"Oh, you're my team?　You're welcome!　We haven't had much to talk about since we got here!

　After splitting up the group, the one who welcomed Kyousuke with a rather loud voice was Sarutowatari Futa (Hanuman).
　I had asked Ei what Hanuman was, and he said that it was an Indian spirit animal that was one of the models for Sun Wukong, in essence. Hanuman is the name of an individual creature, and to be more precise, he is classified as one of the Vanara (monkeys), but he is one of the most famous of them all, which is why "Hanuman" is treated as a species in Japanese subculture. There are also many.
　And that's what Ei told me, in a crazy grumpy way. It was common for Ei to be grumpy, but that tone of voice was usually related to the tokusatsu, so Kyousuke decided to leave it alone. It was probably Hanuman who was playing a role he didn't like on his favorite tokusatsu show. It's not that Sarutoyo is innocent.

'I don't think we've had much to talk about since we came over here or in the original world.
'That too, I suppose!　Well, take care of it!

　Saruwatari is in a rare position to be able to run the front line and use magic. However, his defensive ability is not so high, so he cannot be expected to play a wall role.
　Incidentally, he was on the baseball team at Kamishiro High School. The so-called "ace pitcher", but the baseball club at Kamishiro High School is a weak team, and when they participate in a tournament, they usually lose in the first round and return home. It's a well-known story that just three months ago, in a practice game, the team was beaten to a complete game by the opposing high school's female pitcher.

"Umm, Saruwatari-kun........
Hmm?

　From behind him, Sakuma was calling out to him in a cursory manner. Instead of his usual one-piece outfit, he was wearing a revealing succubus style. It would be called a battle outfit, but I think it could be a more defensive-conscious outfit.
　The man who was not fazed by Sakuma was Saruwatari. No, it's not that he's unfazed. I'm not sure if that's because of the fact that he's averted his gaze slightly.

'What's the matter, Sakuma!　You still have the same low voice!　If you have something to say, say it!
I'm the leader of this group, but...
'Right!　Well, that too!

　Saruwatari nodded, shouting so loudly that he wanted to cover his ears (no).
　It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for. It's a rather ideal formation that includes a wall, magic attack and recovery personnel. It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

　Apparently there are several types of recovery magic in this world. This was also uncovered in the Serena Memo.
　First of all, medical magic and sacred magic. There are no students in the second year and four classes who can use these magic developed in the human world. On the contrary, there are magic that humans cannot handle, such as life magic, spirit magic and shadow magic, and the recovery magic used by the students is classified as these.
　Of these, the least risky and most versatile is life magic, which manipulates the life force itself. However, this is ineffective against the undead, who are operating on a different logic than the original life force. When it is said this way, it is very complicated for Kyousuke, who is aware of "living", but as a practical matter, it can't be helped because it is ineffective.
　What works for the undead as well are the water attribute spirit magic《Healing Water (Aqua Heal)》and the shadow magic 《Shadow Spinning (Shadow Heal)》.

　What Sarutoyo can handle is wind-attribute spirit magic. These can't heal wounds, but they can perform dexterous tricks such as fixing objects in the air. If a situation such as a crack in Kyousuke's bones occurred, he would be told to use this to deal with it.

''I feel like it would have been quicker to have Nekomiya's squad, which can use shadow magic, turn them in.
Well, you can't blame me, fatty. It's called party balance, fatty?

　Okumura crossed his arms and said something plausible. Beside him, Hakuba tilted his head.

''This squad, do you have a good balance?''
"Jade Dragon.
What?
Hakuba is Jade Dragon, I'm Hakkyo. Hakuba is Jade Dragon, I'm Hakkyo, Saruwatari is Goku, and Sacchan is Sanzo. Perfectly fat?
Wait a minute. Does that mean I'm Satoru?

