--The country is called the Land of Connections.

This country is called KEI-KOKU, the Land of Connections.
The reason for this is that this country is made up of two countries.
One is called Enumasan, and the other is called Ikisokoku.
The other is called Ixos.
These two formed an alliance to form a single country.
On the surface........


-- and Masamune was visiting here, the Keikoku Enumasan.


　Right now, the national championship match is being held in Heilkwaite.
Probably right around the time Patrick was playing the game.
Then why is Masamune in this country without going to support him?

-- that's because Patrick refused.

Patrick, whose spirit magic was not in good shape, apparently thought it was a shame that Nito would see him.
So he said so, "At least don't look at me during the block qualifiers."
Of course, the other three would be in the audience.
Of course, the other three would be in the audience, and they would be watching the game by now.
For this reason, Nito had come to the country alone to do some business.


Tsunagi Enumasan was protected by a towering, 360-degree barrier around it, and if it were seen from the sky, it would probably be circular in shape.

And Masamune was walking through the country's relatively, relatively wealthy urban area.
Dwellings lined the area, all of them gorgeous.
Glass windows that glittered like diamonds and emeralds, and lights installed in the dwellings.
But this was true even of the streetlights that stood at regular intervals.
The people passing by were human and beastly, as well as demons and dwarves, some of which Masamune had yet to see, and some of which were of a species he had never seen before.
In other words, this country was a multiracial nation.
And this country is a little different from other countries.
That is the existence of poor towns, slums.
The slums are located in the center of the town.
I don't need to explain slums.
Because, as I said before, it is a town of the poor.
And surrounding that slum is a wealthy town.
In other words, Enuma San is a wealthy country with a ratio of 8:2.

So what is the exact difference? .........

Then Masamune passed through the gleamingly decorated houses and the hustle and bustle of people who seemed to be rich and wasteful, and came to a certain shop.

With a light metallic sound, the door opened and Masamune entered the shop.

'Welcome!'

And the first person to call out to Masamune was a small clerk who was sorting through the merchandise.
And he seemed to have difficulty taking the items on the shelves.
Then, did Masamune notice the situation?

Hmm?　Would you like me to get it for you?

Oh, I'm sorry!　That was too high for the dwarf tribe. I need to think about arranging it a little more properly.......

The clerk says. He's a dwarf.
The proof of this is that his eyes, looking at Masamune, are as red as the eyes of a white rabbit.

'Ah!　What's that, Nito!

Then the dwarf paused and leaned closer to Masamune.

'I've come to get what I asked for. Is it ready yet?

'Of course!　It's perfect!

The dwarf smiles and disappears into the back of the room, smiling.
His name is Tom.
His features are the magnificent beard that grows under his nose. Ping! And it's popping up on the outside.
And it's this low stature.

The interior of the store is all brown shelves.
There's nothing else particularly distinctive about it.
Extremely rustic, nothing fancy.
But the goods are solid.

This is a shop that makes things from scratch in response to customers' requests.
Every piece is excellent and has many fans abroad.

Then, someone peeps out of the bamboo screen that leads to the back of the room.

'Ah!　Isn't that Mr. Nito!

'Oh!　Dean... or was it?　Is what I asked for ready?

Yes, it's perfect!

Dean's signature feature is his goatee.
A fine, black beard. Masamune also uses it as a point of distinction.

Then, from further back, another person appears.

'Nito-san!'

Long time no see!

Even Masamune, as expected, smiled bitterly.
But it can't be helped, since this is a greeting to the dwarfs.
They are overjoyed to see each other again.
But that was not unreasonable.
The dwarfs are a race that has been oppressed for a long time in the past.
And most of them have been destroyed.
And most of them have been destroyed -- by human hands.

"How's Sam?

'Yes!　If it's what you asked for, it's already done!

'Oh!　Then let me see it!

Yes!

Tom, Dean and Sam. These three brothers are the owners of the store.
Then Tom appeared from the back of the store with a large box.

'Mr Nito!　Here's an example!

Oh!

