Isekai Mahou wa Okureteru! (LN) - Volume 2 - Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Towards the Stormy Journey 

It had been a few days since Suimei met Lefille, got his rank evaluation, and happily registered with the guild. After waking up early in the morning, he was currently in the inn’s garden doing practice swings with his mercury katana. 

“Haa! Hyaah!” 

He was systematically swinging from top to bottom, properly exhaling with every swing. His form was textbook. He was clearly quite used to such exercise. But despite everything he’d learned from his father, it was not his father—a magician—who had taught him swordsmanship. No, he’d studied it at the dojo near his house. His father put a lot of emphasis on close-combat abilities, but if Suimei had to be taught, his father had thought it would be better to have an expert teach him. 

With that in mind, Suimei had been attending the dojo since his early childhood. And the reason he was so openly practicing with his sword now was because it was part of what he’d learned there: An unswung blade is a dull one. Thus Suimei had found a time when there weren’t many people around to practice with his sword and martial arts. 

“Phew, that should about do it…” 

After completing his practice drills from start to finish, Suimei let out a sigh. He’d gone a little light compared to his usual routine, but today he couldn’t afford to exhaust himself first thing in the morning. After this, Suimei would be joining an escort mission that would take him towards the Nelferian Empire. 

Suimei’s current goal was to investigate a way to return to his own world, and then create the spell that would take him there. For the time being, his plan was to leave the Kingdom of Astel and make his way to the bountiful Nelferian Empire to collect information and materials. But instead of heading straight for the Empire, Suimei was planning on stopping at Kurant City on the western edge of Astel. And to get there, he would be relying on a group known as a trade corps who had knowledge of traveling and the lay of the land. 

Suimei had been browsing the requests at the guild for this kind of opportunity, and just the other day, he managed to officially get involved on one such commission. The competition for the job was fierce, but the reason they readily agreed to take him on was largely because of recovery magic. 

When the D-ranked Suimei went up to the teller window to take on the request, the requisite number of escorts for the job had already been met. Nevertheless, the organizer had said that there was no such thing as too many people who could use recovery magic, and swiftly approved of Suimei’s participation. And that settled Suimei’s plans. All that was left now was to depart on his journey from the royal capital of Metel. 

“Now then, time to go back.” 

While contemplating how the next few days would go, Suimei put away the mercury katana he had been practicing with and straightened himself out. He then returned to the inn to make his final preparations before embarking. While walking towards his room, he turned a corner… and bumped into someone at full stride. 

“Ow… Sorr??!” 

For a moment, Suimei saw stars. He was staggered from the sudden impact and immediately went to bow and apologize, but he was stopped in his tracks before the words could finish leaving his mouth. The person he had bumped into was the swordswoman he’d met who was coincidentally staying at the same inn, Lefille Grakis. 

But that wasn’t the reason Suimei stopped his apology. He knew they were staying at the same inn, after all. Bumping into each other wasn’t all that surprising. More specifically, it was her outfit that had stunned him. Lefille had come running, presumably from the outside of the building, in only her undergarments despite any possible onlookers. Also, for some reason, large teardrops were falling from her puffy, red eyes. 

“Ah…” 

Lefille had realized that Suimei was staring at her in her current state, but she was still standing there dazed and aghast at the sudden encounter. To Suimei, the sadness written on her face was far more important of a matter than accidentally bumping into her. 

“I, uh… You, uh…” 

Suimei finally started to come out of his complete stupor, but was still scarcely able to wrap his head around the situation. Lefille was crying in nothing but her undergarments. This was completely baffling to him. 

“S-Sorry…” 

Lefille finally came to her senses as well. She shook off her tears and muttered an apology. Without listening to what Suimei had to say or ask, she simply ran off further into the inn. Suimei stood there for a few moments, alone and utterly bewildered, before he mumbled to himself. 

“Just what happened to her…?” 

It was still early in the morning. It was early enough that most people weren’t even awake yet. And sadly, there was no one around to answer Suimei’s question. 

A few hours had passed since the incident that morning. Suimei was now wearing the local clothing that he’d bought the other day at the clothier’s, and was carrying his school bag from home which closely resembled a doctor’s briefcase. 

He was currently outside the wall that surrounded the royal capital of Metel. After following the highway leading out of the city gates, he came upon the meeting place specified by the commission from the trade corps. From there, he casually looked back at the town behind him. 

Specifically, he was looking at Metel’s most stalwart and vigilant defense: its large walls. Even where Suimei was from, many cities, castles, and fortresses during the Middle Ages had protected themselves with similar types of structures. Defensive walls were the most basic form of security a town could have. This world had its share of foreign aggressors, but it seemed a wall like that was most likely in place to keep monsters at bay. However… 

It’s not made of the advanced materials that Dorothea talked about. It doesn’t have any resistance against mana. 

Suimei recalled a particular conversation he’d had with his guild advisor about building materials as he gazed at the wall. And it was just as he surmised. The wall around Metel wasn’t made of the same mana-resistant material the floor of the guild hall’s training room was. Instead, it was made of simple concrete much like the Pantheon and was fortified only by bricks. Dorothea had said that the mana-resistant materials were something of a recent discovery, and apparently it was recent enough that they hadn’t added any to the city’s defenses yet. 

“As it is now, all it would take to topple it is a couple of powerful spells in the right place.” 

If the wall was attacked with magic, the completely mundane materials it was made of would easily collapse. Not only were they not particularly resistant or strong, but the wall itself seemed to have been built with very little knowledge of engineering. Despite its majestic appearance, considering the potential dangers of this world, it made Suimei nervous. No matter how large and grand it was, it would be useless once it crumbled. 

Realizing he had no place worrying about it, Suimei shook his head. The defensive capabilities of the city didn’t have anything to do with him. It wouldn’t affect him, even if the walls did fall. 

Suimei shook off such thoughts and refocused his attention on the nearby meeting place. A crowd was already gathered. It was mostly people dressed normally, but there was a group among them all dressed in neat and tidy clothes. There were also about twenty people in the front and rear who formed the armed escort, making for a crowd of a few dozen people in total. They all stood around a group of several wagons, looking like something of a mobile community. This was the trade corps that Suimei would be using to reach his objective. 

Where Suimei was from, this type of thing was often called a caravan. It was a group of people who banded together for the purpose of transporting goods over long distances, all while keeping themselves and their merchandise safe from bandits, looters, and the like. Multiple merchants would hire help and guards so they could all work together on their journey. 

Well, it certainly resembles that, anyways. 

Just from the look of it, this wasn’t anything Suimei wouldn’t have expected to see in his own world. But even so, the number of armed guards in the group was quite considerable. If anything stood out to him, it was that. But it was understandable considering the unique dangers of this world, including monsters. 

Civilization here wasn’t extraordinarily advanced, meaning that just living came with inconveniences and dangers on a day to day basis. Those were only exacerbated while traveling. Without a sufficient armed force, it simply wasn’t possible to journey between cities, let alone countries. There was a single maintained road between towns that served as a highway, but there was nothing along the way that passed as lighting. Moreover, just the requisition of water and lodgings while on the road took a considerable amount of time. 

Contemplating all this, Suimei gained a much better appreciation of how easy he had it in his own world. While groaning internally about how much harder it would be to get by here, Suimei walked over to a particular man in the crowd who had a fairly good physique and the demeanor of a merchant. According to the information he’d gotten from the reception desk at the guild, this man was the client who’d put in the commission for the job. 

“Do you have business with me?” 

“I’m from the Adventurer’s Guild, Twilight Pavilion. My name is Suimei Yakagi, and I’ve come today as requested to escort this trade corps.” 

