Isekai Mahou wa Okureteru! (LN) - Volume 8 - Chapter Ep

Epilogue: A Brief Parting 

In Kurant City, Suimei and the others managed to accomplish their goal of rescuing Elliot. And after confronting Hadorious and Gottfried, they knew they stood a good chance of fighting them... but were faced to retreat when the opportunity eluded them. It felt like a defeat, and the group of them so returned to the imperial capital. 

They were all stewing on the happenings at Hadorious’s mansion in their own way, though no one seemed brave enough to dare a word on the subject. But once they were back in the capital, they all gathered at Suimei’s base. They were joined by Elliot and Christa, and even Graziella, who had finished up with her post-combat obligation. 

“I truly cannot thank you enough.” 

Attired in her religious robes, Christa humbly lowered her head before Suimei and Reiji. She was disheartened over having to stay behind and wait for their return, but when Elliot came back safely, her heart was quite relieved. 

“Yes, we ended up causing you quite a bit of trouble this time, so I would also like to show you my gratitude. Thank you.” 

Elliot also offered his thanks as he went around shaking everyone’s hands. He eventually came to Reiji. 

“In any event, I’m glad you’re alright, Elliot.” 

“I’m in your debt. I will repay you properly and in full one day, so do call on me if you need anything.” 

“Haha, it was the other way around last time, so let’s just call it even.” 

“That will not do! It would tarnish my honor if allowed my debts to go unpaid. Besides, the one who owes me for that is not you, but—” 

Elliot stopped there and turned a grudging gaze towards Suimei. 

“What? Don’t I get a handshake?” 

“What’s that? You want to shake hands with me?” 

“Yeah, you’re right, I’ll pass. Maybe if you were a cute girl...” 

“Hmm? Despite looking like you have no immunity to women, you’d say such a thing? Could it be that you’re forcing yourself?” 

“Shut it! Sorry ’bout that!” 

Elliot sneered a little, but Suimei shrugged his shoulders. Elliot then regained his composure and shook his head sullenly. 

“But to think that you would be the one to save me... This must be the biggest blunder of my life.” 

“Sure is, pal. With this, we’re even over that thing with Reiji, you hear?” 

“You really do have an uncouth way of speaking.” 

“Shut it, prettyboy. Unlike you, I was raised normally.” 

There, Elliot and Suimei began trading insults. Elliot had more to say with his aloof attitude than Suimei did with his foul-mouthed sharp tongue, but judging that this would never come to an end on its own, Reiji intervened. 

“Now, now, both of you, let’s leave it at that and move on to the main event.” 

“You’re right. I must say I’m quite curious about this.” 

“It is the reason we all gathered here today.” 

Elliot and Suimei both seemed amenable to the change in topic, and the group collectively walked over to the far end of the open space outside of Suimei’s house. It was the same place where Felmenia had constructed the pool previously, but right now, rather than a large water tank, there was a large magicka circle on the ground. Graziella had only heard about Elliot’s rescue so far, so she squatted down in front of the magicka circle and gazed at it with deep interest. 

“This is... the magic circle to return you to your world, is it?” 

She must have investigated similar formulas before, because she identified it almost immediately. Graziella read through the magickal inscriptions in the circle and reached out to touch it. The one to respond to her, naturally, was Suimei. 

“Yup. So don’t go taking advantage of the fact that I’ll be away to tamper with it or erase it, you hear me?” 

“You’re the shrewd man who came up with this. You’ve already established a way to come and go, no?” 

“Well, yeah.” 

When Suimei had completed the magicka circle of returning, he’d made a mental note of the coordinates so that he could come and go as he pleased. If he’d simply relied on the magicka circle remaining undisturbed even outdoors, he likely would have been stranded. And to prevent exactly that from happening, he had to set up several failsafes, some of which were quite troublesome. 

“But I honestly never thought the pool would give me the last piece of the puzzle I needed...” 

“We must thank Lady Felmenia for that.” 

“Yeah, but it’s kinda ironic.” 

Felmenia was the one who summoned them to this world, and she’d also been the one to complete the picture for them to return home. Suimei didn’t know quite what to say about it. But upon hearing Lefille say she deserved thanks, Felmenia... 

“Suimei-dono! Please praise me!” 

She wagged her tail and bounced up and down like an excited puppy. Suimei gave a fed-up sigh. 

“Hey, I praised you plenty already, didn’t I? Is it still not enough?” 

“Heehee, I think once a day would be perfectly fine. Simple praise will cost you nothing—rather, it will yield you a profit.” 

