Okay.

　At the "Dragon's Peak" in the eastern part of the Vangarb Volcano range, many of the strongest dragons on the continent compete in a fierce battle for supremacy. Since the time of the Mythical War, the Dragon King's Household has been the mightiest life form on the continent. To reign at the pinnacle of that dragon was to reign at the pinnacle of the entire continent.
　The Summit of the High Dragon was a special place for many intelligent dragons.

　At the summit of the High Dragon, Kunihiro Ryuzaki was currently at the top of that High Dragon.

''So you're going already?''
'Yes, sir. Thank you for your help. Master Corolla.

　When Ryuzaki turned around, he saw a woman sitting on a large rock, opening a book.
　Two twisting horns extended from her temples, and she was dressed in a loose costume reminiscent of a miko (shrine maiden). Both of her eyes remained closed, but she traced the pages of the book with her index finger, and in doing so seemed to be reading the contents clearly.

　She was also a dragon. Normally, she is a pillar of the ancient dragons, one of the ancient dragons that have accumulated an ancient power, though she usually lives in the city and in human society.
　She is famous for taking many disciples from humans, but in fact, it is extremely rare for her to teach anything to her own people.

''You were the second most talented one I taught, though. .........or maybe third.

　His calm tone was flat, but there was a tinge of regret that seeped through somehow.
　Ryuzaki smiled a little bitterly at his reptilian face and scratched his cheek.

''I'm glad you feel that way, but I've made up my mind from the beginning.
No, thank you. No, thank you. You are what you are. I don't mean to sound like a cliché but I wish you luck.
Yes. Thank you.

　In the end, she was a constant source of help to me. She was also the one who sent out advertisements all over the continent telling people of Ryuzaki's intentions. But thanks to her, Ryuzaki was also able to become quite strong.
　If he looked to the east from the top of the High Dragon, he could see the vast expanse of the continent in his field of vision. Ryuzaki had no idea where his other classmates were in this area. First of all, he had to think about joining them first.

　Ryuzaki stepped on the earth and unfolded the small folded wings on his back.
　All at once, the wings became huge, changing to many times the size of Ryuzaki's body. With a single large fan of his wings, enough lift to lift his body into the air was easily generated. Ryuzaki's wings hit the sky and his body runs through the sky.

　The land he is aiming for is a straight line, a peninsula in the southeastern part of the continent, Vernetus.

　It would be a bit of a long journey, but that was something he had been prepared for from the beginning.
　Ryuzaki flew straight to the east.




''Genshu!''

　When Gourin Motomune came back to the waiting room, he was greeted by Lumiera, the young owner of the Monster's Party "Fury's Nest".
　In the waiting room, a wounded Kenzaki, Sarutoyo, Okumura, Mushikasa, and Zeku were all sitting there with strangely good expressions on their faces. Goubayashi jumped to his chest, his hand on the head of his owner, who was only twelve years old, and then formed a fist with his free arm, bumping it lightly with the rest of his classmates.

　The "Wild Star of the Beast", a fighting competition between monsters held in the Zelga Gladiatorial Principality. The winner of the tournament was a small guild, Fury's Nest, which was rumored to have failed to qualify for the tournament.
　Due to the sudden death of the previous owner, Fury's Nest was forced to let go of its popular monsters one by one. It was only a few weeks ago that Lumiera, the daughter of the previous owner, and the sole owner of the party, met Goubayasi and her friends. In order to find a classmate, the interests of Goubayasi and Lumiera, who wanted a certain amount of money and a base of operations, coincided with each other, and they decided to join the WOTB as monsters belonging to Fury's Nest.

　And, well, they managed to win.

　The tournament had been ruined by the intervention of the Imperial Clockwork Alliance (Dial Knights), the Five Divine Stars, and the Blood Clan, but still, they managed to snatch the victory.

''Good for you, Ryuu.....Lumiera.
Thank you, Megumi!　It's Lumiera!

　Kenzaki, who had fallen into a slump due to a broken filter, also completely regained his smile and stroked Lumiera's head with a chuckle.

''Yeah yeah......... Setbacks, reawakenings, and victories........ This is exactly what youth is all about!
''Oh no, I wondered what was going to happen to you, Debbie, when the guys from the Imperial Clockwork Alliance hit you.
'I heard that Zelga is out of the Empire's control...'

　They all butt their heads together and grunt.
　The situation had fallen into a great commotion because the blood clan was working behind the scenes of the tournament, and furthermore, during the tournament, a girl who claimed to be the 2nd Time Seat of the Imperial Clockwork Alliance (Dial Knights) had broken in. In the end, one of the Adventurer's Association Five Divine Stars clashed with the Second Time Seat and succeeded in driving it back, and the situation was collected.
　What the hell was that all about, one had to twist one's head.

