Haru Naru ♪♪♪ This World is a Comedy - Chapter 52

Chapter Text

1

If the times change, so do games.

Ever since Space Invaders came out in 1978, games have endlessly evolved to fit in with the times and their needs.

Two years later, the first portable game was released in Game&Watch, and a scant three years after that, the NES appeared. Another seven years, and it was time for the SNES. The PlayStation came out four years after that, and from then on, every time gaming advanced a generation, there'd be a new set of consoles.

And what surprised players every time was the progression of graphics. From the 8-bit NES to the 16-bit SNES. And once we entered the age of PlayStation, CG started to throw its weight around. Every time we went into a new generation, the CG lost its awkward movements and looks, and started to look much more natural and real.

Once, a nationally famous game company released their first game for the PS2; the kids back then must have been really surprised, like, "Oh man, look how real the CG looks!"

By the way, kids nowadays will look at the same game and say, "Wow, this CG does not hold up." That's just how far CG has come and how discerning people's eyes are now.

But still, the evolution didn't stop. Graphics and games got better every generation, becoming closer to the real thing. Fictional worlds that could be mistaken for real pictures on the screen, and in that world, fictional people moved about, looking so real people might think that they used real models for it. It hasn't been realized yet, but the VRMMOs that are the subject of so many novels might actually come to life one day.

But that was just the stuff of dreams right now. Doing something like moving all your senses into a game was still far too dangerous to do. It might actually happen someday. But that someday was, in fact, "some day," which means not now.

So why is it that I'm currently the character I made in a game world, being shaken around on top of a carriage?

"We can see it now, Big Sis. It's the next city!"

"Yes, We see it, too. Don't make such a fuss."

Minako, who was sitting in the next seat, shook me, making the already bad shaking of the carriage even worse.

The money I earned from killing orcs and the money Minako got from selling their meat somewhere came to 5500 el in total, so we were currently on a carriage traveling to the country of Svel.

Of course, Minako didn't sell any of the best meat that raises HP, but just the other parts. (Well, it does seem that she also sold the filets that had been damaged and lost their effect). I did wonder just where she sold all that meat, but she does have the ability to teleport. It wouldn't be surprising, no matter where she sold it.

Being able to move around so easily is enviable. Moreover, it seemed like she was unable to teleport other people along with her. Apparently, in order to teleport someone else with a will, you had to either render them unconscious or have them agree to the teleportation. According to her, as long as there was some sort of sense of rejection or distrust in the target's heart towards the user, the magic wouldn't work.

Ahh, oh right.

As for my HP, I ate the other pieces of orc filet, and now my HP is at 336100.

It's kind of an ugly number and it does bother me a little, but whatever. I can ignore it.

"Thanks fer da patronaaage!"

I paid the driver and got off the carriage. And we started walking towards the gates protecting the capital.

There were several soldiers standing guard before the gates, and they seemed to be guarding the gate strictly.

Oh yeah, this place was under attack from one of the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians right now. Sorry for causing so much trouble.

"Stop there, you two!"

Stopped by the guard, we waited for him.

Yeah, of course we'd get stopped. I mean, I'm wearing a hood and mantle. No matter how you look at it, I'm suspicious.

"Past this gate is the country of Svel. Show me your entry passes."

Entry…passes? Oh no, this is the first time I'm hearing of that. There wasn't anything like that back in the game…

No wait, there was. Back then, the game was all about armies and countries, so in order to get into other countries, you had to go through your own and gain permission from the other country's king. Now that I thought of it, that probably was this entry pass thing.

And right now, unfortunately, I had no such thing.

But unlike me, who'd made no preparations, Minako responded calmly, taking out several papers from her pocket before handing them over.

"Here. These are our entry passes. Please check them."

"All right."

What the heck is this super-competent advisor? She's way too prepared! She even got mine ready, too. She even winked at me, as if to say, "Don't worry about it."

"Hm, so you two sisters are free merchants without any citizenship? Your name is Minako, and your big sister is Lucy. Looks like your papers are real."

"There's been more people around forging papers recently, you know? Well, anyone who'd be tricked by those has pitch-black holes where their eyes should be. Hahahah!"

Nice job having pitch-black holes.

I don't have any sort of ID of my own, so that's without a doubt a forgery.

"Hm, you may pass."

"Thank you very much."

Having gotten permission, Minako put on a full-faced smile. But as we tried to pass, once again, a voice stopped us.

"Ah, wait a second. Just in case, you need to take off that mantle and show us your face. Sorry, but we need to make sure that you're not a monster or a grimmfolk under there."

Ahh, yeah. Of course this'd happen.

But, to be honest, I figured this would happen, so there's not actually much reason to panic.

It's true that I was world-famous in a bad way, but people only remembered my black wings. This world didn't even have pictures or anything, so nobody would remember my face if they didn't have long life spans and weren't alive back then.

To put it simply, if Oda Nobunaga were to put on modern clothes and get a modern hairstyle, nobody would point at him while he's walking through the streets and go, "That's Oda Nobunaga!"

And these guards didn't have wings or fangs. Their ears weren't even pointed; they were clearly human. That meant that I should've been able to at least show them my face.

"Ahh, sorry about that… Here, is this fine?" I removed my hood and smiled at them.

I’ll say this now; I’m no narcissist. But I was a guy before, so I’m aware of just how earth-shatteringly beautiful I am right now.

The ones who know what guys like best are other guys. Like, just what kinds of movements, expressions, and attitudes make a guy’s heart race. I just know how to move to shake up a guy’s heart. It happens a lot in games, where guys who pretend to be girls online are more popular than real girls.

This is why.

There’s no reason not to use this weapon..

"Forgive us, guard. If We don't hide our face there will be no end of trouble in the streets."

"Y-yeah…that's true."

"So? We want to go already, so may We pass now?"

Personally, if I was a guy I wouldn't want to make a bad impression on a beautiful girl. Even if I was to never meet her again, if someone as gorgeous as me were to say, "I don't want to get near that guard, he stinks," I'd get pretty depressed.

Of course, there were differences between people, and, depending on the situation, he might even be a really brazen guy who'd say something like, "Come now, woman, don't be cold like that." But any healthy, upstanding man would have only one answer here.

"O-Of course! Please, go ahead!"

Yep, as I expected.

I once again donned my hood, and this time, we stepped over the border into the country.

Right before us lay water, water, and more water.

The lake that looked to be an entire ocean unto itself filled my vision, only broken by the single bridge that stretched from the gate all the way into the capital.

This country didn't exist back when I was playing the game, and the founder used to be one of the seven womens who put Ouzelia Lucifen…or in other words, me, up as the villain of the world and led the people to defeat me. She was the 'Witch Queen' Juvia Lockser.

According to Minako, she was currently in hiding but still alive, and even now, she was living in these walls, it seemed.

I thought while we walked.

Juvia was there back when I was playing the game. We went hunting together, and we'd also partied like idiots. Even that battle wasn't because we stopped being friends; it was just a story thing to liven up the game that we all acted out… Basically, it was just a play. I just happened to have the evil boss role, and she just happened to side with the protagonist.

Then we all had a great party and built up a story around it… Yeah, we did fight, but we were friends who shared joy playing the same game.

But which one is the Juvia who's living here now, in this world? Is she the same as I am? The player from another world? Or is she someone named Juvia who has nothing to do with me? If that's the case, just what happened to the past where we hunted together and talked and all that?

"Warrior Queen" Erza Belserion. "Beast Queen" Blake Belladonna. "Blacksmith Queen" Jenny Pollendina. "Adventurer Queen" Ember Celica. "Witch Queen!" Juvia Lockser. "White Empress" Hinata Aera. And the "Rose Princess" Rozelia Ruby.

My friends whom I once had fun with. The seven high ranking players who represented their races and livened up the game along with me.

I need to meet them.

Four of them have already died, it seems, but the three in the latter half are still alive.

I need to know. Are there others experiencing strange circ*mstances like I am? Or am I alone?

"…So this is the country that Juvia built…" I raised my head.

If I were to use one phrase to describe the city that jumped into my sight, it would be "City of Water," I guess.

This entrance gate seemed to have been the subject of someone's desire for a magnum opus, and thanks to it being taller than everything else in the capital, it had a great vantage point over everything. Added to that, ever since I've been in this body my sight's gotten a lot better, and right now, I could see clearly into all corners of this country.

There was a castle in the center and a lake surrounding it. There were four bridges extending in cardinal directions from the castle to the main city. The city itself was also split into north, south, east, and west areas, with a bridge for each one. Rather than a man-made river in a city, it was more like a huge city, and bridges were built on top of an expanse of water by force. A total of five pieces of land, including the center, stood on top of clear water, with eight bridges connecting them. What an odd capital.

…Ah, it's nine bridges if you count the one for the entrance.

The water glittered under the sunlight, and artificially planted trees and woods swayed in the wind.

Also, once I started to concentrate closely on what I was seeing, I noticed that everywhere I looked was lit with a strange light. Was that… lwhat's referred to as raw magic power? Thick clouds of raw magic power suffusing the air were referred to as mana in the game.

The light that was probably mana imposed its presence everywhere it reached, and the effect was overwhelming.

As expected of the country of the Witch Queen. You're showing off some pretty cool things there.

"The great magic country, Svel. This country, which was founded by one of the Seven Maidens of Midgar, the elven heroine Juvia, is special for its extremely dense mana. They've poured their efforts into teaching magic and other academics, and aspiring scholars and mages from all over the world gather here. But due to their dislike of the dense mana, the flugels almost never visit.… Big Sis, are you feeling alright?"

"There's no problem. We don't know about others, but to us, this is actually quite a new and fresh feeling. It's nice," I said to Minako as I looked around at the mana.

At the moment, I wasn't feeling any discomfort. I did remember that the game lore said that the flugels hated mana, the power of demons, but right now, I didn't feel anything of the sort.

Or maybe the flugels's hatred of it was, unexpectedly, mostly emotional? If that's the case, then I get why I'm fine, since I don't really have any opinion on the stuff.

"Now then, as for our plans from now on…where should we go first?"

"Of course, we will be going to meet Juvia. We have a lot to ask her."

"Straight on, huh? But Juvia is most likely inside that castle. You couldn't be planning to just barge in, could you?"

I shook my head in response to Minako's question.

If I were to go boldly punching my way in like that when the monster I raised was raising hell, too, I'd just be adding to the chaos. No matter what I do, whether it's sneaking in or waiting for her to leave the castle, it'd be better to avoid causing chaos as much as possible.

Then, the first step should probably be some light information gathering, shouldn't it?

"No, We will be doing things peacefully. We don't enjoy causing unnecessary fuss," I told Minako before climbing down the stairs leading off the bridge, aiming to get to know the city first.

Minako said that this place is popular for its academics. Then, I should be able to read more detailed books on history somewhere. I know far too little about the one thousand years that've passed. They're a blank for me. First, I need to fill that hole in my knowledge. For that, this country could be called convenient for how useful it is.

Let's see…let's find a library first.

With that in mind, I talked to someone on the street.

"The library? Is this you guys's first time here? The library's in the east area."

I talked to a human man who looked both frank and sociable. He was wearing a viking helmet and a claymore sword at his back. His armor was full of nicks and scratches, while his posture screamed "Mercenary."

The reason I deemed him "frank and sociable," even with all that, was because of his charming and lively smile. It was bright enough to completely cancel out the effect of his scary mercenary looks. That's how strong his expression was. He was just that kind of guy.

"The east area… Which means…"

"This is the south area, so you need to cross the bridge on the right. The east area's where all the bigwig scholars and passionate students gather. You could say it's the center of this country. It's got all the libraries, schools, museums and stuff… Well, basically, if you want to find out or study anything, you should probably go to the east area. That's all you really need to remember."

Minako and I nodded in understanding.

Apparently, each of this country's separated areas had its own dedicated purpose. Now that I know that, I really want to just explore. After I get everything I need out of the library, it'll probably be fun to take a lap around this place once.

"Thank you, this was helpful. Then we'll be going this way."

"Hey hey, just wait a second, kids. Are you really going to go there on foot? The day would be over by then."

Just as we were about to walk off again, the man stopped us. Then, he took a map out of his pocket and started talking.

"This country's pretty damn big. Each area's like 500 km by itself. And if you put it all together with the castle area in the center and all the bridges, this entire city's over 2500 km. Trying to go everywhere by foot will kill all your time, you know."

"Then, how do you all get around?"

"We use the monorail. Follow me. I'll show you to the terminal."

A monorail, huh? This is getting really modern all of a sudden. I mean, it's not like this world doesn't have its science, and it's even got magic. So I guess it's not surprising that there's one or two convenient vehicles around. I bet the monorail moves on magic or something.

"Oh, whoops, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Teuchi. I'm a mercenary who's working as a border guard for this country. I'm off today, though."

"I'm Minako, a free merchant. This person wearing a golden mantle exuding suspiciousness at full force is my big sister, Lucy."

Without a word, I stepped on Minako's foot. Minako shouted in pain, but I ignored her.

What kind of person introduces another with "exuding suspiciousness at full force"? I mean, it's completely true, but you're the one that told me to dress like this in the first place!

"You've got quite the getup, haven't you? Well, you've probably got your own problems, so I won't pry."

"…Thank you."

I'm glad that he won't pry.

I said my thanks and followed Teuchi as he started walking.

"Um, I'd like to ask you some questions about this place; is that OK?"

"Sure, ask away." Teuchi agreed right away to Minako's request.

He was a really good guy to be this kind to us even though we had just met. My first impression of him really wasn't wrong, it seemed.

"First, this country's split into five areas. As for how they're split, first, the southern area, where the entrance is, is the 'Trade district.' For those who just entered this country, it's made to be the first place you enter. Anyway, this place has everything. There's a lot of stores competing with each other, after all. But these last few years, Fiona of the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians keeps attacking, so this place is a little less crowded than it should be."

…My head's starting to hurt.

I'm getting real complicated feelings towards the actions of a subordinate I haven't even seen yet.

For now, I'm gonna kick you once in the head when I meet you, Fiona. Be ready. Of course, I won't be holding back at all. Don't worry. If memory serves, Fiona should be at the max level for a tamed monster of mine, 800, so she shouldn't die even if I kick her for real.

Going off topic, a Monster Tamer's monster's levels were made so that they could never exceed their master's. For example, even if a monster was level 1000 in the wild, when tamed, if the Tamer's level was 500, their level would be reduced below that. The formula was the Tamer's total level/2 + [Class level x 3]. So for me, the max level would be 500 + 300, or 800.

Also, if, for example, the formula exceeded the Tamer's level, (like if the Tamer's total level was 100 and their class level was also 100, making the theoretical level 350), the Tamer's total level was set as the limit instead, so it was impossible for a tamed monster to be stronger than its Tamer.

In other words, with the formula, it was only possible to have monsters be the same level as the Tamer up to level 600, and that was assuming the Tamer's class level was maxed out. And at level 700 and over they completely started to be eclipsed by the Tamer, so at that level it was actually better to just party up with some players at the same level.

Not only that, but Tamers could only bring one monster with them at a time. Even if the Tamer had over 100 monsters tamed, they could only bring them out one at a time. Of course, that was because it'd break game balance if players were allowed to go around with tons of monsters stronger than them, and solo play would run rampant.

MMOs are based around team play. Naturally, by paying for it, players could solve this problem and start toting level 1000 monsters. Well, in the end it'd still just be a two-person party, so it wouldn't change the fact that it was still better to party up with other players.

"The eastern area is the 'Academics district.' I've told you about this already, so I'm just gonna skip this part. Next is the western area, the 'Industrial district.' Starting with the monorail I just told you about, all the magic engines that power vehicles and other tools are produced there. Of course, we're not as good as 'Blutgang,' said to be the country of craftsmen, though. That place is famous for having most of them there."

"…Magic engines, Blutgang… We've never heard of either of these." I listened to him talk while I whispered questions to Minako, who was beside me. I knew neither of those names. At the very least, they weren't around when I was playing the game.

Minako whispered back: "Magic engines were invented by Juvia a few decades ago. They're a system that uses mana as fuel. It's much cheaper and more efficient than the traditional coal, so it's really hot right now. However, it's almost unusable by the flugels, so at the moment, coal is still more prevalent."

So it's that, right? It's just oil.

I don't know just how much mana is around in the world, but I wonder if we'll run out of mana if we keep using it like this. Or is mana something that's basically infinite… I'm clueless on this subject.

Well anyway, I can't use mana myself, so I guess I just don't care.

"Blutgang is a country founded by one of the Seven Maidens of Midgar, the Blacksmith Queen Jenny Pollendina. It's called the country of craftsmen, and a lot of the dwarves, amongst other races, take residence in that country. Most of the world's industrial goods are manufactured there and exported."

"We see."

Industry… I know even less about jobs like that where you make things. I muttered an appropriate reply and, once again, concentrated on what Teuchi was saying.

"The northern area is the 'Residential district.' Almost all living quarters are concentrated there. It's the farthest away from the gates, so right now, it's the second safest area."

"Second safest? Would it not be the safest since it's the farthest away?"

"Well, of course that's because it's not guaranteed that monsters will behave themselves and come from the front door. Even though this place is a natural fortress surrounded by a lake on all sides, it's not guaranteed that monsters won't come charging in from behind us. Actually, monsters that can fly or swim have, in fact, gone around and invaded from another area."

Having heard that, I replied, "We see."

True, there's no need to be polite and come in through the front door only to be forced to deal with the border guards. In fact, it'd be more natural not to do so.

Teuchi must have figured out my confusion. So he offered a follow up.

"Well, doing that takes an extraordinary amount of work. The lake surrounding this place is actually a water golem created by Lady Juvia. That's why if anyone tries to force themselves through the water, they'll just find themselves a victim of its jaws. Isn't it awesome? It's a golem that's a whole lake big enough to surround this country, you know? It's totally a guardian deity that protects this whole country."

I honestly was impressed by that fact. I was also a level 100 Alchemist, but I'd never thought of a golem that would be an entire lake.

I see, so stuff like that's totally possible because this isn't a game anymore. In the game, there was no way anything that'd change the map itself would work. But this was reality. That meant that, as long as the materials were there, you could totally do what you wanted with your surrounding land.

…Let's try something out if I ever get the chance.

But still, a water golem, huh? Juvia made something pretty cool here. Heavily mana-infused water makes for pretty good material. If she made a golem out of that, it wouldn't be surprising if it's level 500.

…Let's see, I guess I should check its stats, just in case. I thought and turned on my Observing Eye.

[ Guardian Deity Levia ]

[Level]: 500

[Race]: Artificial Life Form

[HP]: 180000

[SP]: 0

[STR (Strength)]: 2750

[DEX (Dexterity)]: 800

[VIT (Vitality)]: 3400

[INT (Intelligence)]: 650

[AGI (Agility)]: 1028

[MND (Mind)]: 722

[LUK (Luck)]: 2300

[ Teuchi ]

[Level]: 82

[Race]: Human

[Class Levels]:

・Warrior: 82

[HP]: 6860

[SP]: 476

[STR (Strength)]: 303

[DEX (Dexterity)]: 263

[VIT (Vitality)]: 368

[INT (Intelligence)]: 99

[AGI (Agility)]: 245

[MND (Mind)]: 72

[LUK (Luck)]: 208

Hm, so its level is 500, just like I expected.

For a world where a sword saint is level 120, it's more than powerful enough. More than anything, its HP pool is massive, probably because all the water is part of it.

I mean, what the hell? 180k at level 500? Is that a bug?

For golems that can't use stat-boosting items, it's an overwhelming number. Normally, a level 500 golem using mana water would have around 50k HP. Golems made out of water get a little extra HP, but only a little. To be able to drag that up to 180k, I can only compliment the Witch Queen on her ability. This thing's already almost a boss.

On the other hand, Teuchi is, well, a normal early-game warrior.

No, wait, since the Sword Saint's level 120, is he actually really strong by the standards of this age? As always, I can't seem to get a good handle on the general level of this world… Well, he shouldn't be weak, at least. Probably.

While I had all that running around in my head, Teuchi continued to talk.

"Lastly, there's the 'Nobles district' in the center. This is the area where only people of a certain status may live, like royalty or nobles, and it has basically no connection to us. If you try to sneak in like an idiot you'll get caught right away, so be careful."

So the center, where Juvia probably is, is a place for the privileged, huh? That means it'll be really difficult to get in legally.

Oh well, I can think about this later.

"All right, we're here. This is the terminal."

The place we were led to was very different from modern stations. That was only natural, though. With it looking like a metal coffin, I got the feeling that the station was built literally just to let people onto the monorail. There were no escalators or elevators, and though there was a fence to stop people from falling in, there was no yellow line. The inside wasn't especially nice, and there weren't any ads, and of course, there weren't any electronic screens to display when the next arrival would be. It was literally a bare metal coffin, only there for people to get on and off the monorail.

And the center of it all, the monorail was also a metal coffin. It was just a square box with windows and sofas. There were no patterns or paintings or any decoration.

I guess I would say that we would be riding in a metal coffin inside a metal coffin.

"Now then, I'm going to leave you here. All right, see you again if the fates will it!"

"Yes, thank you very much, Mr. Teuchi."

"You were helpful. We give you our thanks."

As expected, Teuchi wasn't coming with us all the way to the Academics district, so he said goodbye to us, and we did the same. It was more than enough for someone we didn't know to come this far with us.

I gave my thanks to the kind mercenary that didn't mind our appearances and got on the monorail.

Now then, first up is the Academics district. For now, I'll bone up on everything I don't know.

The monorail started moving, but it wasn't really something to get excited over. To the passengers, it didn't make much of a difference whether it was being powered by electricity or magic. It was only different enough for me to think that it was a little fast.

But when it came to the scenery outside the window, things were different. The lake was so huge it could be mistaken for an ocean. And the city was built on top of that, with lots of buildings all lined up. It greatly aroused my curiosity and made my heart dance.

I wasn't sure how old my body was, but with my eyesight I could pick out people going about their lives from inside the monorail, and I was staring out the window at them, feeling almost like a child.

And when we got off the monorail the atmosphere changed. The crowd was now full of intelligent-looking, slender people. It was actually worrying how skinny everyone was, and it made me want to tell all the people walking past that they needed more exercise.

But my eyes were especially drawn to the beautiful ones with long ears—elves. For elves, I seem to remember them being forest people that basically never left the woods, but times probably changed in one thousand years.

I could see elves walking down the street normally, talking and being friendly with humans. In fact, I could even see middle-aged humans and elven girls walking around like lovers when I looked closer. Humans and elves had far different lifespans. So I bet that, which just looks criminal, is probably actually fine, and the elf is actually older.

In other words, he gets to have an eternally beautiful lover. Go explode.

I found a library right away. Fitting for an academic district, it stood out. I was lucky that it was built so close to the station. The library itself was also taller than other buildings, shaped almost like a tower.

I went through the doors and entered the building. Inside, a woman who seemed like the librarian looked at me suspiciously but didn't say anything.

The library is open to the public. So I guess that means I'm fine as long as I don't cause any problems?

The inside of the library was a circular hall. There were desks lined up in the center with shelves surrounding them. Of course, the shelves didn't completely enclose the desks; there were aisles and passageways left so it didn't feel too constricting.

I immediately made for the history section and started looking at the titles lined up on the shelves.

