The Demon King's army has been intensively targeting the kingdom that summoned the brave men.
　It seems that several Four Heavenly Kings are out in force to prevent other countries from sending reinforcements.
　At this rate, it's only a matter of time before the enemy comes crashing down on the royal capital.

　How long had it been since he had heard such a story since he had become a hero?

　Against the Demon King's army that was gradually narrowing the siege, the kingdom chose surprise attack.
　In the current situation where multiple Four Heavenly Kings are coming, the longer the battle drags on, the more the kingdom will be exhausted by the difference in individual power.
　In order to avoid this, they decided to steal the enemy's attention and launch a surprise attack, a short battle.

　Naturally, the person who would play the most important role in that surprise attack was me.
　If I had enough strength, I could have used my bravery to fight them head-on.
　However, at that time I was unsuitable for long term battles due to my poor handling of magical power.

''If we continue to advance north through this forest, we can come out right next to the enemy's battalion. Now, let's go before the enemy finds out what we're doing.

Oh, yeah.

　It was a deep, unsteady foothold in the forest that we had to navigate.
　I knew this as knowledge, but of course it was difficult for a mere high school student to proceed smoothly through the unstable foothold of the forest.

''Ugh, oh!''

　I almost slipped and fell many times as my only thought was to move forward on the muddy ground, exposed tree roots, and moss-covered rocks.

'Oops. Are you okay?

　The one who quickly supports me is the blonde knight walking next to me - Lucifina.

''Are you hurt?''

"...... Oh. Sorry. I'm slow to move on, and I keep bothering you.

'It's not true. If you do something unfamiliar, it's only natural that it won't work at first. Besides, you are fighting for us, so there is no need to worry about anything.

　There's a trick to walking in these places,
　Lucifina told me, smiling.

'You Lucifina and your friends are awesome.

'No, no. If you become a knight, you will be taught how to walk so much in training that you will hate it. I was born in the forest, so I was able to walk naturally before I was trained.

　I was feeling pathetic, but Lucifina followed up with a soft tone.

"Haha. But if you keep going at this pace, the sun will be going down.

　I heard the sound of a gruff man's voice coming from just behind me.
　When I turned around, I saw a red-haired man wearing a robe, sweating as he walked.
　As I recall, it was the man named Liuzas, the court magician who led the magic division, right?

''Mr. Liuzas. I'm not sure how to put it that way.''

But it's true. So, why couldn't Melt-Sama give you more flexibility?

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

　As a brave man, I decided to fight.
　But there were too many things I lacked.
　The reason for this is because I had never done anything in my former world.
　I was just going through the motions, and I didn't even want to do anything.
　So in this situation, I can't do anything about it.

　That's when it hit me.

"Mr. Liuzas, look up.

What?

　Shortly after Lucifina obeyed Lucidina's words and Liuzas looked up.

''Uh, oh!''

　Liuzas stepped on a tree root that was protruding from the ground and slipped and rolled on the ground.

''Hey. It's because you speak ill of people.''

　Lucifina scolded her as she forced the fallen Luzas to stand up and puffed out her cheeks.

''Tch ...... that's enough. Hey brave man, at best, watch your feet and behind you.

　Blushing, Liuzas stepped back with a cluck of his tongue.
　Lucifina looked away from the scene, angry.

Hmm.

　I gushed, with a mischievous look on my face.
　I was quite surprised by Lucifina's words and actions, which seemed to be serious.

''Don't worry about it, it's fine. I've said it, but Mr. Liuzas isn't very good at exercise either. Perhaps you're better at it than I am.

　At the same time, I felt lightened by the follow-up she was giving me.

Thank you for .......

'No. But please don't think badly of him. He looks like that, and he's a very caring person. It's just that he had a hard time a while ago and I think he's upset.

　We walked through the forest, talking about such things.

　It's now a distant memory.
　Events from a sweet, pathetic time.

　Thinking back, I think.
　I'll never be able to return to that time, to my honest self.
　It's just sentimentality.



　-- We are in a forest covered with dense trees.

　When I heard of the underworld, I vaguely envisioned a place that looked like heaven.
　A place covered in yellow clouds, where anything you wanted could pop up.
　But in reality, it was different.

　A place where there is ground, nature, and physical laws that are similar to those of this world.
　This was such a real place.

'--talk later. Let's get the hell out of here before they find out how nasty it is.

