“But Ryo’s footwork and movement are completely different.

The world truly is

so expansive, with its many different styles of swordsmanship.”
Sara was honestly impressed. And a little happy. The monster in front of her
probably couldn’t fully understand what she was saying. Regardless, such a
creature must have undoubtedly spent time and effort training with its blade.
Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been able to wield it so magnificently.
To think that an individual who came from a strange place and wielded a
strange sword now stood before her... Pure joy unfurled inside her at the chance to
fight this opponent. Perhaps she was a bit of a battle junkie...

Their sword fight lasted for over an hour. The attacks on the Enclave stopped
during that time. As far as the monsters were concerned, their boss was fighting
one-on-one, so it was unthinkable to ignore that and continue the attack.
In other words, Sera had thus far managed to defend the Enclave for over an
hour on her own. Unfortunately, her strength was beginning to dwindle. She had
countless cuts all over her body. The same was true for the arch devil. They were
evenly matched.
She and her opponent put some distance between them to catch their breaths.
No one knew what the outcome would be. However, one thing was certain to
everyone watching: The next blow would decide the battle. Of course, nobody
understood better than the two people dueling.
The arch devil readjusted its sword. Sera raised hers to her shoulder. Then the
two of them stood still.
The fight would be settled in an instant. That was exactly why they needed to
seize that one, defining moment... Otherwise, something could break the
equilibrium.

That something ended up being a catalyst far away. They heard the sound of
something incredibly heavy falling from a great height, then came the moment for
them to make their moves.
The arch devil stepped forward with lightning speed and brought its sword
down in the same instant. It struck so quickly that no one even saw it happen.
However, Sera was no longer in the same position. Her opponent had
calculated for that possibility. It forcefully changed the blade’s trajectory just before
it touched the ground and slashed sideways to the left, using its entire body.
Yet again...Sera wasn’t there. The monster was stunned, and with that
expression on its face, it was decapitated. Then her sword pierced through the
magic stone in its heart.
Sara had used her Wind Robe technique to rotate 270 degrees instantly around
the creature, and by appearing to its right, she had moved to its blind spot. Her
speed was beyond the arch devil’s imagination. She had spent the past hour
recovering her magical energy and had fought without even once donning the Wind
Robe. And this victory was the fruit of her labor.

The moment she stabbed her blade through the arch devil’s magic stone,
Sera’s magical energy depleted. She dropped to one knee and tried her best to stay
conscious. She had only defeated the arch devil and didn’t know how the other
devils and monsters would react. It wasn’t over yet.
As she tried desperately to stand, she noticed a sound drawing closer—the
sound of something heavy falling from a great height and then crashing into the
ground. It was the same sound that had heralded the final blow to the arch devil.
Thunk, thunk, thunk. The sound repeated, over and over, growing louder as its
source approached the Enclave from the road leading to the royal castle...
Unsurprisingly, the monsters, including the two remaining devils, had noticed
the sound as well. And they were looking in the direction it was coming from. The
colors of the sunset dyed the sky over the royal capital. Those sounds were coming
from that very sky...
“What in the heavens is that noise...?” The Matriarch murmured.
“A wall of...ice?” Zach said.
Ice... Ahhh, I see now... You’re on your way here.
Another wall of ice fell from above, crushing the monsters on the street. She
spotted a robed magician running toward her on top of the fallen ice.

◆◆◆
Ryo took off down a street swarming with monsters. Abel and Vice Captain Lex
watched him from the palace.
“Um... Abel, he ran off...”
“Yeah. Probably heading to the elves’ Enclave,” Abel said in response. That was
all. He didn’t bother running after his friend.
Lex eyed him suspiciously. “Are you sure you don’t need to chase him?”
Abel glanced at Rex, then looked back at Ryo’s departing figure. “He doesn’t
seem all that tired, whereas I’m exhausted. Come to think of it, I’ve never seen him
tired...”
“But he’s a magician, isn’t he?” Lex replied, surprised.
Generally speaking, magicians didn’t possess as much stamina as swordsmen
and the like, and since they used their magic continuously in battle, they tired out
easily and faster.
“Yeah. Except there’s nothing normal about him.” Abel nodded gravely.
Krash. The sound of something heavy falling filled the air. Then it repeated...
Krash, krash.
“Oh, hey, I think that’s Ryo’s calling card—crushing things with ice walls.”
Abel recalled the ice wall he saw squashing a golem on his way back from the
Forest of Rondo. Just then, he heard the voice of one of his comrades.
“Aha! There you are, Abel!” It was Lyn, the air magician of the Crimson Sword.
Their other party members appeared soon after her.
“Oh, Abel... I’m so glad you’re safe.” And with that, Rihya hugged him tightly.
“Th-Thanks. And—uh, sorry if I made you worry,” he said, blushing a little as
she accepted his embrace.
Another party appeared behind her.
“The monsters around the central temple are gone,” Roman the Hero said.
Abel nodded quickly. “Got it, thanks.”
 While they talked, the sound of heavy objects falling continued to echo through
the streets, becoming more distant. Roman frowned as he looked off in that
direction.
“Abel, may I ask what that’s about?”
It was a simple question. As expected of the Hero, his keen eyesight made out
the walls of ice falling from the sky.
“Ryo’s ice wall. The same one that separated the monsters from us
underground earlier. He creates it in the air and drops it to crush his target. A
simple but terrifying spell.”
Abel was well aware of his friend’s extraordinary abilities, so he wasn’t
particularly surprised.
“That’s how he can crush a bunch of them at once, but I wonder if he could
have used it underground. And look at him running on that crushed ice. Wait, what?
How? How is he doing that? Wouldn’t you normally slip and fall?”
Abel’s questions were different from those of an ordinary person, likely due to
his relationship with Ryo.

When Ryo arrived in front of the Enclave, all eyes, including the monsters’,
were on him. Among them, he spotted a platinum blonde woman on one knee, her
head hanging down. From there, he jumped in at supersonic speed and embraced
the woman, supporting her weight.
“Sera!”
“Ryo... You came.”
She was conscious. As far as he could see, she didn’t have any serious injuries
—but so many small cuts!
Ryo took out a special potion from his bag and raised it to her mouth.
“Sera, here. Drink.”
At that moment, the monsters started to move. Their leader, the arch devil, had
been defeated, and many of them had been crushed by Ryo’s ice walls. Though
they had been briefly stunned, they were finally returning to their senses.
The two devils began giving orders.
“Shut it,” Ryo said quietly, trying not to startle the woman he held. Then
—“Water Jet 256.”
In an instant, 256 heads, including the devils’, fell off. Then another 256,
followed by yet another 256... He decapitated the monsters group by group before
they even knew what had happened.
By the time Sera had finished downing the potion, all monsters within sight had
fallen, their heads separated from their bodies. No one uttered a sound at the
shocking sight. The only exception was Sera, who watched from within the cradle of
Ryo’s arms.
“Thank you,” she whispered softly in his ear.
“Thank you.”

◆◆◆
Even after all the monsters’ heads had fallen off, Sera clung to Ryo, who kept
his arms firmly around her. From her perspective, all their problems had been
solved, so there was no need to pull away from him. From his perspective, although
he’d beheaded all the monsters he could see, he still needed to make sure that
there were no more approaching.
In the end, nothing happened after that, and once he determined the situation
was handled, Ryo peered into Sera’s eyes. “Everything seems fine at the Enclave
now. Most of the monsters in the royal capital have disappeared too. So...maybe
you should take a break, Sera?” he suggested with a smile.
“Hmmm... I think that’s a good idea,” she agreed.
The Matriarch must have heard their conversation because she approached
and said, “Well done, child. I shall take care of the rest now, so I bid you to rest.
Forgive me for imposing, Ryo, but won’t you help Sera to her room?”
“Of course.” With a nod, he released her—only to tuck his left arm under her
knees and scoop his right across her back to lift her into a bridal carry.
“Ah...!” she cried out in surprise.
“U-Um, Ryo, I... This...” Sera stammered, blushing with embarrassment.
“You must be exhausted after everything you’ve been through, Sera. I may be
a magician, but I’ve trained a bit. So don’t you worry about a thing and just trust
me.”
“All right.”
Bashful but happy...she wrapped her arms around Ryo’s neck. They headed
toward one of the buildings on the Enclave’s grounds.
Unbeknownst to them, the Matriarch nodded enthusiastically to herself as she
watched them walk away...

