey, Sir Ryousuke, is the Hero of Roses her lover?” the sixth division’s commander asked, smirking. He was young and fairly close to Sir Sakurai, so he could easily inquire. Though...this was not exactly the appropriate place to do so.

“Nah...I don’t think Takatsuki’s the Grandsage’s lover,” said the Hero of Light with a reluctant smile. Sir Sakurai would know best since he and the Hero of Roses were fairly close, and had been even in their old world.

It must just be a rumor. Still, it was unusual for the Grandsage to weigh in on things like this. The other commanders were all confused as well.

“You shouldn’t just take town gossip at face value,” Commander Owain stated firmly. “Our intelligence department has only reported them meeting three times. You can take that to mean there is no such relationship.” The commander glared out across all his men, and with that, the speculation was quickly put to an end.

So he’s already gotten evidence. Well, as the leader of the Soleil Knights, he needed information as well as strength. It was not an easy role.

Commander Owain cleared his throat and moved the topic back to the task at hand. “Now, part of the strategy has changed, so let us confirm the Northern Front Plan.”

We all nodded. However, several days later, this exact issue would come up again.

◇

A storm of mana wreathed the Hero of Roses as he looked out across the sea.

“Ortho, do you mind if I get rid of that army?”

Things had gone just as the Grandsage had predicted.

“Sir Makoto...have you forgotten Lady Estelle’s words? We need to avoid fighting in general. We need to be ready for Iblis and maintain our strength,” I stressed, invoking our strategy.

“We do,” he replied, “but the monsters don’t think our magic can get to them. If we attack first, we won’t take any losses.”

I paused for a moment. “And...you can reach them?” Judging by eye, the monsters were about as far away as Highland’s capital was wide. There were barely any mages who could attack at such a long range, even in the Soleil Knights.

If it was possible, then eliminating them would be ideal, but...

“That mana will not be enough against ten thousand soldiers of the demon lord,” I told him.

Sir Makoto had borrowed vast amounts of mana from the elementals, but the monsters lurking in the sea were the direct subordinates of Forneus. Though the mana surrounding him was greater than any of our mages, it would still not be enough against the demon army. That was my judgment as a commander.

“Of course not,” he replied carelessly. “That’s why I’m going to get ready now.”

“What?” I couldn’t comprehend what he had said for a moment. Th-That’s not your full power?

While I was lost for words, he stepped toward his companions. Then, he spoke to the Priestess of the Moon. “Princess, I could do with a hand to get rid of them. Do you mind?”

“I don’t...but how?” she asked with a doubtful look.

He took her silken hand in his. “Synchro.”

I didn’t understand what he was doing, but his companions seemed to be in the same situation.

“Makoto?”

“Takatsuki, what are you doing?”

“You’ll see in a minute,” he replied. “There she is. Hey, Undyne.”

It was like I’d suddenly been punched in the gut—it felt as if a cold sensation was slicing through my spine, as if I were standing in the middle of a blizzard after the aura around me was blasted away.

Wh-What the...?!

The moon priestess’s face looked pale as well.

“M-My knight! Please warn me if you’re about to summon her like that!”

“Ah, sorry, Princess,” he said with a laugh, scratching his cheek. “Undyne, keep the mana down would you? Just touch my right hand a bit.”

He seemed to be speaking to the empty spot at his right.

“××××××××××.”

Guh?!

I was sweating buckets and could feel my knees knocking. No, there was definitely some sort of force present. I couldn’t see it, but it was there. I couldn’t even react to the horrifying amounts of mana. The other knights had started to make their way over to see what was going on, but they’d all frozen in place.

The sea was roiling with waves. Damp cloudy fog, almost a light drizzle, wrapped around us. The oddest thing was that the rain was only falling here—the sun still shone upon the distant scenery. Even more mana started spiraling around Sir Makoto as the air and land started to shudder.

I wouldn’t even be surprised if some cataclysm ripped through our camp.

“Sir Makoto! What are you doing?!” I asked, frantically containing the scream that threatened to pour from my lips.

“Huh? I was just going to use a spell to drive them off.”

There’s no point! If the monsters had any intelligence, they would have turned tail the second they felt this ridiculous mana. No, they wouldn’t even need intelligence, just instinct. They’d be able to sense the mana’s pressure and their own impending doom.

“Well, here I go,” said Sir Makoto.

