Isekai Mahou wa Okureteru! (LN) - Volume 6 - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The New Enemies 

The battle in the northern part of the Alliance came to an end when the demons, at least temporarily, retreated. The various countries of the Alliance each suffered considerable casualties in the fighting, and so the human forces also temporarily pulled back to reorganize themselves. So, in the end, the overall result of the battle was concluded to be a draw. 

Upon hearing that the demons had ultimately been—rather unexpectedly—targeting Hatsumi specifically, the king of Miazen requested Hatsumi and her party return to the capital. Waiting for their arrival, he gave a royal order for the city’s defenses to be shored up. It was a kind gesture, but likely a futile one. When it came to an opponent that could overwhelm both Suimei and Hatsumi, no amount of soldiers would be able to make a difference. But nevertheless, it was about the only defensive plan the castle could realistically put in place. And so soldiers were gathered from all over Miazen, and patrols were put on around the clock duty all over the city, arguably to the point of overdoing it. 

As far as the inside of the castle was concerned, the royal guard was hard at work as well. They remained wary of Suimei, but under the present circumstances, doing anything about him was out of the question. As such, they largely looked the other way and ignored him completely. 

A few days after Suimei and the others departed from the north, it was decided that there would be a break in the fighting with the demons. As such, Hatsumi returned from the battlefield as well. Now back in the capital, she was visiting a certain place on her own. 

That place was the boarding house of Twilight Pavilion, where Suimei and the others were staying. Hatsumi went up the wide staircase that was installed in the entrance hall, and, following the leather-covered handrail, headed towards the guest rooms. Before long, she arrived at her destination, and knocked on one wooden door in particular. 

“Um, may I come in?” 

Announcing herself only after making it through the foyer and to the second floor of the building felt a bit odd, but since she was here to visit someone in particular, Hatsumi thought it was the polite thing to do. After a moment, Hatsumi heard a female voice and footsteps approaching from the other side. 

“Coming! Oh, it’s you, Hero-dono of the Alliance!” 

“Yes. Um, if I remember correctly, it’s Stingray-san... right?” 

“Indeed. It has been... Well, not all that long, no?” 

The one to answer the door was Felmenia Stingray. She spoke fondly as she recalled their last encounter, and Hatsumi replied with a calm smile. Felmenia then made a dignified expression and, in the utmost demonstration of her proper manners and decorum, put her hand to her chest and bowed. 

“Greetings, Hero-dono. You are most welcome in these humble lodgings.” 

“Er, ah, yes, thank you... It’s lovely to be here.” 

Hatsumi hesitated just a little at her sudden change in attitude, but Felmenia’s formal demeanor quickly crumbled as her friendly tone and smile returned. 

“Incidentally, could it be that you are by yourself? Without so much as an escort?” 

“That’s right. I snuck out on my own. If anyone came along, that would be a little troublesome.” 

Hatsumi spoke with a bitter smile on her face. It may have been somewhat rude, but she must have been exhausted. No one from the palace thought well of her going to visit Suimei. She’d tried to come see him multiple times since getting back into town, but the king and his cabinet ministers seemed to have passed down orders to the guards to keep the hero within the palace walls for her own safety after what had transpired. So her only choice was to find a chance and sneak out. It was somewhat ironic, but she truly thought that this was actually the safest place to be right now. 

“Well, there’s certainly no reason for us to stand here and talk. Please do come in.” 

Felmenia stepped back and opened the door fully, holding it against herself to make room for Hatsumi to enter. 

“Thank you. It seems I’ll finally be able to relax. The palace and even the streets are all nothing but guards, guards, guards. Just where did they all come out from...?” 

“That is just how dire the times are. And so, Hero-dono, what brings you here today?” 

“I thought I’d drop by to give my thanks for coming to save me the other day. The guild master said that Suimei would probably be here around this time.” 

“Is that so? Suimei-dono should currently be in his room sorting through some documents. If you wait a bit, I do think that he should be here before long.” 

“Thank you, I think I’ll do just that.” 

Guided by Felmenia, Hatsumi took a seat inside. It seemed Felmenia was getting ready for a gathering of some sort, as she already had some local tea prepared. She offered Hatsumi some, and as she took a sip, she could hear the sound of the door opening again. 

“Oh, Lady Hatsumi is here?” 

The next to appear was Lefille, who looked a bit surprised to spy an unexpected visitor. Hatsumi stood up from her seat to greet her. 

“Good day. Your name is Lefille, right?” 

“That’s right.” 

After Lefille nodded with a bright expression, Felmenia explained the circumstances of Hatsumi’s visit to her. 

“It seems the hero has come to express her thanks for the other day.” 

“That’s quite courteous of you. Sorry for making you come out all this way.” 

“Not at all. I know I said it last time, but allow me to thank you again for the assistance and reinforcements. Thanks to you, we were able to return safely.” 

In accordance with standard Japanese etiquette, Hatsumi bowed to show her gratitude. Taking the gesture to be excessive, Felmenia started waving her hands as if to say she was exaggerating. 

“It was nothing. All we did was lend a hand to Suimei-dono. If there’s anyone to be thanked, it’s him.” 

“It’s true. If Suimei-kun hadn’t said he would go, those reinforcements probably wouldn’t have shown up, after all. The credit should all go to him, so please don’t pay us any mind.” 

Both girls were speaking modestly. Hatsumi could feel something of a wall between them. Perhaps it was only natural since this was only really the second time they’d ever met, but it seemed like they were being vigilant about something else. 

Hatsumi continued sipping her tea as she turned such thoughts over in her head. Waiting for Lefille to take her seat, Felmenia finally broke the ice in a somewhat timid manner. 

“Um... Hero-dono, might I ask you something?” 

“Yes? What about?” 

“It is about Suimei-dono... Um, what is your relationship with him?” 

“It seems we’re cousins. Did you not hear about it from Yakagi himself?” 

“That is... Certainly, we had inquired about it, but...” 

“Is something wrong?” 

“Ah, no...” 

Felmenia awkwardly looked away. It seemed this was something difficult for her to ask. Hatsumi couldn’t tell whether her roundabout manner of asking was supposed to make her realize or say something, but as she curiously contemplated the matter, Lefille spoke up. 

“You can’t beat around the bush like that, Lady Felmenia. Lady Hatsumi, I’d like to be frank and cut to the point. What do you think about Suimei-kun?” 

“Wh-What? As in...?” 

Hatsumi twitched like someone had just pricked her finger. Being asked what she thought about him, she could only assume they meant in that way. And then, confirming that she was right on the mark, Lefille’s cheeks turned pink as she clarified her question. 

“U-Um, that’s, you know... That is to say... Do you love him or not... as a man?” 

“H-Hero-dono, what do you think about Suimei-dono?!” 

Jumping on the wagon, Felmenia leaned forward intently—nearly out of her seat—with a dire expression on her face. Both of them were quite serious, but... 

“Wait a sec here! Why are you asking me that kind of thing?” 

“Because this is an important matter to us!” 

And with that, Hatsumi finally had an inkling about their reasons for asking in the first place. And as she realized that, Felmenia and Lefille also seemed to sense just how Hatsumi thought of Suimei. The three of them reacted near simultaneously. 

“Tch.” 

“Hmph.” 

“Grrr...” 

All three girls were now glaring darkly at each other. Like rivals, or maybe even enemies. 

It was then that Suimei arrived. After finishing his organizing and coming to a good stopping point in his work, he was in a good mood and entered the room while humming a song. But for some reason, sparks were flying between the three beauties in front of him. 

“Uh... What’s this? What’s happening?” 

The battle concerning the thickheaded magician had really only just begun. 

Liliana Zandyke had recently developed a strange “cuddling habit.” 

After she began living with Suimei and the others, whenever her loneliness became unbearable, she would cling to one of them for comfort. In part thanks to this acquired behavior, she became much more aware of what it meant to be close with someone. To be doted on and loved. It was something she hadn’t had much experience with up until now. But even then, when she was alone at night or when she recalled what life was like before meeting Rogue, her thoughts would turn dark. She couldn’t escape the feeling that things would just turn out like before, which was immensely painful. 

It was at times like that that she sought the embrace of one of her three friends, which was a great comfort to her wounded heart. She knew she was well past the age such behavior was considered acceptable, but Lefille told her not to hold back. That she deserved this and more for every time she’d been denied the warm embrace of a loved one as a child. 

Loneliness was something that could settle in without any specific trigger. Such was the case today. 

“Who... should I pick... today?” 

While walking towards the guest room, Liliana was thinking about who she should demand attention from. If everything was going as usual, everyone should have finished their business for the day and be gathering there for a bit of tea and relaxing right about now. 

Liliana normally decided on her cuddling partner by rotation. If she clung to a single person all the time, she would end up being a nuisance to them. So after having Lefille dote on her, next would be Felmenia, and after her would be Suimei, and so on. But while that was the general pattern, she took into account extraordinary circumstances and would sometimes jump forward in the order when it was necessary to accommodate one of her friends. 

For the past few days, Suimei had been rather busy organizing all the data that he’d brought back from the darkwood forest regarding the hero summoning ritual. And because he’d been so occupied, Liliana had been leaning on the other two. As such, she was planning on asking him today for a change, but... 

“Suimei, please cuddle with... me?” 

What she saw when she opened the door was three young girls glaring daggers at each other with Suimei was standing in the middle of it all, dumbfounded and terrified. 

With just a glance, the intelligent Liliana was able to discern what had happened. The fact that her voice had been somewhat drowned out by the creak of the door opening was a stroke of good fortune on her part. Not realizing anything was wrong, the young girls simply glanced her way without saying anything before returning to their standoff. 

Suimei, however, was trapped in a situation that felt rather like being on a bed of nails, and beheld Liliana with a relieved expression. To him, she looked like help that had come from the heavens. 

“H-Hey, Liliana. What’s up?” he asked in an awkward and pathetic voice. 

In response, Liliana slowly began to shut the door as she stepped back out into the hall. 

“It’s... nothing. I’ll just... be going now. Goodbye...” 

“No, wait. Don’t go back. Don’t say goodbye. Stay here. Please. I’m begging you.” 

“Don’t mind me... Good luck.” 

“Hey, hey, hey! WAIT! Didn’t you come here because you needed something? You said something just now, right? You asked for cu-something or other, right?” 

It was obvious that Suimei was desperately trying to keep Liliana in the room, and all eyes now fell on her. The visiting Hatsumi in particular looked rather scary. 

“That child... Liliana-chan, right? It sounded like she just said something about cuddling...” 

So someone had heard her after all... Hatsumi shifted her narrowed eyes to Suimei. A hero’s keen senses were not to be underestimated. But neither was her strength. Suimei knew exactly what she was implying, and his voice cracked as he replied. 

“Ah... Ahaha! Yeah, that’s... That’s, um...” 

“Don’t tell me you’ve been doing indecent things to such a small child.” 

“There’s no way I would do anything indecent to Liliana!” 

“Then what’s this about?” 

“What? No, really, that’s...” 

As Hatsumi watched Suimei hem and haw, her eyes narrowed even further. It was just like she was looking at some lowly insect. Even Liliana couldn’t help but shudder at the sight. 

It was true Suimei was guilty of cuddling with Liliana, but that was it. He’d never once done it with wicked intentions. He himself had lost his family, so he understood all too well the loneliness she felt. And to help alleviate those terrible feelings, he spoiled her from time to time. 

But before he could explain all that to Hatsumi with this kind of tension in the room, surely she would snap and kill him first. (Little did he know she was on edge after having discovered how Felmenia and Lefille felt about him.) 

