That day, Koganei was finally allowed to go free in the old castle. He had been locked up in a prison cell for a long time and seemed to be going crazy every day, but perhaps he should consider it better that he hadn't been killed. Koganei wandered through the old castle by himself.
　This castle stood in the middle of a dense forest. Looking out of the broken window, he could see a decaying town in the trees. It had perished long ago, and trees had grown there to create a forest. It seemed to be such a place.

　To the best of Koganei's knowledge, the area around the castle had never shown a blue sky. Heavy, dark clouds covered the sky like a canopy, and it often rained. How could the trees grow in this, Koganei thought.
　I wonder how everyone in the class is doing. That red winged demon---no, he called himself a pawn. That pawn had said that he was going to attack the base again. Will everyone in the base be safe when it is attacked again?

　In the end, I failed to apologize to everyone in my class.

　I wanted to apologize at least once while I was still alive.
　As I was strolling through the old castle with a depressed feeling, I heard some nostalgic, yet nevertheless nostalgic sound that I would never hear in this castle, coming from the great hall.

''.........?''

　When Koganei opened the door quizzically, a man was sitting on a torn couch in the center of the hall.
　He's more of a boy than a man. He is somewhat gangly, and his face has many parts that are aggressively shaped, but his face itself is innocent. More importantly, he was wearing a school uniform.
　A school uniform. Why is he wearing that? Koganei didn't think so. But what was more, what the boy was holding in his hand was a shock to him.

　It was a controller for a video game. Is that a PlayStation?
　That's not all. The controller was neatly connected to the game console itself, and the game console was connected to the LCD TV. And the game console and the LCD TV extended the power cord to the biggest machine he had ever seen.

　He was playing a video game.
　Koganei's understanding of the situation was difficult to keep up with. Wasn't this a different world?

　Still, he stepped into the hall and went behind the boy to check the screen. The boy was playing an old game that was over fifteen years old now. Looking at the floor, he saw a large pile of video game software of about the same age.

'Yo, High Elf,'

　The boy said, not taking his eyes off the TV screen.

''Oh, um......... Suou-san, right...?''
Oh. Night Suou. You can call me Suo Takafumi, though.

　A blunt, spiteful manner. The type I don't like, Koganei thought.
　This is the same type of guy as those hateful delinquents who mugged Koganei in his first year. In other words, a Yankee.

　He wanted to get away from them as soon as possible, but the TV and video game console in front of him wouldn't allow him to do so.
　Koganei couldn't take his eyes off the items that reminded him of his nostalgic hometown.

　Staring, he watched Suou play.
　The game Suou is playing is a port of a gothic horror-style action game released by Konami in 1993. I've seen Kyousuke playing an older version of this game before.
　It's a very atmospheric game to play in a castle that's just like a demon castle.

　However...

"Oh shit...!　He's dead again!

　Suo was terrible at it.
　It's partly because the difficulty of this game is so high to begin with. But more than that, there is a fatal flaw in the gameplay. The basic movements such as jumping are completely unused.

　Koganei couldn't help but mutter to himself, "I'm terrible at this.

''I suck at it...''
Ah!

　Suou gingerly bared his canine teeth like Count Dracula, threatening Koganei. I couldn't help but freak out and shake my body.

'What the hell, you. Then do it yourself.
"Uh, yeah.... Good, but....

　Koganei picked up the controller that was bluntly thrust out of the way.
　It's good to say it, but will he be able to do it well? What Koganei is good at is full-blown 3D action, including FPS. These games are rather Kyousuke's specialty.
　No, well, he can do it better than Suou. Taking it easy, I decided to start the game.

　How long has it been since I've felt a controller? I hadn't touched the controller for a long time, even when I was a human, but I miss the feeling of the plastic controller that fits in my hand. The same goes for the rubber on the start and select buttons.