　That's when Goubayasi was pondering.

'Mademoiselle, Mademoiselle Lumière's Mademoiselle!　Oru de Gesu!

　There was a bang and a tap on the door. When I opened it, Zerudo of the Continental Northern Chamber of Commerce Guild was standing there with a bundle of some documents.
　Zerudo was a moneylender who loaned money at a high interest rate to Lumiera, who had no idea what he was doing, and used the debt to pull out one popular monster after another that belonged to his party. This time, however, Fury's Nest offered to forgive his debts if he would give them half of his winnings.

　Well, in order to do that, Goubayasi and his team couldn't lose.

Well, thanks to you," said Goubayasi and his friends, "we've made a lot of money. "Well, thanks to you, we've made a lot of money, too. This is a certificate. You can boil it, grill it, do as you like.

　Goubayashi stood behind Lumiera with his arms crossed, watching to see if this Zerudo would blow another strange condition on her, but it didn't seem to be the case.
　When the business meeting was almost over, Zerudo suddenly looked up.

''Ah, yes. Why is this a gesture to the Gauvashi husbands?''
Hmm?

　Zerudo held one of the documents in his hand and held it out to Goubayasi.

It is said that advertisements written in a language you have never seen before are scattered around the continent. Monsieurs, do you have any idea what's going on?
Hmm....

　Goubayash received the document from Zerudo and looked it over. Immediately after that, a startling color appeared in his eyes, which rarely faltered.

''This, this is...!




Thank you so much!

　Aya Sugiura bowed her head and saw her last customer of the day off. I'm not going to be able to get out of it.

You're getting pretty good at it. Aya.

　Standing next to Sugiura was a huge, middle-aged woman who stood about two to three meters tall.
　She was a Giant Mama. She registered her name with a nearby adventurer's guild and is known as a skilled adventurer whose name is known as the "lion's roar", one of the five divine stars. She runs an inn in the capital of the Vernetus Kingdom, and by chance, she agreed to help Sugiura and her friends with their "hot spring inn project".

As I told you before, you'd make a great landlady. As I told you before, you'd make a great landlady.
Well, I appreciate the invitation, but I'm more comfortable cooking in the kitchen.

　Sugiura smiled bitterly and scratched his head.

　Sugiura and the others found themselves transported to the Verneus Peninsula, and when they realized that this peninsula was their original destination, they made plans to run a hot spring inn here. Sugiura, who is a good cook, the fishermen who can collect marine products, and Hanazono who can grow vegetables, were the perfect people to work with. If the hot spring resort became famous, it might attract the attention of classmates who were scattered across the continent. That was the plan.

　Well, it was a lot of work.

　Especially troublesome was the guy who ran out of filters, which meant that Sugiura couldn't shave bonito flakes for the time being, and Hanazono didn't want to harvest the vegetables. In the midst of all the chaos, the Blood Clan supplemented this place, and the Verneus Kingdom's monster-slaying squad was sent out.
　The two people they relied on in such a situation were Harao Maki, who was of no use to them in running the hot spring inn, and Giant Mama.

The crisis was over. Well, now that the crisis is over, I guess I should go back to the capital.
You're leaving already?　You could have stayed for one more night or so.
No, you can't. I can't just leave that inn to my husband and son.

　Giant Mom made the floor creak and headed for the front door.
　There, she turned around and rummaged through her pockets as if she had just remembered.

I'm sure you'll be able to help me. I almost forgot.
?
Here, here. Look at this. It's been going around all over the continent lately.

　After saying that, Mama took out a letter from her pocket. Sugiura took it with a questioning look on her face. But when her eyes landed on the letter, her movements went rigid.

　Sugiura said in a voice that sounded as if it was being squeezed out of her throat, "....

"....This is........!




I'm telling you!　The magic engines on this ship are already rattling!　The foundation, it's just too much to move any more!　I'll have to replace it with a new one!　Hey, do you remember what you said?　I told you that we'll give you anything we can!
''No, no, but it's not as if I'm asking you to prepare two magic furnaces of this level...''

　The commercial city of Alcarg. At a shipyard owned by the Welkano Chamber of Commerce, a girl was taking a bite out of a vendor who was coming and going. As they watched the scene aside, Goblin Gokugawara Rintaro and Gremlin Kurumori Izumo were sipping the tea that Remy had brewed.
　Gokugawara and the others had been sent to Albadamba after that, the entire heavy duty branch of the ship. Many of their classmates aboard the ship had disappeared, and aside from the large number of goblins that followed Gofungawara, only a few classmates were left behind.