Seeing that Suimei was hard pressed to give her a proper explanation, Hatsumi began reached down for the sword at her waist. Hearing the deadly sound of metal sliding against metal, Suimei let out an unprecedented pathetic yelp. 

“Um, you see...” 

“That’s actually...” 

Felmenia and Lefille tried to come to his defense, but were having trouble finding a lifeline to throw him. After all, it was true that Liliana had come to ask Suimei to cuddle with her. It would be impossible for them to deceive Hatsumi on that front. Really, the only one who could salvage this situation was Liliana herself. 

Right now, Hatsumi was closing in on Suimei with a dreadfully menacing aura that easily surpassed that of a demon. In fact, she looked like she might be the Demon Lord. And Liliana certainly wasn’t the only one who thought so. She had never seen the Demon Lord personally, but there was no other being she could think to compare Hatsumi to right now. Nevertheless, she stepped in front of her to keep her from getting to Suimei. 

“Hero Hatsumi, I did not say ‘cuddle,’ but ‘cudgel.’ I came here to get a more detailed explanation of the cudgel magicka Suimei taught me, which is what I asked him about when I entered. You must have misheard me.” 

Under the tension of confronting the maddened hero, Liliana had slipped into mechanical report mode. She’d done her best, but it was still quite the lame excuse. Hatsumi’s grim expression didn’t change at all. 

“Hmph. If that’s the case, then why are the three of them having such a hard time saying it?” 

“A magician’s magickas are secret arts. They must be kept hushed and treated with all propriety. As such, the three of them were reluctant to speak on the matter out of sheer force of habit.” 

“But...” 

“Hero Hatsumi, I’m sure I needn’t ask, but do I look to you like such a pathetic child that I need to be cuddled?” 

Liliana tried approaching things from a different angle. It was a life-and-death gamble that would decide Suimei’s fate. And when it came time to show her hand... Hatsumi grumbled reluctantly. Liliana’s physique was on the childish side, but her demeanor and manner of speaking were mature enough that Hatsumi came to realize she might have misjudged her age. 

“No, you’re quite right. I apologize.” 

“I must also apologize for saying anything that invited such a misunderstanding.” 

Bringing the matter to an end, Liliana bowed her head. She’d won the bet and Suimei’s life, but it wasn’t all good news. Now that that much was settled, a certain thought suddenly crossed her mind. As a consequence of all this, she wouldn’t be able to cuddle with Felmenia or Lefille either until Hatsumi left. 

“Hmph...” 

She was already at her limit waiting for cuddles. Grumbling under her breath about Suimei’s philandering ways, she slightly puffed out her cheeks in a pout. 

“So... just what’s going on here, you three? Though... I have something of an idea... without even having to ask.” 

“That’s what I wanna know! You three have been kinda weird since I got here.” 

“Suimei... please be quiet.” 

“Oof...” 

After shushing Suimei, Liliana returned her gaze to Hatsumi, who childishly looked away. 

“It’s nothing. There’s nothing going on with me.” 

It was then that Lefille, who had been keeping a watchful eye on the situation, piped up. 

“Oh? Is that so?” 

“Huh?! That’s, um...” 

Seeing Hatsumi’s bewilderment, Lefille cast a sidelong glance her way. In a fluster, it sounded like she might be changing her story. 

“You just said there’s nothing going on, right?” Lefille pressed. 

Hatsumi’s eyes darted left to right, up and down. They, much like her heart, seemed to be restless. All she could manage in the way of a reply was mumbling. 

“You are not speaking clearly,” Felmenia said with something of a grim expression. 

“By the way, Lady Hatsumi... What’s wrong with Prince Weitzer?” 

Hearing Lefille’s question, Hatsumi’s face instantly turned bright red. 

“I don’t have that kind of relationship with Weitzer! A-And when you say it like that, you make it sound like I’m in l-l-l-l-love with this guy or something!” 

“Am I wrong?” 

“You’re wrong! Both Weitzer and this guy are wrong!” 

After clamoring that everything was wrong, Hatsumi puffed out her cheeks in an angry pout and turned away. It was perfectly transparent that she was just being stubborn. (To everyone but Suimei, that is.) But it seemed Lefille had also grown somewhat embarrassed as she petitioned her next question awkwardly. 

“Th-Then... there’s no problem with us getting along with Suimei-kun, right?” 

“Th-That’s...” 

“Getting along” was just vague enough that Hatsumi was having a problem objecting to it. And as she struggled to come up with an answer, Suimei—who still didn’t really understand what was going on—joined the conversation that he really should have just stayed out of. 

“Hey, Hatsumi, I’m a bit lost, but why get so worked up about it? There’s nothing wrong with everyone getting along, right?” 

“...And just what do you mean when you say ‘getting along’?” 

“What? I mean...” 

As Suimei fumbled for words, Hatsumi puffed her cheeks up even more before blowing her lid altogether. 

“What?! After all that ‘it’s my job to save her’ talk?! I heard all about it from Selphy!” 

“Huh, wuh? What? No, I mean, I remember saying that, but...” 

“Didn’t you say you were going to protect me?!” 

“Yeah, but isn’t that normal? We’re family.” 

“It’s not normal!” 

“Wait, what?” 

Getting a completely different reply from what he was expecting, Suimei was left dumbstruck. He’d taken a stand to protect a precious family member—and he was completely at a loss having that turned around on him. What else could that possibly mean? It seemed Felmenia was wondering as well. 

“Suimei-dono, I would also like to ask in detail just what you were thinking when you made such a claim.” 

“I’m also curious,” agreed Lefille. “Very curious indeed.” 

“Spit it out!” barked Hatsumi. 

The three of them were steadily closing in on Suimei. It was a rather pitiful sight, but he was merely reaping what he’d already sown. 

“U-Uh, um... Hey, guys... If you raise your voices and cause a fuss, you’ll bother the other guests staying here, so could you be a little quieter and more amicable? Maybe?” 

Suimei tried to smooth things over, but... 

“It’s alright, Suimei. Just a moment ago... I put up a sound-isolating barrier... around the entire room.” 

“Oh, cool. Thanks for— Wait, that’s not what I meant at all!” 

“Was I wrong?” 

“Well, I can’t say you were wrong to do it, but... Damn it, Liliana! That was on purpose, wasn’t it?!” 

Liliana was currently making the thumbs up gesture that Suimei had taught her, and then turned it upside down. And down, down he fell, far into the depths of hell. There would be no escape. If Liliana couldn’t have her cuddles, it was only fair that Suimei pay the price with equal suffering. 

“M-My allies...” 

“You have none. If you cut somebody, you will wet your own body with blood, as they say.” 

Hearing Liliana repeat the saying she’d once used against him, Suimei’s shoulders drooped in an utterly crestfallen fashion. But the group of girls encircling him showed no mercy in their approach. 

“So, Yakagi, about what we were talking about... Care to explain?” 

“Didn’t I?! I said I just wanted to protect my family. There’s no particular meaning to it other than that...” 

“Talking like that can only give way to misunderstandings!” 

“Indeed. It seems I need to teach you a thing or two about speaking in such vague terms.” 

“Suimei-dono, I told you that you must speak up and express yourself clearly!” 

The dirty looks the girls had been shooting at each other earlier now all fell on Suimei. 

“Why are all of you suddenly colluding...?” 

Consequently, he would be on the receiving end of their nagging and sermons for quite some time. 

“Well, it’s about time I go back,” Hatsumi announced. 

“I’ll see you off...” Suimei replied like a lifeless zombie. 

For a while now, he had been interrogated and lectured. It left him so utterly drained that he was completely disheartened and on the verge of just blacking out. In spite of it being the afternoon and quite sunny, the very spot where he stood radiated gloom. 

After Hatsumi said her farewells, Lefille and Felmenia also stood from their seats. 

“We will come along as well.” 

“That sounds great. Shall we all see her off together?” 

“What...? Um, I should really be fine on my own...” 

Before she knew it, Hatsumi had an entire entourage volunteering to go with her. Thinking it would be a bother, she tried to decline them, but it seemed they weren’t simply trying to be polite in offering her an escort. 

“That’s... not it. With everyone around you... it’ll be harder... for anyone to discover you.” 

“Ah, I get it!” 

Hatsumi clapped her hands when she heard Liliana’s explanation. She was also somewhat uneasy about hiding her identity with only a robe. But if everyone walked in a wall around her, it would be much harder for the military police to see her face. With their plan settled, Suimei and the others surrounded Hatsumi and left the boarding house. After walking down the street towards the palace a ways, Hatsumi suddenly turned to Lefille. 

“I’m sorry about earlier. I ended up shouting all kinds of things...” 

“We don’t particularly mind. There’s no need to apologize.” 

Lefille accepted her apology with a refreshing smile. Suimei looked at her like she was crazy and meant to object, but Felmenia scowled at him. Remembering what he had just gone through with a frown, he found himself unable to say a word. 

“Goodness me. Really, it is all Suimei-dono’s fault for saying things that invite misunderstandings in the first place... Hero-dono, we all said a great deal earlier, but I do hope we can get along from now on.” 

“Huh? Get along?” 

Hatsumi was under the impression that she and the other girls had all acknowledged each other as rivals, so Felmenia’s proposal came as something of a surprise. Seeing her confusion, Lefille shook her head and explained. 

“That is that, and this is this. There’s no need to compare apples and oranges, is there?” 

“That’s how we see it, Hero-dono.” 

“You might be onto something there... Mm, all right. Let’s get along.” 

“I don’t know what you guys are talking about, but I’m fine with it if it means everyone’s going to get along now...” 

With things finally taking a turn for the pleasant, Suimei took in a big breath of the freshly cleared air and let out a relieved sigh. His peace wouldn’t last for long, however. Sensing something else afoot, Liliana got his attention. 

“Suimei... There’s a commotion up ahead.” 

“Hmm?” 

Upon hearing Liliana’s report, Suimei focused his eyes forward. There was indeed something going on further down the street. 

“What? A riot in broad daylight? You gotta be kidding me.” 

Whatever was happening had gone well beyond the scale of a mere brawl. There was a fairly large mass of people rampaging violently. The shouting was audible even from a distance, and it was only growing louder and angrier. 

“I wonder what happened...” 

“This can’t be anything good.” 

Spotting a man fleeing from the uproar, Suimei questioned him as he passed by. 

“Excuse me. About the commotion... Did something happen?” 

“I-I dunno. Those guys... We thought they were just gonna get on their soapboxes like normal, but they suddenly got violent.” 

“‘Those guys’?” 

“I dunno, man. If you wanna know, go ask someone else!” 

With that, the man quickly ran off down the street in the opposite direction of the uproar, leaving Suimei and the girls in the dust. Realizing they wouldn’t get any answers out of the panicking crowd, they gradually made their way through the increasing waves of people fleeing the riot. And eventually, at the source of the commotion, they found... 

“These guys...” 

“We saw them before, right? The Anti-Goddess something or other?” 

Through a break in the crowd of people, they could see several figures in white religious garb carrying metal canes. Lefille had introduced them to Suimei as a suspicious cult that liked to sermonize in town. 

But there wasn’t just one or two of them this time. There was quite a mass of them all acting together as they struck their canes against the ground and tore down the eaves and fences of the surrounding houses. And strangest of all, not a single one of them was saying a single word. They were like a silent, violent assembly line, attacking one building after another. It was an odd, strangely eerie sight. 

