Chapter 197

When I pointed that out, Erika’s eyes blinked .

And then, she averted her gaze .

[Let’s see...]

Returning her gaze to me again...

[Are you bothered by it?]

[I was just a little curious... If it was just because of your personality or if there was some deeper reason behind it . ]

Maybe it wasn’t just me that was curious about it .

However, no one asked her about it until now because they’re also being discreet .

[I had always been alone in this place, and there wasn’t anyone to smile for . Before I knew it, I forgot how to smile . ]

Her gaze dropping down to the floor, Erika’s freely swung her long, plump legs .

[—-is the reason that I would have normally said . The truth is that......]

The swinging of her legs stopped .

[One day, I’ve decided . I’ve decided that I would never smile while that goddess who stole this mistress was acting as she pleases while she has that smile on her face...... I’ll make sure that the next time I’ll smile is when Vysis is beaten beyond recovery . ]

[And you’re saying “Don’t make me laugh” instead in those times that you hear something that brings a smile on your face huh . ]

Erika lightly poked my thigh with the tip of her toe .

[That’s right . ]

“Stopping” a “smile” from spontaneously rising on her face .

Don’t make me laugh .

I’m not sure if those were really the original meaning of those words but......

Maybe it’s something like a resolve that Erika has set for herself .

(T/N: The original word used by Erika is 笑止 . It means “Don’t make me laugh” or “how laughable” . But Touka thinks that she used that to stop (止める) a smile (笑み) from appearing on her face . )

[You won’t smile as long as Vysis is walking around this world while swinging around her arms all around the place huh . ]

Pulling her leg back, Erika crosses her legs again .

[What do you think? It’s just as deep as you may think it is, but that’s also as simple for a reason as it can be, isn’t it?]

That also means...

[The reason why you’re regularly collecting information with your familiars isn’t just to know about what’s going on in the world......]

[I was also hoping that I’d get to hear about the day when “Vysis makes her exit from this world” . ]

I see .

[I’ve already heard you say it many times before but...... you must have really disliked that sh*tty goddess . ]

Looking out of the window, Erika stayed silent for a moment .

Her bluish-purple eyes doesn’t reflect the appearance of Seras and the others who are outside .

What they’re reflecting is probably something that is out of her sight—-

The world outside the Demon Zone .

[This mistress had intended to make this place my final home . But despite that—- I’ve also thought that it might be too soon . After meeting and talking with all of you, I thought...... Perhaps, I still want to enjoy the outside world . ]

However, as long as that piece of sh*t is around, she won’t be able to enjoy her life huh .

*Thonk*

Erika climbed down from the windowsill .

[And that’s going to happen only after my contract with the Sacred Tree ends . That’s why, it looks like I won’t be able to enjoy the outside world with Touka, the human . ]

She might eventually enjoy it with the long-lived Seras and Liz .

However, I might already be dead at that time .

[I guess you’ll have to put up with using a familiar to roam the outside world with me . ]

[I’ll do that . Even though it might be quite disappointing . ]

[Well, I guess I’ll get to see it while I’m still alive huh . ]

[What is?]

[Your smile . ]

What I meant is that—– I’m declaring to her that I will be crushing Vysis .

And Erika, with her arms folded in front of her, glared at me with her half-closed eyes .

[Those words you said just now—– You’re being too conceited, Touka . ]

[Fuunnnn...... It’s good enough if I could make people think like that . ]

[Well, how should I say this......, ......]

Erika placed her right toe on top of her other toe .

Then, with her gaze lowered, she said .

[......, ——-Thanks . ]

[............... . ]

[? What’s the matter? You have an unusual expression on your face . ]

[Hmm? No, errr, well......]

Well, that should be obvious why .

It’s just that I’ve seen something really unusual .

It was only for a second, but it was the first time I’ve seen it .

To be honest, I’m a little surprised after I saw it .

Hehhh...

I see .

She may have said she won’t smile but—–

[You could still get bashful huh . ]

I thought that not only has she stopped smiling, she also stopped other emotions from showing her face .

Placing her hands on her hips, Erika bent forward .

[I–still– have– emotions . Or rather, come to think of it......]

The faint residue of embarrassment disappearing, Erika’s eyes glared at me .

[Isn’t it just you who have never seen me being bashful before?]

[............... . . ]

Now that she mentioned it, it might really be as she said .

▽

Afterward, Erika showed me some magic tools again .

If there are things that I think would be useful, I can take them out as I please .