　As soon as I fought off the strange monsters, and before I had time to ask what was going on, Ryuzas began to walk away with Tucka.
　I was hesitating about whether I could trust this guy, but Lucifina started walking with my hand, so I decided to follow her for now.
　And so I followed her to a forest.

　The forest is muddy and has poor footing.
　We avoided the roots and rocks that were exposed and continued on.

''It kind of reminds me of the old days, doesn't it?

　As I stared at the back of Liuzas, who silently went on ahead of me, Lucifina, who was walking next to me, suddenly muttered something like that.
　Lucifina's biting voice, as she was choosing her words.

We should be in the clear for now.

　In the open, Liuzas stopped in his tracks.
　As he waved his wand, the light rippled around him.
　A warding that hides its existence.

　Ryusas cut a nearby tree with his magic and sat down on its stump.
　Using the sword that Lucifina also had in her hand, she made an improvised chair and told him to sit down.

'For now, it's good to see you, Iori.

...... Yeah. But I'm sorry, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the situation. Why are you two here?

　It's been a long time since we've seen each other, and there's no time to rejoice.
　As for those monsters, I can't help but wonder if these two are here and working together.

''Do you have any idea where we are?''

The netherworld, right?

　Nodding with a serious expression on her face, Lucifina continued her words.

'We have a rough idea of the situation Iori-san is in. That's why we were able to rush down to Iori-san, who was being attacked by the wreckage.

You know about me?

　I don't understand the details, but this world and the underworld are not supposed to be able to interfere with each other.
　How could I know my situation while I was in the underworld?
　Or are we free to look at this world from the underworld?

'That's the aspect of thinking stupidly. It's simple. I saw that Hardia shit leave the Underworld a while ago. I sent my eyes right where he went in.

We saw her fighting with you guys.

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

Ha. But you really don't learn anything, do you?

　With a twisted smile on his face, Liuzas said as if he was going to spit it out.

"Well, it's no laughing matter if you trust someone else and then get betrayed.

...... What?

It's true. If you want, I can kill you right here in front of me so you don't look any more like an idiot, Amatsu.

　That's when Liuzas sat up and was about to raise his wand.

'Hey!'

Oh.

　Lucifina's fist plunged into Liuzas' stomach.

''What the hell are you doing?!''

'You're the one talking nonsense, Mr. Liuzas!　We talked a lot before we came here about not doing that!

Ouch. Hey, stop it, you idiot!

You're the idiot!　Hey!

　Lucifina puffed out her cheeks as she popped the head of Liuzas, who fell off the stump, choking, and punched him in the head.
　The situation seemed to have drained the venom out of him, and he sat down again on the stump with his tongue in his mouth.

''I'm sorry for saying something strange, Iori, Liuzas-san. But it was thanks to Liuzas-san that I was able to find out what was going on outside and save Iori-san. Could you please listen to me for a moment without fighting?

　If I was wrangling with Liuza, we wouldn't be able to talk about it.
　I didn't like it, but I decided to listen to him for now.

''I came here, probably shortly after what happened with the Void Labyrinth.

　When he woke up, Lucifina was already in the underworld.
　The thought of that time passed through her mind and made her feel pain in her chest.

　As soon as she arrived, Lucifina realized the situation the underworld was in.
　This is not a paradise as we are told in this world, but a hellish place where the weak are preyed upon.
　Those with weak wills and strength would not be able to withstand the air of the underworld and their souls would be melted away.
　Even if they could avoid it, they would be attacked and killed by those who spread themselves wide here or by the wreckage.

''I soon realized that the reason the underworld was like this was due to the authority of Hardia, who rules this place. Hardia, sealed by Master Melt, is distorting the underworld.

　It seems that Lucifina was just starting to do something about this place when Lucifina met Ryuzas.
　At first, Lucifina managed to convince Lucisus to attack her without questioning her, and Lucifina managed to convince him.
　At first, Liuzas was skeptical, but after hearing about Hilde Garda, he was convinced.

'Nevertheless, it doesn't change the fact that my body is guilty of ......

That scum was killed by Amatsu, right?　It doesn't matter now because you haven't even been able to come to the underworld anyway. If you didn't want to do it, there's no point in bullying them.

　The fact that I'm in the underworld means that at least Lucifina has died satisfied.
　I couldn't do anything about it, and I have no right to say anything about it.
　Just knowing that Lucifina's death wasn't just about regret and pain is a bit of a relief.