Suimei could hear angry, confused shouts from the crowd asking the odd group what they were doing and calling for them to stop, but the white-robed figures ignored all such pleas like they couldn’t even hear them. There were probably plenty of people who’d tried to talk them down before Suimei and the girls arrived, but it seemed all such efforts had ended in vain. 

“They’re coming... this way,” Liliana warned. 

“What do... Well, guess I don’t need to ask, huh?” Suimei murmured. 

“Isn’t it obvious that we’re going to subdue them?!” Hatsumi retorted. 

“Naturally,” Lefille simply declared. 

It seemed they both found Suimei’s question rather foolish. They wasted no time in acting, either. They stepped forward and began taking out the armed cult members. Hatsumi used her sword in its sheath to precisely strike her opponents’ vitals to stop them from moving without mortally wounding them. Lefille was also using her enormous sword in its sheath to beat down the cult members. Shrieks like frogs being stepped on filled the air. 

Before the skill of the two talented swordswomen, the cult members were utterly defenseless and fell on the spot. But just as Hatsumi and Lefille thought that they had brought the commotion to an end, they realized that more people in white robes were pouring out of the nearby alleyways. 

“Hang on, just where are these guys all coming from...?” 

As Hatsumi’s baffled voice reached his ears, Suimei looked over to where the cult members were appearing and activated a far sight spell. He used his magically enhanced vision to follow the line of white robes all the way to its source, and... 

“Hey, yo, hold up... This isn’t the only god damn place these guys are rampaging around?!” 

“What do you mean?” 

“They’re rioting like this all over the city in every direction. Looks like they haven’t gotten to the palace yet, though...” 

But even so, they were still stirring the city into an uproar. Hearing Suimei’s report, Hatsumi knocked down the cult member in front of her and turned around. 

“Yakagi, where’s the most concentrated chaos?” 

“Hang on... Around the blacksmithing district. The guys over there don’t just have canes, they’re armed with actual weapons.” 

“They probably raided the workshops there. Suimei-kun, what are the military police doing?” 

“Looks like it’s taking all they’ve got just to chase down the robed guys appearing all over the place, but there’s just not enough of them... They’re normally just loitering around in droves. Didn’t security get strengthened after what happened last time?” 

“I can only guess, but I assume most of them are at the palace.” 

“So because of that, everywhere else is basically defenseless? There’s way too few... Ah.” 

Suimei suddenly made a face like he’d realized something while he was talking. Picking up on this, Felmenia questioned him. 

“Is something the matter?” 

“Suimei... You also noticed... didn’t you?” Liliana asked in turn. 

Suimei nodded back to her. But it seemed it wasn’t just him who’d noticed. Lefille nodded too. Suimei then took a moment to explain things to Felmenia and Hatsumi, who both looked clueless. 

“It’s likely that they’re mixing in with the supplemental guards or something.” 

From those few words alone, Hatsumi’s expression turned sour like she’d just remembered something unpleasant. 

“Ugh, it’s like the modus operandi of a certain terrorist organization...” 

“My thoughts exactly.” 

It differed slightly from what she was referring to, but it certainly did smack of terrorist behavior they’d heard of in West. Terrorists would mix in with refugees, tourists, and immigrants to make their way across international borders in order to carry out their deadly deeds. Wolves were blending in with the sheep, just like was going on here. 

Once all the cult members in the immediate area were taken care of, Suimei called out to Hatsumi. 

“What are you gonna do? Go to the palace?” 

“You said the blacksmithing district was where it’s really going down, right? I’ll head there.” 

“You would, huh?” 

That much was to be expected of her sense of responsibility. That serious side of her hadn’t changed at all, even after she’d lost her memories. 

“Then... I will open up... a path for us.” 

Liliana emerged at the front of the group, tottering along like usual. She then thrust out her index finger like she was pointing at the approaching group of white-robed figures that stood between them and the blacksmithing district. She brought her arm into her line of sight and held it up perfectly level with the ground. Then she pushed her finger forward ever so slightly. 

“Bang, bang!” 

Immediately after making those imitative sounds with her mouth, the cult members straight in front of her were thrown into the members behind them with terrifying force. The whole line of white-robed figures started to fall like dominoes, each one screaming as they dropped. 

“Ugeh!” 

“Hey, what are you— Gwah!” 

“Wh-What?! H-Hey! Oof!” 

They were standing so close together that each one who fell kept crashing into the next in succession. But even though they were practically taking themselves out, Liliana continued childishly mimicking the firing of a gun, sending more and more of the cult members flying into each other. Since her attack was one with no physical substance, the cult members at the front weren’t even preparing magical shields to defend themselves. Felmenia made a curious expression as she watched this play out. 

“Suimei-dono, what’s that Lily is using?” 

“It’s a kind of exorcism magicka that makes use of the ethereal. It extends your astral body to directly strike your opponent’s.” 

It was but one of many spells that fell under the great umbrella of exorcism magicka. It made use of the idea behind an out of body experience to purposefully manipulate one’s ethereal nature as an exorcism technique. 

Using a guide like one’s finger or a staff, one could give their ethereality direction, extending it with force to push away an opponent’s astral body. And because the astral body and the physical body had an inseparable bond, when the astral body was sent flying, the physical body would be pulled right along with it, sending both of them flying together. 

So in short, it was an astral attack, and could be considered quite powerful magicka. But as Suimei explained all this, Felmenia looked quite dissatisfied for some reason. 

“You never taught me this magicka...” 

“Come to think of it, I guess not, huh?” 

“You guess not? Why did you not teach it to me?” 

Felmenia seemed angry that she hadn’t been taught the technique, and drew nearer to Suimei as she addressed him critically. 

“Don’t pout just ’cause I taught her things a little out of order...” 

“It is not just a little!” 

“Technically, this isn’t even a particularly high-level spell.” 

“Even so!” 

There, she started yelling. She was far more obstinate than Suimei imagined. In a surprisingly unusual turn for her, she was being quite selfish. While they were having this little exchange, Hatsumi cut in and spoke up in a slightly reproachful voice. 

“Hey, would you guys mind saving this for later?” 

“Y-You are right. My apologies...” 

“They’ll all... be down soon. When the way is clear... let’s start running.” 

At Liliana’s behest, the group made a break for it and crossed the bridge. On the other side, they arrived in the blacksmithing district. They were expecting to find cult members everywhere like Suimei had seen through his magicka, but... 

“The uproar settled down?” 

The street was lined with stores and smithies, so it had a rather eccentric look compared to other districts, but right now, it was surprisingly desolate. The signs and boxes left outside the shops were all damaged, but they couldn’t hear any shouting or ruckus in the area. It was like the storm had already passed through. 

“Yakagi, I thought you said the chaos was concentrated here?” 

“Yeah. Up until now, it was, but... Just what does this mean?” 

Suimei observed their surroundings dubiously. There was nobody around. Were the people of the district and the dwarves who ran the smithies hiding indoors? The fact that not even the violent cult members were around was still quite the mystery to him. While he was looking around, he caught sight of a shadow approaching them from up ahead. They weren’t alone after all. Listening carefully, he could hear several sets of footsteps. 

So they’ve come. 

And just as he was thinking that, what appeared along with several robed figures was... 

“This is...” 

“So it’s come to this.” 

“How... unexpected.” 

“Hey, wait... Seriously?” 

Felmenia, Lefille, Liliana, and Suimei all raised surprised voices upon seeing the person standing at the center of the group of cult members. It was someone they knew well. 

“I have been awaiting your arrival, hero of the Alliance, Hatsumi Kuchiba.” 

It was Sister Clarissa, who spoke as if she’d known Hatsumi was coming. Hatsumi, however, was the only person unfamiliar with her, and made a puzzled expression upon hearing this. 

“A cat-eared nun?” 

“I am called Clarissa. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” 

With that, Clarissa bowed elegantly towards Hatsumi. Hatsumi, after seeing everyone else’s reactions to her, turned to Suimei for answers. 

“This someone you know?” 

“Well, we’ve met before, but...” 

While Suimei was talking to Hatsumi, Lefille turned a question to Clarissa herself. 

“Sister Clarissa, are you aware that the people standing behind you are causing a disturbance?” 

“Yes, I am fully aware.” 

“From what I can see, you appear to have no connection to them. Just what is the meaning of all this? I’d like to get a definitive answer from you.” 

Lefille intensely pressed her for an answer, but it wasn’t Clarissa that replied. 

“Hahh... There’s nothing particularly definitive about this, though.” 

“Jill!” 

Jillbert lackadaisically walked out of an alleyway with a sigh. And then, as if to clearly declare her side, she took her position right next to Clarissa. She was dressed the same as always, in functional and easy to move in clothing. But today, on top of her dainty shoulder leaned an unsuitably large halberd. It had a long, fat grip that seemed too large for her tiny hands, and an axe blade with a spear tip that was almost as large as she was. As she dropped the halberd from her shoulder to the ground, it shook the ground along with a loud and dull noise. 

“Yo, legal loli.” 

“I keep telling ya, I don’t understand a word you say, you damn pedophile... But more importantly, you’re surprisingly calm about this, aincha?” 

“Well, yeah. From what Sister here just said, I’ve more or less grasped the situation.” 

Seeing that Suimei had figured something out, Hatsumi turned to him again. 

“Yakagi, what’s going on?” 

“It’s déjà vu. Isn’t it kinda similar to when Eanru showed up?” 

“Ah!” 

Hearing that, Hatsumi saw the connection for herself. Hearing her surprised acknowledgment, Clarissa spoke up again. 

“If you know what’s going on, then it will save us some time.” 

“Then, Sister, does that mean you are a companion of the dragonnewt who attacked Suimei-dono and Hero-dono?” 

“Yes, White Flame-dono, it’s exactly as you’ve surmised.” 

“And so these guys are also your allies? For a nun of the Church of Salvation to bring along members of an opposing cult... It’s quite ironic, isn’t it?” 

“Certainly, it’s quite a funny story.” 

Clarissa began giggling in a refined manner. Meanwhile, Suimei and the others recognized the threat at hand and were each preparing for battle. The one who seemed most dismayed over this development, however, was Jillbert. 

“Haaaaahh, why did it have to come to this?” 

“Seriously. Jill, if you’re on her side, that means you’re also our enemy, right?” 

“That’s how it goes. Honestly, I’d rather not be, but...” 

From Jillbert’s way of speaking, she seemed completely unenthusiastic about the whole situation. She wasn’t particularly happy about having to antagonize Lefille, who she’d actually grown to be quite close with. And as if scolding her, Clarissa raised her voice. 

“Jill, there’s no use in complaining.” 

“I know there’s nothing that can be done about it, but... I was just wondering why things had to end up bringing Lefi and the others in opposition to us.” 

“Do you still not understand?” 

“Hah?” 

Hearing Clarissa’s puzzling declaration, Jillbert made a curious expression. Clarissa then turned her gaze to Hatsumi. 

“Hero Hatsumi, we are in need of your power. Could you possibly come along with us?” 

“And your reason?” 

“Right now, I can only request that you come along.” 

“Then I refuse. I have things that I must do myself, so please ask someone else for assistance.” 

“Even if I say... that I must insist you come with us by any means?” 

“I still refuse. Do you really think I can trust people who do things like this?” 

Exactly as expected, negotiations quickly broke down. Just based on the fact that they acknowledged they were Eanru’s companions, it was already clear that a peaceful compromise was out of the question. But after trying unsuccessfully to solicit Hatsumi, Clarissa turned to Suimei. 

“As for Suimei-sama and company, I would like you to remain silent and look the other way, but...” 

“I refuse.” 

“I suspected as much.” 

