n

n

n

n“You know it?”

n“Yes…” Kisara answers while staring at the bluish-white blade.

nFor just an instant sadness flashes across her face.

nSuloza, who can appraise items, has talked about a legendary crow monster… Let’s ask her about that.

n“When I had an appraiser look at it, he mentioned a legendary crow monster.”

nKisara nods. She gazes at the dagger as if licking it all over with her eyes, and then looks past its blade, directly at me.

n“…What is the name of that appraiser? The name of the ancient Great Desert Crow Yazekapos hasn’t been carved onto this blade, so he’s quite amazing…” She explained passionately.

nThe dagger’s blade has clouded slightly over after being exposed to Kisara’s hot breathing. While admiring the charm of her wet lips, I think back on Pelneet.

nRecalling the face of the bald, middle-aged man, I answer, “Suloza. He’s running an Old Sorcery Store. It’s also called an antique store. He’s a first-class item appraiser with his shop being located on a small plot of land in the best district of the city, namely the First Ring Road of Pelneet. According to Rebecca, he’s also known as Shadow Ruler. And he’s under a curse by the Cursed God Tengaln Bububa. It seems somewhat shady, but he’s a refined, cool old man.”

n“Suloza. I shall remember that name.”

nIt’s not said that she knows, but let’s ask her about the creator just in case.

n“Anyway, it looks like he could appraise the name of the one who created Yazekapos’s Dagger. Kisara, do you know by chance?”

n“No, I don’t.”

nFigures.

n“I see. A man called Oze Sulligan, also known as Oze of the Silver Blue, carried it, and I obtained it after defeating him.”

n“Oze Sulligan. That name doesn’t ring a bell either. In the past this dagger used to be the beloved magic dagger of Latifa, one of the Black Witch Church’s Four Heavenly Witches. She had mentioned that it got stolen by Grand Thief Meyhan, who was later discovered to be a leader of 【Oriental Temple】, during a conflict with that religious group…”

nOohh, Four Heavenly Witch Latifa. I heard Kisara talk a bit about another For Heavenly Witch with the name Aphra Beazuma, but I’m hearing about Latifa for the first time.

n“…So it was stolen, huh? What is that Oriental Temple anyway?”

n“One of the associations flowing in from the east. They’re a religious group worshiping ancient demigods of the east, and the Demigod of Creation Baal. They desire to obliterate the other gods. I’ve heard that they’re a dangerous group considered to have started especially many conflicts with the gods of the Spirit World.”

nDemigods, huh? I know about Geronas and Glass, at least.

nGlass is a Demigod of Time who had sealed the Time Pinyin. Back then I had my penetrate the forehead of an illusionary Glass.

nAt that moment, the words of Suloza crossed my mind.

n『…The spirit world? So you’re saying you’re in the same category as Collector Shiki-san…I understand. If you know about cursed gods, I will also tell you about ancient gods. The aboriginal gods of old, who have lived on this Mahaheim Continent before the wild gods came into existence…they are called the forgotten gods. By the way, depending on the region, there are places where the powers of demigods, wild gods, and cursed gods are deeply rooted』

nThat was his explanation at that time.

nIn addition to Glass, wild gods such as Cazdolo also exist, so you can really say this world has a myriad of gods and goddesses.

n“…That means the thief passed it on to Oze, and I took it from Oze after killing him.”

n“It looks like it… By the way of your phrasing, that Oze person was not a member of Oriental Temple.”

nI’ve never heard the name of Oriental Temple before now.

n“At least I think so. I don’t know whether that Oriental Temple still exists either. Back when I fought Oze, he was a leader of 【Owl’s Fangs】. And although the details remain shrouded in mystery, he might actually have been an undercover agent of 【Noctal’s Oath】…”

nHogbar’s 【Noctal’s Oath】 was mostly active in the royal capital Fa’Dyke. So maybe Oze has been active in that area as leader of 【Owl’s Fangs】 while working as a double agent?

n“Dark guilds…” Kisara mutters with a very sad and pained expression while shifting her eyes from the dagger to Muu.

n“Oze had used Yazekapos’s Dagger together with the Sword of Rendil. It was a skilled dual-wield style. He also managed to injure me as a Flying Sword Practitioner.”

nKisara nods at my words. Mana particles, looking like a cloud of ashes, drift up from behind her, causing a sad atmosphere. Then she shifts her eyes from Muu to me.

