The operation to retake Shea ended without a hitch.

　The ship's side had no way to beat me and Rainer, who were moving freely on the sea. We succeeded in getting Shea out of the harbor and faced her on the road away from the harbor.
　Shea continues to take my hands in hers, waving them around and thanking me in an exaggerated manner.

'Thank you so much for your help!　I thought I was going to be sold into slavery!　My life of slavery is about to begin, but I was just getting up the nerve to not give up hope!

　Ryner pokes at Shea's head as he thanks her for her energy.

"Don't give up there. When you're gone, the blame will be on me!
Thanks, Rai!　You're new, and you're amazing!

　Shea waves my arm around for a moment, and then pats Reiner's head.

"I didn't save you for you. As long as you're present at the party, I'm just doing my minimal duty.
'But Rai-chan had the right to refuse that duty. Still, it was only because Rai-chi was so nice to me that he helped me!　There's no doubt about it!
'Huh ....... Well, just go ahead and do what you want .......

　Ryner grabs Shea's arm and starts walking down the street.
　If you let go of that arm, you will be lost again. He's holding it so strongly that I can feel those thoughts.

　I walk side by side with them, too.
　Then the friendly Shea speaks to me with a smile.

'By the way, Aikawa-san is an amazingly nice person, isn't he? I've been fooled until now, little guy!　If there's anything I can do to help, please let me know!　I'd like to thank you properly!

　Well, the dazzling ......!
　I narrow my eyes at the innocence that reminds me of the Dear I once was.

　I sense the missing ingredient in my current party, and I can't help but cry.
　I'm ashamed of myself for thinking in the corner of my mind that I should take her hostage in the Palinkron battle.

'You're so good you'll want to change with one of our guys: ......

　Porridge's true feelings come out.
　But Ryner denies it with a bitter face.

'Don't be fooled, Christ. It's like this, but he's the nastiest guy in our house.'
It doesn't look like it, but ......?
The trouble is that it doesn't look that way.

　They say that if you're not careful, you'll get in trouble.
　I remember my purpose and ask Shea, who is like a puppy waiting for orders.

Then, Shea. I'd like to ask you something, if you have a minute?
'Yes, you can ask me anything you want!　I'll answer anything to Kanami, who saved my life!
'Well, I'm here for Palinkron, and if you know where I am, I'd like to know. Don't you know?

　As her niece, she should have known.

'I know!　If it's your uncle, it's a bit further north. As I recall, I'm told he's on the front lines, commanding the army!
"...... Finally!

　When he was in Lauravia, Palinkron had blurted out that he would be summoned as a general. After all, that guy seems to be in the middle of a war.

'I'm not sure, but I hear he's playing the role of chief of staff to the 'South' general!　My uncle has become quite a big deal, I'm surprised!
Does that tell you exactly where you are?
'I understand!　Just the other day I wrote to you and asked you where you were. Our party is just on its way, too, so!
Oh, you guys are headed to Palinkron too?

　I'm surprised that the destination is covered.
　I look at Ryner, not Shea, to confirm the truth.

'Yeah,'

　Ryner readily admitted it.
　Then he exposed his purpose without hiding it.

'I will ask Palinclone for more information about Hailey's birth. Of course, I will also question him about his brother. Depending on the details, I will fight the Palinkron one.
I see. ......

　Before I knew it, Ryner's priorities seemed to have changed. I could see why he wasn't bleary-eyed when he looked at me.

'I'm going to go get my uncle some pocket money!
'Oh, I see. ......

　And we can see that Shea is not informed about anything. She sees her uncle as just another family member.

　As much as possible, it was best to stay away from her.
　Aside from Ryner, I can't act with Shea alone.
　If she's around, that's the only thing that will slow down my judgment. --No, it's already dulled. I must avoid this anymore.

　I'm going to ask only the information I need in order to part ways with Shea as soon as possible.

"Okay, Shea. I need you to tell me right away. I need you to tell me the details of the place.
'Yes!　Well, I think I know where my uncle is. Well, I'm not sure... Huh?　Err... ......

　Suddenly, Shea starts to growl.
　Unable to see, Ryner interrupts him from the side.

'Christ, it's impossible for this guy to remember all those details, so just give up. If you want to know, come over to our cottage. The letter in there will tell you everything you need to know.

　Reiner doesn't seem to be able to get into the details either. He recommends that I should look at the letter I received.
　It's more credible that way. There was no reason to refuse.

