I woke up in the morning, got dressed and prayed to the Goddess (Noah).

　When I went to the dining room, Sa-san was there as usual, and Friaree, who is usually a sleeper, was also seated.
　Lucy is probably still in bed.

'Good morning, Sa-san, Princess.'
Good morning, Takatsuki.
"Good morning, my knight.
　I sat down as I said hello and noticed the mysterious object on my plate.

'Sa-san, what's this black thing?'
Hmm, charcoal that used to be bacon.
"...and the black one next to it?
Charcoal that used to be an egg.
What else do you have?
What!　You don't want to eat the food I made for you?
What?　The princess made this?
　Didn't you say you don't cook?

What's wrong with me cooking?
Well, it's not your fault...
　I look at the black object on my plate.

　I mean, it's charcoal, right?
　You're not going to die........
　I made up my mind and stretched out my chopsticks, when Sa-san snatched the plate away.

Yes, this is Takatsuki's meal for today. I just wanted to show you that Fu-chan worked hard on it.
　With a smile, Sa-san replaced it with a decent meal.

'I'm going to go wake up Haruko-chan...'
　Sa-san pattered away.　
　I looked at Furiae's face.
　She awkwardly averted her gaze.

''Well I'll do better next time.
Uh-huh.
　I wonder what's going on.
　Unusual.

　Then Lucy woke up looking sleepy, so we all had breakfast together.



　◇



　I threw my sleeves on my jacket, stuck my dagger in my waistband, and shoved some money in my pocket.
　Now, I was wondering where I was going to go today when Lucy stopped me.

'Makoto, where are you going?'
'What?　Just kind of lounging around at random.
Takatsuki, do you know what day it is today?
"...Huh?　What did I promise you?
　Well, you didn't make a promise to Lucy and Mr. Saa, did you?

Didn't you hear that today is the day they award medals to those who defeated the Devil King in the Highland castle?
　Friae told me as she stroked the black cat.

'Ah!'
　It was that. It was that.
　Was it today?

It was a close call, and with Mako, she's definitely not coming back until the night.
"Sophie-chan told you~ Takatsuki-kun, you're so hot!
　Hmm, I think I was told that on the way home.
　I can't help it, I guess I'll just spend the day at the inn.

　I passed the time by doing some training at the inn for a while.
　A little past noon, Princess Sophia came in.

''Thank goodness you're here properly.
Yes, of course.
Don't lie to me, Makoto. You're forgetting.
'Sophie-chan, Takatsuki-kun, I was planning to go out again today!
　Ah!　It came apart so easily.
　Princess Sophia said, "Oh, God! He glared at me lightly.

'Then I'll head over.
　We headed to Highland Castle with Princess Sophia.



　◇



A lot of people...
　It was even better than the ceremony I participated in before, when Mr. Sakurai became the leader of the group.
　After all, people from the six countries are all here.

　Me, Lucy, Sa-san, and Furiae-san are participating as officials of the Water Country.
　Many people had already gathered, but I heard that they were waiting for His Majesty the King of the Highlands and the Five Holy Nobles.　
　It's good that the great people are attending executive duty.

　I'm bored.
　To pass the time, when I'm doing something like a trick with water bullets (water balls), can't you do something else for Friae-san?　I was in a good mood, and I was playing with all kinds of magic.
　Princess Sofia angrily told us to wait quietly.

　Seeing the commotion, a group of people came up to our table.
　At first glance, the old man seemed mild-mannered, but his eyes were sharp.
　He was dressed in a priest's ritual dress, but his flamboyance set him apart from his surroundings.
　He is the Pope of the Highland Church.
　The Temple Knights (Templar Knights) are lined up behind him.

''Sorry to bother you, gentlemen of the Water Country (Roses).
'Your Holiness, Pope Roma. It's a pleasure to see you here...
　Princess Sophia hurried to greet him.

''I had some business to attend to, so I suppose I should come over here.
　The Pope turned to me as he said this.
''Lord Brave of Roses. Thank you for defeating the Demon King.''
Yes, yes....
　I reply with caution.
　This guy is supposed to hate me, the apostle of the evil gods, right?

