Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers: Volume 7 E-Book

Isle Osaki

• Herausgeber: J-Novel Club
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Serie: Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Seitenzahl: 264

Beschreibung

Fresh off their victory over the demon lord Bifrons, Makoto’s party joins Princess Sophia on a political trip to broker an alliance with Great Keith. However, diplomacy quickly goes out the window when the party is attacked by Great Keith’s Hero of Incandescence, who is known to be the strongest hero of them all. On top of that, Makoto soon hears rumors that one of his former classmates has been captured and sold into slavery. As the Roses delegation tries to get to the heart of the matter, they find themselves facing another one of the Snake Sect’s nefarious plots. And though Makoto has thwarted them before, this time, he’s at a distinct disadvantage—Great Keith, with its desert climate, has hardly any water elementals! Can Roses secure a mighty new ally? Or will both nations fall into the hands of demons?

Leseprobe

Prologue: The Melancholy of Princess Sophia

◇ Sophia Eir Roses’s Perspective ◇

The moment I heard the report that a hero had sacrificed themselves in Springrogue to stymie the demon lord’s resurrection, I couldn’t just wait in the capital. I departed for Springrogue immediately.

The news I received during the journey was a string of misfortune.

Setekh and Sciulli, two demons whose reputations persisted to this day, had been revived.

Zagan, the King of Beasts’s army had infiltrated Springrogue.

The Snake Sect was pulling the strings.

Maximilian and a hero of Roses had been cursed into petrification.

It’s awful. Leonardo, Makoto...please be safe.

I felt faint as I arrived at the village.

◇

“Takatsuki’s not waking up...”

“Get up, Makotoooo...”

Aya and Lucy were by the side of a petrified figure, their heads bowed. The figure’s face was covered with a white cloth—in Roses, this was a custom afforded to the dead.

I-It can’t be...

I fell to my knees...

I’d only just told him to come to Springrogue...

“This is strange,” Furiae—the Priestess of the Moon—commented, slapping the covered forehead. “Breath of the Moon is the strongest curse-breaking technique I know, but he isn’t back to normal. Why?”

You can’t treat the dead like that!

“Fuu, that cloth’s bad luck! Let’s take it off.”

“Is it?” Lucy replied, turning to Aya. “That cloth is a magic tool, though. Maybe we should leave it.”

O-Oh? I thought they were in tears, but their voices are much more normal than I’d expected.

I hesitantly started making my way toward the three people.

“Fuuri! Can I get you to free another one?”

“Argh! I’m busy! There, it’s done.”

What?

The moon priestess had freed a cursed person...just by touching them.

“Wh-Whhh...what happened...?” The newly freed elf started patting himself down in confusion.

“You need to remain under observation for a while, so stay in that bed for the day,” Furiae briskly instructed the man. “If you don’t have any side effects, you’ll be free to go!”

Suddenly, someone at my side spoke to me.

“I’m hardly even needed... She really is incredible.”

When I glanced around, I saw a familiar face. “Florna,” I acknowledged.

“We are honored that you would travel so far, Your Highness. I believe the last time we saw each other was during our graduation ceremony.” Though she was smiling, her expression held a tinge of exhaustion.

“You seem rather tired,” I observed. “Are you well?”

“Our country was on the verge of collapse,” she replied. “Though I imagine it is nothing compared to the warriors’ suffering. I apologize that I am unable to offer any better greeting, but we have many injured, so I must take my leave. The chief is in that direction.”

After indicating where I could find Canaan’s chief, Florna left with quick steps. I greeted the old man before giving an order to my knights—those who could heal should aid with treating the wounded.

After everything was in order, I headed once again to my petrified hero.

“Takatsukiii, wake uuuup,” Aya pestered, straddling his stony form.

“Aya, I don’t think you should disturb him so much...”

“It’s already been four days though!” protested Aya. “I’m tired of waiting!”

The moon priestess let out a sigh. “Why is it that I can heal the others in an instant but am powerless when it comes to my knight?”

Three beauties surrounded Hero Makoto. As his fiancée, perhaps I should’ve felt jealous, but...

He’s currently a statue...

I didn’t feel like I could say anything.