Contrary to his relaxed tone, the pressure in the air made it difficult to breathe. The earth shook, and the air itself shuddered.

“Water Magic: Ice W—” he began, but then he paused and murmured, “Actually, let’s use a different name.”

“Just hurry up and do it, my knight!”

“Look, Makoto! They’re running!”

Lady Lucy was right—the sea monsters, even the demon lord’s subordinates, had broken formation.

I told you so! All we needed to do was wait, and they’d retreat.

The Hero of Roses peered out across the waves. “Oh? Damn it, they’re getting away!”

“Sir Makoto?!”

That wasn’t the plan! You can just let them go!

“Takatsuki, you’ve made up your mind?” asked the Hero of Great Keith. She was the only other one who’d kept her cool. Her hands were linked behind her back as she looked at his face.

H-How is she so calm in the middle of all this mana?!

“Yeah, I’ve got the spell,” he grinned. The hero really seemed to be enjoying himself. Then, he lifted his right hand and spoke. What power is he about to...?

“Eternal Death Blizzard! Death to our enemy.”

I hadn’t heard that name before. The crazed mana knit itself together to become a spell, and in the air, over a thousand magic circles appeared, floating haphazardly. There was no regularity to the structure, just pure chaos.

This spell was the exact opposite of the type Highland mages preferred, where every facet was polished to perfection. No, this was insanity upon insanity in spell form. The infinite mana just forced its existence on the world.

Suddenly, the spell was complete. A moment later, everything in front of me was covered in silver.

“Snow?” I heard someone murmur.

The drizzling rain had solidified into falling snowflakes, and the temperature had dropped so harshly that it almost felt like the seasons had changed.

“What...is this?”

“Wow, it’s so white.”

“S-So cold! Takatsuki!”

The hero’s companions spoke with shaky voices.

“What...in...the...?” My voice was shaking too. I couldn’t parse what I was seeing.

The sea had turned into a frozen plain of ice, extending all the way to the horizon. It was a white world of death—all of the monsters had frozen in place.

◇ Makoto Takatsuki’s Perspective ◇

“‘Death to our enemy’ indeed. You just come out with all kinds of crap, Makoto... Meteo!”

Lucy wasn’t happy, but she nonetheless dropped massive boulders on the ice statues. Ice and monster alike shattered with a massive crash.

Currently, we were standing on the frozen sea.

“Urghhh, it’s so coooold. Can I go home yet?” Sasa asked, shivering even in a big puffy coat.

Furiae was blowing softly into her hands at Sasa’s side as she tried to warm up. Even that casual action was alluring.

“No, Sasa, you can’t. You’re a hero too. But, Princess, if you’re cold, head back.”

“What?!” Sasa cried. “No fair, Takatsuki!”

“It’s fine—I’m used to the cold,” Furiae replied. “Besides, I’d feel bad resting all on my own.”

Ortho’s loud voice suddenly broke into our conversation. “Wipe the monsters out before they wake up! We cannot waste the chance Sir Makoto has granted us!”

“Yessir!” came the reply from the knights. The other soldiers were also attacking the monster statues.

As for me... I wasn’t doing anything.

I might have given it a cool name like Eternal Death Blizzard, but it was really just a wide-area ice spell. Though the monsters were temporarily powerless, they weren’t dead. The demon lord’s subordinates were hardy—once the ice melted, they’d be able to move again. So currently, we were all working together to break the monsters apart before they thawed.

There were over ten thousand statues, so it was pretty difficult work. With my lack of offensive options, all I could really do was watch.

“××××××××××××××, (Elementals, elementals,)” I called, but they still seemed happy with the earlier spell, so all I got in response was cheering. I’d need more time if I wanted to borrow additional mana.

“There’s just no end to them!” Lucy griped. Yet even while she was complaining, she still fired off spell after spell. Since her specialty—fire—would melt the ice, we were having her use earth magic.

“Sorry, Lucy,” I said. It was rough for us to push all this work onto her.

“Mmm, it’s fine. But you owe me something nice,” she replied, grinning back.

She’s really something...

Then, she seemed to have a sudden idea—she looked at me teasingly. “It’s not fair that I’m the only one casting. Use Synchro and join in,” she urged, draping herself over me and placing her staff in my hands.

Her body felt warm against my own.

Synchro.

My hand was on her shoulder, but it went numb as I felt our mana clash. Yeah, that wasn’t going to work.