　Suou sat on the sofa for a while and watched the TV screen with a Buddha's face, but when Koganei had beaten the boss of the first stage, he leaned forward.

''You're so good at this,''
Yeah, I guess so.

　It's been a long time since I've been praised. Koganei was surprisingly good at playing, even to himself, and cleared the stage smoothly. I wonder if his dynamic vision and reflexes have been strengthened by becoming a High Elf. If so, I'd really like to play an FPS game as this. I'd like to challenge my friend who gave Koganei a lot of grief.
　In the meantime, we entered the eighth and final block of the stage. Before we knew it, a few hours had passed. Suou was completely engrossed in Koganei's play, occasionally saying things like "wow" or "you're good" in admiration.

　The final stage boss, Count Dracula, stood in front of the player character. Suou's eyes were shining.

''This guy is the boss?''
Yes.

　Koganei replied briefly and manipulated the controller without making the slightest movement at all. Suou also spat and fell silent, and the only sounds heard in the great hall of the old castle were the sound of the game echoing from the TV and the slight sound of Koganei tapping the buttons, a cracking sound.

''Ah........''

　Perhaps from nervousness, his fingers slip on his hands and feet and he makes a painful mistake. In a slight hurry, he continued to make the blunder of reducing his life points.
　In the end, Koganei was unable to defeat Count Dracula at the last minute, and the game was over.

''Ah......... Sorry..........''
It's fine. I don't care. You're pretty good at this. What's your name again?
"Koganei. Koganei Yoshiki.
Koganei. Welcome back to the club. My name is Suou. I'm Suou of the Night.

　Suou quickly held out his right hand and tried to clench it back, but it was a clenched fist and he was confused.
　Then Suou finally laughed and let Koganei's hand make a fist bone, and then bumped his own fist into it with a knot, then from above, then from below.

''What is this?''
That's a friend's greeting. Nice to meet you.

　Suou smiles showing his white teeth. The sharp canine teeth are still very conspicuous.

　When Koganei saw that Suou, what he thought of was the face of Kyousuke Soraki for some reason.
　When Koganei said, 'I'm sorry,' Suou didn't care at all and said, 'It's fine, it's fine. I don't expect him to apologize and forgive me for what I did to him in class. But I had a feeling that that Kyousuke would respond the same way as Suou did.




　The fourth inter-world class meeting had come to a successful end. Ryuzaki and Rin's rooting went well, and all 37 of them had made the decision to leave the kingdom. When I went to tell Her Majesty about it, she smiled and said, ''I will respect your courageous decision.
　Kannari and Hanazono also decided to follow closely after discussing it with their close classmates. Hanazono still seemed to be struggling with whether or not to return to being a human, but it was an honest answer to both Sugiura's desire to stay with them at least until the last minute, and his own feelings about the exact same thing. They were going to act together until they visited Master Majina, who lived in the East Forest.
　Incidentally, Kurumori (Gremlin), who had said at the second class meeting, 'I'll hold off on whether or not I'll return to the original world', said, 'I'll hold off on whether or not I'll return, but I'll take care of the heavy cruiser,' and went back to the western fortress line the day after the third session ended. He's been helping to rebuild the fortress line for a week since then, while also repairing the chimps and the heavy cruisers. The knights of the fortress line have helped him quite a bit, and the reinforcement seems to be going well.

　Well, it means that the crisis of class separation has been avoided for the time being. Kyousuke and the others were relieved as they ate their last meal in the royal palace's large dining room, eating the last meal of the royal capital.

''Already, it's so hard, so hard to make the minutes...''

　Sakuma chewed on a piece of bread and summarized the contents of the fourth class meeting.
　She had put together a set of comfortable clothing in this royal capital. Many people lament her attire, which has been drastically reduced in terms of exposure.

''I see, it's the scribe...''

　Kyousuke nods sincerely. Kyousuke is eating with Rin in a combined state. The meal itself was served for 37 people, so Rin was happy to be able to eat for two.