◆◆◆
“Damn, Ryo did a phenomenal job crushing them.” Abel sounded impressed.
The Crimson Sword and the Hero’s party traveled along the ersatz ice road
stretching from the palace to the Enclave.
“As long as you don’t think about what’s under the ice, it’s a nice enough path,
I guess,” Lyn said as she stepped firmly on the road.
The Hero’s party was silent. Only Roman, who had good eyesight, had been
able to see the ice falling clearly since the others had been a considerable distance
away. The members of the Crimson Sword knew Ryo well enough, so they were
convinced by Abel’s explanation. The members of the Hero’s party remained
unconvinced, however. While they knew Roman wouldn’t lie and saw the ice coating
the road with their own eyes, they still couldn’t accept something their brains had
deemed impossible.
Nevertheless, both parties arrived at the Enclave. One of the walls had a
massive hole in it... And Gordon, a fire magician, was keenly interested in the
destructive force that had caused it.
“Lady Matriarch, I’m glad you’re safe,” Abel called out to the Matriarch, who
was leading her people in the courtyard.
“Oh, hello, Abel. Yes, I managed to survive. Hm, hm... You seem to have
brought someone very unusual,” she said, frowning as she scrutinized Roman.
“Wait, don’t tell me you know who he is?”
“Indeed I do. The Hero, yes? Your presence here in the Central Provinces is
unexpected.”
Her casual guess was met with surprise by the members of the Hero’s party.
“The number of spirits floating in the air is extraordinary. An elf with even a
modicum of experience would know right away,” she said with a laugh.
“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I’m Roman, the Hero of the
Western Provinces.”
“Are you now? I am Ryun, a Grand Elder of the Kingdom’s Western Forest. I am
also known as the Matriarch and you are free to address me as such.”
“So that’s your name, huh?” Abel said to himself loudly enough that even the
Matriarch heard.
“If the Hero introduces himself, then it would be remiss of me not to return the
gesture, eh?”
Then, amid all of this, Abel heard a familiar voice.
“Abel?”
When Abel looked in the direction of the question, he was startled by who he
saw.
 “Zach? And Scotty too. What the hell are you guys doing here? Not that I’m not
glad to see you safe, but still.”
“Yeaaah, about that. We just so happened to be at a viscount’s mansion nearby
and got caught up in the commotion. Sera helped us out,” Zack answered with a
small nod.
Rin looked around. “Speaking of, I don’t see her anywhere.”
“Ryo isn’t either... Even though he should be,” Abel chimed in.
“She fought to her limit, so I asked Ryo to take her to her bed,” the Matriarch
answered, looking at a corner of the building. They guessed that was where he’d
carried her.
“Well, I’m sure Sera wouldn’t let anyone get the jump on her, no matter who
she’s up against,” Abel said, nodding.
However, Ryun shook her head in response. “No, the battle was too close on
this occasion. Unsurprising really, considering she confronted an arch devil when
she was utterly exhausted, physically and magically... I daresay the margin was
razor-thin.”
“An arch devil?!” Rihya exclaimed.
“What’s that?” Abel, who knew nothing of the subject, tilted his head in
curiosity.
He wasn’t the only one. In fact, everyone but the Matriarch, Rihya, and
Graham, the clergyman from the Western Provinces, had no idea what they were
talking about.
“Devils evolve into demon kings, but arch devils lie at the end of a different
evolutionary path,” the Matriarch explained.
“They’re said to be stronger than even demon princes,” Rihya said.
“Arch devils hold positions akin to generals in a demon king’s army,” Graham
said.
“Huh. Pretty clear then that no one should be messing with them... Wait a sec.
My lady, did you say that Sera ran out of mana?”
“I did. Abel, you are wondering about her Wind Robe, yes? Your supposition is
correct. She fought the arch devil without it.”
“You’re kidding...”
Abel didn’t know how powerful an arch devil was, but he did know how strong a
demon prince was. He thought back to the bitter memory of how helpless he’d been
when he fought one of those. Imagining Sera fighting something stronger than a
demon prince with only her sword was unbelievable, regardless of how strong she
was.
“I am not. At the very end, she spent their entire duel recovering a small
amount of mana, then used it to cloak herself in Wind Robe and defeat it. None of
us realized how tremendous her skill with a blade had improved until then.” The
Matriarch smiled happily at a surprised Abel.
“So, heeey, Abel. You know Sera well?” Zach, the royal knight, suddenly cut
into the conversation.
“Yup. We’re both adventurers based in Lune,” Abel answered.
“Oh, yeah? T-Tell me more,” Zach urged.
Lyn caught on as she watched their exchange. “I think he’s in love with Sera,”
she whispered to Abel.
“No way...”
Of course, Sera’s beauty was unrivaled. Even during the siege here, she had
probably been on the front line the whole time, exposing herself to danger while
commanding the others.
In light of all this, it was easy to see why people admired her. To knights, who
made their living on the battlefield, she was nothing less than the goddess of
victory. But... There was a huge “but” here.
Abel had his fair share of people in Lune who had tried to make a move on
Sera, or had made a move on and found themselves in a bad way. A person’s status
or background was irrelevant to her. After all, Margrave Lune’s successor had his
shoulder broken and a sword thrust into him...
The only exception was Ryo. Abel thought his friend had feelings for Sera too.
Lyn agreed with him one hundred percent. This was also the consensus within the
Crimson Sword.
In that case, it would be best for others not to get in the way of their
relationship. For their own sake, others should steer clear of Sera... And now, right
before his eyes, his old drinking buddy was about to become one such person. Abel
had no choice but to stop him with all his might!
“Right, so... Zach, Sera’s a famous B-rank adventurer. And, oh, yeah, I almost
forgot! She’s also the sword instructor for Lune’s knights. She won’t give any man
who isn’t strong the time of day.”
“Yeah, I know she’s strong. I’d have to be blind not to figure that out after what
I saw. That’s why I decided—starting today—I’ll live by the sword! No more slacking
off for Zach Kuhler!” For some reason, Abel’s explanation fired him up even more.
Abel clutched his head in despair then... Next to him, Lyn, Rihya, and Warren
shook their heads.
“But still, what a disaster outside...” Roman the Hero said, staring at the road
facing the Enclave.
Abel turned to look at it. He hadn’t noticed when they had entered moments
ago, but now he finally took note of the corpses, over a thousand, lying there.
“They’re all...headless...?” Even he had never seen anything like it.
“Yeah... It happened earlier without warning. After Sera defeated the arch devil,
a block of ice fell from the sky. Then, a robed magician showed up, hugged Sera,
and a second later, all the monsters went down for the count,” Zach explained, a
hint of jealousy tingeing his expression.
Things clicked for Abel. “Oh, duh. It was Ryo.”
Everyone’s eyes focused on him.
“Wh-What? What’d I say?” Abel sounded uneasy.
“This... Are you saying Ryo’s responsible for all this?” Roman the Hero
questioned.
“I’m...pretty sure. I’ve seen him decapitate monsters with thin streams of
water. Only three at the time, but...now that I think about it, he decapitated devils
back then too,” he answered, recalling the incident on the dungeon’s fortieth floor.
“Abel, you’re telling us he beheaded all of these monsters? Over a thousand?
Basically in an instant? And you’re sure we’re talking about the same robed
magician?”
“Yup. I mean, no one else could have done it,” Abel concluded. “It’d be far
scarier if there was someone other than him who could.” There was no doubt in his
expression. The same, however, couldn’t be said of the others, who looked tense.
“I’m gonna say this just in case you guys didn’t already figure it out, but don’t
make Ryo angry,” Abel continued. “Okay?”
Everyone nodded vigorously in answer.

After talking for a while, they heard the sound of a carriage stopping on the
road. The crest belonged to Margrave Lune. Two men disembarked. One was Eden,
the platoon commander of the transport unit of Lune’s knights. The other was...
“Kenneth! You’re safe!” Abel cried out in joy when he saw them.
It was the genius alchemist, Baron Kenneth Hayward.
“Abel! And Zach and Scotty too! I’m glad you’re all safe as well,” Kenneth said
happily.
“Since you’re with them, does that mean you were hiding in the margrave’s
mansion?” Abel asked, looking at the coat of arms on the carriage and Eden’s chest.
“That’s right. Ryo escorted me and my staff there.”
“Oh, yeah, he did mention that. Good job, Ryo.” Abel nodded cheerfully.
“I’m amazed you all managed to survive, holing up like that. Because as you
can see, the estates around here...” Zach said.
“Didn’t hold up as well,” Scotty said, finishing the thought.
“Well, Margrave Lune’s place in the capital is basically a fortress... They
wouldn’t have survived otherwise,” Abel remarked, visualizing the place.
“The alchemical tools Baron Hayward brought with him helped us quite a lot,”
said Captain Eden, who had brought Kenneth here.
“We made it as prototypes for a weapon to defend the city... They’re much
smaller than the real thing, but I’m glad they were useful,” Kenneth said with a
bashful smile.
Eden looked around. “By the way, is Madam Sera safe?”
“Yeah, she’s fine. Ryo took her to her room, apparently.”
“Oh! So he’s here too. In that case, I’ll inform the margrave’s staff at his
mansion that everyone is safe. Have a good evening.”
With that, Eden got into the carriage and headed back the way he’d come.
“Soooo...” Abel surveyed the city outside the Enclave grounds and sighed
deeply. “Putting the capital back to rights is gonna be a pain in the neck, huh?”

◆◆◆
There were three great powers in the Central Provinces: the Debuhi Empire in
the north, the Kingdom of Knightley in the south, and the Handalieu Federation in
the east. The Handalieu Federation bordered the Kingdom to the southwest and the
Empire to the northwest.
The Empire was superior to the other two countries in every way, but the
Kingdom and the Federation had maintained a balance for a long time. However,
that balance was greatly upset by the Great War between the two countries ten
years ago.
 The result? A tremendous victory for the Kingdom. The Federation ceded part
of its territory to Knightley, and conceded complete independence of several small
nations that it had controlled as vassal states. One of these was the Principality of
Inverey, which lay to the south of the Federation and bordered the Kingdom to the
east. Although small, Inverey possessed many important resources, and its
complete independence was a major blow to Handalieu.

“Heh heh heh heh heh. Aa ha ha ha ha! Wa ha ha ha ha ha!”

The laughter of Jeclaire, the capital of the Handalieu Federation, echoed

throughout the chancellor’s office.
“Your Excellency...”
When the owner of the room had his fill, an aide came to him carrying a report.
“Ah, forgive me. But you read it too, didn’t you, Lamber? The report on the
uprising in the royal capital. The destruction of the Royal Knights, and the enormous
damage inflicted on the nobles and their families. And the incompetence of the
leaders who were unable to take effective measures against the entire situation.
How can you not laugh at all of it?” With that, Lord Aubrey burst out laughing again.
However, after a while, his laughter subsided, and he continued speaking with
a small frown. “But now it’s clear. Something is amiss with His Majesty.” He was
referring to Stafford IV, king of the Kingdom of Knightley.
“That is certainly strange behavior for King Stafford, who’s typically lauded for
his wisdom.” Lamber nodded slightly.
“I wonder if something ails him? Or...”
“Or, my lord...?”
“Or this is someone else’s work and not ours...” Lord Aubrey shook his head a
few times. “Unfortunate for the people of the Kingdom... Though there’s little they
can do about it.”
“And therein lies the issue with centralized power.”
“Distributing power creates too many delays in decision-making. Centralizing it
means the consequences are that much more severe when it breaks down. Such
are the challenges when managing any organizations run by people,” Lord Aubrey
opined.
Assistant Lamber showed the documents in hand to the chancellor then. “Your
Excellency, I’ve confirmed Viscount Fletcher’s death in the turmoil.”
“I see... Well, I suppose not everything will go as planned. I believe I’ll wash my
hands of Flitwick for now since we’ve achieved our goal of sowing chaos at the
heart of the Kingdom. Is the Empire interfering with the dukedom itself?”
Lamber nodded. “They seem to have some major objective in mind, and have
contacted Duke Flitwick himself.”
“Duke Flitwick...Raymond, the king’s younger brother. He has made a secret
pact with our Federation and is, even now, in touch with the Empire... Hmph. Spread
yourself too thin and you are bound to suffer. Fool,” Lord Aubrey muttered. “Oh,
that reminds me... The spy we sent to Fletcher was...Nancy, yes? What news of
her?”
“She left the capital before the situation turned.”
 “Excellent. Send her to the western part of the kingdom.”
Lamber paused, concerned. “Are you certain, my lord?”
“Are you worried she may be in league with the Empire?”
“Yes, Your Excellency...”
“Very good. I’m using her with that knowledge. Evidently, General Rancius,
commander of the Twentieth Imperial Regiment, otherwise known as the Shadow
Regiment, has entered the western part of the Kingdom. So I’ve no doubt of his
involvement in, shall we say, myriad matters.” Lord Aubrey laughed knowingly,
having anticipated Lamber’s worries. “Still, both the number of monsters and the
ensuing rampage were more than I expected... I wonder about the cause...”
“Apologies, my lord, but we still don’t know.”
“Eh, no helping it.” Lord Aubrey didn’t expect an answer to be found in such a
short time anyway. To begin with, the “gem” had been procured from a suspicious
source.
“What was it called again... Ah yes, a ‘sacred jewel.’ Are we able to acquire
another?”
“I anticipated that, so I tried to reach out to our contact from last time, but I
received no response.” Assistant Lamber bowed his head.
“Hm, in the wind, eh? Well, we’ve managed to cause mayhem in the Kingdom
and that is good enough for me. With their knights annihilated, they’ll be unable to
send reinforcements to other countries. At long last...”
“Indeed, our troops will be able to march in four months.”
“Meaning...the end of spring, or the beginning of summer.” Lord Aubrey
smirked. “You will kneel before the Federation again, Inverey.”
◆◆◆
 “Thank you all for your efforts,” Willie, the eighth prince of the Monarchy of
Joux, said to the staff and knights who had defended the embassy.
While many aristocrats’ houses had been destroyed by the monsters that had
suddenly appeared, the Monarchy of Joux’s embassy had refused to allow itself to
be overrun. Of course, its location in the nobles’ quarter had a great deal to do with
this. Destruction had been greatest in this section of the capital, particularly
between the northwest district, where the royal castle stood, and the northwest
district.
In contrast, Joux’s embassy was situated east of the central temple, near the
northern edge of the eastern district. A large country wouldn’t have built its
embassy here, but things had panned out well for them, so enough said.
Nevertheless, a survey of the area revealed the extent of the devastation. Being in
the northern part of the eastern district, they’d had to deal with a considerable
number of monsters. The fact that the embassy was safe was a testament to its
staff’s efforts.
Prince Willie himself happened to be there that day to deal with a guest from
Knightley’s royal family. Originally, it was supposed to be his first day at school, but
his debut was postponed without notice to two days later. How fortunate for him.
The academy was located in the northern district of the royal capital. If he’d
been there instead... Merely thinking about that chilling possibility made him
sincerely glad that he had stayed at the embassy. Furthermore, it was thanks to the
guest from the royal family that he hadn’t gone...and in his heart, he was forever
grateful to him—the crown prince of the Kingdom of Knightley, who had just
returned to the palace in a carriage under the Second Royal Guard’s protection.
“His orders were so precise...”
Prince Willie knew he could learn much from the crown prince and how he’d
handed out his rapid-fire instructions.
“Once things have settled down, I’ll have to visit the royal castle and express
my gratitude properly.”
Then, a thought crossed his mind: the safety of his acquaintances, albeit few,
here in the capital.
“I think my mentor...will be fine. Even if he were surrounded by legions of
enemies, I imagine he’d annihilate them in an instant.”
Willie was thinking of Ryo, whom he considered his mentor. To Willie, a water
magician, Ryo was truly the greatest teacher he could have hoped for. While he’d
never seen his mentor actually annihilate an enemy, he could picture it so easily.
“So I’m certain he’ll be fine,” he said, nodding. “And then there’s...Cohn.”
Cohn was the leader of the adventurers who’d escorted him and Rodrigo from
the Principality of Inverey. Willie had told them they could use the Joux embassy
freely, but he hadn’t seen them again since. Maybe they were no longer in the
capital.
“Then I can only hope that means they were spared from this tragedy.” With
that thought on his mind, Willie shook his head and gazed outside.