Suimei didn’t quite know what he’d be making a profit off of, but he was already quite sick of thanking her about ten times a day. 

“Yeah, yeah, thanks a lot... As one would expect of the great White Flame Felmenia-sama...” 

“Hmph, that is far too halfhearted!” 

Felmenia flailed her arms about wildly upon not getting her way. After Suimei’s identity as a magician was revealed, it seemed she was no longer concerned about appearances in front of the others, and quite often let her inner child shine through in moments like this. 

“Well, anyhoo... Hey, cheer up already, will you, Mizuki?” 

Setting aside Felmenia for the moment, Suimei turned to Mizuki who was in a full-fledged pout. Her cheeks were puffed out as far as they could go. 

“Hmph! Suimei-kun, you dummy! Idiot, moron, jerk! Just blow up a spell and drop dead already!” 

Indeed, Anou Mizuki could hardly contain her resentment. Hearing it, however, Felmenia spoke up in a somewhat bitter tone. 

“Mizuki-dono, that would be somewhat problematic... We are going along with him, after all.” 

“I don’t care. I’m sure he can blow just himself up with pinpoint accuracy.” 

As Mizuki insisted that Suimei should meet a terrible fate, this time Lefille was the one to fold her arms and speak up in a troubled tone. 

“But still, if that happens, we wouldn’t be able to return anymore...” 

“I still don’t care! In fact, I don’t even care what it is! I hope something horrible happens to him—and only him!” 

Suimei let out a grand sigh upon realizing Mizuki’s mood was showing no signs of improving. After the fight at Hadorious’s mansion, the mysterious spirit hadn’t returned and Mizuki was back to her usual self. Suimei had then had to confess he was a magician, and this was the result. 

It was predictable, really. The day he’d told her, she naturally didn’t listen to anything else he said on the carriage ride back. In fact, she’d only just started talking to him again a few hours ago. The fact that he’d kept being a magician a secret for so long... Or was she just angry that he’d rejected her chuuni heart all this time? He’d been monopolizing cool stuff and hiding it from her, and that was unacceptable. It was apparently an offense punishable by death, and for that, Suimei had been apologizing nonstop. 

“That’s why I said I’m sorry. Come on, forgive me already...” 

“Shut it! Keep apologizing to me! Until you die! No, forever!” 

“That’s a little...” 

“Ugh, you jerk! Meanie, scrooge, buttmunch!” 

After disparaging him like a child, Mizuki once more went back to pouting. When she fell quiet, Elliot turned to Suimei again. 

“So, are you going now?” 

“Yeah. We’re headed back to clear up some anxieties that have been building for a while.” 

“Yeah, like school...” 

“And friends...” 

“Mm, and our families...” 

Hearing Suimei talk about building anxieties, the ones who reacted were none other than Reiji, Mizuki, and Hatsumi. There were things they were all worried about... Things they’d actually been trying not to think about until just now. What would await them back home? It was difficult to imagine. And while they were all contemplating this, Lefille spoke up. 

“Sorry. We said that we would all go together, but I think I’ll stay behind.” 

“So suddenly...? What’s... wrong?” 

Liliana opened her lone eye in surprise, but Lefille returned her a determined expression. 

“Nothing. I was just thinking I should pick up on the training I’ve been missing out on.” 

“You’re going to stay behind and train?” 

“Yeah. If I’m going to take care of my own anxieties, I don’t think there are any shortcuts. As a swordswoman, the only way for me to get stronger is swing my sword.” 

She had a very logical point, but Suimei disagreed. 

“No, you should absolutely come along with us, Lefi.” 

“Why is that?” 

“Nothing big. I just think you should meet with the instructor.” 

“Instructor?” 

“My dad?” 

Suimei nodded to both Lefille and Hatsumi in turn. The instructor Suimei was talking about was Hatsumi’s father, and the head of the dojo that Suimei went to. He stood at the peak of the Hundred Swords of the Martial World, and was one of the Four Great Sages of the Arts—the Sword of Four, Kuchiba Kiyoshiro. If Lefille really wanted to achieve greatness with a sword, she definitely could stand to learn a thing or two from him. 

“The instructor is one of the monsters from my father’s generation. I think you’d probably get something out of even just talking to him.” 

“I agree.” 

Hatsumi, who had fought Lefille before, backed up Suimei. This seemed to spark Lefille’s interest, and she turned to Hatsumi with a keen expression. 