The Genesis of Midgar "Just How Did the Goddess Naru Create Our World?"

History of Midgar Part 1: The Secret of the Birth of the Seven Races

The Wars of Midgar — From the Appearance of the Grimmfolk until Now

…I can ignore this section.

This doesn't have anything on what happened in the last one thousand years, and it probably doesn't change much from the lore that I know of.

What I want to know happens from when I was defeated by the Seven Maidens of Midgar to now. Those one thousand years.

The Blackbird of Death: Ouzelia Lucifen's Life and Rule

Great Persons of History: Black Emperor Ouzelia Lucifen

Was Ouzelia Lucifen Really Evil? A Historical Inquiry

Ouzelia Lucifen: The Only Ruler to Have Ever United the World

So this section is all books about me, huh? This might be perfect to find out how the world thinks of me.

I took the Great Persons of History and the Historical Inquiry books for the moment and moved on. As always, I couldn't move my arms, but ESP's really convenient. If I knew things were gonna turn out like this, I would have gotten my Esper levels to 100, not just 50… But in the game Espers were kinda meh at fighting… ESP being convenient for moving things around was only fluff in the game, too.

The Seven Maidens of Midgar: The Heroines that Defeated the Blackbird of Death

The Glory and Foolishness of the Seven Maidens of Midgar

Great Persons of History: Erza Belserion

Great Persons of History: Blake Belladonna.

Great Persons of History: Jenny Pollendina

Great Persons of History: Ember Celica

The Peak of Humanity and Its Fall. Did Humanity Make a Mistake?! Kill the Seven Maidens of Midgar! Humanity's Biggest Mistake According to Historian Oobleck

This section was for the Seven Maidens of Midgar, and it seemed what I wanted to know was here, too.

The fact that Juvia isn't among this Great Persons series is… Well, it's probably because she's still alive. She's not dead, so she can't be a great person of the past.

Still, what's surprising is that there are more books here that clearly criticize the Seven Maidens of Midgar than I thought there'd be.

Is this okay? This country's founded by one of the Seven Maidens of Midgar. Even though she's not the one in charge right now, that doesn't change the fact that she's a legendary hero to this country. I wouldn't be surprised if the authors of these books were deemed guilty of lèse-majesté…

"Hahah, were you surprised? You're not actually that hated, Big Sis!"

"…It truly is strange. We should be the villain that forcefully conquered the world…"

"Well, there are books like that as well, but as time passes the fear leaves, too. And right now, people are starting to think that allowing you to stay would have seen us fighting amongst ourselves less, and we wouldn't have to fear the grimmfolk, either. And most importantly, you weren't really all that awful as a tyrant."

Minako's words still left me half in doubt.

I can somehow imagine how people feel towards me. I'm probably being treated like Napoleon or Oda Nobunaga. Looking at history, it's clear that Oda Nobunaga did some pretty awful stuff and put fear in people. But modern Japan was full of people that thought he was "cool," and not only are there fans of Oda Nobunaga, he's even being picked as the protagonist of mangas and novels.

Nobody that was actually there and experienced the fear of him would say that, probably, but in the end, they're in the past. It's a viewpoint only achievable because you can look at him like a character in a story. Most likely, the authors of these books are human, not elves or something similar.

"Well, for now, let's just read it. We will probably be here for a while. What will you do, Minako?"

"Of course, I'll accompany you. I have books I want to read, too."

"Oh? What books?"

"This! Ninja Warrior Naruto Volume 1 'Naruto Dies on Mission.'"

A novel? I almost reflexively fired a retort, but it wasn't my fault. I mean, what's up with that novel? It's volume one, but the protagonist's already dead in the title. The meaning of it's so impenetrable I'm actually getting interested.

"By the way, I recommend the second volume, Sorrow! Killed in Action, and the third volume, Chance Meetings of Death."

"He dies every time?!"

The urge to read it ran through me, but I stood fast.

I sat in an available space in the center and flipped through my selection of books.

For now, let's read up on what happened these past one thousand years and compare things.

With that decided, I looked at and picked out one of the books I had. Let's see…

The Goddess Naru. Presides over the elements of water and metal.

She takes the form of a beautiful girl with carnelian red hair and orange eyes, but there are also accounts that claim that she has blond hair and blue eyes, so the truth is unknown. She's recorded as a kind goddess that loves the world she created, but there are also accounts that suggest she despises certain unsightly beings—

…Ah, I made a mistake. This isn't it. This isn't the one I want right now. I set the book aside and opened the book I actually wanted to read.

2

Ouzelia Lucifen.

She was a mysterious flugel that appeared suddenly one thousand years ago, and she unified the world in the blink of an eye.

While possessing taboo wings of pitch black, she was more beautiful than anyone. Even the flugels, who place heavy emphasis on wing color for beauty, had to admit this, according to Hinata Aera, the queen of all flugels.

She was strong, just endlessly, relentlessly strong. People, monsters, and even grimmfolk were just small fry to her. Even now, the reason she conquered the world is shrouded in mystery.

However, according to the people who knew her… Ouzelia Lucifen may have been an invader, but she wasn't a tyrant. She used force to unite the world but did not rule through tyranny.

Noblesse oblige. The higher class has an obligation to those lower than them. Being a ruler comes with responsibilities. According to an elf that knew her at the time, this was her favorite saying.

"Even if you invade using force, once they're under your rule and are your citizens, you have a duty to protect them. You must take responsibility to protect their way of life, protect their futures, and turn the futures of their children as firm as bedrock."

That was what she said.

You might say, "Like an invader such as Lucifen can talk."

Most likely, this was exactly what people who rebelled against her said at the time. However, it was also true that she never burdened her citizens more than was necessary. In fact, more than once or twice she'd deposed tyrants just like that who were making their people suffer, and as a result, saved the country.

Ouzelia Lucifen was no saint. However, was she really a villain, either?

…Now, one thousand years later, there are a lot of scholars who raise doubts about her rare breed of "villainy."

Why did she set out to conquer the world? That is unknown, even now. The only ones who would know, her Twelve Zodiac's Guardians, are now fearful enemies of humanity, and there is no hope of conversation with them. However, given that she never once acted like a tyrant, it might be that she didn't do so out of personal greed. The truth is unknown.

The truth remains that we as humanity rejected her, brought her down, and escaped from her rule.

However, the result of that wasn't the dawn of humanity but only the happiness of the grimmfolk. It wasn't only humanity that thought of Ouzelia Lucifen as a threat. Even the grimmfolk truly feared her and were wary. They feared the great power of the Blackbird of Death, the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians that followed her, and the heroes that were gathered due to her power, and they waited.

Once their greatest threat was removed, the grimmfolk moved immediately. Humans, who lost Lucifen, their ruler, and split into fractions, created a chance that the grimmfolk didn't miss as they went on the attack. In response, the Seven Maidens of Midgar and other warriors of the time rose up against them. However, they no longer had the unity of when they were opposing Lucifen, and that fight ended in our loss.

Sixty percent of the world became the grimmfolk's territory, and humanity's living space was compressed considerably. And now, humanity only counts 30% of the world as their territory.

The Seven Maidens of Midgar are now three, and it wouldn't be surprising if those three are just barely keeping the world from crumbling around us. It's only a temporary quiet, a peace on thin ice. It would no longer be surprising if our world were destroyed at any moment.

And what's more, we haven't found a way to break out of this situation, either.

***

The world's totally losing?!

I finished reading, dumbfounded over just how badly the world was doing right now.

No, I knew that the Grimm King was still around and that humanity was desperate enough to try to call a hero. But still, I was making light of the situation somewhere in my heart. I only thought of it like, "Well, if I leave them alone, the Hero will appear at some point and sort everything out, probably."

I mean, this country is really pretty, and at first glance, it's the picture of peace. Normally, no one would assume the world was doing this badly. This is the first I'm hearing of humanity only living in 30% of the world.

No, well, I did kind of suspect it. Like, it did come to mind that countries are pretty small and squeezed together and stuff. I mean, this country, Svel, is smaller than Hokkaido, too. Not only that, but this is a major country founded by one of the Seven Maidens of Midgar, so I did faintly wonder just how small the world was.

But in the game, entire countries were just out there on the map as icons. And even though they were countries, they were basically just large cities, which was a pretty common thing, so…I just didn't pay it that much attention. I was just like, "I guess this is how things are."

Yep, I was naive. This world's in danger.

But now that I think about it, I guess this situation was inevitable. The grimmfolk still have their Grimm King, as well as several of my Twelve Zodiac's Guardians. On the other hand, humanity lost me and the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians; and probably none of the high level fighters are around, either. All our levels in general are much lower, and four of the Seven Maidens of Midgar are gone thanks to life spans.

…Of course we'd be on the ropes. In fact, it's nothing but a miracle that we're still holding on.

Man, I'm gonna have to hurry up and retrieve the Zodiac's Guardians that went to the grimmfolk's side or things will be bad, won't they? From what I heard, they turned traitor due to their anger at the heroes defeating me, so I should be able to convince them to come back if I talk to them… Probably, definitely, most likely. I'm just barely able to be optimistic.

This'd just be a fun event in a game, but this world is super serious right now, and things are getting even worse…

Even though I don't care at all that I was defeated, the winners are all regretful. They've been driven far enough into a corner to be writing history books like this even… It's all just…

…Like, just…

3

While reading, I thought of one thing. And that was a sense of doubt over Fiona, who was currently attempting to invade this country, and how unlike her that was.

Fiona was a rainbow sheep…a harmless monster that enjoyed peace and hated fighting. So why was she attempting an invasion?

No, I already know why. It's because I… Ouzelia Lucifen was defeated by the Seven Maidens of Midgar.

But was she really someone who could lead and take revenge like this? In the game, tamed monsters only followed around behind their Tamer and never spoke. That's why players had no choice but to imagine things based off of the monster's race and background or delude themselves into thinking one monster's personality varied compared to another's.

I wonder…just what kind of personality does she have? I can't know what kind of person she is just by looking from the other side of the screen. I should be her master, but I don't know anything about her.

Just when was it that I first met Fiona, anyway?

That was back when I still wasn't max level… Right, it should've been around when I'd maxed out my Warrior and Grappler levels and just started leveling Tamer. Around then, I was wondering what kind of monster I should tame for my first one, I think.

Monsters used by Tamers had a wider range of use than an Alchemist's golems and were more useful, too. Unlike golems, their levels could rise, and they could use stat-boosting items. They could heal, too, and they'd revive from 0 health if you healed them. They did have a level limit, but raise a strong monster and they'd be useful through the endgame.

At the time, I should have been thinking of taming something cool and strong first, like a dragon. The one I accidentally encountered was the exact opposite—a weak sheep.

Of course, I knew about them. Even in the game, only one ever existed at a time. It was a super-extra-rare monster that the devs probably put in as a bit of a joke. Ever since the game started, no one had ever actually seen one, and I'd seen fake info posted on message boards more than once.

I…decided on a whim to tame it, a monster that I'd accidentally found. For some reason, it didn't run away, and when it finally attacked, it was so weak that I was actually pretty worried at first. But still, it was my first monster. Of course I'd get attached.

At any rate, I leveled her like my life depended on it and ended up using a lot of stat-boosting items, too. Luckily, thanks to one of her skills, she produced one rainbow wool every day, which sold for a lot. Using that as funds, I gave her a bunch of stat-boost drinks. I bought all of the items that could teach tamed monsters skills that I could find and used them.

If she's a weak monster, then I'll just make her the strongest! I might have been a bit stubborn about that idea. As a result, it became as if Fiona's weakness before had been just a lie, and even after I got to level 1000, she never stopped being useful.

Well, I did almost lose my motivation to keep that up when the boss-class monsters I'd tamed afterwards got stronger than Fiona without any items whatsoever, though.

Now that I think about it, it could be said that Fiona is the one who's known me the longest. I still hadn't teamed up with Juvia and the others back then, and I hadn't started Zodiac either. Just what kind of thoughts did she… Fiona has over these one thousand years?

Was it rage? Or grief?

Either way, it seemed that she thought I was precious enough to try to avenge me.

That's great, but it's also exactly why I need to stop her. If Juvia and Fiona were to fight, one of them would die. Purely from strength in battle, Juvia should win since she was a high level player comparable to me, but Fiona should have some sort of plan. I can only think that the temporary feeling of peace here is because Fiona is plotting something.

And right now, I'm the only one in a position to stop her.

"…That crying sheep, huh…?" I felt a strange muttering leave my mouth. Crying sheep?

…I don't remember anything like that. That sentence, which I muttered incredibly naturally, was about something that I had no memory of, even if I did say it myself.

…No, that's wrong.

I do know. I remember.

This body still remembers the past that's been etched in the back of my brain. The image of a small sheep that cried out that it wanted to become stronger is branded into me.

I see. I don't know her, but the bit of Lucifen's memory that's still left in this body does.

Then there's no need to hesitate. Lucifen's will aligns with mine. I'll kick that idiot, who's let her blood rush to her head, to the curb, and I can just extend my hand to her again afterward. I can tell her to come with me. To come with us. Just like back then, I can pick her up once more.

It's fine; I won't forget. As if I would forget you. As if We would forget you.

We shall never forget, even if our memory were to be sent to the ends of oblivion, even if our body were to be filled with a different personality.

So, please… Don't cry anymore, Fiona.

***

Classifying the denizens of this world roughly, but appropriately, it's possible to come up with four different categories. Those categories are: Humanity, Monsters, Grimmfolk, and everything else.

First, Humanity consists of seven main races: humans, flugels, dwarves, elves, halflings, vampires, and beastmans. The conditions for being 'human' are… Well, they're subjective.

If you require humans to be bipedal, then orcs and goblins fit, but they're treated as monsters since they don't understand speech. No, well, they are intelligent enough to speak, but somehow it's way too hard to communicate with them. It's probably a difference of values.

Next is monsters. This category is for special living things other than Humanity that have transformed and evolved due to mana.

This world's monsters aren't spawned by the Grimm King, and they don't just randomly spawn. It's said that all monsters used to live in this world as normal animals. So the changed versions of those are monsters.

To be honest, elves, dwarves, halflings, and beastmens seem to be former humans that have been transformed by mana, but we don't call them monsters. That part is pretty vague and half-assed.

The grimmfolk are… Well, I'm not actually sure. Even in the game they had an astounding lack of backstory.

One of the most convincing theories is that they're a secret eighth race of humanity that's been changed by mana, I guess. They're probably not all that different from vampires. Also, they're different from monsters, even if they're both probably mutated from mana.

Of course, there're grimmfolk who bring monsters around with them, but they're just using Tamer skills, so it's the same as us. However, even though it's a game thing, they were able to do some cheater-ass sh*t like use more than one monster at once…

Isn't it way too unfair when one of them is clearly leading a huge army of over one hundred monsters, but in the system, all the monsters are counted as one body? I mean, what the hell? The monster's name even says sh*t like "Goblin x 100." Hey, is it one or one hundred monsters? You tell me! If that's legal for you, then I'm gonna bring out all of my strongest monsters under the name "Twelve Zodiac's Guardians," dammit.

…Ah, sh*t, no. There was a golem in the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians. Lastly are those that fall under the category of everything else. For this, well, it's as it says on the tin. It's anything living that doesn't fall under any of the above three. Like animals and fish and bugs and stuff. It's kind of way too rough, but it wasn't that important in the game, so it just ended up that way.

And it's also true that there's not really much to explain about this. There are some differences in shape and stuff to their earth equivalents, but there's no point in talking about each one individually. In the first place, they're just background elements to liven up the place.

Now then, out of these categories, Fiona is a monster.

Well, I managed to tame her using Monster Tamer skills, so of course, she's a monster, but to be honest, Monster Tamer skills are pretty haphazard, too. To put it bluntly, as long as it shows up as an enemy, even if it looks human… For example, you can even treat vampires and dark elves as "monsters" and tame them. The worst players would exclusively tame bandits and pirates and the like and call themselves "Human Tamers" instead of Monster Tamers.

So, with that in mind, Fiona is very properly a monster. She lacks impact as one, but since she has a really easy indicator in her rainbow-colored wool, she's really easy to identify. She's easy to spot.

I also already know where she is. So the question is, should I go in boldly and bring her back?

I returned the book I just finished to its shelf and looked over at Minako. She was already into the eighth volume of Ninja Warrior Naruto and looked completely absorbed.

What the hell? You read way too fast!

"Huh? You're already done?"

"Yeah. We've gotten all We want to. Let's go."

"Go?…where?"

"To the castle that Fiona is in. Guide us, Minako."

Minako got up, and the both of us left the library. Our destination was, of course, the nearby castle that Fiona was staying in.

At first, I had wanted to prioritize Juvia, but at the moment, I couldn't think of a way to get into the Nobles district. If I really wanted to get in there were ways to do it, but none of them were peaceful. So instead, it'd probably be more efficient to go stop Fiona first before taking my time to think of other methods.

"Okay. Fiona's castle is right—"

Prodded on by me, Minako started to tell me where Fiona was. But her words suddenly cut off.

The ground shook, and Minako collapsed. "W-What the …."

I caught Minako before immediately releasing her and returning my wings and arms inside my mantle. I was saved by the fact that it happened in an instant, so no one noticed, as well as the fact that everyone had bigger priorities now.

The ground shook intensely. The buildings, which weren't as earthquake-proof as those in Japan, noticeably creaked and groaned, causing people to scream in terror.

An earthquake…? It's pretty strong.

It's a level 4? Maybe 5 on the shindo seismic scale.

"Hm, vertical shaking?"

"You're really calm, aren't you, Big Sis?"

"We are used to earthquakes."

Earthquakes of this level were daily routine for Japanese people. It didn't seem to be the same for people of this world, however, as they were clearly terrified. They reacted like foreigners who came to play in Japan and just experienced their first earthquake instead.

Seeing that, a sudden doubt crossed my mind.

"Minako, how often does this country get earthquakes?"

"It rarely happens, if ever."

"…Hm…"

Rarely if ever, huh? So, my doubts remain.

Of course, it's still possible that this was just a rare, natural earthquake. However, I had an inkling of what it could be if that wasn't the case.

Fiona had a skill to cause earthquakes.

No, I should say I was made to remember the possibility.

Like I'd said before, a tamed monster's levels were adjusted so they could never exceed the player's for game balance. (However, it wasn't impossible to forcefully achieve this anyway with stat-boosting items.) So that level adjustment was one thing, but there was actually one more annoying thing: the management of skills.

Players could obtain skills infinitely, but tamed monsters had a limit to how many skills they could have. That was their level/50. That was the number of skills a Tamer's monsters were allowed. And the skills a monster could learn were widely categorized into two types: one a monster learned by leveling up, and one a monster learned through using an item that taught them a skill.

Originally, Fiona was a monster that wasn't suited for combat. In other words, all her battle-oriented skills were given to her by me. That's why I knew better than anyone what Fiona's skills were.

Fiona's theme for her skills is… That's right! "Obstruction" and "Percent Damage."

The solution I came up with to have Fiona have a role even with her low stats was to give her many skills that obstructed the enemy, which didn't rely on stats. And out of those, the one that Fiona always used the most was "Earthquake." It intentionally causes an earthquake in the area and lowers all affected character's AGI stats, and it also has a certain chance to apply stun. It's an ability that's basically there for harassment.

I'm a flugel, so I can fly, which means I'm not affected at all by the skill. Which means it's got extremely good compatibility with me.

"It might just be a chance… However, if it's not, then that means Fiona is here."

"You're most likely right, Big Sis. I can feel the mana being disrupted over there… In the Trade district."

"Where Teuchi is?"

So she can even sense mana being disturbed? I couldn't stop the edges of my mouth from twisting upwards seeing my self proclaimed little sister's sheer versatility before I looked towards the Trade district.

That mercenary man Teuchi should be there. We'd only spent a scant ten or so minutes together, but he was a nice guy. I should probably hurry, then.

"Big Sis, let's hurry and get on the monorail to the Trade district!"

"No, that's too slow. Also, the monorail might be stopped right now."

"Then…?"

"We will be taking a slightly more forceful option."

Right now I can't take off my mantle. However, like this, I can't fly. So what should I do? It's easy. I just need something else to be my wings instead.

"The materials… Yes, that'll do."

I spotted a collapsed building at the edge of my vision. It must have been really weak to earthquakes, since something of that level already caused it to crumble into brittle pieces. I sent my will towards that building and activated my Alchemy.

I do somewhat feel like a thief, but it doesn't seem so bad if I think of it like removing rubble from a construction site.

I completed a simple vehicle that both Minako and I could ride on. To be more specific, it was just a huge triangular base. By itself, it would be nowhere near a vehicle; that's how cheap it was.

"Get on. We shall fly."

"Um, it looks like we'll fall instead."

"Then grab on to our back."

I quickly got on the thing, and Minako followed on after me, clinging to my back. Once I'd confirmed that she was safe, I activated my ESP.

Use Psycho Throw on this base! The transformed piece of rubble, with us on top of it, was treated as a single weapon and flung through the air all at once! Now then, please, let us make it…

4

There existed a single castle.

However, inside the castle it was crowded with monsters with no lord in sight. The throne was left empty, as if it was waiting for someone to return, and it was kept polished.

Beside that castle, a giant sheep sat quietly. Its name was Fiona.

Fiona was the monster that held the title of "Guardian of Aries constellation," one of the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians that once served the Black Emperor and her country Zodiac.

The sheep was dreaming. A nostalgic dream of the past.

Fiona was weak. She was born weak and lived only to be hunted. She was prey and designated so by fate. She was born like that.

Fiona was a rainbow sheep. A legendary monster said to be born only once every five thousand years who grew wool that shone with the colors of the rainbow. More precious than any endangered species, a rarity among rarities.

Every strand of wool was equivalent to gold, and it couldn't be beat as an alchemical agent. If woven into clothing it would turn into something heavenly that surpassed any armor and yet remained lighter than cotton, and it was the highest quality catalyst for magic and rituals. Just being able to bring down one head's worth of wool would allow a person and their entire family to live a life of luxury for seven generations.

Rainbow sheep were the definition of a living treasure.

However, in other words, they were just a monster that had wool that glowed in rainbow colors.

No, not even a monster. Just a walking gemstone. Prey that only waited to be hunted.

Rainbow sheep were without any weapons to protect themselves or even the legs to run away from enemies. They didn't even have the means to deceive their surroundings. In fact, with the rainbow glow of their wool, they actually drew attention from their surroundings. From people, grimmfolk, and even their fellow monsters.

A rainbow sheep's surroundings were filled with enemies. All living things were their natural enemies.

That was Fiona, a pitiful specimen of prey to be hunted.

If the Goddess Naru, who created this world, also intentionally created rainbow sheep, could there be any crueler punishment? Just what meaning did this creature have?

All it could do was fear its enemies, hide, run, and eventually be reaped. Just what kind of meaning did such a life hold? Every day was a dance with death. Not even a moment existed where a rainbow sheep could truly rest.

The rainbow sheep feared its eventual demise and continued to weep.

That was exactly why that meeting was a miracle to her.

Long golden hair like those tails of a majestic bird, fluttering in the breeze. A pair of scarlet red eyes that burned. Looks that were perfection personified and pitch-black wings that symbolized god's abandonment.

