--after fighting off the armies that were pouring into the kingdom.

　I obeyed the king's orders and crushed the abyssal labyrinth.
　Soon after that, an SOS was sent to the kingdom from the Teaching Kingdom.
　It seems that the Demon King's army, which saw the Knight Order of the Holy Hall as dangerous, had launched a simultaneous attack to crush the Church Kingdom.

　In order to fight off the demon king's army attacking the Church State, I immediately left the kingdom.
　We passed through the Aldrin Great Forest and fought off numerous attacks from the Demon King's army.
　Along the way, I was joined by Dionysus, the strongest warrior of the demon tribe, who had formed an alliance with the kingdom.
　This was the first time that the party of four of us - me, Lucifina, Ryuzas and Dionis - was completed.

''Hmm. I'm happy to have more friends.

　Lucifina smiling like that in response to Dionis joining the party was impressive.
　Though usually calm, Lucifina is serious.
　I remember being a little thrown off by her smile.

　After that, we had several battles with the Demon King's army, and it was soon after we arrived in the Church Country.


''-- Those who are far away, listen to the sound, and if you are close, come closer, what a mess!

　With those appropriate words, a woman suddenly stood in front of us.
　It was an orange-haired woman dressed simply in a white blouse and shorts.
　Wary of the woman's sudden appearance, we immediately took up a fighting stance.

Ladies and gentlemen, have a good day!　In this rough and tumble battlefield, an attacker like a flower has appeared!

　Not paying attention to us, the woman shouted in high spirits, shaking out her shaggy hair.
　Then she grinned and spread her arms while continuing to speak.

"I am the Demon King's Army--

　There was a thud.
　The woman didn't finish and fell to the ground, sprinkling blood on the ground.
The moment the word 'Demon King's Army' was mentioned, Liuzas and Dionis attacked.
　The woman is unable to even react, sinking into a pool of blood and convulsing.

''There are so many gaps!''
It's so much easier when the enemy is an idiot.

　Bullshit.
　You killed me while I was saying my name .......

'Oh, you guys ...... isn't that awful?'
"What?

　They both nod their heads at the same time.
　No ...... certainly there may not have been any reason to let them name you until the end, but .......
　If you are going to kill me this much without hesitation, I'm scared, even though I'm on your side.

''No, it seemed like an enemy, and it's not worth listening to.
Ah. Hey, Amatsu, if you say something sweet, the next thing you'll be the one who blows your head off.

　They both say they deserve it.

Hey, you two.

　Then Lucifina blamed them with a stern voice.
　Lucifina is a knight, you know.
　You can't let a surprise attack like this go by, can you?
　I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work.

　I was just thinking about .......

"It's just not good enough.

　As she said this, Lucifina gave chase to the fallen woman.
　The woman's head, which had continued to twitch and twitch, was blown off with a boshing sound.
　A lot of blood was pouring down like rain.

You have to stab them properly. The demon race has a strong life force.
Yeah, .......

　...... Seriously?
　No, I think Lucifina and the others are probably right on the battlefield, and I'm naive.
　But that's not what the brave party said and did .......

'That's terrible, these guys ......'
It's true. ......

　As I muttered, I heard a sympathetic word from next to me.
　A shudder, and a chill runs through my whole body.

''---''

　Quickly, I jumped away from the scene.
　Lucifina and the others also turned around with a bang at the same time.

''Oh, itata. It's not just that we were interrupted, we didn't think we'd be blown off our heads.

　What we saw out of our gaze was an orange-haired woman who was smiling and laughing.
　Her body had no wounds whatsoever, and her head, which should have been blown off, was connected.
　Only a pool of blood remained on the ground, but the woman's body was gone.

"...... You managed to completely repair the wounds in that short amount of time?

　Obviously, this was not a human's art.
　And even the demon race that I've fought against so far would not have been able to do this.

''You, who are you ......!

　The orange-haired woman said with a gaping smile.

''--Atakushi is the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King's Army, 'Sen-change' Hilda.

　It was a name I had heard many times before.
　The four heavenly kings ...... are also "a thousand changes".
　I've heard that they are the most troublesome demon race among the four heavenly kings, toying with the humans.

I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make it work. I'm sure you've heard of it. I've heard that name before.
Hmmm. You're well-informed that you know Atakusi, aren't you? By the way, Hilda is a good name, isn't it? It's so good that it makes me feel fate.