n“Wounding you, Shuuya-sama…if it’s an opponent who stole the dagger in battle against an Oriental Temple member, he must have been skilled enough as a fighter…”

nThen she returns her eyes to the dagger in her hand once more. For a while Kisara remains silent as if brooding about something.

n“Did you remember something?”

n“…Yes.”

nStill, assuming the association called 【Oriental Temple】 still exists nowadays, they surely might have been in conflict with 【Noctal’s Oath】 which used to be one of the Eight Lights.

nAssuming Oriental Temple doesn’t exist in Leften…Oze must have obtained a superb item like Yazekapos’s Dagger by coincidence, bought it from a merchant with platinum coins, or plundered it from someone else.

nSpeaking of Fa’Dyke…it houses that space elevator-like Indomitable Lion’s Tower. The place where I encountered Yui and Chardonnay is around that area as well. It’s a region with an abnormal amount of abandoned mansions and lots of various crimes happening all the time.

nI wonder whether Nereis’Kary is doing fine with the capital being like that. It’s an area loaded with many conflicts.

nOseberia’s Hekatrail governed by Chardonnay lies in the south. If you head even further south on the continent, you have Duke Langreed, another noble of Oseberia who owns the Eight Lights dark guild 【Beycala’s Hand】. Though I doubt the war with Zamalia is unrelated to Leften’s situation.

nCurrently Chardonnay is in the midst of fighting over Zamalia’s Ancient City Musaka, which is also known as Leopard Pattern City Musaka, and its surrounding areas. That’s why she probably won’t meddle with Leften.

nBut, it’s the schemer Chardonnay I’m talking about here, and she did obtain some excellent personnel during the Underground Auction. Someday she might get interested in northern Leften.

nZamalia, which is under Chardonnay’s attack right now, has lost Hyatos, but the high-ranking nobles Marquis Rasni and Marquis Lorges, who are both supporting Zamalia’s royal family, are still going strong. I’ve heard from Kaldo and Yui about their subordinate organization 【Rozen’s Commandment】.

nI think it’s only logical, but Zamalia shouldn’t only possess that thief guild, but also a dark guild with the power at the level of the Eight Lights. No, it’s also possible that even bigger organizations are on the move here behind the scenes. And I have no doubt that swarms of bad guys, who use patriotism as cover, and true patriots are on the loose as well.

nMoreover, Bloody Long Ears, the mighty organization in Senapua, is around as well. It looks like they house many survivors of the Great Empire Befaritz, another empire like that of Quiche’s ancestors.

nWell, although you might call them similar, the Great Empire Befaritz possessed a huge territory stretching across the Mahaheim Mountain Range. Just like the elves of the Terramay Kingdom, which extends into the northern parts of the Whirlpool Forest, there seemed to be many internal conflicts between the various elven clans.

nI don’t think that the elves of Bloody Long Ears and Quiche’s ancestors had much to do with each other. The Bloody Long Ear members have a white whale tattoo on their cheek. It’s the symbol of their military unit. I think that’s yet another proof that they’re different from Quiche’s clan that has been continuing for centuries.

nThough, that is something I won’t know for sure unless I ask Lezalaysa about it. The guild master of 【Bloody Long Ears of the White Whale】 didn’t participate in the current war between Oseberia and Zamalia. Even though her guild should have close ties to Oseberia, they haven’t joined up with Chardonnay.

nI guess that’s only natural, though. I think it’s valid to believe that they turned our Remains of the Moon, no, the Four Dark Guild Alliance 【Blood Star Ocean Moon Alliance】 into their pivot. She also mentioned something about strife with the city councilors within Senapua as well, didn’t she? I heard a bit about the Air Battle Sorcerer who leads the Sky Magician Unit under the control of the councilors.

nI suppose the reason for the city to maintain its neutrality isn’t just the achievement of Bloody Long Ears who have vested interests in the Azel Dimension.

nBesides, even before Bloody Long Ears lost several of its leaders in the fight at the Dignified Heaven Shrine, they lost two of their leaders after they suffered an attack by the Black-Hair Unit during a retreat in the war against the western Radford Empire. In other words, them having lost too many combat forces plays a role as well.

