How long has it been since we've been brought here...

　Pottery, muttered Itomi Kumazaki.

　She was in a room that was far too luxurious to be called a prison. A king-sized bed, too large for Arakune's body, was placed in the spacious floor plan. It was fully equipped with other desks, chairs, and closets, and in terms of comfort, it was probably better than the heavy duty branch school, not to mention the private room she lived in in her former world.

'Come on, I think it's been a week or so,'

　I'm not going to be able to get my hands on it," replied Natsuhiko Tentahara, as his tentacles undulated in a corner of the room.

　This room where the two are under house arrest is one of the rooms in the castle of the "blood clan" that has a hostile relationship with Class 4 of the 2nd grade of Kamishiro High School.
　A sudden transference accident strikes the group of four sophomores. An assassin is sent to chase after them as they are scattered to pieces. One moonlit night, Spider Saki and Tentahara were surrounded and defeated by the Blood Clan on an unknown desert night, and they were defeated. As a result, they were brought to this castle.

　At that moment, despair, of course, dominated the minds of the two men.

　Lives could have been taken. And even if it wasn't, they could have been injected with the "Element" by their bloodline and made into puppets in exchange for their power. In any case, they knew that they would never be able to see their other classmates in their right mind again, and if they did, they might die in this other world, never to step on the ground of their former world again.
　But what awaited Spiderzaki and Tentahara was the too tame result of their confinement in this relatively luxurious room. Since they were being watched by a blood family with overwhelming power over them, they couldn't exactly attempt to escape, but meals were properly prepared three times a day, and if they asked for any supplies, they would even arrange for them to do so.

'I wonder. Maybe it's a matter of mental images.

　Tentahara muttered as he opened the closet and checked the inside.

　There were several outfits lined up to match the body shape of Arakune, the Spider Saki. On the contrary, there were even some that matched Tentahara's (Roper). It was unlikely that these were improvised, which meant that the castle had originally kept clothes for the monsters in this castle from the beginning.

''Maybe they're trying to be nice to us, get us to let our guard down, get us to tilt our minds, and then use us as pawns.

　Sleekly, the tentacles reached out and the tentaclehara took up one of the hangers. It was a tuxedo for Roper. Where the demand for them is extremely mysterious.

'Maybe even Koganei did,'
Don't mention that name.

　Spider Zaki said spitefully.

'Oh, sorry,'

　Tentahara apologizes honestly.

''I knew you were still mad at me.
I'm not just angry, I'm uncomfortable...

　

　Koganei, who was first trapped in the hands of his blood family, had treated Spiderzaki badly once. Or rather, Tentahara had also been treated rather badly.
　At the time, Koganei was dating Spiderzaki, and a party of several people, including her and Tentahara, went exploring the dungeon. However, the party was scattered in the face of a terrifying monster they encountered in the lower levels, and Koganei fled to a small room where he was the only one who could save himself. After failing to escape, Spiderzaki banged on the door of the small room, crying out for help, but Koganei's words in return were mindless curses.

　It's unpleasant to remember. I understand what Spider Zaki said. If I remembered Koganei's attitude at that time, I would have felt the same way.

　But what happened to Koganei? He too is trapped by his blood family, so it's not surprising that he's in this castle. I don't know what kind of attitude Kumozaki would have if I met him, and I'd rather not meet him. Would he be under house arrest and living a comfortable life like they were?

　As Tentahara is thinking about this, there is a knock on the big door.

''It's time to eat.''

　Short words. I think it's that time already. Spiderzaki made his way to the door of the room, his multiple legs crunching and shuffling.
　As Spiderzaki put his hand on the door, a maid with lunch on a wagon enters, guarded by a black-armored blood relative. It is the maid who brings the meal every time, and from the looks of it, it is a human, apparently. Whether it is the horror of being watched by the pawns or the monsters in front of them, the movements of their bodies, rigid with fear, are awkward.

　There are both bloods and humans in this castle. The humans have either been kidnapped or have worked in this castle from the beginning. I can imagine why they don't make all humans blood-kin, because the blood-kin continue their life cycle. The blood race is essential to the act of bloodsucking in order to continue its life cycle, and humans are the blood bags, so to speak, for that.
　The maid arranges the food on the table. However, when Kumizaki tried to say something kind to her, she only freaked out and shook her body.

　It was then that Tentahara noticed another unseen sentry in addition to the pawn.
　No, perhaps it wasn't a sentry. The figure, presumably a woman, had her back against the wall of the corridor and was puffing out her fusengum. She was dressed in a suit that looked like a military special forces unit, with a rugged rifle slung over her shoulder. Yes, the guise was clearly from the same world as the Tentahara and the others.
　But she wasn't human, and she wasn't a blood relative. One glance at her would tell you that.