　While saying that, the woman with the kettle and orange hair - Hilda laughs.
　That out-of-place attitude gave Hilda an unearned sense of humor.

''Hmm?　Speaking of which, isn't that black-haired you are the brave one that's being talked about?　I think it's ...... amatsu. Hmmm, I'm nayot, but I think I feel something unfathomable. It's like a yabba-yabba-yabba-ish.

　Doing a strange dance, Hilda puts her hand on her chin and looks at me.
　Hilda's expression changed from one to the next, but her twin eyes were somewhat vacant.
　A cold sweat runs through her uncomfortable eyes.

''Hey, hey ......, what kind of a badass comes to a place like this ......!
...... Yeah?　What? Liuzas. What's wrong with this crazy b*tc*?　No, I've heard the bad name too.
Oh, shit. Don't you guys think about being careful. If you look away, you'll get killed.

　Ryuzas is also staring at Hilda, sweating.
　The fact that this man says this much means that he is a really bad opponent.
　He grips his sword and gets nervous.

''The red one there!　If you look away, you'll be killed, what the hell do you think you're doing?　It's sad to hear you talk about this Atakushi ...... like such a monster!　It's a reputational hazard!　Who did this to this world?　Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

　Hilda begins to cry loudly, with large tears streaming down her face.
　This was the moment I was taken aback by the change in her emotions.

''--Well, it's right, isn't it?

　In the blink of an eye, Hilda was moving.
　Her right arm pulsed eerily, changing its shape.
　Then the arm turned into a whole, red-black great sword.

'See, it can be annoying to be figureheaded, isn't it, so die.

　Hilda swings the great sword at me.
　With the sword I had drawn, I was able to strike back at Hilda faster than I could.

''--Ha!''

　Lucifina, who had been silent until then, smashed Hilda's side with the 'Tenri Sword'.

''Abibut?!''

　While emitting a strange voice, Hilda was blown away.
　The part that was cut exploded like a pomegranate, but in the next moment it wriggled and regained its original shape.

'Lucifina ......?'

　Lucifina, who had slashed Hilda, had a grim expression on her face, which was unimaginable from the usual.
　Her silver eyes stared sharply at Hilda.

''You're the one who's a thousand different, aren't you?

Lucifina lets out a low voice as she clothed the 'Tenri Sword' with magic power.
　Hilda flattened her fully returned cheeks.

Huh?　What's the matter with you? You look so scary. You're not nearly as beautiful as you are.

　He was about to say that in a playful way, and then clapped his hands as if he remembered something.
　Then he smiled in amusement.

'Ah. You're a survivor of that ...... 'Emilior'?
...... Yeah. Yes.

　Hearing that exchange, I remembered.
　I remembered that Lucifina's village was burned down by the Demon King's army in the past.
　And the name of the demon tribe that was in command at that time was...

"That elf village that I accidentally burned to the ground!　Ah, how are you doing?
''--!''

　Lucifina, baring her rage, slashed at Hilda.
　Hilda laughed happily and went towards Lucifina.
　Both of them collided with each other with tremendous force.

　This was the encounter with the "thousand changes" that would make us suffer many times afterwards.


◆

Amatsu-san!　We've missed you!

　Coo rubs his face against mine, his eyes watering.
　This is how the skinship of the human breed (Wardog) was done, he remembers from his heroic days.

　Previously, the Aldrin Great Forest had been raided from the Void Labyrinth.
　Demons were pouring down from the labyrinth, and at the same time the demons were attacking the Great Forest.
　When we rushed in, the human dog breed's (Wardog) compartment was under particular attack.

　The warriors were too busy dealing with the demon race and demons to do anything else.
　Eventually the demons began to attack the women and children who couldn't take refuge.
　It was at this point that we rushed in.

　We kicked the demons attacking the child and joined the warriors.
　As a result, we managed to eliminate the demons and demons that were attacking the large forest.

　The first children we saved were the two daughters of the human-dog wardens.
　The chief was very grateful to us, and the sisters we rescued were very fond of us.
　One of those sisters is right in front of me right now, Coo.

!　! ...... Hey, you!　What the hell are you doing?
'Wow, Amatsu-san!'