◆◆◆
Cohn had already left the capital by the time of the monster outbreak. Firstly,
he was a C-rank adventurer from the Principality of Inverey. Secondly, he had a very
close relationship with the principality’s government.
When he showed up at the adventurer’s guild in the capital, he found a letter
waiting for him.
“Come to the embassy at once.”
The brevity of the message lent it urgency. At the Principality of Inverey’s
embassy, his identity was confirmed, and he received instructions directly from the
government. He frowned at the details and then threw the paper into the fireplace.
After making sure it had burned to ash, he left the room.
“Sure, the money is good, but as always, the mission is dangerous...” he
muttered to himself, leaving the royal capital. As a result, he avoided the impending
mayhem.
In straightforward terms, his order was espionage. The principality was still a
very young country, having only gained its independence ten years ago. Setting
aside its bureaucracy, the country’s intelligence organization was well renowned,
albeit small in scale.
However, for a nation of its size to survive, information gathering was crucial.
So the government had its most loyal adventurers engage in intelligence activities.
This was a feat that only Inverey could accomplish given its resources and wealth in
comparison to other small nations.
Inverey selected veterans who’d worked behind the scenes during the Great
War ten years ago—veterans whose efforts successfully dealt a blow to the
Federation. This indispensable personnel was one of the reasons why Inverey had
gained considerable power in just a decade.
Cohn was one such adventurer. And now, his destination was Jeclaire, the
capital of the Handalieu Federation.

◆◆◆
If the Kingdom of Knightley had to choose a magician to represent them, it
would be Hilarion Baraha.
In Knightley, royal magicians were set for life because only those with a high
skill set in magic could even hold it. The elite of the elite, these one hundred royal
magicians served as magical bodyguards. And the head of this group was Hilarion,
the chief royal magician, who’d served for the past thirty years.
Despite Hilarion’s lofty status in the Kingdom, he’d left the royal capital during
the chaos, heading a bit eastward to track a certain character. Needless to say, he
was surprised by the dramatic change in the city upon his return. He went straight
to the palace, and after a few meetings and talks, it was already dark by the time
he returned to the Institute for Magic Research. His office was on the top floor. He
could hear voices inside even in the hallway.
“Oh, right, I forgot Abel and the others were here.”
Then he opened the door, took a step inside, and froze. More than ten people
crowded the room. If not for Abel and his party, the office would normally be empty.
Now... Well, the office hadn’t been this crowded in decades.
“Oh, Master, welcome back.” The first person to greet him was Lyn, an air
magician and Hilarion’s apprentice.
 “Ah, thanks,” Hilarion managed, still in shock.
“Hey, old man. Roman and his people don’t have anywhere to stay, so we
brought ’em here. Hope that’s okay with you,” Abel said, jerking his chin at the folks
in question.
“Uh-huh... And I’m guessing that’s them, eh?”
“Yup, Roman the Hero and his party.”
“Say what now?”
As far as Abel was concerned, he was simply stating a fact. But, in the moment,
Hilarion had trouble wrapping his head around the news. If you came home after
some time away, only to find a dang Hero and his party there...you’d be baffled too.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Roman, the Hero of the Western Provinces. I’m
deeply grateful for the honor of being a guest in your home, Lord Hilarion,” Roman
said politely.
“N-Not a problem at all. Relax, take a load off.”
At a glance, Hilarion could tell the young man was earnest, and he wasn’t cruel
enough to chase him away.
And so, the Hero’s party secured lodgings in the royal capital.

The Road Back to Lune

Three weeks after the turmoil, the royal capital finally regained some
semblance of calm on its slow road to recovery. Two adventurers were walking
along the South Highway that led from Crystal Palace to Lune on the frontier. The
combination of swordsman and magician was a common enough sight.
Sera and the rest of the Crimson Sword had already returned to Lune with the
city’s knights on the transport squad. At first, she’d been reluctant, but eventually
came around, knowing that Ryo would be back soon anyway. Rihya, though, wasn’t
convinced... However, an urgent request had come to her from the temple in Lune
through the central temple, so she had begrudgingly gone with them.
Summoned by his brother, the crown prince, Abel had been kept busy with
various tasks, making him unable to join them on the trip home. Though he knew
how capable Lune’s knights were, he still felt uneasy sending Rihya back alone, so
he sent Lyn and Warren with her as escorts of sorts. Before she left, Rihya made
him promise that he would definitely return with Ryo. She thought having him along
would be the solution to most problems.
So a week after everyone else, Abel and Ryo finally left the royal capital and set
off on their journey back to Lune.

“Hmmm... In the end, a rather uneventful trip...”

“Are you being serious right now?”
 Abel was at a loss for words when he heard Ryo muttering to himself as they
walked side by side. His reaction made Ryo realize he’d been louder than he
thought, so he decided to go for broke.
 “Let me clarify before I cause any misunderstandings. I just meant that wasn’t
any standard light-novel event like a fighting tournament or a school arc, you
know?” he explained carefully.
“Yeah, I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Abel said.
“Okay. Normally, in the royal capital arc, you’d jump into the fighting
tournament and make a name for yourself or join the academy and get people
oohing and aahing over you. But neither of those things happened this time.”
“Oh, yeah, sure, when you put it like that...” Abel snorted. “Half the time—
actually, no, most of the time, the stuff that comes out of your mouth is utter
nonsense, Ryo!”
“Do you have to be so mean?” Ryo said, feigning offense. “On this page, dear
reader, you’ll find an image of a wounded Ryo.”
“Why are you painting me as the bad guy here?”
“Don’t you worry your pretty little head about the details, Abel.”
“You really are the worst, you know that?!” Abel snapped at Ryo, who had
mysteriously found himself in a position to comfort a friend who’d been falsely
accused.
“Haaah... Anyway. There’s never been a fighting tournament in the capital. At
least, not in the last hundred years.”
“Awww...” Ryo despaired at the frightening truth exposed by Abel.
“Speaking of fighting tournaments though, the one in the imperial capital is
pretty famous.”
However, hope rose anew within Ryo at this revelation from his friend.
“The Debuhi Empire?!”
“They hold it once every four or five years. I think a ton of adventurers from
other countries participate as a commemorative thing.”
“Wow. Does that mean it’s going to be held soon?!” Ryo said, betting on the
flicker of hope.
“No, not for a while, since the most recent one was only last year.”
Unfortunately for him, Abel quashed it.
Gloom overtook Ryo once more.
“Of all the rotten luck...”
“And as for the academy nonsense you were going on about, did you forget
you’re already a grown-up, Ryo? You’re way too old to enroll now.”
“That’s irrelevant. The classic approach is to join the academy and have people
make a fuss over how strooong and amaaazing and so on you are!”
“Yeeeah, I still have no clue what you’re babbling about.”
Abel’s dismissive wave might as well have been rubbing salt in Ryo’s wound.
“I just remembered to ask... You’ve been hanging out at Kenneth’s for the last
week, right?” Abel questioned Ryo, ignoring his depression.
“I have! He taught me everything from the basics to the secrets of alchemy.
We even made some incredible potions together. Now I’m a full-fledged alchemist
too!” In an instant, Ryo was back to normal, bragging about his achievements under
the genius alchemist, Baron Kenneth Hayward.
“Not to be a stick in the mud, but isn’t it impossible to master all that in a
week?” Abel said, completely brushing him off. If a third party were listening, they’d
be inclined to agree with Abel’s skepticism.
“All right, fine, so I might have exaggerated a bit about the secrets part.
However, I can definitively state that I’m now an advanced student of alchemy!”
“Nah, gonna call a foul on that too.”
“No, no, no, no... Is that all you can say, Abel? So much negativity is no good
for educating your disciples, you know.”
“Except I don’t have any. And neither do you, Ryo. Don’t lie.”
Ryo smirked. “Abel, Abel, Abel. You really need to find better information
sources. You’re so out of the loop! I’ll have you know that I already have five
disciples!”
“No... No way...” Abel was shocked to hear the pride in Ryo’s voice. Of course
he was. It just wasn’t possible for Ryo to even have disciples.
“Five apprentice merchants from the Principality of Inverey. That’s right, Abel,
five. And Prince Willie, the prince from the Monarchy of Joux. Oops, silly me, I can’t
count. Six. Heh heh heh.”
For reasons unknown, Ryo’s smug expression annoyed Abel something fierce.
“Just to be clear...are they learning magic from you?”
“Of course. I’m a magician. What did you think I was?”
“I dunno... A magic swordsman, I guess?”
“Really?! That sounds so cool! Fairly clever, especially for you, Abel! Maybe I
should call myself ‘Magic Swordsman Ryo’ from now on,” Ryo said enthusiastically.
“Le gasp! He who chases after two hares catches neither, as they say. Ergo, think
I’ll focus on magic, and...give up on the path of the sword.”
“Never mind that you’re making damn good progress on the path of the sword
anyway.”
“Ha! Like I’ll fall for that! You’ll make me try both, and then when I can’t master
either, you’ll look down on me and say I’ve been hoisted by my own petard. Isn’t
that right, Abel?! Your cruelty knows no bounds!”
“Well, according to you, I’m a monster, so I don’t even know why you’re
surprised by your own delusions anymore.”
No road is long with good company, or so the proverb says. Traveling with
someone is more fun than traveling alone. At the very least...you’ll never get bored.
On the first night of their journey, the two stayed in Deopham, a satellite town
of the royal capital. It was the largest one south of Crystal Palace and served as an
inn town. From there, travelers could either take the Third Highway or the South
Highway. The former led to Acray, the largest city in the south, and the latter to
Lune.
“What a wonderful inn, huh! I love the fact that it has a communal bath!”
“I know you love your baths, Ryo, and that’s why I chose it. This place is
famous in Deopham. Top-notch and safe. You’ll sleep like a baby here.”
“Abel, you...you’re amazing! I’ll treat you to dinner tonight. Eat whatever you
want.”
“Weeell. I paid in advance and dinner is included in the price.”
“Boo... Foiled...”
Ryo’s plan to get Abel in his debt had failed.
 Day two.
After leaving Deopham, the two walked along the South Highway on the way to
Lune.
“Abel, have you noticed something peculiar?”
“Yeah, I get the creepy feeling we’re being watched. It’s been like that ever
since we left the inn.”
“Just the type of instincts I’d expect from a B-rank adventurer. ‘We’re being
watched.’ I’d love to be able to say stuff like that,” Ryo said wistfully.
“So it’s different for you, Ryo?”
“Correct, since I use magic...”
“Man, that’s way more accurate than instincts!” Abel said, annoyed.
“The question now is, Why are they watching us? If they wanted something
valuable, they’d target a merchant, no? The South Highway is one of the kingdom’s
most important trade routes, so there are plenty of merchant caravans to go after.
Then again, committing theft on such a busy highway may as well be suicide.”
“All very good points. So why target two adventurers, one of whom looks like a
skilled swordsman? Could our pursuers be blind...?”
“Uh-uh, no way.”
“But there’s no other explanation. Once you eliminate the impossible, then
whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth! A certain great
detective said that once!”
“Yeah, I don’t know who this ‘great detective’ is, but they’re probably right. You
clearly haven’t done so, though. You didn’t even eliminate any of the
impossibilities!”
Ryo’s eyes widened in shock. “To have you of all people pointing out
someone’s failings,” Ryo tutted.
“Oh, yeah, great manners. Rude jerk.” Abel glowered.
“Anyway, jokes aside. Maybe...they’ve mistaken us for someone else?”
“Very possible. They may think we’re part of some royal family on a secret
mission.”
“Y-Yeah, maybe.”
Abel was the second son of the current king. Ryo didn’t know that. However...
“Abel, there’s something you’re hiding from me.”
“Huh?” Abel was startled by Ryo’s quiet words.
“You flinched a little when I talked about royalty just a moment ago.”
“D-Did I?”
Cold sweat ran down Abel’s back.
“Abel... I don’t want to imagine the worst, but you didn’t perhaps sneak into a
royal’s room and steal treasure, did you? If so, I’m saddened to announce that I
have no choice but to capture you and turn you in. And then I’ll receive my
reward...”
“Like hell I did!”
Despite sensing the ominous gazes watching them, the pair continued on their
journey peacefully.

