As Irina had said, we arrived at the quay in front of us at sunset.
　He arrived very early, because he didn't have to go around the mountains and proceed in a straight line. It's still far faster to fly in the sky.
　Even though we have a magic carpet, we can't go through very high mountains.
　Can't we get out of the plane with a gacha item sooner or later?

　Anyway, we'll camp here today as planned and leave for the remote isles tomorrow morning.
　When Irina arrived, she immediately approached the edge of the cliff and clasped her hands together in prayer.
　Is she praying for safety for tomorrow? I don't want to bother you, so in the meantime, let's go get ready for camping.

'Wow!　Camping with the Noles!　I was looking forward to this one too!

　As I pull two tents out of my bag and set up the tent, Freesia is running around me, happy to see me.
　It's very hard to do, though!　Why is this guy so restless!

Freesia's been like this ever since we left.

'The last time I took you out you were making a lot of noise about wanting to camp out and I'm not sure you're going to make it through the day in many ways.

It'll be fine. Freesia is a good girl.

　When we were traveling from Brunne to Sevalia, we were taking Freesia with us, but that time we didn't make camp and went home when it got dark.
　Today, Freesia is pretty upbeat so far.
　It's just so noisy and if you start getting any more excited, you're out of control.
　Nole will have to do his best to keep it under control.
　

'Mmm, I forgot. I can't sleep with a change of bunk.

You'll have to bear with me. I'll give you a sleeping bag.

If you want, I'll kneecap you, sir!　Come on, come on in!

Mm, I'll take care of that.

　Luna is quickly laying down on Sisha's thighs, which are appealing to her as she sits down and taps her knees and camonkamon.
　As usual, Sisha is being lenient with Luna. She'll be satisfied with this and Luna seems to have no problem with it.
　This is a completely unenviable sight.
　Now that that's out of the way, what should we do about the food...hmmm, it's been a while since we've had that.

We'll use the food from the gutter to get fired up.

'Oh!　It's been a long time since we've used food!　Mmmmm, the food at Gacha is delicious.

'You haven't used it much since you started cooking at home. But you're okay with your sister being here?

'You'll be fine if you tell them you've magically preserved it or something. It takes a lot of work to cook in here, and it's not like we're going to have a tasteless meal.

　With this many people, it takes a lot of time to prepare food, and it also puts a strain on the Nolls who will mainly be making it.
　That's why this is the time to use R food from Gacha.
　With one touch of a button, delicious food comes out and there's no need to clean up, so it's really useful when camping.
　I'm a little hesitant to use it in front of Irina, but I want to nourish my wits for the battle that's going to happen tomorrow.
　It seems that the battle power of a Nole, especially with food, is going to change. Let's get him to eat as much good food as possible.
　As I quickly tapped my phone and served the food one after another, Freesia, who had been running around the area, came over to me.

''Dinner is ready!　It smells so good!

'You've already sniffed it out. You smell like a knoll.

Well, that kind of praise makes me embarrassed.

　I'm not complimenting him but he's like a guy who reacts the same way as Noor and Sisha.
　I don't know if he was influenced by the two of them or if he was originally like this, but there's no point in going into it, so let's just let it pass.
　After distributing the food I served to Freesia and the others, I called out to Irina-san, who was still praying at the edge of the cliff.

''Irina-san, the food is ready, would you like to eat with us?''

'Preparing a meal, sir?　I've brought my own preserves with me, but are you here to cook?

'Oh, I actually magically saved what I've already made for you. There's a lot of it, so feel free to try it. They've gotten good reviews from the Noles, so I can guarantee their taste.

It's a bit of magic to do that.... Thank you very much for taking care of the meal as well.

　She didn't seem to question it in particular, and Irina readily accepted and sat down to eat with us.
　It seems that Dara is diving into the sea by herself to catch her prey. After all, he is a demon, so he is robust.

　Irina-san is surprised to see the meal that was prepared for her.
　The thick steak that Noor is eating, which makes a sizzling sound, and Esther's omelet with a melted egg that is half-boiled.
　Both look like something that's just been made. Or rather, they're freshly made in a way because they were served just now.
　I prepared a cream stew with seafood for Irina, which came out randomly.
　She took a spoon in her hand and scooped up the stew and brought it to her mouth with a look of fear.......