　The single horn extending from her forehead was clearly that of an inhuman being, and most of all, the only thing that symbolized her xenomorphic nature was a single, large eye.
　Not a single eye. A single eye. A large eye covered the top half of her face. She wore a special goggle with a lens scope in the middle on her forehead, and it seemed to have been prepared for her distinctive facial features.

　Even if the tentacle field was familiar to her classmates' xenomorphs, the human body with its large monoculars was a bit of a jerk. It seems to be the same with Spider Saki. She, too, stiffened her body as her gaze met with the Hitotsume woman standing in the corridor.

　Pan. The swollen Fusen Gum bursts. The first-eyed woman had a small smile on her mouth as she pulled the gum that was stuck to her mouth.

　The maid finishes serving the food in the meantime and retreats into the hallway with the empty wagon. As she did so, the Hitotsume woman glanced at Tentahara and Kumozaki with a guileless look, and then walked briskly down the corridor. The maid pushes the wagon to the other side of the hallway, and the pawn closes the door with a bang.

I don't know what it was, man.
Now.....

　Tentacleshara could only respond to Spider Zaki's words with a wave of his tentacles.

'Well, it's not a human, though.

　It felt like it's been a long time since I've been able to tell this joke.



''Once again, I'll give you an account of the current strength left in this castle.

　Pulling out a whiteboard in the Great Hall, Akeno said in a flat voice.

The Knight's Suou and Glenn and Bishop Sink are dead. Luke's Red is currently recuperating, and the only moving 'pawns' are Shakko, the other Luke, and myself, the bishop."

　Koganei nodded. "Koma" is a generic term for an elite bloodline from the original world that has followed the "king" for generations. Compared to the standard warrior's in this world, they boast quite a bit of fighting ability, but every single one of them have been crushed by their classmates in the second year and fourth class, and that's almost entirely at the hands of Soraki Kyousuke.
　The only one who can currently beat Kyousuke is Shakko. Red, who was severely injured in a fight with Asuka Beni, doesn't even know when he'll recover.

"And there, 'High Elf'. You're in.

　On the whiteboard, Akeno wrote with a marker.

'Um, Mr. Akeno,'
What?
It's a bit of a cliché, isn't it?
It's a bit of a chore, Koganei. But we'll call it that. High Elf Breed, to be precise. You are the pride of my bloodline and your name is a biological weapon.

　And,' continued Akeno.

'We have a few additional forces. It's the Six Blood Beasts (Zexbreed). I'm calling them in right now with a call to arms.
A call?　Are they scattered around the world?
Before I brought you to this world, I experimented with turning monsters into blood. They were born out of that process. They don't have phase abilities. We let them do whatever they want in the wild, we let them loose on the Imperial side as scouts, we leave them tied up in the basement of this castle, well, it's all kinds of things.

　Then, in other words, it's a monster that has gained the blood-kin factor.
　Just as humans gain overwhelming power by gaining the Bloodline Factor, monsters are also given the Bloodline Factor to strengthen them. The reason they didn't mass-produce it was probably because of the risk and cost of preparing blood for bloodsucking, after all.
　Akeno writes down the names on the whiteboard, crisply. Sleipnir, Drake, Cyclops, Thord........ In the process of writing a total of six names, she circled Cyclops and Toad in a circle.

'Toad has been working in this castle for a long time. You've met him. You've met him. You're the ostensible master of this kingdom."
Oh, you know, the one with the toad-like face...

　This castle, where the blood clan is based, is the royal residence of a kingdom. They secretly took over the castle many years ago and puppetized the king, so the blood family is now in control of the castle. The puppet king is a big, fat, frog-like man.

The Cyclops has just arrived. I think so.
I see...
Also, I don't count him as a six-blooded beast, but I've given the captured wyvern a factor that makes him a blood relative. I don't have any spare blood, so this one is expendable.

　Apparently there's more room in the force than I thought. Koganei felt gloomy.
　Koganei is at the mercy of the tossing and turning. The reason why I joined the blood clan's side is to ensure the safety of the SpiderZaki and the tentacles field and to find out the inner workings of the blood clan from within. He had to pretend to follow suit on the surface alone, but the fact that the Blood Clan's side of the war is full of strength is not something he finds pleasant to talk about.

''So, we're headed here.

　Turning the whiteboard around, Akeno presented a map.

'It's been confirmed that your classmates are here. We will capture them.
Well, what about the missing piece of the king's piece, did you leave it out?
We'll have to wait and see. We've got some shakko flying around right now, gathering information.