Day three.
 The two of them were back on the South Highway, heading toward Lune.
“I knew it... We’re being watched again today.”
“Yeah... I can feel someone’s gaze.”
Both Ryo and Abel had the same feeling today.
“Abel... Is it possible you’ve incurred the wrath of someone powerful?”
“Ryo... Did you maybe mess with some scary people?”
Each pressed his hand on his chest as each expressed his thoughts out loud.
And then they sighed almost at the same time. Apparently, they were both thinking
the same thing.
“Why are they even waiting to make their move at this point? Just do
something already.”
“I couldn’t agree more. I wish they’d just get on with it and put us out of our
misery.”
“Uhhh, sounds to me like you’re hankering to put them out of their misery, and
that’s giving me the willies, so stop it, will you?” Abel grimaced as he imagined Ryo
chopping off his head.
“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you, Abel! Unless our opponent is incredibly strong, in
which case you can protect me while I run away!”
“Wow. That’s just wrong in so many ways.”
“Ugh. When are they going to attack us?”
“So you think they actually will? And they won’t be satisfied with just watching
us?” Abel knew it was just wishful thinking. Even so, he couldn’t stop himself from
putting the idea out there.
“Well, there’s always three of them within a five-hundred-meter radius.
Besides, if all they ever did was watch, they’d be deep in the red, don’t you think?”
“Meaning even thieves think in terms of profit and loss, huh?”
“In a sense, they do run small businesses. If they’re not tight with their own
purse strings, they’ll go under in no time.”
“Um. If you say so.” Abel was overwhelmed by Ryo’s unusually passionate
speech for a moment. “Aberdare, where we stayed yesterday, is the last big town in
the capital’s metropolitan area. The ones we plan to stay in today and tomorrow are
much smaller. ’Course, that means fewer people on the road. But this is the South
Highway, so there’ll still be a fair number of them passing by.”
“Ah, so that’s why you believe they’ll attack us soon. Possibly at night, when
it’s especially dangerous since everyone is asleep!”
“Yeah. Why are you smiling about that?”
“Now, Abel, it’s not what you think. I’m simply of the opinion that it’s better to
have them reveal themselves as soon as possible so we can kill them quickly
instead of waiting around not knowing when they’ll come. After all, we can’t just
attack people who are watching us because we think they might be thieves...
Right?”
“Right.”

Day four on the South Highway.

“They’re here!” Ryo whispered to Abel.
“What should we do?”
 “Let’s keep walking like we are. I estimate...five minutes until we make contact.
They’ll come from all directions to surround us.”
“Ya don’t say. How many?” Abel asked, frowning.
Ryo counted the number of people with Passive Sonar. “Twenty.”
“That’s a pretty big group for bandits.”
“I’m going to cover us in armor they won’t be able to see. Ice Armor 2.” As Ryo
chanted, invisible ice armor generated on the surface of his and Abel’s clothes.
“Strength in numbers, as the saying goes. Even if they’re bandits, we could get
hurt if they overwhelm us.”
“I appreciate how you’re careful about things like that, Ryo,” Abel said,
impressed.
“Even a great assassin and alchemist was caught off guard by a certain
someone’s sheer number of moves. I don’t want that to happen to you, Abel.”
“I’m surprised you even know an assassin, and one who’s an alchemist too.”
“Everyone has a past, Abel. I’ll tell you about him someday.”
The man Ryo had in mind was, of course, Hasan, the leader of the Sect of
Assassins.

Five minutes later, Ryo and Abel found themselves caught in the enemy’s net.
Three men appeared.
“So you finally decided to show yourselves. Been a while since we left
Deopham. Not one to slack off, are you, gents?” Abel taunted them.
Why was he provoking them? Just because.
“So you did notice us,” the man in the middle said.
He looked tough with his shaved head, but his prominent forehead made Ryo
think he was intelligent...
“We have you surrounded. Resistance is futile,” the bald man continued.
“Ehhh, that’s for us to decide. Let’s chat a bit first. Tell us what you’re after.
Can’t fault a guy for being curious, right?” Abel spoke casually, like he had all the
time in the world. Not a problem at all though, because he wanted information.
“What we want is that sword you have.”
“What?” Abel tilted his head in confusion.
“That’s a magic sword, isn’t it?” the bald man asked rhetorically. He clearly
already knew the answer.
“Nope,” Abel denied flatly.
“You really think you can lie to us?” barked the short-haired man next to the
bald man.
Ryo didn’t think that bandit’s forehead made him look intelligent...
“Too bad for you but we know the truth. And we want it real bad. Sure, we
could take it by force, but if you’re willing to negotiate, we can offer you gold,
jewels, or what have you for it. Whaddya say?” the bald man suggested, holding the
short-haired man back with one hand.
“It’s not for sale,” Abel said bluntly.
“Then why don’t we bring out a few things we have that aren’t for sale?” the
bald man proposed.
At this point, Abel and Ryo grew curious. What kind of “things” was he referring
to? And where were the gold, jewels, and “what have you”? Did they have a backer,
or were they negotiating on someone’s behalf? If so, who?
Both Ryo and Abel couldn’t help being intrigued by this mystery; actually
raising those questions could be a negotiation technique in and of itself...
“Ryo, what do you think?”
“I’m curious about a lot of things. For one, I wonder if they’ll take us
somewhere.”
That was their only exchange, conducted in low whispers.
“Gonna be real honest with you guys: I don’t plan on selling it. But I also won’t
deny that I’m interested in the things you have that aren’t for sale either. Guess we
have ourselves a real conundrum here, huh?” Abel said matter-of-factly.
Everything he said was true. For some reason, sticking to cold, hard facts could
be awfully persuasive.
“Then we’ll take you to our village. You’ll get your answers there. Follow us.”
With that, the man started walking.
Ryo and Abel glanced at each other. Both of their expressions said they knew
they had no choice but to follow, so they did just that.

After walking for nearly two hours, they finally arrived at their destination.
“Finally... Haaa, finally... Haaa, we’ve arrived... Haaa, that was quite a
distance,” Ryo said to Abel, panting.
Abel couldn’t muster a reply. Instead, he hoped his stare would convey the fact
that he knew there was no way Ryo had gotten tired from walking such a distance.
“Hm, must have been a tough road for a feeble magician,” the man with the
shaved head said tauntingly, walking behind them. He didn’t seem to realize he was
being played for a fool by said magician. Ryo realized and, continuing to huff,
whispered to Abel.
“I’m stellar at this acting business, wouldn’t you say?”
Abel felt discouraged for some reason when he heard this.
Just like the man had said, their destination turned out to be a village. There
were about twenty houses, with a plaza and a building with an altar in the center.
However, something felt off to Ryo. He didn’t know what the source was, which only
made him feel more off.
Abel seemed to feel the same discomfort.
“This is weird. Isn’t this weird?” he whispered very quietly.
Ryo nodded silently. While he still didn’t know what was causing it, he realized
he’d had this same feeling before. Where, though? The first thing that came to mind
was magic nullification, but that didn’t explain the sensation.
Magic nullification...? The one-eyed assassin hawk, Behe-chan, Hasan... Ah! The
Sect of Assassins’s village! It feels just like that village!
Ryo finally realized the true nature of his unease. The Sect of Assassins’s
headquarters was also a cleverly disguised village that had given Ryo the same
impression.
What made him feel that way though? It wasn’t the lack of women. There were
women here, as well as in the village of the Sect of Assassins. A lot of them had
fierce eyes, which perhaps made sense for this group of people. So that wasn’t it...
 No children?
Yes, the lack of children here, and in the village of the Sect of Assassins. In any
village, there were at least a few kids. You could hear them playing, their high-
pitched voices piercing the air. But...
I think the Sect of Assassins likely had other villages besides that one. Villages
or facilities that focused on raising children...to be assassins. That’s why they
weren’t there. So what about this village? I’m not sure... Is it only meant to look like
a village? And there’s a separate one where people actually live...? Hmm, that
doesn’t feel right either...
He decided to whisper to Abel what he had noticed. “No children.”
The moment he heard that, Abel’s eyes widened a bit. Then he inclined his
head slightly in agreement.
The two were brought to the village square, where they saw an old man
wearing a black robe, his white hair reaching down to his waist. Three others, all in
black robes as well, accompanied him. Everyone except the old man wore a hood,
creating a somewhat eerie atmosphere.
However, Ryo’s attention was focused on the long staff the old man held in his
hand. He’d seen the combination of the ornamental cord and stone carving
attached to it before. It was the same as the one the Grandam in Nils’s village had
attached to her staff. Eto had called it a carved statuette, but...
The shape of the carving was different.
The ornamental cord was the same, with seven colors intertwined. Ryo, not
being a priest like Eto, naturally had no idea what the carving represented. So,
pinning his hopes on a last resort, he decided to ask the B-rank adventurer beside
him.
“Abel, do you know anything about that stone carving on the white-haired old
man’s staff?”
“I don’t... But the rainbow-colored cord is pretty.”
That was the extent of his knowledge. Apart from the clerics of the Goddess of
Light, everyone else who knew of the carving had disappeared from the annals of
the history of the Central Provinces. It was unsurprising then that Abel didn’t know
either.
The white-haired old man was the first to speak.
“Welcome, esteemed guests. I’ll cut to the chase. We want that magic sword.
Of course, not for free. What would you be willing to receive in exchange? Do you
have a fair price already in mind?”
“Like I told the other guy, I don’t plan on giving it up so easily. First things first:
I wanna know why you want it,” Abel said confidently. Even Ryo was impressed by
his attitude in times like this.
“Hmph. Fine, I’ll tell you. We want to dedicate that magic blade to God.”
“Oh? I’m thinking...not the Goddess of Light. Am I right?”
“Don’t put our divinity in the same category as that false god!” he snarled,
marking an abrupt sudden change from his slightly condescending, relaxed attitude.
Ryo concealed how startling he found the man’s about-face.
“Pardon my outburst. I’ll show you to the shrine and explain. Follow me.”
The white-haired old man and the six others in black robes headed toward the
hill at the back of the village. Ryo and Abel looked at each other once and followed.
The man with the shaved head and his comrades trailed them.