As they showed clear hostility towards her, Clarissa simply nodded like she understood. 

“You didn’t exactly have to ask, Clara. The answer was pretty obvious. Eanru reported he was a relative of the hero’s. There was no question that he would oppose us here.” 

“It was just in case.” 

Clarissa calmly replied to Jillbert’s frankness before turning back to Suimei and the others. 

“Well then, I shall be Lefille-san’s opponent.” 

“Sorry.” 

“There is no need for that, Jill. If you would, please take care of Suimei-sama and the rest.” 

Immediately after they decided how they’d be dividing the fight, more cultists began appearing from the alleyways perfectly on cue. Seeing that they were now surrounded, Suimei’s group formed a circle with their backs to each other. 

“If they’re that asshole dragon’s companions, then we can’t be careless.” 

“You’re right. So what’s the plan?” 

“First, we should create an escape path so that we can get away safely no matter what happens. As for who should do what...” 

“The nun has already declared her intent to fight me.” 

“Please be careful... Lefille. She is likely... a therianthrope... of the liger clan.” 

“The liger clan, you say? I thought so...” 

Lefille and Liliana seemed to be on the same page. Felmenia was also making a sour face upon hearing their exchange. 

“Hey, what’s this about a liger clan?” Suimei asked. 

“They’re the ancestors of all feline therianthropes. And of all the beast races, it’s no exaggeration to say that they’re the strongest,” Felmenia replied. 

“Wuh, seriously...?” 

“First a dragonnewt and now this...” 

Upon learning they were faced with yet another powerful opponent, both Suimei and Hatsumi sounded disheartened. In stark contrast, Lefille sounded ready for battle. 

“A worthy opponent then,” she bared her fangs and muttered fearlessly. 

Suimei then took a look around at the cult members surrounding them. 

“We should do something about the white robes first. Menia, please keep an eye on Jillbert.” 

“Understood.” 

As Suimei and the others were busy discussing their plans, the cultists were slowly closing in. When Lefille leaped out towards Clarissa, Clarissa put her hands into her opposing sleeves. 

A hidden weapon. 

Having such a premonition, Lefille put herself on guard. But when Clarissa took her hands out, there was only red and yellow powder that almost resembled paint pigment on her fingers. Rolling up her sleeves, Clarissa drew sharp lines with her fingers along her face and arms in a peculiar pattern. 

“That’s...” 

Suimei squinted at it, feeling he’d seen the pattern somewhere before. And just as he started to think he must be mistaken, Clarissa finished her ritual. Sharp claws extended from her fingers and her canines grew out long enough to reach her chin. Seeing her transformation, Hatsumi and Suimei both raised their voices in shock. 

“A saber-toothed tiger?” 

“Hey, a Smilodon ain’t no cat...” 

As the two of them stared in wonder, ferocious mana began stirring around Clarissa. It was like a predator’s bloodthirst had manifested in the air, which reminded Suimei of something he had seen before. 

“Totemism...” 

“I am surprised you know it.” 

Clarissa had clearly heard Suimei’s quiet mutter, and confirmed his suspicions with a smile. Suimei’s expression, meanwhile, was quite stiff. 

“That’s my line. How do you know that kinda thing, Sister?” 

“Regarding that... Let’s just say it’s a secret.” 

“Shit, there really is something behind all you guys...” 

As Suimei groaned bitterly, Lefille—Clarissa’s opponent—called out to him. 

“Suimei-kun, what is that?!” 

“Totemism is a technique categorized under sensory magicka in my world! Using various symbolic items, it allows the user to mimic the power of flora and fauna! In her case, she’s probably receiving divine protection from the face and body paint she just used! In most cases, the power in question comes from beasts, but...” 

“You’re saying she’s receiving power from the liger clan’s ancestral beast, the saber-toothed tiger, right?” 

By “ancestral beast,” Lefille was referring to the animal that a therianthrope’s features were derived from. Clarissa likely possessed great instinctual power to begin with, but using totemism, that power was enhanced several times over. Just based on the fact that she was a therianthrope, there was no mistaking that she had a close relation to her ancestral beast and its symbols. All it took was a ritual to activate its power within her. 

“Totemism is magicka from my world, but because the principle of the spell is quite primitive, it isn’t impossible that it’s been established in this world. But... you see the problem, right?” 

“Just now, Sister recognized the name Suimei-dono used for it—a term that comes from your world. In other words...” 

It meant Clarissa—or rather, Clarissa’s group—had some sort of connection to the world Suimei was from. It made him think back to Romeon’s case. There was something there. Something like a dark shadow flickering around these people. 

Lefille and Clarissa wasted no time squaring off. 

“Clarissa Liger. Here I come.” 

“Oh spirits that reside within my body, answer my call...” 

No sooner than Lefille finished her chant did a vortex of red wind build up around her, ripping through the blue sky. And the moment Clarissa unleashed her fighting spirit, her ferocious mana sliced through the air like silver slashes. Then they came at each other. Lefille let fly one powerful slash after the other, but Clarissa was evading them with sharp movements, returning her slashes with fierce attacks from her claws. 

Perhaps because she was strengthened by totemism, or perhaps because of the ferocious mana forming a sort of barrier around her, Lefille’s red wind had practically no effect on her. Normally, that red wind would have blown Clarissa away. And if that didn’t work, Lefille could ride it to make an incredible, decisive attack. But neither seemed to be possible now. 

Clarissa’s combat ability was on par with or even beyond Lefille’s, meaning she possessed strength that rivaled Demon General Rajas. While observing their battle with sidelong glances, Suimei and the others were each dealing with the cultists swarming in on them in their own ways. Hatsumi with her sword, Felmenia with wind magicka, and Liliana with the exorcism magicka she was using before. Between the group of them, they were making serious headway. 

As for Suimei, he was snapping his fingers, the violent sound of which played out like a rhythm as he continuously unleashed his strike magicka. It didn’t take long before the ground was carpeted with the white-robed figures. 

“That’s the end of the idiots surrounding us! I’ll go and help... Huh, wha?!” 

Just as Suimei started to call out to Lefille, a magicka circle suddenly appeared at his feet. Even with all the magicka circles he could summon himself, he didn’t recognize this one at all. The words, numbers, and design within it were all brand new to him. 

“My foot is sinking?! Hey, it can’t be... This is a hole to the spirit world?!” 

As if he had stepped into a bottomless bog, Suimei’s body began sinking into the magicka circle. He attempted to struggle and use flight magicka, but was unable to escape the circle. The spell’s structure seemed to be interfering with Suimei’s magicka and negating it as it swallowed his body, which was now sunken hallway into the ground. 

“Suimei-dono, take my hand!” 

As Felmenia thrust out her hand, Suimei smacked it away with a severe expression. 

“You can’t! If you grab on to me, you’ll just get dragged in too!” 

“But—” 

“I’ll manage somehow! I’ll be right back, so I need you and the others to take care of—” 

Before he could finish talking, Suimei sank away into the ground. With a ripple like he had fallen into water, the magicka circle trembled. Seeing this happen before their very eyes, Felmenia and the others were touched by astonishment and despair. 

“S-Suimei-dono...” 

“Impossible... Suimei was...” 

“You gotta be kidding...” 

The fact that Suimei had been caught by magicka was as big of a shock to them as if heaven and earth had been suddenly reversed. Facing the consequences of that, they were more flustered than ever before. 

“Just now, who could have...?” 

It meant that there was someone around who was capable of taking a magician of Suimei’s caliber. As Felmenia scanned the area, she saw no one who gave off that impression. And that only amplified her panic. 

“Felmenia, we’ll talk later... Right now, everyone should focus... on the enemies before us.” 

“We’re already down to one!” 

Liliana and Hatsumi called out to Felmenia and urged her to focus on Jillbert. In response, Jillbert suddenly lifted her left arm into the sky. 

“Unfortunately for you...” 

Jillbert snapped her fingers and more cultists began appearing from the alleyways. Seeing that they kept coming and coming no matter how many of them were defeated, Hatsumi let out a groan. 

“There’s no end...” 

“Ain’t that obvious? The Hero of Salvation, a magician on par with Eanru, the Shrine Maiden of Spirits, and important mages from Astel and the Empire... With all of you as opponents, we literally couldn’t bring enough.” 

Jillbert swung her arm down, unleashing a wave of power that gave birth to a violent wind. As it blasted forward, it ripped up the very ground beneath it. The first to react to Jillbert’s attack was Felmenia. 

“Wind, be my guardian. Surround me and repel those who face me!” 

Quickly putting her magicka to use, Felmenia shielded everyone from the incoming blast and fragments of earth. Seeing that, Jillbert flashed a broad grin. 

“Ooh, nice.” 

“What... was that just now?” 

“That? Oh, nothing. I just swung my arm. There’s nothing to it, really. That damn dragonnewt can do something similar too.” 

Suggesting that her technique wasn’t anything special, she spoke frivolously. The others could barely imagine just how much strength would be needed to bring about such a result. 

“Alright, ’ere we go!” 

Jillbert rotated her waist and brandished her weapon high overhead. Even though she was quite far away, she seemed to be aiming for something. Hatsumi immediately called for her allies to be wary, taking into consideration she might be able to attack outside of her physical range. However, completely skirting her prediction, Jillbert swung her halberd with her whole body behind it... sending the axe head flying from the haft. 

“Wha?! A chain weapon!” Felmenia gasped. 

“Damn right! This here’s my special chain halberd. Better hurry up and dodge it, kiddies!” Jillbert replied elatedly. 

The axe was attached to the haft by a chain, which was sailing through the air. Using centrifugal force to her advantage, Jillbert drastically changed the trajectory of the axe by swinging the haft as it closed in on Felmenia and the others. As the attack came in from a blind spot, Felmenia immediately jumped out of the way to evade. And it was a good thing she did. The axe head hit the ground like an exploding meteor, sending dirt and rubble flying everywhere. Felmenia endured the wave of destruction, but groaned bitterly. 

“What a completely muscle-headed fighting style...” 

“I’ve only known how to fight like this since I was a kid. Well, I’ll let it pass that I don’t have any brains.” 

With a smirk, Jillbert retracted the axe head to the haft of her halberd. On the other side, Liliana stepped forward. 

“Felmenia... I’ll back you up.” 

“That’s—” 

“Hey, no! You stay away! I don’t wanna fight with little kids!” 

At Liliana’s offer to fight, Jillbert suddenly started making a fuss. She didn’t want to fight against Lefille, nor she did she want to fight against children. Apparently she was a rather a picky opponent. 

“In that case... you don’t have to fight back.” 

“But I can’t do that either! Aaaaah, damn it! Hey, White Flame! Don’t you dare use Liliana Zandyke as a shield, you hear?” 

“Of course not!” 

In response to Jillbert’s commanding tone, Felmenia yelled back like it hadn’t even needed to be said. To help cope with this rather unexpected situation, Hatsumi stepped forward too. 

“Felmenia-san, I will take the front!” 

“You have my thanks, Hatsumi-dono!” 

Making good on her word, she immediately ran past Felmenia and bolted towards Jillbert at full speed. Her sword was still in its sheath, held at her waist so that she could draw at any moment. She was planning on letting out a slash while running, but as she approached, something came flying at her. 

“Urgh!” 

In no time at all, Hatsumi reacted by drawing her mithril sword to block. It caught two orichalcum daggers mid-strike. Looking down the daggers, Hatsumi saw a young girl in pure white vestments with a hood covering her eyes. She was holding the orichalcum daggers in a reversed grip, and was unrelenting in her attack. She unleashed a violent flurry of slashes, and Hatsumi responded in kind. Despite it being two blades against one, Hatsumi handled it skillfully while slowly falling back. She could see a flash of the girl’s eyes from under her hood every now and then, but they looked almost hollow, as if she wasn’t really focusing on anything. 