　Akeno knows that Koganei knows the whereabouts of the Wangkata, and she knows it. But she never tried to ask him about it. There is a rule laid down in silence. Akeno knows about Koganei's intentions and pretends that she doesn't know about it, thus pretending that the loan and borrowing never happened.
　As a matter of fact, a few days ago, an advertisement was distributed by Ryuzaki, the chairperson of the second year class 4. The ad was intended to direct the classmates to a place where they would meet, but fortunately, Koganei had no idea where they were going to meet.

　There was a chance that Kumizaki and Tentahara would know about it, but Koganei was adamant that he wouldn't allow them to be questioned.
　But if they eventually found out where their other classmates were, it might be the same thing. This, too, did not feel good.

Um, okay.

　Koganei looked at the map and nodded.

'Who's going?　Me and Mr. Akeno?
I'm taking Cyclops and Wyvern with me.
I don't like meeting new people, but...
'Let's just pretend the wyvern is a vicious dog. I don't know about Cyclops.

　Cyclops. The one-eyed giant. He's supposed to be smart, but he looks barbaric.

　Koganei stared at the map while thinking about that.
　His next destination was the Zelga Gladiatorial Principality. In this country, which classmates will Koganei be reunited with? In any case, it wasn't going to be very pleasant, it didn't seem to be very pleasant.



　Kyousuke and the others crossed the sea and reached the Adventurer's Autonomous Territory of Zelneus.

''Nnnnnn!　It's been a long boat ride!

　Rin stretched with all her might. The adventurers around her were jittery when they saw the slime stretching only five meters vertically.
　Zelneus is a large city that is crowded with adventurers. Due to the proximity of the Zelga Gladiatorial Principality, where the culture of the Monster Coliseum is located, there are relatively many adventurers with monsters in tow. The adventurer Lesbon Balk, who crossed the sea with Kyousuke and the others, was also looked at in that way.

　When Lesbon and the others went to the Zelneus branch of the Adventurer's Guild and told them that they had returned from exploring the new continent, the various procedures were completed and their party was disbanded. As for the wombat who lost his life as a result of the search, due to his living will, the distribution that would have been paid to him will be sent to the bereaved family through the guild.
　When the party breaks up, the sorcerer Weygun says he is going to greet his master after a long time, and the cleric Philhana also says goodbye, saying he is going home to his parents' home. As a result, Lesvon and his childhood friend, Rain, remained with Kyousuke and the others.

''So, what are we going to do now?''

　Lesvon asks Kyousuke.

'I have a lot of ideas, but that's our line. What are you going to do now, Lesbon?
I'll draw on my savings to do things.

　Lesvon laughed at that, shrugging his shoulders with one arm.

　Kyousuke glanced back.
　The classmates he was currently working with were Himemizu Rin, Mitarai Azuki, Yukinoshita Ryouka, Karasumaru Yoshitsune, Gozashiki Do-suke, Kawano Chihaya, Hakuba Ikkaku, and Inugami Hibiki. It's a surprisingly large group. With the exception of a few, they look like a respectable monster army, and this is what draws the attention of those around them. They were gazing around as if enjoying the chaos of this autonomous adventurer's territory. They were like climbers.
　Even though the Adventurer's Autonomous Region has a certain amount of freedom, being left out of the picture was a bit unsettling. If possible, I'd like to work with Lesbon a bit more.

'First of all, I want to go to my friends in Verneus. But in order to do that, I'm missing a lot of things.
Like a roadside bank. I see.

　Lesvon nodded with a hand to his chin.
　Next to him, Rain, a large female warrior, spoke up with this suggestion.

'Why don't you register as an adventurer for now?
Yeah, it's a good idea.

　Lesvon nodded. It was Kyousuke who was surprised to hear that.

''So, you can do that?　Monster?
It's not as if there aren't any other monsters that have registered as adventurers. One of the Five Sacred Stars, the Shouting Dragon Star Noi Noi, is a mutant of the Wyvern.
Does this guy talk?
I can't talk.

　It seems that the Adventurer's Association is a freer place than expected.

'Well, in the case of Noi Noi, I heard that the registration process went smoothly because he had excellent and famous adventurers in the background. We're not that powerful, you know. But if it's just Yukinoshita, Inugami, and Ozashiki, it's probably not a problem. We can just classify the rest as the monsters they have with them.

　I see. Kyousuke nodded.

''Hey, that's the kind of suggestion I came up with, guys, is it okay?''

　When I turned around and told that to the army of merry monsters, they shouted one after another, looking rather excited.