The entrance to the temple was a tunnel that burrowed into the hill. The tunnel
ended in a dead end, but when the white-haired old man pushed with his hand, it
opened up with almost no resistance.
“Come in.”
The old man and his people went in first. Abel, Ryo, and the three men who had
brought them followed. The inside was much larger than Ryo imagined, about the
size of a soccer field. The ceiling was also more than ten meters high.
The three men behind them closed the entrance and stationed themselves
there. Urged by the white-haired old man, Ryo and Abel walked to the front of the
room. Ryo had felt something the moment he entered this space.
A hidden shrine?
It had the same aura as the one in Nils’s village. At the very back was what
appeared to be a perfect, unbroken sphere. The one in Nils’s village was chipped.
This one wasn’t.
While different in color and size, the transparent ball enshrined before them
somehow felt like the black balls he’d retrieved from Layer 40 Lune’s dungeon and
the fifth sublevel of the central temple. If someone told Ryo that it was a crystal
ball, he’d believe them.
“Come here,” the old man said, beckoning them over to the altar.
As they approached, he chanted something in a low voice.
Then Abel dropped down on one knee. Ryo followed suit.
“Now, obey me,” he ordered.
But they didn’t move.
“Eh?”
The old man was suspicious. Then he chanted again in a low voice. “Slave.
Obey me.”
“Piss off!” Abel spat, still on one knee, unable to lift his head.
“Outrageous! The Slave incantation isn’t working? I cast it in the temple! The
legend states that even a demon king can be subjugated, so this... This is
impossible.”
“If something like this works on a demon king, then I guess a demon king
mustn’t be all that special, huh?” Sweat streaked Abel’s forehead, but he resisted
the old man’s magic.
“Mind control magic... Dark magic... Extremely rare these days, ya know. If this
temple strengthens it, then you must be a priest of the God of Darkness in the
Pantheon of Seven.”
Abel had seen right through him.
“Since you know that much...you’re no ordinary adventurer.”
“I’m just a B-rank with a hatred for mind control magic!”
Abel finally clambered to his feet. His face remained pale and large beads of
sweat still glistened on his forehead, but he had broken through the spell’s effect
thanks to the necklace of tranquility he always wore. It allowed its wearer to recover
from even the most powerful status ailments and mind control magic in a matter of
seconds, but the fact that overcoming the magic had taken Abel so long proved the
power of the white-haired old man’s dark magic.
“Damn you...! But your companion has fallen into my hands, and I’ll have him
fight you. Now, obey me!”
“I refuse,” Ryo said, standing.
“What?”
The white-haired old man and Abel exclaimed in unison—the former because
he was worried that his magic had failed and the latter because he was
dumbfounded by Ryo’s inexplicable strength.
“Ryo, you’re okay... But how?!”
“Something that doesn’t work on you definitely won’t work on me, Abel!”
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
The reason it didn’t work on Abel was thanks to the national treasure-level item
he wore. But why hadn’t the dark magic affected Ryo?
“Sera told me herself that I have something that exorcises evil. Ergo, the Slave
spell must be some kind of evil magic. That’s why it doesn’t work on me!” Ryo
oozed with confidence.
Abel had no idea how he could be so confident. But...he was.
“Damn it. Hurry up and call for more aid!” the old man shouted at the bald men
watching from the entrance. They quickly opened the stone door and ran out to do
his bidding. The door remained open, even after reinforcements arrived.
“What will you do against all of us now? Hand over the magic sword and I’ll
spare your life,” the white-haired old man offered.
About thirty more people entered the temple. Such offers, backed by military
force, were rarely more than a form of intimidation.
“No matter how many of you there are, it’s not gonna change anything. I’ll
send you all to hell, so bring it on!” Abel yelled with all his might.
He made such an imposing sight that even Ryo was impressed.
“All right, Ryo, your turn to shine. Do it.”
“The audacity, Abel...” Ryo regretted being impressed.
But then, something strange happened. The entrance to the temple suddenly
turned jet-black. A square stood there now, five meters high and four meters wide.
Ryo was the only one who’d noticed it.
If there had been any survivors of the Central University’s research team here,
they would have pointed out that it was what President Clive Staples had named
“The Gate.” If there had been anyone from the Hero’s party here, they would have
recognized it as the same portal that had appeared near their artificial altar, from
which...
“Heh heh heh. ’Tis mine, at long last. I’ve only ever received a weak response,
so I was never able to pinpoint the exact location. But...I see. A temple carved into a
mountain with a door made of stone. Now, where’s the sacred jewel...”
From the gate emerged the akuma Leonore, with horns and a thin black tail.

Leonore’s loud monologue drew the attention of the nearly forty individuals
present. Unperturbed by her impromptu audience, she walked toward the back of
the temple. While searching for her target, she discovered something else.
 “Hm? Hmmm? Could it be...Ryo? It is Ryo! Such an unusual place for a
reunion.”
“You are imagining things. I am not who you think I am.”
“No, I don’t believe I am, and I do believe you are.”
Her expression was that of a predator happy to have found its prey.
While they conversed, she found the orb enshrined in the very depths of the
shrine. She approached with a speed that could almost be mistaken for
teleportation.
“Yes, yes, quite the artifact. ’Tis mine now.”
She held up her right hand, and the sacred jewel disappeared in an instant.
That was when the old man and his lackeys finally sprang into action.
“Who in blazes are you?”
“What did you do to the ball?”
“Are you one of them?!”
Leonore strode away, ignoring all the questions aimed at her. And then she
chanted.
“Stalagmite.”
Countless stone pillars appeared around her and pierced the men’s throats with
precision. In just a few seconds, more than thirty people, including their initial
captors with shaved heads, turned into silent corpses. Now, apart from her, Ryo,
and Abel, the only ones standing in the temple were the white-haired old man and
the six men in black robes.
The old man had been chanting something in a low voice for some time. He
finally finished and glared at her. Instantly, thin black smoke enveloped Leonore.
“Hmm, dark magic. But weak. Unable to control even a fly.”
With a wave of her hand, she dissipated the black smoke. Just like that.
“Come to think of it, dark magicians are supposedly rare these days... And they
want one as a sample. You’ll do just fine in that regard. I don’t need the others.
Stalagmite.”
Once again, sharp stone pillars pierced the throats of the six black-robed men.
After that, a stone struck pebble struck the old man’s stomach, knocking him
unconscious.
“I think I’ve dallied long enough, Ryo. My apologies. Time to fight.”
A smile appeared on Leonore’s face as she spoke. It was so intense the only
word to describe it was “gruesome.”
 “I was afraid of this...” Ryo sighed deeply.
“You should have anticipated our showdown. Doesn’t the thrill of battle events
make you feel glad to be alive?” Leonore said, delighted.
 “No, I think that’s a misunderstanding on your part...” Ryo replied, displeased.
“Uh, Ryo?” Abel finally spoke.
“Abel, don’t you dare try to challenge that thing. Remember the one who took
Roman to school? Well, that’s her. Leonore.”
Abel was speechless. He didn’t think he’d meet a being like her now. Was this
good timing or bad?
Roman would surpass him. He’d known that the moment they’d clashed
swords. The fact that she’d “taken him to school” meant she’d probably do the
same to him too. For God’s sake, she’d been shooting stone icicles at her opponent
this whole time. Not a single one of them had even seen the projectiles coming
either.
“Then ’tis safe for me to assume that the Hero has placed himself under your
tutelage, Ryo? Excellent. I need him to grow stronger, into someone befitting his
status.” Leonore nodded happily.
“Now, tell me about that swordsman. Is he an acquaintance of yours, Ryo?” she
asked, staring at Abel. “I assumed so, which is why I’ve kept him alive.”
“Yes. But laying a hand on him is against the rules. If Abel is hurt, I will die, and
then you’ll never be able to fight me again.”
His words shocked Leonore.
“N-No!” she said, panicking. “You can’t mean that! I refuse to believe it!”
I can use this to negotiate, since ensuring Abel’s safety is my biggest concern
right now...
So Ryo tried to do just that.
“I promised a certain woman that I’d bring him back safely to her. And if I can’t
keep it, I’ll offer my life in exchange. That’s why he can’t get hurt, Leonore.”
“Hm... But hurting him will get me what I want. It’ll send you into a blind rage,
Ryo. It will bring out the real you, and that is who I wish to fight.” She propped her
chin on her hand and mulled the situation over.
“Leonore, do you want to fight me with everything you have or do you just
want to beat me?”
“Aren’t those the same thing?”
“No, they’re completely different. If Abel’s hurt, my life is forfeit, regardless of
what happens. Our fight will be pointless no matter how much power I use, right?
But if you promise not to lay a hand on him, I promise to fight you with all my
might.”
“You swear...to keep your word?” She narrowed her eyes.
“I do. What about you, Leonore?”
“Very well. That man... Abel, is it? I swear I will not lay my hands on him.”
Phew. Abel’s safe now. I know it’s just a verbal promise, but I have a feeling
Leonore isn’t the type to break any kind of promise she makes.
“And there we have it, Abel. Please watch us from a distance. Do not under any
circumstances intervene. Even if it seems like I’m on the verge of death. Is that
understood? Promise me you’ll stay out of this.”
“Okay. I promise,” Abel said, cowed by his friend’s ominous speech.
“Leonore, before we start, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”
“Hm? I’ll answer you if I can. Go on.”
 “The sphere you took earlier—is it the cause of Lune’s Great Tidal Bore?” Ryo
didn’t beat around the bush.
“Ahhh, you would ask such a complicated question. We call that a ‘sacred
jewel,’ but yes, that’s one of its functions. But if you’re asking whether the event
occurred naturally, I have to tell you that’s not the case. ’Tis hard to explain. I’d say
its purpose is eliminating waste. Mn, perhaps culling is a better word... Something
like that.”
Her answer was incredibly vague, but the word “culling” seemed to align with
Ryo’s hypothesis.
“In other words, this sacred jewel connects a location where the monster
population has become overpopulated with Lune’s dungeon. The monsters move
from their original location to the dungeon through this passage. When they
overflow out of the dungeon, the humans hunt them down in the phenomenon
known as a Great Tidal Bore. Do I have the gist of things?”
“For the most part, yes. Well done. Whether in Lune or elsewhere, the
phenomenon only summons a number of monsters the people there can handle. We
try our best to adjust the numbers accordingly, although this year’s was a bit higher
than usual...”
“Does that include the mayhem in the royal capital a few weeks ago too?”
“No, that wasn’t us.” Leonore frowned for the first time. “While a sacred jewel
was used...that was something else. I can’t say more.” Apparently, even akuma had
their own hierarchies and interpersonal relationships to deal with, just like mankind.
“That brings me to another point. There were devils in Layer 40 of Lune’s
dungeon during the Great Tidal Bore. Can I assume your people were involved with
that too, or...?”
“Did you say forty? Hm... As far as I’m aware, our apparatus is installed on the
eleventh floor. Mayhap ’twas the devils’ doing. Unlike the goblins and such
dispatched, they’re relatively intelligent. So they might or might not have acted on
their own. I wouldn’t know.”
“I see.” Ryo was satisfied for now since he’d learned what he wanted to know.
“Thank you very much for answering my questions. Now it’s time for me to hold up
my end of the bargain. Are you ready to fight?”
“You are most welcome! And I’m more than ready!”
Smiling fiercely, Leonore pulled a sword out of nowhere.
That’s definitely infinite storage or inventory or what have you, the kind of
storage that uses subspace in light novels... I’m so jealous!
Even as the thought flashed through his mind, Ryo pulled Murasame from the
belt at his waist and generated its ice blade.
“Then let’s begin, shall we?”
Leonore’s words marked the start of their battle.

