The sun was peeking out of the mountains in the distance.
　Under the whitening sky, we were getting ready to leave.

　We have ten minutes left until we leave.
　I'm packing my bags and Verdia is preparing to return to her dragon form.
　Idler is alone, though, standing and paddling the boat with sleepy eyes.

'Verdia, are you feeling well?'

　From this village, you will travel on the back of Berdia to your destination.
　Berdia's condition is important because her physical condition affects her speed of travel.

...... No problem. We can fly to our destination in perfect condition.

　Verdia nodded widely, still in her human form.

'Yeah, okay. Hey, Idler. What about you?
What?　I didn't sleep. I'm a good sleeper, I didn't sleep at all!
What do you mean, I'm not a good sleeper?

　The idler wakes up with a shuddering body and a gurgling of dripping drool.
　Yesterday she was so bloated she was dying, but oh well, no problem.
　I've been observing this woman for the past few days, and despite her dumb demeanor, she's strong.
　Regardless of her physical condition, she will have the dexterity to overcome a crisis.

　The one we're heading to now is the demon tribe's fort that Gracia manages.
　The fort is located in the Demon King's territory in the center of Latesia, in the southern part of it.
　It has been set up to stop the advancing army from the empire, and there are not a few demon tribes that are waiting for it.
　In the past few years, no large-scale battles have occurred, and the number of personnel deployed in the fort seems to be decreasing, but we can't let our guard down.
　I'm sure you'll be able to find your way to Elfie's place by avoiding fighting as much as possible.

...... And yet, it's busy for an early morning.

　Even though the sun was just rising, the warriors of this village were in action.
　The warriors were running around busily and seemed to be keeping the village under tight security.

'We were attacked by a demon just yesterday,' said the warrior chief. The warrior chief has ordered us to be on high alert.

　Tyra, who had come to see me off, replied to my mutterings.
　It seems that the level of alertness is quite high, given that they are on high alert.
　I could see from a distance that two of Tyra's 'XO's' were giving orders to the warriors.

"Sorry we couldn't give you a proper send-off, Iori-dono,
No, of course not. Thanks for letting me stay the night.

　That's how busy he's been preparing.
　"Even Volk the Distortion said, "Thank God. And then he said, "See you later," and went off to do something.
　It's a strange feeling to be seen off by the enemy, the Four Heavenly Kings, and I'd feel better if they weren't there.

Iori-dono is not only strong, but polite as well. I wish you would stay in this village and have a baby.

What do you think? He asked with a straight face, and all I could do was laugh and say no.
　After exchanging a few words with a disappointed Tyra for a while.

The brave men and the Demon King's Army. We are enemies of each other, but the fact remains that the Lord has saved our village. If you're ever in doubt about where to go, come to this village. You are always welcome here.
Yes. Now, if you'll excuse me.
...... Viva la viva.

　We greeted Tyra and the warriors who had come to see us off, and we left the village.
　Once we were away from the village and no one else was around, we asked Berdia to take on the form of a dragon.
　It's a lot of trouble to be in the form of a black flame dragon in that village, as it were.

　I jump on top of Berdia and sit on her lumpy back.
　I wait for a while, but the idler doesn't get on.

'...... Idler, get in quick,'

　He looked down and gazed down at the village.

'Oh, yes.'

　He nodded and furtively climbed onto Verdia's back.

'What's wrong?'
'Hmm ....... No, it's nothing. And it's not anything I can do about it.
?

　The meaningful idler was concerned, but there was no time to take it easy.
　Verdia flapped her wings and began to fly.

　The estimated time of arrival is noon.
　We should be at the fort by noon.
　As long as we're out of the way.


◆

　Berdia accelerates and the distance between us and the village increases in the blink of an eye.
　Thanks to the wards the idler has put up, moving in the air is generally comfortable.
　When I turn my gaze downward, a number of mountains and valleys are moving away from me as if they were flowing.

　On the way, I could see buildings that seemed to be the demon tribe's stronghold several times.
　Being able to move around while ignoring the demonic tribes on the ground is probably a major advantage of being able to fly in the sky.
　The idler's magic is hiding our presence, which is one of the reasons why they can't find us, though.

''Now that our comfortable air travel has begun, let's talk about the future, shall we?

　The idler sitting next to him opened his mouth with a serious expression.
　I could see that Verdia, who was in flight, had turned her attention to her back.

In a few hours, we'll be at the fort. Since I'm blocking everyone's attention on the way there, we probably won't be spotted by the enemy. So the problem is once we get there. Unfortunately, I can't get into Gracia's fort.
May I ask why?
'It's simple. No matter how much we block out all signs, if we try to retake Elfiszak, Gracia will notice the intruder. If that happens, we'll be spared a battle.

　Yes.
　No matter how much, it wouldn't be that easy of an opponent.
　At worst, I might end up bumping into the Four Heavenly Kings in the middle of the fort.

''As you know, the fragile and dainty me is not very good at fighting. I'm confident that one stray bullet will kill me. I don't want to do that. That's why I can only support you up to the very front of the fort.
'That's enough. Even if I were to get into a battle with the Four Heavenly Kings inside the fort, I would at least be able to escape. So the fewer people that break in, the better.
"...... I'll follow you to your master.
Yeah. Verdia, come with me.

　Even in human form, Verdia was a good enough fighter. It wouldn't be able to slow them down.
　Besides, they could take the means of escaping on Verdia.