''You may be busy, Sachi-chan, but you should come and hug Utsurogi-kun once in a while.
'What?　What are you talking about, Himemizu-san!
Even if I can't do it by myself, if you hug me, Utsurogi-kun might be able to get his desire back.
"...and...?
What's that, you're gonna get my desire back...

　Rin's outlandish words caused Kyousuke to be confused as well. Sakuma, too, turned red in Sakuma, muttering 'Utsurogi-kun's desire...' and squirming. This seems to be a very bad trend.
　But in the end, instead of talking about the true meaning of those unintelligible words, Rin was silently digesting the chicken patties. As Kyousuke tilted his head and reached for the remaining parsley, his arms came to a halt as if in a golden bind.

Hmm...?
"I hate parsley, Mr. Utsurogi, and I hate parsley!
It's pretty shocking to me that there's something you can't eat.

　I'm the kind of girl who eats shrimp shells and potato peels.

'I like it, though.
'Parsley!　You're the first person I've ever met who likes parsley as an accompaniment.
Well, if you don't like princess water, I don't mind.
'Don't give up!

　Rin suddenly shouted loudly, and the whole class turned their gazes towards us.

''Hi, Himemizu!
'Why do you give up?　You like parsley!　Don't say, 'I like it there, so let's separate it out and eat it,' or something like that!　Oh, my God!　Oh, my God!　If it's something you like, you should be a little more gutsy!
What's the matter, Himesui!　You're a little crazy today!
I'm the only one who's crazy!　It's not like I've been crazy all this time!

　As soon as you say it, Rin's body extends tentacle-like from around Kyousuke's shoulder. It's a good idea to make sure that you have a good idea of what you're looking for. It's also a good idea to have a good time with them.
　It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're going to do with it. No, this isn't sweat. It's tears.

''Ugh.........Utsurogi-kun, pa, parsley.......tasty.......!
Himemizu...?

　Her eccentricities aren't the first time she's done this, but it's a bit alarming to watch.

'Well, yeah. But, um, well, I'm glad the class got together!

　When Sakuma saw our confusion, he changed the subject somewhat forcefully.

'Yeah, good. That's good to hear.''

　Rin murmurs in a voice that is still somewhat mixed with tears.

'We're all coming together, or rather, our individual ruts are slowly disappearing.
Individual rancor?
Yeah. Utsurogi-kun and Hino-kun are in love, so you wouldn't understand. Compared to when we first started out, I feel like the cracks are slowly being repaired.

　Sakuma nodded yes, too. Indeed, she might be an obvious example. Before the trip, there didn't seem to be any students in the class who were so close to each other (in fact, she had an unexpected friend named Benii), but since she came here, she's been able to get to know the chairman, Tatsuzaki, Kagoi (Gargoyle) from the same squad, fellow squad leaders Kenzaki (Dullahan) and Uozumi (Gilman), Benii's cronies Harui (Harpy), and Snake Mound ( (Lamia), plus the lone wolf, Inugami (Warwolf), with whom she is steadily expanding her social relationship.
　The girl who used to reign at the top of the class caste said something very much like that, ''After all, that's the kind of small group of gatherings that is the class.

　Well, in fact, the atmosphere in the class is better than before.
　At least, the cushy atmosphere of the week immediately after the trip is gone. It also means that everyone has become more relaxed.

You're not going to go at this time. You're going at this time........
What do you mean by that now? Washio was the one who said let's go!
Stop being so cocky. It's not very manly.
Mm, good luck, all three of you. Guts. We're rooting for you.

　Suddenly, such a conversation can be heard from behind. Kyousuke turns around, and Sakuma, who is sitting in the seat across from him, also shifts his posture so that he can look behind Kyousuke.