　Ignoring Elfi's voice of condemnation, Coo hugs me.
　I'm sure you'll be able to see the dismay of the other sub-people by her appearance.

'Hey ...... wait. You've got the wrong guy. Get away from me.
It's not a mistake!　I remember what it smells like!　I heard you were dead, but you're alive!
...... I don't know what you're talking about. Step away for now.
I'm sure of the smell!　It's definitely Amatsu-san!

　He doesn't try to move away, so I grab his shoulders and force him to pull Coo off of me.
　Then he looks her in the eye and says in a low voice

'I'm Iori Amatsuki. Please, stop calling me Amatsu. I don't like that name.
What?　But that's just your voice!　I mean, you're even younger than before!　Why, why, why!

　No, I can't get through to her.
　This guy was like this: .......
　It's been 30 years and she hasn't changed .......

　To begin with, no matter how much of a human breed it is, how can you be so sure of its smell and voice?
　No, ...... at least the human dog breeds I've been involved with shouldn't have been this sharp.

　In the meantime, the other human dog breeds showed up.

'Hey, coo!　What are you doing all of a sudden!

　From his voice, he's the human breed we were talking about earlier.
　I'm not going to be able to get it right.
　You will be able to see that he or she is working out and has a muscular body.

It's like this guy is my benefactor!
''Poy ...... how can a benefactor be so vague?''

　The man looks at me apologetically as he feathers Kuu, who is trying to come at me.
　Maybe it's because of Coo's attitude, but he seems to be less wary of us.

"Ah ...... Coo is sorry. Are you the benefactors of Kuu?
No, I think you've got the wrong guy.
Mmm. ....... Well, good. By the way, you said you two were adventurers, right?

　He nodded and spoke the words he had prepared.

'Did you know that a series of labyrinths have been defeated in various countries recently?
Of course. Wasn't the Abominable Light Labyrinth defeated not long ago?
Yeah. So, the only labyrinth left now is the Void Labyrinth. If we can defeat all the labyrinths, we can greatly reduce the strength of the Demon King's army. That's why we're here to gather information to defeat the last labyrinth.

　The man has a bitter expression on his face at my words.
　Only the Aldrin Great Forest will be the only one that hasn't been able to defeat the labyrinth.
　It wouldn't feel good.

''Then it's just fine!　Now we're in trouble in the Void Labyrinth!

　That's when Coo, who was being feathered by the man, came into the conversation.

'Hey, Coo. To an outsider: ......
I'm not an outsider!　You are my debtor!　He's going to help us again!

　Coo said, giving me a sparkling look.
　The man scratched his head and let out a loud sigh.

'...... I'm a human breed warrior, my name is Tovo Noven. What's your name?
I'm Iori Amatsuki. The two of us over here are Elfi and Verdia.

　As he said his name, Tovo muttered behind him, "Call the wardens.
　Then some of the signs disappeared into the forest.

'Hold on a minute. I've just sent word to the wardens.
You said the situation was imminent, are you okay with that?
Yeah.

　Tovo looked down at Kuu and let out another sigh.

'Kuu has very good ears and nose. He's like this, but he also has good instincts. I stepped on the fact that Coo is so forgiving, Iori-dono can be trusted.
...... I see.

　Is that why you were able to tell me who I was in a pinch?
　I didn't know Coo had that ability.

　A short time later, we were granted access to the Great Forest.

"We'll keep your weapons just in case, but are you okay?
Yeah.

　The main weapon is closed in Elfi's head beforehand.
　You're going to give Tovo a spare weapon.

Now, come with me.
Hey! Let's go!

　They lead us into the great forest.
　Coo was sticky next to me.
　On the way, I was curious about Elfie, who was strangely quiet, and Berdia, who was staring at me with cold eyes.


◆

　We proceeded through the forest.
　I couldn't see the forest from the outside, but it was different from the inside.
　Sunlight streamed in through the trees and I could see the blue sky.
　This is probably due to the influence of the wards.

　During the walk, Tovo told me that Coo is the captain of a patrolman.
　I heard that despite his personality, his instincts are uncommonly good, and he's also very capable.
　Maybe it was because of Coo's position that he let us in.

　After a while, we saw a building.
　From the looks of it, it looks like a warrior stuffing station or warehouse.

　All of the buildings are made of trees.
　Each tree seems to have been reinforced by magical power.
　Probably as strong as steel.