“So you’re saying you’ll be my opponent?” 

“...” 

She questioned the girl, but received no reply. Like the other white-robed cultists, she was completely unresponsive... but something about this was different. 

“That one’s one of your companions,” called Jillbert. 

For a moment, Hatsumi thought of Selphy and the others upon hearing the word “companion,” but she quickly realized another grim possibility. 

“A companion, you say...? You mean this person is also a hero?!” 

“Bingo. Appropriate for the opponent of a hero, ain’t she?” 

Hearing that question like she was being made light of, Hatsumi gave Jillbert a sharp scowl. The little girl’s eyes were completely hollow, which made her think that her will had been taken. In other words... 

“If I go along with you people, this is how I’ll end up, huh?” 

“If you refuse to cooperate, yeah.” 

After saying that, Jillbert once more held her halberd at the ready. This all happened as the afternoon sun began to fall low in the sky overhead. 

“Lefille-san, I can perceive both anger and panic in your sword.” 

On top of a triangular roof, Clarissa had her back to the red sun as she looked down on Lefille and admonished her. Some time had passed since the beginning of the fight, and it was now quickly approaching evening. As Lefille squinted up towards the dazzling setting sun, she turned a question to her opponent. 

“What do you mean by that?” 

“Exactly as I said. Your blade is impatient. Not so much that it is distracted, but it is certainly not in equilibrium.” 

Lefille snorted as she denied Clarissa’s words. 

“I fought an enemy once who used such wiles. In a desperate ploy to seize victory, they played a cowardly game in speaking nonsense to try and shake me.” 

“This is a warning. You mentioned victory, but I have nothing to gain from this battle. If you knew our objective, you would naturally understand. Besides, have you not already realized it? To speak of victory so, you must already be shaken.” 

“...I’d rather you not speak like you knew what I was thinking.” 

“It would not hurt you to heed my warning. But I understand. There is nothing more bitter than hearing unneeded, meddlesome advice from someone with an advantage over you.” 

Shrewd, and true. To hear a warning in the middle of a battle was in fact supremely irritating. Having that pointed out on top of everything only needlessly increased Lefille’s irritation. 

She wanted to use her sword to shut Clarissa’s mouth. But she couldn’t easily do that in the position she was in, which frustrated Lefille even more. Clarissa wasn’t out of range where she was standing, but even if Lefille unleashed a wave of red wind from her sword, it would never actually hit her. And, unable to shut her up, Lefille had no choice but to listen to Clarissa’s belittling speech. 

“Lefille-san, only by accepting such advice are people able to attain strength. For everyone to gain strength that will not lose to anyone, that is my wish. No, that is our wish.” 

Clarissa was making a grand sermon no one had asked to hear. In the moment, she truly looked like a priest from the Church of Salvation. However, Lefille had something to say herself. 

“Then, Sister, I shall also give you some advice. Voicing your opinion to an opponent is only something you get to do after winning. Only once your foe is beaten to the ground to the point where they cannot speak do you earn the privilege of lecturing them.” 

“Certainly. It is exactly as you say. I am greatly obliged for your advice.” 

“Tch...” 

She listened attentively. She extended her gratitude. Though Lefille reproached her severely, Clarissa respectfully bowed back to her from atop the roof. For her to remain so gracious in a situation like this really rubbed Lefille the wrong way. 

“However,” Clarissa scoffed, “if you obsess over such pride—which is useless as shit—it’ll stick to you like a stain. There’s not the tiniest amount of merit in dying in vain like a piece of trash.” 

What she said was completely unthinkable in light of her usual courteous attitude, which had suddenly become vulgar and seething. It was as if it was all to say, “You misunderstand.” Lefille felt a chill run down her spine. But it seemed Clarissa was done with chitchat there. She then leaped off the roof in a flash and headed directly towards Lefille. 

Her speed easily surpassed that of a beast and couldn’t be followed by the naked eye. She bolted across the ground like a sword cutting through the air. She passed by Lefille’s flank and attacked—Lefille couldn’t actually tell whether it was with her claws or fangs. 

“Ugh...” 

All Lefille could see was her afterimage, which she chased with her sword. However, because she was unable to properly perceive her opponent, her slashes were all reckless. Each wild strike had enough power behind it to kill, but a sword that was just swung around in hopes of hitting its target never actually would. 

“Hah!” 

Trying to predicting the path of the afterimage, Lefille thrust out her sword clad in red wind again and again. But no matter how many times she did, her blade only ever cut through the air. Repeated failure frustrated her, a sense of panic welling in her chest. At this rate, she would lose. As that thought crossed her mind, Lefille tried to shake off the doubt in her heart. She simply couldn’t accept defeat. She had promised herself she would never lose again. 

“In that case...!” 

If she couldn’t hit, she just had to make it so that she could. Even if it meant sacrificing a finger to save the hand, so to speak. She would ignore the immediate consequences and hang everything on the exact moment she knew her slash would connect. She just had to make sure it was a killing blow. Resolving herself, Lefille opened herself to the attack lunging at her and brought her sword down with all her might. 

“HAAAAAAAAH!” 

However... 

“Too naive.” 

She missed. As she sensed that something had slipped in close to her, a reproachful voice was thrown at her. 

“Guah!” 

And then, Lefille was blown away by the shock that assaulted her. She could see that she was being struck with an elbow and managed to twist at the last second to avoid a strike to any of her vital areas, but she still suffered the full brunt of the attack. It sent her tumbling across the ground. She could hear Felmenia and the others screaming as well as Jillbert’s angry shouting. Her consciousness faded for a moment, but determined not to faint here, she reeled it back with sheer willpower and used the force of her tumbling to spring back up. 

“As one would expect of the Shrine Maiden of Spirits, I see.” 

“Tch...” 

Clarissa swept her claws to the side as if shaking the blood off of them and began walking forward in a calm manner. She was simply overflowing with surplus composure. In contrast, it was Lefille who’d lost her cool, which only felt—painfully—like it drove home Clarissa’s earlier point. 

Suddenly, a magicka circle drew itself on the ground. Seeing that familiar scene, Lefille, Felmenia, and the others clenched their jaws and readied themselves. However, what eventually emerged from the circle was none other than the one who’d fallen into it earlier: Suimei. 

“I don’t know who the hell it was, but they sure fucking did it...” 

Down on one knee, Suimei appeared while quietly and profanely expressing his anger. He had changed into his black suit, but didn’t seem to be injured in any way. Seeing this, Lefille called out to him. 

“Suimei-kun, you’re safe...” 

“Yeah... Hey, are you alright, Lefi?!” 

“Somehow or other...” she managed to say with a meager, forced smile. “But it’s probably fair to say that I was defeated.” 

Kicking up dust as her feet slid along the ground, Clarissa was closing in on Lefille. As Lefille spoke in an irritated tone, she glanced bitterly at her from the corner of her eye. 

Judging that Lefille was no longer able to move, Suimei covered for her. Clarissa seemed to be quite wary of engaging with him, however, and jumped back to put a large distance between them rather than continuing her attack. While she was biding her time, Suimei called out to the others to check up on them. 

“Menia, how’re things on your end?!” 

“S-Somehow...” 

“Hatsumi!” 

“I’ve got my hands full here!” 

“Tch...” 

Felmenia had deployed protective magicka to defend against Jillbert’s enormous chain halberd. She couldn’t tell just where the attacks were coming from since the small dwarf manipulated the weapon midair, so her barrier extended in every direction. With Liliana’s support behind her, the two of them were working together to pinpoint the impacts. 

As such, they were able to defend successfully, but that was all they could do. Not too far from them, Hatsumi was swinging her sword, locked in combat with a small girl in a white robe. It looked like Suimei’s only option would be to handle their opponents one at a time. Coming to that conclusion, Suimei conjured his mana. 

“Yo, Clara!” Jillbert cried. 

“I know!” 

Clarissa took her distance from Suimei. Jillbert also returned the axe head of her halberd to the haft and once more stood next to Clarissa. 

“Jill, do not let your guard down. Suimei-sama defeated Romeon, and even Eanru considers him a worthy opponent.” 

“I was wondering what he was up to, but I see now... This ain’t the ‘normal’ him. He’s cast aside that damn mask of his.” 

Seeing Suimei’s with her own eyes, Jillbert stuck out her tongue at him. She and Clarissa both were also brimming with an intense fighting spirit. Seeing that they were holding nothing back, Suimei returned Jillbert’s words in kind. 

“You don’t have a whole lot of room to talk about hiding behind masks.” 

“Well, you got a point there.” 

As Jillbert honestly conceded Suimei’s point, Clarissa once more made a proposal to him. 

“Suimei-sama, could you not simply take Lefille-san and the others with you and withdraw?” 

“That’s my line, Sister. I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but maybe you should just think of another way to do it. How about it?” 

“If we could do so...” Jillbert began to answer. 

But it was there that the flow of events changed dramatically. 

“Clarissa, Jillbert. That is enough. Step back,” a deep, masculine voice said from on high. 

As Suimei looked up into the red sky to locate the source of the voice, he spied the shadow of a person standing atop the point of a gabled roof. 

“Tch, another damn— Hah?” 

While he was in the middle of cursing, Suimei realized something strange. It was sundown. It would be dark before long, but right now the fiery setting sun was beaming on the whole city. Especially on a rooftop with no cover, this person’s figure should have been perfectly visible. Yet nevertheless, the one who had ordered Clarissa and Jillbert to retreat was nothing more than a hazy silhouette like a mirage. 

“Let’s go,” his voice once more urged them. 

“Is that alright?” 

“The opportunity has passed. If we tarry, unnecessary things will get involved.” 

“What do you mean by—” 

Just as Clarissa questioned the mirage man, everyone could hear a nightingale chirping. And immediately following that, the world shook. It was a mysterious shaking of the air unlike an earthquake, and the chirping of the nightingale transformed into the sound let out by an enormous amount of iron creaking. 

“...A mana field vibration with this kind of timing?” 

Suimei raised a perplexed voice. As a magician, this shaking was a phenomenon he was very familiar with, but he couldn’t understand what had caused it in the current situation. Moreover, comparing it to the shaking that was born of his own magicka, he was left with a rather unsettling feeling. Meanwhile, Jillbert raised a shocked voice at the bizarre phenomenon. 

“Wh-What is this?!” 

It seemed to be her first encounter with it, leaving her completely bewildered at the shaking which was altogether different from an earthquake. The same seemed to be true for Clarissa, who was standing next to her. She quickly looked around her surroundings while remaining vigilant of Suimei and the others. 

“Calm down, Jillbert, Clarissa.” 

“But Gottfried-sama!” 

“Nothing is wrong. This is within the range of our assumptions. The shaking will calm down soon, and things will settle once more.” 

And just as the voice said, the shaking did eventually stop. After confirming that everything had settled down, Felmenia called out to Suimei. 

“Suimei-dono! What is this?” 

“I don’t even...” 

Suimei didn’t have a single clue as to what had caused it. Mana field vibrations were something that occurred when a high-order existence manifested, or sometimes even omens of the outbreak of grand magicka. But it didn’t seem either was the case right now. However, simply the fact that the phenomenon had occurred was a sign of something. Just what was it? As Suimei wondered, he suddenly realized what time it was. 

“Ah, it’s twilight!” 

