"Having gained the reassuring companions of Manuel the Demon Emperor and Oswald the Warrior God, we finished our preparations and quickly left the village.

　A total of six heroes, young and old, male and female, proceeded along the pathless road in the forest.

This is where the vampire lord lives. As I flew to the village, I saw an old castle just beyond the village. Vampires are vain. It's probably their home.

　These were the words of Manuel, the Demon Emperor, before we left the village.

　The reason why their supporters arrived unexpectedly early was because they had flown from the city of Lindbergh to the village with Manuel's magic of Hawk Flight.

　Manuel complained that he was underestimated by Cedric's little boy, but I didn't expect him to take such a shortcut either, so I can't blame Cedric for missing the estimated arrival time.

　I'm not blaming Cedric for missing the estimated time of arrival.

　And even flight, a spell that is a step below Hawk Flight, is an advanced wind spell, and no one in our group can use it except Manuel, who is known as the "Demon Emperor.

　That's why we were heading on foot to the old castle, which we knew the direction of.

But Manuel's grandfather called it a 'suspicious old castle', why did you think it was suspicious?

　Rio jumped over the roots of a thick tree and asked Manuel an impolite question.

　Rio, by the way, pretended that the previous meeting had never happened and quickly made friends with Manuel.
　This is one of Rio's strong points.

　Manuel, on the other hand, answered while handling his white beard.

"Well, that's just plain weird, Rio girl. You'll understand in a little while.

"You will?

Yeah. Yeah, that was definitely something.

　Oswald, the god of war, also agreed with Manuel's words.
　Apparently, it was very suspicious.

　And so they walked for a while.
　Eventually, they came to a place where they knew what they were talking about.

　When Iris, Maifa, and I saw it, we said...

"Ugh, ......, this is freaky.

...... Indeed, I can only say that this is bewitching.

"Yeah, it's bewitching .......

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　To be more specific, after crossing a certain line, the trees suddenly shriveled, rotted, turned black, and twisted in strange ways.

　There were also sticky mycelium-like threads dripping from rotted and broken tree branches, and the vines that wrapped around tree branches and trunks had many weird thorns-like spines.

　It was, frankly, quite horrifying.
　This is not the appearance of ordinary forest trees.

　One more thing.
　There was also a blatantly thick fog just beyond the line.

　It was not something that blocked my view, but a low mist that seemed to crawl around my feet, but it sometimes moved in a strange, wriggling way that made it all the more eerie.
　This, too, did not seem to be a naturally occurring phenomenon.

"Isn't that what I told you, Miss Rio?

"Yes. I know exactly what you mean, Manuel. This is blatantly spooky.

But it's a mock threat. Don't be scared. Let's go.

I'm not scared of anything.

"Oswald the Warrior God led the way, followed by Rio and Manuel.
　I also took Iris and Maifa into a strange forest that was blatantly magical.

Um, sir, ....... Can I hold your hand, ......?

　I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm not the only one who's a little scared.

I'm not sure. This is the way it should be.

Yes, yes .......

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　I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but it's a good idea. ...... When I think about it again, I can't help but feel like a newlywed couple.

　I wonder if this is socially acceptable.
　I'm not sure if this is socially acceptable, but I'm still wondering if Manuel and Oswald will be watching.

"...... brother, I'm scared too, I need you to hold my hand.

　On the other hand, from the left side, Maifa looked into my face saying so.

　I'm not sure what to say. ......?

I'm sure you're not the only one.　I know that Iris is scared, but...

I know Iris is scared, but ...... she's not. I'm not sure if I'll be able to do this, but I'm sure I'll be able to do it. ...... If my brother doesn't hold my hand, I might freak out and chick out. If he doesn't hold my hand, I might choke in fear. ...... The last thing I need is a brother who has to take care of me.

What's that logic? I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that. You too, Iris.

"Yes.

　Iris and Maifa replied honestly.

　And not only Iris, but also Maifa began to hug my arms, and my arms were completely occupied.

　I'm sure you'll be happy to know that there's no point in getting unnecessarily serious when the real thing is still to come. .......

　In the meantime, Rio, who was watching the scene in front of him, sharpened his mouth just a little.

I'm not sure what to make of it.

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

"......, Miss Rio. I'm not sure what the relationship is between you and that little boy Brett.　I'm sure you're not the only one.



Yeah?　It's normal. We usually live with my brother. He's like family to us.

"Family. ....... What do you think of Oswald?

You don't have to ask me that. But at least the girls don't seem to mind. I don't see a problem.

You're still as savvy as ever, .......

　Manuel seemed unconvinced, while Oswald seemed unconcerned.

　But then again, it doesn't seem like a normal relationship between a teacher and a student.
　But there was no point in worrying about it now, so I decided to keep an indifferent face for now.

　With this exchange, we continued on our way through the strange forest.

　Soon, we heard what sounded like the roar of an animal coming from somewhere.

　Not one, but several.
　And then...

　Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

　More wolf howls echoed.
　As if to signal an intruder to the territory.

　When Manuel hears them, he laughs.

"Well, I'm sure they have guard dogs. Here it comes.

　One by one, wolves with glowing red eyes appeared from behind the trees in the strange forest.