“Sorry, Lucy. Looks like that’s a no-go.”

She snorted and gave me a sidelong glance. “That’s just ’cause you’re doing it wrong.” She wrapped her arms around my neck and stood on her tiptoes. “This is how we Synchro.”

She blinked once, then looked into my eyes and drew closer.

“L-Lucy?”

“Come on, Makoto. Mmh.”

The beautiful elf closed her eyes, and her lips came close to mine.

She...wants me to kiss her here?

Well, we couldn’t let our one party member do all the work. And I was technically the leader. Yup, no choice, I decided. I leaned in, ready to accept her kiss.

Then, I felt (or heard?) the air rumble behind me.

Sasa and Furiae were glaring.

“L-Lucy, we should leave this for emergencies!” I panicked, moving away.

“Ah, ’kay,” she said, looking bored and stepping back. “You wuss.”

Wuss, Noah repeated.

Lucy and the other knights carried on, and half a day later, they had defeated all of the monsters.

“Did you just say that the first division fought against Forneus’s army today?” Commander Owain asked. He was the first to respond to Ortho’s report that evening during the strategy meeting. His voice was calm, but there was a hint of exasperation to it.

“What is the meaning of this, Commander? That isn’t what we had planned,” General Talisker said, tone relaxed.

“Yes. We did face the demon lord’s army,” said Ortho. “The Hero of Roses here was ab—”

“So it’s his fault?!” the pope interrupted.

Yeah... Guess that guy just couldn’t wait to complain about the wicked deity’s follower.

“This war will decide the fate of the continent!” the pope raved. “We need to remove the disturbances of the wicked deities! He should be court-martialed and justly punished! Off with his head!”

I saw some of the nobles nodding along. Justly? How could that severe punishment be considered justice?

The church and the nobles seemed against me, but what about the people I knew? Olga from Great Keith, Prince Leonardo, and Sakurai all looked like they’d expected my attack. The Priestess of Fate let out a deep sigh.

Suddenly, another voice spoke up. “Wait, pope. Ortho isn’t done. Besides, I told the Hero of Roses he could fight them.”

The pope paused in stunned silence. “Grandsage?!” he roared. “Why would you...?”

“Your Holiness,” Commander Owain said, bringing us back on track. “The Grandsage seems to know something. Ortho, what were our gains and losses?”

The commander straightened. “Yessir! Right away. Ten thousand and twenty-nine monsters were eliminated. Our casualties numbered zero!”

After his announcement, no one spoke. So...he counted the monsters...

“Additionally, there were no named demons among our enemies. Lady Estelle’s statement was correct—they were not there to fight us, but to act as a diversion.”

That was the end of his report. Everyone in the floating images just remained frozen, their mouths agape—or else, with doubtful looks on their faces.

The commander in chief was the first to speak.

“Ortho, you said your men faced over ten thousand monsters?”

“I did, sir!”

There was another, shorter pause, and then...

“How were they all defeated with no casualties on our side?”

The other people in the images seemed to be wondering the same thing. They must’ve doubted the truth of the report.

“Sir Makoto’s elemental magic was used to freeze all of the demon lord’s army,” explained Ortho. “We then eliminated the disabled monsters.”

“Is...that even possible?” Owain asked in shock.

“Well, considering that his spell saved Great Keith’s capital, I suppose so...” General Talisker nodded, though he did seem a bit flabbergasted.

I used a different spell in Great Keith though. Guess that doesn’t really matter.

The Grandsage roared with laughter. “I see, I see!” Meanwhile, the pope just glowered hatefully at me. The Hero of Lightning didn’t look too happy either. Gerry, glaring at me isn’t going to help.

“So, Commander. What punishment will you give for zero casualties?” the Grandsage asked with a smirk.

“The Hero of Roses’s contribution went against our initial strategy, but the basis for our tactics was always to maintain strength. We had no casualties, and thus maintained our numbers, so punishment can be disregarded,” Owain replied.

“In which case, report on the other areas,” ordered the Grandsage.

“Yessir. The second division...”

That was the start of a lot of boring reports. Most just stated that the units hadn’t fought.

I glanced over at Princess Sophia’s image and saw she wore an exasperated look. I didn’t wave this time, though—I just offered a rueful smile.

The meeting carried on late into the night... Honestly, it was difficult to not just fall asleep partway through.

