Master. Are you okay, sir?

"My brother ...... . Brother, I see that you have successfully left Albrus' imperial territory, what do you plan to do now?

"...... seems to be.

　Riding on the back of Locke, who has become a seamorg, I give a casual reply to Helu and Dora-chan, who call out to me.
　I still haven't come to terms with what happened in the Imperial castle.
　When we meet to rescue Lily from her hostage situation, Fitis and Amanes are taken from me.
　After all this time, I'm still bitter about my lack of claws.

　So far, I've been dealing with people close to me, such as Kasarina, Amarantine, my father and mother.
　That's why I was able to talk with them and trust them to a certain extent.

　But that guy is completely different from the previous opponents.
　If it's for a goal, he'll stick to his guns and do whatever it takes. I was wrong to be wary of the man known as the emperor from the start.
　I guess part of the reason is that I have lived a slow life in the other world.
　I thought this event would only be a matter of some event.
　This is another world. This is a world I've never known, where there are laws and societies, order and control.
　I should have been more aware of that.

In any case, we should take a break somewhere and plan our future strategy, brother.

"Sure, yeah. ......

In that case, master, why don't we go back to the house once?

"Home ......?

　I've been listening to Dora's words, and I remember.
　That's right, the town and the ramshackle hut I visited for the first time since I came to this other world.
　That's where I started in this world, that's where I met Lily and I decided to raise a demon.
　It's a long time ago, and a nostalgic breeze blows through my previously sunken heart.

...... It's true. It's been a long time since we've been back. If you go there, you might get some ideas.

"Yes!　That's right!　I've generated a lot of ideas for the master in the past, and we've worked our way through them each time, and we'll be fine this time, too!

"Oh, your brother's house: ....... Yeah, yeah, I'm kind of curious too.

Then it's settled. Brother, let's go home for the first time in a long time.

　Nodding at the sound of their voices, I instruct Locke to return to that town with Lily and the others, without knowing what's waiting for him there.
　You have no idea what's waiting for you there.






Master!　The city is in sight!

　I was drawn by Dora's voice, and when I looked ahead, I saw the town I knew.

It's been a long time since I've been back here.

　I hope Mina is doing well. After the cooking showdown at the Demon King's Castle, I asked her to come back to town, but it would be nice to drop by to say hello.
　As I was approaching my home for the first time in a long time, I saw it.

?　What's that?

　It was a figure of smoke rising into the sky.
　It was a dark cloud in the sky and a symbol of bad luck as it hung in front of my eyes like a fog.
　And the source of the smoke. There's something red coming up from where we're going.

...... lie, right? ......?

　The flames.
　Everything was burning red.
　Far above, below, I could see the house we used to live in engulfed in flames.

　It was once a ramshackle house that was unfit to live in. But I liked it.
　The boards creaked when the wind blew and leaked when it rained, but living in that raggedy house was a place everyone wanted to try when they were a kid.
　That's why I asked the people of the city to rebuild the raggedy house into a new wooden house with as little change as possible.
　A warm wooden house, my own home made with the help of the townspeople.
　It was on fire.

It's at ...... ......

　As I landed in front of the house in flames below, I was watching the scene in amazement when Jack and his friends landed here and told me a shocking fact: "It's not just the house, brother!

It's not just the house, brother. ...... Look at that!

　Jack pointed to a burning field that had already been consumed by the flames.
　Only charred coals and ashes filled the ground.
　And that's where I grew my monsters.

"...... It's a joke, right? ......

　I dreadfully approached the burned-out field.
　I saw the demons I had raised there reduced to ashes.
　I don't know how many demons were killed, but at least I could see that some of the demons that had escaped were reduced to ashes.
　I unknowingly took the ashes in my hand and clutched them together with no effort.

...... "...... Who did this to you?

　The current state of affairs brings my thoughts to a halt, but a man's voice from behind me brings me back to reality.

It seems you're the reason why the demon was created here.

　I turned around to respond to the familiar voice.

"...... lord, sir?

　Yes, there was my acquaintance, the lord of the city.
　He was standing in front of us with a group of soldiers behind him, looking down at us.

...... Is this the lord's doing?　Why do you do this?



"Why?　Of course. A demon is something that harms people. It's only right that it be defeated.