As Suimei gave his formal introduction, the man’s suspicious eyes suddenly lit up. 

“Ah, my my, how polite. I’m Gallio, the one who put together this trade corps. If you’re Yakagi-dono, you’re the mage capable of using recovery magic, right? Thank you very much for taking the job and coming along. In the event anyone is injured during our journey to Kurant City, I’ll be counting on you.” 

“Of course. And thank you. I’m looking forward to working with you.” 

The two men shook hands and then went about their business. Gallio headed off towards the other merchants. Since they were just about to depart, as the man responsible for the operation, there were no doubt last-minute preparations that he would have to see to. As Suimei watched him walk off, he heard a familiar voice call to him from behind. 

“Might… Might that be you, Suimei-kun?” 

“Huh? Ah, Grakis-san.” 

When Suimei turned around, he spotted the figure of someone he hadn’t at all expected to see—Lefille Grakis. 

“Grakis-san, what are you doing here?” 

“I’m going to be accompanying this trade corps for work.” 

“Oh? I thought you weren’t going to be departing Metel for quite some time yet.” 

That was the reason Suimei was surprised to see Lefille. The two of them had coincidentally lodged at the same inn during their stay in Metel, which had given them many occasions to chat together. During one such talk, Lefille had mentioned that her trip to Nelferia would be delayed for various reasons and that she wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon. Yet in spite of that, here she was all dressed and ready to go on a journey. It was in complete defiance of what she’d previously told him, and she nodded in response to his question. 

“Indeed, I originally thought so as well. But two days ago, a commission I took turned out to be far more profitable than expected. As such, I was able to amass funds much quicker than I had planned, and I was able to move my schedule up accordingly.” 

“So you were able to take care of all the necessary expenses you spoke of already?” 

“Yes, that’s all taken care of.” 

With that, Lefille flashed a calm smile. During their conversations, she had mentioned that she would require funds to cover traveling expenses and the fees to start attending the Magic Institute. She had told him she was planning on staying in Metel to gather the money before making her way to the Empire. The traveling expenses were one thing, but it seemed that the Magic Institute tuition was a tidy sum. As such, Lefille had said she wasn’t expecting to be able to leave anytime soon. However, she’d managed to clear her savings goal with a single commission. It must have been quite a difficult request to be so profitable. 

“…Though it’s a little impolite of me to ask, what sort of commission was it?” 

“It was a monster subjugation request. Just a little further away from here, a powerful monster suddenly appeared out of nowhere. They wanted it taken care of right away. Since it was an emergency job, the reward was quite large.” 

“A powerful monster?” 

“About as powerful as those from the half-giant race. It was an ogre.” 

“An ogre, you say?” 

“Yes, that was the target of the subjugation.” 

The monster Lefille mentioned was something that Suimei had heard of before, but he was incredibly interested in the details. 

“You mentioned the half-giant race… Are those different from ogres?” 

“Ogres? Of course. Ogres are completely different than those man-eating giants.” 

“Huh…” 

Suimei raised a puzzled voice. In his world, ogres were monsters of folklore that originated from the man-eating giant in the fairy tale of “Puss in Boots.” It became the general name used to describe the giants of Europe. He heard it translated that way in his head, so why was it that giants and ogres were different entities here? 

“Then… what kind of monsters are they?” 

“You don’t know? That’s unexpected…” 

“Well, I’ve never seen one, after all.” 

“I see… That’s not particularly unusual. Strictly speaking, ogres are a subspecies of giant. They aren’t as large as pure-blooded giants, but they’re still regarded as powerful monsters. They rely entirely on brute strength. It is said that a single one can bring down a small fortress.” 

If they had the destructive power to take out a fortress, that meant they had to be a formidable threat in battle. Compared to the idiotic ogre who was eaten after being tricked into turning into a mouse by a cat, it seemed the ogres here were doing quite well for themselves. 

“Wow… And you defeated something like that, Grakis-san?” 

Suimei sighed a little in admiration. He couldn’t hide his astonishment. Based on what she’d said, the giants and ogres of this world were truly dangerous monsters. Lefille had given a very simple explanation of the matter, but she hadn’t boasted or even acted excited about defeating one. She was apparently quite formidable herself. 

“Well, I wasn’t alone. Several of us grouped together to go defeat it. My own contributions were insignificant.” 

She was acting quite humbly, but Suimei was having trouble taking her at her word. 

“By the way, does that kind of thing appear often?” 

“No, not really. There are smaller monsters, but things as serious as ogres don’t appear very often. I mean, its native environment isn’t even anywhere around here.” 

That meant something must have happened to bring it here. While Suimei was pondering what the cause may have been, Lefille shared a similar opinion. 

“However, I find it hard to believe it was just a coincidence. There must be a reason it showed up.” 

“Uhuh…” 

When Lefille said that, Suimei fell deep into thought. According to the documents he read in the castle on the ecology of monsters, there were two or three theories about what would lead to outbreaks of powerful monsters. One suggested that if a sudden phenomenon caused the deterioration of their natural habitat, monsters would abruptly spread out into other lands. The other stated that when demons were looking to establish their bloodlines, the less intelligent offspring became monsters with herculean strength. 

In Suimei’s opinion, the second theory was the more viable one in this case. The first theory could have been coincidentally true, but the second made more sense in light of current events. Which meant… 

“There are demons here.” 

Suimei wasn’t sure where exactly Lefille had fought the ogre or ogre-like demon, but it wasn’t all that far from here. But, perhaps because Suimei had been mumbling, Lefille made no reply to his statement. 

“Grakis-san?” 

“…Ah, you may be right.” 

Lefille took so long to reply that Suimei was curious about what had caught her attention. When he looked at her, she was standing there staring at a single point without moving. Her eyes, which usually had a refreshing light to them, were clouded over with a mysterious gloom. Something about their conversation had deeply affected her. Lefille must have noticed Suimei’s knitted brow, and as if lifting away a veil, her countenance suddenly returned to normal. 

“It’s nothing. Please pay it no mind.” 

“You don’t say…” 

Surely Lefille had her own circumstances. While Suimei was pondering what those might be, he gave a simple, unconvinced reply to her insistence that nothing was wrong. She then began acting like she had something she wanted to say that was a little difficult for her to express. 

“Um…” 

“…?” 

Her voice was nowhere near as dignified as it usually was. She even looked embarrassed, like a young girl calling out to someone timidly. 

“Is something wrong?” 

“No, it’s… Um…” 

Lefille was acting very hesitant. When Suimei looked closely, he could see that she was lightly blushing. As Suimei tilted his head to the side and contemplated what could have possibly brought on this change, Lefille steeled and began speaking. 

“U-Um, I’m sorry about this morning. On top of bumping into you, you saw me in such a disgraceful state…” 

“Huh? Oh… Oh! No… I should also apologize for my carelessness. I should have been more careful coming around the corner.” 

“No, it was my fault for not paying attention to my surroundings. It certainly isn’t anything you should be troubled over. I’m sorry.” 

Lefille shook her head as she apologized once more. Suimei decided to ask her more about it. 

“Um, did something happen?” 

“That’s… Sorry.” 

“No, I should be the one apologizing for asking you something so impolite. Please forget about it.” 

“W-Well then… I’m going to go introduce myself to the organizer of the trade corps.” 

Perhaps she wasn’t able to take the awkward tension anymore. Without waiting for a reply from Suimei, Lefille hurried off to where Gallio was. 