　Kyousuke couldn't help but poke his head in. Okumura is talking about Journey to the West. It's fair to say that the party leader Genjo Sanzo is Sakuma, and the jade dragon on the horse it rides is Hakuba, and it's true that the orc is Inohachi and Hanuman is Sun Wukong, but I'm not convinced that the extra me is Shagojo. If that's the case, then my brother Uozumi (Gilman), who is currently engaged in work at the Jujutsuro Branch School, is much more of a Monkey King than I am.
　But Sakuma, who had been silent until then, smiled and said, "But Utsurogi-kun, you're not the only one.

'But, Utsurogi-kun, that skull that Goku wears around his neck is from Genjo's previous life, right?
'I know. Why does Sakuma seem so happy to say that?

　It is true that Kyousuke is exposing his own skull, but it's not like he's pulling it down from his neck. It's troubling to be told with a smile like that, 'It's my skull, Genjo (I).
　No, well, it's not really a problem. It's not that I'm actually going to go to Jersey from now on, and I'm not Kyousuke, who doesn't know the coolest backbone of Shagoshima's wasted time, so it's fine. By the way, there's a theory that it's a mistake to characterize Sagojo as a water youkai, but that's not really important.

'For now, Okumura-kun is the vanguard, Saruwatari-kun is the middle guard, and I'm the rear guard. When moving, we'll form a line and Saruwatari-kun will be the first to guard the rear.

　Sakuma said stammeringly while checking the notes in hand.
　Come to think of it, this is the first time for Kyousuke to be assigned to her squad. Although I had heard about it, I honestly can't help but be amazed when I see him leading the team with such a splendid appearance. I've heard so much about him, but to be honest, I can't help but be amazed when I see him conducting the team in such a splendid manner.

"Utsurogi-kun has Hakuba-kun's back, doesn't he?
'What?　Why!　I thought you were going to get a ride, Sachan!　It's Sanzang, isn't it!

　Hakuba shouted with all his might and a sense of sadness.

''Utsurugi-kun who isn't combined isn't very good at running....... If I wanted to make use of the effects of 《Characteristic Amplification》, that would be the best thing to do.

　Although it was a reasonable idea, Kyousuke also felt a bit awkward about making things easier on his own on the horse.

'I hear you if you have any objections, but I think this is the safest and most reliable formation. It's important to have fun exploring, but first and foremost, we need to make sure no one dies. The best way to do that is to amplify Hakuba-kun's life magic. Is this good?
''Yes, yes...''

　After being told that clearly, both Kyousuke and Hakuba couldn't help but nod their heads. The hot-blooded baseball idiot Sarutoyo crossed his arms and nodded his head in agreement, ''Nice adolescence. It was hard for Kyousuke to know what part of this conversation had an element of youth in it, but if you ask that man, about 80% of this world would be youth.
　Kyousuke straddled the top of the white horse's storehouse, which suited him completely. It's not clear if the effect of the 《Characteristic Amplification》 is also activated over the saddle, but well, if it comes down to it, you can just grab him by the neck if you have to.

''Tsk........ You should be grateful that I'm going to have to make a man ride with you.
'Thanks, white horse. By the way, I was just wondering, is there such a thing as a virginity test for a man?
'I don't know. Maybe there is, but if so, all the guys in this class are virgins, just in case.

　He had a feeling that Sakuma was listening in on something, but Kyousuke decided not to care.




'Ryuzaki, is there a reason for making Kyousuke separate from us?'
Hmm?

　During the renovation of the heavy duty branch school, Ryuzaki was asked about such things by Ei.

　Ei is now melting materials by increasing his body temperature. It seems that this is his Phase 2 ability or not. It was Beni Asuka's opinion that Ei Hino Ei had not yet reached Phase 2. Ei originally had the potential to produce nearly 1,000 degrees of firepower, he just wasn't trying to show it to others.
　The fact that he was able to cooperate so easily with me in this way probably meant that Ei, who hadn't been able to open up to anyone other than Soraki Kyousuke, was now treating us positively as well.

'I understand that me and Himemizu had work to do, but it would have been nice not to have to send Kyousuke to the search team. I'm asking if you had any ideas.
Well, simply put, we're looking for a new direction.

