Makoto, do we get to ride in that thing?
Wow, it's so big.
　In the direction that Lucy and Sa-san were pointing, there were more than a dozen flying battleships.

　The mainstay of the Air Force, the pride of the Fire Nation (Great Keith) - the 'Red Wings'.
　They are all lined up in a row above the royal capital.
　The power of the line up is quite impressive.

I'm not going to be able to get it right. It's not a good idea to go.
"Well General Talisker. We could head to the Land of the Sun (Highlands) in our fellow airships....
　General Talisker came all the way to the inn with a large number of his men to pick me up.
　What is this feeling of not being able to escape?

''The destination is the same. Moreover, not only the brave Lord Makoto, but also the brave Lord Aya of the Fire Nation is here. If that's the case, it's only natural that we should accompany them.
'Brave Mako. Let's take the general's word for it here.
　Princess Sophia whispered in my ear.
　When I turned to her, her eyes spoke, "Let's give up," she said.

'It's hot in here. Let's get on with it, my knight.
　Mr. Furiae is holding an umbrella for sun protection.
　Still, it seems to be hot, and he is staring abominably at the sunshine.
　The black cat (Tsui) is sleeping on the umbrella.
　How does it not fall off, that thing?

'All right, Princess. Let's all go.
　I gave up and climbed aboard the Fire Nation's flying battleship.


　◇


　--a few hours after our departure.

　I'm sitting in a chair in the large conference room on the battleship with General Talisker and the others.
　Princess Sophia, Prince Leonard, Lucy, Sa-san and Friae are with me.
　The soldiers of the Fire Nation are all lined up around the room.

(I don't feel comfortable.......)
　If possible, I would have preferred Fujiyan's airship.
　But now Fujiyan has returned to McAllen.
　This is to leave Kawakita-san in charge of Chris-san.
　The conversation the other day was somewhat disturbing, but McAllen is probably the safest place for Mr. Kawakita, who is currently unemployed and has no fixed address.
　Fujiyan said he would come after us later.

'Then I have something to tell you all.
　General Talisker looked over at us in the center of the huge round table.
　He said that he would explain to us the background of this urgent order.

''As you know, the Fire Nation (Great Keith) always sends a lot of warriors to the Demon Continent to gather information on the Demon King's army.
　Huh, I see.
　Doesn't the water country do that?　
　He glanced at Princess Sophia.　

(We don't have the personnel to do so...)
Oh, I see...
　The sadness of a weak country.

''Reportedly, there has been a great movement in the Demon Continent's demon race and demons. Zagan, 'King of Beasts' and Forneus, 'King of Sea Demons'. We have received word that their minions are gathering.
　General Talisker's words took everyone's breath away.

The King of Beasts rules over the vast plains of the Demon Continent including the Ash Poison Lake and the Phantom Desert.
They are the only ones who have the ability to make a difference in the world.
　They are usually very little in common with each other, so the meaning of these two races gathering together.

''Is it a military action?''
　Prince Leonard asked General Talisker.
'Perhaps,'
　The general nodded gravely.

''It has been rare for the senior class of the Demon King's army to take action in the past. However, there are reports that this time, the Demon King himself is issuing the order in the center. This is the first time since the Great War a hundred years ago.
　One of the Knights of the Fire Nation explained to me.

'A hundred years ago ... was it the battle where Rosalie-san became a hero?
"Yes. The war my mum fought with the brave men of the Highlands against Valak the Mushroom King.
　He has a whispered conversation with Lucy.

　For the first time in a hundred years, the Demon King himself moves.
　This was indeed an incident.
　I suddenly remembered the history of the western continent that I learned about in the Water Temple.　

　A thousand years ago, it was the Dark Ages.
　There were ten Demon Kings in the world, led by the Great Demon King.

　The Great Demon King Eveleth.
　Ashtaroth, the Dragon King
　Zagan, King of Beasts
　Forneus, King of the Sea Demons
　Goliath, King of the Giants.
　The Immortal King Biflons.
　Valak, King of the Pollies
　Erinus, King of the Fallen
　The Demon King Barbados.
　And Cain, the 'Mad Hero' who is also an apostle of Lord Noah.