Suddenly, Lucy noticed me. “Oh, Princess Sophia?”

“Sophie, were you worried about Takatsuki?” Aya asked.

“I-Indeed... Is he...?” Nervously, I approached the three.

“Warrior, remove yourself from my knight already. You could break him,” Furiae demanded.

“Okayyyy,” she replied as she climbed down.

“It seems that you have all undergone much hardship. At least you are all safe...barring Hero Makoto, that is.” I peered at him. Considering that he’d been fighting against a demon with the Eyes of Petrification, I dreaded to think what rictus of fear his face would be frozen in...

“He’s...smiling...?” I said dumbly. Indeed, he was grinning like someone in the middle of a chat.

“Mmmm, well, he wanted to talk more to that Setekh demon,” Lucy informed me.

“Right, those two were getting along pretty well,” Aya agreed. “At least, as far as we could see. We were quite a distance away.”

That was ridiculous.

“A good relationship with a demon...the church would brand him a heretic if they knew,” Furiae commented with an exasperated look.

“So, will you be able to free him?” I asked.

“I can feel the curse lifting, so it should be broken in a few days,” she replied, tracing a porcelain finger along his lips.

Despite being a woman, even I felt my heart race at how erotic the casual act seemed. I was so glad she wasn’t a rival for his affections...

As the thought passed through my head, I heard someone running up behind me.

“You came to Springrogue?!”

“Leo!” I exclaimed. As soon as he ran within arm’s reach, I grabbed him and hugged his head. “It must have been so hard.”

“I’m so sorry!” he replied. “I was with him when—”

“It’s okay, Leo...” He’d probably been tending to the wounded just as Florna had. He couldn’t hide his exhaustion. “Rest a while. The knights I brought with me are helping with the aid.”

“R-Right... Thank you.” With that, he staggered off under the gaze of the guardian knight.

Once he’s recovered, I need to tell him to head back to Horn for a while. Mother and father must have been worried about him...

Neither of our parents could easily leave the capital, busy as they were with ruling the country. When they’d heard that the demon lord was resurrecting in the same place their son had traveled to, they’d been ready to mobilize the entire army... They needed to know he was safe.

And so, I spent the next few days in Canaan, and eventually, Hero Makoto awoke.

He needed to rest until he had fully recovered, but...

The very day he regained consciousness, he began training.

“Um... Shouldn’t you be resting?” I found myself asking. Thousands of butterflies he had made with water magic were fluttering around him.

“I haven’t trained in a whole week,” he replied listlessly. “I’ll lose my edge.” He cocked his head at the flock of magical butterflies above him.

Is he not satisfied with his magic...? I wondered.

His spells wrapped around the entirety of the village. He was likely borrowing mana from the elementals to cast them...but this wasn’t just a case of plentiful mana—how high must his proficiency be to control everything? I was honestly lost for words.

I doubted that any other mage in Roses could match the feat.

“Oh, not bad. I’m joining in!” Rosalie proclaimed, wine bottle in hand, as she watched him train. Judging by the rosy tint to her cheeks, she was already mostly drunk.

And then she goes and casts a king rank spell with her other hand?! I thought, aghast, as I watched the Crimson Witch cast a Phoenix.

“Mama, don’t interrupt him!” Lucy complained.

“You lose your focus too easily. You should learn from your boyfriend’s example,” she replied.

“How?! I can’t keep using magic for over five hours!”

Right...it has been quite a while since he started. Doesn’t he always do the same?

“Takatsuki always keeps this up for ages.” Aya, who was standing by my side, gave a deep sigh. She was wearing an apron; her hair was tied up, and she carried a frying pan in one hand. Apparently, she was in charge of the party’s food.

“He isn’t even healed yet,” I pointed out. “Jumping right back to long training sessions can’t be good...”

“Huh?” Aya asked. “He usually goes for twelve hours, though.”

“What?!” That was insane. It had to be.

“Besides, it’s almost time,” she added.

“I told you to rest, my knight! You’re injured!” Furiae exclaimed, suddenly hitting him with a flying kick.

Well, it was a clean hit...but was that sensible?

“Oof, a direct blow. Normally, he’d manage to dodge. He must not be feeling well,” Aya remarked.