　Ryuzaki replied as he looked at the work process chart handed to him by the gremlin Kurumori.

'Since we're about to cross the ocean, Hino will be less likely to move. Naturally, when I thought that the combined pattern of Utsurogi and Rin would increase, I thought it would be better to think of another way to move while we're at it.
I agree with that notion. Is the area around here safe?
'As far as Asuka is concerned. There are only two Knights and two Bishops each. The vacancies will be filled, but there are no blood relatives left in this vicinity. So I wanted them to get used to working alone while they're here.

　In his uncombined state, Kyousuke Soraki is extremely weak. Even in the same state of separation, Ei and Rin are able to play separate roles like this, but as for Kyousuke, he is completely a "combined and then combatant". Currently, apart from Benii Asuka, he's the only one who can oppose a Knight-class bloodline, so I don't intend to downplay his existence.
　However, the possibility that Rin and Ei may not be able to move in the future should be taken into consideration. In that case, he'll need to think about how he can stand alone by himself. Of course, even if he says he's going it alone, it's on the premise that he's going to form a joint front with his other classmates.

　The effects of Kyousuke's Phase 2 ability 《Characteristic Amplification》 were felt by Ryuzaki himself. When he engaged pawns in the Knight Kingdom's western fortress line, Ryuzaki was able to spread his wings and fly despite the fact that he was clearly overweight. That was probably the result of the Phase 2 ability that Kyousuke possessed, which also worked on him.
　Kamishige Toriiha (Thunderbird) was also able to fly faster than usual when carrying Kyousuke and the others in the Extreme Cross state. Even if it was considered a simple spec boosting effect, Kyousuke's power could still be used in a variety of ways.

''Ryuzaki, can I have a minute?''

　Five-minute riverbank comes over here with a group of goblins.

'They're going to land the heavy duty branch school and work on the inside. After that, we'll remove the caterpillar unit from the outside.
All right. As planned, I want you and the others to take care of the removal process.
'That's all well and good, but what about the caterpillar unit you removed?　As expected, we can't even get materials from here on out, so we can't make the same thing, that's what Kuremori said.

　The current heavy cruiser branch is a caterpillar unit attached to the bottom of a heavy cruiser that has been repaired to be usable and linked to its engines. The engines and materials were all available in the dungeon. It was an exhaustive story, but that was as it should be, because that dungeon itself had been set up to allow the four second-year groups to be suitably confused, suitably disruptive, and suitably united. It seems that a large amount of usable materials and magic furnaces were discarded in the lower levels, which were also left behind by the blood clansmen who dared to leave them behind.

　It seems that they didn't expect to build a land-based ship this large, as expected.

　Anyway, we are now going to remove the caterpillar unit. In order to stabilize the hull, the caterpillar unit is heavy, and of course, we can't cross the sea with it attached. We can't carry it on the boat. The best thing to do would be to sink it and turn it into a fishing reef, but then we would have to abandon the branch school after we crossed the sea.

'If we can't carry it, it's no use. Let's just leave it.
I'll tell him. I'll tell Kurumori.
"But there's also the kitchen, the vegetable garden, and Washio's Buddhist altar. Even if we abandon the branch school, I want to do something about that...

　That's when Ryuzaki muttered something like that.

''Gyouwa!''

　I hear a scream from the ocean, and I turn my gaze to it.

''It's Rin's voice,''
'Looks like the filtration failed,'

　Ei said in a calm voice, though still melting the iron with high heat, but in a calm voice.

　He was going to have Rin use her abilities to filter seawater and make salt. If it was fresh water, he could create it with spirit magic, but now that Koganei was gone, the burden was concentrated on Uozumi Masuyo (Mermaid) and the others, who were the users of water attribute spirit magic. If Rin could filter seawater, it was for the best...

''Muri-muri-muri!　Tastes great!　It's sour, and it's kind of osmotic.　I can't!　We cannot be one with the ocean!