◇ Aya Sasaki’s Perspective ◇

I woke up late at night. Lu slept beside me, and her soft breathing was warm as it drifted over my skin.

That reminded me—we were sleeping together since the tent was so cold.

I sighed.

“Your clothes are a mess again,” I whispered, pulling her collar back up. She never could stay still while she slept. Somehow, she always managed to gradually undress while passed out.

Well, Takatsuki said I wasn’t much better, and Fuu practically pulled a full-on sleeping beauty routine.

Wait... Hang on...

“Fuu?”

I peered over at her sleeping space through the darkness, but she wasn’t there. Maybe she’d gone to the toilet? However, her covers were cold to the touch, so she’d probably been gone for a while—much longer than if she’d just stepped out for a bathroom break.

“Hmm...”

Curious, I moved over to Takatsuki’s area, which had been sectioned off with a simple cloth. This was a four-person tent, but he was stubborn about guys and girls sharing a sleeping space, hence the partition.

“Yup, not there.”

That was pretty normal. He spent pretty much all the time he was awake training. Still, I was kind of bothered.

Takatsuki and Fuu were both away late at night. Where were they?

“Ack, cold!” The chill of the wind took my breath away as I stepped outside. “This is definitely his fault...” I muttered, bundling up as much as I could.

I headed out through the campground, weaving around the knights’ tents. The moon was the only light source, but I’d grown up in a dungeon, so it was just as good as the sun.

I passed a few of the knights on watch and asked them if they’d seen Takatsuki. None had.

Huh... Just searching randomly seems to be pretty inefficient. At times like this...

I closed my eyes, using my ears, nose, and sixth sense to the fullest.

Takatsuki Takatsuki Takatsuki Takatsuki Takatsuki Takatsuki Takatsuki Takatsuki Takatsuki Takatsuki... Where are you?

It feels like...this direction.

I trusted my dungeon instincts. Gradually, I started to notice Takatsuki’s scent.

Yup, on the right track!

There was an open area a little ways from the camp that had a small spring running through it. Two figures were near the spring—in the moonlight, I saw Takatsuki and Fuu sitting against each other, talking.

T-Takatuski and Fuu are...

I suppressed my presence and watched. They were more than two meters away, so even Takatsuki’s usual attentiveness to his surroundings would likely miss me.

They were sitting really close...shoulder to shoulder...

Hmph. They sure were getting along. Suddenly, I thought back to the conversation I’d had with Lucy a few days ago.

◇

“Aya!” Lu exclaimed. “Listen, listen—don’t you think Fuuri’s been giving Makoto some pretty suspicious looks?! What do you think’s going on?”

“Well...she’s got feelings for him, doesn’t she?” I replied.

“That’s right! This is awful!”

My rival and friend was waving her hands around manically, though I was a lot calmer.

“She started liking him ages ago,” I said. I’d first suspected it way back in Springrogue.

“No way?! You noticed? You should have told me!”

“Why’s it awful, though? He’s been all popular with Sophie and Jen. Took you a while to realize, didn’t it?”

I sighed. The old Takatsuki who “can only talk to you, Sasa” was long gone. He was a popular hero in another world now...

“Oh, right, you’re not that familiar with this world...” Lu mumbled. “Okay, so Fuuri is Naya’s Priestess, right? Her priestess is chosen for their beauty—that’s been the tradition over the past thousand years. Each and every one of them has been a world-class stunner! Fuuri’s really good-looking too!”

“So the most beautiful woman in the world is...after Takatsuki?” I asked.

“Exactly!”

Well, that was a big deal. Still...

“Doesn’t Fuu love Sakurai?” That’s what Takatsuki had said.

“In the past, sure, but women’s hearts can change.” She looked like she was trying to play the part of some love guru.

Lu, you know you haven’t had a boyfriend before now, right? Well, neither have I!

“So your heart will change as well?” I asked lightly.

“What? Don’t be stupid!” she replied with a scathing look. “Mine won’t, even if yours does!”

“What did you say?” Angrily, I got all up in her face. “Takatsuki’s the only one for me!”

We stood forehead to forehead as we glared, and then, about thirty seconds later, we sighed in unison.

“How many times have we had that argument?” Lu asked.

“Hmm, I gave up counting after fifty.” Though, I had a feeling it’d been more than a hundred now.

“Let’s forget about it. Fighting isn’t going to help.”

“What were we even talking about?”