“Really?”

“Yup. He has a skill that lets him look in all directions at once.”

I never knew that.

“You’re done training!” Furiae commanded with a fearsome glare. “Now rest!”

“Awww, but I was just getting started...”

“You say the same thing every day! That’s why you haven’t finished healing yet! You don’t have any stamina or mana and you’re still pushing yourself! Just lie down already.”

“Fiiine... Oh, Princess?”

“What?”

“I can see your panties.”

“Die!”

She kicked him hard in the head. The noise was so solid that I almost felt the impact.

He deserves it, though...

“I’ll let you know when dinner’s done,” Aya told us before leaving.

“I hope he’ll be— Ack, mama, leggo!”

“You’re not ill, so you need to keep training,” said Rosalie. “Come on, you can do another saint rank spell.”

“No, I’m tired,” Lucy protested, squirming under Rosalie’s arm. I hesitantly made my way to Hero Makoto’s side and softly put my hand on his head.

Water Magic: Healwater.

I doubted it would do much for someone weakened by a curse, but it would hopefully give him a little more energy.

I could hear him murmur in his sleep.

“Hmmm... Yeah, you can’t see up Noah’s skirt...”

What the...? Maybe I should hit him again.

Suddenly, he gasped and shot up. “What happened?!”

“You were having a nice dream, it seemed,” I replied.

He looked at me with wide eyes.

Guh. Stop looking at me so innocently! “Don’t push yourself so much,” I said instead.

“I know...but it was a close call, so I can’t help panicking.” His response was serious.

“What happened?”

“I...can only fight using the elementals’ mana or if the goddesses protect me and give me weapons,” he admitted. “I don’t have any strength of my own... That’s why I can’t relax—I might not be able to use my skills when it counts. It would help if I could at least get stronger when I leveled up.”

He was staring at his dagger.

“Hero Makoto...” I began.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “I shouldn’t be complaining.”

Was he...getting depressed? If so, then there was something I should say...

“I don’t think a guardian knight should be looking up his charge’s skirt.”

“Ah, right...”

He wouldn’t stop trying to get stronger, even if he should be relaxing. He’d defeated a demon lord days ago, so why was he forcing himself through more training?

“You already have an adorable lover, don’t you?” I asked. “And...I’m your fiancée, so...you should rely on us.” I wouldn’t rebuff him if he made the approach.

He smiled at the words I’d managed. “Thanks, Sophia. I’ll take a break.” At that, he thumped down to the floor and fell asleep in that spot.

I let out a mental sigh.

This man...

He trained until he dropped, then woke up and trained some more. I’d heard how much it weighed on Lucy and Aya when they adventured together. Still, I remained there, waiting for him to wake up.

When I returned to the chief’s home for dinner, there was a crowd waiting outside.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Looks like someone’s visiting,” Hero Makoto replied from where he was standing at my side.

The people from Highland couldn’t have already arrived, right? That was far too impressive. If so, we needed to get on our way.

However, the identity of the person in the middle of the crowd went far beyond my expectations.

“Oh, it’s been a while!” Hero Makoto waved casually.

Th-That’s no way to—

My thought was interrupted by the response to his wave.

“Hey there, Elementalist. I heard you defeated a demon lord.” A white-haired woman with glowing, ruby-red eyes grinned. Despite her slight stature, there was a sense of tension surrounding her.

G-Grandsage?!

This was Highland’s protector and the strongest mage on the continent—the White Grandsage.

Chapter 1: Makoto Takatsuki Heads for Great Keith

“I’ve been waiting for you, Elementalist.”

The woman—white-haired and white-robed—had glowing red eyes. The Grandsage should have been in Highland, but she had come to the village chief’s home.

Immediately, she strode toward me.

“Guh!” I managed as she grabbed hold of my collar.

“Where are you taking him?!” Lucy cried out in shock.

Princess Sophia sputtered a confused “What the—?!”

“Son of Johnnie, I’m borrowing that room,” the Grandsage told the chief.

“O-Of course, Grandsage! Please, make yourself at home.”

“I shall,” she said.

Suddenly, my vision went black.

“Wha?”

“We teleported,” explained the Grandsage. “I wanted to talk for a while.”