　If you look, you'll see a dexterous slime spewing out fresh water and salt separately in a disciplined manner while shouting that.

''You say it's impossible, but it doesn't seem impossible to do it, does it?

　Ei said ruthlessly. Ryuzaki smiled bitterly and nodded.

'Just doesn't seem to be able to go into water storage mode.

　This leads to the fact that in a battle at sea, not only Ei, but also Rin's movements are greatly restricted. After all, crossing the sea is likely to be accompanied by a number of hardships.

''Fueen, it's spicy and sour.......''
'Good, good, good job. Surulan.

　Scylla's Sugiura Aya comforts the drenched Rin.

''(I'll have to apologize to Rin later...)

　After thinking that much, Ryuzaki went back to work.




''Hmmm, so the continent is ruled by a large country called the Empire, and you are the merchants of the Empire?
'There' is a bit of a misnomer again. There are five major commercial guilds on the continent, and only the Central Guild is treated as an 'Imperial Merchant'."
Who's in the caravan with you guys?　Was it the Southern Guild?
''The Continental Southern Commerce Guild; of the five commercial guilds, it has the most countries that come and go.''

　Remy, the young merchant of the maritime caravan, gives us a brief lecture about this world. It's in the shade of a tree a short distance from the beach. The sound of men working on their sailing ships, mixed with the sound of crashing waves, reaches here.
　It was there that Kaoru Hillma finally grasped just how big this world was and where he was now. And also how far he'd traveled in the past nearly two months.

''I'm rather healthy, aren't I.......

　While looking at the map, Kaoru admired himself.

　Remy gazes intently at Kaoru. Remy is a young, wheat-skinned girl. A survivor of the caravan, Kaoru had completed a round of greetings with her, but she was the youngest of them all, by far. Or perhaps it was more of a young age. Perhaps even younger than their actual age.
　Besides, their ears are pointy. This was the same trait as Koganei's. Could she be an elf too? But the country of elves shown on the map is in the northeastern part of the continent, which is far away from the southern part of the continent where the girls are active.

''Um, Kaoru-san,''
What?

　Kaoru smiled as Remy cut him off coyly.

''Kaoru-san, are you a male?　You're a woman?
Wow, you're pretty straightforward with your answers. Didn't you start off by calling me your brother?　That's fine then.
But....
No demonstrations, no dupes. Neither do I. I mean, I would have loved to be a pretty girl. But you know my name.　I'm Okamakaoru. If you read from below, it's Luka Macau. You're gay either way.　In the end, I'm still a faggot no matter how much I stand on my head. Well, I'm a faggot even if I'm standing on my head.

　When I spoke in a muffled voice, Remy nodded coyly. She's like a little animal.

　Well, it's just as I said. In the end, no matter how much I try to dress up and be neat and tidy, I'm still a man. That's the only way to live with that, you have to be aware of it. Just as Gourin Yuan-tsung did, Kaoru tried to face his own appearance, and as a result, he felt a little better.
　Goubayashi. Is he safe now? He had been used as a decoy to get himself away from Akahane's surprise attack. There was no way that man would die so easily, but the strength of that red-winged demon was overwhelming.

''Oh, Okama-dono, are you here?''

　An old human man with a moustache appears underneath them in the shade of a tree.
　He was the leader of the maritime caravan to which Remy belonged. His name is Welkano, I believe. Like Remy, he has tanned skin like Remy. Due to his age, he has a poorly built, unreliable appearance, but you can see scars all over his body. He must have been a good man in the past, Kaoru thought.

Thanks to this, we've managed to protect the caravan from the Sahagin's attacks. The ship will be repaired in a few days, so what do you think? If you'd like to join us....
I've already told you that. I'm waiting for my boyfriend.

　They are now going to fix the ship and head to the United Maritime State of Albadamba.
　I don't know if it's Albadamba or Albatross, but as expected, Kaoru doesn't have the right to accompany me that far. I have to wait for the Goubayashis in this vicinity.
　What if Goubayashi doesn't come?　I tried not to think about that too much. He tried not to think about it, but if that happened, he would have no choice but to live a carefree life on this beach with the imps he had used the power of the Enchantment to make friends with.