One of the ways to communicate with the dwarfs is to reply cheerfully.
Otherwise, they will quickly become offended.
On the contrary, as long as they keep this in mind, they are a very friendly and peaceful race.
They are not sarcastic and do not talk behind your back.
Above all, they do not mistreat others.

'And yet this country is still the same, isn't it?

'....Yes. As usual.

Tom replied.
The three of them didn't even let out a sigh, but a sinking look on their faces.

'This country is like a bunch of scum. But the country floating above it is more scum than anything else, if you ask me. I feel the ugliness of the human race.

The three of them responded to that with nothing.

"The country floating above."

-- that's Ixos.

This country is two and one.
There is another country floating in the sky above Enumasan, protected by a wall, called Ixos.
But Ixos itself is not that big of a country.
It is located in the center of Enumasan and has an area about the size of a slum.
It floats just above the slums.
Or rather, the town built in the shadow of Ixos is a slum.
Thanks to this, the slums are shrouded in darkness all day long.
And where it was never buried in the shadow of Ixos, a town of the wealthy is now spreading out.

'It can't be helped, it's that kind of country.

Resignation was evident on Dean's face.

'But why is this happening?　I still feel that way at times.

Tom said with a sinking look of pure doubt.

'Humans are such creatures. They're awful, selfish creatures.'

The three of them understood Masamune's words very well.
The dwarf race was a human, oppressed race.

Then Tom placed the contents of the box on the table, each of them on the table.

'Oh!'　This is awesome!

Yes, we made it just the way you said it would be. It's a masterpiece of the three of us!　No doubt it will help Master Nito.

Yeah, I think so too...

Masamune had visited the country once, the day before the championship game began.
So what was the purpose of his visit?
That's mainly because of the masks and the clothes they made.

Masamune had never been able to provide clothing, even though he had the money to do so.
The masks were cheap, like those he bought at a street vendor's stand.
But this time, he renewed it.

It was Francesca who introduced me to this shop in this country.
Toa wanted a poster of Nito, so I asked Francesca about it while I went to get it for her.
In addition, the poster is on display in my dorm room.

And Masamune tried them all on once for the time being.

It's the 'fool's mask' that we dwarfs wear when we fight. But Nito-san's mask is based on the 'fool's mask of the dwarf chief'. Of course, it's a full-face mask that covers the entire head, just as you requested.

Tom explains in a low voice.

''Well ... that's what you're talking about with these earrings, right?

Yes, I did.

Then Masamune wore the golden ring-shaped earring in his left ear.

'Then, Nito-san, let the magic flow through you. A little bit will do.

Yeah.

Masamune then channels magic power into the earring in his left ear as he was told.
The next moment, a single particle of light appears from the earring, and it forms a shape that covers Masamune's head.

-- which is reminiscent of 'blood' and has been transformed into a full crimson face.

The part of the face that is located on the face has a three-dimensional face that looks like an ethnic demon.

''Oh!　Excellent!　That's great, this is great!

Masamune couldn't help but be excited.

In fact, Masamune thought, 'Great.
But as for himself, 'Wow!　Seriously, it's so cool!' I wanted to say.
Because the dwarfs demand accuracy in response to praise.
So the pronunciation has to be precise and clear.
Of course, 'Wow!　Seriously, it's so cool!' But there was nothing wrong with that, but Masamune was a little too cautious and stiff.

'I'm glad you're pleased. Normally it can be compressed and stored towards the earrings.

With a full face, there was no more worry about it coming off in the future in any way.
Masamune then finishes putting everything on.

Leather jacket on top.
Leather pants.
Leather boots.
These are all a deep red like dusky blood.
And on each arm I can see a gold bracelet.
And a large crimson robe that wraps them all.
Underneath, it goes down to the base a little below the ankles.
And an attached hood that can completely cover your face.

I can see the red jacket from the gap in the cloak.
But if you wear it deeply, you can also cover your entire body without any gaps.
I'm sure Jae's also very pale.

It's not just a matter of time before you find yourself in the middle of the night. And it is also possible to switch between them at will.

And, after all, it's this crimson full face.
The three-dimensional form of the demon depicted on it would make Nito's presence even more appealing.

''It's perfect........''

Masamune muttered as he checked himself in the mirror.