If possible, I would ask you to convert to the Sun Goddess Althena immediately, but Princess Sophia would not allow it. But there is no reason for her not to convert to the Goddess of Water, is there?　For you are a brave man of the Water Kingdom (Roses).
''It's because........the Water Goddess (Eir) has allowed it.......''
　Princess Sophia replied for me.

''It's not that I don't forgive. Our daily life is thanks to the blessings of the Holy God. We are obligated to thank him for it and serve him. There should be no such thing as setting up an apostle of an evil god as a hero...''
Well, that's...
　Princess Sophia flinched at the Pope's strong tone.

(Talking about that again...)
　He said I was getting impatient.
You know, Althena's followers are so stubborn.
　Master Noah also spoke to me.

'But let's not talk about that now. Takatsuki Makoto-dono is the second most meritorious person in today's medal ceremony. I will take the time to persuade him to do so.'
　Hmm?　Unexpectedly easily, the Pope withdrew. Unexpected.
　Princess Sophia looked relieved.

'The problem is your moon maiden.
　The Pope turned his avenging eyes to Friae-san.
''..........''
　Friae is silent.

''In a few days, the Great Demon King Eveleth will return. And yet, the Moon Priestess, the reincarnation of the 'Wicked Witch' who betrayed the human race a thousand years ago and got through to the demon race, is free to do so. Let me assure you!　The resurrected Great Demon King Eveleth will once again make contact with the Moon Priestess. If that happens, we will have a worm in the lion's body. We must not let the Moon Priestess go free.
'Master Noel said he would cooperate with the Moon Priestess as well...'
''I'm troubled by Princess Noel........ Aside from the elimination of discrimination against beastmen and sub-humans, to have a sweet face even for 'dirty blood'.......
　With those words, Friae's expression turned grim.
　This is not good.
　Before Friare-san could say anything else, I decided to interrupt her too.

''The princess helped me prevent the rebellion that was about to occur in the royal capital, Symphonia. I won't turn on the demon race now.
'Princess...?　Come to think of it, you were the patron knight of the Moon Priestess. How foolish......... Just being an apostle of an evil god is a horrible thing........
　This old man, the goddesses that people believe in are evil gods and evil gods... well, they are.

''But there are certainly some past achievements. Instead of the dungeon like before, I will be confined in the guest room. That won't be a problem then. Now, come with us.
"[? !"]
　The Temple Knights have surrounded us.
　Hey, hey, you're being too pushy!

　Hurriedly, me, Lucy, and Sa-san stepped forward to protect Friae-san.
　The knights of the Water Country were also moving to protect us, bewildered.
　The Highland Temple Knights and the group of the Water Country are dressed as if they are facing off against each other.
　What are we going to do about this........?

'This is troubling I don't want to take forceful measures, but...'
　The Pope has a troubled look on his face (probably an act) and folds his arms.
　It's already a forceful measure...?



Hey, Pope Grampa. Why don't you kidnap that guy?



　A voice sounded frivolous.
　Who is it?　But then it was one of the Temple Knights (Templar Knights).
　That face.....

'You must not be so violent, Alexandre the Sun's brave.
'You're a pain in the ass. I'm gonna shut these guys up in one shot.
　With a grimace on his face, Alec, the brave man of the sun, who utters the words.
　........This guy, was he such a character?

'Don't do it, Alec. The Sun Goddess (Althena) will not allow such barbarism. So, gentlemen of the Water Kingdom. If you change your mind, please come to the Cathedral of Our Lady of Anna. The Moon Priestess will let us keep an eye on you there. Once the defeat of the Great Demon King is successfully completed, we will release her. Goodbye.
Oh, you're a lifesaver, guys.
　With that, the Pope, the brave men of the sun, and the temple knights left.
　What was that.........

''Was that guy like that...?''
You weren't very talkative before, were you?
　Lucy and Sa-san seemed to get the same impression.
　He's changing characters too much........

d*mn.........
　Mr. Furiae clicked his tongue evasively.
'Princess, it's all right.'
'Yes, Moon Priestess. The Water Kingdom is on your side.
Thank you.
　Princess Sophia and I's words softened Friae's expression somewhat.

