This is....

　He could clearly hear his own voice being snatched by the tension. At this moment, a shiver rightly dominated Kyousuke Soraki's mind.
　The forest was burning, the land was gouging, and there were shimmering sparks lying everywhere. The smoke-shrouded sky trapped heat and glowing light on the ground, leaving no trace of life around. It is a purgatory that has emerged in this world. Kyousuke slowly crosses over it with his boot-covered feet.

　The core that stored a considerable amount of energy popped and a section of the Vernetus Kingdom turned into scorched earth.
　It wasn't just the heat that tormented the land, either. A considerable amount of poison that destroys the cells of living things is being sprayed out at the same time.

　There is only a limited number of things that can advance through this space. Kyousuke was acutely aware with his body that the heat-resistant technique he had applied to his own bones was screaming. The temperature outside was already close to several hundred degrees. If the magic formula burned out, the next thing to be put out is Kyousuke's body.

　Even at that much risk, Kyousuke had to move on through this hell.

　The person who pulled the trigger of this catastrophe was Kyousuke himself. However, he didn't want to solve the situation just because of his sense of responsibility.

　As Kyousuke advanced, the heat impregnated by the atmosphere would increase at an accelerated rate. It was also proof that the center of the scorched earth was near. Eventually, even the ground evaporated, and the heat distorted the atmosphere and visibility. In the center of it all, there was a figure in black armor, still in its original form, kneeling on one knee.

　Kyousuke stopped in his tracks.
　The armor is partially popped and melted. In it, there was a chunk of flames that was burning. This is it. The center of this hell. It was the flame of calamity that burned the earth, scorched the heavens, and cast and melted all life.

''Ei........''

　Kyousuke muttered.

　The flames just burned. He didn't reply at all.

'Ei, let's go home. I'm sorry I didn't leave you alone for so long.''
.........
I think you're a... You're not that handy. That's what I did. If you try to do well on your own, you won't be able to do it. And that's what this is all about.
.........
Hey, Ei...

　Why on earth did this happen in the first place?

　The story began about two weeks ago.




　　　◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆.




This is...!　A hot spring inn...!

　They tried to open their eyes in astonishment, but they didn't have eyes to begin with.

　What Kyousuke and the others saw when they arrived at the Vernetus Kingdom was a huge stone structure that rose deep in the mountains. With ivy and moss tangled up in the walls, and tangled up in a large tree that makes you think the tree is thousands of years old, it looks more like a dungeon of sorts than an inn.
　Kyousuke is not the only one who is stunned. Even Rin and Inugami were surprised, of course, and Goubayashi and the others were also stunned.

'Ah yes. It looks old, but it's not even a month old.''

　Sugiura said with a wave of his hand.

'Can you get this far in a month?
It's surprisingly good. Most of the work I did was done by Harao-kun and Hanazono.

　Hanazono turned his chest a little proudly, but Harao was still snoring in his coffin.

　After discovering Ryuzaki's ad, Sugiura and the others had apparently proceeded to fortify the inn to make it their base for the time being. The wooden building has been replaced with stone, reinforced with plant roots and fortified with tomatoes instead of watchmen. In fact, there is no evidence that the building had been broken into or vandalized by anyone while Sugiura and the others were away.
　Inside, in addition to Hanazono's vegetable garden, there was a fish farm prepared by the fishermen, so they had little to worry about for food and clothing. With the addition of the mushroom house, the infrastructure was even more complete. With the addition of Goubayash and Okumura, they will have enough manpower to cover the shortage of labor.
　Certainly, this is a perfect place to use as a base of operations for the time being.

Hey, hey, hey, hey. Hey, hey, hey. I'm gonna help you with your bags.
Oh, yeah.

　Pulled by Sugiura's words, we all walked into the Fortress Inn. It was dim inside, but the tomatoes hanging from the ceiling were emitting light and acting as light bulbs. The tomatoes seemed a bit too convenient.
　The luggage that they carry are mainly items and seasonings bought in the Adventurer's Autonomous Region. Most of them are taken to the front of Sugiura's kitchen, the rest are taken to the warehouse.

　The guest rooms are cramped, but there are more than fifty of them, and there's still plenty of room to allocate one room to every classmate. In other words, each student is now able to have a private room. This was a popular idea with many of the faces in the room.
　In any case, since I moved to this world, I had never been assigned a room for each student. In the first dungeon, we slept in small fry sleeps, and the heavy duty branch school used one room for multiple people. More to the point, since the transition was in the middle of a school trip, the hotel was also a shared room.
　Of course, I don't have any luggage to leave in my room, but even so, getting a private room is really close to half a year ago. Some of my classmates had begun discussing room assignments with me.