　They ruled the entire world.
　All the continents, east, west, north, south, south, east and west, and the great ocean of Middle-earth, the floating continent said to be located somewhere in this world, all of it.
　The world was covered by a black cloud that never cleared, and the people of the earth were slaves to the demon tribe for every inch of their lives in the Dark Ages.

　Suddenly, Abel, the savior of the world, defeated the Great Demon King.

　The demon king was defeated by Abel, the savior of the world, just like the great demon king.
　At the same time as the Great Demon King was destroyed, the Demon King disappeared.
　The Demon King and his minions have withdrawn to the continent of evil and are prostrating themselves until the return of the Great Demon King.

　And finally, the Demon Kings of the Demon Continent are moving to rule the world again.

　However, compared to a thousand years ago, the situation is much better.
　The Great Demon King has not yet resurrected, and there are only three Demon Kings left.

　However, with Ashtaroth, the 'oldest dragon' and the 'strongest demon king' at the top of the list, the three remaining demon kings are all high ranking among the nine demon kings.
　Their strength is an unknown quantity.

''Nevertheless,''
　The general said to change the air.

'According to the Goddess of Fire (Saul), there is a reprieve for the resurrection of the Great Demon King. 'Yes, priestess Dahlia,'
'Yes, that's right. That's why it's time for a head start from us.
　The fire goddess' priestess, Daria-san, is also naturally participating in the meeting.
　Next to her is the brave Olga, but that one is as quiet as a borrowed cat.

''The movement of the Demon Continent is worrisome. By nature, the demon race is a group of people who don't play tricks...
''In the Demon King's army, there's a group of traitors to the human race, the Serpent Cult, mixed in. It's not necessarily true that they don't play into the hands of the people. They are very good at scheming.
　I was curious about the words 'the traitorous demon race of humanity', so I looked behind me with a 'perspective switch'.
　Furiae-san has a pained expression on her face.

(Should I say something?)
　I looked at Freyae.
...Just shut up and listen.
　He gave me that look.
　Hesitantly, I decided to listen quietly.

''The 'Northern Expedition Plan' will be executed in a month's time. This is based on a message from the priestess of the Goddess of Destiny, Ila-sama's priestess that the Great Demon King has at least sixty days to revive. The details of the plan will be told after all the brave men gather in the Land of the Sun. So far, are there any questions you have for me?
"..........　
　Silence fell over the conference room.

(As early as two months later, the Great Demon King will return...)

　It's been about two years since I came to another world.
　Although there were many personal hiccups, the western continent was peaceful.
　If I hadn't hid in the dungeons by myself, or sold out to the snake cult, I would have been able to enjoy a leisurely life in another world.

　But now the war is about to begin.
　A war between the demon race vs. the human race, the beast race, elves and other allied nations.

(Huh........as I recall, there are people living in this world other than the western continent, right?

General, I have a question.
　I put my hands up like a school.
　Everyone's eyes turned back to me.
　........I'm not good at attracting attention.

''What is it, Lord Brave?''
Don't you work with other continental countries?
　Aside from the floating continent, which I don't really know where it is, this world has an eastern continent and a southern continent, and there must be human races and other races living there as well.
　There didn't seem to be much interaction, though, and they didn't give me much information at the Water Temple.

''........That's right. The brave Makoto-dono is from another world. It's no wonder you don't know about it. We have sent messengers to other continents to offer help, we have, but....

　First of all, there are three great nations on the southern continent.
　The relationship between the three countries is good, good or not so good, but not immediately dangerous.
　The Sun Nation (Highland), represented by the Western Continent, sent messengers to the largest empire in the South.
　However, due to the distance between the southern continent and the northern continent, their participation in the "Northern Expedition Plan" has been put on hold.

　--If the Great Demon King returns, he will be willing to cooperate.

　That's what he said in reply.
　I heard that the remaining two countries are following suit.

　The eastern continent was a moot point.
　At present, there are many countries vying for supremacy over the continent.
　It was impossible to predict which country would win, and sending an emissary to a single country could send a flurry of emissaries to the western continent.
　That's why I haven't been able to ask for their cooperation.