Fiona remembered that meeting even now. There was no way she could forget. Even if she were to be destroyed and her soul reincarnated several times over, she would never forget.

Her salvation, its origin, was all concentrated in that one moment.

"Oh? A rainbow sheep? I'm in luck to find one here."

It was back when her great master was still immature and still referred to herself as "I" instead of "We." However, she was already showing glimpses of her future as a ruler.

Fiona, who was running away from everything as usual, met her.

I'll be eaten.

The first thing Fiona felt when she saw her was the overwhelming presence of a predator. She couldn't run, and she couldn't win. No matter what, she'd be killed and eaten. That was the future Fiona saw.

Compared to her as the Black Emperor, Lucifen at that moment was, of course, immature, but even so, to Fiona she was an unmistakable disaster. She was already too strong for any modern swordsman to even lay a scratch on her.

"What…? You're trembling? You won't fight back or even run… You, do you wish to be killed without doing anything?"

Lucifen approached Fiona, who neither ran nor put up any resistance. Fiona was frustrated.

Why am I so weak?

Why am I so miserable?

The weak had always been eaten by the strong. Unreasonably, the weak would end as simple food. Even now, Fiona's legs had given out, and she wasn't able to run. She was only able to wait for death.

This is too sad!…it's just…way too sad…

"…Are you… crying?"

Having been told so, Fiona finally noticed the droplets staining her cheeks. She was crying. She pitied herself, scorned herself, and used her voice that wasn't even a voice to scream out the world's absurdity.

But still, the predators never cared.

5

The ground shook. As did the mana.

Something's coming! Something incredible.

Someone terrible is coming this way! That was something Teuchi understood not through reason but through the instinct he had cultivated over all his battles up until now.

"Orders! All mercenaries on standby are to arm themselves and gather at the front border ASAP! I repeat! All mercenaries, gather at the front border immediately!"

The messenger soldier ran around shouting orders, causing the Trade district to buzz with noise.

Due to necessity, the Trade district was positioned to be the most in danger of being attacked. Naturally, mercenaries and soldiers were constantly posted around the area, and they'd always stopped any attacks. However, the fact that they were calling those that were off duty as well meant the situation was serious.

The mercenaries hurried to gather together, and the gate guards were forming up before the border. Going along with the flow, Teuchi equipped himself and ran out of the entrance to the Trade district.

"Mister Teuchi! What's goin' on?!"

"As if I'd know!"

Teuchi met up with another fellow mercenary on the way by the name of Kaiza, and while they ran, Kaiza asked Teuchi what was going on, but Teuchi didn't know either. However, his instincts as a warrior were warning him.

It starts today… A fight bigger than anything before. A fight to protect this country!

"But this atmosphere… You get it, right? It makes my skin tingle… ! It's here…! The final battle that's been on the way for so long!"

"So that means… the Ram is attacking?!"

"On the way." Everyone was predicting this would happen eventually. The war with Fiona the Rainbow Ram had reached a stalemate, but that wouldn't last forever. At some point, Fiona was going to attack again with everything she had, for sure. Everyone understood that and feared it.

And that moment that was "on the way" was here!

"Captain!"

"Ohh! You're here, Teuchi!"

By the time they'd reached the border, the border patrol had already finished getting into formation.

Teuchi found the large man that served as his captain and ran over to meet him. Although they were in different positions as a soldier serving his nation and a mercenary hired for money, they were still both comrades protecting the same place. The two recognized and trusted each other.

"What's the enemy's size?!"

In response to Teuchi's question, the captain silently handed over a pair of binoculars. That probably meant that it'd be faster for Teuchi to see for himself.

Looking through the binoculars, Teuchi laid eyes on a nightmare that he would rather have never seen, covering everything in his vision.

The army approaching the border was an avalanche of monsters, monsters, and more monsters. The huge army that consisted of who knew how many bodies pushed ever closer with no sense of order or discipline.

"…Wow, looks like the Ram's being serious today."

"Yeah. The question is, 'Why now?'… Just what happened to set this off? Or did she just suddenly feel like it?"

"As if I'd know. It probably just took this long to gather that many of them, right? More importantly, what do we do? Are you seriously telling me we're going to have to keep that at bay by ourselves until the main army arrives from the castle?" Teuchi said sarcastically, resting his favorite claymore on his shoulder.

Right now, the guards at the gates numbered a total of five hundred men. And with two hundred mercenaries, that made for a total of seven hundred fighters. There was a limit to how lopsided a fight could get. There just weren't enough of them.

There was still a chance of them being able to resist if the main army were here, but it was more likely that they'd all be killed before buying enough time for the army to arrive.

"It's crazy but we don't have any other choice. They've already gone out of their way to make a greeting and give us time to get ready. So we have to answer in kind."

"So that earthquake just then really was a declaration of war. That sheep, playing all cool."

There was no need for her to warn us of her attack with an earthquake. The best time to use an earthquake would be just before the attack, to crush any advance or counterattack we could try. But instead, Fiona caused an earthquake long in advance and gave us time to prepare ourselves. She went out of her way to send a message, saying, "I'm going to attack now."

"I'll invade and conquer, but I won't start a war without announcing it first. I won't attack by surprise."

…Wasn't that one of the rules that the now departed Ouzelia Lucifen set for herself?

You co*cky sheep, taking after your master in the weirdest ways. Teuchi thought as he spat onto the ground.

"But thanks to that, we managed to make some preparations. All mages, forward! Kill as many of them as you can before they come close!"

Following the captain's orders, robed magicians stepped forward.

This was Svel, the country of magicians and scholars. The country ranked first in the world in the number of magicians within its borders. The magic barrage unleashed by them wouldn't allow the monsters to pass easily.

"FIIIRRRREEEE!"

A wave of magic was fired in time with the order.

That order became the signal for the great war for the country of Svel to begin.

"Let's go! We're going to hold on until the army comes, no matter what!"

The captain's orders reverberated throughout the air, and all the soldiers drew their swords. The mercenaries also drew their respective weapons, and they all kicked off the ground.

The number of enemies was large and unknown. The long-ranged sweeping fire of magic should have lessened their numbers, but the original number was so large that it was actually hard to tell if it made a difference.

"OOOOAAAAHHHH!" Teuchi howled and bisected an approaching monster with his gigantic claymore.

A great warrior that anybody making their living as a mercenary should have heard of at least once. That was Teuchi. Although he didn't quite reach the level of the vaunted sword saint, his skills still ranked at the top of the world. He could bury any half-baked monster with a single strike and would cleave straight through shields and armor to kill the enemy within.

"Come at me, you monsters! I'll slice you all in two!"

A second strike. Teuchi sliced a howling wolf, a wolf-shaped monster, in two as it jumped at him.

A third strike. Teuchi cut down a living armor, an empty but moving suit of armor, as it tried to attack him from behind.

A fourth strike. Teuchi struck down a bird monster that tried to descend on his head with the pommel of his claymore before slicing it apart while it was on the ground.

"OOAAAAGGGHHH!" Slice! Cut! Slice!

Even after putting down every monster that came at him one after the other and being bathed in their blood, Teuchi didn't rest. In the blink of an eye a small mountain of corpses piled up around him, and that pile only grew bigger.

"W-Wow! So that's Teuchi, the man hailed as the strongest mercenary…"

"What unreasonable strength…"

The other soldiers around him reacted in wonder and amazement. That was just how strong Teuchi was and just how isolated he was from everyone else.

However, no matter how strong he was, Teuchi was still human. There was a limit to how many monsters he could take on at once, and no matter how many he killed, with the number of monsters present, he wasn't anywhere near strong enough to push them all back. There was no doubt that Teuchi fought furiously. However, that was almost meaningless in front of the sheer mass of monsters that was thrown at them.

"GWOAAARRGGHH!"

"—! Kaiza!"

One of Teuchi's friends screamed as he died.

Teuchi looked over and saw that his friend Kaiza's throat was ripped out by a leopard monster before his body was swallowed up by a wave of monsters in the next instant and disappeared.

War is merciless. Life is reaped equally, whether one knows a person or not. Even a friend who was just recently laughing with you can be changed into a corpse. Teuchi had experienced that countless times; it was a fact that he knew well. However, no matter how many times it happened, he never forgot the rage that followed.

"YOU BASTARDS! HOW DARE YOU!"

Teuchi swept away all the monsters swarming Kaiza's body with his claymore. However, he was already too late.

The little bit of Kaiza that Teuchi saw after driving off the monsters was no longer in the shape of a human. What was left was also quickly trampled on by other monsters, and it would surely continue to be trampled all the way until the end of the battle, at which point it would just be some sort of mass of color painting the battlefield.

"Gyaaahh!"

"Hiiiiiggh!?"

Everywhere, soldiers and mercenaries alike were screaming their last, and the numbers of Svel's defenders were dwindling. The enemy should have been losing fighters as well, but it was impossible to tell just how many. Even now, monsters were swarming around, and it was still impossible to tell just how many of them there were.

"Tch!"

A human-sized praying mantis, an Anveterin, sunk its sickle into Teuchi's shoulder. Although he immediately struck back and beheaded it, it hurt too much to take. Of course, it was so in the sense of pain, but also—and more importantly—in the sense of loss in fighting ability.

His arm would still move, but it was clearly weaker than before. In a battle that would continue for who knew how long, a wound like that was basically a death sentence.

"Dammit! Is the army not here yet?!" Teuchi complained while swinging his claymore, cutting down monsters that jumped at him.

How many more minutes? How many more minutes do we have to hold on? Five? Ten? Or even more than that? Impatience swirled in Teuchi's chest, and his movements started to lack their usual brilliance.

Along with the passage of time, Teuchi's number of wounds grew, and his stamina continued to chip away.

This was the weakness of the country of magic. It had abundant mana, as well as abundant mages and sorcerers. However, magic had an opposite… In other words, the country had almost no acolytes or priests who used the power of heaven, or heaven-arts. Especially the flugels, who were most proficient in said arts, hated mana, and wouldn't come near. It could be said to be a fatal flaw.

Basically, Svel lacked the means to recover and heal during battle. It wasn't as if there were no practitioners. However, the number of users was clearly lacking. For this specific battle, the insufficiency was too big to ignore.

"Guargh!"

Another hit. This time, Teuchi took a wound in the leg. With that, almost all of his mobility was gone. Taking that into account along with his exhaustion, Teuchi was already at less than half fighting power compared to how he was in his best condition.

Fear and resignation started to creep into Teuchi's heart and take over.

Is this it…? Am I going to die here…? In his mind, Teuchi pictured the faces of his dead wife and the precious daughter she left behind. Unlike him, who only knew how to swing around a weapon, she was smart, and clever, and his pride.

Right now, she's surely doing her best at her studies in the Academics district.

Teuchi thought about her and banished his resignation from his heart.

Not yet! I can't die yet!

In a flash, huge spears of water crashed into the monsters.

"—?! W-What the hell?!"

Countless blades of water rained from the heavens. And strangely, after hitting the monsters, they went back up into the sky.

Teuchi— no, the entire battlefield followed the blades with their eyes…ad saw it.

The jaw itself, dancing through the sky, was over 100 meters across. Its body, made of water that was chock full of magic, was clear, and it was wriggling like it was covering the whole country of Svel. Its length was unclear. In the first place, it used to be a lake that surrounded the entire country… Most likely, it should've been at least several kilometers.

That was the giant dragon created by the Witch Queen Juvia, one of the Seven Maidens of Midgar who once defeated the Black Emperor, using the lake as a medium.

The artificial guardian deity: Levia.

The holy beast that protected the country of Svel howled, and the sound was loud enough that the world itself seemed to shake. And in the next instant, hundreds of monsters disappeared into the dragon's jaws.

"The g-guardian deity Levia… Finally, it's come…!" The captain, covered in wounds, muttered in blank amazement as he watched the giant dragon.

Now, look! Look at this magnificent form! What impressive gallantry! And what a beautiful dragon!

This is the pride of Svel! The strongest iron wall of a guardian deity, Levia! It's invincible! As long as this great guardian is here, even the Grimm King or the Black Emperor would break!

The dragon's presence was so overwhelming that the defenders believed that.

"Soldiers, you've held on well!"

The next voice they heard was the cornerstone of this country's defenses. Everyone's gazes gathered on the speaker with looks of respect. Her long, azure blue hair fluttered in the wind. Her dark blue eyes were sharp like blades and held the glint of great knowledge, and she had the signature doll-like proportional face of an elf. She wore a dark blue witch-hat with a yellow ribbon coiled around it and a navy blue color theme coat, both of which have flowers pattern in the interior. She also wore black-colored skirt, golden earrings, and brown boots with yellow ribbons. She was standing with a crutch since one of her legs stopped working after a battle with the Grimm King long ago, but even so, she was just as reliable as ever.

One of the Seven Maidens of Midgar, the Witch Queen Juvia Lockser.

The soldiers's excitement bubbled over at the sight of this lone transcendent figure appearing as if to paint over this entire situation.

"Ohh! Lady Juvia! Lady Juvia has come!"

"Great Witch Juvia, the Elf hero! And the guardian deity Levia! Ohh, we're saved!"

"Hahahaha! Look! The monsters are like trash!"

The monsters were being chewed apart by Levia one after the other, and their numbers were dwindling in the blink of an eye. It was exactly as if a dragon were fighting some ants.

Unable to do anything in the face of Levia's gigantic body, the monsters could only be killed one-sidedly. No. Even if the monsters were able to do something, it still wouldn't have been much of a threat at this point. There was an insurmountable gap in levels between Levia and the monsters, so even if an attack were to land, it would effectively do nothing.

However, the people, elated over the appearance of the guardian deity, didn't notice.

Levia was the country's last line of defense, and the fact that it had to act signified just how far their backs were up against the wall.

No one knew…of the fact that this was their last resort.

6

…Wow, I've got nothing to do?

Minako and I somehow managed to make it to the border in time, but the fight was already reaching the climax. At the moment, I was standing on the platform I was making float with my ESP, looking down at the battle that was happening.

Levia was scary as hell… That was my honest impression.

Even considering the fact that the monster army's quality was low, the water dragon's actions were overwhelming, to say the least. Just being huge like that was a weapon, and a strength, in itself. The enemy couldn't hope to shave away at a mass of water that large, and cutting it and piercing it didn't mean anything, either.

On top of that, Juvia was constantly healing and casting support magic on Levia, so the gap was only getting bigger. Golems couldn't be repaired by anything other than the Alchemist's skill. On the other hand, that also meant that they could be repaired as long as the Alchemist was there. Levia was going on a rampage while having its 180k HP constantly replenished. The sight of that was a masterpiece unto itself.

"Looks like you won't have anything to do, Big Sis."

"Indeed, We can only commend them."

On the monsters's side, even the strongest was only around level 50. Put bluntly, the entire army was just a group of small-fry. Like that, there was no way for anyone to stand up to Levia, who was level 500. Fiona must have prized quantity over quality, as all the monsters that made up her army were common in the game. In other words, they were all of races that propagated like rabbits but weren't individually all that strong.

Like this, Levia might actually win, even if Fiona does show herself. There was a difference in their levels, but Fiona's stats aren't that great in the first place, while on the other hand, Levia's got one foot in boss status. It's got no feet, though. But Levia also had the complete support of its creator, and more than anything, the water dragon had the leverage of their compatibility to each other.

…Fiona's element is fire, right? And it looks like Juvia's made preparations for her, too. This might actually be a checkmate already.

Hm, I probably won't be able to, but I guess I should at least try to check Juvia's stats.

The skill Observing Eye would only display stats if I was double the target's level or more. Anything over that and all I'd get was the name and level. And it doesn't need to be said what happened if we were the same level or she was stronger.

That's why I know that I won't see anything even if I try to turn the skill on Juvia but… Well, just in case.

[ Witch Queen Juvia Lockser ]

[Level]: 500

[Race]: Elf

[Class Levels]

・Mage: 100

・Sorcerer: 100

・Acolyte: 100

・Seeker: 100

・Alchemist: 100

[HP]: 29500

[SP]: 9400

[STR (Strength)]: 980

[DEX (Dexterity)]: 1250

[VIT (Vitality)]: 1028

[INT (Intelligence)]: 5720

[AGI (Agility)]: 723

[MND (Mind)]: 4290

[LUK (Luck)]: 1311

[BAD STATUS] One Leg Paralyzed

[BAD STATUS] Mark of the Vanquished

…Huh? It totally let me see everything.

Wait, isn't Juvia totally weak right now? And she's got some weird status conditions on her, too. Like, what the hell is the Mark of the Vanquished? I do get the whole one leg paralyzed thing, though.

"Minako."

"Yes, what is it?"

"It looks like Juvia has some weird thing called 'Mark of the Vanquished' on her… We don't know of it. What is it?"

Whenever I'm in trouble, I just ask my reliable little sister, Minako. That's the first and easiest method I've learned since coming to this world. I'm really thankful for having someone right by me that has all the knowledge that I've missed over the last one thousand years.

If Minako didn't know anything, that would mean it wasn't a problem of me missing the last one thousand years, and just knowing that was a relief.

"Ah, so that condition does exist. That means the rumors were true."

"Rumors?"

"Yes. I should have already told you about how the Seven Maidens of Midgar were defeated by the Grimm King, but to tell you the truth, there's been rumors that the Maidens were cursed by the Grimm King after their defeat."

Cursed, huh? That must really be annoying.

"I think I remember hearing from somewhere that it's the curse's fault that they can only bring out half their original strength. That's why, if the curse is real, Levia really is their last line of defense."

"… It looks like on top of having her levels halved, she's lost several classes."

"Woah! That's pretty mean… Doesn't that mean she'll never be able to make a golem of that level again?"

If Juvia's weakening was all thanks to that "Mark of the Vanquished," then it was an incredibly fearsome curse. I shuddered in fear.

First, the level. Clearly, it's been halved. On top of that, her stats have also probably been halved. There's no way in hell Juvia's INT would ever be lower than mine since she should be specialized in magic and other back line roles.

And to have half her classes disappear, too? That should be a joke, but it isn't. She should have had the Esper and Archer classes, among others, but I don't see them anywhere.

That Mark of the Vanquished is way too scary…

"Oh? Big Sis. Look there; it seems she's appeared."

"…! Fiona?"

The sense of pressure was so clear I could feel it on my skin. It was the feeling of her presence.

Having felt that, I looked towards her.

Even though she was a ways away, her wool stood out with its rainbow colors that changed depending on the angle you were looking from. Along with her huge body that easily cleared 100m in height, she was sporting a downright baleful expression along with a pair of cold, angry eyes.

The form of this huge sheep monster made the game's cute chibi characters seem like a lie.

Fiona, one of the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians.

The monster that used to be my follower approached Svel while causing earthquakes.

7

The huge sheep shook the earth as it walked.

The giant dragon raised a cry and tried to intimidate it.

Both of them were monsters beyond human ken, living proof of the Age of Heroes, and also monsters, that no human today could stand up against. The strongest golem that Juvia created before receiving her curse, Levia.

And one of the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians that used to be under Ouzelia Lucifen, Fiona the Rainbow Ram. Those two giants, who could sap someone's will to fight just by being their opponent, faced off against each other while slowly approaching, creeping closer to each other's range.

Teuchi and the others could no longer do anything other than watch events unfold.

"GRRROOOAAAHHHHH!"

"MEEEEEeeeEEEEEEHH!"

They roared. Just that action caused violent winds to break out and froze people on the spot.

Probably the only ones who didn't wither in the face of Fiona's roar would be someone of Juvia's level. And even for her, a drop of sweat could be seen, sparkling as it rolled down her cheek, giving away that she was just barely holding on.

Juvia was fully aware that she was far from her best condition. Levia was her masterpiece that she made back in her prime. It was actually stronger than Juvia herself right now. That meant that if Levia were to be destroyed, she'd never be able to replace it.

If that were to happen, even if they got through this battle, it would mean the death of the country anyway, having lost the cornerstone of their defense. Levia was a deterrent that Juvia really didn't want to move if she could help it. The golem acted as a restraint, giving others the impression that they shouldn't foolishly attack since they had a guardian deity. That was Levia's role.

In other words, losing Levia equaled the loss of the country.

Juvia had to somehow keep Levia alive and claim victory over that monster.

"…Go, Levia!"

Victory to those who act first!

Juvia gave her orders to Levia, and it flew at Fiona.

The two monsters's elements were water and fire. If they were to clash straight on, Levia would have the advantage.

Levia's fangs sunk into Fiona, but Fiona didn't seem affected. The wool covering Fiona's body must have interfered, as almost no damage went through.

"Guarrgh!"

In return, Fiona also bit into Levia.

But Levia's body was made of water. Physical attacks held almost no meaning. Levia's body, torn apart by Fiona's bite, reconnected as if nothing had happened, and the two of them took their distance and went back to glaring at each other.

"…Mehh," Fiona cried, and her eyes, filled with rage and madness, glinted.

In a flash, Fiona opened her mouth and shot out a line of powerful fire from the opening.

The target was… Svel! Just now, Fiona ignored her opponent, Levia, and tried to destroy Juvia directly.

The flames, which melted the ground itself along their path, were intercepted by Levia as it put itself in the way.

Was that attack really because Fiona was ignoring Levia? Or was it intended to make Levia put itself in the way?

…Either way, if this went on, Levia would no longer be able to move.

However, Levia was still Svel's guardian deity. Even though it doesn't come near a real god like Naru, or even the kin that she spawned, the "true dragons," Levia was still undoubtedly a witness to the Age of Legends.

There were seven elements in this world. Of those, the Goddess Naru presided over two, and she spawned five dragons to preside over the other five. Levia was made as a guardian deity imitating those dragons.

In other words, Levia was nothing but an imitation of those gods, a replica. However, even as a replica, its power was real.

Levia morphed its ever-changing body, letting loose a wave of water spears.

Even though Fiona managed to evade the sudden attack, Juvia made her move, aiming for that gap.

"Tidal Wave!"

She unleashed a high tier water element spell, one that unleashed a tsunami. In that space that should have been empty, suddenly, it was as if the entire area was an ocean as a giant wave that threatened to engulf even Fiona's huge body appeared.

Magic was the act of changing the mana in the atmosphere into something else. All it did was fake events and phenomena that would disappear once the magic was over, but while it was happening, the event was definitely real enough. That was why ridiculous things like "making a tsunami appear out of thin air" were possible.

"Mehh!"

However, just when the wave seemed about to hit, Fiona jumped.

The jump caved in the earth under Fiona and caused a huge shake that even knocked Teuchi to the ground as Fiona flew up 100 meters into the air.

"Wha…! It jumped with that huge body?!"

One of the mercenaries expressed his shock, but Juvia wasn't moved. She knew… She knew from the onset that Fiona would easily get past a trick like that.

After all, she was one of the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians that Lucifen herself recognized. Something like common sense was no deterrent to them. They were a group that would easily stomp over even divine providence. However, the next moment, Fiona did something that even Juvia couldn't anticipate.

Of all things, Fiona blasted fire out of the ends of her hooves and accelerated through the air. Her target, as before, was Svel! Levia couldn't dodge since it needed to protect Svel and all the people living there, so it had no choice but to use its body to block Fiona's attack.

They clashed.

Right away, Juvia put up a defense barrier, protecting herself and the city.