Within an hour of Suimei and Lefille successfully meeting up with the group, the trade corps departed from the outskirts of Metel without any trouble. It was a promising start to Suimei’s journey. He wanted nothing more than for the rest of the trip to continue this way. Suimei’s job was to escort the trade corps all the way to Kurant City. According to his investigations beforehand, there was a good bit of ground to cover before they would reach their destination. 

The distance between Metel and Kurant could be traveled in several days. In terms of the Gregorian calendar Suimei knew, it would take about a week. Metel was situated just west of the country’s midland, while Kurant lay toward the western border. All things considered, one week was actually a fairly short trip between two cities in a country of this size. But for a modern boy like Suimei, having to walk from nearly dawn to dusk was like a light punishment. As for his position in the formation, Suimei had been placed at the rear of the trade corps. 

For the purpose of strengthening the forward guard, veteran guild members and trusted mercenaries of other affiliations had taken charge of the front. The other escorts who had accepted the commission, including Suimei, were put in charge of surrounding the cargo to protect it. 

Lefille was also part of this group and was walking beside Suimei. Despite the awkward atmosphere from their earlier interaction, nothing was strange between them. While keeping tabs on the wagons and their surroundings, they would talk to each other and engage in idle conversation to pass the time. Since they were comrades on this job, they naturally opened their hearts to each other a little. Even now as a pleasant wind began to blow over the plain, they were still talking. 

“…So what about the Goddess Alshuna?” 

“The Church of Salvation teaches that she is the being who formed the heavens and earth that we live on. In all the world, there isn’t anything that surpasses her. To those who study the mystical arts, there is no higher existence.” 

“I see…” 

Suimei was putting together his thoughts while listening to Lefille’s explanation. Currently, Suimei was in the middle of a receiving a lesson from Lefille about the Goddess Alshuna. Suimei knew that Lefille was someone who frequented the church and took this opportunity to learn the fundamentals of the local religion, but… 

That means the majority of the people of this world see the Goddess Alshuna as a supreme being. It’s a monotheistic culture… 

As it was explained to him, the Goddess Alshuna was the only deity who was worshiped worldwide. The transformation of the world from pure chaos to its current state was attributed to her divine intervention. The only other existence on her level would be the evil god worshiped by the demons, but it seemed the Church of Salvation didn’t recognize their god. 

“Even different races like the elves, dwarves, therianthropes, and dragonnewts all acknowledge the Goddess Alshuna.” 

“Oh, of course! There are those kinds of demi-humans around, aren’t there?” 

“That’s right, but… were there none where you came from?” 

“No, I’m afraid not. I’ve only heard about them, and nothing more than that.” 

He was glossing over the details, but Suimei wasn’t exactly lying. Races like that were extremely common in fantasy settings, so he knew what they were based on context. But even so, Suimei hadn’t seen a single one in Metel. 

“Then I guess you’re in for a surprise once you reach Nelferia. It’s quite diverse there. There won’t be many elves or dragonnewts, but I hear that therianthropes are fairly common… We’ve gone a bit off topic, but did you have anything else you were curious about with regards to Alshuna?” 

“No, that’s enough for now. Thank you very much. It was quite educational.” 

“You’re quite welcome. It was nothing, really. But if I may ask, does the Goddess not exist in the eastern lands?” 

“Hahaha, you could say that…” 

Suimei ended up giving a vague answer. Lefille had specifically asked whether or not the Goddess “existed” where he was from. Much the same way the people in this world thought of the Elements as literal powers they could beseech, they regarded their Goddess as an unambiguous entity. Not only were they quite sure she existed, they thought of her in a very anthropomorphic, rather concrete way. 

Lefille had fallen silent as Suimei was digesting his thoughts on religion. When he turned to look at her as she walked beside him, he conspicuously took note of what she was carrying. She was wearing the same light armor as when he first met her in addition to a reasonably-sized backpack that wouldn’t be unwieldy for a girl of her stature. But on her back, she was carrying something rather curious and eye-catching. 

“What’s the matter, Suimei-kun?” 

“Nothing much. I was just thinking that the object on your back is quite large.” 

“Ah, this?” 

Lefille turned her head and looked over her shoulder at her back. Strapped to it was something large and wrapped in cloth. Suimei and Lefille were around the same height, but this object was easily bigger than either of them. Looking at its shape, it was likely… 

“It’s caught my interest for quite a while now, but would that perhaps be a sword?” 

“Yeah, that’s exactly it.” 

Lefille gave a nod. Just as Suimei had guessed, the huge object was in fact a sword—one massive enough that it looked as though it had been forged to cleave a grizzly bear in two. Calling it a great sword was an understatement. However, what Suimei found more astonishing was the fact that Lefille had been carrying something like that on her back all this time without showing any signs of fatigue. There wasn’t so much as a single drop of sweat on her face. Her strength was simply astonishing to him. She also used a fairly thin sword, but this made it quite clear she was capable of much, much more. How this was possible with her slim figure was a complete mystery to Suimei, even with the eyes of a magician. 

“So, why did you choose that as your weapon?” 

“This is something that has been passed down in my family from generation to generation. After its previous owner, my father, stepped down, I inherited it.” 

“Then at first you used something else?” 

“No.” 

If she had inherited it from her father, that would suggest it hadn’t always been in her possession. Yet Lefille claimed that wasn’t the case. She gripped an imaginary sword in front of her and acted as if she were swinging it. 

“It was drilled into me even as a child. From the very beginning, I only ever trained to use a large sword.” 

“In that case, you must have quite some confidence in wielding that thing.” 

“Heh… It’s because of that that my only redeeming feature is my talent with a blade.” 

“I think it’s amazing. I also have some experience with swords, but even if I had the physical strength for it, I wouldn’t have the confidence to wield something like that.” 

Lefille gave a self-deprecating smile as Suimei put his admiration into words. Swords weren’t something someone could use with strength alone. Certainly, all swinging and striking at something took was brute force. But when it came to actual combat ability, that was a completely different game. 

On top of the strength needed to just hold the sword, wielding one required precise control of the user’s entire body. For Suimei, who was primarily a magician, that kind of feat was impossible. Lefille must have dedicated her life to learning how to use something of that size and weight to take it on as her weapon of choice. Perhaps that is why she spoke about it the way she did. 

“It’s nothing. With enough practice, anybody could use one to split something like an ogre clean in two.” 

Suimei was sure that he misheard her. In fact, he was going to pretend like he’d never heard her say something like that so casually. There was no way anyone could split a fortress-smashing giant in two with just practice. That claim blew the humility she had shown when she attributed the victory over the ogre to her companions earlier clean out of the water. 

If it was true, she must have seriously been holding back during her guild evaluation. With that kind of skill, she would be a match even for the sword masters from Suimei’s world. Frankly, she was dangerous. While Suimei was thinking such rude things in secret, Lefille would be the one to pose him a question this time. 

“Did you have anything drilled into you as a child, Suimei-kun?” 

“I didn’t hear that, I didn’t hear that… Huh?” 

“Suimei-kun? What’s wrong?” 

“Huh? Oh, uh, hrm… For me, well, you know, it was this.” 

Finally catching on to the change in topic, Suimei made a gesture to answer her. In a rather obvious way, he gathered dense mana into the palm of his hand. Lefille replied as she came to understand his meaning. 

“Magic, right? You’re a mage, after all. I should have known that…” 

“Yeah, but at first, it was all utterly incomprehensible. Family and all…” 

“It was… incomprehensible?” 

Suimei briefly paused to contemplate his answer before replying with a troubled laugh. 

“Yeah. When you were taught swordsmanship that had been passed down for generations, Grakis-san, what was it like for you?” 

“Hmm… Well, it was something with quite a long history, as you said. I was frequently lectured at length about why it was important for me to learn it and carry that on. So much so that it made my ears bleed.” 