It was the ambiguous hour between day and night, twilight. It was the hour it was possible for existences known as beasts of the apocalypse, or apparitions, to manifest in the physical world. As if to confirm his suspicions, the sun fell below the horizon and an indigo veil of darkness slowly crept over the ground. It seemed concentrated in areas, and from those dark spots, pitch black beasts sprung forth. 

“Wh-What are those?!” 

The pitch black beasts—apparitions—were sprouting up one after the other in the area, shocking Hatsumi. Lefille, on the other hand, was relatively calm and observed the creatures she was unfamiliar with. 

“Dogs... No, wolves?” 

“They are somehow... quite creepy.” 

The pitch black beasts reminded Liliana of the sinful figure and the sinister being. As they came into sight, she reflexively hid behind Lefille. 

Certainly, just as Lefille had muttered, the beasts resembled both dogs and wolves. Their bodies were as black as could be, but the spots where eyes should have been were blood red. The shadows seemed to dance and sway around them. Felmenia stared in wonder at the creatures she had seen once before. 

“These are like the monster that appeared at Castle Camellia that time... No, that phenomenon, was it? If I remember correctly, they are a manifestation of twilight syndrome.” 

“Yeah, they’re apparitions. The one you saw last time was a B-grade apparition, and these are a smaller version of that. C-grade ones.” 

Magicians called the shadowy part dog, part wolf creatures twilight syndrome. These in particular were C-grade apparitions. The first time the phenomenon was observed was in France, and was actually the origin of the phrase “entre chien et loup,” which established their general concept. The phrase “between a dog and a wolf” was also a metaphor meaning between safety and danger, which gave form to the phenomenon itself. It was about as ironic as it could get. 

The behavior of the apparitions had no sense of regularity to it. Sometimes they simply lurked in the shadows, their red eyes shining. Sometimes they would howl towards the disappearing sun. Or sometimes, like now, they would attack. And it wasn’t just Suimei’s group—Jillbert and Clarissa were not exempt. As the apparitions closed in on them, Jillbert clicked her tongue. 

“Tch, those things are also coming this way.” 

“Leave them be, Jillbert. They can only be defeated by sword saints and magicians. It would be useless to raise your blade here. Let us pull out.” 

“I get that, but...” 

“Gottfried-sama...” 

Both Jillbert and Clarissa looked at him pleadingly as if to say something bad would happen if they retreated, but the mirage man standing atop the roof was unmoving. 

“No. There is no need for us to defeat them. Even if we do nothing, that man will. He must. Isn’t that right...” Pausing there, the mirage man looked at Suimei. “Modern magician, disciple of the Magicka King Nestahaim?” 

As he spoke of Suimei’s lineage, Suimei yelled out to the rooftop in a fluster. 

“How do you know that?!” 

He yelled, but the mirage man would not reply. It was as if he was simply toying with Suimei. Even though he couldn’t clearly make out the man’s face, Suimei was certain he could see a smile floating somewhere in the mirage. 

“Everyone, we are pulling out.” 

At the mirage man’s command, Clarissa, Jillbert, and the robed cultists began retreating. 

“Wait! Answer my—” 

“I have no obligation to answer you, but let’s see... I will at least tell you one thing. We are the Universal Apostles. You will do well to remember that.” 

“Universal...?” 

As Suimei was making a perplexed expression, perhaps to prevent any pursuit, the mirage man began chanting a spell. 

“Code Pragmatic. Kenon who resists flames and carries mass. Using those concepts, obey my words, become one, and turn to mud.” 

He was invoking the mystical. The moment Suimei sensed it, the space between his group and Clarissa’s was filled with a light made of mana that drew figures and symbols within it. Flames then began shooting out of it at random. As they spread through the area, everything was covered in a heat haze and began melting into red mud. And as the mud spread, so too did more flame, effectively creating a shield between the retreating group and the apparitions. The shadowy beasts chased after them, but were unable to make it through the fiery and muddy barrier. 

The one who was most surprised at seeing all this was Suimei. 

“That spell just now...” 

He was completely unfamiliar with the symbols and figures used in it, but the spell itself was clearly not magic that used the Elements of this world. In other words, it was something more in line with his own magicka. He began putting the pieces together as he recalled something similar, but... 

“Suimei-kun! I don’t know what you’re so shocked about, but now isn’t the time to be standing still!” 

“Y-Yeah! You’re right!” 

As Lefille called out to him, Suimei focused on the apparitions that were now headed towards them. He didn’t have time to think about anything else right now. The veil of darkness was already quite close, and the apparitions were just about to attack. 

“Just as the eternal wind conveys! Send the shining and swaying flames to His side! Hear my voice! Thou art the Ishim dyed in white! Hear my voice! Thou art the Ishim that shakes off all calamity! Truth Flare!” 

Felmenia unleashed her white flames upon the apparitions. And though the white incandescence mowed them down, they calmly remained where they were as if nothing had happened. 

“Suimei-dono, what should we do about this?! Even though I used magicka, there wasn’t much effect!” 

“Fall back! These guys can’t be defeated with regular magicka! Menia, take Liliana with you and head to the rear!” 

“U-Understood!” 

Following Suimei’s orders, Felmenia took Liliana, who was hiding behind Lefille, to the rear line furthest away from the darkness. Suimei then called to Lefille. 

“Lefi, you fall back too! These guys are special...” 

“Please wait. Let me test something out.” 

Rather than falling back, Lefille gathered her red wind at the tip of her sword, turned it on the shadows where the apparitions were appearing from, and unleashed it. The red wind, which held a portion of the spirits’ powers, had an effect against apparitions. The ones caught in the turbulent red wind gushed blood as black as tar from their wounds as they crumbled to pieces. 

“I can help. Leave these ones to me.” 

“Wow... Yeah, okay. Then... Hatsumi?” 

Suddenly, Suimei realized that his childhood friend was nowhere nearby. He quickly looked around to find her. When he spotted her figure, she was already surrounded by apparitions. 

“Wha...” 

She’d been right beside him mere moments ago. Just how did she manage to get so far away? Under the dark curtain, Hatsumi was driving her sword into the constant swarm of apparitions, but it seemed her slashes had no effect at all on them. She was able to strike firmly and drive them back, but she was unable to deal a single wound. 

When apparitions attacked humans, it was possible to ward them off successfully just by pushing them away. But that wouldn’t eliminate the phenomenon itself. It would take more than physical blows to combat twilight syndrome. 

“These things just keep multiplying...!” 

While beating back the apparitions with her sword, Hatsumi’s unease began to show. 

“Hatsumi! It’s no good! Fall back! I’ll do something about...” 

“Say what you will, but these guys will make it through before then at this rate!” 

When she said that, Suimei finally realized what was going on. Hatsumi was standing at the head of the bridge. And on the other side of that bridge were droves of people. It was just Suimei and his companions on this side, all of whom were capable of defending themselves. But if even one apparition slipped across the bridge, it would be a slaughter. If the people used numbers to attack the apparitions, they would be able to hold them back to a certain extent, but... 

“Shit, if it were just a little later, this would be easy...” 

The sky was still bright enough that night hadn’t fully fallen. Even if Suimei tried to use his magicka to call down the starry sky, it would have no effect. It was irritating that he couldn’t defeat the apparitions all at once, but that just meant he had to take them out one by one. Firing spells as he ran over to Hatsumi... 

“Kyah!” 

Hatsumi had been knocked off balance. An apparition tackled her, sending her falling to the ground. The other apparitions seemed to sense it, and their doglike figures all jumped on her. 

“Ah...” 

A half gasp, half sigh of despair escaped her lips. But there was nothing she could do. Running was out of the question with her hands and feet pinned. Beholding the apparitions on top of her in horror, her sword trembled in her shaking hand. 

“Shit! HATSUMIIIIIIII!” 

Seeing that she couldn’t move, Suimei came flying in without a care about his own well-being. 

She was knocked down by the apparitions. Up until that point, her heart stood firm. But as her body fell to the ground, she was suddenly overcome with a fear that she couldn’t identify. 

The apparition’s fangs, their claws... Thinking those things would kill her, her hand trembled, her heart trembled, and her body seized up. Even when she’d stood against demons, even though she’d faced this kind of crisis before, for some reason, she was completely frozen with terror this time. 

I’m scared. This is terrifying... 

As those words pounded within her head, she was no longer able to do anything. But then she realized this was all familiar. Wasn’t this the same as that time she’d fallen? It was a memory that haunted her. The canine monsters attacking her didn’t help any. It was all too much. 

As she sensed the apparitions were about to go in for the kill, she shut her eyes as tightly as she could. She was petrified. But no matter how long she waited, the pain she was expecting didn’t come. When she curiously opened her eyes, a young man in a black suit was now standing over her. It was Suimei, holding a silver katana in his hands and breathing roughly. Perhaps because he’d been injured in saving her, the shoulder of his suit was torn to pieces. 

“Ah—” 

This too was the same as before. Just as when he faced off against the dragonnewt, he’d stood to protect her. It wasn’t the first time. No, far from it. She’d seen this scene in her dreams. It was a part of her past that she shouldn’t be able to remember. 

How many times had it been now? How many times had he come to save her just like that? When she was wandering alone in the forest, when the dragonnewt appeared... And there was no telling how many times it had happened in the past. 

She was pathetic like this. Why was she always so happy to have him protect her? Even though she was supposed to have become stronger. Even though she had learned the ways of the sword. Even though she should have been able to fight... Despite all that, she was just trembling. Was this the person she really wanted to be? 

“This is wrong.” 

She hated being the only one who was protected. She wanted to become strong. She thought that if she remained as pathetic as she was, she would never be able to keep up with him. She would never be able to stay by his side as he protected others. That’s why... 

“I’m... I’m different now.” 

Yes, that was it. That was why. So that he wouldn’t leave her behind, she thought she would become strong. Yes, that’s why... 

“I tried to get stronger with a sword...” 

As soon as those words naturally came from her mouth, everything she’d forgotten came back to her like surging waves. Who she was, where she had been, who she was with, what she had been doing. Her past, her feelings. Every single memory without exception returned. While dazzled by the raging stream of memories, she gripped her sword strongly and stood up as Suimei called out to her in concern. 

“Are you alright?” 

“Yes, I’m fine. Sorry for causing you so much concern recently.” 

“...?” 

As he looked back at her with a curious glance, she repeated herself once more. 

“I’m alright now.” 

“Hatsumi, did you...?” 

Just based on her words, he seemed to have noticed. As Suimei looked at her in shock, she focused her aim on the apparition that was leaping in at his flank. And then... 

“My heart is the phantom of my sword’s blade, and becomes a technique to break the three kleshas that poison the heart of man. Cast my body aside like a rock, and give my life to the steadfast Kurikara...” 

The Phantom Sword of the Kurikara Dharani. The words she quietly recited were a mantra passed down along with the sword techniques, the dharani. It wasn’t a chant like the ones Suimei would use, but once she recited them, her heart would calm itself and her consciousness would be completely focused on her sword. 

An apparition couldn’t be defeated by a simple sword. No, a mundane sword wouldn’t even damage one. But it could ward them away and keep them at bay. As the apparition bared its black fangs, she sent it flying with her sword technique. Other apparitions were closing in from all four directions, but without panicking, she returned her sword to its sheath. And then... 

“The Phantom Sword of the Kurikara Dharani, the Summit of Zen, the Enlightening Longsword that Leads to Serenity.” 

As she muttered just like she was reciting a dharani, she drew her sword. The instant she did, she swung it twenty-four times. And every single one of those strikes was driven into the apparitions. 