'All right, then, I'll stick with you guys for a bit longer.
I'm sorry!　Kanami!　Just because I'm an idiot!
No, that's fine. I don't mind.
Wow, he's really nice!

　Shea hugs me from right beside me to my waist.
　She seems to be moved by the action, but her restlessness makes me impatient.
　Shea is small. However, her spirit feels even younger than her young body. I can feel a distortion similar to that of the Jewelcrus, but her status does not include the word "body".

　While playing with Shea, who we've missed for some time, we head to the villa.
　Apparently it's far from the sea.

　We pass through a large square and a marketplace, and come to the outskirts of town where we can see the plain. There, a splendid mansion stands in the middle of the town. However, I can't say that the house is not well managed to be flattering. Dead grass is growing all over the place and the exterior is old.
　However, from the gate to the entrance, it's clean, so you can tell that it's been cleaned at the very least.

''This is the Legacie family's villa. However, I'm using it on my own as a neglected one.''

　With Reiner leading the way, the large doors of the villa open.

　It is a modest wooden mansion. There are few furnishings, and it looks lonely compared to the mansions I've seen around in Lauravia.
　The interior is not much different from the exterior. Although the conspicuous parts look clean, if you look closely, you can see a lot of dust collected in the corners.

Then, I'm going to go get a letter!

　Shea runs off at a trot to the back of the building.
　Ryner and I are left at the front door, and I'm left with nothing.

I'll show you to the guest room. Follow me, Christ.

　Reiner seems to think of me as a guest. I guess it's not his style to leave a guest standing in the doorway.
　He leads me in the opposite direction from where Shea left off.

　We continue down a corridor with cobwebs stretched across the sky, and after opening three doors, we reach a room with a large table in the middle.
　But unlike the others, it's not even minimally cleaned. The table and chairs look unusable, with dust collecting on them.

''-- 'WIND'

　Ryner cast a wind spell and tried to blow the dust away.
　I held my mouth and tried to prepare for the dancing dust, but the dust didn't fly towards us. The liner's precise manipulation of the wind drove the dust into a corner.
　In a few seconds, the room was transformed into a guest room that looked as if it had been cleaned once. Of course, if you look closely at the corners of the room, you can see that dust has collected.

　But the air was never bad. The air conditioning is perfect, thanks to the magic of the liner.

'I'm sorry, Christ. I hope you'll bear with this.
No, it's good enough. It's a hundred times better than those cheap hotels.

　I sit down in a clean chair.
　Reiner also sits in the chair to take a break.
　A moment of silence envelops the drawing room.

　Neither Reiner nor I feel the silence is painless.
　But I think it's a waste of time to just wait, so I think about a topic to talk to Ryner about. Then I decide to ask him about his family. As I recall, he had siblings in addition to Franlure and Mr. Hein.

　He calls out to them to talk about each other's families - that's when it happened.
　With a violent sound, the door to the drawing room is opened.

　Two children, dressed in bizarre clothing, enter.
　Although they are children, they are taller than Ryner. If Ryner is in the lower grades of junior high school, these two are probably in the upper grades of junior high school.

　The two children get along well with each other, and cling to Ryner.

It's a good thing that you're back!　Rai-kun!
Welcome back, Reiner: ......

　The two children were a perfect match.
　Like twins, they had the same face and similar voices. There is just one big difference. The color they wear is different. The hair of the one who greeted her loudly was red and the hair of the quiet one was black. The color of their frilly outfits is also differentiated by red and black.
　I'm not sure, but they're probably (・・・・) both girls. I don't think it would be rude to check with "Dimension", so there's no way to be sure.

'You guys look great, hey ......!　Didn't you guys say you were stuck with a cold in the morning ......!

　Ryner moved away from the two men who were rubbing up against him, a blue streak in his temple.

'What, a cold?　Yeah, that one's already healed, right?
You were fine to begin with, weren't you?
When Rouge and the others fight, the magic stone inside their bodies decreases. Or do you think they want us to die an early death? Rai-kun...

　The distant red girl makes a limp and smiles like a little devil.
　It's a gesture that's probably because she knows what she looks like. She spins around and makes her red ruffled dress dance, showing off her pretty features to the best of her ability.

'I didn't say that, you blokes ......!
I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Ryner. Sorry for not keeping up, Noir and the others.

　The girl, the black one, repeats her apology to Ryner. I don't know if this one is acting with an understanding of her appearance. But the way she continues to look up and ask for forgiveness is foul. Any boy his age would be cheered.