nIt’s great that I managed to rescue Fran at the battle in the fort, but at the same time I ended up rescuing Curél, one of Bloody Long Ears’s leaders. I’m sure that Mia, who sent me a letter, would become upset if she knew that I saved her enemy…

nStill, I wonder how the meeting with Chardonnay went. I can’t believe that she, who’s called Female Fox, would obediently pull back after having gotten her combat forces ready

nThese folks, who switch back and forth between underworld and normal world, are going to point their fangs at Leften someday, huh…? Nereis’Kary’s future prospects look bleak.

nOh well, I saved her, so I fulfilled my promise with her. She’s a beauty, and I do have some sympathy for her situation, but I don’t plan to help her with her country building. But, I’ll gladly pray that her aspirations come true through her luck as princess and wisdom.

nThen again, if I were to personally ask to link her up with Chardonnay…I’d love to cooperate.

nEven while thinking that, I end up imagining how I’m going to rescue the beautiful princess again.

nAnyway, I’ve got my own stuff I need to do. Besides, I don’t have any means to contact her as Blood Messaging is no option. As I was pondering while predicting all kinds of situations, Kisara shifted her eyes back on me again.

nShe moves her dark purple lips, “…Shuuya-sama, I told you already before, but this is also one of the Black Church’s duties.”

nIt sounds like the history behind Yazekapos’s Dagger runs deep.

n“Did you recall a dense battle of the Great Desert that involved dark guilds from that dagger? I’m interested, so please share some of your past memories with me.”

n“Sure. Then let me go back a bit… There are many ruins of the ancient Dawn Empire, which got buried by the desert, like the Ancient Ruin Muhgo in the vicinity of Lake Rhinoceros, a rich water resource, Lake Rhinoceros town which is said to house an underground waterway that’s a part of Tree King Kyulha who appears in the Harvest Legend, and Lake Rhinoceros City which is close to Mephalla’s Shrine and Mount Damon’Anun. In addition to the invasions by desert worms, there were battles spanning over many, many years concerning the Eight Star White Shadow Swordsmanship which affected the hegemony of Lake Rhinoceros by the 17 Masters of the Black Witch Church and the Ten Lake Rhinoceros Tomboy Demonoids. On top of those battles over Lake Rhinoceros, I fought on many occasions against leaders of 【Heavenly Bamboo Umbrella】, 【800 Nuns】, and 【Abhi】, commonly called the Three Sari Alliance, who had each built one of the Oasis Cities. Just as I mentioned before, many people competed through pure martial arts as warriors assembling in the desert, which also included demonoids. I remember that a thieves guild with the name 【Gate of Hidden Evil】 also maneuvered in the underground.”

n【Gate of Hidden Evil】, she says? It’s my first time to hear that they also existed in the Great Desert of the past. It’s the thieves guild to which Fran belongs.

nI’ve heard from Melissa that they possess power stretching across countries, but…they’ve been around for quite a long while then, eh?

n“…Do you know a member of 【Gate of Hidden Evil】 called Fran?”

n“I don’t. One was called Buhabi, a person with half her body being a ghost. Her trait was the third eye on the forehead. She was quite famous as a triple-sword-wielder.”

nA ghost race, huh? I wonder whether she had space-time abilities like Remrona and Fran. I suppose I’ll ask about the cities I’ve heard about in the past.

n“I see… Then how about the cities called 【Grazing City Telezabil】, 【Curse Complex Ehim】, 【Magic Fog City Eden】, and 【Steel Sand City Zekshia】? All independent cities which might not exist anymore.”

nThose cities might have already vanished under the current Great Desert.

n“Just as I have been saying, it’s the Great Desert nowadays. It seems like the name of the Freedom Commonwealth doesn’t exist anymore, and the number of existing, independent cities is likely low. But, in the same way as the church worshiping Holy Man Ameph has taken over the desert, religious organizations which believe in the Spirit World god which has Magic Spirit Wave users that brainwash others, or organizations worshiping the gods of the divine domain should be still left. Also, we had a hard time with the heretic group of fanatics who ate the corpses of the 【Sebdola Faith】. I think the labyrinth managed by the Dark God’s evil general is remaining as well, although it didn’t cause overly much damage to the outside. There’s no way that Dark Church Hades’s 【Shadow Speed】 Horror Siblings, who have been offering corpses to the Spirit World, have perished. Moreover, there were master fighters who had a close relationship with the Muryu race who manipulated the monsters in the Eyhabra Plains extending in the western direction of the Great Desert. Usually they were masters in nothing but indulging in indolence, but…”

n“All waters lead to the sea” applies anywhere. To say nothing of oasis cities located in a desert.