Heritage and strict discipline as a means of passing down instructions was something quite common in the history of swordsmanship. But not everything worked like that. Suimei recalled when he first started down the path to magicka. When he was just a small child, his father had led him to the single room in the house with a locked door. And then… 

“My father didn’t talk much, so I did not get anything like that. ‘You must memorize this,’ was all he had said to me in the beginning. That was how it started…” 

“Without any reason?” 

“Well, there was more or less a reason. But that reason wasn’t something that a child could understand. And my father had no intention of talking about it, either. It was considerably later that I would actually hear what it was.” 

As he talked about it, Suimei’s mind naturally drifted to recalling that day. The day he came to learn the reason as he progressed through his life as a magician. If it hadn’t been for that day, his father would have carried the truth with him all the way to his grave. Thinking about it now, perhaps it was just that teaching him magicka was all his father felt like he could do for him as a parent. Knowing that clumsy man of a father, it was entirely possible. 

“And you were alright with that?” 

“Yeah. Learning magicka was interesting, after all. I never hated it. But, well, thanks to that, my life was soon overflowing with all sorts of hardship.” 

“Is that so?” 

As Suimei glanced over at Lefille, it seemed that something he said had amused her greatly. She was stifling a laugh. 

“…Is something the matter?” 

“No, I was just thinking that it’s a pleasant surprise to meet someone so similar to myself.” 

“I can agree with that if you mean we’re both wise to the world.” 

“Wise to the world, huh?” 

Lefille gave a nod as Suimei hit the mark. On her path as a swordswoman, surely she’d faced her own share of hardship. Lefille then seemed to recall something in particular, and then spoke up again. 

“That reminds me, Suimei-kun… In the end, what rank did you get?” 

“Oh, that? They settled it at D-rank.” 

“D…? Why? I faced those same men one after the other and received a conditional B-rank. After taking them both on at the same time, how could you be a D-rank?” 

“Well, the thing is…” 

Before Suimei could finish, Lefille seemed to come to her own conclusion. She narrowed her eyes and a chilling voice came from her ever-smiling lips. 

“I see. Even a large guild that operates all over the world is subject to that kind of negligence. Hmph. To think that they would manipulate information just to protect their own honor…” 

“Wha…?” 

“Isn’t that it? That’s the only thing I could think of that would explain it.” 

“No, well, I guess it is possible to interpret it that way… But, well, it wasn’t really…” 

“No, I cannot accept that. Let’s protest at the branch office in Kurant City. Don’t worry, I will go with you. If the receptionist tries to brush you away, I’ll testify as a witness and have them redo your rank evaluation.” 

Lefille sounded quite serious, and was getting carried away with herself. It was entirely somebody else’s problem, yet she was willing to go that far. She certainly seemed restless when she felt an injustice had been done. She was acting like she intended to take action as soon as they arrived in town, but to Suimei, it was unnecessary. 

“Ummmm, actually… The reason was because I requested a D-rank after the match. I had them lower the rank myself.” 

“Lower it? Why would you do that?” 

“Dorothea said that I would become famous, so I was a little hesitant.” 

“That’s… Are you sure? In Kurant City and Nelferia, wouldn’t a higher rank be more convenient? There’s not actually a single advantage to having a lower rank, is there?” 

“I don’t plan on living so dangerously that I’ll be relying on the Twilight Pavilion for my income, so it’s fine.” 

“…Then what do you plan on doing in Kurant City and Nelferia?” 

“Well, I plan on gathering all sorts of information.” 

“Information?” 

“Since I come from the east, there is still a lot I do not know about. I was thinking of studying.” 

“…” 

“Is that not a good enough reason?” 

As Suimei gave a completely harmless reason for his action, Lefille went silent. Her clear eyes were looking at him as if she could see through him. It was like she was analyzing the difference between what he said and what was showing on his face. 

“Is something the matter?” 

“I was thinking that what you said just now was a lie… No, that’s not quite right. It wasn’t a lie, but you also weren’t speaking the truth.” 

“…Why do you think that?” 

“Woman’s intuition.” 

“Well, if that isn’t shady…” 

“Heh, that was just a joke. Even so, I’ve always had an eye for judging people. It’s reached the point that I’m able to see through the words of others to a certain extent.” 

Lefille started with a boast, and leaned in emphatically towards Suimei to make her conclusion. 

“I don’t want to think that you’re lying, but you do seem like the type that’s hiding some kind of secret. I get the feeling that’s what’s really going on.” 

“Perhaps.” 

Faced with Lefille’s keen insight, Suimei shrugged his shoulders and mustered a vague answer. Just the fact that he had a secret wasn’t something he would stubbornly deny. But then Lefille backed off a bit like she felt she might have overstepped her bounds. 

“Well, while that may be true, I don’t really have the right to say anything. I sort of jumped on you, immediately willing to hold you and the guild to my standards for the rankings. Sorry about that.” 

“No, please don’t worry about it. I’m sorry for making you worry about me.” 

Suimei returned with an apology of his own. Lefille then suddenly put on a grave expression as she had remembered something. 

“That’s it…” 

“…?” 

Suimei didn’t understand what she was talking about. He worried momentarily that he might have said something to offend her. Reflecting on his actions, Lefille started talking to him as if he were a troublesome person. 

“No, I’ve been thinking this for a while now, but I feel the way you talk is a little too reserved.” 

“Is that so?” 

“It is. I’m only a year or two older than you, and we’re also companions in arms now. Wouldn’t it be alright to speak a little more casually? Exchanging information between the two of us would go much more smoothly that way. And when you call me by my name, Lefille is fine.” 

Suimei certainly thought she had a point there. He almost felt like he was getting scolded by one of his upperclassmen for being too formal. And thinking back on it, he and Lefille had spent enough time chatting together that it did seem more appropriate to be casual with her. 

“In that case… Are you really sure? Lefille?” 

“Yes, much better. You almost give off a bad boy impression, so speaking freely suits you.” 

“Wow, the moment I drop the niceties, you sure got mean, huh?” 

“That’s not true. That was a compliment.” 

“Don’t think you can trick me like that. I’ve never heard anyone use ‘bad boy’ as a compliment.” 

“Heehee…” 

Seemingly finding their laidback conversation enjoyable, Lefille started laughing. Since Suimei had dropped all pretense, she felt no need to hold back either. It seemed as though this was how she’d wanted to talk with him all along. And as they continued their newly carefree chat, someone called out from the front of the convoy. 

“Oh, time for a break?” 

“Yeah, around the watering hole over there.” 

Lefille let her eyes wander towards it for an instant. Off to the side of the highway in the plains was a simple maintained area. It was something of an unmanned way station that had been established along the road between cities, and was left up to the care of the people who stopped to use it. It seemed this kind of thing was common in this world. When the trade corps spotted it, they immediately turned off the road and headed for it. Reaching the spot with freshly flowing, clear spring water, the convoy began to unload to take a break. 

“…Hmm?” 

As Suimei and Lefille began to do the same, they realized that someone was calling out to them from a distance. Just on the other side of the spring was a girl wearing a robe waving at them. She was surrounded by what appeared to be her companions. From the looks of it, the girl was a mage and she had a warrior, a swordsman, and an archer in her company. It was a pretty standard party configuration in terms of balance. But apart from that, Suimei didn’t recognize any of them and cocked his head to the side. 

“Those are the people who defeated the ogre with me.” 

“Ah, your group.” 

Suimei nodded at Lefille’s brief explanation. These were fellow guild members from the Twilight Pavilion that had taken the emergency commission with Lefille. 