　The three people there are Washio (Gryphon), Tentahara (Roper), and Hakuba (Unicorn). Behind them, Kenzaki, the headless customs officer, stood with his arms crossed.
　Washio, who is standing in the lead, seems to shy away somewhat awkwardly, but when he notices Kyousuke and the others' eyes, he sighs and steps forward as if he's ready.

''Yo, yo, Utsurugi........''
''Ah, ah........ What's wrong with you, Washio? It's a bit of a change of pace.
No, I mean.... Well.....

　Behind Washio and the others, Kenzaki pauses with a guffaw. I'm not sure what it means.
　Behind Washio, who was embarrassed and stagnant, Hakuba smiled bitterly.

''We came here to apologize to Utsurogi.
Me?　What?
Like the hallway at the base, or the one in the cafeteria.

　Ah, Kyousuke recalled. Come to think of it, it had been quite acrimonious with them in the beginning. Washio in particular had aggressively poked at them, and during the mess in the cafeteria, he had been torn apart by them.
　After that, Washio and the others, as former members of the Koganei group, had been treated relatively coldly in the class. Nevertheless, Ryuzaki's organization of the group is working, and they are gradually coming to understand each other as they used to.

The atmosphere in the class is getting better. The atmosphere in the class is getting better. I suggested that if I apologize, he'll forgive me and let's get it over with.
"As Washio's squad leader, I was in full agreement with you.

　And it's Kenzaki who crosses his arms and stretches his chest.

'But Hakuba has already apologized to you.
Washio and Tentahara aren't very honest.

　Saying that, Hakuba stepped forward and bowed politely towards Kyousuke.

''I'm sorry. Utsurogi.''
Oh, I'm sorry, too. I don't have a head to put down, but I'm sorry anyway.

　Following Hakuba, Tentacleshara nodded, letting the tentacles all over his body fall to the floor in a sticky manner.

''Ah, hmm. Well, what........

　Washio awkwardly averted his gaze to the end, looking embarrassed, before finally sighing and lowering his head.

'I'm sorry, Utsurogi. I'm sorry, forgive me.
Yeah, yeah.

　Kyousuke nodded.

'I don't mind. Get your face up.

　With that word, it was a hand strike for the moment. From around Kyousuke's shoulder, Nyuu Rin's hand reached out and clapped with a snap. Kenzaki and Sakuma followed suit, clapping as well.
　Washio made a relieved expression and looked at Hakuba and Tentahara. Tentahara's expression was vaguely unrecognizable since he didn't have a face, but he must be just as relieved as Washio was.

''Well, it's one of Utsurogi-kun's virtues to forgive everything, isn't it...''

　Rin muttered vaguely as she clapped her hands.

'What the hell, Himemizu. There's something implied in the way you say it.''
Hmmm. Never mind. I'm okay with what happened to you.
Ei always gets mad at me for being too nice to me.
It's okay to be a goody-two-shoes. Maybe.

　Rin's words had some probing nuance to them. Searching for the line between being a goody-two-shoes and something that wasn't. It would be a lie to say that he didn't care about the rest of her words, but in the end, Kyousuke didn't ask Rin about it.




　After finishing their meal, Kyousuke and the others left the royal capital with a regretful feeling, and headed west to the fortress line.

　What do we do now? Ryuzaki explained that they would board a heavy cruiser and head for the mountainous belt to the south. He said that south of here was a kingdom that had been destroyed hundreds of years ago, and heading east from there would eventually lead them to the sea. He was taught that it was a route that the Empire could not detect, and that there would be less conflict with the humans.
　However, as we passed along the coast, we eventually hit Imperial territory. Her Majesty's suggestion was that they should continue offshore, through the maritime states, which were still beyond the reach of the Empire, and aim for the eastern side of the continent.

"You've got to be kidding me.　I've already refurbished the hull to fit the caterpillars.

　As soon as he heard it, Kurumori shouted that, but whether he would actually refurbish the heavy cruiser again after going out to sea or whether he would cross the ocean with a different hand would be something to think about at that time.