If Juvia was even a little late with that reaction, the two monsters would have crashed into them with all their weight, and everyone in the vicinity would probably have been squished under them. As if to prove that prediction, just the aftershocks of those two huge bodies colliding threatened to destroy the capital. However, a straight clash would see Levia with the advantage. Even though there was a gap in levels, it wasn't insurmountable with the advantage in elements.

Or so Juvia thought, but her opinion was quickly proven too optimistic. Something occurred within the rainbow wool that covered Fiona's body.

The wool stood as if it was being burned—No, it was, in fact, being burned. All the wool around her body burst into rainbow-colored flames, turning Fiona into a ball of fire.

"Mesarthim."

It was a skill that turned one's entire body into fire, allowing them to apply continuous damage to the enemy through simple contact. It was one of the skills once given to Fiona by Lucifen. A memento of her comrade who was betrayed long ago.

Seeing the skill bare its fangs, Juvia felt irritated. "…Annoying Sheep."

Juvia immediately turned all her attention to maintaining the barrier and defending the city and her troops. She was forced to do so because if she didn't, just the waste heat from the skill would cause those around not of a high enough level to evaporate.

Of course, the capital would burn as well.

However, that also meant that Juvia could no longer take any other action. If she were to undo her defense, although she might be fine, the people behind her would all die. If she were to let up on the barrier even a little to attack, someone would burn and die.

Juvia had no other choice.

"Kssshhaaaahhh!"

"MEEEeeeeehh!"

The two giant beasts once again clashed.

They shook the earth, caused wind to blow, and continued to crash into each other along with their tremendously oppressive presences. Just by moving, the two of them caused the ground to fissure. If one fell, it would cause nearby mountains to crumble, and just the shockwaves would break trees in half.

Like that, the two continued to crash into each other. However, Levia slowly started to look like it was coming out ahead.

Their elements were fire and water… Looking at that relationship alone, Levia was completely on top. Of course, that was exactly why it could fight evenly even with a 300 level difference.

Levia's charge blew Fiona back, causing her to fly back in an arc and crash into the ground. Once again, the ground fissured. And it shook.

Right away, Fiona got up, but the damage definitely remained. It was working. Fiona was definitely being worn down.

"We-We can do it! We can do it, Lady Juvia!"

"We can win! We're going to win this fight!"

"All hail the Witch Queen! All hail the great guardian deity, Levia!"

Behind Juvia, the soldiers were all cheering. However, none of them noticed. They were the ones that were really in trouble.

Juvia frowned, desperately holding back all the insults and complaints she wanted to yell.

…This is bad… She's evaporating the very water that makes up Levia's body! Now I can't repair it…!

Alchemists could use their skills to repair, or heal, their golems. However, that repair was impossible thanks to the water making up Levia's body itself being changed. There's no getting back what's gone! And on top of that, water made from magic couldn't be used in alchemy, either.

Water and fire born from mana weren't natural. They were just phenomena born from burning the mana in the air or transforming it in some other way, and once the spell was over, the mana returned to how it once was.

In other words, mana was an all-purpose energy that could become anything in creation. That was what magic engines used as fuel, and it only worked because it burned the mana as energy and discarded it. However, alchemy needed to use at least semipermanent materials, so magic that disappeared immediately had no use. Even if Juvia were to make a water golem out of water made from magic, it would just immediately disappear back into mana.

At the moment, the fight seemed even.

However, the one actually with their back to the ropes was the kingdom of Svel. Even if they managed to win this time, if the war were to persist, Levia would only continue to be weakened and become unable to weather the next fight.

But, even knowing that, there was no other choice but to keep relying on Levia!

…Forgive me… Levia…! While apologizing in her heart to her masterpiece that had to be used roughly, Juvia once again ordered Levia to charge.

Will Fiona fall first? Or will Levia disappear…?

With no choice other than to bet on awful odds, at this moment, Juvia was having the most bitter experience out of everyone there.

8

"What do you think of this fight, Big Sis?"

"…If it's just this fight, then it's Levia's win. However…" I replied with my own prediction to Minako's question.

At the moment, Levia had the advantage.

The relationship of their elements was really big. Unfortunately, I couldn't see Fiona's HP or SP thanks to her level of 800, but I could tell that she was taking damage. I did give Fiona a recovery skill just in case, but most likely, it wasn't catching up.

That's why, if this fight were to continue, Levia would win.

…However…

[Guardian Deity Levia]

[Level]: 500

[Race]: Artificial Life Form

[HP]: 103567/103567

"But in the end, Levia is the one who'll lose." Levia's max HP itself was getting shaved away.

That Fiona, what a thing to do. She was evaporating the water that made up Levia's body to weaken it so that she could have the advantage later. In other words, it wasn't a strategy to win in the moment, but one that looked forward to battles later on! She was allowing her opponent to win right now in order to certainly take victory later.

At a glance, Fiona looks like she's in the depths of madness, but… She's actually pretty calm, isn't she?

"I see… In other words…"

"Yeah. Fiona never intended to win this fight from the start. She forced Levia to move by making it seem like the final battle and planned to weaken it."

I thought it was strange. Even though power levels were supposed to have weakened in these past one thousand years, the monsters were still clearly too weak.

However, I understood after watching Fiona fight. They were expendable bait, ready to be exterminated. They were just there to lure out Levia. It was all Fiona's plan after having decided that it would be impossible to defeat Levia in just one fight.

"Fiona should already be fighting while planning her escape. And neither Juvia nor Levia will chase too far."

"They're the guardians of this country, after all… They're pretty smart, so I bet Juvia is thinking, 'This could be a trap, and more monsters will come while we're away.' So there's no way she'll give chase."

"…That Fiona, she's gotten quite cunning over the years."

"You were the one who taught her to fight that way in the first place, Big Sis."

As Minako pointed out, I was probably the one who taught Fiona all those tricks. In truth, I did make her fight real sneaky like that in the game in order to help make up for her low stats. But… Even I don't remember teaching her anything like how to jump in such a huge body. She probably just grew. I don't know if I should be happy about it or not, though.

Anyway, it's finally reached the point where I can't just sit and watch any longer. I couldn't expose myself to so many people either, though, so I couldn't appear in front of Fiona as "Ouzelia Lucifen" just yet. Or rather, if I did, in the worst case, I'd get attacked by Levia from behind. However, I can force Fiona to retreat easily enough.

"We're going, Minako. Hang on tight."

"Huh? No way. Are you going to jump down from here?"

"What else is there to do?"

As soon as I said that, I jumped off. My wings were still stuffed inside my robe, so of course, I wasn't able to fly, but I wasn't planning to anyway. I allowed gravity to accelerate me and added ESP on top of that to turn myself into a cannonball.

My target was Fiona, who was clashing with Levia! Specifically, her head!

"HYOWHAAAAAAAHHHH?!"

"We don't enjoy the idea of kicking a loyal subject, but… Apologies, Fiona! Unfortunately, We don't wish for anything like revenge, and We have no recollection of asking you to do this, either! Cool your jets, you foolish sheep!"

Ignoring Minako, who was clinging onto me while screaming, I charged at Fiona.

I didn't use any skills whatsoever. In the first place, since I had gotten to level 100 in both the Grappler and Champion classes, my barehanded attacks were now permanently damage-boosted. In other words, I had passives. That's why I didn't need any half-baked attack skills right now. My physical attacks that I've leveled up—in other words, my regular attacks—would work just fine.

…No, just in case, I should activate the Warrior skill "Blunted—Sword Strike." It's a mercy skill that forces the next attack made after the skill is used to never reduce the opponent's HP to 0. The fun thing about this skill is that even though the skill is named "Blunted-Sword Strike," it still works with weapons that don't have a blade or even with one's bare hands.

It makes you think, wouldn't the name "Hold Back" or something be more appropriate?

"—?!"

Fiona noticed me, but it was already too late. Having accelerated more than enough, my kicked connected, burying my feet in Fiona's head, blowing her and her giant over-100-meter-tall body back.

After crushing several mountains, rolling over several times, and then crushing several more mountains in her way, Fiona finally stopped, having been blasted back around a kilometer.

And I noticed Juvia and the others turn their shocked gazes towards Minako and I as we landed.

"Looks like you're having a hard time, Witch Queen. It must be some sort of fate that We visited at this time… We shall lend you a hand."

"Y-you're… Minako and Lucy?!"

"Ohh, Teuchi. It's great to see you alive."

"Hawmowkneefree…"

"…The girl's not looking okay back there, you know?"

For now, I breathed a sigh of relief, having been able to confirm Teuchi safety up close. I already knew since I was watching from afar, though. He had wounds on his shoulder and leg, but at that level they'd probably heal without a scratch.

Juvia was…looking at us suspiciously.

Well, that's a matter of course, I guess. Someone as suspicious as me wearing a mantle just suddenly fell out of the sky and kicked away one of the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians. She almost certainly knows I'm someone from one thousand years ago. But it's not too much of a problem right now. I already planned to show myself to Juvia anyway, so the important thing was just to not expose myself too much to anyone else.

"That power… Just what are you…?"

"We shall answer that question at a later date, Witch Queen. However, there are too many eyes upon us now… We have our own circ*mstances as well. Understand that We cannot reveal that just yet."

" —?! That way of speaking… And that voice… No, it can't be… There's no way…!"

Oh? Just what I'd expect out of Juvia; she figured it out just from that. As for my way of speaking, well, I'd prefer it if you didn't pay so much attention to that. No matter how much I try to fix it, this pattern just comes out like I've been using it for years and years. I've given up on doing something about it already. If I concentrate, I can loosen up my speech a little but really only a little.

Leaving Juvia where she was, I lightly kicked off the ground, closing the distance with Fiona. I used a Strider skill to instantly reduce my distance from my opponent to 0, "Blink." The class comboed really well with Grapplers, so there were a lot of players who took both the Grappler and Strider classes. I was one of those.

"Ghh, urgh… Just what are you…!"

Ah, she spoke. What the hell, Fiona? You can totally speak! You've only been going "Meehh" for a while now, so I totally thought you couldn't speak.

But man, seeing you like this is as awesome as always. Even though you were smaller than me when we first met, you've grown a lot.

"Sorry, but We can't answer that question for you now. There are elves among those soldiers… If We say something We shouldn't, it'll spread among them immediately. So, I will simply give you a single 'order' for now… Turn back."

I turned back on my Pressure, which I'd kept off this whole time. Of course, it wouldn't render Fiona immobile, but it should go some way to revealing my identity to her. Even if she doesn't figure it out, it should at least get her to figure out that I'm not someone she can win against with how wounded she is right now.

"—! Th-this pressure…! It can't be, you… No, you're…?!"

"Now is not the time to answer that. However, We will say this: We will surely give you the answer you desire."

"…!"

The madness disappeared from Fiona's eyes.

It seems she did realize my identity. However, from what I can tell, she's still half in doubt and half wanting to believe.

She turned her back to me and slowly started to leave while causing the ground to shake. Every once in a while she'd turn back to look at me, which was so like Fiona in the past I couldn't help but laugh.

…Hm? Fiona? The past? Did I just start thinking like Lucifen instead of me…? Well, whatever.

9

It was a memory from days long past, already in the realm of nostalgia. From before Juvia Lockser was hailed as one of the Seven Maidens of Midgar. Back when she was still immature and reckless but an adventurer burning with dreams.

Back then, almost all elves still stayed cooped up in their forests, and it was rare for one to travel the outside world like her. She was a strange one to her race, an oddball, an eccentric. Juvia remembered a lot of those insults being thrown her way. However, she didn't mind, and more than that, she was enjoying traveling the wide world on her own two feet. She met many people, parted with them, and then met more in the next town.

Just like that, Juvia traveled around the world. It was around then when she met Lucifen.

Back then, every day was fun.

"This is what I think: Elves all coop themselves up in their forests too much. They should experience more of what this wide world has to offer. They need to turn their eyes outside."

Juvia told her friends her dream as they all sat at the same table in a dingy bar. It definitely wasn't a good bar, and the alcohol they offered was, likewise, of the same quality. However, everyone was there. Friends that were gone now. Even Lucifen, who she cut ties with, was there. Back then, everyone was with her, and they all laughed together.

"That's why, someday, I want to make a country where elves can live proudly. Not in the back of some small forest, but in a more gorgeous urban place. I want to prove that elves can make it in a country like that."

"Oohh! You sure dream big!"

"Hahaha! You talk pretty big, too, don'tcha? That's right! Girls have to have big dreams!"

After that, the future Blacksmith Queen and the Adventurer Queen joined in on the laughter, which brought everyone else in, too.

Next, Lucifen stood up and declared proudly with her booze in hand: "That's too naive, Juvia! If your dream is to found a country, then mine is to conquer the world! I'll make a paradise with my own hands! One where nobody has to be afraid of grimmfolk!"

The table boiled over with excitement in a flash. Her dream, which was too big to even be called a dream, caused everyone to do a spit take.

In response, Lucifen's face reddened, and her voice started to raise.

"Wh-What's so funny?! I'll tell you now, I'm serious! I'll make you eat your laughter someday, Celica!"

"KYAAAHAHAHAHA! Conquering the world is too much, even for you, Lu! If you really manage it, I'll eat pasta through my nose!"

"All right, you said it, Celica! It's a deal! No going back; if I conquer the world, you're definitely eating pasta through your nose! Hey, come on! Don't you laugh, too, Juvia!"

It was so fun back then. Everyone talked about their dreams, which were half delusions, something they weren't even sure they could achieve. They laughed together, and although sometimes they played pranks and fought, they'd always make up and laugh about it.

But—unfortunately, they had the power to make the girl's dreams a reality. And once it became real, everything started to go wrong a little at a time.

Just where did it start?

I… We… Just where did we step down the wrong path… Lucifen, if it was you, would you know the answer…?

***

The fight with Fiona ended, and I was immediately invited to the Nobles district by Juvia.

Each of the four bridges that led to the center were constantly guarded by over one hundred soldiers, and it didn't seem like they moved, even during that whole fuss.

I see. So while the border guards and the mercenaries with Teuchi were buying time, they were planning on concentrating their might here to try a counterattack.

It's true that this Nobles district is the center of the country with its castle, as well as its heart. It's the place they can least afford to be destroyed. However, that also meant leaving Teuchi and the others who fought so hard to die, so I can't really praise that behavior. Like this, there would have been no point to the deaths of all those people who sacrificed themselves believing help was coming.

…Well, I may have my own opinions, but everybody has their own way of doing things. It's not my place to step in.

Still, I suppose I should have expected this out of the Nobles district. It's really pretty. This country itself was pretty well developed and designed. The Nobles district just completed the picture. There was not a single shabby looking house, and everything was basically a mansion. Even the people walking the streets were wearing fancy clothes like they were going to a ball, and they acted elegantly and fearlessly, as if they didn't even know about the battle at the border.

Well, on the point of clothing, I don't really have the grounds to comment. Under my robe is the usual dress, too.

…Let's make something more normal to wear with alchemy eventually. The castle was also very well designed. It's hard to explain, but… Let's see, it's like if they took France's Chambord Castle and just made it a size bigger, I guess. The main coloring was centered around a mixture of blues, and the combination of white and blue was really beautiful.

As I passed through the castle gates, the soldiers there looked at me dubiously, but I ignored them and followed after Juvia, who's moving with a flying hover pod.

"Ohh, Lady Juvia! I was worried!"

"I was so worried about what would happen to you when you went out by yourself… Oh, I'm so glad you're all right!"

When we entered the castle proper, a group of well-fed men dressed in uselessly extravagant clothing came to meet Juvia. My instant impression upon seeing them was "pigs wearing clothes," but I admonished myself for how rude that was. Well, they say obesity is a sign of wealth, so I guess it's not totally bad. More importantly, it's wrong to judge people based on their appearances.

"However, I'm loath to say this, but you should be more aware of yourself, Lady Juvia. You and Levia are irreplaceable treasures to this country."

"That's right. You are several times more precious than anyone in that Trade district."

…Ah, crap. I already want to take back what I just thought. These guys sound like they're worrying about Juvia, but I can't feel any actual emotion in it. All I can feel is a sense of relief that they themselves were saved. This is basically that kind of thing… You can translate it to something like, "You and Levia, who protect us, are way more important than other people."

"Truly, it's great that you're safe."

"Indeed. This means the country is still safe. Hahahah!"

Those pigs in clothing were saying whatever they liked, but Juvia just ignored them and passed through. Minako and I followed, and eventually, we left through the opposite side of the castle and came to a separate mansion.

I see, so Juvia doesn't live in the castle, but in a separate place like this. Certainly, this way it's much quieter since she won't be constantly in the middle of all the bustle in the castle.

…Hm? But then, wouldn't it have been fine to go around the castle instead of through it?

"How was it? Awful, right? Those were this country's elite, meant to protect the people. But all they have in their heads is their own safety and the favor of those above them."

"…So you wanted us to see that."

"Yes. Since it's you, I wanted you to see the proof of my mistakes."

I want to tell her not to cut through the castle just to show me something like that, but I'll hold back on that.

As we entered the mansion, a butler-like person tried to take off my mantle, but I refused. The butler seemed disappointed by that, but still proceeded to hand Juvia a crutch, after which he took the now-empty hover pod somewhere else.

Then, I was shown to a noticeably fancier room which seemed to be for receiving guests.

"We've come this far; it should be good enough. There's no one here other than me and no prying eyes, either.… Would you show me your face?"

"All right."

Urged on by Juvia, I undid the clasp on my outer cloak, took off the attached hood, and quite literally spread my wings.

As for the feeling of release and finally being free to move my wings, it's hard to describe. Actually, I've been feeling constrained and squeezed this entire time. I'll probably cramp up if I don't let my wings free every once in a while.

"…It really was you… Lucifen."

"Yeah. It's been a while, Juvia, old friend."

Now then, this means one of my objectives has been achieved. Now I just need to know if this women's a player like me inside…

Of course, I'd like it if she's the same. Someone also from Japan, who for some reason is possessing their avatar and is a comrade in the same position as me.

But… Yeah, it's different. She's different.

I understood already. I was made to understand. If she were the same inside, she wouldn't be looking at me like that. The feelings showing through Juvia's eyes…were fear and regret. As if she was trying to apologize to me. They were pitiful eyes, like the sort a child would give to their parent after having done something bad.

If she was a player, she'd have no reason to fear me. There wasn't a single reason to regret what she did to me if she was. That fight was started with consent from all sides, and she would know that it wasn't anything near a betrayal. If she truly was afraid and regretful of that fight, then that meant she was a resident of this world.

I see… So you're the same. You, too, are a resident of this world, Juvia.

"…So, even you look at us like that…"

So, I guess I'm still alone in this world, in the end. That's just a little… No, really disappointing.

"…So, even you look at us like that…"

That was the lonely, quiet utterance that escaped Lucifen's mouth.

And Juvia reflexively looked away. Her inner fears and regrets were seen through in an instant. And as it was pointed out to her once again, she lost her ability to speak.

"You are…not the Juvia that We know."

"…People change, Lucifen. As time passes, they grow stronger or, possibly, weaker.… I became weak… Not just in body but in heart as well."

Back then, it was different.

One thousand years ago, it was different.

Lucifen, enthusiastic and vigorous, flew all around the world with our friends and took part in countless reckless adventures.

We chased dreams, ideals, and ambitions, living like we were running so fast we were almost falling forward.

But the present is different. I've grown a lot of shackles now. This heart no longer has the hopes and ideals it used to and now is filled only with resignation and regret.

"Say, Lucifen, why is it you only revived now? Was it to come laugh at what we've become?"

"Who knows? If you ask why, We can only answer that it was coincidence. Some fools tried to summon a hero and called us here instead. That's all."

Juvia knew that she herself was afraid of being blamed by Lucifen. However, she also, somewhere in her heart, wanted to be blamed.

One thousand years ago, Juvia and the others rebelled against Lucifen's rule and defeated her. They believed that was the correct thing to do.

However, once they'd actually accomplished that, humanity dispersed in a flash, lost all their unity, and were, as a consequence, trampled over by the grimmfolk. And the country that Juvia made became led by the kind of individuals who made light of the lives of their people.

As it was, Juvia couldn't tell who was right anymore. She had even started to believe that it would have been better for Lucifen to have stayed in power. Juvia thought that, in the end, all that she and the others managed to accomplish was to senselessly betray their friend, kill her, and drive the world to the point of despair.

Just what about that makes me a hero? …Seven Maidens of Midgar, what a joke. Like this… Like this, we're just war criminals, aren't we…?

"I saw this country's library."

"…"

"There sure were a lot of books criticizing the Seven Maidens of Midgar. It's unthinkable for a country where its hero is still alive and protecting it. …Was that your doing?"

Juvia couldn't respond. However, sometimes silence speaks more than anything. The fact that Juvia couldn't respond—that just meant that Lucifen's words were correct.

"It seems like you, too, have a lot to bear. Rather than praise, you want admonishment. More than respect, it seems you desire contempt."

"…That's…"

"You can't stand the envy and respect of everyone around you, no? You're about to be crushed under your own self-hate, but thanks to your position, you can't even complain about your regrets, and their reverence has become a blade sharper than anything else… Is that right?"

Once again, Juvia found herself unable to answer. Because Lucifen hit the nail spot-on, she couldn't say anything.

It's funny.

While I, the victor, am filled with regret and fear, she, who lost, is just as bold as she was one thousand years ago.

Like this, it's hard to tell just who won that fight.

"While you may no longer be the adventurer Juvia that We knew, that difficult part of you never changes, it seems. You won; feel proud. You should be more confident knowing that you defeated such a strong enemy. But instead, We find you here, feeling embarrassed of your victory, fearful, and regretful.… Say, Juvia. If the victor is embarrassed by their victory, just what should the loser do then?" Lucifen said, before once again donning her cloak.

Her pitch-black wings were once again hidden, and her beauty disappeared under the hood.

Simply not being able to see her expression caused Juvia unease.

She might be exasperated. She might be disappointed.

She might even be sneering at me behind that hood because I'm in such a sorry state after winning.

To Juvia, that possibility brought more fear than anything.

"You have nothing to be embarrassed about. Some people who don't know anything might claim after the fact that 'That was a mistake' or, 'They should have done this,' as if their thinking is correct, but in the end, nothing will grow from being concerned about that. Insults like that, made from a completely safe place where they're guaranteed to be safe from a counterattack, have no worth. You should simply proceed along the path you think correct.… At the very least, that was the kind of woman the Juvia We knew was."

What came out of Lucifen's mouth was unexpectedly motivating. Hearing that, Juvia thought:

She surely isn't ashamed of that fight at all. She doesn't regret a single thing.

As a result, it sparked a rebellion, but she's surely proud of even that. She's no different from the woman she was back then, whom I admired and wanted to follow with all my heart.

"… Is that your attempt to comfort me? If it is, I'm grateful."

"There is no need for your thanks. We simply gave you a small warning because you were looking far too pathetic," Lucifen said before leaving the room.

I suppose that means she has no more business here.

But that's a matter of course. Right now, she has somewhere she needs to be above all else and something she needs to do.

Then right now, what I can do is… Well, it's certainly not regretting the past. Juvia resolved herself.

"Lucifen."

"Hm?"

"Let me see you to the exit. As I am now, I can still do at least that much." While depending on her crutch, Juvia walked up beside Lucifen. Like that, Juvia felt like they'd be able to go back to how things were, at least while they were walking. Juvia reminisced back to when there were no shackles, but instead, days passed where they could simply be adventurers.