“Lady Hatsumi’s father, is it? I’ve heard mention of him from time to time, but... how strong is he really?” 

“Come on...” 

“Yeah, it’s hard to put into words...” 

Suimei and Hatsumi both averted their eyes. The head of the Kuchiba School of the Phantom Sword of the Kurikara Dharani, Kuchiba Kiyoshiro. He was an uncommon swordsman who could perform the inhuman act of cleaving a high-rise vertically with a single swing of a katana. He was so far beyond simply “strong” that it was indeed difficult to articulate. 

“So that’s how it is. You’re coming, Lefille. It’s already been decided” 

“I got it, I got it.” 

Grabbing Lefille’s arm, Suimei pulled her over to the magicka circle. When he did, Felmenia hopped over with light steps as well and stood next to him too. 

“I am looking forward to seeing Suimei-dono’s world.” 

Following after her, Liliana and Hatsumi also walked over. 

“I’m also... looking forward... to seeing it.” 

“We’ve got a ton of animals. When we get there, should we go to a zoo?” 

“A zoo...?” 

“It’s a place where they raise all sorts of animals from all over the world.” 

Hearing Hatsumi say that, Liliana’s lone eye shot wide open and seemed to sparkle. There was already a long list of places that she could think of that she wanted to go. The zoo, pet shops, petting zoos, cat cafes, the works. And while the girls were getting excited about their future prospects, there was a single good-for-nothing who couldn’t read the room and dumped cold water all over the mood. 

“We’re not going there to play around. It’s fine to relax a little, but we’re not going to be sightseeing. We’re going to—” 

“Suimei, you’re... so thickheaded.” 

“Yeah, Suimei. You’re as dense as bricks. Get a clue.” 

“This is definitely no good... But it’s also so very Suimei-kun.” 

“Suimei-dono, I am sorry, but I cannot defend you here...” 

“Dummy! I told you he’s a dummy!” 

“Ugh...” 

Hearing the others shower Suimei with criticism, Mizuki joined in. Reiji was the only one who took a lighthearted approach to the situation. 

“Haha, come on, Suimei. Don’t be so serious.” 

“Shut it, you. Must be nice to awaken sparkly new powers out of nowhere and have it easy.” 

Suimei had never expected Reiji to whip out the Sacrament’s power at the eleventh hour and achieve an exceptional level up. He now had an artifact in addition to the Goddess’s power. It felt like it was getting kind of cheaty. However, Reiji didn’t seem to think so. His expression clouded over somewhat at the mere mention of it. 

“I don’t really think I had it all that easy though...” 

“Even though you’re now able to use that ridiculous power?” 

“...Am I really hearing this from you, Suimei? After that stunt you pulled?” 

Reiji pointed a reproachful gaze on the hypocritical Suimei, but it hardly sounded like there was any energy in his voice. Deep within Reiji’s eyes, Suimei could see that he was brooding over something. 

“Hey, Reiji, what’s wrong? You’ve got no pep to you, you know?” 

“Nothing. There’s just something on my mind.” 

“Something on your mind?” 

And Suimei had an idea of what that something was. 

“You worried about what that guy said? That’s just a common psychological scare tactic, you know? I don’t think it’s something you actually need to worry about.” 

“That’s probably true, but it’s still sticking around in the back of my mind.” 

Suimei was referring to Gottfried’s warning about Reiji losing himself to the Goddess. Suimei didn’t personally quite know what to make of it either. The subjugation of the Demon Lord had been foisted onto them so quickly... It was entirely possible the heroes had been manipulated or toyed with. Thinking about it that way, Suimei felt like there was plenty of cause for concern, and he could only imagine it was that much worse for the person in question... 

“As I thought, you should go back too. Come back home and smell the roses, and you’ll feel better in no time.” 

“I’m sure I will, but...” 

“This may sound strange coming from me, but rest is important, isn’t it? I had a chance to relax before heading off to Kurant City and it made a world of difference. It was all thanks to Menia, actually.” 

“Saying it was all thanks to me is a little... Eeheehee.” 

Felmenia started chuckling with a dopey smile on her face. Ignoring her, Suimei focused on Reiji. 

“So come on. Let’s go back for now, okay?” 

“I understand what you’re saying, but I still have to stay behind. If we go too, there might not be enough forces here to stop it if something serious goes down.” 

“But you know...” 

“Sorry. Let me be selfish here.” 