nI don’t know whether Lake Rhinoceros still exists over there, but I’ve heard that the area has developed quite a bit. I’ve also heard about the Religious Capital Mestrazan as a desert city. If it still exists, I have no doubt that it’s frequented by so many cities that no weeds can grow on the ground over there.

nI have a friend who wanders the Great Desert Goldix and its cities. Spirit World Knight Rulizeze.

nI wonder how she’s doing right now… After all, Rulizeze has been living the proverb 『Hardship makes the man』 even more so than my bloodkin Kaldo.

n“…Sounds like there have been all kinds, huh? You also fought the beast nobles of Jiardan, the Barrier King who had been invading from the Highground Forest, the Blood Bone Nymphs, the remnants of the Hazarn Empire, the Loregund family of the twelve founding vampire families, the orc empire, the Pebble Mercenary Band, and the Corpse King of the Demonoid Empire who manipulated cowrie, right?”

nThe Great Goldix Desert is huge…

nHowever, Viine was interested in the dark elf who used rose magic as a subordinate of the Barrier King. Besides, a name like Corpse King immediately makes me think of a powered-up version of the Burning Knights. At least he does sound mighty…

nBut, it’s a desert. The terrain must have changed completely when comparing the area from the time in Kisara’s story and now. Yet, names like Blood Bone Nymphs are still remaining, so quite a few of those powers might still be around.

n“…Yes. I can’t believe that they’ve completely fended off Demonoid Cuberas of the 【Black Prophets】, Head Priest David of the 【War God Faith】 and the hollow wolves who served Human God Ameph, and Chief Adjutant Mashul.”

nDemonoid, huh? Speaking of Demonoids, it sounds like it could be related to Mel’s father, Demonoid Zarlp.

nI don’t know much about the War God Faith. Although it seems like some aspects resemble War Maiden Ivanka, and the Demonoid Naromivas has been speaking about it boastfully.

n“And just as I told you some time ago, I fought the first-class sorcerers of the General Battle Sorcerer Assembly over the Secret Book of Wisdom and Reincarnation, and Grand Wizard Akie Enigma targeted my cherished, special magic book…”

nKisara stares at the grimoire hanging at her waist. So it’s something dear to her, as I had thought. Just, it appears to not be the Secret Book of Wisdom and Reincarnation.

nI wonder what kind of book contained the spell allowing her to manipulate origami-like pieces of paper with her like the one she had shown me during our training.

nAlso, I’ve heard about them before already, but it seems the General Battle Sorcerer Assembly has been active for quite a long time now.

nI’m also curious about Kisara’s magic book, her grimoire. But…since it looks like it’d turn into a long story, I’ll shelve it for now, I think.

n“…Each of those battles allowed the Black Witch Church and me as a Four Heavenly Witch to grow, but…”

n“But, even with that strength, and continuing training sessions after training sessions, in the end Hoffmann…”

n“Yes, I can’t excuse that. You cannot underestimate the power of the Death Angel-based magic crests, the weapon called Ten Evil Star Lanwen which is one of the 68 Spirit World blades, his ability to manipulate the ten swords, and his various other secret techniques. Well then, with this…” Kisara politely turns around Yazekapos’s Dagger with the hilt pointing to me, and tries to give it back to me.

n“No, I’ll give it back to you. It’s been an item originally belonging to the Black Witch Church. I don’t know Latifa-san, but if she’s still alive, it’d be great if you could give it back to her in person.”

n“You’re very generous, Shuuya-sama. To give back a precious weapon and treasured item so easily…” With her lips trembling, Kisara genuflects, her head lowered.

n“Don’t mind it. Stand up. Muu and Riedel are looking strangely at us.”

nRollo’s Squad has left the training ground to some other place.

n“Thank you―― If Latifa is still alive…I’d love to give it back to her. I’m sure it’d make her very happy to get it back, too.” Kisara gets back up with a smile on her lips.

nThen she hooks the dagger’s hilt to the cord fastener connected to her grimoire. After nodding with a smile after seeing her do that…I decided to ask her about the Oriental Temple first, although I’m also curious about Latifa-san.

n“…Could you tell me more about your battles with Oriental Temple?”

n“It’s something I’ve heard directly from Latifa as I haven’t fought them myself. Is that still okay for you?”

n“Sure.”