All the people around her could see was a flash of silver lines. But every single apparition that leaped into those silver slashes was sent flying into the air. As they flew, Suimei hurled brilliant magicka at them that crumbled their bodies instantly. 

“Hatsumi... So your memories returned, huh?” 

Within remnants of his mana still lingering around them, Suimei looked relieved as if something unexpectedly happy had just happened. Hatsumi looked back at him as she spoke confidently. 

“Suimei, I have a long list of complaints for you, but I’ll at least start with my gratitude. Thank you.” 

She was being a little stubborn, though her gratitude was earnest. But for some reason, Suimei shuddered. 

“Y-Your big brother would like to be spared from being smacked...” 

“...You sure can talk, seriously. And since when are you my big brother?” 

“Oh, you know, back in the day...” 

“That was then, and this is now! But...” 

Saying that, she recalled the memory that had terrified her earlier. 

“It was... also a dog back then, wasn’t it?” 

“Huh? Oh, huh... Now that you mention it, something like this did happen, didn’t it? Well, setting that aside...” 

As Suimei signaled her to step back with his eyes, she shook her head. 

“I hate that. I’m not running away.” 

“But...” 

“I’ll prevent them from reaching the other side, so you take care of defeating them.” 

She was going to fight too. She wanted to fight at his side. Suimei gave a resigned sigh, then a fearless smile. 

“Leave it to me.” 

Hearing those reliable words, Hatsumi set out to do what she had to. She repelled all the apparitions that were trying to cross the bridge. Knowing she was unable to defeat them, all she could do was knock them down and back. As she did, Suimei thrust his hand towards the darkened sky. It seemed his preparations were complete. 

“Intra velum. Noctis lacrimarum potestas. Insigne Olympus et terrae pingito. Infestato ad irrationabilis veritas. Caecato, pluvia incessabilis. Ea qui lugent sunt vitium. Ea qui fatentur sunt bonitas. Omne perveniunt ex luce supra tumultum, ex coruscis stellis.” 

[Beneath the curtain. The majesty of the tears shed by the night. Colored by the symbol of heaven and earth. Infest towards the irrational truth. Dazzle, incessant rain. Those who lament are evil. Those who confess are virtuous. Everything comes from that light beyond the chaos, from the twinkling stars.] 

A countless number of magicka circles of all sizes were floating in the night sky and moved as if they were guns pointing towards their targets. And then, the moment Suimei let out those last words, “Enth Astrarle,” light overflowed as far as the eye could see. 

And after that light calmed down, the apparitions had vanished without a trace. Even the black holes in the ground they were coming from had completely vanished as if they’d never been there in the first place. 

The quiet night town returned to its previous state. It was as if everything that just happened was nothing but a waking dream. The surroundings had become so calm that it left one to think of it that way. 

“It’s over, huh?” 

“Yeah.” 

As Suimei smiled at Hatsumi, she smiled back. Just with that, she felt like everything that was important to her had returned. Wondering how Felmenia and the others were faring, they turned to look. But for some reason, they were all making a loud fuss. Just what had happened? As they ran over with a sense of unease, Hatsumi could see Suimei suddenly gaze off in the direction Clarissa and the others had fled with a severe expression. And before Hatsumi could call out to him... 

“Ars Magna Raimundi... No, that magicka was—” 

Suimei’s mutter echoed into the dark night sky. 

Because their hero had been targeted, the Alliance was busy cleaning up the aftermath. But because they’d predicted that much, most of the chaos was limited to the riot caused by the Anti-Goddess cult. 

Speaking of, not a single one of its members was apprehended after the incident. After Clarissa and the others disappeared, the cult members also seemed to have disappeared back into the alleyways and the shadows of buildings where they had come from. 

To the Alliance, such a disturbance was completely unprecedented, but it had been particularly trying for Suimei and the others. Naturally, the reason for that was because their opponents had been Clarissa and Jillbert. 

Just a few days ago, they’d had a friendly exchange with both women. They had only known them for a short time, but Suimei owed them both a great deal. Lefille even considered Jillbert a close friend. They all had strong emotions about what had happened. It seemed a cruel twist of fate. It wasn’t like Suimei and the others didn’t understand the world could be harsh, but being betrayed like that was never easy. 

And so, several days after their battle with Clarissa’s group, Suimei, Felmenia, and Liliana were visiting Hatsumi’s room in Miazen’s palace to bid her farewell. 

Selphy was also there, but having come to an understanding about Hatsumi’s relationship with her new friends, she took the guards that were present with her as she left. She was likely being tactful in case they were going to talk about things that they didn’t want others to hear. 

After everyone settled into chairs, what awaited Suimei was an incessant trickle of dissatisfied complaints from Hatsumi. Asking about why he kept silent about being a magician, she frankly showed her discontent as she grumbled about how he never told her what he was up to. This lasted quite a while, leaving Suimei feeling rather defeated. 

Since her memories returned, a great deal of stress came with them. And after taking a short rest, she frankly cut right back into complaining, but Felmenia stepped in to stop her with a forced smile. 

“U-Um, Hatsumi-dono? How about you leave running Suimei-dono into the ground at that?” 

“What? I’m only halfway through my list.” 

“All that... was only half... you say?” 

Hearing her talk like she hadn’t unleashed her true fury yet, Liliana shuddered. Meanwhile, Suimei had already hit his breaking point. He was making an expression like Munch’s The Scream as he apologized nonstop. 

“Everything is my fault, so please let me off around here...” 

“I suppose. It’s also true that you couldn’t help some of it, so I’ll let you get off with just this much today.” 

It seemed that she’d gotten the bare minimum off her chest for now. As the atmosphere in the room calmed down, Suimei tried talking to her again. 

“...So, how are you Hatsumi? Do you feel better after regaining your memories?” 

“Mm. Well, I’ve still got the memories from when I had amnesia, so it feels a little weird altogether, but I’ve got a better grip of the situation I’m in now.” 

Part of the reason she could speak so calmly on the subject now was because she knew there was a possibility she could return home. That alone cured a great deal of her anxiety. 

“Hatsumi, since you’ve gotten your memories back, I’ll ask you one more time... Do you want to come along with us?” 

“No... I still can’t do that. I said it last time, but I jumped into this fight on my own. I can’t quit now.” 

“Even if nothing can be done?” 

“Suimei, you said it yourself a little while back, didn’t you? If the instructor saw me as I was, I would be punished. If I ran away for fear of my own safety, my dad would kill me.” 

Hatsumi smiled as she talked. She had no misgivings about this. It was precisely because she regained her memories that she was able to follow through on her beliefs with such conviction. As long as she decided to follow the path she was on, there was no need for hesitation in walking forward. 

“I see. I figured you’d say that.” 

“You’re not going to bring me along by force?” 

“I’ll respect your decision. Besides, I think I’ll be able to bring you back good news soon.” 

“Have you figured something?!” 

“I might be on the verge of a breakthrough. For now, I need to go back to my base in the Empire, organize the information I gained here, and start on trials for the spell... If that damn Eanru hadn’t blown away the ruins, I would have been able to solve it all while I was in the Alliance, though.” 

“I see...” 

Hearing that it would still take time, a slight amount of disappointment showed on Hatsumi’s face. The same would probably be true for Reiji and Mizuki. 

“I know you probably don’t have any intent on returning until the demons in the northern Alliance territories are defeated, but... Well, if the spell is completed, it should be fine to visit home for a bit, right?” 

“Yeah, I’m sure everyone is worried. Also...” 

“Also?” 

She made a stern expression like there was something else serious that needed to be considered. Suimei immediately asked her about it, but she answered as if it should have been completely obvious. 

“Attendance records, you know. Attendance records. We haven’t been going to school, right?” 

“If that’s all, I’ll take care of it somehow when we get back.” 

“How?” 

“Heh... I’m a magician, you know?” 

As he implied that he would make it work out skillfully, Hatsumi frankly made an unpleasant expression. 

“Ugh, you’re the worst... You’re totally planning on using magicka to slide by. Ugggh...” 

“What? You want to repeat the year? I don’t really care either way, you know...” 

“H-Hmm... that would also be bad, wouldn’t it?” 

“Then it’s fine, isn’t it?” 

As Hatsumi looked at him like he should be ashamed, Suimei closed up the conversation with a quip. Felmenia was the next to raise a question. 

“It seems that things have been decided with regards to your return, but, Hatsumi-dono, will you be alright concerning those who are targeting you?” 

“You mean that nun’s group?” 

“Yes. As long as they claim to need the hero, I am sure there is a possibility that they will attack again. That being the case...” 

What would she do? Really, as long as she couldn’t run away to her own world, it was a danger that would exist. They could attack anywhere at any time. Echoing Felmenia’s concerns, Suimei spoke up. 

“Hatsumi, honestly speaking, what do you think?” 

“It’ll be difficult. This time we somehow got through because you and the others were there, but with that kind of ability... A swordsman would need to be about as strong as dad to compete against them.” 

“Sounds about right, yeah...” 

Suimei recalled the fight from the other day. From what he witnessed of Clarissa and Jillbert’s abilities, Lefille, Felmenia, and Hatsumi were all overpowered in battle. The hero’s power was an unknown factor, but on top of Clarissa and Jillbert, they had Eanru in the woodwork somewhere. Then there was the mirage man who Suimei thought was responsible for sending him to the spirit world. 

If they all came at once, it was difficult to imagine that even a hero could win against them. However, Hatsumi seemed to have something else in mind... 

“I can’t win, but I think I’ll be able to run away. I have my memories back, after all.” 

Her expression showed a level of confidence that hadn’t been there before. Certainly, now that her memories had returned, Hatsumi was stronger than she was without them. Clarissa and Jillbert were both skilled, but if she devoted herself to running away, she should be able to escape them without trouble. The magician on their side, however, was a different matter. Suimei was unable to say unconditionally that it would be possible to escape him. 

“I’ll complete the spell to return back home as fast as I can. If I do, we could use it for refuge if things get bad.” 

“I kind of hate just running away, though...” 

“What are we gonna do? That guy’s stupid strong.” 

“Mm... I don’t know much about magicians, but if you say so, then I believe you.” 

After seeing him fight Eanru, Hatsumi recognized Suimei’s strength. 

Before long, their conversation came to an end, and they parted ways with brief farewells. Suimei and the others left Hatsumi’s room, but Felmenia shortly turned to him. 

“Now that I think about it, Hatsumi-dono isn’t seeing you off?” 

“Nah. I was always leaving home to head off somewhere, so she got out of the habit of walking with me.” 

“When you say it like that, it sounds like you were living together.” 

Felmenia seemed to have fallen into ill spirits as she looked at Suimei with a reproachful gaze. 

“What are you pouting for? We’re cousins and our houses were right next to each other. We were just like family should be. Besides, don’t I live together with you right now?” 

“Huh? Ah, that is true, but...” 

In a complete one-eighty from her pouting, Felmenia was now broadly grinning in a happy manner. 

“Besides, Lefille and Liliana also live with us too.” 

“Yup.” 

As Suimei declared that they all lived under the same roof, he didn’t really seem to pay any mind to Liliana nodding alongside him. To him, he probably only saw the girls as companions and roommates. He was probably conscious that he was getting along on better terms with all of them, but because each of them had their own reasons—Felmenia had been sent by king Almadious and Lefille had her curse to consider—the late-blooming Suimei who had no experience with love was unable to properly grasp their affection. 

“Felmenia Stingray, this is the beginning. It all starts here. You only started learning magicka, and you promised to go visit another world. There are still plenty of chances to get closer. Plenty!” 