''It's said that if the Great Demon King returns, the Western Continent will be the first target. This is because it's the closest to the Demon Continent and because our savior, Abel, has emerged from the Western Continent.
"...I see, I understand. Thank you.

　The western continent was the closest to the threat of the Demon Continent.
　Also, the fear of the Great Demon King still persists.
　That's why there are few conflicts between the nations of the human race, and they have been able to prepare for a battle with the demon race.

　But other continents don't have the same sense of urgency as the countries of the western continent.
　It can't be counted on.

''It's a tough situation...''
　That day's meeting was over.


　◇


　--a few days later.

　The Fire Nation's flying battleship squadron arrived at Symphonia, the royal capital of the Land of the Sun (Highland), without any problems.

　The huge Highland Castle gradually grew in size from a distance.
　Gamelan, the royal capital of the Land of Fire, was also big, but this one was still bigger.
　In front of the huge citadel, a statue of Abel, the savior, stood in a posture of holding up a sword.
　The greenish bronze statue reminded me of the Statue of Liberty in the United States.

(Huh?)

　I felt uncomfortable.
　What is it?

'Wow, you're beginning to see, King's Land of the Sun. I hope you're doing well, Eri.
　Sa-san is leaning over the railing of the flying battleship's deck.
　It's dangerous, I thought, but if Sa-san were to fall off the flying battleship now, she would be unharmed.

"Hey, Sa-san.　
What's going on?
Is that what color is the statue of Abel the Messiah?
　I uttered a question.

'What?　I think it's the same, don't you?
"...I think it was a different color the last time I saw it...
　Am I mistaken?

'As expected, you'd notice a sudden change in colour.
Hmmm, yeah.
　You're right, Sa-san.
　I must be remembering things wrong.

'We're about to land. We have a carriage waiting for you downstairs, and you can take it to the Highland Castle.
　General Talisker's men showed me around.

''Princess, we have to go see Sakurai-kun.
Hmm.
　Furiae looked away, perhaps to hide her embarrassment.
　I, too, want to talk to Sakurai-kun for the first time in a long time.

　But with the current situation where the demon king's army is planning something, the hero of light seems to be very busy.
　I wonder if I'll have time to go see him and talk to him.
　While thinking about this, I looked at the scenery of the royal capital while being rocked by the carriage.
　There are many people as always.
　But it's only the human race.
　I can't see the elves and beastmen.
　Unlike Roses and Great Keith, the city is clearly delineated by race - the royal capital Sinfonia.

　How is Peter, the young head of the mafia, doing well?
　I'm also concerned about the kids in the slumming Ninth Ward church.

(But this isn't the time to worry about people. The war with the Demon King's army is about to begin...)

　But I don't feel a sense of danger.
　Is it because I'm from a peaceful Japan, or is it the influence of my "Meikyomisui" skills to calm my mind?
　Maybe it's both.

　Soon the carriage came to a stop in front of the huge gates of Highland Castle.
　As I was getting out of the carriage, I was approached by Friae-san.

'Hey, my knight. Woe be unto thee.......maybe?
"Princess?
Uh, I had some kind of future vision for a second but I didn't understand it.
Would you stop making me feel so insecure?
　I walked through the main gate of the Highland Castle with a scowl on Freyae's face.
　I walked down the neatly lined cobblestones.

"Takatsuki-kun, stop!
What?
　Suddenly, Mr. Sa-san tugged on my arm.
　You too, Mr. Sa-san, what's going on?　I was going to say.


　--Kah!　DON'T!!!!


　Suddenly, there was a flash of light.
　Then, a second later, the impact shook the ground.
　Then a cloud of dust rose up and took away his vision.

　A bomb attack!
　A snake cult!
　I hurriedly removed the bandage on my right hand and prepared for the enemy.

　After the dense dust cleared, a swordsman with blond hair and golden armor, a dazzling sight, came out.
　A crackling lightning battle qi (aura) burst from the armor.
　........Ah, it's you, isn't it?

''It's been a while!　The hero of Roses, Takatsuki Makoto, oh!　
　He's loud.
　You don't have to yell so much, I can hear you.

".............................Hi, Jera. Good to see you.
Hey, give me your face!
　It was Gerald Ballantyne, the brave man of lightning, who appeared in a thugish tone.