“Okay, I’ve already told you through the blood message, but let me introduce them to you properly. Those are Moga and Nemus who entered Innocent Arms.”

“Aye! I’ve heard ’bout you from Shuuya, lovely beauties. We’ve met last time in the labyrinth, haven’t we? I’m Günther Moga. I’m a vanguard with a focus on swordsmanship. And the one behind me is my partner.”

“I, am, Neeemus!!”

Nemus was a lot more fired up than usual. Her thick steel legs trembled unnaturally.

Eva said, “Nn, nice to meet you. I can act as rearguard and vanguard. But I mostly work as a rearguard.”

“Nice to meetcha～ I’m Rebecca who’s a magician…or rather, recently I’ve become an allrounder.” Following Eva, Rebecca bowed politely, too.

Rebecca released a gas burner-like flame from the tip of Guphon.

Later, at the point when it turned into a labyrinth discussion centered on Moga, the members of Red Tiger Storm, who had apparently finished their talks about the contract and so on with Quiche, also joined our conversation.

“Innocent Arms, huh? Now I understand why you declined entering our clan.”

“Indeed…”

“Yeah, I can relate if you consider Shuuya-san’s experience and strength. In his shoes, I’d also hate being restricted by the rules of a clan after entering one.”

Bellize, Sarah, and Luciel commented.

“But, we were employed by this village. It’s a first for leader to make such a decision,” added Butch with a grim voice while looking my way.

A sharp, powerful glint dwelt in his light brown eyes. His wild beard had been put in order as well. That and the big ax on his bag visibly boosted his warrior appearance compared to before.

“For me it’s very welcome. It’ll make things easier on Quiche,” I remarked honestly.

“I’m also staying for Quiche-san’s sake.”

“…Well, we’re talking about the man our leader has fallen for, so it can’t be helped either way.”

“I mean, we separated from Shuuya, received requests at Hekatrail…and just as we were about to fail on one…we reunited with him by coincidence, you know? Of course it only makes sense to be unwilling to part from him again after he treated us so kindly. There’s a plethora of other reasons, too,” justified Sarah while staring at me.

Once I met her eyes, she immediately averted hers, looking embarrassed, but then she looked back at me. Her cat ears were twitching at the same time, so she was quite adorable.

“Just like you mentioned a plethora of reasons, we’re still in the middle of a request.”

“Yes, the request is still going. It has no time limit, so let’s make it a success after building up our strength here. Also, even if it’s treated as a failure, we still have plenty of money to spare. I want to get a lot closer to Shuuya-san, too.”

“…I agree! Mie-san is here, too!” Butch loudly agreed with Luciel and Bellize’s opinions.

I looked in Mie-san’s direction.

“I see. So you have a reason as well, huh Butch?”

“We’re in a position of having hired Red Tiger, though?”

“Professor.”

“――I know, I know, Mie. I won’t refuse. Even if I’m responsible as the request’s client, I agree with everyone’s opinion.”

“Great,” Mie nodded while looking at the professor’s beard.

“Mmh, it’s a big win that we could establish a base of operations over here. Investigating the Sea of Trees is a life-threatening hobby of mine, after all, you see? Village Chief Quiche is accommodating us in various ways, too. For this reason, I’ll help with the development of Cydale, even if it’s also for my own sake.”

Domidon had apparently resolved himself to spend his time here until he’d pass away, probably because it aligned with his own objectives.

“I’m with the Professor on this. It’ll make the ruin exploration easier. Besides, it looks like the ancient wolfman’s territory is also close to a ruin of Ancient God Go Rad, which will allow us to obtain various interesting information about the Sea of Trees. This place is a wonderful base of operations. No doubt about it since I can vouch for it as a researcher.”

“Mie-san…,” muttered Butch with a somewhat passionate voice.

Though I don’t want to listen to the erotic voice of a dude…

Well, Mie-san is a slender dwarf. And she’s certainly a beauty. Her small and cute appearance reminds me of Amu.