Lu and I might’ve been rivals in love, but we were currently in a ceasefire. Well...it was more like we were on the same side. After all, Takatsuki kept raising all the girls’ romance flags!

Seriously!

“The problem is how he feels about her!” Lucy exclaimed.

“We can just ask him, you know? We can go right now if you like.”

“N-No way! What if he’s in love?!”

I sighed, giving a small shrug. “You’re a real scaredy-cat at the weirdest times.” Yet, though I might have been feigning calm, I was pretty worried as well.

What’s going on, Takatsuki?

◇

Back in the present...

I looked at Takatsuki and Fuu once more. They seemed to be talking, but gusts of wind shielded their conversation from my ears.

I saw Fuu smack him on the shoulder, and he just shrugged. They really were close...

Mrmhghg...! What are they talking about?

I narrowed my eyes and tried to read their lips, but suddenly...

Fuu turned in my direction. Takatsuki followed suit, then waved. Her face was tense, but he wore his usual easygoing expression.

Had he noticed me from the beginning?

I scratched awkwardly at my cheek before making a big jump over to their side.

“Evening. Takatsuki, Fuu.”

“W-Warrior?!” Fuu sputtered. “How long have you been standing there?!”

“Hey, Sasa. What’s up?”

Fuu was still panicking, but Takatsuki was the same as ever.

“Mm, well, I just wondered where you’d both gone off to. Found you just now.”

Furiae still seemed a bit panicked. “I-I see. Well, I’m done talking, so I’m going back to bed! Goodnight, both of you!”

“I’ll walk you back,” Takatsuki offered.

“No need! The knights are just over there. This area’s safe.” Her face was red as she hurried away. She didn’t need to run.

I took a peek at her face as she passed—her hair seemed to sparkle in the moonlight, and her pale skin almost glowed. I was used to seeing her...but even I thought she was horrifyingly beautiful.

Lu had mentioned that the moon priestess was the most lovely woman in the world. She certainly seemed inhumanly gorgeous—it made sense.

What had she and Takatsuki been talking about?

“What’s up, Sasa?” Annoyingly enough, he was acting just like normal.

This man... Now wasn’t the time for that! Did nothing get to him?

“What were the two of you talking about so late at night? Something’s fishyyy,” I muttered sulkily. I was actually a little—okay, a lot—jealous.

He wasn’t bothered though. “I was training on my own before she came out here. I guess she wanted to thank me for saving her homeland. She said I shouldn’t keep pushing myself for her. But, that wasn’t why I did it.”

“What was your reason then?”

“U-Uh. Well, y’know.” He looked away, toward the sea.

Yeah, I think I do know.

“You wanted to try out that spell since there were so many elementals around the sea, right?” I asked.

“Wha?” He looked bewildered, like he thought I was clairvoyant or something. “How’d you read my mind?”

Oh, he even said it.

“I can tell just by looking,” I replied.

“Hmmph.” He didn’t seem entirely happy as he lifted his hand and resumed his training. I was honestly kind of impressed that he still had energy to practice.

“You and Fuu have been talking a lot lately,” I remarked casually.

“We have? I didn’t notice any difference.” His words were a bit blunt.

“Nah, it’s totally different,” I countered. “She used to be all tsun all the time.”

“Actually, yeah...she is a bit of a tsundere.”

“Yup! Lately, she’s less tsun and waaay more dere.”

“Even so, she still kicks me a lot.” he griped.

“That’s because you keep sexually harassing her.”

All that groping! Peeking at her underwear! Honestly!

After that, we just chatted for a bit, but I couldn’t tell what he was really thinking.

Okay then. Guess it’s time to take the plunge.

“So...what if she fell in love with you?”

My heart was a little—just a little—faster than usual. But just as Lu and I had discussed, we needed to know how he felt.

His response—

“Nah, that’s not happening.”

—was just to laugh.

So he really thinks that... Takatsuki didn’t realize that she had any feelings for him. He always did have a bit of a blind spot for affection.

“She could have anyone she wanted,” he commented.

“Ah, yeah...guess so.” I nodded along. Still...I really did think she cared for him. I just wasn’t sure whether it was in a romantic sense or not.

Meanwhile, Takatsuki just saw her as a friend for right now.

He’s always disliked complicated relationships...

I let out a sigh, soft enough that he wouldn’t notice. It seemed like Lu and I shouldn’t have been worried.