Where do you want to stay, Utsurogi?　Do you have a better room next to anyone else's or something?
Keep it close to Rin.
Huh..... Don't tell me...

　With the students rumbling in the lobby at his side, Kyousuke sat down on a stone chair and unfolded the map.

'A map of the continent?'

　A heavy bass sound echoed behind me. It's Goubaji's voice.

'Yeah.'

　Kyousuke nodded.

　Right now, they are in the Vernetus Kingdom that juts out into the southeast of the continent. This peninsula, sandwiched between a volcanic belt on the north and south, is a land of rich nature as well. For the time being, Kyousuke and the others have escaped being attacked by the empire and blood clans until they came here.
　From now on, we have to sit down firmly in this base and prepare for the battle. That's why.

"For now, it's Hino.

　Goubayashi speaks for Kyousuke's feelings.

'I know Ei is headed in this direction. First of all, I have to find out where that guy is.

　Ei Hino's actions could hardly be called a betrayal, strictly speaking. He searched for the best option in his own way, and as a result, he sided with the Empire. The Empire is probably a big country in this world, and if you're under their protection, you can probably find a way to return to your former world. They might even be able to protect me from my blood family. Considering that alone, I can't say it's wrong.
　However, Kyousuke can't quite trust the Empire, which will take a hard-line approach without listening to our opinions. As a result, Karasuma and Mitarai were taken away in a manner that was as good as kidnapping. Even Wangkata was taken away.

　I need to talk to Ei again. After that, we will bring him back to our side if we can.

'Utsurogi, I'm sure I'll respect your opinion,'

　Goubayashi continued to speak behind him, his arms crossed.

'Yeah?'
It's not a wise move to pick a fight in all directions. You don't know much about fighting, do you?
You make it sound like you know your way around.
Phew.

　Ouga, who has a huge frame of nearly three meters, gives a small smile.

''I guess that means I wasn't as well behaved a student as I'd like to say.

　Gourin Yuanzong was the son of the temple. In high school, he was a member of the Kempo club.
　He was also a man who, since his time as a human, had a tremendous big frame and a chiseled, strong face that made a rather impressive impact. He may not have been a delinquent student who spent most of his time in fights, but he certainly had a role to play in the 'glare' when he was always working with Ryuzaki.

"Goubayashi was right, fat. It's risky fatty to make enemies with both the Empire and the bloodline.

　These are the words of a genuine former delinquent, Akemitsu Okumura, who said: "Well, in my opinion, it's better to have a certain amount of bravado than to be taken advantage of," he said.

Well, in my opinion, it's better to have a certain amount of bravado than to be taken advantage of by the weak-kneed, fat man.

　Holding up his index finger, Okumura continued.

'It's true, Deb, that we crushed one of the rooks of our blood family. But now is not a good time for the bloods, Deb.
Do you mean to tell me that the Bloods can't wait on us?
''Yes Fatty. According to Utsurogi, the powerful of the bloodline and the powerful of the Empire have already clashed, Debbie?　The fact that you can't sell a fight to all sides means the same thing on the blood side, fatty.

　It was the incident that had just brought Ei and Koganei together. While that was a painful development that saw the majority of our allies lost to both forces, it was also an incident that brought the subdued structure of conflict between the Empire and the bloodline into focus once again.
　Nevertheless, it is the Empire that is more powerful. The blood clans must keep a watchful eye on the Empire's movements and expand their war potential.

''It's not every day that I would do something like that, Fatty, like swatting a stray dog that had bitten me again.
I see. So you're going after this one, after you've made up some ground?

　Goubayashi nodded to Okumura's opinion.

''Then I'm wondering what the blood family will do to gain ground, Debbie...''
I'm worried about Beni.

　Kyousuke muttered, and Okumura nodded quietly.

　Beni Asuka's whereabouts were still unknown. She wasn't the only student whose whereabouts were still unknown.
　In consolidating their forces, the possibility of the regents reaching out to other students could not be denied. Currently, there is Koganei on the blood clan side, and although he has said that he won't let his 'classmates get their hands on him,' as expected, Beni would be an exception. Queen Benii is one of the strongest classes even if we talk about simple strength, and he can also be a trump card with joker-like implications for Kyousuke and the other students of the 2nd year 4 class.