''All parts have been granted restoration magic. Just by pouring a small amount of magic into them, they can be repaired even if they are damaged in a split second.''

From the bottom to the top, a deep red like dusky 'blood'.
There was a new Nito figure there.

''The example specs you asked for are in there too, right?

Of course. Everything is as you requested, Nito-sama.

The three of them bowed deeply after saying that.

''Good!　And ... was that the right price?　I can give you more if you want.

'Not at all!　You have already paid the fee. There will be no change.

Really?　Well then.....

The dwarfs are honest.
Hence, there are many customers who marinate in such good intentions.

--Kallangkallang!

With a light tone, the door of the shop opens.
Then another customer appears.

''Ah!　It's Mr. Romero!

An old man in a brown suit with a hat on his head appears.
He held a walking stick in his right hand and a brown bag in his left.
When I took the hat off, there was a gentleman with a white head in an all-back.

I wondered how he was doing.　Tom, Dean and Sam.

The white beard visible under the gentleman's nose laughed.
Apparently the three of them knew each other.

'Oh?　Who is this gentleman?

Then the old man looked at the red one in front of him.

Then Sam--.

I'll introduce you. This is Nito, and this is Nito. And Nito, this is Mr. Romero. We call him Dr. Romero.

Romero and Masamune bowed to each other.

'Romero-san looks like a human, but inside he's a sub-race.

--Subspecies?　Masamune had a question mark in his mind.
But there were other questions.

So you're a doctor, you mean you're a doctor?

Yes, it's a pleasure to introduce myself as a medical doctor.

Romero is more humble than he needs to be.
But he was a famous doctor.

Dr. Romero is known as 'The Wandering Medicine Man'.

Nomadic?

Masamune asks Sam.

'Yeah, Romero travels all the time, so we don't see him very often, do we?

Hmm....

Masamune replies back with an absent-minded reply.

'If you want, I can take a look at Nito-san, too.　Of course, if it's okay with me?

'You should!　Dr. Romero is awesome!　And they can find diseases that you wouldn't normally recognize!

--What kind of disease is it that we don't normally recognize?

Masamune doesn't know what it means.

''Well then, please........''

It would be my pleasure, but you'll have to be gentle with me. "Lord Nitto the Adventurer--

Of course, Romero knows at least Nito's name.
No, there are few people who no longer know Nito's name.

Then Romero took a pair of silver-edged round glasses from his bag and slowly put them on.
Immediately after that, a yellow-green colored magic circle unfolded in front of the two lenses.

'Then, Nito-dono, could you look into my eyes for a moment?'

Yes I understand.

Masamune follows what he is told with an expression of confusion.

'Oh? .... hmmm... ah!　Yes, yes, I see....

Romero mumbles something and looks convinced by one of them.
Then Romero, as if the examination was over, untied his magic circle and took off his glasses.

''Um ... is it over already?''

Yes, we're done.

So how did it go?　Was there anything wrong with it?

Masamune himself wasn't that interested in the matter.
He didn't think there was anything particularly wrong with his body, and he had no intention of having it looked at in the first place.

'I'm sorry to ask you this, but have you ever been ill in any way before?'

Are you sick?　No ... not really, but ...

'I see........'

The reaction made Masamune wonder.
He wondered if there was something wrong with him.

Romero then cut him off.

''This is a very rare case, but I have seen it a few times in the past. He was a father of two children. He was a father of two children, but he was unhappy with his own childhood. He didn't want to grow up in the first place, so he took a wife and had a child to help him come to terms with his feelings, but he told me, "I don't want to grow up. But he said to me, "I don't want to be an adult. "I didn't want to grow up."

Masamune had a bit of knowledge about such illnesses.

''A mental illness...?''

That's right. It's called 'tsukiokioki disease'. He was longing for his past as a child, and it turned into a desire not to grow up. He longed for his past, his childhood, and his desire not to grow up.

As is often the case, the patient had a terrible tendency to do so.

'Well what does that ... have to do with me?'

Then Romero asked, as if he himself was troubled and seeking an answer.

'-- Have you ever heard of the term "otherworldly syndrome"?