　It was so natural that the lord said that as a matter of course.
　The way he looked at me was too cold and full of hostility.

The demons you raised here at ...... were so well received by everyone in the city!　You asked me to lay the cockatrice eggs, too!　And why?!

　You're not going to be able to get your hands on any of them.
　But when the lord saw that, his response was unbelievable.

What are you talking about? What are you talking about? To begin with, you and I haven't even met.

"......, na ......

　The eyes of the lord who said that were not lying, and he only recognized me as an 'enemy' who had never met me before.
　Seeing that, I felt the worst possibility.

"Since you have a demon with you, it's obvious that you're the one who's been creating them here. I know that you were planning to use this place as a base for your invasion of the city, but I can't let you do that. We will capture you here, as you are the ones who produced the demons.

　Saying this, the lord instructs the soldiers who were waiting behind him, but Helu, who was next to me, takes my hand and starts running.

Brother!　Let's get out of here!

　As it is, Helu pulls me along and we run toward the city.
　We break through at once toward the soldiers in front of us and break our formation as if to break away from the scene.
　Along the way, the pursuing soldiers attack us several times, but Jack, Helu, or Locke disperses them and we manage to escape to an alleyway in the city.

　What's happening. What do I do now?
　Just when you're getting confused, Dora's voice sounds as if she has an idea.

Yes!　Master!　Let's go to Mina's place once!　I'm sure Mina will shelter your master!

"Mina, ......?

　Yes, we have a girlfriend in this town.
　I nodded at Dora-chan's words and started to move towards Mina's restaurant.
　I move discreetly through the back alleys and manage to get in front of Mina's store.
　Fortunately, there are no soldiers in the vicinity of the cafeteria, so we easily run into Mina's restaurant.

I'm sorry, Mina!　Help!　I don't know, but I think there's something going on in this town!

　When she opened the door and saw us entering in a panic, Mina looked startled and jerked her body, and the next moment she stepped back with a terrified look on her face.

Mina?　Oh, I'm sorry to rush you. But the house on the hill was burned down, and then the field where we were raising demons was also burned down, so we had nowhere else to go. The lord seems to be acting kind of strange, so I went to ......

　With that, Mina apologized and explained to me, but I couldn't believe what she said.

It's a good thing that you're ...... who?

"...... huh?

　What do you mean, Mina?
　Just as you are about to say so, Mina's unbelievable words come out of her mouth.

You are going to bring a demon and what do you plan to do to my restaurant?　And get out!　Please get out!

　Mina's screaming expression was clearly frightened.
　The moment I saw that, I felt my chest tighten somehow.

I'm not going to be able to get to ...... or even Mina.

　You've done it. but I couldn't bring myself to take it out on Mina.
　Rather, she's the one who got involved. She's a victim, so to speak.
　You're not going to be able to find out if you're not going to be able to find out if you're going to be able to find out if you're going to be able to find out if you're going to be able to find out.

I'm sorry ...... but I'll take care of it.

"Huh?

　For a moment, Mina looked at me as if she remembered something.

Hey, Mina. Can I have dinner tonight?

　I saw someone come into the store saying.
　We instantly start moving and leave the store, leaving the person behind.
　The moment we left the store, we bumped into each other's shoulders and felt something was said to us, but now, in order to avoid getting Mina involved as soon as possible, we have to leave the diner, while at the same time I was thinking about the cause of the situation.

　I've been thinking about the reason why this happened.
　This was definitely that guy's doing.
　Before the meeting, she must have studied me before the meeting and made this request to the meeting from the beginning.
　So, the other side was willing to make a move on you from the start.

　They did. But this is just too much.
　If it was just me, I wouldn't have allowed Mina to get involved.
　I ran with my friends deep into the woods, but in my heart was more anger at having messed with my friends than despair.





I'm not sure if that was ...... Kyou?　What's up with his panicked look?

What is ...... acquaintance?　Tom.



"What?　What are you talking about, Mina? He was a kyo and Mina, he helped you a lot. She talked about him a lot. What, did you get in a fight today?

"...... Kyou, Ms. ......

　Mina's mind seemed to have a gaping hole in it as she whispered that she had forgotten something important.
　It's as if you forgot something important.
　But then she caught sight of the boy's face and whispered his name again. Kyou.