[It’s my thanks for the Japanese Sake . ]

—is what she said .

The Japanese Sake was of course, transferred from my leather bag,

This is the food that was transferred after I used it last night .

It seems like the brewery is from Yamaguchi Prefecture .

I’ve never tasted it before, but I knew about their name even as a high school student .

I had looked up their label online at some point and looked up how to read the kanji .

And Erika seemed like she’s quite taken by that sake—-

[I like you, Touka . ]

—That she said that while clung unto the bottle of alcohol without any hesitation .

[You really like alcohol huh . ]

But well, with that...

In return for the sake, I was told that “I could take anything” again .

[By the way, you don’t have any Gem of Teleportation left, do you?]

[They’re especially rare, you know . It has already been a long time ago since Erika got it . ]

[It would have greatly improved the amount of strategies we could use if we could freely use them......]

It isn’t just for emergency evacuation .

I think we can also use it for surprise attacks .

[Do you have any ideas where they might be available or how to get them? You once said that they were on the level that they could even enter the Magician Guild’s treasury......]

[I don’t think that Magician Guild would have some of it though . ]

Is that so .

[In that case, how about the treasury of a country somewhere?]

[Let’s see...]

Erika put her fingers to her temples and closed her eyes .

[For instance, I heard that Jonato Principality possesses a lot of valuables that are called “Sacred Relics” that only the Queen and the Saint are allowed to touch . ]

It seems that only those two people are basically allowed to come near the treasure room .

[As for the other places...... I heard a famous story about the Mad Emperor of the Mira Empire actively collecting valuable antiques . They were stored in a huge underground treasury in which Mira calls as the “Great Treasury” . There’s a chance that there might be an unused Gem of Teleportation there . ]

It is said that there are many ancient magic tools with unknown effects .

There might also be some cases where the effect can only be activated once .

It would literally be a waste if they were to use up that one-time usage just to check its effect .

Therefore, these unused items began piling up .

[They can’t just recklessly use it huh . ]

[That’s why many of them are abandoned until they found a record about them with details about it . ]

[I see . ]

[I suppose it’s partly because they also want to keep it as a trump card for their country . ]

[What about the other countries?]

[Other than them, I’m sure that Alion would have a particularly large collection of magic tools . ]

Well, I suppose .

[Jonato and Mira seem to have always been evasive in their own ways, but the other countries seems to have given such items to Alion as a “gift” . That means—-]

[That the Magician Guild belongs to the Goddess, along with all the valuables they possess . ]

In short, that sh*tty goddess is extorting them off their magic tools .

However, Jonato and Mira are said to be moderately avoiding having to “present” their own treasures .

The two countries are geographically separated from each other by a distance .

I wonder if that has something to do why?

[How about those people who could be personally owning them?]

[I don’t know . ]

Erika shrugs her shoulders .

[As expected, even Erika wouldn’t know much about those who personally collect them . If I were to guess one who have done so, I’d say it’s this Erika Anarveil . ]

I look at her collection in front of me .

[For those who were personally collecting them...... It’s certainly hard to imagine someone with the same collection as you . ]

Thereupon, I asked Erika to tell me a few stories about the Faraway Country .

Now then—

When we were done talking, I spent most of the time with Liz until dinner .

About 60% of that time was spent alone with Liz .

When Erika and I walked out to meet up with Seras and the others...

“It sounds like Liz has a lot to tell you, including her thanks for everything until now . ”

Or so, Eve whispered to me .

If you ask me, Liz and I hadn’t had much of a chance to talk to each other alone lately .

Liz talked about a lot of things .

I tried my best to listen while she talked to me .

I also answered some of her questions .

Most of the questions she asked were trivial though .

To put it in another way, they’re peaceful questions that won’t hurt anyone’s feelings .

To say that we had a peaceful time would be an understatement .

How should I say this...

I felt like I’m a little more relaxed too .

You could say I felt lighter .

Thanks to that, I might have had a nice break too .

And like that—- I realized that dinner time is getting closer .

Standing up from my seat...

[Thank you, Liz . ]

I thanked her .

[N- No! It’s me who’s thankful instead...... Ah—– It’s just that I may have been talking too much . However...... for listening to all the things I’ve said, thank you very much...... Touka-sama . ]

Saying that, Liz’s eyes and cheeks broke out a smile filled with shyness .

[—–I was happy that I was able to talk about a lot of things with Touka-sam today . Really . ]

Compared to earlier, the expression she currently had looked a little more refreshed .

It’s different .

From the expression she had back when we first met .

