Keiko-chan!
　Sa-san gave a small cry, and the woman lying there rubbed her eyes sleepily.

''Hmm~''
　He raises his sleepy voice and Hebei stretches.
　She was blonde when they talked in the Water Temple, but now she's back to her natural black hair.
　Her crisp, hanging eyes and strong-hearted impression haven't changed.

''Huh........Aya?　What a dream.
No, it's not. Keiko, it's Aya Sasaki!　It's real!　I'm here to see you.
'Oh, shit!　Is it real?
　Ms. Kahoku's eyes widened and she rushed over to us.
　Around her neck was a collar with intricate decorations on it.

(That's the collar from "The Slave Contract"........)

　Only a limited number of members of the slave union can remove it.
　The method of deactivation is said to be top secret.
　However, since it's an extremely expensive magical device, it's said to be used only by high-value slaves.

(Kahoku-san was treated as the highest-grade item in this slave auction, according to Fujiyan.

　He is from another world and possesses rare skills such as "Daimajindo", and is a former classmate of Sakurai-kun, the "Hero of Light" who is rumored to be the reincarnation of the savior.
　Moreover, she is a former classmate of Sakurai-kun, the "Hero of Light" who is rumored to be the reincarnation of the Messiah.
　By the way, she's quite beautiful.
　The nobility must be drooling over her.

Aya, are you okay? Are you alright?　You weren't there when we transitioned together, were you?
"Well, I was sent to another place. And then Takatsuki-kun found me.
　At Sa-san's words, Mr. Kawakita turned to look at me.

'Oh, you're Takatsuki?　Hmm, heh. You're in a different mood.
Hello, hello, good to see you. Mr. Kahoku.
　Mr. Kahoku grinned when he realized I knew him.
　I wanted to greet him as coolly as possible, but I bit him.

"Aya, you're lucky you got the guy you like in another world. You got the guy you love right in another world.
'Wow, hey. Keiko-chan!
Huh, you two have really loud voices.
　As expected, this is not the time for the kind of banter we talk about in class.

'Sorry,'
　He soon quieted down.

'Keiko-chan, we'll get you out of there in a minute!
　Sa-san brings her voice back to a whisper and shows her hands in goo.
　But Mr. Kawakita's reaction to her was not so good.

'Ah, yes. Last time, Michio also came to see me and said 'I'll help you'.......
　Fujiwara Michio--Fujiyan's name.
　She said she and Kahoku-san were childhood friends, and from the way she called me, I thought they must be close after all.

''Honestly, I had it coming that I fell into slavery, and the next nobleman who is supposed to buy me seems to be quite powerful, so... you don't have to push yourself too hard.''
　Mr. Kahoku's reply was dull.

'Oh no!　No, you can't be a slave!
I couldn't imagine doing that when I was in Japan. When I came here, my classmates treated me and I were treated well, so I got carried away. I got into gambling, and before I knew it I was in ridiculous amounts of debt. And here we are now.
　Kahoku-san laughed to himself.

(I see, I'm going to peddle myself because of my debts...)
　Fujiyan also blurted out the reason for that part.

Speaking of which, where is Keiko's boyfriend, Okada-kun?　Why aren't you coming to help me!
　Sa-san changes the subject.
　Come to think of it, in the Water Temple, I think it was Kitayama, Okada, and the three of them.

'That guy?　I broke up with him a long time ago. I mean, he comes over here and he's openly cheating on me with as many women as he can get just because he's from another world and he's getting any number of women to come to him.　Don't call me a harem!　I wish all the men who come to other worlds and talk about harems and stuff like that would die!
　Mr. Kahoku!　They're very loud!

'Aya, Takatsuki seems to be serious and I think he'll be fine, but you have to keep a close eye on him, right?
　Kahoku-san put her hand on Sa-san's shoulder and gave her a serious look of advice.

''Uh, umm........Soudaine~''
　He should have come to check on Kahoku-san, but for some reason he was worried about Sa-san.
　And Sa-san awkwardly looked away.
　In addition, I, too.........
　Mr. Kahoku furrowed his eyebrows doubtfully.

"No way........hey, Takatsuki. Aya is the only one you're going out with, right?
What?
What?
　Hey, Mr. Kahoku, your eyes are scary!