So was this the room she meant? It was really dimly lit, and I could see a bunch of bookshelves. The whole space reeked of dust.

A solid clunk sounded behind me. Did she lock the door with magic? Things were getting even more serious...

“Is this some top secret meeting?” I asked.

She remained silent for a moment, ruby eyes piercing me through the darkness. Her usual easygoing smile was absent as she stared seriously at me.

“I heard you defeated Bifrons,” she said eventually.

“Yeah...somehow,” I replied. This was what she’d come all the way to Springrogue for?

There was silence for a while. The Grandsage’s head was bowed, and I couldn’t read her expression. Eventually, the slight woman began to speak.

“I told you that I am a vampire, did I not?”

“Yeah, back in Highland.” That revelation had been a real surprise. Then, she’d followed it up by outing my virginity and sucking my blood...

“You know, I was once a human. I was made into a vampire...by Bifrons. In that respect, he was my sire.”

“What?!”

H-Her sire? So I killed her father?

“U-Uhm?”

I felt a cold sweat prickling across the back of my neck. I’d taken it for granted that nothing bad would come of the demon king’s destruction—of course, this left aside the issue of Setekh in the demons’ faction.

But, the Grandsage was a demon...and related...?

“E-Er, I’m not entirely sure what to say...” I stuttered.

She grinned sharply.

“Well done, Elementalist. There was nothing I could do against Bifrons—vampires are unable to cross their sires. If any other demon lord appeared, I would destroy them the moment they made landfall on the continent. The Snake Sect must have wanted him as a tool against me...” The Grandsage began to chuckle cheerily at their misfortune. “But you well and truly put paid to that.”

“You’re not angry I killed your sire?”

“Why would I be? He ruled the western continent and treated people as little more than livestock. Back when I was human...he was the one that killed and ate my parents, the one who slaughtered the people of my village. If I could, I would’ve ripped him apart with my bare hands...”

She flashed her fangs and grimaced.

“Abel saved me just as I was about to join them, and that’s why I survived. He’s not here this time, though. I would’ve had to get our young Hero of Light to do something if Bifrons’s resurrection had succeeded... Yet, right now, he’s still too green.”

“Sakurai’s doing his best,” I said, instinctively defending my old friend.

“I know. He is steadily getting stronger. He’ll probably make something of himself before the Northern Front Plan.”

“He’s an earnest guy. Make sure you help him.” Even if he was a tad indecisive... Particularly with women!

My words seemed to remind her of something. Her lips quirked. “Are you really in a position to worry about others? The nobles of Highland—no, the continent as a whole—are after you.”

“They...are?” I asked. Princess Sophia had said that...but were they really?

“The greedy louts are focused on what will happen after the war. That’s why the reincarnated Hero of Light was pushed into the royal family. They need to know where to put the second ‘pivot.’”

I sighed. The war hadn’t even started yet.

“You need to be warier,” scolded the Grandsage. “You’re an inexperienced hero who defeated a demon lord. On top of that, you are a citizen of a small country. They’ll be plotting incentives to bring you to their sides. After the war, they’ll be happily claiming territory on the demon continent using that card.”

I sighed again. That was their thinking? “It’s all politics,” I stated. “Besides, I am technically engaged to Princess Sophia.”

“They’ll be pretty sure they can work around a small nation’s royals. Sophia’ll have a lot to deal with too.”

Roses is in a pretty weak position...

“So, what are you planning next?” the Grandsage asked me.

“We’re heading to Great Keith,” I told her. As things were now, it at least sounded like I could keep my head down...but I’d need to talk to Princess Sophia about it.

“Hm, the military country. Their forces will make up the core of the Northern Front Plan, so we need some form of cooperation with them... Their general and priestess are right pieces of work, though.”

“They are?” I’d have to keep that in mind.

“Make sure you don’t fall for a honeypot.”

“Charm magic doesn’t work on me. I’ll be fine,” I replied confidently.

She gave me an exasperated look and shook her head. “Fool. It has nothing to do with magic. You’ll wake up next to some naked woman, and then half a year later, a kid will pop up and they’ll demand you acknowledge it.”

I had no words. That was terrifying! Besides, I was a virgin...