　With a bitter look on his face, Reiner tells the black girl that she doesn't need to apologize because he's not angry anymore.
　Then they both lighten up and sit down in chairs near Ryner.

''But, how could you save Shea-chan when you couldn't use your hands? You are a knight, right?　You can fight without a sword?
I didn't do it alone. I had help from the heroes of Lauravian.

　Reiner swings the conversation towards me.
　The red and black girl's eyes turn to me. With an amused look, the red girl checks with Ryner.

''Heh. This customer is a hero.''

　I answer before Ryner does.

'Don't be a hero, Ryner. ...... Um, I'm Aikawa Uzumi, a searcher. I'm not a hero or anything, just a regular guy.

　He introduced himself to the girls while denying it.
　But the girls did not take up the denial.

'No, Rouge and the others can do it in their own way, so I can at least understand the competence of our guests. You do quite well, Aikawa Kanami-san. Hmm, I've never seen a hero or anything like that in person before. The red one is a rouge and the black one is a noir. I'm trying to make it as easy to tell them apart as possible, so please judge by the color.
Yo, nice to meet you. ......, Mr. Hero.

　I glare at Ryner as they both bow to their heroic existence.

'It's Ryner's fault!'
I'm just telling the truth, so it's not my fault.

　Ryner smiled nastily.
　I'd like to get back at him in some way later. Fortunately, he had a funny sister, so he could play around with that as much as he could with the story.

　As soon as he finished his greeting, Rouge immediately left his seat.

''That's right. Since Hero-sama is here to play, I'll invite Dr. Ayde as well. It's rare, so I'm sure he'll be happy to see you!
'Oh, wait, Rouge. I'm coming with you.

　Shea's party seems to be a big one. They still have friends.
　Catching on, Noir got up and walked out of the room with them.
　Their close friendship is like sisters.

''Those two are twins?''

　I ask Rainer about the girls who left.

'They're not twins. They just have similar 'ingredients'.

　But the words that came back from him were very cold.
　The word 'material' indicates that they are 'Jewelcrus'.

...... So that's what it means.
'I took her out of the Institute. Mr. Heili said it was because he was just like me, so I had no choice.

　''Materials,'' ''Demon Stone Man (Jewelcrust),'' ''Research Institute,'' and ''Same as Hailey.''
　Those cold words can only conjure up a bad image. It shows that the country's research into the Jewelculus is inhumane.

　When I was about to burn with righteous indignation, Ryner shook his head.

''I don't need to remember their faces. They'll be gone soon enough anyway. It's just that there are fewer of them.

　And it tells me that there's nothing more I can do about it.
　I can tell by the look on Ryner's face that he's taken care of some deaths.

　All at once, the air in the room becomes heavy and quiet.
　Still, I try to talk to Ryner. But again, I'm interrupted by a visitor.

'Hey, boy,'

　Unlike the girls ahead, the door was gently opened.
　The one who appeared from beyond was the white girl, Hailey. And it was Shea. Sia next to her, lending her shoulder to Heili.
　Then Shea seated Heili in a nearby chair. Slowly, as if dealing with a sick person.

'I'm sorry, Shea. I've been so unreliable.
No, it's just this much. Oh, Kanami-san, here's a letter. I've already read it, so you can take it with you.
'Oh, oh, thank you ......'

　Shea puts the letter on the table. As I take it, I'm puzzled.
　I didn't expect Hailey to look like a sick man. The Lastiara's treatment should have brought her back to normal, but her symptoms are getting worse again.

　Reiner is worried about Heili when she appears and yells at her.

'Wait, wait, what are you going to do? Heili, please take it easy!
'I can't stay in bed when I hear the boy is here, you know.

　Hailey replies as a matter of course.

''No, Ryner's right, you shouldn't worry about it, you should just go to sleep, right?

　I agree with Ryner.
　But Heili just smiles thinly and continues to talk without reflecting on his condition.

''Boy, you've already arrived on the mainland, haven't you? Hmph, I'm ashamed to show you your disgusting appearance.
'I really don't want you to push yourself. Obviously, you're worse off than you were before: ......?
Not so fast. Watching the boy is my hobby.

　Stubbornly, Heili doesn't want to leave the room. Apparently, she has no intention of moving, no matter what is said.
　Then she 'gazes' at me with both of her hard-willed eyes.