　Even so, I was in a hurry.
　Maybe it's not a good idea to stay in the Highlands too long....



　◇



Now, Prime Minister Highlanders would like to say hello...

　There was some trouble, but everyone was present and the ceremony began.
　First the Prime Minister, then the Five Holy Noblemen and the royalty greeted the guests.

　And as soon as it began, I noticed.

　........Is this ceremony very long?
　Huh?　Is this going to end today?

Sofia, do you have a schedule for today's proceedings?
'Does it depend on the ceremony?　This way.
　The program Princess Sophia showed me was a long, dizzyingly long schedule.
　By the way, I'm almost at the end of my performance.
　Until then, I'm on standby.

　I looked at the participants' list.

　The Great White Sage (No-show)
　Rosalee, the Red Lotus Witch (no-show)

(I love it, free people!)
　Huh........I'm bored.
　I wonder if I can get out of it.........

(Sofia, I'm thirsty, I'm going to drink some water.)
　I whispered to Princess Sophia next to me and asked her for advice.


　He nailed me with his lazy eyes.
　They know I'm going to slack off.

　But I got the princess's permission (I didn't).
　Let's just, uh, disappear for a while and kill some time.


　-- 'covert' skills.


　I tried to use my skills to move away from the line soon, so as not to disturb everyone.　

(Makoto, where are you going?)
(Takatsuki?)
(My knight?)
　I was stopped by the whole crew.
　You guys, you're too kind.

Let's just take a walk and...
Wait, I'm coming with you.
(Oh, that's not fair, Lu. Me too, me too!)
(What!　(Wait, if my knight is going, so am I!
　Wow, this is going to be a big crowd.

(So, where are you going?)　(Takatsuki-kun)　
　I don't have anywhere in particular to go.
　We have a few hours before my name is called.
　But I don't think it would be a good idea to go too far.
　I've been thinking.

(In case of trouble, the Great Sage's place.)
(Yeah ... but I think he's in a bad mood at noon.)
(The Great Sage's mansion is so dimly lit and uncomfortable...)
　Mr. Saasan and Lucy don't seem to be in the mood.
'I don't think so,' said Lucy, 'I don't want to do it either,' matched by Saasan.

(What about you, Princess?)
The house of the Great White Sage.... I'll tell you one thing about messing with my knight.
　Friae said he was coming with us.
　We used our 'Covert' skills to sneak away from the ceremony line.


　Since the ceremony was underway, the number of knights walking around the Highland Castle grounds was small.
　There are guards, but we weren't particularly bothered by them.
　We came to the mansion of the Great Sage Master without any problems.

''Hello!''
　He greets her and enters the mansion.
　Friae-san is following behind me with a frightened look.

　I walked down the corridor relying on the candles that illuminate the room and my 'night vision' skills.
　It's a self-serving mansion.

　When I went to the large room at the back, I found the Great Sage sleeping on a large sofa.
　He's just a kid when he's sleeping.

I'm sleeping.　My knight. I wonder if I should have gone in there without permission...
It's okay, it's okay. I'm the knight in shining armor.
'I don't think that's what a guardian knight is...'
Why don't you just wait until he wakes up?
Yes....　
　Huriae gave me a dumbfounded look.
　Oh well.

　I decided to ransack the room for a while as well.
　.........No, I won't steal.
　Just look, just look.

　The Great Sage-sama's room is filled with many books and magic tools.
　In fact, I've been wanting to take a closer look at them for a while now.

　Furiae-san is flipping through the old books on the bookshelf as if they're rare.
　I came to the back of the room to see if I could find some interesting-looking magic tools.
　If there's something that looks interesting, I'll ask to borrow it.
　That's what I was thinking about.

''What.......is this?''

　There was a strange empty space, hidden behind many bookshelves.
　In the middle of it was a huge, rectangular box.
　It's a huge box, large enough to fit a person inside.


　This is a hearse, isn't it?