n————— End of Part 1 —————

nAfter inserting a short pause, “…Very well. It’s a battle that took place east of the great desert, close to the Great Forest of Demonic Haunts, and not at our headquarters on Mt. Damon’Anun. A big fortress and a great magic wall had been built to hold back the demons advancing into man’s land in great numbers from the forest. An ancient temple existed there since before those two were built there. Latifa and her followers lived there.”

nI suppose I can imagine it as the Great Wall of China.

n“Hee, a big fortress, you say? And apart from that, an ancient temple with an even deeper history than the fortress, right?”

n“Quite so. During the era of darkness when the people continued to fight for survival against the demonic armies spilling out of the Great Forest of Demonic Haunts, that big fortress was build upon a request by the highly ambitious Lord Notoyz Seele Invail, who excelled at dirty underground work such as assassinations, in an attempt to gain control over the oasis cities belonging to Great Goldix Desert’s Freedom Alliance.”

nAn era of warring states exists in any world.

n“…To hold ambitions to gain power over the internal affairs despite the ongoing battle against the demons…he seems to have been a very greedy man…”

n“It is as you say. Lord Notoyz was cruel, but apparently excellent…he expanded his influence by gathering the superb personnel from within the Freedom Alliance. However, the Black Witch Church cooperated with the side of a certain feudal lord, and formed an encirclement against Lord Notoyz within the alliance. Lord Notoyz was defeated during a battle in a valley of the royal family, and put under house arrest in the big fortress which carried his own name back then.”

nNotoyz was the mastermind of the turbulent times then? It sounds like he gathered excellent strategists and others under his banner, even taking their families hostage.

n“That fortress would fall even when using battering rams during the attack… In the end, Latifa of the Dark Night, who was in charge of the Black Witch Church’s eastern division, invaded Fort Notoyz with a number of masters after receiving a request to do so by a certain lord of an independent city. Using Yazekapos’s Dagger, she slit Lord Notoyz’s throat while he was asleep, thus killing him…is what was said around that time, but Latifa herself told me, 『Right before I could kill him, Lord Notoyz made his own body explode by holding a devilish tool of Succubus Princess Dipelyl to his chest while having countless slaves kneel at his feet』.”

n“…I see…”

nFor an instant I remember the Matsunaga Hisahide’s suicide bombing theory which caused him to be called 『Bomberman』. It’s said he triggered a grand bomb suicide in his castle’s tower together with his world-famous tea utensils after putting gunpowder around his neck. It’s unclear whether he really blew himself up or performed seppuku after breaking the tea utensils, though.

nYazekapos’s Dagger has such a deep history that it reminds me of my previous life’s history of Japan. In that case, Magic Spear Gudorl might have a deep history behind it as well. Together with Lightning-styled La Doola, the orange blade hasn’t had much of a turn recently…

n“However, with the absence of the lord protecting the eastern wall, including the great fortress, the forces of the Spirit World marched on, and the Spirit World’s trees invaded a part of the desert, except for the temple where the Black Witch Church stayed. The mysterious plants and animals wriggling out of those trees grew in number, and turned the area into a barren ground with their abnormal mana.”

nThe desert and the trees of the Spirit World, huh? Maybe it’s them…the Torrent race, a race that seems to have fused with trees, that I encountered when heading for Sadeyula’s forest in the past. They also hunted the grizbell demons.

n“…That in itself sounds like a problem…”

n“The people in the cities were devoured as if a gust of wind had swept over them…and I’ve heard that the forces of Oriental Temple suddenly attacked the ancient temple. The fighters who named themselves such as Magician Arcon, Grand Thief Meyhan, or Flame Master Mela were all strong. Even with three of our masters present, including Four Heavenly Witch Latifa and her teacher Zokashy, it was a hard battle. When our side forced them to retreat…they not only used a mysterious technique, but they also used synthetic magic drugs for their spells. They were a dangerous group.”

nDrugs, huh…?

n“Is Latifa-san as strong as you, Kisara?”

n“Yes. She was someone who had investigated the Jewel Systema and the ruins of the Light God believer Abylim while overcoming many trials and difficulties.”

n“Abylim? I’ve heard about that jewel somewhere before, I think.”

n“Abylim was a saint recognized as one of Light God Lulodis’s eight greater disciples. It’s said that he was awarded with the Fruit of Eden. I’ve heard that he’s one of the legendary saints from a Hesliphat person, but that person had many comrades who discriminated against other races. As for the Jewel Systema, I don’t know any details.”