　The building technology seems to be more advanced than when I was here before.
　The technology seems to have improved in the last 30 years.
　Come to think of it, the last time I saw it, the fairy species (elves) were also made of wood and the earth fairy species (dwarves) were made of iron.

'Here it is.'

　And so it was brought to me, a most magnificent building.
　A few brawny-looking human breeds (war dogs) stand around the building.
　They stare warily at you.

"Have you recovered the weapons?
Yeah. I checked out the body.
Are you sure you're okay?　Even without a weapon, they might use magic.
'We're not Cathedral Knights, and there should be no reason for adventurers to fight us at this time of year. Besides, Coo has taken it easy on us, and the wardens have let us in. Let's just let them in for now.
...... Got it.

　After those questions and answers, we entered the building.
　On the way, we passed several human breeds and came to a fine door.
　Tovo called inside, and we heard a woman's voice say, "Come in.

'There's a ward leader in this room. There is a warrior in here too. Don't want you to get any weird ideas.
...... Mm.

　Elfie nodded grimly.
　His attitude is oddly stinging.

　Then he entered the room.

　Inside, it seemed to be an office.
　There was a large desk with many papers laid out.
　The person processing the papers was a female human breed.
　Is she the head of the ward?
　There was something familiar about that face.

　There are two men standing around her.
　I could tell by the looks they were giving me that they were quite capable.
　There are also some signs of some people outside the room.

''Coo. That man over there?''
'Yes, I do!'

　Coo answers the woman's question with a smile.
　The woman looked thoughtful for a while, then turned her gaze to us.

''Are you sure that you are the adventurers of the United States?
Yes, sir.

　He nodded and showed his guild card again.

'Come here: .......'

　The woman looked at me and said so.
　I did as I was told and approached the woman.
　As I walked up to the desk, the woman sniffed with a snort.

'............'

　After a moment of silence.

...... I'm sorry, but if you're not Coo, could you please leave once?

　The woman said.

'Nah ...... wardens!　That's a quirky one: ......

　Naturally, the men would disagree.

Please. These people will be fine.

　When the woman said this, the men walked out of the room, seemingly reluctant to do so.

'There is no need to watch this room. You all have other business to attend to.

　The woman said this to the door, and I could see the presence of mind disappear from the front of the room.

'...... style,'

　Then the woman let out a sigh when she saw that all of her friends were gone except Coo.
　Then, she slowly got up from her seat and approached me.
　After gazing at my face for a while at close range, she gazed at me for a while.

'Brother, brother, brother!'

　He tackled me.
　I took it, and she rubbed her face against me, just like Coo did.
　That's when I realized the deja vu I was feeling about this woman.

　Sepul Raymer.
　...... It's Coo's sister.
　Apparently, Sepul is the ward leader.

'You're alive. Good, good ...... good!
'Hey!　I never thought I'd see you again!　I thought you were in the underworld!

　From the other side, Coo joins me and rubs his face against mine.
　No, they completely know I'm an Amatsu.
　I'm getting a headache.
　I can't get my thoughts together these days.

'...... Hey, you guys. How long are you going to keep doing that?

　Elfie's low voice brought them both back to themselves.

'Shh, excuse me.'

　Sepul coughs up a cough and moves away from me.
　Coo, too, moved away from me, looking like he was going to miss it.

'I think you've misunderstood something, but I'm not the person you're talking about,'
But the smell, the voice, the face, it's almost like you're Amatsu-san!
...... coo. Be quiet for a minute.

　After silencing Coo, Sepul looks at us gingerly.
　Finally, he looks serious.

''Tovo told me what you told me, but can you tell me again why you came to this village?

　Again, let me explain why we're here.
　To summarize, we want information on the labyrinth of emptiness.

We've been racking our brains trying to figure out what to do with the void maze. We would be very grateful if you could help us. I don't know if we have what you want, but I can give you what we know about the labyrinth.

　After saying that, Sepul asked in a reserved manner.

''Ama ...... Iori-san. Have you ...... also come to help us?

　In light of our situation, Sepul called me Iori.
　I won't say I'm Amatsu, either.
　Amatsu is dead.
　And it's also because it's harder to act if information about me is passed on poorly.

'It's not.'

　He answers Sepul's question quietly.

'I have to defeat the labyrinth for myself. Therefore, it is not for your sake.
............

