Chapter 540: Nostalgic Comrades in Arms

――――The 95th day of training.

The west coast of Tazarnia was the site of the first battle with Hund’s army, which was planning to invade the Jiba continent. On the morning of the day of the decisive battle against Deris, Haruna and her friends visited this memorable place.

「Wow, it’s nostalgic. I think I fought Gustus-san here~」

「Is that so? I was being punished at that time, so I don’t really know about it.」

「Well, today, it’s just the starting point for us.」

The three of them stood side by side on the shore, gazing at the horizon. In the direction of their gazes is Judah, the place for the decisive battle. Of course, the distance between here and the continent of Judah is too great to see from here. However, Chinatsu had an eerie premonition, as if a faintly unpleasant presence was drifting from that direction.

「Sigh…」

「Hm? What’s wrong?」

「No, it’s nothing.」

「?」

「Hey, I know this is a little late to be asking this after guiding you all the way here, but… are you sure you want to cross this ocean without a ship? Even the nearest continent is several days away by ship, you know?」

The one who called out to them was Udberg, the hero of Tazarnia. He was accompanying the girls as a guide from the national border to here.

「What are you talking about, Hero Udberg? Just like us, they are heroes. Such a thing is a trivial matter, you know?」

「That’s right, Hero Udberg. Hero Johnny is right.」

「Haha, Hero Udberg. Are you trying to make a joke? Well, that’s pretty funny.」

「Gonzales, Big, Johnny! Stop with that weird attitude! We’re not heroes anymore! We were hunting normally until the king asked us to guide them, you know!?」

「「「Heh, good grief.」」」

Incidentally, Udberg’s pleasant companions were also with him.

「U-Um, Udberg-san?」

「Ah, sorry. They were acting normally after we returned to our normal lives, but since it was decided that we would meet you, they’ve been like this all the time. I don’t really understand why they speaking in such a strange tone.」

「Haha, thank you for your hard work….」

‘Maybe they will get along with Weerel,’ while thinking about such things, Chinatsu showed a wry smile.

「Still, are you sure? Our king asked whether you really don’t need a ship, you know?」

「Yes, we don’t need it! If we go there by ship, it will sink!」

「We can’t just borrow a ship while knowing it’s going to sink.」

「Huh? Sink?」

「Ah, no, we are just talking to ourselves. The destination this time is a little bit special….」

「I see…. I don’t know the details, but it looks like you’re involved in big trouble again. Could it be that the Demon King of the sea has started doing bad things again? Recently, some of the people from Adelheit who got permission from the government were having an outdoor party or something like that over here, and I was relieved to see the Demon King working diligently amongst them. Wait, I feel like it’s strange for a Demon King to work diligently like that….」

「Udberg-san, I think it’s better not to think too much about it. In this world, the more you get caught up in common sense, the more you’ll have a hard time.」

「I-I see…? Anyway, don’t force yourselves, okay?」

「Okay~!」

After such conversation and wamrp-up exercises, it’s finally time for the girls to cross the ocean.

「Okay, it’s about time. Thank you all for coming this far.」

「Let’s go!」

「I’m going!」

Then, they ran towards the sea. They aren’t wearing swimsuits, but wearing their normal clothes.

「Hey, swimming in the sea dressed like that… is….」

Udberg tried to warn the girls, but he stopped midway. After all, the girls didn’t swim across the ocean, but ran along the path of light that Chinatsu created. For Udberg, who didn’t know the details, it was as if they were running on the sea. It was no wonder that he stopped talking, or rather, the girls were running so fast that their figures were no longer in sight.

「Heh, as expected. Just like us, they are not heroes for nothing.」

「Don’t get caught up in common sense, huh…. I see, I learned something good.」n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

「You guys….」

「We can’t afford to lose. Hero Udberg, why don’t we head out to defeat the undead monster that recently appeared in this area? It’s rumored that it has an excellent sword.」

「Ha? The guild didn’t have that kind of request, you know?」

「Hero Udberg, it’s not about the reward. Or maybe you’re just worried about us?」

「You’re a worrywart as usual. Don’t worry, as long as the flames in our hearts keep burning, no matter how excellent the sword we cross blades with, our swords won’t break!」

「No, you guys use bows as your main weapon….」

After that, Udberg went along with his companions even while complaining. However, they didn’t find the undead with the excellent sword. Also, his companions returned to normal after they reported to the king and returned home. Tazarnia, the agricultural country, is at peace today as well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Haruna and the others, who left the Jiba continent from the west coast of Tazarnia, are still running in the middle of the sea. The weather is stormy, with violent thunder constantly falling, and big waves and tornadoes rushing in from all directions. There are also large sea monsters caught up in such disasters and get blown into the sky. No matter how you see it, this sea area is abnormal. Running through this area will take a heavy toll, and the girls――

「What a lively sea~. It looks like it’s going to be good training to swim in it!」

――Well, as expected, they don’t seem to be particularly concerned about it.

「Lively is not the right word for it. Well, I think it’s possible for us to swim here, but we’ll be late for the meeting with these clothes. Being late is a no. Absolutely!」

「Well, we’ll be fine if we keep running like this. Still, Chinatsu’s sparkling barrier sure is convenient. We can run comfortably even in the middle of a violent storm with this corridor-like barrier path.」

「It’s not sparkling barrier, but Reflect Fortress! I’m happy that you praised it, but you should at least remember the magic name, Touko.」

「Eeh, isn’t it fine? Besides, I’m grateful from the bottom of my heart, you know?」

「Muu…」

「It also played a big part during Vakala-san’s trial, didn’t it? Hmm?」

Haruna put her hand on her forehead and stared in front of her.

「……Yep. The closer we get to the Judah continent, the bigger the scale of the disaster, right? Chinatsu-chan, is the barrier still fine?」

「If it’s just this much, it’s still fine. Well, I can’t maintain it if were Nell-shishō or Ursula-san’s explosion.」

「「Then there is no problem!」」

The negative effects of the battle that the two Great Demon Kings did a long time ago are nothing to be concerned about. Thus, the girls are making steady progress toward the Judah continent.

(Sigh, it’s true that there’s no problem on the way, but… it’s troublesome that my skills are desperately telling me not to get closer to the destination. All members of the Great Eight Demons are gathered together, and they are more troublesome than the Irygal Sisters. Ugh, just thinking about it makes my stomach hurt….)

On the other hand, Goddess Chinatsu was in great shape today as well.