“It was a pleasant experience. It was only for a little while, but we got along well and made a good team.” 

As Lefille explained further, the girl on the other side of the spring put both her hands to her mouth like a megaphone. But even then, they still couldn’t actually hear her voice when she yelled. From her gestures, however, it seemed that the group was beckoning Lefille over. 

“It looks like they want you to join them.” 

“Seems like it. Do you want to come along?” 

“No, I’ll pass.” 

“Okay, then I’ll see you later.” 

With those parting words, Lefille headed over to the girl and her group. It wasn’t long before they were in the midst of a lively conversation and Suimei could see her smiling face. 

“Companions, huh…?” 

Suimei muttered to himself. To be honest, he was somewhat envious. But he shook it off immediately. This wasn’t the time to be harboring feelings like that. 

“I wonder how Reiji and the others are doing now…” 

Suimei’s mind turned to his friends as his longing gaze turned upward, threatening to pierce through the sky. 

Just how long had this fight been going on? As the light reflecting off of his sword vanished, Shana Reiji lunged straight towards his enemy. His enemy spied the fierce incoming charge and let out a bizarre scream. Reiji responded with a straightforward slash from top to bottom. Having drawn out the full herculean strength of the divine blessing he received from the hero summoning, it was a slash like a flash of lightning. 

And all that stood in the way of his strike were nails. They were frighteningly huge compared to a human’s nails. They were more like claws, pitch black as if they’d been dipped into the pitch black of the abyss. Reiji’s blade struck them, and they struck back. The sound of the collision between sword and claws rang through the air as they struggled against each other. 

“?????!” 

The enemy’s bizarre scream assaulted Reiji’s ears violently. Despite being able to speak the language of humans, when their true nature was revealed, they reverted right back to that inhuman tongue. While suffering the grating assault on his ears, five nails came at Reiji from his undefended right side. 

Reiji dropped down to evade the attack. It was a wild swing made as if it had been trying to swipe away a detestable insect. There was no real aim to it, and no chance it would hit. Seeing the perfect opportunity, Reiji defied gravity with an upward slash of his dual-edged sword. It was a masterful strike that hurled a great gust of wind with it, but the enemy’s natural reflexes enabled it to get away with only a glancing blow. 

“O-Oh Flames! Stain Scarlet!” 

Immediately following his attack, a friendly but slightly faltering voice came from behind Reiji. It was Mizuki. She intended to cover for him. The spell she fired was low-level fire magic, a scarlet baptism. When it was invoked with its simple two-keyword phrase, a band of air in the sky began to burn and painted everything red. Without waiting for the air to burst into flames, Reiji looked behind him and leaped backwards. 

In the next instant, as if toying with its target, the flame dove towards the enemy while continuously changing its shape. The flame grew more vigorous as it honed in on its target. Fire is often compared to a living being, and right now, it was exactly like a beast chasing its prey with all its might. 

“I did it!” 

Reiji could hear Mizuki rejoicing behind him, but the enemy before him wasn’t dead yet. Looking closely, he could see its shadow faintly wriggling through the flames. As Reiji readjusted his stance and brought his sword to the ready, the magic flames began to disperse. The enemy swiped away the last of them with its arm. It was now standing atop the embers left behind with its arm hanging out to its side. 

It stood tall and proud in the heated haze. This was the last remaining enemy still standing over the battle-torn ground scattered with bodies. Reiji did not know whether it challenged him knowing he was the hero or not, but he knew for certain that this thing was his enemy. What stood before him wasn’t human. No, far from it. It may have had a similar shape and figure, but this beast was the very definition of inhuman—a demon. It even resembled the demons straight out of children’s storybooks. 

Within moments, the demon began moving again. Leaving behind a cloud of dust behind it, it accelerated towards Reiji. It was fast. Its speed now could hardly be compared to the way it had been moving before. Reiji could distinctly envision himself being torn limb from limb. With its current speed and strength, it was certain to flick Reiji’s sword away and strike at him. Thus… 

“Burn Boost…” 

He spread his mana through his body and called forth the elemental power of fire. This was the magic that Reiji used the most. Fire became power the instant he coldly spoke the keywords. It was a reinforcement spell. Flames wrapped around his body and granted him strength. And then, with an overflowing sensation of omnipotence, Reiji shot a piercing glare at his opponent. 

“??????!” 

All of a sudden, the demon charging towards Reiji gasped and went pale. Up until that moment, it truly believed that it was about to grasp victory. Sadly for it, however, it had misread the situation. It had overlooked the possibility that Reiji could use reinforcement magic, and that mistake would prove fatal. 

“RAAAAAH!” 

It paid dearly for its negligence. Letting out a surging war cry which drowned out the demon’s bizarre scream, Reiji reaped the charging demon’s head from its neck with his newly activated power. 

The lingering flames kicked up a small amount of sand from the ground as they dispersed and vanished. And then, after confirming that there wasn’t a shadow of an enemy left in their surroundings, Reiji let out a sigh. 

“Phew… We somehow managed today.” 

A few days before Suimei departed from Metel, Reiji and company were on their way west to the self-governed state of the Saadias Alliance. This was the first stop on their journey to defeat the Demon Lord. At a glance, this destination didn’t seem to have any relation to the subjugation, but there was a good reason for stopping in. 

The hero’s job wasn’t solely to defeat the Demon Lord. It was also necessary to defeat the monsters born from the influence of the demons’ prosperity. Another important role was to visit neighboring countries that were being oppressed by the demon invasion and boost the morale of the people there. Finally, as Reiji was not yet fully accustomed to fighting, it was important for him to accumulate as much combat experience as possible and prepare for the grand battle that was sure to come. And right in the middle of their detour to meet these goals, they were suddenly attacked by demons. That’s what had brought them to the present fight. 

Drinking in the blood of the demon, an orichalcum sword gave off an ominous glow. It was the finest weapon in all the Kingdom of Astel, and after using it to deal the final blow, Reiji once more confirmed that all the demons were annihilated before running over to Mizuki. 

“Mizuki, are you alright?” 

Seeing her pale and breathing heavily, Reiji called out to her in a worried voice. Mizuki, who was still rattled by the lingering sensations of the battlefield, barely managed to squeeze out an answer. 

“Y-Yeah. Somehow. But…” 

“But?” 

“This was a battle, right? With a real enemy…” 

“Yeah.” 

Reiji answered Mizuki with a great weight in his voice. Before this, Reiji’s party had fought monsters on multiple occasions, but Mizuki hadn’t participated in any of the fighting. Based on the judgment of the knights accompanying them and Titania, they deemed it necessary for Mizuki to get somewhat accustomed to the scene of a battle first. This was why, up until now, she had only been looking on from the sidelines. It was a fact that Mizuki’s skill with magic was comparable to Titania’s and Reiji’s, but with the time it had taken her to acclimate herself to the very idea of battle, this was the first time she’d actually gotten a chance to use it in combat. 

“Mizuki. Like I thought, it’s better for you not to unreasonably…” 

“I know… But in the end, I can’t just stand by and watch. Sure it was my first fight and the demons were really scary, but since I’m coming along, I want to help everyone.” 

“Mizuki…” 

“I’ve said this a lot already, but… Yeah, you’re amazing, Reiji-kun. You looked totally calm even the first time you did this.” 

“No, that’s not true. Even I got scared during the first fight. Even though I’ve gotten a little used to it now, my heart still won’t stop pounding.” 