"…There is someone pulling the strings behind Fiona."

"What?"

"Fiona is certainly the one invading this country, but there's someone stoking the fires of her desire for revenge and using her. I don't believe I need to be telling you this, but… Be careful, Lucifen."

"'Who do you think you're speaking to?' is what We would like to say, but it's a warning from an old friend. We'll take it gladly."

It's as if we've gone back in time, Juvia thought.

But that was just a hallucination… There was no going back, and even if there was, she shouldn't. Their paths had long since separated.

Lucifen waved goodbye lightly and exited the mansion without looking back. Juvia could do nothing but stand there, watching her back disappear into the distance.

The two of them should have been friends in the past. However, right now, to Lucifen, Juvia was no longer the friend that she knew. And to Juvia, Lucifen was someone she once betrayed. The distance between them was vast; a huge gap that could never be filled ran between the two.

10

After parting from Juvia and leaving the castle, we headed straight for where Fiona was, the Gheil Volcano. We were already going to go there anyway if it weren't for that whole attack, so we were actually following our original plan.

If left alone, Fiona would definitely defeat Levia and destroy Svel, and that's not a good thing. I wasn't there for long, but I quite like that country. It's really got a fantasy feel. So I'm going to have to stop that dumbass sheep myself.

The distance looked to be about 20km from Svel. It was farther than I expected, but for Fiona's huge body, it probably wasn't actually that far.

First off, let's say a regular sheep is a meter tall. Of course, this is with it standing on all fours, not vertical for some reason. Fiona on all fours was over 100 meters tall, so she was 100 times bigger than a normal sheep. So, 20km to Fiona was basically as close as 200m.

Of course, there were differences in speed between a human and a sheep, but in any case, to Fiona the distance was only a matter of a few minutes or even tens of seconds, so even 20km away, Svel was by no means safe. If the country were to get complacent because of the distance, it'd be entirely possible for Fiona to trample over the entire city in thirty seconds.

Just being large has accompanying power and speed.

Normally, you'd think that if someone got bigger they'd get slower, right? For example, if some bug were to become human-sized, it wouldn't suddenly become really strong or fast, it'd just get crushed under its own weight. A bug's exoskeleton is unable to support a large amount of weight, and it only works because the bug is so weak. It's because it's small that a bug can fly several tens of times its own size in distance and can carry things much heavier than itself. This isn't just limited to bugs. Every living thing has its own perfect size and physical ability.

But this is a fantasy world. In this world, things can make no sense, and the unnatural can become natural. Just what kind of power is behind that, I have no idea, and given my education, I wouldn't understand anyway. It could just be that living things are made of different stuff, right down to the bones.

However, there is one thing I can say.

"In this world, common sense doesn't apply."

In reality, Fiona is able to move normally with that size, so there's no choice other than to accept that statement. The contradiction of being able to move far better than a normal sheep on top of that over-100-meter-tall body. It works in this world.

Also, this distance is no huge deal for me, either.

"Well then, We'll be going. You can drop in through teleportation later."

"Understood. Good luck."

I left Minako in town. Even if I were to leave her behind, she could just use teleportation to meet up again later, and thinking clearly, there wasn't any need to bring her around with me before, either.

The blond girl was a really convenient person to have around, was my honest impression.

Well, that's just fine.

The problem is the grimmfolk behind her, or whatever, but… I can't really tell anything until I meet that person. If they're the boss of the grimmfolk, they're definitely level 1000, but if that's the case, I have no idea why Svel is still standing.

Could they just be torturing them? Or do they really only have that much power?

I can't shake this creepy feeling.

***

The Gheil Volcano.

This mountain, which peaked at a towering 1000 meters above sea level, stood 20km away from Svel. It was an active volcano, but was currently undergoing a long rest period, and hadn't erupted in several hundred years. At its foot, a single castle fortress stood, playing host to monsters.

However, Fiona was not inside. In the first place, Fiona couldn't fit inside with her huge body. This castle was just there for appearances, and the throne was left empty.

It was definitely not impossible to get inside for Fiona. Fiona did have a skill to assume a temporary human form given to her by a Monster Tamer skill. Most likely, it was possible for her to assume that form and sit on the throne in the castle.

However, she had no intention of doing so. If she were to take human form while being consumed by revenge like she was now, it would certainly look awful. Fiona wouldn't be able to take the form given to her by her master being sullied and twisted like that… So she always moved around as a monster.

These thousand years, Fiona had never once used her skill to take human form.

"Lady Fiona."

Someone called out to Fiona, who was lying down next to the castle. It was the voice of a woman… Fiona didn't hide her disdain and turned a sharp gaze on her.

From Fiona's huge perspective, she was so small Fiona could just fail to notice her, like an ant… Vernal, the woman who just called her, smiled happily as Fiona properly centered the woman before snorting in derision.

"What do you want?"

"Oh? Can't I talk to you without any particular business, m'lady?"

The woman looked like a human in shape, but her skin was clearly a different color. She has short brown hair, and her entire body was covered in deathly pallor skin with several red markings that line her face and some part of her body. The whites of her eyes were actually black with glowing crimson irises. Fangs peeked out of the corners of her mouth, and her presence was definitely inhuman.

And in truth, the woman wasn't human at all. She was part of the race of grimm that was currently tormenting humanity, the grimmfolk. Her appearance perfectly aligned with that race's traits.

"First, shall I compliment you on a job well done? That just then weakened Levia considerably… The next time you fight, you'll probably win, Lady Fiona."

"…Of course. That was my plan."

"Then, why are you simply sleeping and doing nothing right now? You're so close to bringing down Svel, you know? Just what are you waiting for?"

The grimm woman talked kindly, like a close friend trying to get Fiona to confide in her. But the dangerous glint in her eyes held not even a single hint of friendliness nor kindness.

"No, it didn't just start now, either. These last couple years, you could have crushed Svel any time you pleased. But you haven't. Why?"

"…"

"You couldn't be second-guessing yourself. They're the bastards that betrayed your precious master. Did you forget?"

"…No, I could never forget."

Fiona was actually hesitating. That was an indisputable fact.

She had no qualms about bringing down the Seven Maidens of Midgar themselves. If they were just some common warriors or mages, she would have killed them long ago.

However, if they died, their countries would fall, and the grimmfolk would be pleased. Her master definitely wouldn't want that. Because she, more than anyone, had desired and aimed to be free of the fear of the grimmfolk. There was no way she'd want to destroy an entire country only over revenge.

Fiona already knew from the beginning that her revenge went against her master's wishes.

But, even so… Fiona couldn't forget. Not ever. The warmth of that hand that was offered to her that day. Nor could she forget the anger over the fact that that same hand was stolen from her.

"I know… I will definitely kill Juvia. Right now, I'm just waiting for my wounds to heal."

"I see. I'm relieved to hear that, Lady Fiona. Then, you can go already, right?"

"…Yes. I can go at any time."

Fiona had her doubts. But the fire of her anger towards Juvia… No, all of the Seven Maidens of Midgar, would never fade. No matter if it caused the destruction of the world or if it went against her master's wishes… Even so, Fiona couldn't suppress the anger with reason. Just how could she live without clearing away the anger and grief at having her master stolen away?

Fiona let the madness consume her and stood her huge frame up.

Levia would probably show itself again, but this time, she had confidence that she'd win. As for Juvia herself, although in her prime it was another matter entirely, as she was now, she was entirely killable.

"Great. Then let's go attack now. My monster preparations are perfect. Of course, it's not just a gathering of weaklings like last time. It's an elite army full of monsters, like over level 100 wyverns. This force'll even overwhelm the great Sword Saint in only tens of minutes."

"…I only see a gathering of weaklings, though."

"Forgive me my lady, but when compared to the legendary Twelve Zodiac's Guardians. Anything'd look weak."

From Fiona's perspective, the monsters that the woman gathered were simply weaklings that would make no difference whether they were there or not.

Humanity wasn't the only one that degraded over the last one thousand years. Although, as a result of that fight the grimmfolk won, they didn't come out unscathed, given that it was a fight hard enough to wipe out almost all of the heroes from that era.

Just like how humanity lost all of their great warriors of the time, the grimmfolk also paid a great price, and nearly all the grimmfolk that could be called strong, other than the Grimm King himself, were also wiped out by the heroes. And the most powerful monsters were used by both sides, humanity and the grimmfolk, so their numbers were reduced as well, with some species even being completely wiped out.

The grimmfolk won, but that fight was almost completely even. It was a fight where either side could have won, and the winner was simply the side whose casualties were the least severe… That was exactly why it was unforgivable.

If Fiona's master had been there, humanity would have won. It would have been a massacre. Humanity would have cleaned this world of the grimmfolk, and Lucifen would have built a world free of their fear.

And who was it that wasted all that potential? Just who were the fools that caused this current situation? Those people, who were nothing more than war criminals, were hailed as heroes and, even now, lived carefree, and Fiona just couldn't stand that.

That's why she would kill them. She had no doubts about that decision. They probably had their own version of justice, but it didn't matter a wink to Fiona.

Her only real worry was… Fiona just couldn't stop thinking the person in the golden mantle that appeared back then was her master. And that filled Fiona with a strange sense of hope as well as fear.

***

"Heheheh… Finally, Svel will fall. I hope you're pleased, great Grimm King. Now, once again, one of the foolish heroes who dared to stand against you will disappear."

This grimmfolk woman, who was one of the Grimm King's loyal seven commanders given the title of the 'Seven Grimms of Purgatory' by the Grimm King himself, was named Vernal, and she was currently chuckling to herself with a fascinating smile on her face.

After this battle, she would have taken down one of the Seven Maidens of Midgar and be able to present her great king with the human's head. Once that happened, she'd surpass the other six and be recognized as the king's aide.

It'd been one thousand years since the Age of Heroes… Almost all of the elites from back then had gone, and the upper ranks of the grimmfolk had been almost completely replaced.

The Seven Grimms of Purgatory were also something that only formed due to that trend as a new rank of commander, but all of them lacked actual achievements. However, if Vernal were to win this fight, she'd have such an achievement under her belt and should be able to win the king's trust.

Back when Vernal tried to attack Svel herself, she got burned.

Putting Juvia aside, that guardian deity Levia was far too troublesome. It had a nearly bottomless amount of health due to it being made out of an entire huge lake, and it wasn't affected by physical attacks. On top of that, Juvia could heal it indefinitely.

Vernal had a lot of trouble finding a way to defeat it, but luck was on her side.

When Vernal found Fiona sitting here at the foot of the Gheil Volcano right by Svel, acting as if the soul just flew right out of her, she even thanked a goddess she didn't believe in for that wonderful chance meeting.

Vernal took months and years to convince Fiona, who was full of doubt and hesitation, drive her to madness, and blow up her desire for revenge. It was pretty hard to get her to attack Svel.

However, today, all that effort would pay off.

I'm about to use one of the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians, who once sided with humanity, to drive them further into despair… What a pleasant feeling!

Now show me, dumb sheep. Give me the despair and fear of humans.

"The only thing I'm worried about is that one in the golden cloak… Even though you'd let your guard down, that person still blew you away, Lady Fiona. They're no weakling…"

Vernal was thinking, Of course, if Fiona got serious she'd never lose to such a person.

However, if that person, Levia, and Juvia were to fight all at once, even Fiona would have a hard time. There was still the monster army, but it would be a hard sell to convince anyone that would close the gap.

"… I don't really like it, but in the worst case, I might have to join the battle myself."

Vernal crossed her arms and looked over at the crowds of monsters formed up past the castle.

The situation favors us.

As long as I don't let my guard down, we won't lose.

Vernal could just imagine Juvia's face twisted in despair. She could even almost see the jealous faces of the other Seven Grimms of Purgatory.

The flow is coming our way. This is definitely the pattern where we win.

With that thought, Vernal smiled—And right after, a giant group of monsters was blown away all at once, and the smile froze on Vernal's face.

"…?! Wh-What the hell?!"

Leaning out of a window of the castle, Vernal stared out into the distance.

What the hell? What just happened? No way, did Juvia come out herself to attack?

Using the excellent vision given to all grimmfolk, Vernal focused on the monsters being blown away before her, and she saw it. A person wearing a golden mantle, walking this way.

"That's…!"

It was the uncertain element that punched away Fiona the other day.

Seeing the person stand against them once again, Vernal clenched her teeth, but she immediately turned around and thought that this was her chance at victory.

Yes, this is a chance. If we can eliminate that person now, that stops any chance of them teaming up with Juvia and Levia later.

In the worst case, it can just be me, Fiona, and a couple high level monsters who take down Svel.

So what's important is to go kill that golden mantle right now, no matter how many I have to sacrifice!

"Don't falter! It's just one person!"

The monsters howled in response to Vernal's encouragement, and they all charged at once at the single figure.

No matter how strong the person was, they were alone. There was no way to push back this many with quality alone, and it was impossible to control the battlefield with just a single unit.

However, Vernal's expectations were easily overturned.

In an instant, several hundreds—no, several thousands weapons of swords, axes, spears, and halberds, manifested around the figure, launching themselves all at once and blasting the monsters apart one after the other.

One hundred, two hundred, three hundred…

Monster corpses continued to pile up, but not even one got close. Five hundred, five hundred-fifty, six hundred…

Even now, nothing managed to close the distance. There was no sign of the enemy stopping their attack.

Seven hundred, eight hundred, nine hundred…

Vernal could see the army given to her by the Grimm King himself disappearing. They were being trampled.

"… W-What is that…?"

Way too strong.

That mysterious person is way too strong! It's as if one of the great warriors from one thousand years ago is right here! Like one of them came back from the dead.

Is it another one of the Seven Maidens of Midgar? No… the White Empress hates mana and wouldn't be anywhere near here, and the Rose Princess isn't the sort to suddenly help elves out.

It's not one of the Seven Maidens of Midgar… but what fearsome strength.

Vernal decided that, as it was, the monsters would only continue to die with nothing to show for it, so she made the army fall back.

In exchange, she went out to face the golden mantle herself.

"… A grimmfolk, huh?"

"That's right. And just what are you? I didn't think there was anyone left in this world that strong," Vernal said, readying a ring-shaped blade in each hand.

A blade of fire in her right. And a blade of lightning in her left. Stunt their movements with lightning, and burn them to death with fire.

"But, it's all over now that I'm here. Too bad, but your life is forfeit now that you've made enemies of the grimmfolk. You should curse your own foolishness that you came all the way out here with only your half-assed strength!"

Vernal ran.

The ability to put on an instant burst of speed thanks to her lightning blade's effect gave her the ability to move at the speed of a lightning, making it impossible to even see her.

Vernal ran while leaving several afterimages behind and, at the same time, she unleashed a ring of fire at her opponent to trap their movements with her fire attribute. That combo was the cornerstone of her invincibility, and up until now, there was only one person to ever break through it. It was a technique that would definitely bring victory if used. That was—

"Look closely in wonder! This is the secret technique of one of the Seven Grimms of Purgatory, Vernal the Grimm of Fire! My Lightning-Flame Storm Hellfire Grimm Sword! These twin blades are my symbol! My limbs! And my secret art! Look at this blade of lightning in my left hand! Its blade can cuts through all flesh, and its sharpness will cut through even your soul! Look at this fire blade in my right hand! The swordsmanship that comes from it won't let anyone escape! The sheer heat it emits turns everyone's hopes to ash! Now, with both blades combined, all my enemies are as trash! Now, look and be captured by my special technique! This is the strike of condemnation from a beautiful and sinister god of death that will take your life! Your freedom is stolen and your defenses shattered; I bet you can see your death coming. That is the death god of fire that mercilessly burns all! But there's nothing to grieve about. Your suffering will only be for a moment. That is my mercy. In fact, you'll probably be grateful to me at the moment of your death. You'll say, 'Ah, thank you for freeing me of this suffering!' Think of being struck down by me as the highest honor, and fall to eternal darkness! The lid of hell has been opened just for you! See it. Now is the time for your punishment! The feast of grimms; it's your life's curtain call! Inferno, my right! Thunder, my left! Let yourself be kindly embraced by the fires of dark—"

"You're annoying."

Vernal flew through the air in a flash.

She didn't even know what happened to her.

Unable to comprehend just what kind of attack she took, the only thing Vernal understood was, "I was attacked with incredible power."

"…N-No no…way…"

Blood spilled out of her mouth onto the ground.

Just what happened? Just who is that, to do this to one of the Seven Grimms of Purgatory with just one hit…? No, it wasn't just one!

That was when Vernal finally realized. Out of all the over one thousand monsters that jumped at the golden mantle and were blown away, not a single one was dead! They were unconscious, but every single one of them was fine.

That meant that this person had enough leeway to go easy on this many opponents. Strong enough to not kill them, but to instead purposefully miss their weak points with blunted weapons and just blow them away!

"Wh-What the hell…are you…"

As if to answer her question, black wings ran through her vision at that exact moment.

There was a single powerfully clenched fist that appeared from within the cloak. And, as a result of her arm moving, a pair of large, pitch-black wings spread out. Long shining golden hair that resembled tails of a majestic bird. Fire-like scarlet eyes that burn. She was far too beautiful to be the god of death that killed her and too lovely to be called the Blackbird of Death.

That form was unmistakably…

"… O-Ouzelia Lucifen…?!"

The Blackbird of Death, the only one that ever scared the Grimm King away from completing his conquest. Vernal finally realized that she had challenged an opponent she should never have challenged.

11

I undid the clasp on my cloak and spread my wings. Instantly, I felt liberated.

Even now I just can't get used to the idea of restraining myself with my own wings. I mean, if there was anybody like that, I'd be really creeped out.

Now then, I just punched this woman as she was loitering around me spouting an insanely long speech, but is this the woman Juvia told me about? The one behind Fiona? Honestly, she's not really strong, so I'm not sure, and if they're just running their mouth, anybody can do it.

…Ahh, didn't she say something about being one of the Seven Grimms of Purgatory?

"Seven Grimms of Purgatory, huh? We are not familiar with that name."

"Let this cute little sister of yours explain!"

As if she was just waiting for me to ask a question, Minako suddenly appeared in golden flash.

Yeah, uhhh, you know… I'm really thankful, but has explaining things become your hobby recently or something?

"The Seven Grimms of Purgatory is the title for the seven commanders supporting the grimmfolk, and it was established three hundred years ago. It wouldn't be too much to say that they're the strongest among the grimmfolk, excepting the Grimm King himself and his son."

"…At this level? From what We see, this one's only level 300…"

"That just means the level of the grimmfolk has also dropped. It's true that humanity lost against the Grimm King, but the grimmfolk were bloodied, too. The other side lost almost all their strong fighters. If they hadn't, this world would have been destroyed long ago."

Ahh, I see. That answers one of my questions.

Before I wondered, "How is it we're maintaining this equilibrium?" But now that I think about it, it was weird that I assumed the grimmfolk were at the same level in the first place.

With all the high level and mid-level players that were wandering around the world, if a fight occurred that wiped all of them out, of course it'd be strange if the other side wasn't dealt a huge blow, too. In other words, my prediction of "definitely level 1000" couldn't be farther off the mark, and the reason that Svel was still standing was simply because its opponents were weak enough for it, too.

…Hm? Which means… Could it be that in the world right now, the only ones able to fight me properly are the Grimm King and the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians?

"By the way, Big Sis, shouldn't you go deal them the finishing blow? It doesn't look like you've killed a single monster yet."

"Hm? Ahh… About that. Even We don't feel like killing monsters that are only being used. Our enemy is only the grimmfolk," I said before lightlywaving my finger.

When I did, the countless weapons that blew away the monsters and were currently scattered all over the ground disappeared. It's the opposite of alchemy. Disassembly, I'd call it?

"What are you going to do about the monsters? Now that they've lost their master, they're going to return to the wild. You can't guarantee they won't attack people."

"We have thought of that… 'Capture'!"

I activated the skill that was the foundational and most prized skill of Monster Tamers, "Capture." Its effect was to, with a certain chance of success, capture a monster that was under a certain amount of HP or otherwise rendered unable to move and add it to the player's forces. The number of targets a player could try to capture at once, as well as its success rate, increased along with the class's levels, and in my case, I could capture ten at a time.

With this number, I'd have to repeat the skill over fifty times, but I had something I wanted to try. It was an underhanded trick that wasn't available in the game but at the same time was used regularly by enemy characters.

I should be the same as Vernal in the fact that I had the Monster Tamer skill to control monsters. Then there was no reason I wouldn't be able to do what she was able to. This wasn't the game, so there should be no rule saying, "It breaks balance, so only enemies are able to use it."

In other words, I'm going to try to view these monsters not as individuals, but as a group!

[ Mixed Monster Army ]

[Level]: ????

[Race]: ????

[HP]: ????

[SP]: ????

[STR (Strength)]: ????

[DEX (Dexterity)]: ????

[VIT (Vitality)]: ????

[INT (Intelligence)]: ????

[AGI (Agility)]: ????

[MND (Mind)]: ????

[LUK (Luck)]: ????

…I did manage to do it, but what the hell is this? All the numbers are in question mark. Can it not display properly since all their values as individuals are different?

Like this it's basically impossible to understand their actual strength.

But I definitely managed to capture them. I felt the response when all the fallen monsters here became my followers. After this, I can just give them the instruction to not attack people without reason and have them return to their homes.

By the way, I have no intentions of bringing them along with me. It stands out way too much to have this many monsters following me.

"Now then. Now it's only you—Fiona."

I turned my gaze to a spot a little ahead of me… Where Fiona was standing, staring at me. Her expression was the picture of complete surprise. It was the face of someone who didn't believe what they were seeing.

Well, it's not like I couldn't sympathize. A person who'd been dead for one thousand years just suddenly appeared like nothing happened. Anybody'd want to yell, "Just who do you think you are, coming back after all this time?" But I purposefully pretended I didn't mind and approached Fiona.

"What's wrong, Fiona? Do you not believe your own eyes? Or do you think We are just someone that happens to look similar?"

"…Uu… Ahh…!"

Now then, how will Fiona react?

If she calms down, that's fine. But if she starts yelling "You're a fake!", that'll be a little troublesome.

Honestly, I'm not great at using my words to convince anyone. No matter how high my INT stat is, that's just a measure of memory and not a person's quick-wittedness or ability to express themself. In other words, I have something very near photographic memory, so once I commit something to memory I'll never forget it, but it's not like I can think particularly fast or anything.

"No…way… Lady Lucifen should…be dead…! As if you'll…trick me now…!"

"We aren't tricking you at all, though."

Well, it is true that there is some doubt whether I'm actually Ouzelia Lucifen, though. But this body is undoubtedly Lucifen's, and her will still resides in it. So, that probably means that I am Ouzelia Lucifen. I've got no basis for it, but there's something inside me telling me that.

So, I will say this with full certainty:

"We are certainly Ouzelia Lucifen. We are not simply a doppelganger nor are we in disguise. We are not an illusion, a ghost, or a dream. If you still don't believe, then—Let's see, why not try to verify physically?" I said, cracking my knuckles.

The most certain proof that Lucifen is Lucifen. That would be strength.

For the face, the wings, or even the speech pattern, all of it can be copied and imitated. But this strength was something no one could imitate. I wouldn't let anyone imitate it.