''Is there a possibility that the Blood Clan will seek out Benii's whereabouts...?''
'We can't leave too much blood in the air when it comes to that sort of thing.
Yeah. We'll have to keep an eye on them.

　As expected, the opinions of the two martial artists are helpful. It seems that our future policy is gradually becoming clearer.

''Come to think of it, there's another delinquent.

　With his arms crossed, Goubayashi turned his attention to a corner of the lobby. There, there was Inugami Hibiki, dressed in a tattered cloak. Perhaps noticing his gaze, Inugami said in a boldly garrulous voice, ''Ah? She returns it.
　Ever since she lost her sailor suit in the New World, she's had very little to wear. Most of the time, she's either taking on the form of a wolf or wearing a tattered cloak. She was rather used to the look in her eyes.

'No, I just thought I'd like to hear what Inugami has to say about it.
I don't know what I'm gonna say.

　Inugami responds as if to spit out.

'Nah. I agree with most of what the fat man said. I'd like to crush the bloodline with my own hands, though. I'm sure you don't have to shove it in your face right now.
You're really calm now, aren't you?
I'm starting to get attached to my flock.

　After saying that much, Inugami lay down on the floor, wrapped in his cloak. He might be embarrassed.

''For now, we're going to leave the blood relatives alone in principle but still gather information, right?

　Kyousuke muttered as he looked at the map again.

'If they seem to have located Beni, then we need to get there first.
'Then you'll have to set things up with your blood family.... With a shaky back.
Well, it's going to be mutual, Debbie, but we want to stabilize ourselves at the back as soon as possible, Debbie.

　Unlike the Blood Clan, the Empire is not subject to annihilation. They are open to negotiation.
　That in itself is annoying, but we should come to terms with them properly.

　But in order to do so, we need to be on an equal footing. Specifically, we must get Ei back to our side, and then show them that we are in a position to negotiate as equals.

　With everyone here, there were a total of 40 of us. Our opponents were the largest empire in the world.
　To be honest, we're not doing too well. But we need to be prepared to do that when we are enemies.

"Forty men against a single country, that's quite a feat.
Forty-one, to be exact.

　Kyousuke said, looking up at the ceiling.

'If you include Washio, though, that's forty-two people.
I've never met this little princess before.

　Come to think of it, that's right. Kyousuke thought as he dredged up a memory that was already several months old.

'And while I'm at it, I remembered one.
What fat?
We were the Demon King's Army, weren't we?
'Uh....'

　Goubayashi and Okumura crossed their arms as they stood side by side.

'Come to think of it, that's what we were talking about, Debbie...'
'I can't believe you're really going to do something like that against the state...'

　I wonder where the Demon King is right now, the one who gave the signal to assemble. While he's away, I have to protect the new Demon King's Castle. As the skeletal chief of staff, I have to make sure that the new Demon King's castle is protected while he is away.

"At least we have a rough idea of what we're going to do...

　Kyousuke said while spinning the map around.
　The room assignments that the other students had been discussing with each other, it seemed, were slowly being decided. Kyousuke called out to them and decided to set up a meeting to discuss their future activities once again.




''Well, that's about it.''

　Sitting upright or sitting in gym. It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with them.
　The place remains the same as before in the lobby. It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with your friends and family. I was going to ask Goubayash to do it, but he said jokingly, 'I'm Ryuzaki's second-in-command, not your initial,' he said. You can't be serious. He's just enjoying watching Kyousuke, who has been forced to blow the leader's wind. He is.
　Okumura also said, ''I'm not the type to stand in the front, fat guy,'' and stood back. Kenzaki overheard the conversation and said, ''What, are you the organizer?　He interrupted me with 'I can do it,' but I politely declined because I was anxious.

　Therefore, Rin is next to Kyousuke. The usual.

''I've told you about a brief policy for the future. We'll be careful with the movements of the blood clan and deal with the Empire for the time being.''
The first priority is to save Hino-kun and the rest of his classmates. Then we'll negotiate.
Yeah, the "ostensible reason" the Empire is trying to capture us is to stop the Bloods from expanding their war potential. At least we have room to negotiate on that front.