　Gomukawara and the others negotiated with Welkano and the others who still remained in Albadamba, and chose to head to the commercial city of Alcarg once with them. The reason is that with just the current menace alone, they were anxious to just aim for Vernetus, and even if they did reach it, they had no idea of the means to find their friends.

　The heavy duty branch was temporarily treated as a possession of the Welkano Chamber of Commerce, and they entered the interior of the Empire.
　Fortunately, the remaining members were skilled at making things, so Gomukawara and the others didn't have to eat a free meal. They continued to earn a minimum amount of money by making art and providing it to the Chamber of Commerce.

　And, well, there was quite a bit of anguish. A small-scale battle broke out in Arcargue following an attack by a blood family that had infiltrated the empire.
　In the midst of all this, Kurumori had begun renovating the heavy duty branch school and secretly started developing new weapons and battle golems, but that's when he met a dashing girl who was now taking a bite out of the contractors who were coming and going.

　The girl immediately showed interest in the blueprint that Kurumori had prepared. She pointed out the 98 flaws in the blueprint and proposed 76 improvement plans and 42 compromise plans. As a result, the heavyweight branch was expected to improve its performance even further, but the cost was going to be very high.

'So, who is that sister?

　When Goshigawara placed the empty teacup on the saucer, Remy quickly poured the tea.

''I don't know who it is, but that crest on the chest belongs to the Countess of Adjustment. It's an imperial nobleman who possesses item crafting technology.''
I see. So we're a family of craftsmen. It's no wonder you know so much about it. You know?
'Oh..... Great, she's a big deal........

　Kurumori stared at the girl who was biting the merchant with a pouting expression. Goshigawara was perturbed and waved his hand up and down in front of him. No response.
　Come to think of it, Gofukawara had heard of it. The type of woman that Kurumori liked. Abandoning personality and appearance, the condition that Kurumori was looking for in a romantic partner was 'someone who can understand what I make'. In that sense, that Countess fits that description tremendously.

　Therefore, Goshigawara decided to say this out of goodwill.

''Don't do it.''
What?
Humans and monsters don't mix. We're all going back to where we came from.
Oh, I'm not ready to leave!

　Kurumori stood up and banged the table with a bang. Goshigawara grabbed a saucer and cup and evacuated the tea so it wouldn't spill.

'Ismo!　Izmo, come here!　I wonder if you'll explain it to me!

　Suddenly, that sister called out to him, and Kurumori stood up with his back straightened up with a pin.
　As it was, seeing Kurumori walking over there with a nervous look on his face, Goshukawara covered his face with one hand. Ah, it's impossible. The race difference, the world difference, or whatever you think before that, there is no pulse. Well, since heartbreak is a part of youth, is it unwise to get too deep into it?

''Don't worry Izmo, I'll help you turn this ship into the most perfect piece of work in the world!　That's why we need the ingredients first!　The one genius beautiful girl in a hundred million years, head of the Countess of Adjustment family, this filicis is with you!

　When I heard the name of the head of the family, it was the contractor who came and went, his face turning blue. I do feel sorry for him.

''Gov't gov't wawarakuun!

　Just then, the door to the shipyard opened and he heard a cheerful voice calling Gokubunawara's name.
　When Gokugawara looked at it with a bemused look on his face, he saw Tsubasa Kagoi, Emi Gahara, and Yoko Hakairi about to walk in, led by Mr. Welcano. Mimic's Hakoiri bounced her body and approached Gofukawara with a bounce.

'I've missed you, Gokubungawara-kun!
Oh, yeah. I'm not so much...

　I wonder if it's her way of expressing affection that she's biting her head so hard. Watching the situation, Remy chuckles with a funny smile.

''Gotta have a little something for you to look at, Gotta have a look at.

　It's probably not because he couldn't see our situation, but Kagoi said something like that. When Gokugawara silently urged her to continue, Kagoi held out a single document in her hand towards him.

''What's this?''
It's an ad that says it's going around all over the continent. Look at this. You'd be surprised.
What, they found the Tokugawa deposits?

　Gofunawara received the paper that Kagoi was holding while teasing him.
　Seeing what was written on it, Gofunawara was, indeed, surprised.

''Ko, this!




Traitor...!

　In the central square of the devastated royal capital of the Southern Kingdom of Pirica, Nekomiya Miya let out a resentful voice.