The Grandsage grinned at my expression. “When that happens, I’ll use my Appraisal and prove you’re still a virgin.”

“Could you not?!” That would mean the whole world knowing!

“Then keep your guard up so it doesn’t happen.”

“Fiiiine.” Society was a scary thing. “Thank you for everything, Grandsage... Uh, what’s wrong?”

I’d assumed we’d be going after I thanked her, but her gaze felt heavy on me. She didn’t look angry. If I had to describe it, she looked like a cat sitting in front of a fish.

“I am hungry.”

Right, that makes sense...

“Go ahead,” I said after a pause, kneeling down and opening my collar. She moved slowly to my neck, her cold breath ghosting over my skin.

“Good boy,” she laughed before latching on.

There was a faint pain along with a vague sense of pleasure. My body must have been getting used to it...not that I liked that idea. I could hear the slight gulps of her swallowing. It was a very refined way of drinking, very different from when I’d met Setekh.

That reminded me—he’d been around a thousand years ago as well. Did she know him?

“Grandsage, do you know a demon called Setekh?”

She gave a brief pause. “Don’t talk while I’m eating. Of course I do. He was annoying. Right, you were petrified by him, weren’t you? He can’t eat people, so there’s not much else he can do.”

“What?” He can’t eat people? “What do you mean?”

“You don’t know? He was a weak undead to begin with, but the Great Demon Lord used Awakening to make him stronger. The cost was a curse; Setekh couldn’t attack people. Since he can’t drink human blood, the demons derided him as barely a vampire... His eyes are a real threat, though.”

So that was why he hadn’t tried to drink any of our blood when we’d met him.

“You spoke with him?” asked the Grandsage.

“Yeah. He was pretty happy when I told him Bifrons’s last words.”

If he couldn’t attack people, then was he much of a threat? I guess the petrified fighters were essentially useless in a fight...so that probably counted as threatening.

“What?! You spoke with Bifrons?!” she exclaimed. That was the first time I’d heard her lose her cool.

“Y-Yeah...a little.”

“Impossible... He shouldn’t have had any sense of self... I’m sure that back then...” She trailed off in thought, voice shaking. “What did he say?” she asked.

“Um. He didn’t seem to remember much about himself. He wanted to know who he was.”

There was a long pause, and her voice became more serious. “Did he say anything about Abel? Or anyone else from back then?”

I couldn’t really think of anything... “Not really,” I said after a few moments.

She remained silent for quite a while. “I see,” she finally said. “Then...that’s fine.”

I couldn’t read her expression. What’s all that about? The noise of her drinking started up again.

Man, I’m bored. Besides, she’s having my blood, but I shouldn’t give it to her for free. Since I had the chance, I’d ask her for help.

“Grandsage, how can I become stronger?”

“You just defeated a demon lord...” she argued.

Well, I hadn’t really—he’d wanted to die. “My usual methods for fighting are going to be limited pretty soon.”

She hummed. “Your stats are the lowest mankind’s can be. Even so, using elemental magic and your weapons allows you to fight well...”

“I couldn’t follow anything the Crimson Witch was doing. And, if Bifrons had wanted to fight, I wouldn’t be standing here.” I couldn’t help but feel an immense gulf between us. How I currently was... My current power... I didn’t think I could manage.

“You want to become stronger?” she asked. “You know, if you increase in strength dramatically...it will be at the expense of your humanity...”

“What?”

“You’re not taking me seriously, are you?” She scoffed. “Take, for example, if I turned you—I think your physical abilities would certainly increase.”

“Oooh!”

“The cost would be your elemental magic. Elementals don’t like the undead.”

“Hm...not happening.” I doubted that would go well...and I didn’t feel like being a vampire anyway.

“Don’t look like that. Rely more on me. Do you know what Highland thinks of us?”

“They think we’re lovers,” I said, replying with what Princess Noelle had told me.

“Oh, you do know.” She pouted, maybe because she’d been after some sort of reaction.

On another note...

“Are you done?” I asked.

“A little more,” she begged cutely, looking up at me through her lashes.