''..........?　What is this food?　I've never eaten anything this good... oh, I'm sorry for shouting...

No, no, I'm glad you liked it.

　Noll and the others were eating the portions I served myself, so I chose the one I served for Irina-san.
　After two presses, the pizza and stew came out, but the stew should still be easier for Irina-san to eat compared to the pizza.
　If it looks like it won't work, I was going to serve some more, but if it looks like this, I'm not worried.

''This dish is amazingly delicious...''

Mr. Knoll's food is good, but this is still good.

　Freesia and the others are also eating what they each served, seemingly satisfied.
　However, only Luna was frowning in dissatisfaction as she clutched her fork.
　The dish she served, it was chicken rice with hamburgers, french fries, etc........a children's lunch.
　Politely, a small flag was stuck in the top of the rice.

'Delicious, but strangely annoying. Why is there a flag on it?

'I think it's good to feel special!　Let's keep that flag as a souvenir!

What a memorial. I'll take it.

　He looked disgruntled, but it looks like he's going to pull out the flag that was stuck in the rice and take it home with him after Freesia told him to.
　From the looks of Luna, the children's lunch looks terrific on her.........................Hii!　
　I don't know what it is, but it's staring at me so hard!　You don't think they know what you're thinking... Esper!
　As we were eating rather peacefully like that, we noticed Irina-san looking at us in a daze.

''Is something wrong?''

You all seem to be having a lot of fun, even though you may have to fight now...

'I'm sorry, maybe I wasn't as nervous as I should have been.

''No, don't be so apologetic. When I had other adventurers escort me before, the place was tense and I often got tired. Seeing you all makes me feel calmer and more at ease too.

　Irina-san puts her hand on her chest and speaks as if she is truly relieved.
　Hmm, I certainly don't understand how Irina-san feels.
　When I see Nol and the others eating happily, my anxiety about what kind of battle we'll have tomorrow fades away.
　It's because I'm usually helped a lot, too. I know they don't intend to do that at all, but being with them is really encouraging.
　

●

　The next day, as planned, they were traveling at sea in the early morning on the Dara to a remote islet.

'I thought we were going to be attacked in the night, but nothing happened.

Mmmm, I'm a little disappointed that there's nothing.

'Don't be sorry. Sis'ha has helped me sleep better.

I'm glad to hear that you're happy with it.

　Last night we were on alert for the night in case of an attack, but nothing special happened.
　I thought that since they might be coming to the island now, they would also be on alert for the relatively close land, but that's not the case.
　It's possible that the fact that the mastermind or diabolus is on a remote island is just a groundless possibility...it's not that naive.
　We're also wary of them at night, and it's also possible that they didn't attack us because they thought they'd only get beaten up for nothing if they took on us on land.
　Either way, we won't be attacked and we'll all be in good shape to fight.

　We were carried on Dara's back and made our way through the sea, which stretched out as far as the eye could see.
　Along the way, Noor muttered slightly uneasily as he looked down at the sea.

'It's a bit scary flying over the sea like this. There is no land nearby, so it's unlikely that they will be able to return on their own.

'Right. We don't have anything to target, and I don't know which way to go. Come to think of it, sister, you don't seem to be seeing anything, do you know which direction the island is in?

　It's true that we're so far away that we can't see the land anymore, so it's hard to tell which direction we're going in under normal circumstances.
　The map app shows the current location from the land, but if you check it, Dara is heading straight for a certain direction without hesitation.
　Irina doesn't seem to have anything in particular to check the direction, but I wonder if she has some kind of technique to know the direction?
　Irina answered Esther's question willingly.

'Yes, those of us who serve Master Testudo naturally know in which direction the Holy Land is located. And Dara knows exactly where we are, even at sea. We also have a magnetic compass with us, so you can rest assured that we have it with us.

　Oh, you serve a guardian god, so you can understand such things.
　Besides, Dara can fly by herself, so she instinctively understands where she is now.
　I don't feel like I'm lost when I check the map app, and if I let Irina and Dara handle it, I'll be able to get to my destination without fail.
　As I was looking at the map app with that in mind, three red dots appeared within the displayed area.