“Okay, now that we’ve wrapped up the talk with Sarah and the others, we’re going to head over to the apple plantation.”

“Sure. We’re going to stay back here. Otherwise the professor would become noisy about contracts and so on. Besides, it looks like the professor wants to examine Nemus.”

“…I’m Nemus.”

Nemus’s voice was…much weaker than ever before. She must hate the idea of becoming the professor’s guinea pig.

After Sarah looked at everyone, she said, “We’ll sort the details with Village Chief Quiche.”

“Details, huh?”

“Yep. The stairs leading to the new gate you created, Shuuya, have been repaired. We must talk in detail about Bellize’s position as archer leader and the way how the archers are going to defend the village. The enemy could attack at any moment…and even a surprise attack from the sky is a valid possibility.”

“Although leader might say so, I’m going to teach the children how to use bow and arrows, so well… Oh, and Purin-san?”

At that point, Bellize looked in Catiza’s direction. Catiza had apparently appealed to herself in various ways beforehand. Some time before she had also shown off her Trinity-something skill.

“Yeees♪ But right now I’m Catiza♪”

Staring at her cross-eyed, Catiza raised her hand while speaking up cheerfully, and then she suddenly became silent. It seemed like she had started to talk with Purin.

“Let me explain since Catiza is too slow. Purin is capable of long-ranged sniping thanks to her power as Selele. However, it’s not archery. Also, since she can transform into Catiza and Tsuan too, you can deploy her like a one-man-army with various types of utility.”

“Some of my ancient wolfman soldiers can also handle bows, but all of them are close combat types.”

Quiche nodded at Higlia’s comment, and said, “As for that matter, we’ve got differing opinions on…whether we should head out with the ancient wolfmen to scout out the suspected location of the tunnel we guessed from Quema’s information about the orc clans.”

As soon as she said so, Quiche cleared her throat, and added, “Anyway, I’ll stop with the strategic talks for now. Also, Shuuya…could you refrain from involving Sarah in your intense night life day after day?”, while glaring at me.

“Quiche…are you unhappy?”

“No, to be honest, my feelings of wanting to monopolize you are strong enough that I’d give up on the village over them. But, you’re way too tough, Shuuya…”

At that point, Quiche looked at Sarah. Sarah nodded back at her as if they had reached a tacit understanding, and directed her eyes at me. Intense, sexual desire was swirling deep in her pink eyes.

“Did you remember, Sarah?”

“Ah, yep, Shuuya you idiot…”

Seemingly having recalled our extreme sex sessions, her white skin turned crimson not only on her cheeks and cat ears, but also both shoulders and thighs.

“Nn, Shuuya, tonight is no.”

“R-Right! As soon as you take your eyes off him, gosh…”

Eva and Rebecca stepped in front of me as if to protect me. Quiche and Sarah looked displeased, but their expressions also showed that they’d accepted the inevitable.

“Okay, Catiza, stop playing around. We’re heading to the gate.”

“Okaaay.”

“Okay.”

“N, nya.”

I instructed Catiza, who was acting silly, and Rollo’s Squad, who had entered the office at some point.

“Dee-san, Lilly, it’s this way.” I called out to Lily who had started to meddle with Rollo.

We left Higlia and Red Tiger Storm behind, exiting the village hall. The rays pouring down from the sunflower-like sun were warm and comfortable. The nice climate gave me a great feeling.

“Picnic at the apple plantation～♪”

“Hehe, I’m currently in the same mood～”

Rebecca and Eva laughed.

“Me too～ It’s so nicely warm～♪ This way～”

“While we’re walking anyway.” I showed them the houses I built.

When I got carried away while leading them along the houses, including those of Gramps Ton, Nemus, and Moga, “Nya, nya～”, Rollo came over.

She was alone without Alray and Hueremy accompanying her.

“Nya.”

She also greeted Eva with a meow close to that of a spoiled child.