　Suddenly, Kaoru looked up as he had a thought.

'Welcano-san. I would like to ask you one question, if that's okay.
I don't know what it is.
"You know those black-armored demons with red wings?　We call him Akahane.

　When Kaoru asked that, Welcano's eyes narrowed slightly.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this, but I think it fits with the characteristics of the demons that are known to appear in various parts of the continent. I've heard it's called the Red Moon.
Oh, yeah?

　The clues came to me more easily than I expected. Kaoru is disappointed.

　Red Moon, huh? It's clear that they "knew" about him and Goubayasi. And that's not all. They were out to get us. There is no doubt that this would be a vital clue to find out what was happening to them.
　The classmates we left behind at the base may have noticed their presence and are already making their move.

　To find out for sure, I'd like to join up with Goubayash and the others. As Kaoru thinks this, the caravan members' screams reach his ears.

'Sahagin's out!
Oh, dear.

　Kaoru's eyes narrowed and he stood up. Remy and Welkano's expressions tightened with tension.

''Those fishes don't learn their lesson, do they? I'm going to go out for a bit.
Oh, have a good day, sir.

　There's nothing to pay attention to, though. I already know what those Sahagins are capable of. It's not an opponent that you would have much trouble commanding and fighting the imps. However, I'm just glad for the feeling, so Kaoru says 'thank you' with a smile.

''Ah, yes, Remy.''
What?

　Just before heading to the beach, Kaoru suddenly turned around.

You are a merchant, you should pay more attention to your outfit. What's your taste in clothes?
What?

　It's something I've been meaning to say since we met. It's like dressing like a burlap sack.

I'm a fashion checker. A girl always has to remember that we are on stage, right?
Huh, huh...
Bye. I'll tell you more about it when I'm done with the fish.

　Saying all he wanted to say, Kaoru Hillama ran towards the beach.




　It was probably around an hour or two since they started their search. Quite far from the heavy duty branch school's anchorage point, Kyousuke and the others were slowly heading north along the beach. It wasn't just that the beach continued, but there were occasional rocky areas that were difficult to navigate, making it unexpectedly laborious. However, no monsters of any kind appeared.
　If you go too far north, you'll run into the "Fire People", a nation of people who continue to believe in volcanoes and dragon kings. They have a caustic and exclusive nature, and it seems that Serena's homeland, the Knight Kingdom and the Dragon Knight Kingdom to the southeast of it, are preventing the invasion of the empire in a restraining manner.

''If it's the Dragon King's faith, wouldn't we be able to manage it if we took Ryuzaki with us?

　As they walked along the beach, Kyousuke talked about such things in the course of chatting.

'I don't know. I've read the material too.

　Sakuma chuckles, a little annoyed.

I'm sure the fire people's belief in the Dragon King is often linked to Drago Newt, so it might be welcomed. However, it is said that the Dragon Newt living in the volcanic zone around the area is said to be a direct descendant of the Dragon King, and they are very proud.
You're so knowledgeable, Sacchan.

　With Kyousuke holding the reins, Hakuba said admiringly.

''Between the Flying Dragon Mountain Range and the Volcano Mountain Range, there's the highest mountain called the 'Top of the High Dragon'. It is said that at the top of the mountain, the most powerful dragoneutes on the continent fight day and night against each other.
It's a fantasy.
You know. I'm excited.

　The strongest on the continent, it's so strong that it's indeed too strong to be a hand or foot in the current Ryuzaki.

I'm sure you're right. It's possible that one day the chairman will feel his power is limited and go to train there.... I suppose there might be a pattern like that!

　Sarutoyo, who was at the back of the line and wary of his surroundings, shouted hotly.

''I'm going to be apprenticed to one of the most powerful Dragoneuts on the continent.... There might be!　Don't burn!　You're a youth!
Well, it's going to be the opposite of where we're headed from now on. That High Dragon Summit.