"By the way, Ryuzaki, isn't it unpalatable to be a heavy cruiser forever?

　Necessary supplies provided by the kingdom as a favor to me by the kingdom were loaded into the heavy duty vehicles. Goblins, skeletons, and even Zeku and others helped, so this kind of work proceeded at a relatively high pace.
　Hearing those words, Ryuzaki smiled with an uncharacteristically boastful smile and pointed the tip of his dragon face's nose to the bow section of the ship.

'Yeah, I've given it a name, in case you were wondering.
Let's see.

　It says 'City Kamishiro High School, an otherworldly branch school'.

' "........Tatsuzaki really has a strong sense of belonging to the class, or rather the school, don't you?

　I guess that's a good thing," said Kyousuke as he walked up the ramp that had been lowered to the ground.
　Part of the deck had been drilled wide open and filled with a large amount of dirt. Hanazono (Alraune) jumps in with a cheer and quickly plants the seedlings that were given away as a favor from the agricultural fields around the King's Capital. Sugiura, too, was busy tinkering with the soil, helping her after carrying a large amount of cooking utensils into the ship's dining room.

　"The bottom of the branch school has been modified quite heavily. It certainly seems impossible to float it in the water as it is.
　Furthermore, the main guns and machine guns are placed on the deck in a way that doesn't interfere with Hanazono's vegetable garden, and these are carefully polished by the goblins. They are the ones who handle these firearms, and Goblin Interpreter and Fire Control Commissioner Soubukawa, who was the boss of them, was given the obscure title of 'Goblin Interpreter and Fire Control Commissioner'.
　The two gunpowder catapults, presumably for ejecting shipboard aircraft, had also been firmly fixed. They seemed to be for flying Ryuzaki and Kannari. Ryuuzaki's explanation was that if they flapped their wings on the deck, they could blow up the goblins on the gun emplacements and the vegetables in the flower garden.

''Mina-san!''

　Waving his hand and running flabbergasted, it was Princess Serenade who had followed him off.
　Even though she has been given attendance number 41, as expected, I can't let her take the princess of a country any further. She is here to say goodbye. She was beating her chest, hoping that Kyousuke and the others would be able to move easily and leave the rooting to the various countries. In other words, I guess I shouldn't expect too much.
　However, it was very painful for her to leave, as she had a wealth of monster knowledge and knowledge of this world.

'Serena-san, you've been a great help to me until now.
'Not at all, Mr. Utsuroghi!　Here's the one who has helped me so far!　From now on, it's our turn to take care of you all in the shadows!

　To delay her, some knights brought in a large number of crates. Ryuzaki tilted his head.

''What is this?''
'A gift from me to you all. Take a look.

　Saying that, Serena opens one of the crates. There was a large amount of paper bundles crammed into it.

''Look!　These are Serena notes about the monsters of this world, describing the ecology as best I can!
Oh, oh....

　Kyousuke and Ryuzaki couldn't help but let out an exclamation in unison.
　Even though it's a wooden box, it's nearly a meter long on one side. Are all of these notes handwritten by Serena? I thought she hadn't been seen much in the past week, but I wondered if she had been writing these all week or something.
　If you look closely, you can see that His Royal Highness Princess Serenade has a bear on her noble face that is roughly unbecoming of a royal prince.

　Furthermore, the knight slowly put down a box somewhat smaller than that wooden box.

''That's not all. This is some hypotheses I've obtained by contacting the Empire's Rare Creature Writers Corps, and my paper.
Hypothesis?
'About your Phase 2 abilities. In short, how likely is it that a monster in this world will manifest an inherent ability? What kind of abilities are likely to be expressed? And then there's about the Red Moon Bloodline (Red Moon). This one includes some of the views of the Imperial Ministry of Magic and the Imperial Knight Ministry. Well, please look over it when you're settled. I've done my best!