Reiji was being much more stubborn than Suimei had expected. Was he just that worried about this world? That was probably part of it, but Suimei couldn’t help wondering if this was related to what Gottfried had said. But as long as Reiji had made up his mind, there was no point in trying to dissuade him. 

“Yeah, okay... If you’re sure, then it would be unfair of me to argue, huh?” 

“Mm. Thanks for understanding.” 

Reiji gave his best friend a smile. Suimei nodded, then turned to the still-pouting Mizuki. 

“Mizuki, are you sure about this? You don’t want to go back either?” 

“I’m staying. Reiji-kun is staying, so I’m staying.” 

“Sorry.” 

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” 

Mizuki offered the apologetic Reiji a smile, and Suimei spoke once more. 

“Everything is back to normal, so I think it’s a good time to go back though.” 

Suimei wasn’t sure what was wrong with his casual remark, but Mizuki’s face suddenly went pale. It took him a second, a second longer... And then it clicked. He quickly averted his gaze and apologized when he realized what had Mizuki so horrified. 

“Er, sorry... Forget what I said.” 

“Enough! Please, I don’t want your sympathy!” 

Covering her face with both her hands, Mizuki hung her head. The source of that sorrow was, obviously, that. Suimei and Reiji knew exactly what that was and didn’t say anything more, but naturally, those who didn’t know of Mizuki’s past in detail were curious. 

“What is it, Mizuki? Is Io Kuzami, Holy King of the Heavens, all that bad?” asked Graziella. 

“We had some hardships, but Io Kuzami-dono saved us more than once. I also do not have all that bad of an impression of her,” echoed Titania. 

Since they didn’t know that the Holy King of the Heavens “Io Kuzami” was part of a past Mizuki wanted to forget, their attempts at being considerate only came off as cruel. Meanwhile, Mizuki being Mizuki, she started hyperventilating as she repeatedly breathed in and out. And even as she was doing that, the two girls continued to try and console here when the really should have just stopped... 

“Io Kuzami’s magic was—” 

“Mizuki, there is nothing to be ashamed of about being possessed—” 

“NOOOOOOOOOOO! Graziella-san! Tia! For the love of god, don’t unravel any more of my BLACK HISTORYYYYY!” 

Unable to bear it any longer, Mizuki burst into tears at her wits’ end. 

“No? But you played such a great role...” 

“Yes, you did.” 

“Great role?! What role?! Just what did I do?!” 

Mizuki begged for answers, but Graziella and Titania... 

“Um, you see...” 

“That’s, well...” 

“Don’t avert your eyes now! All your persuasive power vanished at once!” 

And while that was going on, Reiji looked towards Suimei with a bitter smile. 

“Hey, Suimei’s got a pretty good impression.” 

“Hold the phone, Reiji! Don’t you dare put me the spot like that!” 

“No, no, I heard it myself back at the encampment. You had that maniacal laugh and everything.” 

There, Mizuki hit her limit. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed on the spot, frothing at the mouth. 

“Stop... Don’t dig it up... If you don’t stop, I’ll die. I’ll just die...” 

Realizing the extremity of the situation, Suimei knew things really would get bad if they didn’t change the subject. 

“Well, whatever... It’s about time I activate it.” 

“Wait a sec, Suimei! Are you running away?!” 

“I’m not running or anything, I just have to go—so bye! Be nice to Mizuki while I’m gone!” 

“Wait, you coward!” 

As Reiji yelled at him, Suimei stuck out his tongue at him and urged Felmenia on. 

“Menia, I’ll leave the assistance up to you. Let’s get going before it gets weird, alright?” 

“Y-Yes, leave it to me.” 

Ignoring that things had already gotten weird, Suimei and Felmenia activated the magicka circle together. Selphy, who was there to see Hatsumi off, waved to her. 

“Have a safe trip, Hatsumi.” 

“Yeah. Once I finish what I need to do over there, I’ll come right back. Give my regards to Gaius and Weitzer in the meantime.” 

In complete contrast to the other exchanges taking place, the mood between them was rather calm and gentle. Reiji finally relented when he saw the magicka circle beginning to glow, and turned a much softer look on Suimei too. 

“Take care. I know I’m imposing a bit, but I’m leaving things on that side to you.” 

“Suimei-kun, you should know already, but you better bring me a souvenir! How good it is will determine the number of apologies you owe me!” 

“Yeah, yeah, I got it.” 

Both sides—both on and off the magicka circle—waved goodbye to one another. And before long, Suimei and the others were swallowed by a blue beam of light that would carry them all the way from this strange world to the strange modern world of Planet Earth.