　Kyousuke muttered as he remembered the map in his head. Sarutoyo looked blatantly dreary.

　Well, in any case, they couldn't advance beyond the Fire People's Country, even if they crossed the Fire People's Country. Beyond the Fire People's Country, there was the Dragon Knight Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom along the coast, and these two are countries where the influence of the Empire is particularly strong. Furthermore, to proceed eastward from the Southern Kingdom, one must cross a canal. If you try to bypass the canal, you'll be stepping into imperial territory. It's impossible to go overland.

"But hey, I'm starting to miss humans again.

　Perhaps it was because Kyousuke had said so, somehow. Hakuba suddenly stopped and looked at Kyousuke in the saddle.

''Hey, what the hell, Hakuba...''
'No......... I just thought it was unusual for you to say something like that... Well, I sure do miss humans.

　In the life of the heavy duty branch school led by Ryuzaki, we are behaving quite "like humans" ourselves. However, it's a bit sad to say that we're going around the sphere of human life like this. In fact, I would like to experience the various cultures of different countries in this world.

It's just the way it is. We're human, but we're monsters.
Well, yeah, but... I'm glad to see you. It's a good thing that the knight kingdom was as good as it could be.... It's a good thing that you're not the only one.

　Hakuba's gaze swims in the air, as if in a euphoric state. Kyousuke flattens his forehead, but he doesn't come back.

'Perhaps, surprisingly soon, you'll meet the humans, fatty.

　Okumura, who was walking in the lead, broke the silence that had been building up, and said.

'What do you mean?　Okumura.
'You can see a sailing ship docked a short distance from here, Deb.

　Saying this, Okumura looks through the telescope. It's a telescope he found when he searched for a decaying heavy cruiser in the wilderness before. The lens is cracked and so on, but Okumura likes it and uses it heavily.
　Hearing that, Hakuba and Sarutoyo jumped.

''Really, Okumura!''
Cross-cultural communication again!　I'm looking forward to it!

　On the other hand, Sakuma made a difficult face. Kyousuke pondered the same thing, although he couldn't make an expression.

　According to the map, this area is somewhat outside of the human living area. Presumably, the ship was lost on its voyage and washed up in this vicinity. Since the Fire People don't have navigational skills, they are either from the Empire's side or from a maritime coalition state.
　Okumura said, confirming the speculation.

'A fat man with a broken mast. Besides that.... well, the ship is a lot damaged, Debbie. What to do, Debbie?

　The last question was posed to Sakuma, the squad leader.

'If you're in a hurry, you'd better hurry up, Deb. It looks like we're being attacked by a monster, Fatty.

　Hearing those words, Sakuma looks up with a huff.
　A human is being attacked by a monster. If that's the case, we must go to their aid. This is probably the scheme that instantly came to Sakuma's mind. Although I am not Kyousuke who can say anything about people, I don't think it's an excessive sense of justice. At the very least, this one has a much higher fighting ability than humans.

　The reason for the hesitation is that we have no clue about the identity of those humans. If they are from the Imperial side, there is a possibility that the conversation could rather get complicated. Is it right to decide on that based on the judgment of the field? That's why Sakuma is unsure.

''Sakuma.''

　Kyousuke called out.

'I want to go help. However, the squad leader is Sakuma, so Sakuma should decide.
"Utsurogi-kun...

　Sakuma looked up and looked at Kyousuke. He then shifted his gaze to Hakuba, Saruwatari, and Okumura.

'If you need a good cause, we can talk about selling your debt to them and helping them navigate,'
'Yeah..... Right.

　No matter how much the other party is from the Empire, if they are actually in distress, they are in a state of isolation. There was no need to think so hard. Of course, Sakuma is not suited to negotiate, so if you really want to sell your favor, you'll have to bring Ryuzaki or someone else with you later.

　Anyway, Sakuma said.

''I'm going to rescue the crew of that sailing ship from now on.

　Ooh, Kyousuke and the others shouted.