　The problem is, if there is an ulterior motive at work here. For example, they want to use the rare existence of "human-turned-magnet" as research material. If the empire has such a purpose, then the story is quite complicated.
　However, in any case, there are only a few actions Kyousuke and his team can take. In the first place, abandoning their classmates is not an option here.

''So. The question is, how do we gather information?

　When Kyousuke said that, the first person to raise her hand was Aya Sugiura.

''I think we can request some cooperation from the Adventurer's Association. I've been in regular contact with Mama-san.''
"Oh. "You must be the 'howler' of the Five Sacred Stars, Giant Mama."
''I heard your mom is also acquainted with Nameless-san........ Even if you can't expect him to be a direct asset, just having him behind you makes a lot of difference.

　The Five Divine Stars are a personal force comparable to the Luke class of the Blood Clan, or the Imperial Clockboard Alliance (Dial Knights) of the Empire. The fact that they are on our side is just a gratifying fact.

''I also thought that I could expand my plant network and ask them a lot of questions.
'That's me too. Let's build a network of widened mycelium and expand the range of information we can gather.

　Hanazono and Mushikasa were members of the information gathering team that had once participated in the search for the Inugami in Albadamba.
　It seemed that their search area had been greatly expanded as their abilities had become more powerful.

　The other information gathering suggestion that came up was Sarutoyo, who was able to manipulate sounds and vibrations, collecting a wide range of sounds. Brother Uozumi would use the sea creatures to conduct the survey. If used in conjunction with the network constructed by Hanazono and Mushikasa, it seemed that they could grasp a considerable range of information.

''Then the above members are the information gathering team. The other members are........

　Kyousuke continues, taking notes on a piece of paper.

'Combat training,'
"" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" "" " ----?

　With the exception of a few students, they all booed at once. Kyousuke made a fist and banged his desk.

'Ee no!　We worked together to finally pick up a win over Luke!　We're going to have to deal with ten enemies on the same level as that thing!　You can't help it if you don't power up one by one!
Utsurugi-kun. I've got some, uh, things I need to do, like make dinner for everyone and call the Adventure Association...
It's tough, Sugiura..... But everyone else has cleaning to do as well.
Demon!　Demon!　Dashigara!
I'd be both a demon and a dasigala if it meant we were all going home!

　Pulling out the Scorching Flame Sword (Heat Weaver) from the Dimension Case, Kyousuke hit the floor with a pashin.

''Kyousuke-kun........ You've become completely tough........

　Showing a gesture of wiping away tears, Rin muttered.

''Oh, and to expand our strength, I'm going to scout every single demon that can join us!　Rin!　Read out the monsters I listed!
'Yes!　"Skeletons, Orcs and Oga in the Fiery Marshes, Mummy in the Wailing Desert and Durahan in the Tomb of the Warriors!"
There's a lot of undead types...
And since we're biased towards you, there's only so many people we can recruit...

　Apart from this, we can also see Arraune and Matango from Hananarkan Plains to the Forest of Life.
　The first priority is for each individual to become stronger, but you'll need to go to these lands to recruit these monsters to your team. The top priority is to be on the offensive. With half-hearted forces, we can't fight the bloods or the empire.

Well said, Utsurogi!

　A headless windbag suddenly stood up and shouted.

''Training to be strong, replenishing our strength, I'm all for it. Because that's the least we can do!''
I'm counting on you, Kenzaki.
I got it!　I'll sharpen your swordsmanship, too.　I've got to make sure that the karma I got from the adventurers doesn't go bad!

　Come to think of it, it was. Kyousuke was completely unskilled with the sword. He wanted to polish this one as well so that he could fight to some extent even when separated from Rin.
　But, well, after all, few of his classmates were as eager to get on board as Kenzaki was. While all of them were buzzing and complaining, they still showed that they would follow Kyousuke's words, for whatever reason. It was true that Kyousuke was right, it would be difficult to cross over to the Empire and the Blood Clan at this rate. And, well, for what it's worth, they seemed to recognize Kyousuke as an extraordinary leader.

　Now, although Kyousuke declared that he would become both a demon and a dashigara, as expected, today was the only day he didn't train for combat and made it a day of rest. To tell the truth, even Kyousuke would really like to get rid of the heavy combat training.
　But I'm not going to be able to say such a cowardly thing when I think about the future. It's a good idea to take a break for this day to regain your energy, but from tomorrow, you will have to work hard to train seriously.

　What kind of reunion awaits them beyond that, Kyousuke and the others still don't know.



[14 days left until the core meltdown]