I’m glad .

I’m glad that she was able to make this kind of face .

I wholeheartedly think so .

Feeling like my lips naturally relaxed...

[Yeah . ]

I lightly nodded .

[I’m happy too . ]

▽

After dinner, we all stayed in the dining room until we became sleepy .

The first to feel sleepy was to take a bath and went back to their rooms before bedtime .

Incidentally, Erika was “drunk” from the sake, so she left quite early .

In the end, Seras and I were the only ones remaining there .

Pigimaru and Slei will be sleeping in the same room as Liz tonight .

They had just left for Liz’s room a while ago .

So, they aren’t in this room right now .

Erika brought it away, so there’s no sign of her golem either .

There were still some dishes and other things on the table .

[......I guess we should clean up now . ]

[Yes, let’s do so . ]

From either side of the table, we sat up our chairs and began cleaning up .

The discreet sound of tablewares coming in contact with each other......

Without stopping her hands, Seras opened her mouth .

[Speaking of which, that room we’re using......]

[Yeah?]

[It has become a lot tidier than it was when we came here . ]

[For all the work we did cleaning up that room, we’ll be out of here tomorrow though . By the way, did you get enough rest for the day?]

[Yes, both physically and mentally . ]

[I see . ]

And just when I could see that we’re about to finish cleaning up .

[You can go ahead and take a bath . I’ll take care of the rest . ]

[——Touka-dono . ]

With a rebuking tone...

Seras puts her hand on top of mine on the table .

[Where would you find a knight who would bath in a hot spring while leaving his king to clean up after a feast?]

[Then, I guess there’s always a precedent for everything . ]

[The reason why that is unprecedented is that it would disqualify you from being a knight at that point . Therefore, Touka-dono should go first . ]

I stared at Seras’s face...

[You really have to say it like that huh . ]

[Fufu, you could say I’ve learned a lot of things from you . ]

[But still, no thanks . I’ll go after Seras—-]

[Or perhaps...]

Clearing her throat once, Seras...

[You can get a bath together with me . ]

—or so she said, with a rather fearless smile on her face .

[If this is the case, there wouldn’t be anyone who need to go next or before after all . ]

It doesn’t seem like she’s thinking about the context of her speech .

Keeping my gaze down on the tablewares, I took a deep breath and said .

[Then, let’s go with that . ]

[ ? ]

[ ? ]

[.........?]

[ ? ]

[..............., —-Eh!? Are you sure!?]

And this is how the last night before our departure ended .

..............................

▽

Early afternoon of the next day .

We were above ground, having finished our preparations for departure .

We are now outside that hut nearby the lake .

Erika, Eve and Liz were there to see us off .

[As I thought, you’re going through the Western Demon Zone huh?

Erika confirms .

[Yeah . We’re trying to avoid the eyes of the public as much as possible after all . ]

[I gave you a map, so I’m sure you would be okay but......]

From hereafter, Eve won’t be in our group .

The method of measuring our current location by the distance between Eve and Erika won’t work anymore .

We will not be able to make use of that holographic map anymore .

[Perhaps, our best solution is to just keep on going west . ]

The other route we could take would be having to pass through Urza territory .

But on that route, in the end, we’d have to pass through the Souther Demon Zone again .

This would consume a lot of time while traveling past that distance .

In that case, the shortest way was still to go through the Western Demon Zone .

The period of time until the Great Demon Emperor’s death was also the time where I’m relatively free to move around......

Considering this, we should actively try to shorten the time we’re consuming .

We also have a map made by Erika, so there’s no need for us to worry about getting lost that much .

“That might be so...” Erika said as she put her hand on her chin .

[Even though you had the magical chariot with you back then, you still managed to run through half of the Northern Demon Zone...... If it’s the Western Demon Zone, you should be able to break through it . Besides, you’ve already managed to defeat something like a Confidant . ]

My status correction has increased from when we broke through the Northern Demon Zone .

Even Slei has also grown even more .

Moreover...

[I also want to gain some experience points . ]

In the meantime, I want to accumulate some experience for me to level up .

......Well, there are also other reasons why I want to pass through the Demon Zone .

Erika then approaches . Standing in front of me, she lightly straightened my robe .

[Anyway, I just hope that you stay safe—- ......With this, it’s alright . ]

Liz stopped petting Slei and took a step back .

She then straightened her posture and turned to face us .

[Everyone—- Please, be safe . ]

Seras has a gentle look in her eyes as she looked at her .