'Oh, Kyousuke-kun, look at that thing!　"A bath duckling set straight from Zelmenarga!"　I didn't know this world existed!　It's soooo shiny and so beautiful, I wish I could buy one!
'Utsurugi, this is great!　I think that's toilet paper in line there!　I can't hide my surprise that there's toilet paper in this world!　I thought, but then I thought about it and I realized that the toilets in the Knight's Kingdom were flushable, and they had paper!
Hey, moron, did you see that woman back there?　She was an awesome virgin!
Listen to me, boys.

　As expected, Kyousuke was a bit annoyed, too.




　Filhana Granbana was running at a sprint.

　Her running was truly worthy of being called sprinting. The way he crossed his arms and ran through with just the movement of his legs without making the slightest movement of his upper body was truly a Vikings, but from the perspective of the Imperial Clockwork Alliance (Dial Knights) as a whole, it wasn't that fast. With the wind and the landscape melting, Filhana was heading towards the Central Empire.

　The fourth seat (Four O'clock) of the Imperial Clockwork Alliance (Dial Knights), "The Iron Fist Saintess" Filhana Granvana.

　That's her name. A gold-ranked new adventurer, Filhana is nothing more than a kariju.

　The Empire has a secret knowledge of a special civilization that exists in the New Continent. The New Continent is where the Demon King of the Age of Mythical Warfare fled to, and it is one of the places believed to contain the long-lost Demon King's Piece. Filhana's mission was to infiltrate the Adventurer's Association and investigate the new continent while keeping an eye out for their movements.
　However, this mission ended up being disrupted in a different way.
　The information that the Bloods are after the King's Piece is even more important. Filhana shared the information via telepathic network with her colleagues in the Clockwork Alliance.

''Sister Phil!

　With a huff, Filhana looked up as she ran.
　There was a lilting sound, and the petite girl landed on her feet. At the moment of the landing, Filhana passed the girl's shadow with tremendous speed, but a moment later, the girl caught up to Filhana.

'Oh, Melokey. Good evening. Are you back from your mission?
I mean, it's not a mission, it's a bit of a tease, but that's about it.

　The petite girl called Meloky has short dark peach-colored hair and wears a light warrior outfit based on black.

"I heard there's a 'nameless' in the Gladiatorial Duchy, so I've been poking around.
'Oh, so it was a private matter...'
You know, I've learned a lot. "The talking heads and all that.

　With a twitch, Filhana's expression stiffens.

''The coup in the southern kingdom was put down by brother Ran, but it looks like it was out there too. And he embraced one of them.
I'm here, sir.
'It has to do with the red moon too, doesn't it?　I've left it alone until now, but you're doing a lot more than I thought you would.......

　This information was also obtained by Filhana.

　Sixth Seat (Sixth O'Clock) "Sword Violent Number" Rambalt Gaudin. In putting down a coup in the Southern Kingdom of Pirika, the one he managed to embrace was a wisp calling himself Hino Akira. According to the information he provided, Akira and the other "talking demons" are trippers, who have transformed into demons as collateral damage to the Blood Clan's plans.
　The blood tribe had planned to get into some sort of conflict with the Empire, and the former human demons had been summoned to help them do so. They didn't just change their appearance into a demon, but were given special abilities in the process, and Akira had also awakened to those abilities.

　From what I've heard, it's a terrifying ability. It seemed that if Akira was so inclined, it would be easy for him to turn a city into scorched earth.

　There were about forty demons with that much power. The blood clan has not yet given up on adding them to their ranks and making them a force to be reckoned with.
　It seemed to be a focal point in their future battles with the blood clan, along with the royal fragments. If more demons were in the hands of the blood clan, and then they were strengthened by the blood clan and put into battle.

　I don't think that we will lose, or anything like that. I am proud to be a member of the Imperial Clockwork Alliance.
　However, we must be prepared for a significant amount of damage to the Empire.

　Our task is to prevent that from happening in the future. "The king's piece and the demon. The battle for the two is about to begin between the Empire and the bloodline.

...Hey Phil, sister...

　The girl asked.

'What is it? 'Meloky,'
'You really don't know, sister Phil, do you?　"Where is the Demon King Piece?"
.........

　Filhana fell silent.
　She had one piece of information that she hadn't reported to the Empire.

　"It's the information that one of the demons, Soraki Kyousuke, is in possession of a demon king piece. It was stolen from his bloodline by the adventurer party of wombats, who risked their lives to get it and entrusted it to Lesbon. As long as that Lesvon had entrusted it to Kyousuke, Filhana couldn't bring herself to report it to the Empire. It was a righteous act on Wombat's life.

'I don't know,'

　Filhana nodded with a smirk.

'I see,'

　The girl did not pursue the matter further.