“Hellfire.”
A thick pillar of flame rushed from Leonore toward Ryo.
“Laminated 10-Layer Ice Wall.”
A wall of ice appeared in front of Ryo, its layers multiplying as the flames raced
in his direction. When flames crashed into ice, the collision produced mist instead of
the usual sparks of annihilation—perhaps because of the sheer power of Leonore’s
magic. The vapor filled the air, obscuring Ryo’s view.
She used Hellfire last time too. No matter how powerful it is, she should know
by now that it isn’t powerful enough to break through my layers of ice. So that
means...it’s a diversion! Her real attack will come from my blind spot, either behind
or above.
At that moment, Ryo jumped to the left, did a full spin, and landed with one
knee on the ground. Just as he’d expected, Leonore leaped at the spot where he’d
been with her sword in hand.
“Stalagmite.”
“Icicle Lance.”
Ryo countered the sharp cone of stone, fired at point-blank range, with a flurry
of ice spears. Of course, Leonore hadn’t actually expected this attack to land. It was
another feint!
She rushed him at the speed of sound, closing the gap in an instant, and swung
her sword. Twice, then thrice, their blades clanged as they found themselves in a
deadlock. That was exactly what Leonore had wanted.
“Flame Spear Barrage.”
Ryo felt a sudden pressure on his sword and then found himself blasted
backward unceremoniously. Leonore had known that any distance between them
would allow Ryo to counter her magic, so she’d fired an attack spell from her
weapon instead. Even Ryo, who had trained his magic generation speed, couldn’t
intercept a spell fired from that close.
He slammed into the wall behind him.
“Ngah!”
He coughed up both blood and spit. He’d counterattacked before crashing into
the wall, creating sixteen Icicle Lances that rocketed toward Leonore from the
ceiling. Despite the attack coming from her blind spot, she handled it easily.
Ryo had, of course, expected as much. He’d just wanted to keep the distance
between them. Now...
Abrasive Jet 256.
Two hundred fifty-six streams of water surrounded her.
“About time!”
Her savage smile deepened at the sight.
“Wind Talon Dance.”
Countless Air Slashes started whirling around Leonore. They smashed into
Ryo’s streams of water, creating 256 points of annihilation. All of his Abrasive Jets
vanished.
Once upon a time, Hasan, the leader of the Sect of Assassins, had cloaked
himself in a spiral of pebbles and vanquished Ryo’s Abrasive Jets. Leonore’s defense
seemed like the air version of that spell. The rationale behind it was the same.
Either way, his trump card had been soundly defeated.
And yet, Ryo wasn’t particularly shocked. This time, even his Abrasive Jets had
been a diversion to buy him time to mend his wounds. He knew her point-blank
magical attack and his collision against the wall had left him with internal injuries,
so if he didn’t treat them, there was no way he’d be able to continue fighting. He
didn’t think he could take on someone of Leonore’s caliber injured. He wasn’t that
conceited.

With the time he’d bought himself time using his Abrasive Jets, he drank a
special potion and successfully mended himself.
“As if I would allow that spell to cut me into pieces twice,” Leonore said,
scoffing. She looked smug.
“Ah, yes, an attack working more than a single time would be too easy,” Ryo
replied, sighing deeply.
He had long since accepted that the power of her magic outclassed his. So if he
couldn’t beat her on strength alone, his only option was technique. But what did
that mean in the context of magic? Ideas. He’d thought to cut her into pieces using
256 streams of water, but Leonore could still use her overwhelming force to
counteract his technique.
“Ugh, this is so frustrating,” Ryo said, truly exasperated to find himself
surpassed on power and unable to counter with better technique.
He’d been mulling over his 256 water jets ever since Hasan had negated the
spell, but Ryo hadn’t yet come up with anything. There had been moments when
he’d felt an idea surfacing, but nothing had ever quite reached the surface. And
right now, he was in the middle of a battle. Needless to say, his opponent definitely
wouldn’t wait for him to come up with one.
“’Tis my turn now! Blazing Spear.”
“Jamming. Laminated 10-Layer Ice Wall.”
Thin, fiery spears shot from Leonore’s hand, penetrating the layers of Ryo’s ice
wall with ease. He dodged those projectiles by the skin of his teeth.
“I wasn’t fast enough. Is it really that hard to learn from example? I’ve
practiced so much since then, but...Hasan was truly incredible,” Ryo muttered to
himself. He regretted his failure with Jamming.
Hasan-i Sabbah, the leader of the Sect of Assassins, had used the spell. It
involved mixing your own magic with the magic your opponent was casting, thereby
blocking the generation itself. While the method was simple to understand, in
reality, it required incredible precision and extraordinary generation speed to
actually execute.
Even Ryo had failed to do so, meaning using it in actual combat was another
matter entirely. However, if you could master it...you could seal your opponent’s
magic!
“You attempted something else before you created that wall of ice, didn’t you?”
She smirked at him, guessing correctly.
“Why, whatever are you referring to?” Ryo played dumb.
“Geh heh heh. Are you going to do something to entertain me?” Leonore
cackled devilishly. She really was enjoying herself. “Blazing Spear,” she chanted.
“Jamming. Laminated 10-Layer Ice Wall.”
Thin, fiery spears shot from her hand again. And once more, their high piercing
power meant they tore through his layers of ice easily. For a second time, Ryo
dodged them. But...
“They’re weaker. Interesting. What did you do, Ryo?” she asked, smiling thinly.
 “N-Nothing. Nothing at all.” He played dumb again.
I need to sense her magic faster... Trying to follow it with my eyes takes too
much time. In that case...maybe sonar will be faster? Passive Sonar.
He had cut off Passive Sonar in order to focus on Jamming, but now, he
reactivated it. And then...he closed his eyes.
“Wha—” The sight stunned Leonore. For a moment, anger suffused her face
before she quickly suppressed the emotion and regained control of herself. “You
dare insult me by closing your eyes? I knew it. You are attempting something you
haven’t done before. Fine. Challenge accepted!”
“Blazing Spear,” Leonore chanted for a third time.
“Jamming. Laminated 10-Layer Ice Wall.”
Her flame spear dispersed before fully gaining form.
“Impossible!” She was shocked.
“Heh heh heh.” Ryo grinned. “I did it. I made Jamming work.”
“Again! Blazing Spear.”
“Jamming.”
This time, he didn’t bother even raising his ice wall. Once more, Leonore’s
flame spear dispersed without fully gaining form.
“What in the hell have you done?”
Eyes wide, she looked between her vanished flame spear and Ryo. She, of
course, understood that Ryo had done something to prevent her spell from
generating completely. But she didn’t understand how.
“Ryo, what did you do?!” she screeched.
“Um, well, I can’t say...”
When she asked him so aggressively, he dropped his smug expression and
averted his gaze. He didn’t want to show her his hand yet.
“Is that right?! Then I’ll force you to tell me!”
“Just don’t kill me, please. If you do, you’ll never know!”
“Death is no hurdle to me, Ryo! All I have to do is crack open your skull and
absorb the knowledge directly through magic!”
“Is that actually possible...?”
Leonore was obviously willing to go to any lengths to discover why her spell
had disappeared, putting a quick end to Ryo’s negotiations for his life.
She raised her sword overhead.
Ryo held Murasame in the seigan stance, pointing the blade toward her eyes.
“Blazing Spear.”
“Jamming.”
It was her signature surprise attack spell, yet, for the third time, her flame
spear scattered without fully gaining form.
“Gah!” Leonore screamed in frustration.
“Heh heh heh.” Ryo smiled broadly.
This might have been the first time he surpassed her in magic.
Klang.
Ryo deflected the downward blow from Leonore’s sonic leap. He brimmed with
confidence, elated by the knowledge that his skill had leveled up. That was why
he’d been able to parry her so smoothly.
 “Barrage.”
“Jam...”
She cast the spell at point-blank range, making it impossible for Ryo to get off
Jamming in time. Ryo flew backward, sword and all.
“Ngh!”
He smacked into the wall again.
Leonore didn’t stop there. She hit him with a follow-up strike.
“10-Layer Ice Wall.”
“Curse you! Fivefold Blazing Spear.”
He couldn’t block even one of those fire spears with his layered ice walls, so
there was no way a mere ten-layered ice wall could block five.
He narrowly dodged the one aimed at his throat.
He deflected the one aimed at his chest with Murasame.
His robe repelled the one aimed at his right shoulder.
 But the one aimed at his stomach deeply pierced through him.
And the one aimed at his left leg plunged through his thigh.
“Hngh!” he grunted.
“Geh heh heh. What a fine picture you make, Ryo.”
As she slowly approached, Leonore laughed devilishly. Anyone but Ryo might
have even described that smile as seductive.
“It’s not...over...yet...” he said through gritted teeth.
“Oh ho, still some fight left in you, eh? You are truly one of a kind, Ryo.” She
looked impressed and her smile changed from seductive to terrifying.
“You can’t move with that leg, you know. Are you planning to dodge both my
sword and magic with only your torso?”
“I still have my magic! Water Jet Thruster.”
His supersonic dive closed the distance between them instantly. Klang, klang,
klang.
He struck back-to-back-to-back. It was a hit-and-run tactic, his body moving
with each attack. He kept his right foot planted on the ground while his injured left
leg, completely bent at the knee, hovered in the air. A fine mist scattered in his
wake.
Leonore instantly understood. “Jumping while blasting water?” Though
surprised, she still smirked. “Superb! I knew you wouldn’t disappoint me, Ryo!
However...”
During his final attack, she slammed her sword into Murasame.
“Your blows are far too delicate!”
Ryo caught the strike with Murasame, but didn’t lose his balance. The moment
his blade skidded off hers, he shifted his center of gravity and used Water Jet
Thruster and the momentum of his parry to execute a precise circle, as if he were
doing Tai Chi. His spin brought him around to her back, which he slashed.
“Huh?”
His attack should have landed, but he didn’t feel his weapon collide with
anything. Had he attacked an afterimage? A clone? He didn’t know, but it wasn’t the
real thing!
He whipped around, lightning-fast—
And found the real Leonore right there. Then he realized it was too late. Still
clutching Murasame in his right hand, Ryo raised his left arm to protect his neck.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Leonore’s sword slice his left arm off at the
elbow... He instinctively swung his sword and watched Murasame effortlessly carve
Leonore’s head off her body.
The battle came to an abrupt end.