[Thank you . Please take care of yourselves too . ]

[Pigiii . ]

Pigimaru, who peeked out his face (?) from under my robe, followed up what Seras said .

It seems like it was correct for me to postpone our departure for a day after all .

The fatigue has clearly disappeared from both Pigimaru and Slei, compared to how they look like yesterday morning .

Eve, who stands in front of us with her arms crossed, opens her mouth .

[I believe that we will meet again, and I’ll be waiting here for that day to come . ]

[Well...... I planned to show my face again, at least when it’s over . ]

“Umu . ” Eve nodded .

[I’ll be expecting for that day, “My Lord” . ]

[......Yeah, you can count on it . ]

And now...

[Well then...]

I touched the Intermediary Crystal on Slei’s neck .

[It’s time for us to leave . ]

▽

Leaving from the lakeside cabin, we began moving while riding Slei on her second form .

Seras was riding behind me .

She had her hands lightly on my hips, slightly resting her upper body on my back .

Before we left, we discussed which one of us would ride in front...

“I think Touka-dono should go in front . ”

With that said, I was now riding in front .

Now, due to the number of people in our group, we could just have the two of us ride at the same time .

With the travel speed of a horse with two people riding behind her, we should be able to advance faster than when we passed through the Southern Demon Zone .

Even so...

[The Faraway Country huh . ]

I muttered the name of our destination, but still taking note of our surroundings .

Riding behind me, Seras slightly shifted her upper body .

[I’m also surprised that there’s a country where Demi-Humans and monsters hide existed . ]

Eve had also said that she thought “it was a country only in legends” .

[I heard that it isn’t a country that we could just enter without the “key” that Erika gave me or without being accompanied by these so-called Divine Beasts . I also heard that there are only two of these Divine Beasts on this continent...... Even she doesn’t know if they were still alive or not . ]

Besides .

Even if we get in for argument’s sake, whether we can get out alive is another story .

It’s a nation of people hiding from the world .

Will they just meekly let someone who knows their country’s existence out of their country?

Therefore, perhaps, we’ll need to gain their trust in some way .

[I wonder how effective could Erika’s name be in that place?]

[Erika-dono said that “If the king hasn’t changed, we should be able to get their cooperation just by mentioning her name” but......]

[—–That’s only if the king hasn’t changed . ]

Currently, the stance of those living in the Faraway Country today is still unclear .

Are they hostile to the Goddess?

What do they think about the Root of All Evil?

What are their impressions regarding Humans?

My gaze lowers down .

Would the presence of Pigimaru and Slei in our side be surprisingly useful for us?

This should make them realize that I have a friendly relationship with monsters .

It might not be a bad way to appeal to them .

[Either way, no matter what the case may be, we still need to meet the Forbidden Race so that I can use the Forbidden Curses . ]

I looked at the backpack that is strapped to Slei’s saddle .

Inside that backpack is three Spellbook of Incantations containing the Forbidden Curses .

The Incantations that was forbidden by that goddess .

I must first ascertain the nature of these spells .

That will change my strategy for the future . n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

It’s just that—-

Depending on how you look at the situation, our goal might be closer than I thought .

In the Faraway Country, I would meet the Forbidden Race, the people who would enable me to use the forbidden curses .

And with that Forbidden Curse I’ve learned—– I will crush that sh*tty goddess .

In the grand scheme of things, that’s all we have to do .

Therefore, the only thing left to do is to eliminate all the hindrances in our path—– and push forward .

Vysis probably thinks that she’s making everyone dance on the palm of her hands .

However, from our point of view, I wonder how will that goddess dance before “our plan” .

In particular, the existence of the “Fly King Squadron” will be a source of worry for Vysis if we managed to do well .

[........................... . ]

In that sense, I could say that the fight against that sh*tty goddess has already begun .

[Making use of Sorcery, he was barely able to defeat the Great Demon Emperor’s Confidant...... In the large scale battle at the Anti-Demon White Castle, he made a tremendous contribution to overturning the war situation—– He may also possess some rare items that appear to be ancient magic tools...... Moreover, he’s making use of a gigantic horse-shaped monster...... Formerly known as Ashinto...... The group of mysterious sorcerers who have brought the “Humanity’s Strongest” to his death...... Moreover...... Fufu...... This is quite a pleasant surprise, I never thought you were still alive huh...... Seras—– Ashrain . ]

Reading the report, Vysis...

[I see . ]

—tossed the report on the desk .

[“Fly King Squadron”—— Quite interesting indeed . ]