That stupid girl!

　The head of the foster family is screaming in anger.
　All of Rosalie's children, including Lucy, are holding their heads.
　Maximilian-san, the brave woman of the wind tree, and Flona-san, the priestess of the tree goddess, have difficult faces.
　And I--.

Let's go after them.
　I suggested.

'Wait, Makoto. Mom's number one magic is 'teleportation'.
I heard it's possible that as a result of the chase, only Rosalie-san comes back...
　Lucy and Sa-san explained to me why we are all here.
　That's ... annoying.

'Does that mean we have to wait?'
''It's hard to imagine Rosalie-sama, the Red Lotus Witch, losing and...''
　Janet seems to have faith in Lucy's mother's strength.
　Well, if you look at that strength that easily defeated the Demon King's bellybutton.

But even Rosalie is not invincible. But Rosalee is not invincible, and she says that she can't defeat the White Master.
Even the Demon King Virak from a hundred years ago was defeated by a brave man from the Land of the Sun...
　Lucy's family is concerned about Rosalie's well-being.
　I asked them what was on my mind.

'Is the Great Sage Master stronger than Miss Rosalie?'
'Your mother told me that you actually fought and lost a long time ago, so I'm sure of it.
　Lucy's sister answered.

'What!　Mom and the Great Sage?
　Apparently Lucy didn't know either.

'I heard that when your mother married into the Land of the Sun, she challenged the Great Sage of the time to a contest because the status system stifled her.
Twenty fights, twenty losses. I heard he was beaten to a pulp and was out of shape.
　Lucy's sisters spoke to me.
　Awesome, Great Sage.
　Gosh, I digressed.

''So, have you decided on your next move?
　I asked them all, and there was silence.
　Flona, a priestess of the Tree Kingdom, answered on behalf of the others.

Today at noon, the forces of the tree nation will gather at the tomb of the demon king.
Safe to adjust to it.
But you're going to leave Rosalee so far alone?

　And he's having a hard time with it.

　He glances at his friends.
　Lucy is lying face down, still in thought.
　It's the first time in years that she has seen her mother.
　I'm still concerned about the safety of my family.

Then, we will head to the demon forest first.
Makoto?
You're worried about your mother?
Uh, yeah...
　Lucy clasped her hands together anxiously.　

''Then we'll head to the Demon Forest ahead of you, so...''
Wait, wait! I can't just let brother Makoto go!
　Prince Leonard stopped me in a hurry.

''It's okay. I can use the 'Covert' skill for me and Sa-san, so I'll proceed while bypassing the demons. If Rosalie-san is there, I'll have her send us through 'Spatial Transition (Teleportation)'.
　I told him that if he couldn't find me, I'd be hiding until I met up with the others.　

'Okey?　Lucy, sah?
"Okay," Sa-san replied lightly.
　That's very helpful, sir.
Thank you, Makoto.
　Lucy gave me a feverish look.

'What?　What about me?
　Mr. Furiae hurriedly points to himself.
'The princess is away. Stay with Miss Flona and the others.
　With the tree goddess priestess, it would be well and safe.

"....Left alone again?
　He told me with half an eye.
''No, you can't go to the Demon King's tomb...''
　It's not safe.
　But Miss Freyae is not convinced.

"I can be useful.　I'm good at necromancy magic (necromancy), so I'm good with the demons of the Demon Forest.
　I got a peck on my cheek.
　Next thing I know, the black cat (Tsui) is also kicking my leg.
　Do I have to take you with me?

(...hmmm...)
　From the perspective of a guardian knight, I don't want to take Friae-san to a dangerous place.

No, you can't. The princess is staying at home.
Yeah! Meow, meow!
　Huriae and the black cat (twi) accused me of being a black cat.
　Black cat (you), you could purr normally.
　You guys, please wait and see.

''Alright, then get ready in 5 minutes and shuffle........''
"Wait for me, Master of the Water Country (Roses).
　The one who called out to me was Satomachi-san.
　He gave me a straight and sharp look.

I've been worrying about something trivial. I've been worrying about some trivial matters. Come with us!
Let me show you around. Hero of the Water Kingdom (Roses). There is a loophole that the elves know.
Let's get ready to go.
Sis!　Big brother!

　In the end, half of those who were able to fight in Canaan's village were chasing after Rosalie.
　The other half are defending the village.
　The ones heading there are mainly elven male warriors (many of Lucy's older brothers).
　The rest is Maximilian-san, the brave man of the wind tree.
　In the end, Prince Leonard and Janet-san ended up coming along as well.