'Irina-san, please stop for a moment.

'Yes, sir!　Dara, stop!

　In response to Irina-san's shout, Dara immediately stopped advancing and floated in place.

''If she stopped so suddenly, does that mean the demons are reacting?

Yeah, he's getting ahead of himself. Irina-san, I'll check it out, so can you take Dara in the direction I tell you to go a little bit at a time?

Okay, okay!

　He's still far away from us because he's just now getting a reaction in the corner that's shown on the map app, so he's still far away from us.
　Moreover, the direction they're in is where Dara was going straight ahead, and they're obviously waiting for us to come.
　So we decided to deviate from the path a bit and approach the place where the demon is located in order to go around it.
　I asked Dara to stop again at the place where we got a certain amount closer, and when I looked at the demon's reaction through the telescope at a certain place.......there were three diabolus flying around.

''Ah, there are three of those demons in the example.

　I didn't expect to see three Diabolus wandering around from the start... does this mean that they are quite serious about it too?
　I don't think this is the only place they're on alert, and with three of them in one place, it seems like they're going to have a good number of Diabolus on alert around the island.
　Thanks to the map app, I'm really glad we found them before we encountered them.
　It's tough to deal with three of them suddenly in an encounter when you're on Dara.
　I have to thank the map app for playing the role of radar in a way.

'What are you going to do, sir?　Would it not be better to go around to avoid detection?

'I don't want to fight on this girl as much as possible. But if you're going out of your way to look around, there must be other places to be.

'Even if we proceeded to avoid it, we'd probably end up being spotted before we reached the island. As for flying higher... how high can Dara-san fly?

'I'm sorry. I can fly as high as I can, but I think it's hard to keep it up.

　You can't avoid it by going up in altitude, he said.
　No, but considering the risk of being ducked underneath when you're up in the air, that's not an option either way.
　If they noticed me while I was passing above them, I wouldn't be able to fight back as well as I could with Dara on my back.
　Dara herself might be able to fight back, but if possible, she'd rather not allow them to get too close and let us deal with them ourselves.

　Hmmm, I'd really like to avoid fighting, but wouldn't it be better to hit those guys that are roaming around while we're at it?
　Even if we avoided it here and proceeded, there might be someone else watching us elsewhere.
　If I avoided that as well and proceeded to do so repeatedly, I would never be able to approach the island for any length of time.
　In the worst case scenario, if a diabolus were to find us near the island by mistake, the people who have been avoiding us would gather together and surround us.

　We'd still be outside the siege, so we wouldn't have to worry about being surrounded, and we'd be able to take care of at least three of them now for sure.
　Furthermore, if we mess with those guys, they'll be scattered about, and those on guard will be coming for us, so we can ambush them.
　If worse comes to worse, we can still turn back to land from here.
　Okay, I think we should kill them while we still can.

''Let's destroy each one of them while we can, instead of advancing while avoiding them. If we don't defeat them here, the worst that can happen is that we will have to deal with additional people when we reach the island. We want to reduce their numbers while we can. Probably, but if we get our hands on them, the others scattered around should gather at about the same time.

'You are acting with three bodies after reflecting on the last time, aren't you?　With that, even if you were to be caught by surprise, you would be able to see at least one of them, right?

It's a nasty monster that's gradually learning. It's even worse this time around.

Oh, man, I hate monsters that move in packs.

　You're absolutely right.
　Each diabolus was flying away from each other, but they kept a distance from each other to check each other.
　This would allow them to react instantly if one of the three was hit, reducing the risk of getting hit by three of them at the same time.
　It looks like the experience of being attacked in the dark at the shrine is properly reflected in my experience.

　If even one of them remains, the information will be passed on to Diabolus, which is probably wary of its surroundings.
　The fact that the information is instantly transmitted to other individuals just by being found is just too troublesome for any number of reasons.
　.........Well, I can make use of that characteristic to ambush them, though.
　As I was thinking about this, Irina-san, who was listening to me, had a quizzical look on her face.

''Okura-san and the others are quite knowledgeable about the demons in the example, aren't they?