Suddenly, he changed the subject. “Hey, Sasa, look at this.” His voice sounded happy, and he lifted up his blue elemental arm.

It started to shine—a whole bunch of magic circles appeared, floating in the air. The ground shook and the air shuddered. Cloud cover obscured the moon, making the night even darker.

“Water Magic: Cloud Dragon.”

I waited in silence for several seconds. “Uh...nothing happened...?”

“Look up,” he told me.

“Up? Wait...what?!”

I did as he directed. The “clouds” that had covered the moon...turned out to be four massive dragons made from magic.

“It’s a king rank water spell,” he explained. “You can use it to make it rain or even conjure lightning strikes.”

“W-Wow...that’s amazing.”

“Isn’t it?!” His eyes were sparkling. He seemed proud of the new spell.

I just stared open-mouthed at the dragons. He’s becoming less and less human all the time...

Suddenly, there was a big gust of wind from the sea. I yelped, hugging myself against the chill.

“Brrrrr.” Takatsuki shuddered.

It was too cold out here, so I’d just decided to head back.

But then...

“Water Magic: Ice Home.”

Takatsuki lifted his hand, and less than a second later, there was a building of ice surrounding us. It even had a door.

Wow! He did that so quickly!

The windchill was gone and I was suddenly much more comfortable. It was slight, but even the air felt a bit warmer.

“Takatsuki, what did you do?”

“What d’you think? I used water magic to make it. Should keep the cold out a bit. I even tried using vaporization in here to raise the temperature somewhat.”

“Y-You can do that?!”

That sounded really difficult, and I wasn’t even a magic user...

“Well, if I could use fire like Lucy...then I’d be able to warm you up properly.” Even now, he didn’t seem satisfied with his magic. I thought it was incredible, though.

And, it was awfully cute seeing him apologize for not being a “good mage.”

Suddenly, I realized something—he and Fuu had been alone before, but now it was the two of us instead.

Oooh? This could be a nice situation.

Hmmm? Was this my chance? I could already see Lucy telling me off for getting ahead.

What to do?

Hmmmmm... Okay, decided! It’s better to ask for forgiveness!

“Hey, Takatsuki, time for a pop quiz.”

“Huh?” He stared at me in surprise. “Where’d that come from?”

“A young man and woman are standing in a certain place. That place is cold, and the girl is shivering. Now, what should the boy do? Oh—magic’s not an option!” As I asked the question, I pushed myself into him.

His eyes went wide for a second. He seemed to notice something, and glanced away.

“A-Ahh, well...” He must’ve understood what I was going for because he leaned in, even as his cheeks got redder.

“What should he do?” I cajoled, moving my face even closer.

“This?” he asked, hugging me tightly.

Eh heh, so warm! I thought, hugging him back.

“Right?”

“Mmm, half points,” I decided.

“Half?” he asked with an odd look.

“Mmh.”

I closed my eyes and lifted my chin.

“Ah...” I heard him murmur. His voice sounded kind of tired.

I kept waiting.

Then, a pair of warm, soft lips covered mine. The arms around me tightened, and I answered in kind. I could hear Takatsuki’s heart racing, though I was sure mine was going even faster. I wanted it to go on forever, but after about a dozen seconds, he pulled back.

“Was that right?” he asked with a blush.

“Right,” I answered a bit shyly. “Okay, next question!”

“N-Next?” His eyes went wide again.

“We’re in the middle of the ice, so how are you warming me up?”

“Ah, well...” he looked away again. He must have been hesitating out of embarrassment since his eyes started shifting through the air.

“Noah... Yeah, but— Ahh, even RPG Player’s joining in...” I heard him mutter.

While that was happening, I undid the buttons on his jacket. He looked shocked but didn’t move away.

“Your answer?” I asked.

He smiled awkwardly. “Right...okay then.”

Then, his hand moved slowly to my chest...

◇ Makoto Takatsuki’s Perspective ◇

Sasa was right in front of me, watching with bright red cheeks.

She’d been my friend since junior high and had hung out in my room so many times...but it had never been like this. We’d done a lot together since meeting again in this world, but we’d never crossed this particular line.

Mostly...because of me chickening out.

“Takatsuki...” she murmured, pressing her chest into me. I could feel her heart racing away, just like mine probably was.

“S-Sasa...” I gulped. But I couldn’t call myself a man if I didn’t respond here. And in all honesty, I was getting worked up as well.