“I feel pretty light-headed...” She’d drunk a lot today. Incidentally, she was currently perched on my lap and had her legs wrapped around my waist. Using RPG Player, I could tell just how dodgy it looked from an outside perspective.

I really don’t want Lucy or Sasa to see me like this...

“Wahhh, an affair!” came a sudden cry.

Someone had appeared in the room.

“Rosalie?” I asked. She’d gone out of her way to teleport in.

“Crimson brat! Why are you interrupting a meal?” The Grandsage was in a distinctly bad mood—she bared her fangs at Rosalie.

“You came into my territory without asking, now duel me!” demanded Rosalie. “I’ll win this time!”

“I’ll show you just how young you are, brat.”

Immediately, the two of them vanished, teleporting again...without even chanting the spell. Yeah, I definitely couldn’t imagine fighting on their level.

A moment later, I heard an explosion above. They must be battling now...and with king rank magic! They were crazy.

The brawl lasted well into the evening.

The next morning, Rosalie was kneeling with her head bowed. “I won’t pick a fight with you again,” she mumbled. “My regret is as deep as the Seafloor Temple...”

Whoa...a perfect victory.

The Grandsage didn’t have a scratch on her. Then again, being undead might’ve allowed her to heal immediately.

“Why do you try and win with brute force?” the Grandsage asked with folded arms. “You’re better than me in terms of skill.”

“Jeez, mama...” Lucy complained.

“Do the two of them have a bad relationship?” Sasa asked Lucy.

“Well, mama insists that they’re rivals, even though she’s never won.”

Furiae didn’t seem to care and was focused on stroking Twi’s throat.

“Guh...I’ll remember this,” Rosalie said.

“You don’t regret it at all, do you?” The Grandsage sighed as Rosalie glared up at her. The Crimson Witch was strong, but the Grandsage was on another level. She’s definitely the strongest mage, I thought. While I watched the scene play out, Princess Sophia walked up to me.

“Hero Makoto, we should leave for Roses soon. We have been here too long.”

I nodded. “Got it.” Now that I was all healed up, we could head for Great Keith.

“We’ll return to Macallan by carriage,” she explained. “The carriage has a barrier to ward off monsters.”

“Once we get home, we can take the airship to Great Keith,” I suggested. There were no avian dragons in that direction. Some sand dragons lurked on the land route, but none of them could fly.

“Wait, you two,” the Grandsage called out, interrupting our planning.

“What’s up?”

“I wouldn’t return to Macallan,” she said. “Highland nobles are waiting for you.”

“What?” the princess and I chorused.

My face was fixed in a scowl, while the princess wore a look of shock.

“It’s hardly a surprise. Everyone knows that the hero works out of Macallan. Waiting there in ambush is the easiest method to catch him.”

“Well, that’s an issue...” We had to go back, or else we couldn’t use the airship. “What should we do?”

“Well...” Sophia mused. “It will take longer, but we’ll need to take the land route.”

“There’s a better method,” the Grandsage interrupted. She stared meaningfully at Rosalie. “Crimson brat, send them off with your teleport.”

“What? But taking so many people is really tiring!” Rosalie griped.

“You can just split the trips. You have plenty of mana, so put it into something worthwhile.”

Right! Rosalie had taken Lucy and me all over the place.

“Lucy, do you think she’ll do it?” I asked quietly.

“Normally, she definitely wouldn’t...but since the Grandsage is asking, she probably will.”

I felt kind of awkward asking a great hero of a country to do an errand like this, but it’d really help.

“No way! It’s so annoying!” Rosalie whined. “You do it! You’re the Grandsage!”

“I don’t have as much mana to burn as you do. Elves have lots of it, so use it for the hero.”

Rosalie sighed. “Fine... Mr. Boyfriend, I’ll send you off in turn once you’re ready.”

“Th-Thank you.” It seemed like they’d come to some form of agreement, so we all hurriedly got ready for the journey. We made sure to say farewell to the village chief, Maximilian, and Florna, along with everyone else in Canaan.

“Sir Makoto! I look forward to meeting you for the Northern Front Plan!” boomed Maximilian. “We can fight together next time.”

“Right, look after yourself,” I said, returning his handshake. The biggest thing we managed was building a good relationship with this hero. His hands sure were huge and rough... Mine were like a baby’s in comparison.