　Surrounding her and the others were elite soldiers sent by the Empire. Due to their intervention, the coup to save the oppressed and suffering territorial population ended in failure. Nekomiya is not the only one captured. All of her classmates who participated in the coup with her were captured by the Imperial soldiers.
　So the rumor that the current royal authority was a puppet government under the effective control of the Empire was true. The operation was going well, but it was one step short. One more push. With the help of others, they might have succeeded, but in the end, they were defeated.

　The third prince, who had talked about ideals and dreamed sweet dreams, disappeared with the dew of the decapitation table.

　And now, Nekomiya Miya is staring at a man in a black suit armor.

''I didn't think you were that kind of guy!
That's a misunderstanding on Nekomiya's part. I've always been this kind of guy.

　The man in black armor responded with a voice that was not imbued with inflection.

　It was this man in front of him and the Imperial soldier next to him that turned the war situation, which was tilting in favor, upside down. This soldier who claimed to be the Sixth Hour Seat of the Imperial Clockwork Alliance (Dial Knights), accompanied by a man in black armor, had quickly changed the course of the battle in the blink of an eye.

　The man continued.

''Nekomiya, the whole class will return to the original world. That was our agreement, wasn't it?
....!

　Nekomiya didn't answer, just stared at his opponent.

'It's not like we should take a detour for that. Good. It's not an ordinary thing to return to human form and return to your own world. You know that.
What are you willing to sacrifice for that!
'It's not a matter of good or bad. Cat Palace.

　There was a hint of resignation in his voice.

'If I hadn't cooperated with the Empire, all of you would have been killed by Rambalt. As long as I'm on the Empire's side, your safety is guaranteed. So don't worry, just wait for the day you can go home.
If the moron finds out, he'll never forgive you.

　Nekomiya muttered as he squeezed out, and for a moment, pale flames blew out from within the black armor. The flames scorched the atmosphere and cast-melted some of the armor that covered him, but it quickly subsided and he turned his back against Nekomiya.

''I suppose...''

　Those were the last words that Nekomiya and he had dodged on the spot.
　The imperial soldier who had been watching them in silence for a long time. The man known as Rambalt stopped the man in armor.

'Akira, can you take a look at this?'
.........

　Wordlessly, the black gauntlet snatched the man's proffered letter. Rambalt continued.

'It is scattered all over the continent. It is written in a language that is not the language of this continent. I've seen them too, but perhaps these are from your world....
.........

　The man in black armor stared at the written letter. But as he watched, he didn't say a word in particular, and when he tossed it, the letter instantly burst into flames and burned to ashes.




'You have returned well,'

　When Koganei returned to his home base, Bishop Akeno greeted him by saying just that.

''Glenn and Sink ... look like they lost.
I see. And you?　Was there no condemnation from the king?
Sort of.

　It is the night of the full moon. The night of the full moon, when the werewolves, the blood race's natural enemy, are at their strongest, and it is also the time when the Blood King sleeps the deepest. The wounds he sustained in battle with the founder of the werewolf race have not healed. In order to heal the wound, the King needs the Blood Kingpiece to regain his true strength.
　Koganei knew this and left this castle on the night of the full moon. He was able to do this because Akeno had promised to keep it quiet. As a result, Koganei managed to finish advising Kyousuke and providing some information.

''Then, no more lending and borrowing. In the future, if you act hostile to the bloodline, I will report it to the 'king'."
'Oh, yeah.... That's not really a problem, Akeno-san.

　Koganei asks, scratching his cheek.

'Well, what do you owe me?　I don't really understand it.
'You mourned Suou's death on my behalf. That's the debt. I already gave it back.

　Akeno said nonchalantly, turning the pages of the book.
　In her own way, she must have had her own thoughts about Suou's death. However, Koganei avoided pursuing the matter further. He, too, had begun to learn to 'read the air' in the past few months. Well, it was a long road.

　Koganei embraced the bloodline.
　This was after knowing that high elf blood was currently impossible to procure.

　This made him guarantee the safety of the two classmates the Blood Clan had captured, Kumizaki Itomi and Tentahara Nadehiko, as a deal. At least as long as Koganei was a member of the Blood Clan, they would not be forced to fight, and the same would be true when the Blood Clan captured the other classmates after this.
　It was a rare race, and Koganei, who had awakened his rare abilities, was worth drinking that much condition to the blood race.

　Currently, his classmates were scattered. In that current situation, he couldn't let Kumizaki and Tentahara escape. He had to wait for the right time.

''Have you met Arachne and Roper?''
No way. I've said some terrible things to them.