I slowly reached for the buttons on her clothes, undoing them one by one, gradually revealing the pale expanse of her skin...

“Apologies for interrupting your training! Commander Ortho would like you to get some rest since you disabled all the en...e...mies... Uh?”

“Wha?” Sasa and I said in unison, gawking at the intruder.

It was one of Ortho’s knights. He just stared blankly at us. His eyes moved between my askew clothes and Sasa’s face—it was plainly obvious that my hand was frozen on the third button of Sasa’s shirt.

Silence reigned in the building of ice.

“E-Excuse me!” the messenger yelled before turning on his heel and running away.

The two of us were left behind, unable to say a word.

“Hey, Takatsuki?”

“Yeah, Sasa?”

“The Soleil Knights know about this place?”

“Well, the heroes are supposed to be on call all the time, so I told Ortho where I’d be training.”

“Right.”

“Yeah.”

We just looked quietly at each other for a while.

“L-Let’s head back,” I suggested.

“Yeah.” She nodded.

At that, we made our way back to the tent, hand in hand.

◇

One moment I was fast asleep on my bedding in the tent, and the next, I was awake in a vast, empty space.

It seemed that my goddess had called me.

“Hello, Noah.”

She snickered. “My, if it isn’t chance-misser-Makoto.”

“Mako, Sophie’s all lonely! Give her some loooooove,” Eir added with an unhappy look.

I quickly noticed something odd about this situation.

“What are you two doing?” I asked.

The goddesses were under a kotatsu, sitting around a hotpot.

Noah scoffed. “You can see exactly what we’re doing—having a hotpot. Don’t just stand there, come and eat.”

“I got all kinds of food for the New Year’s celebration—including some really nice duck—but I can’t finish it on my own, so I’m having Noah help,” Eir explained.

“But it’s not that time of year...?” I questioned.

“Uh, we’re talking about the divine realm. Not your world.”

I sighed. So even the divine realm celebrated the New Year. The nice smell from the hotpot drew me in, and I cheerfully put my legs into the kotatsu.

I looked at the bubbling pot and saw cabbage, chrysanthemums, carrots, tofu, shiitake, and other mushrooms. All of it floated in a base of mustard and soy sauce. Next to the hotpot, bright pink slices of duck were lined up.

“Here’s your chopsticks, Mako. The duck gets really tough if you leave it in too long, so heat it up just before you wanna eat it. The meat is nice on its own, but I’d really recommend having some of the vegetables with it.” Eir was giving a really detailed lecture... Apparently, she was strict when it came to hotpot.

“Eh, don’t worry about it! Just eat the way you want.” On the other hand, Noah was just as easygoing with this as she was with everything else. Her personality was certainly showing.

“Thank you for the food,” I said, taking a single slice of the meat and dipping it through the scalding soup.

Once it’d heated through, I wrapped some of the mustard leaves around it and lifted the bite to my mouth.

Wha?! The meat juices burst in an explosion of flavor. I saw stars—rainbows filled my vision. My entire mouth tasted of joy and my mind went blank.

Wh-What the hell?! I’d never had such tasty meat!

“Wow, I don’t often see you that surprised,” Noah commented.

“Well, that’s first-class golden duck from the divine realms!” Eir boasted. “Its tagline is ‘Heaven in a Single Bite.’”

“Can humans actually eat that?” Noah asked Eir.

“Mako’ll probably be fine. Use Calm Mind just in case.”

“You could have told me that before I ate it.” It really had felt like I was being taken to heaven. I could practically see the angels tugging at my clothes. The whole experience of having hotpot with the two goddesses was odd, to say the least.

“So, what am I here for today?” I asked while watching Eir add the finisher to the hotpot. I doubted they’d brought me here just to share a meal.

“Hm, what was it? Eir said she wanted to talk to you,” Noah replied. She was packing away vanilla ice cream, even though we were in the middle of the hotpot. When I asked why she wasn’t having dessert last, she said she always had dessert when she felt like it.

She sure was a free spirit...uh, goddess.

“Right! It’s important. It’s about Irrie!”

For how “important” the conversation was, Eir didn’t stop what she was doing—putting soba noodles in the soup. Wait, soba noodles?

“Hey, Eir, don’t you use rice gruel to finish off a hotpot?” Noah asked.

“Ah-bah-bah. You have much to learn. Soba noodles are the best for duck hotpot.”