“Are you ready?” asked Rosalie. “You and Lucy first.”

“Me and Makoto?” Lucy asked. “Well, fine. Let’s go, Makoto.”

“Me too!” Sasa interrupted. “They’ll be alone together.”

“Don’t you trust me?!” Lucy demanded.

“You’ll try and get ahead!”

I glanced at Rosalie as the arguments began.

“Come on, let’s get this over with,” complained Rosalie, grabbing my arm.

My vision went white with the teleport.

Thus, we all started our journey to Great Keith.

◇

“All right... That’s the last of you...” Rosalie mumbled listlessly, dark circles visible under her eyes. The excessive teleportation must have made her lose a lot of mana... Would she be okay?

“Thank you, Rosalie,” I said.

She just let out a sigh. “You’ve worked me to the bone. I’ll beat that damn sage next time!” As she spoke, a magic circle formed around her. It was more complicated than the teleports she’d done between here and Springrogue.

I wonder if it’s a different type...? “Where are you going, Rosalie? That spell’s not the same.”

“What?” Lucy asked. “You’re not heading back to the village?”

“Oh, well spotted, Mr. Boyfriend! You can read the formulae. I’m actually heading to the moon to train! The Grandsage hasn’t even managed that yet!”

“U-Uhm...” Princess Sophia sputtered as she watched the Crimson Witch roll up her sleeves. “I would like it if you would aid us with the Northern Front Plan before you challenge the Grandsage...”

Sophia was right—we couldn’t have our allies embroiled in a rivalry while a war raged on around them.

“Oh yeah! Dad said something about that, didn’t he?” remarked Rosalie. “Well, there’s still time until you raid the demon continent. Sure, sure, I’ll join in. Make sure you leave some demon lords for me!”

With that said, she vanished in a teleport. Free-spirited...was definitely the word for her.

Either way, we were now in Great Keith. “We” included me, Lucy, Sasa, Furiae (with Twi on her shoulder), Princess Sophia, and her guardian knight.

“We’re here, Takatsuki!” Sasa exclaimed.

Indeed, this town was Great Keith’s capital, Gamelan. Sasa’s cheer prompted me to look around at what I could see. The whole town seemed to be white. Were the buildings made of sun-dried bricks, maybe?

A lot of the clothing people wore was also white, and many of the folks milling around were much darker-skinned than us. To use terms from my old world, the whole place gave off a kind of “Middle-Eastern” vibe.

However, the biggest impression...was the heat.

It must have been nearly forty degrees. I was pretty sure that Great Keith should be at about the same latitude as Roses, but the vast difference in climate was apparently due to the Goddess of Fire—Sól—and her power.

Great Keith was a tropical country. I could mostly ignore the heat with Calm Mind set to 99%, however, there was a bigger problem...

This place had an utter lack of water elementals.

I’d more or less expected that since I’d learned about the country’s climate in the Water Temple. I’ll be pretty much useless here, I thought with a sigh.

“Lady Sophia,” the geezer guardian knight greeted as he clattered toward us. “The formalities are now complete.”

Since we couldn’t just teleport into Great Keith illegally, our entry into the country had to be legitimized properly. Rosalie had just been confused. She’d exclaimed, “What? I’m always in and out though!” I had a feeling that she’d forgotten her common sense on one of her trips.

“Let us head for the lodgings that our family usually utilizes,” Princess Sophia said. “Hero Makoto, have you contacted your friend?”

“I have. Fujiyan said he’s on his way.” I’d used the magical communication tool. Fujiyan had actually been in Gamelan on business, and he’d apparently turn up in a few days. Until then, we’d all be staying in the same place as Princess Sophia.

“I’m melting. Let’s hurry up,” Furiae griped, wiping the sweat from her brow and loosening her clothes to waft some air around her chest. The fanning led to an indescribable eroticism as it teased glances at her chest.

The men moving down the street stopped as one to stare at her. She...really stood out.

“Lu, you good?” Sasa asked.

“I’m too hot. Your skin’s so nice and cool, though.”

Lucy never dealt well with the heat and was currently draped over Sasa. We needed to get moving already, so we headed for our lodging.