　It was a pitch-black hearse.
　Why is the hearse in the room...?
　Perhaps the Great Sage is a vampire (vampire) so this means a bed?
　But I'm sleeping on the couch right now.

　Hmmm, what's this?
　You can't open the stone... when I was a little closer to the hearse.


'Hey,'
"What?

　What a surprise.
　The Great Sage appeared behind me.

"You're a bad person for sneaking into someone's bed. Are you a night owl?
Yes, it is.
Stupid. Who comes crawling into town at night with a girl? Come on over here.
Yes, sir.
　With a lighthearted smack, I returned to where the Great Sage Master was.
　He didn't mention the hearse I had seen earlier.

'So, what do you want?　They're probably in the middle of a ceremony right now, right?
''The Grand Sage was absent, you see. As a guardian knight, I have to stay with you.
　I say with a grin.
'You say...'
　He grinned back at me.

　After that, the Great Sage Master brewed me and Friae a cup of tea.
　Gentle.
　I sip it all the way through.

　I was expecting to say something, but Furiae-san was quiet.
　Instead, the Great Sage opened his mouth.

'Speaking of which, I'm going away tomorrow.
Is that so?
Ah, they say the army of Forneus the Sea Devil has come to the land of earth.
'What?　Isn't this a terrible time to be doing this?
　This is not the time for ceremony?

"Maybe it's just a diversion. The Daimaima will be back soon. They're not really going to attack us.
Yeah?
　The King of Sea Demons (Forneus) is a demon king who rules over sea monsters.
　If the battlefield is the sea, I'm a little curious because I think I'll be able to play an active role in it.

On a different note, Spiritist Master and the Moon Priestess. Be careful of the Pope. He has been complaining about my spirit user-kun as his guardian knight. Since you're saying that, you must be up to something.
　The Great Sage Master brought up a timely topic.

''That's exactly what I was blasted with a causal connection just now.
　Mr. Furiae frowned as if he even remembered an unpleasant emotion.

'The current pope is a hardcore pagan hater.
Absolutely.
　I fully agree with the Great Sage's words.
　It's going to be difficult to recall the Pope's attitude earlier, though.
　At that time, I asked him something that occurred to me.

'Speaking of which, Great Sage. What kind of a man is this brave sunshine hero Alexandre with the Pope?
That guy.... I don't know what he is either. He came in here out of the blue, about six months ago.
　The Great Sage doesn't know that.

But his power is unmistakable. I didn't know that a brave man with such magical power and fighting spirit was sleeping in the field. I thought I'd already unearthed all the talent from the western continent but they may have been pulled in from the outer continent. I suspected the possibility of otherworldly people... but that doesn't seem to be the case.
Well.....
　He's a strange guy.
　His personality isn't even close to what it was a little while ago.

'And by the way!'
　Friae, who had been quiet, said to the Great Sage, as if she had made up her mind.
''Hmm?''
'Daft Sage!　Could you not make my knight your patron knight without permission!
"Huh?
　He grinned and showed his canine teeth at Friae's words.

'Are you jealous?'
No, no!　I don't know what he's talking about!
It's not uncommon for people to have two jobs. It's not an inconvenience to me.　
　Oh yeah, you have to use whatever you can get your hands on!

''But, Spirit Master, you use four of the five major contracts....... I'm recommending it to you, but four is a lot. Maybe the blood contract was superfluous.
Hmm?
　Four?
　The contract I'm currently under.

　Master Noah the soul contract.
　Mr. Furiae the contract of the word
　Great Sage the blood contract.

It's just three.
What do you mean? I didn't notice before, but you have a contract with the body. You have a contract with that red-haired wizard. Well, it's not in the soul book because it's a provisional contract, but I can see it in my appraisal skills.

　..................What?

　The red-haired wizard, I'm pretty sure he's talking about Lucy.
　Me and Lucy, the 'contract of the body'?

My knight... when did you...?
　When I looked next to him, I saw Friae trembling willy-nilly as he looked at the traitor.

　No, wait, there was a misunderstanding!　

　...a misunderstanding, right?