I wagged my finger, inviting Fiona to try her luck.

"Come at us, Fiona. We will test just how much you've grown these one thousand years ourself. And at the same time, We will remind you that the one standing before you right now is none other than ourself."

"Oh—UUOOOGGGHHHHH!" Fiona let out a roar that was filled with fighting spirit, but also sounded like a great cheer.

Just by her shouting, the air shook, conveying her strength as tingling on my skin.

I'm definitely no battle junkie. I've never even properly fought anyone. I don't want to, either.

Ahh, but what is this feeling of excitement?

It's unmistakable. Right now, I'm definitely excited. The prospect of finally having a proper 'fight' after coming to this world has my heart dancing.

"OOOOOHHH!"

Fiona used her body's entire weight and rushed at me.

Normally, the sight of it would scare me and I would cower. But I actually saw it as charming. It was as if a lost puppy was jumping into its owner's arms after finding them… I felt something like that from Fiona's actions.

Then, there was only one action for me to take.

"Hm, your desire to be coddled hasn't changed after one thousand years, huh? Then fine, We shall embrace you."

I took flight and stuck out a hand. At the same time, that arm made contact with Fiona's head, and I felt some force pushing back at me.

A sound like an explosion erupted, and my body was carried backwards. As one might expect, without any feet on the ground it was hard to brace oneself, but the air was a flugel's territory. I spread my wings and flew forward.

Just that stopped Fiona in her tracks, and I even started to push her back as I placed both of my hands on her head.

"How cute."

It was funny. I couldn't help but see this over-100-meter-tall monster sheep as a spoiled puppy or something. Or maybe something like a grown dog that's still cute no matter what? At any rate, it seems I can't bring myself to dislike her at all.

Still, Fiona was huge. It probably couldn't be helped that our skinship would be a little extreme.

"Here!"

Putting some power into my arms, I lifted Fiona up. Like someone lifting up their pet and going, "look at how high you are!" I lifted Fiona over my head before tossing her away lightly.

The huge sheep flew through the air. Fiona crashed into the ground, causing the largest earthquake today.

But it's not over. It won't end with just this. Right, Fiona?

"What's next, Fiona? No need to hold back. Come at us with all you have."

I invited her to continue, and at the same time, Fiona roared something that was hard to make into words.

All the wool on her body stood on end, and Fiona became a flame personified that shone rainbow colors. It was Mesarthim, the skill that made Levia suffer so. And it was Fiona's trump card.

It would be easy to defend against it but… Hm, why not try taking it?

"MeeeEEEEHHH!"

After becoming a burning personification of fire, Fiona charged at me, and this time, I used two hands from the get-go. When we made contact, I could feel the heat on my palms, and a heat like the middle of summer assaulted me.

Hm, I see. Even taking a flame like this, all I feel is the heat of the middle of summer. I just keep affirming how much of a cheater I am. Still, what's hot is hot. I'm basically taking no damage, but if this keeps going long enough, even I might suffer from heatstroke or something.

All right then, let's have her take some distance.

"Hup."

I once again threw Fiona, and she crashed into the ground. With that done, it was my turn.

Fiona was still covered in fire, but to me, it was basically like being in the middle of summer. It wasn't like that much heat would stop me, and I could move normally. In other words, there was no problem at all.

"Let's see… Why don't We pet you? It's been a while."

I flew above Fiona and "pet" her huge head. As a result, Fiona's head slammed into the ground, and the momentum was even enough for her to bounce back up.

Next, I turned my attention to her jaw and placed my hand there, causing Fiona to fly upwards. After that, I grabbed onto Fiona and turned us around, petting her stomach.

Well, I say pet, but with enough power to cause Fiona to slam into the ground back-first, cracking the earth.

"Now, how about it? Do you still not believe us, Fiona?" I asked Fiona after she picked herself up.

She replied in a low groan. "U-uuuu-urgh…"

Maybe I need to play with her some more? I thought, but that was when I was hit with a surprise attack.

Unexpectedly, Fiona suddenly became a tiny person and jumped into my chest.

"WWAAAAAAHHHHHH! I'm so sorryyyyyy, Lady Lucifenuuuuuu!" Fiona(?) grabbed onto me, crying, while I was stiff with surprise.

She was much shorter than me, most likely around 155~160cm tall. She has olive eyes and short and messy swept styled hair, and it was colored… What the hell? The color changes depending on where I'm looking from. Is that a thing? She also has sheep ears with a small hoop earring on her left ear and a small bell earring on her right ear. Fiona's limbs were thin, and her body was covered in a white robe.

No, actually, I get the feeling that when Fiona transformed into a human she was naked for a second, but Minako instantly teleported behind Fiona and put a robe on her?

I tried looking over at Minako, but she was just giving me a thumbs up with a satisfied look on her face.

You… Are you actually faster than the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians? And also… Hasn't Fiona's personality changed way too much? Just where was all the pressure from before? Or is this how she is normally, and all that before was the strange part?

For now, let's peel Fiona off and…! Agh! I've got snot all over me?!

"Ahh, geez. Don't cry, don't cry. So, you're still a crybaby even after one thousand years."

"Buh-but, but… U-ugghu… EEEEeeeehhhhhh!"

"Aahhhhhhh! Okay, okay! Sorry for making you worry!"

In the end, I had to continue to comfort Fiona to the best of my ability for over twenty minutes until she stopped crying.

By the way, Minako got bored after about five minutes and disappeared somewhere. And you call yourself my little sister?

After several tens of minutes, Fiona finally stopped crying. She was still sniffling, but as she was we could probably actually have a conversation.

For now, Fiona was safely returned to my possession and wasn't wild anymore, so I could see her stats. That meant the first thing to do was to check.

[ Twelve Zodiac's Guardians: Fiona of the Aries Constellation]

[Level]: 800

[Race]: Rainbow Sheep

[Element]: Fire

[HP]: 75000

[SP]: 7600

[STR (Strength)]: 4100

[DEX (Dexterity)]: 4000

[VIT (Vitality)]: 4050

[INT (Intelligence)]: 4300

[AGI (Agility)]: 4170

[MND (Mind)]: 4294

[LUK (Luck)]: 4180

Hm… her stats are slightly higher than what I remember? If I remember right, Fiona should have had 68000 HP, but that's clearly grown. So that means she's been doing her best in her own way these one thousand years.

Still, what even stats.

Well, her stats were so low in the first place, so I was the one that raised them like a jack-of-all-trades but master of none.

By the way, her stats have been boosted a lot. Without items, all her stats would have been around 1000-1500, since she's originally a monster for production, not battle. Frankly, the correct way to use her was to not have her participate in battle at all, but keep her in the back to produce wool. I was the weird one for forcing her to fight.

"Now, have you calmed down, Fiona?"

"Y-Yes."

The way she looked up at me with her red nose and teary eyes was really adorable, and stirred my big sister instincts to life.

"We are not good at explaining minor details, so We will keep this brief. We are currently on a journey to return all of the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians to our fold, and you are the first. Say nothing, and come. We will not allow any objections."

"Yes! Happily!"

At first, I was going to gather them all and return them to the Heart tower, but it really was a long way from here. Or rather, if I sent this girl out alone to go there I'd be scared that she'd get lost. She's a really great supporter, and it'll probably be much better to have her come with me. With that in mind, I gave her the command to follow me.

Well, Fiona seemed happy, so in the end, it seemed to be the correct choice.

"Let's do our best together again, Lady Lucifen! You, too… The blond girl I don't know! Nice to meet you!"

"—?!" Minako, who came back at some point, froze stiff in what seemed to be shock.

Ahh, yeah. Of course that'd happen if you just got called that by someone you knew.

I also went, "Who're you?" once, and Fiona seems the same way.

Minako immediately restarted her systems and brought her eyes level with Fiona's before talking with a smile. No, if I looked closely I could see a vein twitching on her forehead.

"Miss Fiona? Do you really not remember me? Really? I've been in the tower the whole time, you know?"

"What? You were?"

"Come on, try to remember, please. I've been by Big Sister Lucifen's side the entire time in the tower, haven't I?" Minako said, and Fiona got a far off look in her eye like she was remembering something long past.

After a while of that, she raised her voice. "Ah!"

"Could it be, that one girl with no presence, who always blended into the background?"

"Wh-What cruel words to say…" Minako suffered another shock before turning to me, looking like she was about to cry.

No, uhh, yeah. It can't be helped, Minako. I mean, you really were background in a literal sense. You had no lines, no role, and no abilities. And if you acted the same way in this world, of course no one would remember you.

"That's surprising! So you managed to move from there!"

"Am I some sort of piece of furniture?!"

"Actually, I'm surprised you can talk!"

"Big Sis! She's saying such mean things even though she's got such a cute face?!"

Sorry, Minako. If you were this capable and noisy one thousand years ago, this wouldn't have happened in the first place.

Actually, why did she turn into part of the background in the first place?

Could it be that she just used to be a calm sort of person who didn't show off her own identity? If that's the case, that would make her another person who changed in these one thousand years… It might be a little too much for just a "change" though.

For now, I really do feel sorry for her, so I guess I should throw her a bone.

"Fiona. Minako has supported us with all her might ever since We came back to this world until now. Don't tease her so."

"Huh? No, I wasn't doing anything of the sort…! I was just saying what I thought…"

"That's even worse!"

Ahh, I see. Fiona is honest, for good or bad. Looks like Minako will be feeling some pain for a while.

12

"So, We have safely retrieved Fiona. On the way, there was some woman… Vernal? She said she was a Seven Grimms of Purgatory or something and was really annoying, so We killed her. Be at ease."

"…Just what was all our effort these past several years for…"

After retrieving Fiona, I once again visited the Nobles district to see Juvia.

I was wondering how I should convince the guards, but it seemed that when we came through before Juvia told them to let me through, so we were allowed in on a "face pass." (I didn't reveal my face, though.) It was a happy accident.

As for Fiona, in her original form and her human form, her impression was way too different from that monster sheep, so she was let in without any questions whatsoever. I mean, who would even imagine that over-100-meter class giant sheep could be a girl that looked this cute?

She currently wearing an olive green sleeveless coat with dark brown lapels. A green long-sleeved shirt with a white orange trimmed breastplate over it. An orange belt, which holds her coat tightly around her waist. Dark brown pants tucked into gray under the knee boots with the tops folded over revealing the white lining. The soles and toes of the boots are a darker gray. To complete her outfit she also wore dark fingerless gloves accompanied by white and gray forearm leather armored pads with the left arm covering up to her upper arm whilst the right only partially covers her forearm.

"What happened to the monsters?"

"We have added them all to our forces. We have given them the order to not attack people without reason, so as long as your side does not provoke them you should see no troubles."

"There should have been over one thousand monsters in that castle, but… I guess even after one thousand years the Black Emperor's leadership ability hasn't declined. How scary."

Ah, sorry. It's probably actually declined greatly. I mean, my insides are completely different. As if I could say that, so for now I just smiled confidently.

"So, what are you going to do now?"

"Of course, We will return all the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians to our side. Next is…"

Next is… Where should I go? I'm not familiar at all with this era's geography. I'd be able to decide if all the cities were the same as the game, but unfortunately, since my country Zodiac got destroyed and all the Seven Maidens of Midgar started their own, I had no idea where anything was. And so, I looked over at Minako, trying to draw an explanation out of him.

"Our next destination is the 'Grave of the Black Emperor.' It's around 500 km away from here. It's being guarded by one of the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians, Penny of the Libra Constellation".

"…From the name, it sounds like our grave."

"Not sounds, it actually is your grave, Big Sis. It was completed 900 years ago. It's a giant pyramid that is also the world's largest building, at 1000 floors total. All the people that were close to you, Big Sis, took a hundred years to build it. At the top floor, all the equipment, weapons, and treasures you used and hoarded while you were alive are stored, and it's been guarded by Penny, one of the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians, without rest all this time."

"Oh? That maid?"

One of the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians, Penny the Goddess's Scale. She was most likely the single most powerful golem in all of Xgate Online. For her materials base, I used an item that dropped off an official event boss, one that had no duplicate in the world, the "Scales of Selection." Furthermore, I had Jenny, whose Alchemist level was 200 (she paid for it), build her instead of me to raise her level.

I've said before that a golem's max level depends on the materials used to build it, and the max level for the Scales of Selectionbwas 1000. And, with Jenny's 200 Alchemist levels, the formula for the golem's level went:

[1000/2 + 200]. In other words, we managed to create a level 700 golem. (Golems are treated as objects, so their ownership is transferable). On top of that, we used a rare item of limited number, "Orichalcum" (a paid item). Its effect was to, at its creation, raise a golem's final level by 10-30% at random. Luckily, we got +30% and raised the golem's level by 210.

In other words, Penny had a vaunted level of 910 even as a golem, and through the combined efforts of Jenny and I, was something that should truly be called a "super golem."

Well, she's still under the "can't be stronger than its owner" rule, so if I were to give Penny to a weak player she'd still get downgraded. It wasn't a problem with me and my 1000 levels, though.

Also, in terms of attacks, Penny is most likely the strongest out of all the Twelve Zodiac's Guardians… In fact, if I mess up she could be even stronger than me. And that's because she straight-up inherited a boss's unique skill. That boss being the "Goddess's Scale" who dropped the "Scales of Selection" in the first place.

Said "Goddess's Scale" was the guardian of the divine territory that the Goddess Naru occupied (that was the lore setting of the super-difficult dungeon), so it required a corresponding amount of strength from all the players that challenged it. It was a fearful guardian that blew away all weaklings without question. And the name of its deadly skill was "Brachium." Its effect was to apply a set amount of damage, 99999 to be exact, through all defensive skills and at perfect accuracy.

Of course, any normally raised character wouldn't be able to live after taking this attack. Even the flugels or vampires, with their relatively high stats, would only reach around 70000 HP at level 1000, normally. In other words, it was a broken skill that assumed that all opponents were using stat-boosting items, meaning it mercilessly killed all but high level players. It even killed Juvia, who was a specialized backliner and thus had low HP.

It was a fiendish boss, as if its very existence was saying, "If you can't overcome this, you don't deserve to see the Goddess." If I'm remembering right, the basics of the event were to defeat the fiendish guardian, overcome the crazily difficult dungeon, and meet the Goddess for a reward.

So, even as a golem, that fiendish skill was alive and well. Though as one might expect, it got weaker. Unlike the boss, who would shoot it off over and over from the start of the battle, Penny was limited to only once every 24 hours. And even then, it was a fearsome threat. I vividly remember the chills I got, even as a friendly, after seeing Penny kill everyone in the first move by using the "Preemptive Strike" skill at the start of the battle to shoot it off right away.

The only problem was… The CPU's thinking must have been bad, since Penny would use it even against small-fry if it was available. Thanks to that, there'd been trouble more than once since she was unable to use it when it was most important.

Well, the skill clearly broke game balance, and people had complained a lot to the devs about their balancing mistake, so… I mean, I agreed with their opinion, too. I figured it would get fixed with the next update patch, but in the end, the final battle happened before that, and I ended up here.

So she's the guardian, huh…?

I'm not sure if there'd be any grave robbers, but if there were, I can only offer them my condolences. As it is, in this entire world probably only Levia could break past that skill.

"I've heard the rumors about Penny, too. It seems she's turned into a killing machine that massacres anyone that approaches the top floor. Apparently there were people that tried talking, but I hear it was like talking to a wall," Juvia said, looking troubled as she heaved a sigh.

Personally, I think she's better since she isn't on a rampage like Fiona was, but I guess Juvia thinks differently.

"Then, would it not be fine to leave her? Is there a reason you want to rob our grave so badly?"

"There is; that's why it's a problem. People aren't the only ones that have degraded over these one thousand years. Tools and weapons, and even Alchemists, have all been decaying in quality. In particular, almost all the legendary class magical weapons and armors were destroyed in the battle with the Grimm King, and the only ones left are all in your grave."

Legendary class weapons probably meant all the weapons made by players or rare-drop weapons. Particularly, items and weapons from official events were especially valuable since they couldn't be obtained again.

"Right now, as we're being cornered by the grimmfolk, those weapons are valuable enough for people to give up an arm and a leg for. I'm not justifying grave robbing, but even so, all the weapons you have stored there could hold the key to a reversal of humanity's fortunes.… But, thanks to that golem no one can lay hands on them."

Well, of course, thanks to that stupid skill that does 99999 set defense-piercing damage.

It does have a sort of weakness in that it can't be used repeatedly, but in this age, one probably already had to risk their own life just to get up there. I seriously doubt anyone would truly be willing to deal with an attack that deals instant-death levels of damage on top of that.

"Hmmm… We can't really bring ourselves to blame Penny on this. It's true that humanity is in trouble, but from our perspective she has simply been loyally protecting our property until our return. It should be praiseworthy, not something to condemn her over."

"I know. But if you can, I'd like it if, after you've retrieved Penny, you'd leave just what you don't think you'll use behind in your grave. I know this is a completely absurd request, though."

"…Well, We don't mind a request of that level."

It's funny, the owner of a grave who's currently alive is allowing people to rob it.

Well, for now, my next destination is set. I need to go and commend Penny for working 900 years without rest.

I tied up my hair into a ponytail and put on some glasses. Even doing that much changed my impression considerably.

As for clothes, I changed out the black dress I'd been using up until now for a black tunic and black slacks and wore my usual golden cloak on top. However, unlike before, I simply wore it, instead of using it to cover my entire body.

Lastly, Minako wrapped my black wings in some bandages to hide them. When she did, the wings themselves mysteriously disappeared from sight, and it was no longer obvious that I was even a flugel. The bandages were something Juvia had prepared, a camouflage item that she created with Alchemy. Apparently, it was imbued with "Stealth" magic, and anything wrapped in it would blend into the surroundings.

"It'd be hard to keep moving around looking as you have been, right?" Juvia said before generously gifting me some new clothes and the aforementioned bandages. I was really grateful.

"Hm… What do you think, Juvia? Does it suit us?"

"Yeah. Anything you wear suits you, Lucifen."

Thanks to Juvia I didn't have to do this self-binding play anymore. It was an escape that I couldn't wish for more.

Man, honestly I didn't think she'd go this far for me. To her, I'm a swornenemy from the past that just suddenly revived, so being enemies should have been normal. But instead, she's supporting me like this. It's so nice I'm actually starting to wonder if it's a trap.

"Say, Lucifen."

"Yes?"

"Do you… Not resent us? Back then, you were unmistakably within arm's reach of your dreams. You were just about to achieve the future you wanted. And we were the ones who betrayed you and ruined it all… Don't you…think that's detestable?"

I sunk into thought for a small while at Juvia's question. I didn't feel any of that hatred or resentment or whatever. Of course I wouldn't. To me, that fight was just a game, and I wasn't the one that actually experienced it. So instead of answering the question, I decided to reply in my own way.

"If the people rose in rebellion, that only meant that We were not fit to be king. If you rose to action because you were unsatisfied with us, then that just meant that We were not worthy of kingship, as We drove you to that. There is not a single reason to resent you all."

I checked myself in the mirror, striking several poses from many angles. Yeah, this is pretty nice, isn't it? It's easy to move in, and more than anything, it doesn't make me look haughty or arrogant. As always, I wouldn't be able to avoid attention given my ridiculously good looks, but it's ten times better than being a suspicious person fully covered in a golden mantle.

Man, I shouldn't be saying this about myself, but it's unfair how good I look without even any makeup… I make an idol after being photoshopped look plain.

"So stop blaming yourself. Honestly, it hurts to even watch you."

Ouzelia Lucifen was an invader, and she was one of the heroes that defeated her. That was all that mattered one thousand years ago, and that's probably how it should be.

The victors always decide everything. So the moment I lost, I lost the right to say anything, and I don't want to either. So seeing the winning side all suffering like this is like putting the cart before the horse.

"You are a hero to the people of this country. Be proud. Like you were one thousand years ago."

"I'll take your advice to heart… Thanks." A slight smile returned to Juvia's face.

That way too serious side of her will probably have her worrying even more in the future, but I'd like to think I just made it a little better. In fact, our side is the one that needs to apologize, especially a certain sheep that's like a walking jailbait and is currently curled up in a corner…

But Fiona threw a fit, saying, "I don't want to apologize to anybody who betrayed Master!" And as of now, she still hasn't uttered a single word of apology.

"Now then, it is about time for us to set off. Levia, who Fiona weakened, should be fine now."

"You have my thanks. As I am now, I can't bring back the HP that was lost."

It seemed that as long as there was water, the max HP that Levia lost due to Fiona's attack could be recovered. However, even though Juvia could repair Levia, she wasn't able to alchemize more material to completely recover the lost HP, so I had to do that part.

Still, being able to recover with just water is really simply convenient. For now, all the problems with Levia should be solved.

"Lucifen."

"Hm?"

"…Nice travels."

"Of course."

Having been encouraged by Juvia, I couldn't help but smile. And, waving goodbye, we left Juvia's residence.

We went straight out of the Nobles district towards the Trade district. On the way, I noticed Teuchi's unique, viking helmet, so I approached in order to say goodbye.

"Teuchi!"

"Wha—oh? Huh? Woah! A super hottie?! H-Hey miss, what do you need?"

"Now now, there's no need for that kind of speech. Look, it's us. Lucy. You took care of us when We just arrived, remember?" I said, turning Teuchi speechless. Then, the next moment, he started screaming. "… Huh? Wha—WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?!" Oh yeah, I never showed Teuchi how I looked. I started to think, This might have been a mistake. But I immediately corrected that, since we'd be leaving anyway, so it didn't really matter.

"H-Lucy? The super suspicious-

looking one in the golden mantle?! You were this hot?!"

"Hahhahhah, stop! Don't flatter us like that. We simply came to say our goodbyes. We are leaving the country now."

"You've taken good care of us, Mr. Teuchi. We're returning to our travels now."

I laughed, seeing Teuchi so surprised, and Minako also said her goodbyes. Fiona was… She must have been feeling guilty, since she hid behind me and didn't even try to show her face. She's totally turned into some sort of small animal, hasn't she?

"O-Oh, I see. You're leaving already? You two take care. That goes for the cute little lady behind you, too."

"Yeah. Let's meet again, if the fates will it, Teuchi!"

"Y-Yeah… Lucy… No, never mind. Be well! And be careful, too!" After saying our goodbyes, we left Svel.

At the end, it seemed like Teuchi wanted to ask me something, but he never ended up saying anything. Most likely he wanted to ask about me kicking Fiona back in that fight, but he probably figured we had our own problems, so he decided not to. Or, he might actually have instinctively noticed my identity.

In any case, he was a nice guy. It'd be great if he lives a long time.

"So, Minako. You said that our destination is 500km away, so what do we do? We do not mind walking."

"Yes, I have an idea! What about creating a golem for us to ride?!"

"What, you don't like walking?"

"I don't! It's tiring!"

After leaving Svel, we were currently on a plain so big I couldn't tell where it ended. At the very least, there was something resembling a road made, and thinking that I'd have to walk down it was killing my motivation.

Although, I wasn't even sure how long I'd have to walk to even start to feel tired, so it was still kind of fun in a certain way.

More than that though, isn't there a sense of romance in journeys like these?