“I need a breather,” Ryo said deliberately.

He had decapitated Leonore. As for his own injuries, he’d suffered serious
damage to his abdomen and left leg, and his left arm was severed at the forearm.
First, he coated the blood vessels in his abdomen and left leg with ice to stop
the bleeding and froze the knob of flesh on his left arm to stop the bleeding there
and protect it against the elements. He also froze the part of his left arm that had
been sliced off.
 Having done all of this, Ryo could finally calm down and think. Composing
himself, however, meant acknowledging the pain and limitations of having his left
arm severed.
He could no longer wield his sword properly. Murasame was a two-handed
Japanese sword. While some highly specialized sword techniques—or even iaido—
could be executed with one hand, Japanese swords were fundamentally designed to
be wielded with both hands, making them extremely difficult to wield one-handed.
At the martial arts hall where Ryo had learned kendo, one of the more
seasoned students there had used only his left arm to wield his sword because he’d
lost his right arm from the elbow down at a young age. After much training, the
young man had surpassed swordsmen who’d used both hands... Even so, wielding a
Japanese sword with one hand was no easy feat. Moreover, Japanese swords were
even more difficult to use than bamboo swords... And Ryo was most definitely not
Tange Zazen.
If there were a high-ranking cleric of Rihya’s ability around, they could use the
spell known as Extra Heal to regenerate his missing body part. The ordinary Heal
couldn’t repair such severe wounds, however... Unfortunately, there was no such
person here.
Given how far from the royal capital and other large cities they were, expecting
to find a high priest to cast an Extra Heal on him within the next day was unrealistic.
Ryo remembered Lyn saying something in Redpost about the twenty-four-hour
window a healer had to regenerate severed limbs.
He had made several potions in the capital with the genius alchemist, Baron
Kenneth Hayward, but even a man of Kenneth’s talent couldn’t create an elixir
capable of restoring a missing body part. It was a testament to clerics’
extraordinary magic, especially Extra Heal.
“Reattaching a severed arm...” Ryo muttered. Just saying the words out loud
plunged him into the depths of despair.
While Ryo brooded, Leonore’s headless torso sat upright.
All he could do was stare at the scene in a daze as her body stood, walked over
to her severed head, and placed it on her neck.
“Damn and blast, it won’t stick.”
Finally, her head spoke.
“Ahhh... I see now. Your sword is the Fairy King’s, which complicates the repair
greatly, eh?”
“You’re alive? Well, good for you, I guess,” Ryo managed to say.
“Hmmm. Eh, it’s fine. I’m sure I’ll figure something out when I return. You win
this time, Ryo.”
“You chopped my arm off!”
“Yes, but you slashed my head off. Any way you look at it, ’tis my loss.”
“But you’re not dead... And here I am racking my brain about what to do with
my arm.”
“How do I say... Consider it an inherent trait unique to my race. Not much I can
do about how our bodies work, eh? Oh, I almost forgot. I must take that dark
magician back with me.”
Leonore, holding her own head under her left arm, lifted the white-haired old
man onto her right shoulder.
“Until next we meet, Ryo. And when that time comes, I will emerge the victor! I
enjoyed our bout.”
Then she disappeared into the Gate, cackling like a maniac.

Abel walked over to him.

“Ryo, I’d ask if you’re all right, but that’s obviously not the case, huh?” Even he
grimaced at the state of his left arm.
“Correct. I think the first thing we should do is get out of here.”
Holding his left arm with his right, Ryo did. Despite the holes in his stomach
and left thigh, he honestly didn’t feel much pain—probably because the persistent
throbbing pain in his left arm overpowered his other two wounds. On the walk
outside, he started thinking about the process of reattaching his left arm. It
dismayed him greatly, but there was no other realistic solution.
I need to reconnect the bones, muscles, nerves, blood vessels, and skin. Of
these, the most difficult are the nerves and blood vessels...I think. Normally, this
would require microsurgery because the blood vessels are so thin. Of course, I’ve
never done it... If this were Earth, I’d be helpless, but lucky for me, magic exists
here on Phi. And even luckier, I’m a water magician.
Outside the cave, he sat down on what looked like a bench.
“Ryo, a high-ranking cleric should be able to fix you right up with Extra Heal,
but...” Abel couldn’t finish. Grief twisted his face. He knew they wouldn’t reach a
high-ranking priest in time for them to reattach his arm.
“I know. Has to be done within twenty-four hours, right? We just don’t have the
time. I’m thinking of doing it myself.”
“Wait, can you actually do that?”
Having witnessed all the extraordinary things Ryo had done so far, Abel
couldn’t eliminate the possibility.
“Maybe. Naturally, I’ve never attempted the feat before.”
“Yeah, true.” Abel’s slumped in dejection.
“But I came up with a method and I want you to help me, Abel.”
“Like you even have to ask! Just tell me what I need to do!”
Reenergized, he practically tackled Ryo in his eagerness to help. Ryo took out a
potion from his leather bag.
“This is the highest quality potion Kenneth made for me. Of course, it won’t
regenerate missing body parts, but its restorative power is tremendous. I’ll use a
few water magic tricks to get it to an effective state. When I give the signal, I want
you to pour half of the liquid where I tell you to.”
“Got it.”
Abel took the bottle from him.

“Let’s get started, then,” Ryo said, and grasped his frozen left forearm with his
right hand, thawing it. Of course, the limb wasn’t wet, since the ice was magical. He
thawed the wound on his left arm as well and tried to attach the severed forearm
back in its original location.
He let out an involuntary cry of pain. No wonder, because the nerves were
exposed, and he obviously hadn’t used anesthesia on himself. For now, he had no
choice but to get through this on sheer determination alone. Just grin and bear it!
First, he connected the bone. The fact that she had sliced right through the
bone was a testament to Leonore’s skill with a sword.
“Cutting bone is incredibly difficult. She really is incredible.”
Ryo was strangely impressed by her handiwork. Still, he couldn’t escape from
reality. The surface of the cut looked clean, and the angle made it easy to connect
the two parts. He placed the bones of his stump and severed arm together, then
bound them with a film of ice.
He was grateful that he could use his water magic to more accurately
understand his body parts’ condition than he could with the naked eye thanks to the
water in his body.
Next came the muscles, but...frankly, there was nothing he could do. He
couldn’t connect each individual muscle fiber, so he hoped they would fuse back
together on their own... He’d have to leave that job to the potions.
Then came the first big hurdle: joining the many nerves that ran up the length
of his arm. If something went wrong, his fingers might cease working, so he had to
be careful...
Normally, one would use nerve sutures or nerve regeneration induction tubes
to join nerves, but Ryo had no such skills nor induction tubes on hand here. Either
way, he joined the nerve endings of both parts of his arm and surrounded each one
with a film of ice to fix them in place. He’d have to put that problem on the back
burner as well.
For now, he needed to ensure the correct nerves were reattached to each
other... It would be terrible if he misaligned the joint and reattached nerves to
different nerves. The bones had fit snugly together, however, so the arm and hand
were in the correct positions. As long as the nerves were close to each other and of
the same thickness, there was no way to screw it up.
This was where water magic came into play. If it was inside the body, it was
probably made mostly of water. Ryo’s detection was good down to the micrometer,
so he probably wouldn’t make any mistakes during the reattachment process.
The final hurdle? Vascular anastomosis. Advanced anastomosis techniques
would have been required if he were back on Earth. Reattaching blood vessels one
by one with a needle and thread would have been an incredibly painstaking task,
but the perfect anastomosis technique, such as Alexis Carrel’s, could have
reconnected the blood vessels without any leakage.
But this was Phi. Ryo reconnected the blood vessels not with needles and
thread, but ice. He attached a film of ice to the inner and outer walls of the blood
vessels to be connected. Since blood flows through the inside of the inner wall, it
wouldn’t leak. Compared to surgery on Earth, Ryo’s method took far less time and
wasn’t difficult—at least for a water magician of Ryo’s level!
That was how he connected the bones, muscles, nerves, and blood vessels
using ice.
“Abel, it’s your turn.”
“Oookay...but the skin isn’t attached yet, is it?”
“Pour the potion little by little through this gap in the skin. I’m going to rotate
the arm slowly, so make sure you get it all around. The ice inside will allow the
potion to permeate, so don’t worry about that.”
“No idea what you mean by that last part, but you can trust me to do my job.”
Abel removed the stopper on the bottle, ready for Ryo’s signal.
“All right, here we go,” Ryo said, gripping the end of his left arm with his right
and slowly rotating his entire left arm. Abel steadily poured the potion in time with
his movement. Light glowed inside his arm wherever the liquid struck. A fantastical
sight.
Ryo repeated this process about four times, observing the whole time. For
some reason, he felt various parts adhering together inside his arm. After waiting
for a while, the sensation disappeared. Then, gently, very gently, he tried wiggling
his fingers.
“I can move my fingers...” Ryo whispered.
“Whoooa!” Abel was overjoyed.
All five fingers moved properly. His wrist seemed fine too.
“Now, let’s close the skin.”
He returned the skin, which he’d incised to make it easier for the potion to
enter his arm, to its original shape. And finally, he remembered the wounds on his
abdomen and left leg. He didn’t pour the remaining potion on himself but drank it
all. That way, not only would it reconnect the skin on his arm but also heal his other
wounds. The glow appeared again, then disappeared. Ryo’s body was back to
normal.
“I’m so glad...” he sighed, relieved to the depths of his soul.
Not knowing what to say, Abel slapped Ryo on the shoulder repeatedly as he
congratulated him.

◆◆◆
Only a little farther until they reached Lune.
“Another uneventful journey...”
“Are you being serious right now?” Abel said, walking next to Ryo. He’d
overheard Ryo’s mutter. “How the hell can you say something like that after your
left arm was cut off? No offense, but you’re nuts.” Abel genuinely believed what he
was saying.
“To be clear, I meant there were no classic light-novel events like bandits
attacking or rescuing a young noblewoman.”
“Yup. As usual, I have no idea what you’re talking about, Ryo.”
“Oh, come on, you know how it goes. You’re walking down the road minding
your own business when you’re suddenly attacked by bandits. Then you fight back
and nab all the treasure they’ve been hoarding. Or you rescue a noblewoman from
monsters or bandits, and the noblewoman’s family showers tons of favors on you as
thanks. Doesn’t that sort of thing happen pretty often?” Ryo asked passionately.
“No,” Abel said bluntly. “Not at all, actually.”