To tell the truth, Takatsuki-kun has two other lovers besides me.
　Sa-san opened up and declared!
　Mr. Kahoku looks at me in disbelief.

"You're not even in the same league?　I'm disappointed in you!　I thought he was supposed to be a serious guy!
　Really?
　I've never talked to him in class.

Well, Takatsuki is doing his best as a brave man of the Water Kingdom.
　Sa-san makes a strange follow-up move.

''If you're brave, you can have a lot of lovers...?''
　Yeah, yeah, Kawakita-san's reaction is normal.
　Sakurai-kun and the rest of the team are acting funny, though.

'By the way, wasn't Takatsuki left behind in the Water Temple because of his delicate status and skills?　Are you sure you're brave?
Well, it's a long story.
　I explained briefly what I had done so far.


　◇


'Huh, I didn't know that was going to happen...'
Hey, it's tough, isn't it?
　At my story, Kahoku-san sighed in admiration.
　The way he looked at me changed when I told him that I was burned all over, used self-destructive magic, and was petrified.
　That's how Sa-san explained it to me, happily.

''I thought that among my classmates, only Sakurai Ryousuke's group was the only one who was seriously trying to fight the Demon King...''
Sakurai-kun is a serious guy.
　Apparently, the other classmates also thought that Sakurai-kun's place was different.
　Well, it's not normal to come to another world and go out of your way to save the world, is it?

I understand. Takatsuki, take care of Aya for me. And tell Michio that he is responsible for me and that he shouldn't take any chances with me.
　Mr. Kahoku smiled at us without looking strong.
　She's so handsome.

''But........''
　Sa-san is still not convinced.
　And I can't just go home empty-handed either.

But I hear something terrible is going to happen in the Fire Nation soon, Mr. Kahoku," he said. Depending on the situation, the slave market may be involved.
　I gave a quick explanation of Friae's future vision.


　Even Kawakita-san, as expected, showed an uneasy expression.

''If it's our princess' prediction, it's definitely the first thing to go.
Yeah, and this princess is your girlfriend, by the way?
What?
　Back on topic?

Don't worry, Keiko. Fu-chan is not, you know, Takatsuki's girlfriend.
'Well it's only a matter of time. Aya, hang in there.
Yeah. But the girls around Takatsuki-kun are all pretty...
It's okay, Aya. You're pretty, too.

Hey, Sa-san and Mr. Kawakita!
　Can you not go off on a tangent without permission?
　You can't go in that direction.

So there's a good chance it's dangerous to stay here, Mr. Kahoku.
　I forced the lane back.

'That being said. And I can't get away with this.
　He pointed to the slave collar.
'As I recall, as long as you're wearing a slave collar, you can't hide because your body won't be able to move when you try to escape and your location will be easily identified?
　That's what I heard, but it should have had that effect.
　That's why we can't take Kahoku-san away somewhere.

Ugh, there's nothing we can do about it! At least if we knew what was going to happen here, we could do something about it, but can't we do something about it, Takatsuki-kun?
Well, as long as the princess is feeling better, I'll have to ask her to see the future...
　No, wait.
　There's a more foolproof way.

Dear Noah and Eil.
　I called out to him in my mind.
(Do you know what happens in the land of fire?)

　--.....

　No answer.
　Well, that's not unusual.
　I don't get a response right away every time.
　I'll ask him again later.

'Sa-san, I'll look into it later. Besides, it is not safe to stay here forever, so let's get out of here.
　We talked for an hour or so.
'Yeah, Keiko. I'll be back.
　Mr. Sa-san is holding Mr. Kahoku's hand as if he were reluctant to leave.

''Ah, yes. One thing I don't know if it's relevant or not but I've heard some strange stories from the slavers.
　As we were leaving, Kahoku-san seemed to have remembered something.

I heard that there are people who buy cheap slaves in large numbers these days. Even though it's cheap, it's expensive to buy slaves and use them, so even if they hide their names, we'll eventually find out which nobleman they are, but it seems that their identity is unknown. That's why the slavers said they are probably rich people who came from the outer continent, but I saw them...
　At this point, Mr. Kahoku shouted in a hushed voice.