But Minako seemed to hate the idea, and asked that I make a vehicle golem. This was something I learned after coming here to this world, but in here, golems weren't nearly as dumb and actually had some ability to adapt. For example, in the game, golems would charge in as they pleased and use whatever attacks they liked, but here, golems are pretty smart. For example, Levia properly listened to Juvia's orders. There were also no limits to the shape golems could take. So in other words, if I made one shaped like a car I'd get a self-driving car.

So, if I were to classify Minako's request as possible or impossible, it would easily be possible.

"Hm, then We will try making one."

"If you're going to be at it anyway, make one with, like, a bed and bath and stuff inside so we don't have to camp out in the open." Minako just smoothly upgraded her request with no hesitation.

I was going to just make some sort of open topped car, but I guess now I'll have to make a motorhome.

I looked over at Fiona, and although she wasn't making any requests herself, she was looking at me with eyes full of expectations. So I guess that means she's looking forward to whatever I make?

"Well, it's worth a try…"

First, for the iron that would make up most of the car, I just used whatever ore I could find lying around.

I can probably figure out furniture later. For the bath, I can just make a room for it for now and make a Goemon bath or something later. Actually, the baths in this world are all normally Goemon baths. There's no way convenient, modern baths would exist, and I don't know how those are made, either, so I can't recreate them.

For the bed… I can use a random tree for a frame, but the problem is what to put on top. That's the only part I can't make out of trees or rocks or any of the materials for concrete that are just lying around. Things would change if I had some cotton or feathers, or maybe even wool…

"…Ah."

"…? What's the matter, Lady Lucifen? Is there something on my face…?"

I had them right by me, the materials. Great. I can just have Fiona turn back into a sheep later and take some wool off her.

I wouldn't say we have enough materials, but we do have the bare minimum. With this, I'll be able to make a fairly comfortable ride.

"Transmute!"

First, turn some ore into iron.

Changing material into something else that can also be used as material was one of the basics of being an Alchemist. However, the range of things a player could create depended on their class level, and there were a lot of transmutations that were unavailable to a starting Alchemist.

Alchemists at level 200, like Jenny, could get legendary class metals out of a random rock on the ground. It's truly scary. I stopped at level 100, so I can't go that far myself, though.

I transmuted the iron I just made again and made a motorhome. Well, I'm not well versed on how cars are made either, so it's really just a car-shaped lump of iron. The movement would rely entirely on the golem's ability to move itself. There wasn't even a driver's seat.

Next, I transmuted glass from sand that was nearby to make windows. I placed several walls inside, and in one of the rooms, I put in a huge pot to serve as a Goemon bath.

While I'm at it I might as well make a kitchen, too. I can't make something nice like an electric stove, though. Instead, I made a kitchen that would fit in a bygone era, one that conformed to the level of this world's culture.

"Next is… Fiona, go back to being a sheep."

"Huh?"

"We need your wool."

Given Fiona's size as a sheep, I can just cut a little bit of it off, and it'll grow back later, anyway.

I jumped on top of Fiona, who followed my order and turned back into a sheep, and used chops with my hand to cut off a good amount of wool. This time I'd be using it as material for a futon. Given the level of this world, it'd be a surprisingly fluffy and luxurious bed. While I was at it, I put in some wooden chairs, too, and I also used Fiona's wool to make cushions for those.

"Okay. For now, this should be fine."

There was a lot it was lacking, but it'll be fine if we just buy what we need in some city later. All it needs to do right now is move.

Let's see, I might as well check this car's stats, too. Oh, I need to give it a name, also.

Golems could be named at the moment of their creation, and in the game I'd seen several golems around the place that had some familiar names. Like Gundam or Getter. Stuff like that.

Right then, what should I do about this thing's name? It shouldn't be too pretentious, but also not too easy to forget…

…Oh it's not worth it. Honda's fine.

[ Honda ]

[Level]: 200

[Race]: Artificial Life Form

[HP]: 12000

[SP]: 0

[STR (Strength)]: 555

[DEX (Dexterity)]: 120

[VIT (Vitality)]: 658

[INT (Intelligence)]: 9

[AGI (Agility)]: 1020

[MND (Mind)]: 75

[LUK (Luck)]: 100

Apparently the form affects a golem's stats a little. This was something that'd be impossible in the game.

Its speed was really high, probably because I made it car-shaped. Still, AGI as a stat represents the speed of one's actions in combat, or "Agility," rather than movement speed, so the number doesn't necessarily mean that something is fast, no matter how high it is.

At any rate, if I were to race with it I'd still have the confidence to win, anyway.

"Wow! This is amazing, Big Sis! With this, the journey would be easy." Minako, who was complaining until just now out of self-interest, stopped on a dime and switched to complimenting me.

Fiona was nodding quickly in agreement with her, but in her case it looked like honest praise, so I decided to accept it graciously. But still, you need to go back to your human form. Nodding this quickly with your size is causing some serious wind.

After we all got inside, I ordered the motorhome to "Head north." When I did, it must have understood me, because it started moving in the right direction. Now it should be smooth sailing until we get where we're going.

"Ah, right. Then I'll be procuring the furniture we'll need. I'll go teleport off for a bit and buy it, so please wait," Minako said, before disappearing in a golden flash without even waiting for my reply.

It's as convenient as always, that teleportation magic. I'm so jealous. Actually, this might be a bit late, but if Minako could teleport why did we have to ride a carriage all the way to Svel? I could have just flown there.

Even if I left her behind, she'd just catch up with teleportation, anyway. Well, it's too late now, and Fiona is here, too, so that option is no longer on the table.

Oh man, why did it take me so long to realize? I'm really dropping the ball, aren't I?

Well, whatever. For now let's keep messing with this interior.

***

"Hahhh!… Hahhh… !"

At the foot of the Gheil Volcano.

There, a woman was forcing her body to move, crawling along on the ground while leaving behind a trail of blood.

It was just one hit—as if swatting away an annoying bug—the woman only took one hit like that.

Even so, she was left unable to even stand up. Like a bug, she crawled along, desperately and embarrassingly, trying to run away from an opponent who was already long gone.

"O-Ouzelia Lucifen is… The only Grimm King ever feared, is back… She, she's a nightmare… This, this is…"

She was lucky to be level 300. Either that, or she was only alive because Lucifen honestly didn't care about her and only bothered to use a minimum amount of power. Lucifen didn't even recognize her as a proper enemy. That was certainly humiliating. But it was also undoubtedly good luck. Thanks to that, right now she was still alive.

Although that luck wouldn't be continuing for long.

"So you were still alive Vernal?"

She heard a voice, condescending and so cold it chilled deep into her bones.

Vernal used all her remaining might to turn her malfunctioning body towards the owner of the voice and saw a black haired girl standing before her. Thanks to the sun behind her, she couldn't see her face properly, but somehow the modest, black robe she was wearing seemed much finer than it looked at first glance.

Maybe it was thanks to her elegance? Or maybe it should be called the sheer weight of her presence?

At any rate, there was something mysterious about the black haired girl that couldn't be fully explained in words.

However, her face—no, the ends of her mouth were drawn up in a semicircle like a half moon. Her expression was filled with joy.

"No no, that's no good at all. Actors whose parts are over need to leave the stage cleanly. No one benefits from a piece that should have been defeated coming back later to try to earn points. Once your role is done, you should leave. Those are the rules of the game."

"Y-You are…! Just what are…"

With a cold laughter, the black haired girl ridiculed the poor clown who lost her place on the stage. She had no words to waste on answering her questions.

There was the idea of "a present for the afterlife," but unfortunately, she didn't have that sort of troublesome spirit of customer service.

Simply, quickly, and beautifully. As if plucking weeds, she made the idiot who failed to even die disappear.

The only disposition the black haired girl had was of cruelty. "Goodbye, Vernal. You pitiful NPC."

Several seconds later, there was no Vernal there. All traces of her were gone, as if she had never existed in the first place. There wasn't even a strand of hair left. And the black haired girl who made that happen was also, similarly, no longer there.

According to legend, the world used to have no mana when the people of heaven descended onto Vanaheim, a mountain that soared into the sky.

They watched over the world, and took on the duty of gathering the world's impurity. They formed forbidden golden apples, which were made of concentrated impure mana.

Once, out of curiosity, someone ate a golden apple, and the person, whose body became infected with mana, was exiled from Vanaheim and became human.

That was when the people of heaven incurred the displeasure of Goddess, and from then on, they became unable to cleanse the world of impurities. That was why the world overflowed with mana, and Midgar ceased to be a paradise.

Humans, who were cast to the earth, spread to every corner of the world, and they each started to change in their own environments.

The ones who continued to eat beasts that were full of mana became beastmans.

The ones who descended to Helheim, the world's hell that was filled with impurities, became vampires.

The ones who ran free across wide plains became halflings, and those people further split into those who holed up in caves to become dwarves.

And the ones who lived in forests, staying in contact with nature that was filled with mana, became elves.

That was considered the beginning of the world.

[From: History of Midgar Part 1: The Secret of the Birth of the Seven Races]

There were seven races of humanity living in Midgar.

Beastmans, or therianthropes, lived on the plains, while the flugels lived on high mountains. Dwarves lived in caves, and halflings lived a nomadic life with no fixed home. Humans lived anywhere they liked, while vampires resided in the dark. And elves could be found in the forest. That was the common sense of this world.

It wasn't decided on by anyone in particular. It was simply a result of their inborn instincts telling them which places were easiest to live in. If there were someone who decided this, it would have to be the Goddess that birthed them all.

That's why no one doubted anything and simply lived like it was natural.

But among those people, a certain elven girl named Juvia was one of the few who doubted what was "natural."

Elves lived in the forest. They were born in the forest and died there, too.

They spent peaceful, unchanging days in the forest. They lived off of a small amount of grain, didn't fight, and didn't change. Every single day for however many years, decades, or centuries, they simply existed.

What the hell? This is way too boring. Are we plants or something? If we're going to keep spending every single day without change like this, then there's no point in being part of humanity, right?

It made Juvia want to tell people, "Then why don't you just turn into a tree?!"

Why do we have hands? Why do we have legs? Why do we have heads, and magic, too?

If you want an unchanging life so bad just become a plant or something.

Change into something like a tree and live your entire life carefree like that.

'These unchanging days are the most precious thing. Peace is happiness.'

That's what every old elf parrots back at me.

Sure, it's true that peace is important. If peace continues, then there'll be no large amounts of pain or deep despair, either.

But if nothing ever changes, then that means there'll be no great joy, either. A life with no ups or downs. Just a flat existence.

Juvia didn't especially reject the idea of it. After all, everybody had their own feelings and opinions.

However, at the very least, Juvia hated the idea.

I was gifted with eyes, so I want to see so many different things. And I have ears, so I want to hear so many sounds. I want to touch with these hands, walk with these feet, and feel things directly on my skin.

With those feelings, Juvia left her home forest.

Nothing really led up to it, and she didn't have any real goal, either. She didn't even have a destination; she was just a girl who left her forest with vague and obscure dreams.

Later, Juvia would look back on those times and lament about how unplanned everything was. The girl that would later be called the Witch Queen was still a simple, honest youngster back then.

Juvia, who left the forest without any plans or prospects, eventually ended up in the Trade City of Ydalir, and, of course, she got lost there.

Elves always fundamentally lived self-sufficiently and would help each other frequently. That was why, to them, it was natural to share when someone was in need, and even when wanting compensation, it was done through trading goods.

In other words, Juvia hadn't learned the value of currency yet.

In the first place, she had no familiarity with the concept of using small circular lumps of copper or silver to "buy" things. She did have knowledge of it, at least. Juvia had heard that in human towns they obtained things by doing that, and she had seen the merchants that dropped by the forest every once in a while do the same with the elders of the forest, too.

However, in the end, she only knew of it and never placed much importance on actually learning more. Knowing and understanding were similar, but two completely different things. That's why Juvia left with no money to her name, and was left at a loss at not being able to get anything.

"N-No way... To get things in a human town, you need... No, I can't even get a place to sleep for a night without money?!"

The one who would later be crowned the first Svel Queen was utterly surprised by a simple fact that was obvious even to children.

If a certain person that was hailed as the strongest mage in the future were to see this, she'd probably faint.

Of course, Juvia wasn't joking around. She was, in fact, extremely serious. She was seriously surprised and troubled.

However, to the people that saw her she simply looked like an idiot with no common sense, and they would only think, What's an elf doing here?

At any rate, Juvia regrouped. She at least understood that the first thing she had to do was obtain money. Without money, she couldn't get food nor a place to sleep.

Just in case, Juvia had the food and water she brought from her forest, but there was a very limited amount she could carry with her low physical strength, so it would probably last three days at best.

There was a limit to how unprepared someone could be.

"E-Excuse me, Miss!"

"Huh? Me?"

Juvia understood that she needed money. However, she had no idea how to go about getting money. And if she didn't know, she just had to ask. It could be said to be a correct decision.

The person would probably think the question was so obvious even a child could answer it, but anyway, Juvia did the right thing.

Juvia stopped a young woman with long red scarlet hair, wearing some cheap knight-armor. The red haired woman wasn't ugly by any means. In fact, she'd be considered a "drop dead gorgeous" for a woman, but thanks to her being generally filthy, it was all wasted. At the very least, she probably wasn't a person that worked and lived in town normally.

Having to rely on someone who looked like that showed that Juvia was probably backed into a pretty tight corner.

"It's embarrassing, but I just came here from my forest, so I'm not very familiar with human towns. How do people earn money?"

"Money?…I mean, what other way is there but work? Though, I only know one place that'd suddenly hire someone nobody knows like you."

"There is one? Then please, show me to this place."

"I don't mind, but… Are you sure? This isn't a place for a woman to find a job, and it can't be called good work either, even if I'm stretching it."

"I don't mind."

More than anything, Juvia needed money.

At this rate, she wouldn't be able to live in town. And if that happened, she'd have no choice but to return to the forest, which would be far too embarrassing to do after she had mouthed off like she did before leaving. It'd only been a few days since she did that, after all. If she actually returned, it was clear she'd become a laughingstock, and among elves, who had very few ways to entertain themselves, that status would last for several decades.

Humans would forget after 75 days, but elves remembered for 75 years. In other words, she'd be laughed at and ridiculed for 75 years. And that was something Juvia couldn't take.

"Then, well, I'll introduce you, but…Don't hate me for this," the red haired woman said before showing her to a dingy-looking bar.

It was dirty and reeked of booze. Juvia's first impression was one of filth. It could be summed up in that single word.

It seemed like the first floor was used as a canteen, but from the bottom of her heart, Juvia thought, It's amazing that they can stomach eating here.

It reeked of grease and fat everywhere, the stink of booze filled the air, and the men that were loitering were the worst. The stench of their cheap armor was awful, and they were stained with the stench of blood and fat.

They must not have washed in some time, as they really did smell just as much as they looked—like a bed of disease.

It stinks! It stinks! It stinks! More than anything, it stinks so bad I can't stand it!

"Wh-What is this place, a cesspool? Is the job you're introducing me to cleaning up a cesspool?"

"Hahaha, a cesspool, huh? Well, that's not wrong. In truth, there are some jobs that are close to that. If you value your life, then it is an option to just take dirty jobs like that."

"D-Don't joke with me!"

"It's better than dying and being eaten before being shat out, yeah?"

The red haired woman stepped over to the counter and sat in an empty space. For a while, Juvia couldn't figure out what to do, but the red haired woman was beckoning her with her hand, so she took the seat next to the red haired woman.

The chairs were in an awful state, too. Just by sitting down, they creaked and groaned.

"Adventurers, or in other words, people who sell their lives at a massive discount. There are no conditions at all to become one. Even if you're a slave or have no physical ID and are homeless, you'll be accepted without question. However, no matter what happens, it's all your responsibility. No matter if you die or are injured, no one's going to take responsibility for it."

"It's not exactly without conditions."

The master behind the counter cut in in the middle of the red haired woman's explanation. He was a stern-faced man with his white hair all slicked back.

He started adding on to the explanation while polishing a glass.

"It's true that there are some places that accept newbies with no conditions, but at the very least, it's different here. Dying as an adventurer is the adventurer's own responsibility, but if they fail the job that was given to them, it's our reputation that suffers. That's why if you lack ability, I'll only give you stuff like chores."

"So he says. Isn't that great? Even without any ability you can at least get some chores to do."

Adventurer… Juvia had heard that word before.

In other words, they were the bottom of human society. Or, small-time punks. Or, walking dead. It wouldn't be strange for any of them to drop dead tomorrow. In fact, it was rare for adventurers to leave a corpse. That's why they didn't need burials or prayers.

It was an awful, sh*tty job that sounded worse the more Juvia heard about it. Just the worst occupation. That was the job of "Adventurer."

Juvia had no money, so she would become an adventurer. However, because she had no money, she couldn't buy a sword or armor or anything else.

And because she couldn't complete requests like that, she'd just die. If she at least had the money to get equipment, well, she wouldn't be dipping her hands into such a mob-like job in the first place.

If she had the ability to fight monsters, then she could try for being a mercenary, part of a volunteer security organization, or even a knight.

That's why all the ones who became adventurers were half-assed. Only useless people would gather, and every day their faces would change. And because the job was like that, it didn't need any sort of conditions to it.

In fact, if someone with any sort of societal status and ID were to become an adventurer and die, it would be a problem. If some noble kid became an adventurer on a lark and died because of it, that bar would be inundated with terrible rumors. Or the nobles might unleash assassins in their anger.

That's why nobody had any ID. It was better not to have one. The more one became someone no one would miss, even if they disappeared tomorrow, the more they were fit to be an adventurer. The job of adventurer was like a last bastion for those unwanted by society.

"Right then. I'll be judging your ability. Come with me to the back."

"G-Got it." With a gulp, Juvia swallowed her saliva and stiffened her expression.

Juvia had some confidence in her ability to fight. Her physical strength and stamina were absolutely useless, but she was an elf. She had magic.

In the first place, elves were humans who were changed by mana, and were the race out of the seven who were most suited to magic.

Magic was an academic practice. It was made of theories and logic.

Almost all living things had mana inside of them, but to turn that into phenomena, one needed their own formulas, which were something one just didn't master in a single day or night.

For the same magic, if a human were to learn it, it would take ten-odd years to obtain, although that depended a bit on the human's natural talent. A human's average lifespan was around sixty years, so over ten years would be over 10% of their lifespan. But elves usually needed only about half the time to learn magic (it depended on the elf, though), and using that amount of time to learn magic was nothing to the long-lived elves.

That's why elves and vampires were good at magic.

And speaking of long-lived races, there was one other…

"Master, I'd like to take this job..."

A golden haired girl stopped the master just as he was about to go through the entrance to the back room and showed him a job request form.

"Oh, if it isn't the lady with the black wings. That job's pretty tough, but it shouldn't be a problem for you."

She was a very beautiful girl.

First, the proportions of her face were near perfect. It was remarkable even among elves, who were all beautiful. Then, there was her golden hair.

Her long, flowing hair was like those tails of majestic birds. Her eyes were also like bright ruby orbs. But the most striking feature of hers was the pitch-black wings that grew from her back.

Juvia had heard that the flugels all had white wings, but apparently, people like her existed.

Juvia watched her as she quickly left after stating her intentions.

Meanwhile, Juvia questioned the red haired woman.

"Who was that?"

"Ahh, you're surprised? The flugel girl is an adventurer. And a really good one, too, so there's no one here who doesn't know her."

"She's a flugel but… The color of her wings is rare, right? I'd heard that the flugels's wings were all white, but am I behind the times?"

"No, your knowledge is correct. Well, basically, she's the same as us… She has nowhere to go. At least, other than a cesspool like this."

"Well, sorry for being a cesspool! This ain't place for ladies."

The master, who had heard the redhead's comment, replied with sarcastic remark.

But Juvia didn't care; her thoughts were fixed on the black-winged girl she just saw.

The flugels prided themselves on the whiteness of their wings.

Then that meant that girl surely lost her place in her hometown. She had no other choice than to come to a human town and work as an adventurer.

When she thought that, Juvia realized how blessed she was. As well as just how little she belonged in that dingy bar… She left her forest without much thought, but she had somewhere to go back to. She'd be laughed at for 75 years, but she at least had people who would accept her.

But there was no one like that for that black-winged girl.

***

Juvia did well, using water magic to destroy the golem to pass the store's test and get permission to be an adventurer from the master.

Since that happened, it was inevitable that next she'd take on a job. After all, Juvia had no money. She couldn't afford an inn, nor could she buy any food.

Juvia had the option of camping out for around three days with the supplies she brought with her, but she didn't have any backup after that. So making money as fast as possible was top priority. For now, Juvia took on an easy-looking monster hunting job.

"So, why are you following me?"

"Hey, don't get your panties in a bunch. I'm just being a little nosy. Like, I introduced you to this job, you know? So I'd feel bad if you up and died all of a sudden."

Walking next to Juvia was the red haired young woman who introduced her to the job, holding the sword that seemed to be her favorite in one hand. Her normal walking pace was probably faster, but she was matching Juvia, showing her consideration.

"Still, it was a good choice to go exterminate leps. Leps used to be rabbits, so they aren't terribly strong, and they haven't changed too much, either. They're just really violent bunnies that're a size bigger. As long as they don't let their guard down, even an average villager can kill one. Did you know? Monsters are just animals that have been changed with mana."

"I know that much. Don't make fun of me."

Juvia was currently making her way through the vegetation of a forest near Ydalir. Recently, there'd been an outbreak of leps here, so the job this time was to reduce their numbers some. Basically, she was just getting rid of pests.

Leps… Officially named 'Morrisleps', were weak monsters as the red haired girl described, but they reproduced very quickly. They were annoying if there were too many of them, and they'd ruin the ecosystem of the forest, so they needed to be culled regularly, but it was too small a job to call in the actual army every time. That was why it was a job for adventurers.

Of course, just because it was a job to exterminate leps didn't mean that nothing but leps would show up, and sometimes adventurers would have to deal with some annoyingly strong monsters.

However, even if adventurers died, it wouldn't be a breach of contract or a scam since taking jobs and dying and everything in between was all on the adventurer's shoulders.

"Look, there they are."

The red haired girl seemed to have noticed something as she looked up from the ground. Her eyes were turned to a group of rabbits around 50 meters ahead.

Her mouth curved upwards in a violent expression, and she readied her sword, resting it on her shoulder.

Won't that cut into your own shoulder if you aren't careful? Juvia thought, but decided not to say anything. She probably just wanted to look cool.

"There are seven, eight… Ten leps, huh?"

"Each one is weak, but having to deal with ten at once will be a little troublesome. Should we do it?"

"Didn't I tell you not to make fun of me?" Juvia said, sounding miffed, before swiftly using her right pointer finger to draw a circle in the air.

The basics for magic were three processes.

First was concentration. One needed to concentrate the mana inside them into a single point.

The "vessel" to store mana until it was fired was completed by drawing a magic circle, and it would stay there until the magic was complete. In the circle was a pentagram. Each point represented an element, starting with wood at the top, then fire, earth, metal, and water in clockwise order. Then, one drew lines from wood to earth, earth to water, water to fire, fire to metal, and lastly, metal to wood. The lines showed the relationships between the elements. On top of that, a circle around the pentagram to represent the moon was drawn. And on top of that, one more circle for the sun.