Then she raised her upper body by skillfully standing on her hind paws, moving her front paws up and down…

“Nn, coming up here?” Eva asked Rollo.

“Nnn,” growled Rollo her confirmation and jumped atop Eva’s lap.

There she licked Eva’s hand. Then she began to walk in a circle in order to curl up on Eva’s lap, turning over Eva’s skirt a bit. It exposed a part of Eva’s white thigh, but she waited until Rollo calmed down.

My partner curled up and started to nap.

“…How nice. It reminds me of the past. I also want a wheelchair.”

“Rollo-sama really likes milady’s lap.”

“Rebecca, there’s some apple pie leftovers sticking to your mouth.”

Just as pointed out by Eva, Rebecca had been chewing on the apple pie in her hands. The pie had been big enough that she had to hold it with both hands, but by now it was missing big chunks…

It looks like Rebecca’s skill as Sweets Empress has leveled up quite a bit. I feel like each time you give her some after she whines about giving her more…her sweets eating speed increases.

We arrived at the gate while wrapped up in such a peaceful atmosphere.

“Catiza, heading out.”

I won’t make any retorts against that speech of a certain pilot.

After saluting towards me, Catiza put her short legs together and immediately turned around. For some reason she passed through the gate while repeatedly doing cartwheels instead of using her nails.

“Catiza sure is lively. But, this gate…I think it’s much better than you mentioned in your messages!”

“Nn…magnificent and huge. It makes the houses you built and the hut of Ajul look cute.”

Rebecca and Eva commented as they stared at Cydale’s new gate. Their expressions were full of admiration.

“Milady! It also has drawings of children!”

“Woodworking for inscribing designs on top of being able to cook…Shuuya-san, you’re quite the versatile man.”

Lily and Dee-san also commented in a way that made their surprise and respect obvious.

I urged them along, “Thanks, thanks, but now let’s move on,” and chased after Catiza who was cartwheeling into the ravine.

“Ah, wait for me.”

“Nn, go.”

“Nya～”

Everyone else also passed through the gate, departing towards the ravine with the natural apple tree orchard.

◇◇◇◇

It was a winding path as explorers would love it. The cries of skylarks, somewhat similar to the chirping of cicadas, were audible in the distance, leaving behind peculiar reverberations. Pebbles and roots crunched under our feet, waking the desire for long boots in me…

As I trudged on, I checked the trees growing all over the place.

At the cliff’s edge, Eva commented, “Nn, magic elements are sparse.”

“Nyao.”

“…So that’s the climate outside the city.”

“Rebecca, is it your first time outside Pelneet?”

“Yep. No wonder that the apple sweets are so delicious, given all the nature here.”

After being naturally drawn towards nodding at my words, I gazed at the Sea of Trees scenery spreading out below the cliff once more.

The trees were illuminated by the sunlight. It wasn’t just the group of trees that created a pea-green roof either. There also existed violet leaves which grew on the branches of trees with golden or silver trunks. Some of the trees had thick trunks with flesh-colored bark. Next to them lined up unique trees with huge, light blue leaves.

It all looked like a huge partitioning screen with each section being clearly divided. A welcome of nature’s art for us.

But, probably because of the abundance of trees which almost completely hid all ground and rocks, the humidity was quite high. It reminded me of the Whirlpool Forest and the narrow path I had traveled with Raglen in the past.

As we continued to advance through the rich nature with its tree roots and river sources, I sensed a magic source. It had six heads, resembling those of Cryolophosaurus, a small dragon with six long and slender necks. I saw such a monster clinging to a rock that protruded out of the cliff.

“Oh, a monster!”

“Nn..one.”

“Even with the ancient wolfman patrols, the Sea of trees is huge…”

“Emissary-sama, I will defea――”

Catiza extended both arms, about to let out her . She drew magic crests in the air with her fingers.

However, before she could even finish, Sajilon’s steel balls charged through the air at a terrifying speed while clad in violet mana. The five balls howled.