Reiji flashed a smile to try and lighten Mizuki’s mood. Even though he was telling her all this with the intent of consoling her, it was also the truth. Much like Mizuki, Reiji still couldn’t completely shake off the lingering sense of fear. Despite saying that he would go and defeat the Demon Lord, just fighting the Demon Lord’s regular soldiers left him on edge. It was far too late for such thoughts, but Reiji could now see how little thought he’d put into agreeing to this venture. 

Suimei… 

An image of his absent friend flashed through Reiji’s mind. It was the friend he’d parted ways with at the castle, Yakagi Suimei, that had told him undertaking all this was unreasonable. That there was no way they could do it. The very same friend that would shoot down his idealistic arguments one by one. Reiji finally realized just how right Suimei had been to say all those things. Compared to Reiji who attained power and thought himself almighty… No, it was precisely because Suimei hadn’t been granted any power that he was capable of seeing the situation objectively. 

When Reiji had agreed to this mission, he was swept away in optimism and idealism. His everyday life had suddenly become extraordinary. He had come to a fantasy world completely unlike the one he knew. So when the people earnestly implored him to save them, when they baselessly assured him that he was a hero and would be able to do it easily… Reiji had mistakenly believed them. He had made light of the gravity of the real situation. Only one word came to mind now: foolish. There was no other way Reiji could think of to describe his actions. 

Certainly it was possible for them to actually wipe out the demons depending on how things went. A plan had been put in place, after all. Yet even then, he couldn’t change or even deny the fact that he’d dragged one of his precious friends along—a girl, no less—just because of his stubborn ego. 

Sorry… 

Reiji hung his head down and looked over at Mizuki, who was still visibly breathing roughly. He had apologized to her more times than he could count already, and added one more to the tally in his heart. Really, he was simply deceiving himself by apologizing silently to the people around him over his guilty conscience. 

“Let’s go somewhere else…” 

“Yeah…” 

Mizuki nodded to Reiji’s suggestion, and they distanced themselves from the demon corpses that littered the battlefield. 

“Mizuki! Are you safe?!” 

A girl’s voice called out to them from ahead. It was their other companion, Titania. It seemed that she had also taken out her share of the demons. Accompanied by a knight in the prime of his life, she was headed towards the two of them. Mizuki then raised her face and forced as smile as she replied. 

“Yeah, I’m okay.” 

“Thank goodness… It seems that nothing serious happened.” 

“Reiji-kun was with me, after all.” 

After their short exchange, Mizuki and Titania shared a hug. With a stouthearted smile on one girl and a relieved smile on the other, the tension in the air finally seemed to dissipate. 

“Tia, thanks for your hard work.” 

“Thank you for your consideration, Reiji-sama.” 

“No… Ah, thanks for your hard work as well, Gregory-san.” 

Reiji turned towards the knight who had been accompanying Titania, Gregory. As usual, he replied with a very serious expression on his face. 

“I was merely doing my duty. All I did was provide support for Her Highness. Your gratitude is more than I deserve.” 

“That’s not true.” 

“No, I cannot possibly even compare to Her Highness…” 

Gregory deeply bowed his head. 

“What?! G-Gregory!” 

“Er, I, uh—Ahem! It was nothing. I only kept Her Highness safe.” 

When Titania raised her voice, Gregory for some reason corrected himself. 

“It’s fine as long as the two of you are safe… So, Tia, how did things go on your end?” 

“Yes, well, everything has been cleaned up. We didn’t let even a single demon escape.” 

“That’s our Tia. You’re so reliable.” 

“No, I’m… Compared to Reiji-sama’s strength, I still have a long way to go. Also…” 

“What’s wrong?” 

“The demons have killed all of our horses. My apologies.” 

“I see… I feel badly since they carried us all this way, but I’m happy as long as you’re all safe, Tia.” 

“Reiji-sama…” 

Titania seemed rather touched by Reiji’s words of encouragement. It was going to be difficult to proceed without their mounts, but even then, the fact that they hadn’t suffered a single human casualty was cause enough for Reiji to celebrate. But then a shaky voice spoke up from beside Reiji. 

“Even Tia is okay with fighting, huh…?” 

“Yes, I am more or less used to it. I have previous combat experience, after all.” 

“Even though you’re a princess…? Why do you have that kind of experience?” 

“Hueh?! Umm, that is…! That’s, umm…” 

“…?” 

Titania had suddenly gotten quite flustered and was clearly panicking. Mizuki and Reiji both cocked their heads to the side. They had no idea what had gotten her in a tizzy. It was the first time they had seen her like this. Eventually, she managed to calm herself down and cleared her throat. 

“Wh-When it was decided that I was to attend the summoned hero, it was determined that this sort of training was necessary to prepare for our current situation.” 

“Is that so…?” 

“Yes! That is exactly right!” 

Reiji slowly nodded. He came to realize that that was why she was so capable in a fight. Even in all their skirmishes with monsters up to this point, Titania had been quick on the draw. He had his doubts about a mage that was able to fight so hard, but he came to accept her explanation. Reiji turned to take a quick look at Mizuki. Somehow, she seemed far more frail. It was probably because her insecurity was showing on her face. She felt her friends with power were leaving her behind, but there was no helping that. Realizing how she must be feeling, Titania put on a smile and turned towards her as well. 

“Mizuki, there is no need to pay it any mind. At first I was the same—no, in my case, I was far worse.” 

“…Really?” 

“Yes. Until I fully adjusted to combat, I think I felt much the same way you do now. After my first fight, I dropped the sword in my hand and fell straight to my knees.” 

“Even though you fight so calmly?” 

“It is precisely because I have that kind of experience that I can do that now. For the sake of protecting everyone, I had to get stronger. Be confident in yourself, Mizuki. Things have only just begun. Let us go forth one step at a time.” 

“…Yeah. Thanks, Tia.” 

With Titania’s encouragement, Mizuki gave a confident nod. It seemed her anxieties were a thing of the past now. Reiji was standing to the side, smiling to see the two of them get along so well. If this was how things were going to be, he thought he could do it. He’d been torturing himself of the choices he’d made just moments ago, but after seeing these two girls show such courage, he was convinced that he’d made the right decision after all. Even though the mood had improved enough for Mizuki to finally relax, she suddenly frowned. 

“I wonder if Suimei-kun is alright…” 

“Suimei? If I remember correctly, he said he was going to leave the castle, but…” 

“Yeah, he wanted to leave the city… Right outside of it should be safe, but the highway and its surroundings can be quite dangerous. If he heads for another town and runs into monsters, let alone these demons…” 

“You’re right. Since he didn’t want to take part in the subjugation, I never dreamed he would leave the city on his own. But if he were to leave the city walls and have an encounter with a monster… With no combat training, Suimei would probably be helpless…” 

It was just as Titania hypothesized. Suimei hadn’t received any divine protection from the hero summoning. Reiji understood why the girls would be worried, but he didn’t agree with them. 

“No, if it’s Suimei we’re talking about, I’m sure he’ll be alright.” 

“Truly…? What makes you say that, Reiji-sama?” 

“Mark my words. Suimei knows his way around a sword, after all. Even if something attacks him, he should be able to handle it skillfully.” 

“Wha—Suimei knows swordsmanship?!” 

As Reiji nodded to confirm, the two girls exchanged glances. Contrary to Reiji’s expectations, Mizuki didn’t seem to know about this either. When Titania looked at her, she shook her head in return. Mizuki then furrowed her brow and turned to Reiji. 

“But Reiji-kun, Suimei-kun wasn’t part of the kendo club or anything… He traveled abroad a lot so he said being part of a club would be impossible, right?” 

“Suimei didn’t train with the club at school. He went to a dojo in his neighborhood.” 

“Was… Was there even a kendo dojo in his neighborhood?” 

“Yeah, the one that teaches self-defense.” 