''Lately, I've noticed that some of the people who come here are of the 'demon race'. Moreover, they are demons with 'evil god beliefs'. I'm a magician, so I know the difference between the magic power (mana) of the 'goddess beliefs' and the magic power (mana) of the 'evil god beliefs'.
"Wow, Keiko-chan, you're amazing!
That cult of demons and evil gods...
　The land of water, the land of the sun, the land of the trees, and now this one too.
　It's tacky.

I'm curious about what Aya and Takatsuki just said. The Order of the Snake is doing some bad things behind the scenes, right?　Moreover, I heard that most of them are demonic people. Is this story useful?
Thanks, Mr. Kahoku. You've been very helpful.　
　I thanked her and pulled her out of the tent as we said our goodbyes.


　◇


　There was still some time left in the dawn.
　I was flying in the sky, grabbed by Sa-san (in his Harpy form).

'Hey, Takatsuki-kun. What do you think about Keiko's story?
'The snake cult was buying a lot of slaves. Normally, I'd think they're trying to use slaves to start a rebellion or something.
But that's just like in the Land of the Sun, isn't it?

　In the Land of the Sun, they were trying to incite the beastly race to revolt against their status discrimination.
　Now, in the Land of Fire, they were going to revolt with slaves?

'But a slave is an expensive thing to be a combat slave.
'Besides, it seems that slaves in the Fire Nation are treated better when the price is high.
　After a few days in the country, I've come to know the ins and outs of this country.

　In this country, the strongest people are the ones who are great.
　And even if they are slaves, the combat slaves are like live-in employees for life.
　Well, their freedom is somewhat limited.
　Many of the combat slaves themselves have the brains to say, "I don't care if I can eat a full meal and fight," so that's how the country runs.
　The aristocrats make money by sending their forces to areas where there are many demons, bandits and other unsafe areas.

　By the way, it seems that their customers are the Water Kingdom (Roses).
　The soldiers of the Water Country (Roses) aren't very strong.....
　With the brave man at the forefront........

'I don't think it's worth it if the snake cult buys a lot of weak slaves...'
Yeah.
　Well, I'll let Princess Sophia and Fujiyan know just in case.

Shall we go back to the inn now?
'Hmmm, that's it, but do you have some more time?'
　Sa-san flew in the opposite direction from the inn, outside the walls of the royal city.

　He continued on through the wilderness for a while and landed at a suitable location.
　The sky is beginning to faintly white, but the area is dim.

''Sa-san?''
See, more of your date?
　Sa-san, who had returned to her human form, put her hands around my neck.
　I'm startled.

'Look, we're alone. As far as the eye can see.
It's true, I feel like we're the only two people in the world in the middle of an empty wilderness...
　Just as I was about to continue with my words, a grand warning sound (alert) rang out in my head.


　-- 'Danger detection'


　My expression and Sa-san's eyes changed as well.
　I can feel her gaze from behind me and Saasan.
　When Saasan and I turned around at the same time, the person in front of us...


　Nearly a hundred large gray lizard-like creatures were looking at us.


　........licking their tongues.

"What's this?
It's a sand dragon!

　A creature that can mimic the scales of sand and is difficult to identify from a distance.
　They can mimic sand and have unusually high fighting power.
　This is a ferocious carnivorous dragon that lives in the Land of Fire.
　Could this be a sand dragon's nest?


　Shaaaaah!

　The nearest sand dragon jumped at me!

''Oh, my God!　Get out of my way!
　Frustrated, Sa-san shakes his fist in the air to greet him.

''Sa-san!''
　It's a dragon!　
　And it's dangerous because it's pretty strong - I was going to say that.

　DOGGAGAGAGAGAGA!

　A sand dragon was hit by Sa-san around the chin area and blown away about a hundred meters while spinning about ten spins.
　A group of sand dragons are looking off at it all at once, following their gaze, which is a bit cute.

(Geez!)

　That guy right now is as strong as the earth dragon I met in the Great Labyrinth!　

'' ''Kisher!''

　The sand dragons, who had been hit by their friends and cried out in anger, attacked all at once.

''Sa-san!　Run.....
Takatsuki-kun, stay behind me!
Yes, yes....

　What a dependable back.
　In the wilderness where there were no water spirits, I was as small as a protected peewee princess.


　--A few hours later, all the sand dragons were defeated!