“Oh, they are?”

Noah and I looked into the pot with interest. The mix of juices from the duck combined with the soup broth smelled amazing. After a while, Eir portioned out the noodles into bowls for each of us, then topped them with some bright green spring onions and a sprinkle of shichimi.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you, Eir,” I replied, putting my hands together in thanks.

“Mmm! This is great!” Noah exclaimed, diving straight in and slurping up some of the noodles.

And so, the three of us enjoyed our soba. Ahh, this is so calming... Hm? Are we forgetting something? Weren’t we just in the middle of a conversation...?

“Oh yes, we were talking about Irrie!” exclaimed Eir. “She’s been down in the world this whole time!”

“You spoke to her?” I asked, straightening. I wasn’t going to miss this information.

“Why’s she in her priestess all the time?” Noah wondered.

“Well, she’s still unhappy about the dark ages a thousand years ago. She said that’s why she’s staying down there—she doesn’t want to make another mistake with her precognition. It makes sense since it’s harder to see the future up in the divine realm.”

After she finished speaking, Eir started tidying up the crockery.

“I’ll give you a hand,” I said, moving to help out.

“Don’t worry about it, Mako. You just sit and relax.”

Really? I was supposed to just let a goddess do the cleanup? Actually, this was Noah’s space...so shouldn’t she be doing it?

I looked over at my goddess to see her eating a second ice cream.

“What?” she asked.

“Nothing...”

She seemed like she was having fun, so I chose to forget about it.

“Still,” Eir said, “being down there makes it harder to see the big picture.”

“Should she even be doing it?” Noah interjected. “It’s a bit of a gray area as far as the rules go, right?”

Those rules again... Roughly speaking, divine beings were pretty much in agreement that the gods shouldn’t interfere directly in the mortal world. So, as far as that rule was concerned, Ira was probably on pretty thin ice.

“I don’t see a problem if we beat the demon lord,” I said. If Ira being in our world helped everyone, then that was for the best.

“Sure! It’ll be fine,” Eir cheered, giving a wink and a thumbs up. “Irrie’s all serious, so she’ll manage it properly.”

“She will?” Eir’d certainty helped me relax. Everything would work out as long as Sakurai, Lucy, Sasa, and the others were fine.

And yet, I heard Noah grumbling. When I turned, I saw that she looked unhappy.

“What’s wrong?” I asked her.

“Eir, it feels like you’re scoring points. No converting Makoto.”

“That won’t change anything,” Eir replied with a sigh. But Noah still seemed worried, and she got up close to me.

“Here, Makoto. You can have this ice cream.”

“No way—that’s your leftovers.”

Though Noah had just been going to town on it, she now held the ice cream up to me. “What? You won’t eat something if it’s been in my mouth?! You cheeky disciple. Just eat!”

She grabbed the spoon she’d been using, scooped up some of the ice cream, and—

“Hey, don’t force it! Mmmph.”

—shoved it into my mouth. The cold sweetness spread across my palate. It was tasty.

“See! It’s great, right?!”

“I would’ve preferred a new one rather than your leftovers, though.”

“What was that?! Here, have another bite!”

“No!”

“You two sure have fun, huh?” Eir remarked, laughing at the pair of us.

At that moment, my vision started going blurry. Time was up, it seemed.

“See you later, Noah, Eir. Thanks for the conversation and hotpot.”

“Bye, Mako! Good luck with the war☆!”

“Don’t let your guard down.”

I nodded in response to their advice. I’ll have to brace myself, I thought.

At that point, I passed out.

◇

When I woke up, things were noisy and I could hear an argument nearby. I used Listen to check it out.

“Spit it out, Aya! What were you doing with Makoto last night?!”

“Man, Lu, we didn’t do anything☆”

Guh... They were talking about me.

“Liar! I could smell him on you. Besides, I found some of his hair on your clothes! Caught you red-handed!”

“Hawawawa!”

Lucy’s logic was cornering Sasa. I should get out of here, one way or another. How about...back to sleep?

“Oh, Makoto’s awake.”

“Takatsuki’s awake.”

Lucy and Sasa reacted at the same time.

How had they known?! My bed was behind a partition!

Damn it. No choice...

“Ah, he’s about to run. I saw it in the future. Grab him,” Furiae said.

“Princess?!” Don’t use Future Sight for that!

In the end, they caught me...and we had to admit everything.