“Nn――”

Eva was sitting on her magic wheelchair while floating in the air. She used a force as if being swallowed by her own mana which she had released radially.

The steel balls hit the monster’s long necks. The five balls penetrated the monster with zig-zag movements as if possessing their own consciousness. The monster got cruelly riddled with holes. The power of Eva’s steel balls was incredible.

The dragon fell without leaving a trace behind after having its spine crushed. Meanwhile the bloodstained steel balls returned to their owner like familiars.

I faced Eva in the air, and praised her, “Wow. Your control became much better, didn’t it?”

Eva made her wheelchair turn around and descended. Her dress’ skirt fluttered lightly.

I feel like her metallic legs have become more slim compared to before.

“Nn―― I became good at juggling,” answered Eva with an angelic smile.

…It’s a smile that makes my heart thump, no matter how often I see it.

“Aww, there was no turn for my blue flames.”

“Nn, sorry. I’ll leave the next one to you.”

◇◇◇◇

Rebecca dealt with the medium-sized goblin that showed up next. Triggered by Eva’s fighting style, Rebecca fired a blue fireball at the goblin.

Even though it’d have also been fine for her to defeat it in close combat with her fists…is what I thought, but she probably wanted to show me her growth. That’s why I continued to watch silently together with Rollo.

“But Catiza, monsters are coming out fairly often, aren’t they?”

“Yes, there is a fairly big variety of them, too.”

“It looks like all kinds of types appear in addition to orcs, goblins, and deer type army corps.”

“When several one-armed bone monsters holding axes appeared while accompanied by a stench of rotten eggs, I annihilated them together with Zeme-chan and Ado-chan! Back then, I was killed a lot more as than the Burning Knights!”

She created three exclamation marks by moving her hair around with a rustling.

“…Hee.”

I guess it was during the time when Daon and Ryokline’s wolfmen teams that were led by Higlia, the Burning Knights, Catiza, Arry, and Taack went on a patrol.

We kept progressing through the narrow path. And eventually we came out at a place with rock walls that were covered by new species of ivies, which were wet with water, like a curtain.

“We’re almost there,” echoed Catiza’s words.

I could see a small waterfall of crystal clear water. Small springs had formed in the depressions between the rocks. Steam billowed up from some of the springs, too.

Possibly hot springs?

“Are those hot springs?”

“The color is eerie, so it doesn’t look like they’re hot springs.”

“Nn, Shuuya, you immediately imagined some perverted stuff, didn’t you?”

“Was it so obvious?”

When I was asked by Eva while she held my hand, I couldn’t afford to lie.

“Still, we walked for quite a bit, didn’t we…? It’s not that far away, but…”

“Nn, right now I’ve transformed into my leg mode, and since I can also float even in my wheelchair mode, it’s alright.”

“It’s another world, completely different from Pelneet…”

“Lily, it would have been okay for you to have stayed back home,” commented Dee-san.

“No, I’m a maid, but at the same time, a small adventurer. I got used to it during our hunts in the Great Prairie to gather ingredients, too.”

After proceeding for a little longer while listening to Lily’s words, we arrived. At a spring with mana gushing out.

The sounds of water droplets hitting leaves and bouncing off formed a cacophony around us. This place was filled with huge numbers of trees, but it was a proper primeval forest of apple trees.

Some of the ripe apples were bright red, others blue. Some were about to become ripe. I could even sense special apples which contained mana.

Either way, it was an amazing amount…

It’d be possible to make apple jam the special product of Cydale. If I taught Dee-san how to make apple pie and layered cakes with apples, he might be able to win against Tanaka Confectionery.

“We have arrived, Emissary-sama’s bloodkin-sama! I was the first one to find it!”

“In other words, this is the apple orchard.”

After blinking several times while smiling next to me, Eva said, “Nn, I’ll check the surroundings――”

She made her magic wheelchair unfold, then floated up with it, and explored the vicinity while sitting.