nHee…

nGramps Kistrin might also…his cross-shaped Demonic Eyes…

n“I see. Assuming Latifa-san is still alive, what might she be doing?”

n“The same as me! Even if our headquarters got destroyed with everyone being scattered, she should wander the lands in search of the church’s messiah, or, assuming she’s still at the temple…she might be waiting, continuing to believe the fairy-tale-like legend in our doctrine that the Damon’Anun Bringer’s Magic Spearmaster would visit one from the Great Forest of Demonic Haunts…”

n…Tears run down Kisara’s cheeks. Apparently overlapping her emotions with Latifa, Kisara has said that I’m the messiah.

n“…I see. You want to meet her, don’t you?”

n“Yes.”

n“Then let’s look for her whereabouts on the occasion of us heading to the great desert. I think it’ll be difficult since it’s a desert, though.”

nKisara wipes her tears away.

n“…Thank you very much. As I’ve told you, the great desert is a place frequently visited by sandstorms. The sand dunes and wind-wrought sand patterns continue endlessly, and the sand flow is intense thanks to the föhns. Even buildings with elaborate designs get buried by the sand or are overrun and destroyed by demons. Even Muhgo was buried under the sand back then. You might still call yourself lucky if some traces of the disaster remain… That’s why just your intent of looking for her makes me already happy.”

n“…To be honest, I don’t know the desert. Because of that I’ve maybe said too easily that we’d just need to find her, so no need to thank me.”

n“Okay.”

nAt that moment, Muu walks up to us. It looks like she’s interested in the witch spear which is still stabbed in the ground next to Kisara.

n“…”

n“Muu, do you want to wield a spear?”

n“…”

nShe looks back, scrutinizing Baldok, and nods faintly. For some reason her cheeks turn red.

n“I see. Spearmanship, huh…?”

n“Hehe, Muu-chan sure is a strange girl. I fully understand her admiration of your martial arts and all of its wonderful techniques, Shuuya-sama. Since the first time I witnessed it…my chest…”

nYep, her big boobs are swaying, no doubt. No, I guess that’s wrong.

nI shift my eyes from Kisara to Muu. I think the Permeated Drops of the Sacred Flower would be an option as well, but…it seems like those don’t work against inborn illnesses and divine stigma.

nMuu has never tried to tell me how she lost her arm and leg, or rather, she can’t tell me, so I won’t use the precious medicine for now since I can’t tell for sure whether it’d have an effect.

nBesides, I think there’s got to be a reason why Muu has been locked up by the vampires together with the children and elderly.

n“…But you see, the other day I told you I’d make you an artificial leg and arm since you only got one arm and leg, but I was turned down by you.”

n“――gh.”

nOh? Muu is fervently shaking her head at my words. She approaches me while hopping up and down on her leg.

n“Hehe, Shuuya-sama, it seems like Muu-chan hasn’t actually refused an artificial leg and arm, does it?”

n“It’d appear so…”

nMuu nods lightly.

n“Well then, I shall head over to Rotalz who’s still being chased by Spirit-sama and Puyuyu-chan――”

nKisara grabs her witch spear, and jumps while turning her body around. As she flies through the air with both her legs on the spear as if surfing, she stays at a low altitude while skillfully pulling off a barrel roll. Then she extends one hand for the ground, and picks up one apple that was still laying there before flying up high into the air, disappearing. As usual, her waist and butt are pretty…

nHer way of straddling the witch spear is adorable, too.

n“…nh――”

nOh? When I was staring at Kisara’s ass, Muu leaked some breath-like words. Looking at her, I see that she’s pulling a sullen expression.

nThereupon, Riedel shouts, “――Hero-sama, I’ll leave the apples over here, okay?”

n“Sure, thanks.”

nRiedel cheerfully puts the bag with the apples down at the edge of the training ground. I’ve already got plenty of the apples Catiza brought back, but oh well, whatever.

n“What has Gramps Pal been up to ever since then?”

n“He’s learning cooking from Old Ton. Old Ton is going to hold cooking classes in the future from now on as well! He’s going to teach me how to make sweets using Ca-chan’s apples and nuts! Since Arry-chan, Suu-san, and the others are going to show up as well, I invited Muu-chan to go with me, but…I got the cold shoulder as always.”

nMuu keeps observing the conversation between Riedel and me expressionlessly.

nWell, it can’t be helped.