　Sepul made a pretense of thinking, then

...... All right. But it's almost nightfall. For now, stay the night. I'll let the others know.
Thank you to .......
I'll give you more information on the maze later.

　Thus, we ended up staying in the Great Forest.
　Before we left the office.

'...... Iori-san,'

　Sepul is holding me back.

'...... I know it's an impolite request. But could you please let me hug you again?　You are ...... much like our benefactor, so ......
You can go to .......

　Once again, Sepul hugged me.
　Coo, too, joined in and hugged me.

　Suddenly, I realized that Coo and Sepul were crying.
　Coo and Sepul have tears in their eyes.

'............'

　They turned their hatred and self-interest on him, and to the end of it all, Amatsu was killed.
　He was a fool, I've heard many people say.

　But what?
　I didn't know if there were people who were sad about Amatsu's death.

　That's what I thought.


I thought that...

　Then we were ushered into a building for guests.
　Thanks to Sepul said something to me, the warning glances from the human breeds were lessened.
　We walked into the room and finally let out a breath.

'I didn't think it was possible, but I really didn't think there was an old acquaintance of Iori's. And that was the wardens. Lucky you.''

　Sure, we were lucky that the watchman was Coo and the wardens were Sepul.
　Miraculously, I was lucky.

............
Iori?
...... Yeah. But I didn't want people to know I existed. There's going to be a lot of trouble.
Indeed. But I thought for sure you were going to meet someone you know.
...... No, I was just being circumspect.

　I was caught off guard because of their changing appearance.
　Unlike humans, subspecies have a long life span and their appearance changes slowly.
　They have a different attitude towards the thirty years and the changes in their appearance than humans.
　As a result, we were able to move in the right direction, but if we had made a mistake, we would have been in trouble.

'So it was just a coincidence, then?
'Yeah. Sorry.
'No need to apologize. But ...... that's not like Iori. Are you sure you're okay?
I'll be fine. I'll just have to think about it. I'll talk to you as soon as I get my head straight.

　...... It's no good.
　I can't get my head around that idea since I came up with it.
　That's all I can think about.
　I need to change my mind.

　Still, though.
　Verdia, who hadn't spoken a word until now, finally opened her mouth.

'...... Iori, she seemed to be good friends with those guys. They were hugging each other.
Hmm?　Oh ...... well. I seem to remember playing with it a few times because it was missed thirty years ago.

　I saved him from being attacked by a demon, and then he was stuck to me afterwards.
　It seems like we were together almost all the time when we were in the Great Forest.

　It's been thirty years since then.
　Things have changed a lot, with Sepul becoming a ward leader and Kuu becoming a warrior.
　Naturally, his appearance had also grown up.
　After all, thirty years are heavy.

''...... Hmph.''
What's with the eye?

　Berdia turns to look at me closely.

'Hmm. Iori's insensitive man.
What are we both doing?

　Why are you looking at me like that?

''Come to think of it, Iori was friendly with a human cat breed (warcat) girl in Hot Springs City as well.
'You mean Misha and Nyammer?　I miss it.
...... Come to think of it, Iori seemed to get along very well with those cat girls as well. ...... ha!

　As if he noticed something, Elfie wannabes and shakes his body.

'...... What's up, master?'
'I've heard it all before. Subhuman ...... that there are those who have a s*xual preference for those of beastly descent, too.
"......!　That's .......
No way. ...... Iori ......?
Hey, wait.

　That's when I tried to stop Elfi from saying something crazy.

"Ama...... Iori-san!　I'm here to play!

　Coo charged into the room.
　Coo came in at the worst possible time, and the conversation became very complicated.

◆

　Midnight.
　Elfie and Berdia were asleep and the area was completely quiet.
　I couldn't sleep, and I was sitting on a wooden deck, soaking up the night breeze.

'............'

　The trees around them swayed rustling in the wind.
　The moonlight was the only light that cast a pale glow on the surroundings.
　As I watched the scene, I opened my mouth.

'...... I know you're there. Come on out.

　Out of the corner of my eye, I call out to the trees.
　There's no noise, no sign of anyone around.

'Wow, they're going to know we're at this distance?'

　But with that voice, a girl appeared.
　It was a familiar girl with pink hair.

'Hey, it's me.'

　The idler was there.