All that took three seconds. Juvia was fast enough to be considered a veteran by human standards. At the very least, a newbie mage would need around ten seconds to do that.

Incantations? Such things didn't exist.

"First process, complete. Next, moving on to the second process. Converting mana. 120 MP into water mana, emit as ether. Construct magic formula, reinforce the circle. Charge complete, waiting to fire."

Juvia poured her mana into the completed vessel and fixed it in space.

It only took an extra two seconds for a total of five seconds, but the leps noticed them. But it still wasn't a problem. There was more than enough distance to make it.

That was the second process. Right now, the vessel only had pure mana, which hadn't been changed in any way. Letting it go now would do nothing.

It might cause the mana-hating flugels some discomfort, but that's all.

Then came the third process—to change the mana into a phenomenon.

"Second process complete. Switching over to the third process. Changing to phenomenon. Isolate fire and wood mana, excise impurities, adjust density. Everything is within margin of error, there are no problems. Accelerate mana circulation, change to phenomenon. Third process complete."

Taking another two seconds, Juvia completed her magic in only seven seconds.

Juvia's palm emitted a mass of fake water that was transformed from mana, and once it was complete, it waited to fire.

It was just fake water that would return to mana once the spell was over, but it wasn't much different from the real thing until it disappeared. No, it was more compressed and concentrated than real water could ever be in nature, so it was far more dangerous. Weighing around 100 tons, the water was being compressed, ignoring the laws of physics. Of course, if such a thing hit you, it would do more than just hurt.

"Impressive! That's super fast! It hasn't even been ten seconds?!"

"Human magic is too slow. You all should be able to at least shoot off some weak magic in ten seconds… Go, 'Aqua Blast!'"

Apparently, the red haired girl had thought the leps would reach them before Juvia finished her magic.

She wasn't wrong. In actuality, it would be true for most humans who were just starting as mages, and they'd probably need someone to buy them time to finish their spell. However, Juvia was a long-lived elf who could train for several hundred years. Common sense didn't apply to her.

In fact, for Juvia, it was an insult to already be surprised at something of this level.

The final form of magic that all elves strived for was to be able to shoot off spells instantly with no need for preparation. Right now, it was but a distant, unreachable peak, but Juvia had decided that she would get there some day. Still, that was far-off in the future. Right now, it was all she could manage to blast through four lined-up rabbits.

"Four, huh? My aim was a little off."

"No, that was great for a preemptive attack! You did great!" the red haired girl said happily as she faced the six leps that had finally reached them head on.

Each one was around an adult man's thighs in height, and the red haired girl sword flashed as it swung against these giant rabbits.

When she made her first swing, three of the leps who had unguardedly charged at her were cut down pitifully, turning into hunks of meat. Then, the red haired girl's sword flashed again as she attacked with a backswing. This one bisected the last three leps that were shocked into freezing because of the first attack.

The most surprising thing was the red haired girl's skills, as she managed to kill six of them in only two swings. It seemed like she was relying on the sharpness of her blade, but no, it was more the weight of it. The sound the sword made when it was being swung wasn't normal.

"That sword... How heavy is it?"

"Dunno. I picked the heaviest one I could so that it'll still kill things when I swing even if the blade is dull. Well, personally, I'd like a heavier one, but...I have no money."

The red haired girl laughed merrily as Juvia internally recategorized her into someone with idiotic strength. Humans were more physically powerful than elves (rather, elves were just way too weak), but even so, her strength was abnormal.

I see. So she isn't just arrogant.

To Juvia, she was strong enough that it didn't make any sense why she was still an adventurer. Juvia even figured it was a bit of a waste, since the girl could probably become a knight.

"Now then, usually heads are the proof of extermination, but with how big these are, you can probably take back their entire bodies if you stuff them in hard enough. Their meat is delicious and nutritious, too. It's kind of a waste to just take their heads and throw away the rest."

"...You're going to eat that?"

"Well, of course. Adventurers are eternally poor. If you can save, you need to save. Ah, right. Elves don't like meat, do they?"

"It's not just elves. The flugels don't like meat either, right?"

"For them, it's more like they don't like meat that has mana in it or meat from birds. If it's regular animals, they actually like it, it seems."

While talking, the red haired girl started to stuff the carcasses into a dirty bag that she'd brought with her. It was a pretty gruesome, or rather bloody, sight.

Juvia, who wasn't used to it at all, averted her eyes as she started to turn green.

"Not used to this, huh?"

"…Yeah. Since we fundamentally don't kill animals. Much less gather their bodies or cut off their heads…"

"Get used to it. You're an Adventurer now."

"I know."

As was mentioned before, leps were violent rabbits that were a little large.

In other words, from the outside, they were uselessly cute, which stirred up unpleasant feelings in Juvia. There were even women that found leps too cute to kill. Of course, they were all rich ladies with heads full of flowers.

"Now then, let's go back for now. It'd be hard to keep going carrying this much stuff, after all."

"It's not over with just this trip?"

"No. Depending on the job, they warn you that it'll take several days. The job is actually pretty easy this time, since it's so close to Ydalir."

With a grunt of effort, the red haired girl heaved up the bag that was starting to drip with blood. Juvia could tell blood was pooling at the bottom of the bag, but it didn't seem like the girl cared.

At the very least, that's impossible for me, Juvia thought.

The red haired girl started walking, and Juvia followed.

All that was left to do was go back the way they came. There wasn't any guarantee they wouldn't encounter more monsters, but no problems should occur as long as they didn't let their guards down.

Juvia was about to do just that, since she'd just finished her first job, but that was prevented by the sound of an animal roaring.

"…Huh? Something big is coming this way."

"Ah?"

Juvia had already heard it, but the red haired girl probably hadn't sensed anything yet. Elves had better hearing than humans. But the sound gradually grew closer, and the red haired girl's expression grew more stern.

She dropped the bag to the ground and readied her sword. Her expression said that she was ready for anything.

"Yeah, there's something bad coming this way. It's going to be pretty big. Ready your magic now."

"Got it."

There was no need for the red haired girl to tell her; Juvia was already preparing a spell. She could tell just from the sounds how big the enemy was.

And from the roar, she could tell how dangerous it was. Either signal was plenty to consider the enemy a danger.

Apparently, there was something huge in this forest that wasn't indicated in the job form, and it was coming this way.

"Are there large monsters in this forest?"

"There shouldn't be anything other than worldvines...but this one's clearly different."

Worldvines were giant boars that lived in the forest. They were over two meters tall. They were plenty dangerous to a newbie adventurer, but the sounds the two of them were hearing were clearly different. It was larger and sounded much more dangerous. And it was coming closer at a remarkable speed; the two of them couldn't help but get nervous.

"...It's here!" the red haired girl said, and at the same time, the trees were mowed over, revealing it.

Even at the smallest estimate, it was over 15 meters tall, and it looked just like a giant reptile. Its large mouth was lined with fangs, and it seemed like it would rip a person in half with one bite. It had tiny, almost wilted-looking arms and a blackened body, as well as a fat tail.

It was described as a dragon, and its silhouette was incredibly close to that feared creature, but it wasn't a dragon. No, in the first place, it wasn't a monster. Only a simple "animal." But its viciousness and power were stronger and more monster-like than some monsters's, and it was feared by many people. A portion of scholars even stated, "Why not just call it a monster already?"

Since ancient times, they'd existed in the world in small numbers, and if they were mutated by mana, they'd turn into a fearsome dragon. People named them "Dinosaur," a name filled with fear.

"I-Isn't that a dinosaur?! What the hell is a dinosaur doing in this forest?!"

"A-And that shape… This is bad, that's a dinorex; it's a large carnivore!"

"So it's the worst one?!"

Dinorex, a large dinosaur. Among the small handful of dinosaur species, it was the strongest and worst. It possessed unparalleled aggressiveness and might, and it considered everything in front of it food. Humans, animals, monsters, even grimmfolk… As long as it was nearby, it was an enemy and therefore food. It simply used pure power to eat and kill everything, as if it was saying 'You all are so puny, bothering with your monsters or magic or whatever!"

They didn't mind getting some wounds, they wouldn't stop, and they wouldn't falter.

Such a natural-born monster was in front of Juvia and her friend right now, unleashing its cry.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!"

The cry that was hard to apply language to spread through the forest, shaking the very air. That voice, which probably sent all the surrounding animals and monsters running for their lives, sapped away the two's will to fight.

"I-I get it now. This thing is at fault for the boom of leps. Because it came to the forest, all the leps's natural predators ran."

"Then why are only the leps left?"

"As if I'd know. Maybe they're so small they aren't even worth eating? And this is just the worst… That bastard just had a fight. It's all pumped up since it got hurt!"

The dinorex was covered in wounds here and there, and they were still bleeding. It was surprising that there was something that could wound the invincible-seeming dinorex, but whatever it was probably wasn't alive anymore.

But more importantly, since the dinorex was left alive but wounded, it was still agitated and on a rampage.

"sh*t!! We have to do it! Hey, elf girl! Don't go pissing yourself in fear now!"

"Right back at you!" Juvia shouted, as if to drive away her fear, before unleashing the spell she had prepared.

It was the same spell, Aqua Blast, that killed so many leps earlier.

The bullet of compressed water flew straight and knocked the dinorex's jaw upward.

The ball of water looked like a sphere that was a little too big to carry in both arms, but its weight was over a ton, since it ignored the laws of physics.

In other words, it was as if the dinorex was struck with a bullet that weighed a ton.

However, although the dinorex's jaw flew upwards, there wasn't any more damage than that, and in fact, all it did was turn its anger-clouded attention on Juvia.

"No good, it didn't work!"

"Well, from the looks of it, our customer over there's several tons heavy… No wonder it wouldn't do much."

If one was asked whether or not an impact of one ton was weak or strong, it would be strong. At the very least, if a human was hit with it, they wouldn't just end up with some injuries. However, it was comparable to simply being tackled by a one-ton animal, and many animals as heavy as that existed in nature. Of course, none of those creatures could bring down a dinorex. It would probably just use its simple weight advantage to sweep them away.

In other words, Juvia needed something more powerful in order to defeat it.

"TAAAKE THIISSSSS!!"

The red haired girl made a sweep with her sword, slamming her weapon into the leg of the dinorex. But the hit was shallow. The sword was stopped by the dinorex's legs and wouldn't keep going.

It wasn't as if there was no damage. Her sword definitely bit into the dinorex's flesh, and it was bleeding as a result. However, given its thick muscles and the difference in size, it wasn't a large wound at all.

Even a strike that would cleave a human in two was like being cut with a small knife to a dinosaur. As all that strike did was stoke the flames of the dinorex's anger, it could be said to have had a detrimental effect.

"JAOOOOOOOO!!"

"Whooaahh?!"

The dinorex swept at the red haired girl with its thick tail.

The red haired girl managed to react and jumped backwards to evade, leaving the tail sweep to miss her and continue on to easily snap a couple trees.

The power behind that attack was scary; if it had connected, it would most likely have killed her in one hit.

Continuing on, the dinorex opened its jaw and lunged at the red haired girl with its sharp fangs.

The red haired girl was quick-witted, though… And by a hair's breadth, she dodged the dinorex, landing next to Juvia.

"No good, my sword doesn't do much either! Hey, elf girl, don't you have any more powerful spells?"

"I do! But it'll take time!"

"How much?"

"Twenty... No, I can do it in fifteen seconds!"

"Fifteen seconds..."

Fifteen seconds. Considering it would be a high-tier spell, it was plenty fast.

At the very least, if a newbie human mage tried to do the same thing, they'd take like a minute, and even a pretty well-known mage would need around thirty seconds. So by those standards, fifteen seconds was, once again, plenty fast. It was fast… But—

"I'll have to keep that busy for fifteen seconds, huh… That's gonna be hard."

Their enemy was a dinosaur, and a dinorex at that. The difficulty was on a whole other level.

However, it was the job of a front-liner to buy enough time for back-liners to cast their spells, and it wasn't a situation where she could refuse, either. The red haired girl couldn't land a decisive blow herself, so since she'd be relying on magic to finish the job, she had to take an appropriate amount of risk, too.

"Do it in ten!" The red haired girl made a ridiculous request to Juvia before charging at the dinorex.

Originally, 'impossible' would be a light description for telling someone to cast a spell that takes fifteen seconds in ten. In fact, even being able to cast a spell that would work against a dinorex in fifteen seconds indicated a talent that adventuring parties would flood with requests. Even the red haired girl knew that.

She knew it, but that just showed how much she needed Juvia to achieve the impossible.

"Starting first process. Drawing magic circle. Wood to earth, earth to water, water to fire, fire to metal, and metal to wood. Connecting the pentagram of relationships and surrounding it with the circles of sun and moon. First process complete!"

The red haired girl made a shallow slice into the dinorex before immediately opening up a distance. She didn't have to try to defeat it. As long as she managed to keep its attention, it was fine.

The red haired girl needed to make the dinorex believe she was a threat, therefore concentrating all its attention onto her to buy time. So she didn't need any flashy or vicious attacks, nor did she need to approach too aggressively. She just needed to escape for ten seconds while drawing its attention.

"Next, moving on to the second process. Converting mana. 120 MP into water mana, emit as ether. Constructing magic formula, defining shape. Charging complete, on standby. Second process complete!"

Juvia was muttering a progress report at an incredible speed, but in truth, she didn't actually have to do that. But it wasn't completely without merit. By putting the progress of her spell in words, she could let her friends know how close she was to firing her spell. If the front line could estimate how long it would take for the spell to be completed, they'd have an easier time getting out of the field of fire, lowering the chances of friendly fire.

Rather, staying silent while constructing a spell would be more annoying.

The front line would be unable to estimate when they needed to pull back, and if they were to be suddenly attacked from behind, that would cause them to be unable to dodge, turning friendlies into shields for the enemy.

But depending on circ*mstances, it could also be a bad move. For example, when the enemies were also human. Since the enemies would also understand speech, it would be like announcing when you were about to attack. Any attack made like that would miss.

On top of that, there was a technique where the mage could report fake progress, but either way, the dinosaur in front of Juvia couldn't understand speech, so that was useless.

"WOAAARRGGGHH!" The red haired girl yelled a battle cry as she continued to attack the dinorex.

Her armor was now damaged, and even grazes left her covered in wounds. It wasn't as if she was weak; it was just that the dinorex was far too strong. Rather, she should be praised for being able to last so long against a dinorex.

"Moving on to the third process. Converting to phenomenon. Isolate fire and wood mana, eliminate all impurities, adjust density. Omit problem check, start compressing. Accelerate mana circulation, convert to phenomenon. Third process complete!"

"I've been waiting for that!"

As soon as Juvia announced that her magic was complete, the red haired girl jumped to the side. She was pretty well-versed on how to cooperate with mages. If the front line didn't pull back, the mages couldn't unleash their spells. So front-liners needed to be able to retreat quickly as well as be able to distract the enemy. Simpletons who could only charge forward would find it impossible to team up with mages.

On that point, she passed. Contrary to her rough personality and manner of speech, she knew when to pull back. Thanks to that, Juvia could promptly fire her magic without worry!

"Cut it apart, Water Jet!"

Immediately after, a laser of water shot out of the magic circle that Juvia had constructed in a straight line.

No, since it was made of water, it wasn't a laser. At the very least, the word was technically wrong, and it wasn't accurate as an example, either. But the red haired girl thought "laser" when she first saw the spell go off.

If a new word were to be invented for it, it would probably be "water flash." It was just that sharp and fast. The water drew a line to its target in an instant and pierced through the dinorex.

But the magic wasn't over yet. It was just starting.

The superfine jet of water that was almost traveling at the speed of sound could cut through diamond.

Juvia moved her hand, and little by little, the flow of water changed heading. When it did, the jet of water moved along with it, easily cutting the dinorex apart. In fact, the water pierced through the dinosaur and even cut apart the trees behind it.

Eventually, the spell attack was over, and at the same time, the severed head of the dinorex made a sound as it fell off. After a delay, the trees behind it also fell over. Looking a little farther away, all the trees for several tens of meters behind the dinosaur were cut down.

"O-Ohhh… That's some amazing power. All the trees behind it are gone, too… I hope the country doesn't come complaining after this."

"The country should have some wood element heaven-arts users. They can just regenerate the trees. Definitely. Well, they'll probably complain a little, but… It's better than being eaten by that thing, no?"

"Haha! You said it!"

The dinorex was defeated, and freed from the tension, the red haired girl laughed together with Juvia.

Neither of them expected to see a dinosaur, but once it was over, it meant that they managed to kill a giant. The results were more than enough for Juvia's first mission. Even a veteran adventurer wouldn't want to take on a dinorex, and a country's soldiers would probably have to be prepared for death. And just two adventurers managed to do it. It was an achievement they should've been proud of.

However, another giant dragon's face came slipping out from the cover of the forest, as if it was aiming for the exact moment they let their guards down. It was the same as the one they just defeated, a dinorex… No, in fact, it was even bigger.

And it showed itself to Juvia and the red haired girl.

"…N-No way."

"I'd like to believe it's a lie, too."

No, no more. I can't take any more.

That was both of their honest feelings.

Even taking down one dinorex was something akin to a miracle. To have another one come out, and right after the other one, too… On top of that, it was even bigger than the first? The two of them could only think it was some kind of harassment.

However, as if it didn't care about what the two of them were thinking, the dinorex took a step—

And immediately afterwards was crushed by a falling black angel.

"…Wha?"

Black feathers scattered and fell slowly. Her golden hair swayed, and she stood on top of the dinorex as if that was the natural state of their pecking order.

The dinosaur was motionless. With just that one hit, she crushed its head, completely ignoring the size difference, killing it instantly.

The black angel raised her face as if she wasn't fazed at all by what just happened and seemed to notice Juvia and the red haired girl for the first time.

After that, she looked over towards the headless dinosaur on its side near Juvia and the red haired girl, and her face scrunched up.

"…So it ran all the way here."

"J-Just how many times do I have to be surprised today, elf girl?"

"Don't worry, I'm surprised, too."

She defeated a dinorex, which took them so much effort to defeat, with one hit. Juvia couldn't even muster a laugh.

After looking closer, Juvia saw that it was the same flugel girl from the bar. From the fact that she just naturally killed that dinorex earlier, it seemed that the job she took on back then was to kill these dinosaurs.

When she locked eyes with Juvia, she apologized to them.

"Ahh… Sorry. That dinorex there was one I was hired to kill, but it ran away in the middle of the fight… It seems like I've caused you some trouble. I apologize greatly."

"A-Ahh, don't worry about it… Wait, you had to kill two dinorexes? I can't believe you took that job."

"No, I didn't know they were dinorexes, either. The form just said that there was something ruining the ecosystem of this forest, so I was to investigate the cause and, if possible, kill it. I didn't expect the cause to be a dinorex couple, but well, I figured it would work out, so I attacked them. …I never would have expected dinorexes, who are famous for being fearless, to run away from battle. Forgive me."

What the hell? The dinorex got scared and ran? Just how strong is she? thought both Juvia and the red haired girl, in awe of the black angel in front of them.

They'd heard that animals were sensitive to the strength of others, but they'd never heard of a dinorex running from an opponent.

Sure, they'd probably run in the face of a dragon, but to run from one of the human races…

Even if there was someone like that, it'd have to be someone on par with the famous Rose Princess Rozelia Ruby, who was said to be the world's strongest. At the very least, they'd have no business being an adventurer.

"Y-You… What's your level?"

"416."

Juvia reflexively did a spit take. So did the red haired girl.

It wasn't important, but Juvia was level 42. The red haired girl was also probably around there.

"416?! What the hell is with that level?! Why are you even an adventurer?!"

"N-no way… Even the elder of the forest was only 160…"

"Like, even getting past level 100 is rare! It's said that there may be around ten people like that in the world!"

Being in shock after hearing about her level was just natural.

For the standards of this world, a trained soldier would be about level 50 or lower, and those promoted to captain would be skilled if they were over level 60. Being in triple digits already made one a hero, and it could be said that those people surpassed human limits.

No, they, in fact, did surpass human limits. In the triple digits, a person could not only withstand a tail sweep from a dinosaur, they'd actually be able to catch the tail and turn it into a throw. Let alone being over level 300, at that point, the person would surpass any monsters or even the grimmfolk.

"To me, I'm still immature. I'm not nearly at my goal… No, my starting line. At the very least, I'll need to be level 1000."

"At the very least?! You'd be at the very top! Even the strongest being in the world, Rozelia Ruby, is level 600, and you're aiming higher?!"

"Of course. In the first place, this world's standards are strange. It's like the world is telling you to be afraid of monsters and grimmfolk and just keep running. As if it won't allow you to do anything else. Well, I'm not satisfied with allowing that unreasonableness to keep going forever."

Her statement was a roundabout way of criticizing the Goddess.

The goddess controlled every system in the world, such as the strength of beings living in it. The black angel deemed that strange and declared that she did not like this world that had set humanity as weaklings.

However, mysteriously, it seemed like she'd be able to fulfill all her goals.

"By the way, it seems you two are pretty strong yourselves. I never would have thought a dinorex would be killed by some other adventurers."

"…Well thanks. It just sounds like gloating coming from you, though."

"I'm complimenting you for real, though." The black angel pouted, unsatisfied, before starting to butcher the dinorex's skin and bones with a knife.

The materials yielded by a dinosaur were valuable. The red haired girl also quickly went over to the dinorex she and Juvia defeated and started to take it apart as well. Only Juvia sat and watched over them, green in the face.

"But you know, I wouldn't have been able to do it by myself. It's all thanks to that elf girl over there."

"Hm...the trees were all well cut, I see. It must have been amazing magic."

"Yeah. Oh, that's right. Why don't we team up from now on? I think we'll make good partners."

The red haired girl invited Juvia to form an adventuring party. Of course, there was nothing Juvia would like more. Juvia was a back-lining mage, so she wasn't suited for adventuring solo. On that point, she had no complaints about partying. The red haired girl filled all the checkboxes as a front-liner.

"How 'bout you, black-winged girl? There's probably a lot that's harder for you by yourself."

"Hm, not a bad idea. Not bad… but, if you're going to join me, I will have you raise your levels to an appropriate stage. You'll need to at least be able to defeat a dinosaur by yourself."

"No worries. I'll train very hard to meet your expectations."

The red haired girl stopped taking apart her prey, and violently wiped her bloodied hands on her skirt. After that, she washed them with some water she brought along and walked up between Juvia and the black-winged girl.

"Well then, let's shake hands now that we've formed a party. I'm Erza Belserion. One day I'm going to be the world's strongest warrior."

The red haired girl—Erza—introduced herself, giving a toothsome smile while announcing her grand ambition. Going along with that, the girl also stood, and after cleaning her own hands, she grabbed hers.

"I'm Luct. Ouzelia Lucifen."

Lastly, Juvia rushed to wipe her hands on her skirt. In the first place, she never touched the dinosaurs directly, so her hands were still clean, though.

Then, she took Lucifen's hand and introduced herself.

"I'm Juvia Lockser. Pleased to meet you."

That day, in a small forest, a single adventuring party was formed. They would later continue on to shake the world, breaking thoughts long held as common sense one after the other, but that's a story for the future.

Though they would one day part, for the present they were simple youngsters chasing dreams.

Haru Naru ♪♪♪ This World is a Comedy - Chapter 52 - Orange_Naru (2024)

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