　It wasn't just against them. In truth, even Kyousuke didn't have a face to meet with.
　The reason I went to see him shamelessly was because I had information that I had to give him.

　The only person who knew Koganei's state of mind was Akeno right now. She has said that she would immediately report any hostile action against her blood family to the king, but somehow she doesn't seem to have any intention of telling him of Koganei's current change of heart. This is also part of the 'loan and borrow' process, or does she think it would be easy to bind Koganei with the king's power if the need arose? Either way, this creates a strange complicity between Koganei and Akeno.

'Maybe it's nothing for me to worry about,'

　Koganei asked after preamble.

''With Suou dead, and Glenn and Sink dead.... Isn't our strength down by quite a bit?''
Don't worry about it. I've filled in.

　Akeno closes the book with a slam.

'I've been rooting around this country for months, and I've already completed the blood-clanning of the royal capital. We've just procured some from the blood clans we've infiltrated into the Empire and the Adventurer's Guild.
'Oh..... I see.

　In any case, that wasn't a very pleasant report for Koganei.

'By the way, Koganei. I have a letter like this.

　With a beep, Akeno took out a letter and said.

''........What's that?''
It's written in Japanese. It's part of my next job.

　Koganei took the letter and opened it, a little dubiously. Then he read what was written there and narrowed his eyes slightly.

''(At this time........)

　Is that a good thing or a bad thing? It's hard for Koganei to decide.
　But the timing is right, which means....




'To my classmates of Kamishiro High School Class 4, Chairman, Kunihiro Ryuzaki

　Those who have seen this ad will meet at their original destination.
　I'm alive and well. No one else will accompany you.

　The text itself was extremely brief and straightforward.
　He tells them that he is safe and tells them where to meet next. Since it is written in Japanese, most people cannot read this, and it doesn't give specific place names, so even if they could read it, it would be difficult to determine where they would meet, even if they could.

　Still, it would be quite a risk to spread this across the continent. After all, the Blood Clan can read this letter. "We shouldn't be able to know where the 'original destination' is, though. Because of the timing of the departure, even Koganei should not know this. The only way for the Blood Clan to get the information is to get it out of Kumizaki and Tentahara, but here we have to trust that Koganei will put in some kind of follow-up.
　Since it's Ryuzaki, he must have known the risks involved and spread this around. For Kyousuke and the others, it was a gratifying story. The only thing left to do is to see if the other classmates are able to see this information.

''For now, it's a good thing we've found our next destination.

　Lesvon said in the loading bay of the high-speed liaison ship. Although Kyousuke and the others are only loaded as cargo and the entire cage is loaded, the cage is so governed that Kyousuke's and Rin's bodies can easily get in and out of it, so I don't feel like I'm trapped in it too much.

　Incidentally, Inugami had returned to his human form and occupied one of the guest rooms in a churlish manner. The clothes are borrowed from Filhana. The same was true for Azuki and Yukinoshita, who were not very distinguishable from humans. Ozashiki was in the loading bay, as she never left Wallino's side.

'Lesbons. In case you're wondering, this ship is heading from Neus Bay to the Adventurer's Autonomous Territory, right?
'Well. But if you go a little south-east of Zernaeus, you'll get to Verneus. It's not that far away, we'll be there in no time.

　At the same time, Lesvon provided me with information about a group of monsters who were opening a hot spring inn in the mountains of the Verneus Kingdom. The hot spring inn that has become a fairly large article and spread rumors all over the continent certainly seems to be run by Sugiura and Harao, as far as I'm concerned.
　If that is the case, then it will naturally be decided where to aim for in Verneus.

I'm not sure how everyone else is doing. I wonder how everyone else is doing.

　Rin murmured as she purred and shuddered as the ship rocked.

''I doubt it. Come to think of it, we haven't seen each other in weeks...

　Kyousuke, too, sat gymnastically in his cage and looked up at the ceiling.

　Over the past few weeks, Karasumaru and Yukinoshita had grown a lot, both mentally and in terms of strength. They weren't the only ones. Azuki, Kabeano, and Gozashiki have also increased in power, albeit gradually. I want to believe that the same is true for everyone else. It's not that I want them to get stronger. I want to believe that they are overcoming the walls that would have stood in front of them.

　Thinking about that, it makes me look forward to seeing him again, a little bit.

　But, of course, Kyousuke doesn't know.

　The changes that have occurred unknowingly around Kyousuke and his friends. Or the changes that have happened to his classmates in distant lands.
　What happens when tributaries of the river that have branched off and changed at the end of their branches intersect again?

　No one was here yet to find out.