''It's a situation I'd like to avoid if possible, but if the demons surround us before we find Elfie, I'll use my mind-image magic to kick them off. Even if the Four Heavenly Kings come out, we should be able to forcefully deal with them.

　With the addition of Elfie, I'm confident that he can get through a battle with the Four Heavenly Kings and the demons in the fort.
　I'm not sure I'm going to be able to do this, but if it's the same level of competence as that of the "distortions" we fought before.
　It's a different story if you're fighting against the 'Rainy Gregoria' that I've heard of, or the 'thousand changes' class Four Heavenly Kings that I fought in the past.

"Don't let your guard down.

　Then, with a rather grim expression, the idler advised him.

''The 'Vanishing' is a descendant of the 'Levatein' clan that once supported the Demon King's army. Their battle prowess is not low. From what I've seen in the Church Country, it seems that they can also use lost magic.
We won't let our guard down. Worst case scenario, we'll fight. I'll avoid a fight as long as I can.
Hopefully he can avoid it. My guess is we'll be fighting head-on.

　Not convinced by my answer, Idler doesn't lose his grim expression.　

'You talk like you're convinced.
'Even if you don't have a reason to fight, Iori, that means Elfiszak has one.
...... What does that mean?

"Gracia is the avenger of Lady Elfiszak's friends.

　It was Berdia who answered my question.

'...... It was Gracia who sold Elfiszak-sama's people to Ortegia. That woman betrayed us.''

　Gracia killed Gregoria of the Rain, who was under Elfi's command, and it was Gracia who told Ortegia where Elfi and the others were located and killed her companions.
　It was Gracia who told Ortegia where Elfi and the others were located, and who got her friends killed.
　It was Gracia who forced Elfi to be trapped inside Lucifina's wards.

How do you know that?
"...... I heard it from Gracia's mouth. That woman has tried to kill me many times, too. That's when I heard it all.

　The unconcealed hatred mixed in with the flat voice sound made me understand the meaning of the words.

'Well,'

　Gracia.
　He had heard that name several times from Elfie's mouth.
　That he was one of the people who supported him, one of his trusted companions.

　He had mentioned that name many times, happily, proudly, sadly, regretfully.

　I saw Elfie before, in the Abyssal Labyrinth, and I thought.
"This guy's got to be one of my kind.

　I know. I knew he was just like me.
　What we wanted to do, what we are trying to do.
　The ends, the means, the means, the ends.

............ That's not all you need to know about us.

　I wonder if he is aware of Gracia's betrayal.
　And if he did, what would he think of it?
　Would he still be alive and well?

...... I'm going to get you out of here soon, okay? We're accomplices to a crime.

　Just as you help me get my revenge, I will help you get yours.
　So please stay safe.

　We'll leave the landscape behind and continue on our way through the Demon King's Domain.
　It will still take some time to arrive.
　I unclench my clenched fist, lick my bleeding lips and exhale.
　To distract myself, I talk to the idler for a while to gather information.

　The conversation dies down and I switch my attention.

　And then.

----!

　It wasn't long after that that Idler gasped and looked up as if she was going ballistic.
　The gaze of her wide-open peach-colored eyes is directed at a small mountain in the far distance.
　I turn my gaze in that direction, but I don't see anything.

　But

Enemy attack!　Iori, get ready to fight!　Verdia, turn in the direction I've instructed you to go!

　It was at the same time that the idler shouted strongly, with an expression of unprecedented urgency.
　Out of the corner of my eye, a small light flickered.
　A light the size of a pea grain became a small dot, then eventually a thin line.

　A moment later, I was made to understand what it was, whether or not I wanted to.

''Nah, ni ......!
'...... what?　Shouldn't the enemy be unable to find us because of the idler's magic?'

　The idler replied to Berdia's question, who didn't fully understand what was going on, with an impatient tone in her voice.

''Surely most of the opponents wouldn't notice my blocking of their attention!　But if you're dealing with a guy with a bad character who's familiar with this kind of magic (・・・・・・), that's a different story!　I didn't expect that guy to be near the fort!　

　It was right after the idler said as he shouted.
　Finally, they could see what was approaching.
　Berdia gave a small gasp.

　--I'm not sure what to make of it, but I'm not sure what to make of it.

◆

　The Four Heavenly Kings' Vanishing manages Fort Levasse.
　There is a woman standing at the top of the rocky mountain, more than ten kilometers away from there.
　The woman, dressed in a beautiful black and white dress, muttered with hatred and disgust.

''-- Why are you still alive?

　Her dress swayed and her gorgeous blonde hair was disheveled by the magic blowing from her entire body.
　The woman's twin eyes stared up at the sky in the distance, not caring that her hat was flying in the air.
　Two huge birds that were standing behind the woman gave a high-pitched cry as if in tune with the Lord's indignation.

　Taking that as her cue, the woman swung her great sword.
　Magic power rushed through the hilt of the great sword and concentrated in the center of the great sword.
　The magic power spiraled like a tornado, and soon a ray of light erupted from the blade of the great sword.
　The magic power that erupted pierced the heavens and blinked purple.

''--Enough of this, please die!

　Immediately after the woman swung the great sword down.
　An enormous amount of magical power turned into a slash, and it left in the far distance, grinding away from the rocky mountains.
　In the direction of the slash, a lone dragon was flying in the sky.

　The woman's gaze was directed at the lone man standing atop it.

''-- Hey, Amatsu-san,''

　The woman - Lucifina Emilior whispered, as if to spit it out.