　It's not that I don't have thoughts about ...... luzas coming to the underworld, though.

'...... Yes. I'll continue the story.

　Even Liuzas, who had come to the Underworld first, understood the horrors of this world.
　The two of them worked together to do something about it, and soon afterwards, something strange happened.
　Hardia had opened the gates of the underworld.

　From there, it was just as we heard earlier.
　The two of them saw what happened and came down to me after the battle, and now they're here.

You're not going to be able to get your hands on any of these things.

...... What's that wreckage?

It is the end of a person's life who has lost their ego. The souls of those who have been dissolved by the miasma of the underworld are called 'wreckage' here.

　That's why it's a wreck.
　I finally understood the identity of these people whose appearance cannot be taken as either demons or sub-humans.
　It's a very disgusting story that this is the end of the victims of the underworld.

Iori-san, what do you plan to do now?

　In the heavy air, Lucifina opened her mouth again.

'I'm out of here and back to this world. I owe Hardia a debt that needs to be paid back.

So you and I are on the same side?

　Lucifina laughed, as if in relief.

'We're going to head to the gates to stop Hardia, too.

If by "we," you mean "you" too?

　I turn my attention to Liuzas, who was silent with a grim expression.
　I can vaguely guess what kind of purpose this guy is working for.
　If you've been listening to the stories in this world, then you know that the forest where Ryuzas lived was attacked by the Demon King's army - the reason why my sister died is because of Hardia.
　If the reason why this man betrayed me is 'my sister's death', then the action this guy will take from now on is fixed.

　But that's not a reason to trust Liuzas.
　The reason for my sister's death is partly because I am the cause of the situation in which she died.

Yeah, that's right. But I'm not going to play nice with you, all right? If I can kill Hardia, I don't care what happens to me. I will kill that stupid fallen god of light all by myself.

"...... Mr. Liuzas. I know I have no right to interfere in your and Iori's situation. But you know that, don't you?　At least one person can never get to Hardia's bottom by themselves.

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

Iori-san.

　Lucifina's silver eyes stare straight at me.

' ...... I was betrayed by that guy. That's why I killed him in the Abominable Light Labyrinth. The revenge itself is already done. But that doesn't mean I can't be friends with that guy. It's not a good thing to get stabbed in the back again. There's no way I can trust you.

　So.

-- can't you trust me?

　I was a little surprised by that statement.

'Of course you can trust Lucifina,'

　Thirty years ago, I found out that Hilde Garda was the cause of what happened.
　Then there's no reason for me not to trust Lucifina.
　Because Lucifina was exactly what I thought she was.

''Hmph, thank you very much. Then can you leave the matter of Mr. Liuzas to me?

　After smiling happily, Lucifina turned her gaze to both me and Liuzas before suggesting that.

''As I said before, I have no right to interfere in the circumstances of the two of you. But now, our objectives are united. It will be impossible to get to the gate without all of us working together. So for now, I'm asking you to work together.

----

If Liuzas-san were to harm Iori-san, I will definitely stop her. I'll protect Iori-san and show her that I'm here to protect her.

----

'And I trust you, Liuzas-san. By the time I came to Iori, I made him promise not to hurt you. That's why I don't think he would ever betray you. Isn't that right, Mr. Ryuzas?

The only person I'm targeting right now is Hardia. No more, no less.

　Lucifina extends her white hand to me.

'-- Trust me, will you help me now?

　I remembered Elfi's words.
　See for yourself whether you trust him or not, and decide for yourself.

　I trusted the idler and he betrayed me again.
　Now I know that he was using some kind of magic to mess with my mind.
　He used my sweet heart and soul to get in my way.

"I can't trust Liuzas after all.

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

'But I believe in Lucifina. So I swear you won't do anything to Liuzas from me.

　He grabbed Lucifina's hand.
　Her hand, which she held, was cool and cold.

''Then it's the heroic party reunion from thirty years ago!

　Lucifina said with a cheery smile as she squeezed my hand back.

''Since we're all here, we should be able to do anything we want now!

　...... well.
　There isn't one.

There isn't one.

　The words that were kept inside were uttered by Ryuzas without reading the air.
　Lucifina froze for a moment.

''-- Since we're all here, we should be able to do anything now!

　Lucifina repeated, and Lucifina let out a sigh and fell silent.
　I couldn't nod, like I used to.

　Still.
　I clenched my fists, saying that I would avenge Elfie's death.