n“This is how Muu ticks.”

n“Right. Okay, I’ll go back now. If I succeed in making sweets, I’ll bring them over, so please eat them by all means then!”

n“Got it.”

nRiedel’s face turns bright red. After hearing my words, she turns on her heels with a smile, and leaves. The frill of her skirt is cute.

nThen I turn my eyes to Muu. Muu narrows her eyes, looking at me as if glaring, but I don’t pay any heed to it.

n“…Muu, do you want to learn spearmanship?”

n“…nh.” Muu nods powerfully, widening her eyes.

nBut, I wonder what Master Achilles would say if he were here.

n『Mmh, I believe I taught you all martial arts I know of. That’s why I’ll also teach you how to properly do the Ra Kelada!』 He’d probably preach to her with a stern, or rather, smiling face.

nRaglen would say, 『Shuuya a teacher? Hahaha, sounds like a disaster in the making. You’re not going to teach her about chest or some such, right?』

nRabi-san would add, 『Oh my, Shuuya-san…I wonder what Leifa is going to say about this…』

nThen I recall Leifa’s face as she says, 『Onii-chan…』. But, Leifa’s teachers are Master Achilles and Raglen.

n“…Very well. But you must do what I tell you.”

n“…” Muu glares at me.

nIt appears that she’s unhappy.

nIn ancient China it was the basics of the basics to great your teacher pressing your forehead against the ground. It’s not like I want her to do that for me, but I’d definitely prefer her not glaring at me.

n“Then I won’t teach you.”

n“gh――” Muu furiously shakes her small head.

nThen she squats down on one leg, and once she falls over, she unreasonably presses her forehead against the ground.

n“――Wai-, hey! Did you read my mind!?”

nShe’s not Eva, though.

nOnce I asked her that, she lifted and tilted her head, looking up to me. She appears confused as if question marks are hovering above her head while very closely staring at my lips. Her streaked hair is clinging to her small forehead.

nProbably because she’s bumped it against the ground, dirt and blood is clinging to her hair.

n“…Good grief, you’re clearly overdoing it while having only one leg――”

nI silently cast 《Water Cure》. At once its tiny mist droplets rain down on her head, washing away the injury and dirt.

n“…”

nMuu stares at the falling droplets while bewildered. Laying down, she starts to rub her forehead with her hand.

n“Can you get up by yourself?”

n“…gh.”

nI extend a hand, but Muu ignores it. She shows a rebellious spirit towards my words.

nWith her body being unexpectedly well-trained, she bends her torso and leg, just to get up by jumping up.

n“I guess you being used to a life with one leg isn’t just for show.”

n“…” Muu nods.

nAt that moment, the book she had hidden at her belly slipped out and fell to the ground. Going by its appearance, it’s a magic book. Various threads are entangled in great numbers, binding the front cover. And the mana within doesn’t leak out to such an extent that it’s actually weird.

nHowever, when I directly look at the book, I feel how a considerable amount of mana is locked up inside. Maybe it’s some crazy Mythological or Legendary class treasure? At the very least, it’s got to be Unique.

nIs it one of the treasures safe-kept by Hoffmann and his gang that Moga stole?

n“…Isn’t that an item Moga used as decoration? He stole it from the vampires…”

n“――nh.” Muu lets her eyes wander.

nAnd then, with a slight delay, she shakes her head, clearly looking panicked.

n“…You stole it from Moga’s home, didn’t you?”

n“…gh.” Muu is scowling my way as if screaming 『Wrong!』 at me.

n“I won’t understand if you don’t speak to me. It’s one of the books that decorated Moga’s home, right? Even though Moga stole it from the vampires, it’s tentatively his property.”

n“gh――” Muu shakes her head in denial once more.

n“You want to tell me that it’s wrong? If you lie to me, teaching you spearmanship will become impossible. I’ll immediately know once I ask Moga, right?”

n“……” Muu is on the verge of tears.

n“Even if you look at me like that…”

nAt that point, I hear heavy footsteps approaching. It’s Nemus who’s ascending the place with a slope. And Moga is at her feet.

nIn the meantime, Muu nimbly picks up the book, and hides behind me.

n“Muu…is there a reason why you should possess that magic book?”

n“…nh.”

nHiding behind me while pinching the back of my knee and butt with her small fingers, Muu seems to have nodded.

nNo helping it…I’ll trust Muu on this, and try to talk it over with Moga.

n

n