'...... I see. You seem to have gotten stronger again since then. The level has gone up (...).

　I realize that Heili has read my status from those words.
　However, I sense a sarcastic nuance from her words and I return the sarcasm.

'I've dived into the labyrinth a few times since then, you know. But from Hailey's point of view, it doesn't look like you've grown up, does it?
'Yes, I do. ...... Does the boy still care about that word?

　Those parting words have stuck in my mind like a wedge.
　Because of that, my mind is restless. I think about things I don't want to think about.

'Yes, I do. I'm curious. I'm finally at the 20th level and I feel drained because of what he said to me.
'I'm sorry about that. But if that's what you're worried about, it means the boy can't stay 'as is' either. From the looks of it, he's still fine. ......

　Heili spins meaningful words.
　I ask Heili again to clarify the meaning.

What do you mean by 'still okay'?　Does this have anything to do with the fact that you looked at me and Dia before and said it might be 'as is'?
'Did you notice ....... It's scary, how they could see through even that momentary flicker in your eyes.
I remember Heili was worried about me and Dia.
Yes, that's right. You two are the only ones out there who are unstable.
'Me and Dia are unstable ......?　Not Maria or Las Tiaras or something like that: ......?
'Both the young lady and the half guardian (half guardian) girl are stable thanks to you. There is no doubt about that. That's why I'm worried about the collapse of the two of you remaining.
Me and Dia, collapsing ......?

　The word is so disturbing that I'm speechless.

I wish I could reach the depths. It would be a fleeting dream. I would like to believe it. But both of you will be like me. You'll be like me--and--

　Hailey's face flushes as she speaks.
　Her body trembles and her exhaled breath grows ragged.

'Kuh-uh--, so boy--, you're not like me--!

　At last, Hailey begins to suffer with her head in her hands.
　Shea, right next to her, looks around in a panic and calls for help.

''Well, this is bad!　Isn't this getting worse again?　I guess we'd better call Dr. Eid soon!
'No, those rouge guys must be out calling for you!　I'm sure they'll be here soon--!

　At the unusual sight, Ryner also stands up.
　And he immediately starts chanting sacred magic.

　Ryner's light tries to envelop Hailey's body. However, another magic interrupts from the side of that magic.
　A bright green magical light was emitted from beyond the door of the guest room.

''I'm already here. Leave the healing to yourself, Ryner-sama.''

　A tall man appeared from the doorway.
　Wire-thin limbs and white hair that stretched to his chest. His characteristic narrow eyes and bloodless lips.
　He wore a white robe like a researcher and wore glasses above his nose that were not appropriate for the other world.

　A gentle magical light that resembles the light of fireflies emitted by the man surrounds Heili. Then, visibly, Heili's breathing became better. Her expression of anguish eased and her sweating stopped.　
　Seeing that they were out of danger, everyone in the room sighed with relief.

''Mm, it looks like our party is all here.

　After finishing his treatment, the man looked around the drawing room and said all of them.

　Here they are--.
　Shea Legacy.
　Hailey Weisprope.
　Rainer Helvirshine.
　Rouge and Noir.
　And you know what?

　I 'watch'. I had no choice but to do it.
　To that extent, the green magic that this man released was different. It's clearly a density of magic power that is out of the ordinary.

　The last person in Shea Legacy's party that appeared.
　That man's name was--.

--Monster
　　　Forty Guardians, the ones who steal the logic of the trees.
　　　Rank: Forty Guardians--

　The Guardian of the 40th layer that Heili and the others released.
　It was the one who stole the logic of the tree.

Now we should be okay for now. Now, as for our guests--

　And then my eyes meet with the one that steals the logic of the tree.
　Its brown eyes, full of intelligence, capture my image.

'Nah, ah, eh--?'

　The one who steals the logic of the tree has the color of surprise in his eyes.
　It makes my eyes widen, and then fills them with magical power with the will to fight.

　I, too, hurriedly reached for my possessions and grabbed my sword.
　I grabbed it - but I didn't think to pull it out.

　This is because the one that steals the logic of the tree was trembling when it saw me.

　The boss monster, with its extra-human power, was frightened as if it had met a 'monster'.
　There was no way he could pull out his sword.

''Could it be 'Aikawa Uzumi-sama?' ......?　No, no, it's strange for that. You don't mean 'The One Who Steals the Reason of Water' ......?

　'That which steals the reason of the tree' called my name, and the word 'that which steals the reason of the water' leaked out.