While Mizuki was trying to recall the layout of Suimei’s neighborhood, Reiji tried to jog her memory. When she seemed to recall the place he was talking about, she cocked her head to the side. 

“That place? The one which teaches women’s self-defense classes? It’s certainly famous in the neighborhood, but it isn’t a kendo dojo right?” 

“Well, yeah, the self-defense stuff is all they advertise. But originally it was a dojo for ancient martial arts. Apparently they teach all sorts of things to certain students.” 

“Really?! It was that kinda place?!” 

“Yeah. That’s what Suimei said.” 

“You’re kidding… Even though I’ve been there with the girls from class… On top of that, ancient martial arts…” 

Mizuki was greatly surprised by this news. Perhaps it was even more surprising because she had attended the very dojo in question herself before. That seemed to satisfy her for the moment, but Titania still had questions. 

“So from what I’m gathering, Suimei attended a martial arts school?” 

“Just what was typical for our world. It doesn’t compare to the martial arts people do here. But yeah, Suimei is a swordsman.” 

“Is that so? At a glance, he seemed like the type who knew nothing of the sort.” 

“Yeah, you’d never guess it looking at him, but he’s actually pretty skilled. From what I hear, anyway.” 

“Truly?” 

“Like I said, just by the standards of our world…” 

“My goodness, to think I would misread someone like that…” 

“What’s that?” 

“O-Oh, nothing. Ohohohohoho…” 

Titania forced an unnatural laugh like she was trying to hide something. Reiji had no clue what she was thinking. While he was looking at her curiously, Titania suddenly put on a serious expression. 

“H-However, Reiji-sama, even if that is the case, I do not think that’s sufficient cause to assume he has the ability to escape trouble.” 

“That’s true, but?” 

It was just as Titania said. Reiji knew well enough that there was no real connection between just knowing how to use a sword and staying safe. It was also true that Suimei had no experience fighting monsters. But even then, Reiji wasn’t convinced that Suimei would be in any real danger. 

“Suimei… Despite his appearance, he’s quite cunning. Once in a while, he’ll do something thoughtless that defies all logic, but he’s fundamentally a cautious person.” 

“Even if he encountered a monster, you think he would stay composed? It is often said that just one leer from a monster is enough to freeze most people in place.” 

“Yeah. And I know it sounds crazy, but I think Suimei would probably take it in stride.” 

“Is that so…?” 

Titania didn’t seem convinced as she scrunched up her face in skepticism. It was likely just emblematic of how familiar the people of this world were with danger. Reiji, however, knew that Suimei had an unexpected personality fairly devoid of cowardice. In the past, when they had been surrounded by delinquents or gangsters, he only ever said things like, “That’s all you’ve got?” He was practically fearless. Even when fighting, he never failed to have the same bored expression on his face. 

“Well, that’s why I’m not particularly worried.” 

“If you say so, Reiji-sama…” 

Titania gave up on arguing and decided to believe in what Reiji was saying. As the conversation wound down, Mizuki suddenly thought of something and turned towards him. 

“Hey, Reiji-kun, does Suimei-kun say things like ‘I am a something-or-other style swordsman, Yakagi Suimei?’ Can he use some amazing kenjutsu or something?” 

“Huh? No matter how you look at it, that’s a little… Wait, Mizuki…!” 

“Awwww, what the heck? Suimei-kun is totally chuunibyou, isn’t he?! Hiding his true identity and going to some ancient martial arts school, that’s just… It’s unfair! Unfair, unfair, unfair! Super unfair!” 

“Ahaha…” 

Now that she was starting to get angry, Mizuki couldn’t even hear Reiji. She seemed far more upset that Suimei knew an ancient martial art than the fact that he’d hidden it. 

“But it’s not like Suimei ever said chuuni stuff like you did. I don’t think you can really call him a chuunibyou… Oops.” 

Reiji stopped himself as he realized he had just spoken the taboo word. It was too late to turn back. As he turned slowly towards Mizuki, she was staring him down with a strange smile on her face. 

“Oh, Reiji-kuuun…” 

“S-S-Sorry! I just…!” 

“You promised! You’re not allowed to forget! Absolutely! It’s A-B-S-O-L-U-T-E!” 

“R-Right!” 

Reiji had promised to never speak of Mizuki’s sealed past. It was her secret garden, though Reiji didn’t actually know what she meant when she said that. Titania then cutely put her finger on her mouth and tilted her head to the side. 

“Mizuki, what is this ‘chuunibyou?’” 

“Huh?! Um, that’s…” 

“What is it? Could it be that it’s some kind of horrible illness?” 

“Uhhhhh, yeah! Yes! That’s right! Chuunibyou is a sickness from our world that infects the majority of children in their early teens. Even if they are cured afterwards, there are dreadful after-effects that scar them for life! It’s a truly terrible disease!” 

Mizuki stammered through a reply to Titania’s question. While waving both of her hands in front of her wildly, she tried her best to fib her way out of this. It was painfully obvious that her flustered actions were intended to misdirect Titania. In a way, she was getting her just deserts. But nevertheless, it seemed Titania would let it go. Her expression then turned grim. 

“Setting that aside, about the demons just now…” 

“Y-Yeah… Now that you mention it, why did they appear in a place like this?” 

“The demons, huh?” 

“Yes…” 

Titania nodded. Just like Mizuki had guessed, the sudden attack from the demons was what was on her mind. Recalling the fight they’d just had, Mizuki started to look anxious again. Reiji then stated his own opinion on the matter. 

“The demons are pushing into the Nelferian Empire… Is that a possibility?” 

“I-Is that what it is…?” 

“I think so. If you think about it, it’s the most likely scenario. If the demons are out here, that’s the only real possibility, isn’t it?” 

As Reiji explained his theory, Mizuki’s expression reflexively stiffened up. She still wasn’t accustomed to battle, yet they were thrust into a situation where another battle with demons was very likely on the horizon. On top of that, the demons were extremely powerful. If they were just monsters, the magic that Mizuki had used earlier would have been enough to defeat them. And there were even stronger demons that could survive her fire unharmed. The very last of the demons they’d defeated today had demonstrated that. However, Titania raised an objection to Reiji’s conjecture. 

“No, I do not believe that is yet the case.” 

“Why’s that, Tia?” 

“Well, as you said, Reiji-sama, this is the Empire’s territory. If there are demons appearing here, then it’s only rational to assume they’ve begun their invasion here. But in reality, after the demons took down Noshias, they have yet to make any large movements. To get this far, there are still two countries and a mountain range to pass through. And if they took the long way around, they would have to pass through the Saadias Alliance to reach this point. No matter how you look at it, that sort of reckless forced march is simply out of the question even for the demons.” 

“That’s true… Even if they forcefully marched this far, it would only isolate their troops, right?” 

“Exactly. To have their army advance this far without first bringing down the two countries in between would have no real advantage for the demons.” 

“I see.” 

Just as Titania had said, even if the army had made a move to come out this far, they simply would have isolated themselves. Anyone moving a large number of troops would know that it was necessary to establish garrisons and a protected supply line. A route would be necessary to safely replenish troops on the front line. That was the only way to move an invasion forward steadily. 

“But there are still demons here. So even if the army hasn’t made it this far, certain individuals or groups have.” 

“That’s true too, Reiji-sama. That is the problem at hand…” 

“What do you think of the situation, Gregory-san?” 

“My humblest apologies, but I could not even begin to fathom the thought process of demons.” 

“Was there anything at all that you noticed? Even the most trivial thing could be helpful.” 

“Hero-dono… More importantly, I believe it is vital that we quickly distance ourselves from this place.” 