◆◆◆
“Hey, Ryo.”
“What is it? Are you about to bring up money again?”
 “No, you jerk. When have I ever tried to borrow money from you?!” Abel had to
take a moment to cool his temper. “This is serious business. I was wondering why
you didn’t freeze Leonore when you were fighting her.”
“Ohhh...”
At his question, Ryo thought back to his battle with the akuma and glanced at
his left hand. There was a faint scar where she’d cut off his arm.
“Simply put, I can’t just freeze anyone.”
“Is that how it works?”
“Yes. I don’t know if it has to do with a person’s mana or something else, but I
can’t freeze powerful magicians. At least, not yet.”
“Not yet?”
“Well, no one knows what the future holds, right? Also, Sera let me try to freeze
her, but I couldn’t. She’s an elf, though, so chances are good something else was
the reason.”
“Yeah, Spirit Protection,” Abel muttered, using his royal knowledge.
“Oh, so you know too! She said the same thing. I also had the chance to test
out my freezing technique on Arthur from the Bureau a while ago, and it didn’t work
on him either.”
By Arthur, Ryo meant Arthur Berasus, special advisor to the Bureau of Royal
Magicians. He was one of the Kingdom’s leaders who had traveled to Stone Lake at
Ryo’s request.
“You’re experimenting left and right, huh? Even sacrificing Arthur on your quest
for knowledge.”
“What a rude way to phrase it, Abel! All he did was help me develop my magic.
Is wanting to know my full potential so wrong? Anyway, that’s why I didn’t try
freezing Leonore. It likely wouldn’t have worked.” Ryo frowned as if considering how
easy a solution that would have been.
“You do know that it shouldn’t be possible to freeze people at all, right?”
“I do... Arthur said the same thing, actually... Besides, it’s not like I could do it
right off the jump either. When I lived in the Forest of Rondo, I tried on monsters
first, but my magic just bounced off their bodies. After lots of grueling practice, I
succeeded.”
“That’s, uh, pretty crazy...”
“Effort is the strongest tool,” Ryo declared, his expression strangely smug.

“Oh, I just remembered something I’ve been meaning to ask you too, Abel.”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Darn it, you were supposed to say, ‘What? This about money again?’ You still
have a long way to go, hm?”
“What do you want from me, man?!”
“A talent for comedy, of course...”
“How about I make it so you can never laugh again instead, Ryo?” he said,
casually brushing his hand against his sword.
“I’m joking, you know that. You should know by now not to take me seriously,
jeez...”
Then Ryo deliberately burst out laughing. The speed at which Abel unsheathed
his sword was impressive, and Ryo knew that he was at a disadvantage at such a
close distance... He was always thinking about combat. He’d become a meathead at
this point...which meant even his brain might have become muscle.
“My question has to do with Combat and Sword Skills.”
Combat Skills were special ones acquired by swordsmen, spearmen, and other
people who fought using weapons. From Ryo’s perspective, they looked different
from the ordinary techniques you gained through hard training. They almost
resembled magic.
“Are Combat Skills a type of magic for physical jobs?” Ryo asked.
Abel’s eyes widened.
“There actually are researchers who support that theory. In reality, though, I
don’t really know.”
“Even though you use them?”
“Yeah. Think about it like this—we don’t really know why magic works the way
it does, right?”
“True.” Ryo thought about the various spells magicians, including himself,
used.
“Some folks can cast spells like you without using incantations while others
need them. Monsters can use magic too. Some can even use magical nullification,”
he added, remembering the battle between a behemoth and wyverns.
“Right, incantations! Besides myself, Sera, and that darned fire magician I’d
rather forget even existed, everyone chants them. Actually, that’s not completely
accurate. I just remembered the grandma in a village that worshipped the Earth
Mother Goddess. She didn’t use incantations either and told Eto, who was with us at
the time, that people who serve the Earth Mother Goddess also don’t. Well, more
accurately, there were never any incantations to begin with. At some point in time,
though, they became commonplace.’”
“Oh, yeah? I had no idea... That reminds me. I learned way back that Combat
Skills first appeared in the Central Provinces a century ago. Maybe those two things
are related...?”
“Then there’s the Hero’s party...” Ryo said, thinking back to their fight in the
underground tomb. “They didn’t use incantations either.”
“You’re right. What was the term they used again? ‘Trigger word’?”
Ryo suddenly looked up. “That! That’s it!”
“Uhhh, what’re you talking about?” Abel said, startled.
“That phrase, ‘trigger word’!”
“You mean words that activate magic...?”
“I don’t mean the words themselves, but the word ‘trigger’ itself! Do you know
what it means?”
Abel, not quite understanding Ryo’s excitement, tilted his head. “I mean, does
it matter? A trigger word is a trigger word...?”
On Earth, a trigger is the part of a gun the user pulls to fire it. It made symbolic
sense why the same word was used to describe the final word that activated a spell,
but why that word specifically? After all, guns didn’t exist in the Central Provinces
yet, did they? Only recently had the region started secretly producing “Black Dust,”
which was the equivalent of Earth’s black powder.
 The explosion that Ryo and Gekko’s merchant caravan encountered in Llandewi
had likely been caused by gunpowder or a similar substance. Even though Black
Dust was such a recent innovation, the word “trigger” had been in common
parlance for some time. Ryo found the whole thing a bit odd. Then he remembered
one more relevant fact.
“Bullet Rain! The most advanced wind magic spell or whatever it’s called, the
one with the ridiculously long incantation.”
“Yup, right on both counts.”
“Exactly! Do you know what the word ‘bullet’ means?”
“Do I need to? ’Cuz all I know about Bullet Rain is that it’s Bullet Rain...”
On Earth, a bullet is a projectile fired from a firearm. So “Bullet Rain” aptly
referred to a hail of bullets. But why, in a world where bullets did not yet exist, did a
spell called Bullet Rain exist?
“There truly are so many things I just don’t understand here,” Ryo remarked
with a frown.
“Weeell, not to rain on your parade, but I can only give you answers about
Combat Skills.”
“Thanks for trying your best, Abel. I suppose I’ll have to ask others about the
rest.”
“Why do I get the feeling that you’re being condescending? Whatever. I just
won’t worry about it. Anyway, it’s said that Combat Skills spread throughout the
Central Provinces roughly a hundred years ago, although none of the stories
mention who used them first,” Abel said.
“Only a hundred years ago? That’s fairly recent, no?”
“I personally wouldn’t consider a century ‘recent,’ but to each his own, I
guess.”
“I mean, that span of time is half Sera’s age...”
“Sure,” Abel said, sighing, “if you’re using an elf’s lifespan as your frame of
reference, you’d probably consider most things recent. As I was saying, researchers
still haven’t decided whether Combat Skills count as magic, so nobody knows.”
“I see... I wonder if they can be used in areas where magic has been nullified.
Don’t you think that’d be nice?”
Abel froze. “No gonna happen, man, especially since spaces like that are rare.”
“But what about battles against monsters?”
“Again, not gonna happen, since fighting a behemoth-class monster is
practically impossible. Not like you’d win either, with or without Combat Skills.”
The only magical nullification Abel had ever witnessed was created by a
behemoth.
“When an assassin hawk evolves, it gains the ability to nullify magic.”
“Whoa. Are you serious?” Abel was beyond surprised.
Ryo had experienced it firsthand during his battle with the one-eyed assassin
hawk. The assassin hawk wasn’t commonplace in the Central Provinces, but it was
possible to encounter one. Its ability to kill you before you ever saw it made it one
of the most feared creatures.
“At least the one I fought did. It was frightening.”
“Damn, and you won, Ryo? Good job.” Abel meant those words from the
bottom of his heart. For a magician, losing their magic meant losing their life.
“All thanks to this,” Ryo said, pulling Murasame from his belt to show Abel.
“That’s the one you used in your fight against Leonore. An ice sword, huh? Is it
just me, or is that thin blade curved? Never seen anything like it, honestly.”
“Its name is Murasame. Legends laud its power. There’s even a proverb: ‘A
blade of ice, when drawn, scatters jewels.’”
Abel was a bit put off by how lovingly Ryo was gazing at the blade in his hands.
“Th-That’s cool, I guess. I suppose an ice sword is the perfect weapon for a water
magician.”
“Yes, apparently. My master gifted it to me when I scored my first hit against
him.”
“Wow. Must be pretty special, then, huh?”
Abel didn’t even realize he was touching his own beloved sword as he
answered.

Lune came into their view just after noon. It was March. Spring had arrived
here, a city located even farther south in the southern nation of the Kingdom of
Knightley.
Ryo was finally back after two months away from his home base. He had
originally planned to return in about forty days, but, after his time in the Principality
of Inverey, he had dropped by the Kingdom’s royal capital and found himself
embroiled in the turmoil there...
“It’s been too long,” he muttered with heartfelt emotion.
“Yup, so let’s get a move on.”
At Abel’s urging, he continued toward Lune.

Epilogue

In the white realm, Fake Michael spent his day, as usual, overseeing several
worlds.
“Dominus Ryo Mihara, you truly are a delight to watch,” he said, looking at the
stone tablet in his hands. “I wonder if they selected you for reincarnation because
they knew how entertaining you’d be... A genuinely fascinating individual. You have
interacted with many of Phi’s supernatural beings... And here and there, some are
beginning to notice your uniqueness... I hope you can overcome your impending
trials.”
He chuckled, but worry laced his tone.
“Oh? More unusual characters, I see... And what’s this? As one destined to walk
the path of Asura, you will at long last experience war... Your life will take a hectic
turn, Dominus Ryo Mihara... I’m not sure if peace was ever in the cards for you. I
hope you take care of yourself and live your life well...”
 The Fire Magician IV:
Fiona

A year had passed since the incident at Marquess Meusel’s villa. Marchioness
Maria Kulkova had returned to the imperial capital after living in her country estate
for six months. She had been traveling between the imperial capital and her
territory every six months since her husband, the marquess, was alive.

“He’s not here?”

“That’s right, Maria. Oscar is currently away on a job in the north.”
“Unfortunate... Perhaps I should have tried to reserve him as an escort...
Though I’m unsure if the adventurer’s guild has a system like that.”
Just like the last time she’d stayed in the imperial capital, Maria wanted to
request Oscar to be her bodyguard for six months, but Eckhart, the head butler at
her capital residence, had brought her information that made her request
impossible.
“I asked them to contact us upon Master Oscar’s return.”
“Thank you. Let’s hope he comes back soon. Norbert can assume the post in
the meantime.”
“Understood. I’m glad to see how much of a shine you’ve taken to young Oscar,
Maria,” said Norbert, the commander of her knights. He bowed respectfully and
smiled.
“He’s learned a great deal in the last six months alone. Isn’t it fun watching
someone grow?” A shadow suddenly fell over her face, ousting her happy smile.
“However, the core of his heart remains frozen. I hope he meets whoever is
destined to thaw it sooner rather than later.”