Felmenia turned her back on them and began mumbling to herself in encouragement. Liliana then tugged on Suimei’s sleeve. 

“What’s up?” 

“About that mage... with the large build... from before. Is it true... that if you properly fought him... you wouldn’t win?” 

“Probably. With a magician of that level, it would be quite difficult.” 

“Of that level...?” 

“Yeah. It’s probable that the magicka system he used is quite ancient, and therefore troublesome... In short, his techniques are outrageous.” 

Hearing Suimei’s turn of phrase, Felmenia and Liliana both tilted their heads to the side. 

“Suimei-dono, you just said it was ancient, but what does that mean?” 

“Exactly as it sounds. It would be an old magicka system from my world. He’s probably someone who is somehow related to my world.” 

There was enough evidence to suggest that— No, there really was no other explanation that he could think of. The savage names that Romeon used, the totemism that Clarissa used, and that magicka the mirage man used at the end. There was no mistaking their sect had some kind of entanglement with his own world. 

“There is also Hatsumi-dono’s case, so I am not really surprised after all this...” 

“It’s just getting to be a bigger and bigger pain...” 

After his small preface, Suimei went on to answer their suspicions. 

“To break through that magicka, I need to go back to my world at least once no matter what. I need to be taught by a magician who knows that spell to find out just what its origins are. Until then, there’s probably nothing that I can do.” 

Hearing Suimei’s reply, Felmenia and Liliana both looked quite concerned. Suimei then offered some conjecture. 

“It’s only maybe... And this is completely subjective, but what he used was a composite concept. Using two or three concepts that are in no way similar, I think he created something that mixed them all together.” 

“Mixing together concepts and c-creating a new one?!” 

“Yeah.” 

Felmenia raised her voice in surprise. Both she and Liliana looked as if this was incredibly difficult to grasp. 

“That kind of thing... is it something that can... be gathered and given form?” 

“Because they’re mixed, I think it can be given form. It’s the same as anything else. For example, let’s see...” 

“For example?” 

“A hoe carries the concept of ‘plowing the earth.’ It’s a concept understood by the symbol of an iron bar fastened to a pole. But by fastening another tool to that, a new symbol is made that carries with it a new concept...” 

It was something like a crest. As Suimei spoke, he looked to his left and right, and the two girls still looked quite stumped. But that was only natural. Accepting what he was talking about was like denying pragmatism in the world of magicka; it would be a breakthrough in the immutable laws of magicka. Even if one did not know that, it was still something that could not be easily understood. 

“Aaah, sorry. Even though I don’t really get it myself, I was a bit hasty in trying to explain it. Just forget what I said.” 

As Suimei tossed that subject aside, Felmenia suddenly asked him something else. 

“Are there many magicians in Suimei-dono’s world who use that magicka system?” 

“No. That’s also the first time I saw it. I think there should only be a couple people who use it, though.” 

“Even though there are that few, you still know them?” 

“I’ve got about three guesses. The magicians who used that magicka would have been active during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.” 

“Meaning?” 

“They’ve all lived about five hundred years.” 

“Five...?! Are they elves?” 

“Nope, humans. Or, it would be better to say they were humans. They stopped being human long ago, after all.” 

“Stopped being human...? That’s...” 

“They’re all monsters, you hear? Monsters.” 

“Monsters that surpass you?” 

“Just for the record, I’m basically a baby chick compared to them. Well, at that level, pretty much every living being in the world would just be a baby chick compared to you...” 

The true abilities of such magicians could be completely grasped just by ranking them. The reason he estimated himself lowly compared to them was because of that. If one was not at their actual level, even as a high-ranking magician, there was hardly a comparison. They were mere babes. 

“...” 

As Suimei fell silent, he recalled an incident from quite some time ago. It was an unusual occasion where Nestahaim settled a dispute between fellow magicians. Along with the magicka they were firing, he let out a single word and reduced them all into infants in an instant. To be able to make his targets abide by his will without even using a spell... It was a technique completely beyond Suimei. 

“Suimei... that phenomenon... Was it also that magician?” 

That phenomenon—in other words those things that attacked them at the end. 

“Nope. That was caused by something else. They aren’t things that people bring about intentionally.” 

“The name... if I remember right...” 

“Twilight syndrome.” 

He never actually formally explained this to Liliana. However, Felmenia had seen it once before. 

“Suimei-dono, why did they appear then? When I last asked you, you said that it was something that did not occur in this world.” 

“That’s what I thought. In reality, the natural power in the world is strong, so it shouldn’t be at the stage where twilight syndrome occurs.” 

“But if it occurred at that time despite that, it means...” 

“Just what does it mean, I wonder...” 

Suimei began scratching the back of his head awkwardly. While he was acting a bit exaggeratedly, he did seem to be actually thinking about it. 

“Well, if I had to guess... What those guys are up to, taking that event into account, they’re moving to hasten the end of the world... Wouldn’t that be about right?” 

Hearing that, Liliana cocked her head to the side. 

“End... the world? But all they did... was swoop in and attack, right?” 

“That’s true, but two sayings come to mind. ‘Important matters happen more often than trivial ones,’ and ‘nature does not make great strides.’ Everything in nature proceeds gradually; there are no sudden leaps forward. Thinking of it that way, the reason they attacked was... In short, their goal was to abduct the hero, but it’s also possible one important matter that comes out of this is that they are hastening the possibility of the end of the world by doing so.” 

Clarissa and the others had a goal in abducting heroes, that much was clear. It was unknown whether it had anything to do with the demise of the world, but something had brought about the twilight syndrome incident. 

“I can’t completely throw out the possibility that it was a complete coincidence... But that kind of thing is out of my area of expertise. I’m not one of the denizens of twilight, so I don’t really know.” 

With that, Suimei brought the conversation to an end and brought up another of his worries. 

“All that’s left... is Lefi, huh?” 

“Lefille...?” 

Suimei nodded bitterly as he recalled Lefille’s current condition. 

“She’s... the same as always... no?” 

“She’s probably dwelling on her defeat. It doesn’t show normally, but I bet she’s frustrated.” 

It affected her quite deeply that she was forced to taste defeat at Clarissa’s hands. Since then, Suimei caught glimpses of her acting somewhat impatient. 

“Well, it’s not only that.” 

“It’s that, right?” 

“So it is.” 

Thinking about what happened to Lefille’s body alongside her defeat, the three of them each hung their heads down heavily. 

While Suimei and the others were in anguish, Lefille was taking action elsewhere, and was in the office of the Twilight Pavilion’s guild master, but... 

“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AaaaaaaaaHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” 

“Rumeya-dono, please don’t laugh! This isn’t something to laugh about!” 

“But, but... You know?! If you, if you show me something like that... I’ll, I’ll... Hah! HAHAHAHAHA, HAAAAA!” 

Rumeya was rolling around on the guild office floor, her tails whipping about as she laughed with all her might. It sounded like she might choke and die as she gasped and wheezed for air. Meanwhile, sitting on the sofa in front of her was the one who was laying bare her innocent anger—Lefille, who had once more become tiny. 

“There’s nothing I can do! It’s not like I became like this because I wanted to...” 

“Aaah, aaaah... My stomach hurts. This is the best laugh I’ve had all year.” 

Seeing that she was still unable to stop laughing, Lefille was on the verge of tears as she scowled bitterly at Rumeya. However, her expression was just far too cute and didn’t carry a hint of dignity. After finally calming down from her fit of laughter, Rumeya reseated herself on the sofa. 

“No, but really... To think that your body becomes smaller when you use too much of the spirits’ power. This never happened to Aldephize. Well, it just shows how large a portion of Lefi’s body the spirits occupy is all... Pfft!” 

Clamping her hand over her mouth, Rumeya tried to stop herself from breaking out into laughter once more. However, she was at her limits, and her cheeks began to swell out as her mouth filled with air and a small laugh leaked out. On the other hand, Lefille could only let out an exasperated sigh. 

“Please put a stop to that already. Suimei-kun and the others will be coming over to say their farewells soon.” 

“Is that so? Hmph... Then before they get here, there’s something I wanted to talk with you about.” 

She held her pipe close as her expression turned serious. Seeing that, Lefille naturally responded in kind. 

“Rumeya-dono, what is it that you wanted to talk about?” 

After puffing at her pipe, Rumeya pointed a sharp gaze at Lefille which felt like it was piercing right through her. 

“...You lost, right, Lefi?” 

“That’s...” 

“Did you think I wouldn’t know just ‘cause you didn’t mention it? I’d rather you not take me so lightly.” 

As if she had seen the fight herself, Rumeya’s words were filled with conviction. Having been seen through completely, Lefille honestly nodded back to her. 

“Lefi, do you know the reason you lost?” 

“...Because my power couldn’t earnestly reach them.” 

“That’s true, but... Are you aware of the other reason?” 

Hearing her words, Lefille’s heart jumped in place. However... 

“No, it’s just that my skills are still too raw. There is no other reason for defeat.” 

Lefille frowned as she denied there being any other reason. She didn’t want to accept it. If she acknowledged it, she felt like a part of what had been supporting her would crumble to pieces. As Rumeya looked at her obstinate expression, she simply smiled and sighed. This seemed to irritate Lefille, as she took on an unexpectedly critical tone with her. 

“Do you think that there is something else, Rumeya-dono?” 

“It would be simple for me to say it here, but... There’s a parental side of me that thinks it would be better for you to find out yourself and accept it. There would be no benefit to you if I were too meddlesome after all. Heh, what to do with you...?” 

As Rumeya muttered in a troubled manner, she puffed out the smoke from her pipe towards the ceiling and tapped the ashes out of her pipe into an ashtray. And then, perhaps having found her answer... 

“That’s it. Well, you’ve got that boy and your reliable companions after all, so there’s no need to rush it. Along the way, it will do you good to just look at the fights you’ve had up until now. If you end up losing despite that... Come back and see me again. I’ll strictly reforge you when you do.” 

“...Understood.” 

“Mm. In short, don’t get too much into a fighting mood. But that’s oh-so hard, especially when you’re young...” 

As she trailed off quietly, she must have been thinking of her own experiences. With a faraway look, Rumeya gazed out the window. After silently finishing her pipe, she suddenly smiled and called out to Lefille. 

“Lefi, come here for a bit.” 

“What’s the matter?” 

“Let me pet you.” 

“NO WAY!” 

Rumeya was waving her hand up and down trying to appeal to Lefille for a good petting as Lefille obstinately refused her. Her hat that was far too big for her body fell over her eyes and she curled up into a ball on the sofa. 

“Waah! You’ve become the perfect size to be petted, so isn’t it fine?!” 

“It isn’t! Where can you find someone who would be glad to be petted in this kind of circumstance?!” 

Saying that, Lefille abruptly turned the other way as Rumeya broadly grinned. 

“Even if you say you hate it, I’m just going to pet you forcefully.” 

The moment those words reached Lefille’s ears, Rumeya’s figure on the sofa became nothing but an after image. She’d vanished. And then immediately after that, Lefille’s hat was stolen from her with great force. 

“Wawawawawawah! Rumeya-dono?!” 

“I got youuu!” 

“Augh...” 

As she was pinned down by something soft and delightful, Lefille learned of absolute humiliation. As she was, with her abilities in this state, Lefille had no chance of escaping. And after Rumeya teased her for a while, her fox ears suddenly began twitching. 

“Oops, looks like they’re here. Well, though it’ll be meager, shall we throw a farewell party?” 

“Very well...”