　When I flipped through the pages, I found a list of incomprehensible sentences that seemed to be written in our world, but at the bottom of each one I found a Japanese translation. However, underneath it all, there is a Japanese translation, carefully written one by one. There was more than one handwriting. It seemed to me that Serena and Her Majesty the Queen had written it, but it was much more than that, as it seemed to have been written by a variety of different people.

I wasn't able to meet any of you, but I did have some help from the Japanese people who have settled in this country.
Those people aren't leaving?
'There are those who have no intention of returning, or cannot return....... In this world, there are not only transmigrators (trippers), but also reincarnators (reincarnators) whose souls only jump to us, and those people cannot return to their original world.

　The failure to bring them to Kyousuke and the others was also largely due to the political background. Some nobles were said to be strongly opposed to keeping the monsters in the royal palace for a while, and it was said that there were many interests related to otherworldly knowledge that were involved with the transitioners and reincarnators.
　In such a situation, Serena slipped through the eyes of the opposition and asked the Japanese people to help her, and they helped her out of the good graces of their hometown.

I'm glad to hear that. I'm so happy about this.

　Ryuzaki said with a slightly tearful voice. Kyousuke nodded.

''Thank you, Serena-san. That's amazingly helpful.''
It's okay. It's okay. I can only do this much......... Eh, heh.........

　The knights carried the papers Serena had prepared into the ship. Serena scratched her cheeks with a smile, but her voice gradually lost its energy and she turned her face down.

''Um, I won't say goodbye to you........ I plan to see you again, so........
Hmm, yeah...
It's just that I'm glad to have met you all, I spent my time as a member of the second year 4 class, it wasn't that long, I was always getting yelled at, and I was always getting in trouble with everyone, but I had fun...
'Yeah...'
Well, then, that's what I'm talking about!　Bye, then!

　Serena looked up with a gabber and gave a bleeped salute, then turned her back and ran off at once, just like that.

''You were a stormy transfer student........''

　Ryuzaki mumbles to himself.

Well, you're a princess. The storm will come.

　Kyousuke also countered.

　It was almost time to leave. Kyousuke climbed the ramp with Ryuzaki.




''Well........that's what happened.......''
Hmm. So, I came to apologize for...

　Koganei was sitting on the sofa alongside Suou, enjoying a fighting game. At first Suou was just moving around with the button gacha, but he gradually learned the Wave Fist command, then the Shoryuken command, and now he's grown to the point where he and Koganei can enjoy a game of skill. His dynamic vision and reflexes are even better than Koganei's, and he can see right through a few frames of movement, so you can't be too careful, even if you are an amateur.
　Furthermore, Koganei had shared his concerns with Suou. This might not be the kind of thing to talk about with the guys who kidnapped him from his class, but he wanted to get one of those things off his chest.

　He managed to win the reading and Koganei took the second round from Suou's controlled character. That's seven wins and one minute. He still barely manages to keep his nerd face on.

　I look down to the floor and see various materials lying around in addition to the game software. All of them are in Japanese. They were probably printed out of PowerPoint. The 'Transitional Degeneration Gate Outline' and 'Corpse Virus Outline', both of which had 'Chuunomiga' written in the creator's name, Koganei looked blankly at them.

''Well, you should just apologize. In that case,''

　Placing the controller on the couch, Suou looked up at the ceiling.

''Is everyone alive...?''
I'm alive. I think so. Not even five pawns have returned...

　That's the gospel for Koganei. Everyone in the class is alive and well?
　But would Kyousuke be among them? He had been trampled to pieces, and his body had been crushed to pieces. A dismembered Kyousuke would be able to fix it, but if it was shattered, could it be healed? Koganei didn't know.

　But furthermore, Suou uttered something surprising.

''Besides, your chance to apologize will come soon enough.
"...why?
That's because we're here to get you all on board.

　Suou looked at Koganei's face and smiled.

''You guys came to this world to be one of us.