Gregory’s sudden proposal to evacuate put Reiji on edge as he considered the implication behind his words. 

“By that, do you mean there are demons nearby?” 

“N-No, I don’t believe that’s the case…” 

Reiji wasn’t sure why Gregory would suggest a retreat if demons were not nearby. The discrepancy between the situation and his words left Reiji with an uncomfortable feeling. On top of that, Gregory, who had denied the possibility of more demons, was acting awkwardly. Normally such a suggestion would only come after sensing danger nearby, but he had claimed that wasn’t the case here. Titania then turned towards Gregory. 

“Gregory, I also believe that we should head for a safe location. However, it is more important for us right now to get a better grasp of what the demons are planning. If we move around without such considerations, it may lead to even more danger.” 

“Yes, Your Highness.” 

Gregory bowed apologetically to Titania, but Reiji was still pondering his odd behavior. He sounded like he was trying to drive them onward in a hurry. But putting that aside for now, Reiji spoke of another possibility to Titania. 

“Tia, is there any chance of demons that aren’t from the north?” 

“No, I don’t believe so. All of the world’s demons were driven north by the power of a previously summoned hero. They shouldn’t be occupying any other territories.” 

Reiji was stumped. No matter how much they puzzled over this, no answers were coming of it. The discussion, however, was interrupted by the sound of a galloping horse and a voice calling out to them from afar. 

“R-Reiji-sama!” 

The voice belonged to someone much like Gregory—a young knight who had come to support them on their journey. The knights were occasionally tasked with separating from the group and acting as messengers to keep in contact with the castle. Gregory had been the one to go last time, and the duty most recently had fallen on this young knight who now approached on horseback and dismounted when he reached the princess and the others. 

“Roffrey-san.” 

“I have returned, Reiji-sama.” 

“Hail, Roffrey. Are you in good health?” 

As Titania casually asked about his well-being, Roffrey stood dumbfounded for an instant, and then immediately began panicking. 

“A-A-A single knight such as I does not deserve the consideration of the princess?” 

“Ahem, Roffrey…” 

“Yes, Your Highness! No, more importantly over there…” 

As Gregory let a cough and called out to him, Roffrey jumped in place and was now flustered for an entirely different reason. His soaring heart had been brought quite rudely back down to earth. Seeing Roffery observe their surroundings with a puzzled expression, Reiji decided to explain. 

“Ah, so you noticed. Just a moment ago, they attacked us and we struck them down.” 

“All of those?!” 

“Yeah.” 

“As expected! Reiji-sama…! Ah, no, not that!” 

Roffrey showed no signs of calming down anytime soon, so Gregory spoke to move him along. 

“What is the matter, Roffrey? You have been quite agitated all this time. Also, what happened to Luka? She went with you to the castle, so why has she not returned with you?” 

“Yes, allow me to explain.” 

Roffrey took a brief pause, and then began telling the group what had transpired. 

“It’s a little abrupt, but we must distance ourselves from here as quickly as possible.” 

“Why is that?” 

“A large force of demons seem to have passed through the territories of Thoria and Shaddock and broken through Astel’s northern border.” 

Roffrey delivered the astonishing news with a serious expression. Thoria and Shaddock were countries situated to the north of Nelferia and Astel. Titania went as white as a sheet at this sudden news and raised her voice. 

“Is this true, Roffrey?!” 

“Y-Yes, Your Highness. This was a report from the castle, so it’s probably…” 

Titania drew closer to Roffrey as she questioned him. Completely overwhelmed by her intensity, Roffrey gave only a weak reply. Reiji then picked up on the phrasing of his words a moment ago. 

“Roffrey-san, what did you mean by ‘seem to have?’” 

“That’s… The report came from the night guard at the border who found evidence of what seemed like a demon force by coincidence. I also do not know all the details…” 

“Well, what is this evidence?” 

“Yes, they found footprints belonging to no man or known monster, as well as traces of mana.” 

“Roffrey, did anybody actually see any demons?” 

“No, it seems that they are not moving openly. There are no reports of witnesses or attacks.” 

“…How could that be? If there are demons, you’d normally think that they would be spreading havoc, right?” 

Everyone nodded at Mizuki’s observant statement. Demons viewed humans with intense hostility, and they were the type to always act according to those instincts. If they were passing through borders, surely their goal was to cause chaos. Even if they had some other objective in mind, the fact that they were moving as a large army wouldn’t stop that. In fact, larger numbers were ideal for stirring up maximum chaos and bloodshed. 

“If that’s not the case this time, then our information is too lacking or its authenticity isn’t credible…” 

“What if the ones that attacked here are the ones who broke through the border?” 

Roffrey made the connection between the report and the recent attack. More specifically, that the demons were likely a single part of the larger force. Gregory then steered the conversation towards a previous topic. 

“So what about Luka?” 

“Yes, to make sure the message was safely delivered, she headed to Kurant City. She will rendezvous with us after a day in the neighboring empire.” 

Gregory gave a brief nod of acknowledgment at Roffrey’s report. Titania then made a grim expression and spoke. 

“This has gotten quite ugly…” 

“You mean that our movements have been exposed to the demons? Normally that kind of thing should be impossible, right? But if something strange has happened…” 

The sudden demon attack seemed too much like a coincidence. Even if they had known of the hero summoning and pressed forward to attack, the number of demons present was far too scant to actually defeat a hero. Pondering just what could be afoot, Reiji closed his eyes. 

“Is it possible that the demons know that a hero has been summoned, but have not yet grasped any of the finer details? Perhaps the ones just now were more of a reconnaissance force…” 

“I see. So they were in the middle of searching for opponents who might be the hero?” 

If it became known that a large group of demons was roaming the land, it would be harder for them to find what they were looking for. So to prevent that, they were scouting in smaller groups. Mizuki and Titania were both taken aback by this conclusion. 

But… 

Reiji figured if that was the case, there would be at least one among the band of them who could communicate with the main force. No one they’d fought seemed to fit that role, but it was too soon to come to any conclusions. Even if their location hadn’t been exposed, this was still a serious situation. As Reiji was coming to this conclusion in his mind, Mizuki spoke up. 

“If they’re nearby, that’s bad news. All the horses except for Roffrey’s were killed by the demons…” 

“Yeah. In the worst case scenario, we won’t even be able to run. We’d be forced to face them.” 

“Roffrey, was there any conjecture as to the real scale of the demon force?” 

“It was likely over a thousand…” 

“A thou….” 

“That’s…” 

Mizuki and Reiji were both left speechless at that estimate. It was definitely not a number that they would be able to take on themselves. Even taking out a smaller squad just now had cost them quite a bit of time. And now a thousand? As Reiji imagined the scene of such numbers coming at them all at once, he recalled Suimei’s words. Mizuki then raised her voice with a flustered expression. 

“I-In that case, we should quickly get away from here!” 

“No, Mizuki-sama. It’s not a good idea for us to run away recklessly. The only horse we have is the one I brought back. Instead, we should decide on a route and make sure to keep water and food in mind…” 

Roffrey returned a very reasonable proposal to Mizuki, who had begun panicking. Everyone nodded in agreement. Titania, then turned to question Gregory, who hadn’t made any contributions this entire conversation. 

“Gregory, what do you think we should do?” 

However, Gregory did not answer. Everyone’s eyes fell upon him. Reiji could hear him quietly mumbling to himself. 

“It should be a suitable time now…” 

“Gregory?” 

“Yes, Hero-dono. I don’t believe there’s any reason to be worried.” 

Gregory said those last words with a bitter expression on his face. It was the first sign of the storm brewing along Reiji’s journey.