　The head of the village is waiting for the other villages to be contacted.
(I'm going too!　(I was out of control, but my family convinced me to do it.)

　Furiae and Flona, the priestess of the tree goddess, were away.
　The majority of the female elves remained in the village.
　Most of the elves are advanced wizards, so all the women are powerful warriors as well.
　The defense of the village should be fine unless it's a very bad case.

　We left for the Demon Forest.


　◇


　--progressing quietly through the Demon Forest.

　It's not the path I've explored with Sa-san before.
　It's a loophole to the 'Demon King's Tomb' that only a limited number of people in the elven village know about.
　There are few demons and it is said that you can proceed safely....

　The Demon Forest was deep in fog even in the daytime.
　The branches of the huge demon tree, which is said to be over 1,000 years old, are folded over, blocking out the sunlight.

　But something was wrong.
　The water spirits are making a lot of noise.


''........There are a lot of demons here.''
　Janet muttered.
　She can use a wide range of 'spotting' skills.
　What I'm saying is reliable.

'Lucy, what do you think?'
'Yeah I don't know if I've ever seen the Demon Forest so noisy before.
　Even the local Lucy seems to be feeling uncomfortable.

　There was a hint of tension among the elven warriors leading the way in front of us.
　We proceeded cautiously through the demon forest.

　After a while, suddenly.　


　--A throbbing.


　A cracking headache hit me.

(What...?)

Headache of the "danger detection" skill?
　Suddenly, the elven warriors who were leading the way stopped.

(...no...)

　The elves were on the stone!

　The moment your brain recognizes it.

Water magic fog!

　At full speed, at full speed, he created a thick fog.
　In an instant, my vision was taken away.
　Nothing could be seen beyond a one-meter radius.

"Hoho!　Excellent!　I didn't know that he would take the best means of blocking your view after using the 'petrified gaze' just once. I would love to see that calm wizard's face!

　A heartfelt, delightful voice.
　I didn't need to ask whose voice it was.
　It sounded familiar.


''I'm sorry, my name is 'Demon Eye Setaker'. I am a disgrace to the youngest seat under your great leader. I have been waiting for you, warriors of the Woodland!

　That's very exciting........
The Setecar from The Eye of Petrification.
　Apparently, the legendary Magic Eye has been revived.
　We're in trouble........

''Everyone!　Please come out!
　High-pitched, the Demon King's belly setter shouts.　

　--Ooohhhhhh!
　--Oh, wow!
　--Oh, wow!

　All at once, many beasts were heard.

'We're surrounded!'
　Lucy shouts.
　I belatedly realize, too, that I'm in the middle of hostile territory.
　Were we ambushed?

Everybody!　Spread out!　When you're hardened, you're a target!
　Maximilian, the hero of Wind Tree, shouted.

''Sa-san!　Take care of Prince Leonard!
Okay!
　Sa-san can use the 'covert' skill, and Prince Leonard alone should be able to hold it!

Lucy, let's go!
　I activate my 'covert' skill as I pull Lucy's hand away.
'Well, wait,'
Shut up and be quiet.
　I block Lucy's mouth as she starts to say something and leave quietly, but as fast as I can.

　You are surrounded by enemies.
　But it's not a perfect perimeter.
　We can escape now.

''Hmph, I'm over here, the brave Lord of the Tree Country. Why don't you make a name for yourself by defeating them?
　I can hear the provocations of the senior demon race Sekathe.
　How did you know that there are brave men in the tree country?
　Can you hear it in his voice?

　I used my 'listening ear' skill.
　But I can't hear them fighting.
　They're all going to leave this place.
　We need to get out of here.


It's so boring, isn't it? His Majesty Bifrons will be back and Shuri won't be back.


　

(Soon ... that's the full moon tonight, isn't it?)
　Really, is it?
　I felt a little uncomfortable, but for now I focused on escaping.


　◇


　In a deep fog.
　We continued to use our 'covert' skills under our breath.
　Before long, we couldn't hear the voices and footsteps of the beasts.


Even with the "Searching" skill, we could confirm that the enemy was moving away from us.
　So they were able to escape.....
　I take a breath, relieved.

　I turned around and called out to my friends.

"Lucy, run away.........oh, what?
I'm sorry, but I was instructed not to speak.

　The woman knight who was apologetically holding my hand was a woman knight with blonde hair and fishing eyes.
　It was Janet Ballantyne.