''Ah ... ha, yes. I've dealt with it a few times since Queres, so I have some understanding of its characteristics. Besides, if we put together the information we have so far, there must be someone who is giving instructions to that demon.

'Instructions, sir? ........I see......You mean that someone is in the Holy Land, right?　

　Irina-san is looking down and laughing with a sinister voice.
　
　I wonder how she'll react if she finds the culprit.
　I have to be careful so that Irina-san doesn't go out of control.

''And anyway, since that's the reason, can I ask Dara to do as I said?　We can get a general idea of the direction and timing of the demons' arrival, so let's get around it.

I understand. I will follow your instructions. Mr. Okura-san and the others really have a lot of skills, don't they?

　Thanks to the map app, you know exactly what's going on around you, and you know where the reinforcements will be coming from after you defeat the Diabolus you're in.
　Let's use that to our advantage so that we can attack first.
　In order to defeat the three diabolus in front of me, I'll have them approach until Freesia is within attacking distance, keeping an eye out for Diabolus' movements.

''If we get any closer, they're going to see us. Freesia, can you snipe them from here?　If you can, just make sure you get one of them off.

I got it!　I'm very good at shooting down flying prey!

　Don't slap his chest and Freesia has a confident expression on her face.
　It's only because I can really trust her when it comes to her bow skills.
　From here to Diabolus, it looks like it's roughly more than two kilometers away.
　It's extremely difficult to hit an opponent who is not only flying but also moving around at this distance, but.....but I can feel the awesomeness of Freesia doing it.

　After receiving supportive magic from Estelle, Freesia numbered four arrows simultaneously on the bow with a serious look on her face as usual.
　Then she takes a big breath and exhales and releases the arrows at the same time.
　The speed of Freesia's arrows, which have received Esther's enhanced supportive magic, may be invisible, but immediately after releasing them, they landed on the diabolus that was watching through the telescope.
　I don't know the details of where it hit due to its body popping off in an instant, but I think its head was definitely hit.
　Freesia didn't check it, and as soon as she fired the first shot, she released the arrow into the bow again for another turn.

　I hurriedly telescoped the rest of the diabolus and saw the second one already falling apart in the air and disappearing as it fell apart.
　The third and final diabolus had just barely avoided or stopped its prototype, but its wings were shot out and it was falling while spinning around, losing its balance.
　There, mercilessly, Freesia fired more arrows and shot through the falling diabolus to stop them.
　Having killed all the diabolus in the very blink of an eye, Freesia returned to her usual loose atmosphere and made a smug face.

''Ehehe, I shot them all down!

"Oh... I never thought I'd be able to kill all three of them in the blink of an eye...

It's a good thing that they are reliable when dealing with long-distance opponents. Moreover, it's amazing how accurately they hit the opponent who is flying.

Maybe not so much!

Mmm, I'll give him credit for being a real piece of work.

'Wow!　Luna-chan complimented me!

　I thought I'd take out just one of them first and kill the other two while they were confused, but.......I didn't think I could kill them so instantly.
　There's also the enhanced Estelle's support magic, but Freesia's sniping skills are still extraordinary.
　I was worried about whether I could hit it, but she hit it not just once, but four times at once.
　It's not only that, but it also easily penetrates the defense of the diabolus, and if I got hit by that thing, I couldn't help but notice that there was nothing left to lose.
　Irina-san was watching our exchange with a pout, but after hearing the conversation, she huffed and raised her voice, as if she understood that the battle was already over.

''Eh........eh?　I'm sorry, did you just take him down?　I didn't see the demon at all, but...

Ah, this guy really only has good bow skills, so he can easily hit an opponent that looks like a pea grain.

'Yes!　I'm very confident in my bow!

Is that so. I had a chance to see it once in the temple, but I never thought it would be this amazing.

　Once again, Irina-san was puzzled to see that ability of Freesia's, but now she would understand that she could really rely on it.
　Even I, who knew it, still feels so great once again when I see this sniping.
　At any rate, since Diabolus and the others should be aware of our presence with this, those who have been vigilantly watching the surroundings should be gathering soon.
　Utterly, I didn't know we were going to have to have this kind of battle before we reached the island.......will we be able to reach the island safely?