Nem split off from us halfway through the trip because she was going to see her sister.
Although there was some resistance to leaving a young girl alone, Nem was still strong even with this, and besides, this is a country that can be called Nem's garden.
So it will be okay.............

.........Am I being overprotective?

I let Toa and Sufilia take care of Nem.
When we parted, I heard Toa's disgusted sigh.
Sufilia said, "Are you favoritism again? He muttered something mature.
Honestly, Sufilia is even more childish than I am.
There's a part of me that can't help but say that.
I've been a princess up to this point, and I was spoiled growing up.
In other words, it's natural to be loved.
And at the time I took him away from Artemias, he really just looked like a freakish killer.
This is still a grown-up person.

And as I was thinking about this, a nostalgic adventurer's guild appears in front of me.

''This was........the first one, wasn't it?''

My starting point.
It's not exactly my starting point, but it's a place I have a lot of feelings about.

I smiled thinly in my mask and walked into the guild.

'Hey, boys!　Don't you have enough to drink?

And then he walks in and suddenly he hears a ridiculously loud voice.

--It's Yogi.

The same old drinking in the daytime......................hasn't changed.

And then Yogi notices me.

What?　What the f*ck?

And when he looked at me, he threatened me.

But it's not unreasonable.
I'm reddish-black and oddly shaped now.

'Long time no see, Yogi?'

...Oh?

But when I said that, Yogi twisted his head in question.
It's a dumb look on his face.

"What, Yogi, you know this guy?

What?　No way!　I don't know anyone who is this creepy!

Rude!
This equipment that I went to the trouble of custom-ordering, even going to the trouble of detailing and designing it, and you can't just put it away with the word 'creepy'....

Hey!　Who the hell are you?

It's me. It's me.

So who is it?

You're a total pain in the ass.
You said so much in the article that you were my friend forever, but you can't tell by your voice?

I don't have a choice.

It's Nito.

The moment I said that, all the people in the guild turned back to me in unison.

''Ni........Nito?

And Yogi looks even dumber, as if he's been hit by a gunshot wound.

'Yeah, it's Nito. Long time no see, Yogi?

I'm not particularly close to this guy, but he used to buy me drinks at the time, so I ended up just hanging out with him.
In other words, we have a rotten relationship.

Just then, I saw someone running towards me with great speed.
It was Cedric.
He's the man who Toa had beaten back with a blitz when he'd picked up Toa before.

'You fools who speak the name of a hero!　They'll knock that head off!

Cedric took a serious stance and came towards us.
But I don't feel any killing intent at all.
We'll have to wait and see, won't we?　Oh dear.

It's been a while, hasn't it, Cedric?

This guy is like a set of yogis, so I met him through the yogi connection.
And while saying that, I caught Cedric's blue glowing magic sword that was coming towards me with my right hand and gripped it tightly enough not to break it because I felt sorry for the poor guy.

''Nah!''

Then Cedric's expression was stunned.
At the same time, the drinkers in the guild looked at us with stunned expressions.

''Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!''

At that moment, there was suddenly a huge cheer.

'Hey, guys!　Liquor!　Bring me the booze!　Our hero, Nito, is back!

Then Yogi, who had been so suspicious of me, suddenly recognized me as Nito.

'The insanity of trying to stop my magic sword with your bare hands. There's no doubt ... he's Nito.

Cedric is convinced of his own accord.
'Insane - this guy is rude too.

'Why did you come back?　I knew you couldn't forget this country?

Yogi familiarly put his arm around my shoulder.

'I had to run some errands, just popping in. More importantly, don't get attached, okay?

That's good, bro!

I'm not your brother!

That's between us!

The next thing I knew, I found myself being taken by Yogi, and then again, I found myself holding a mug in my right hand.
It was a good old-fashioned razz beer.

'Come on, Nito!　Come on, baby!　Gulp!

Yogi recommends a drink.
I was only going to show up here for a bit....

Hey, you guys!　It's a party today!

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

What's with these guys?　What are you, a college student?

"--Uh...excuse me?　Are you Nito?

Hmm?

Then suddenly, I hear a voice behind me.
I turn around, mug in hand, and turn around.

'I just heard the word 'nit' and I was a little concerned...'

What! .....

I'm glad it was before I drank.
Because in order to drink, you have to take off your mask.
Because then, inevitably, you'll have to expose your true face.

'What the hell, dude?

Yogi bit the man.

'Ah!　Excuse me, my name is Ichijo. I just arrived in Radshausen a few minutes ago...

'Ichijo! ........Mr......why are you here?!

Yes. That's where I was.

--It was a brave man, Ichijo.

"What, Nito, do you know him?

Ma!　Well.

I don't know why he's here...

'I knew it was you, Nito!　No wonder you can't feel the magic.



If you know Nito, you'll have a drink with me!　There's plenty of booze to go around!

'Well then I'll take your word for it...'

Ichijou sat down next to me as he said.

At that moment, the door of the guild opened vigorously.
And a familiar face appeared, dressed in a white coat.

''Is Nito here?!''

--Raid Black.

Then Lade found me and sat down next to Yogi with a grin on his face.

'Nito, I need to talk to you for a minute. Okay?

We've barely even spoken on this one.
I'm even more familiar with him than Yogi.
I'm pretty sure that I blew this guy away when we first met.
So why is it that he's so friendly?

Actually, I'm looking for someone...

"Huh... people... what's your name?　I'm sure most of the guys who've been to the guild once can answer that question...

I don't know what it is, but Yogi and Ichijou put me between them and started a conversation of their own accord.
Raid, on the other hand, is staring at me.
What the hell is this?

This man Hidaka Masamune, I believe, is...

That's great! .........

A hijack? ...Masamune?　What's that?　That's a funny name... no, wait?　I'm pretty sure there's been a guy with that name before. .....

Is that true!

Oh, no it's not good.
Oh, I see, so this is where you barrel?

What is it, Nito?　What's with the shaking hands?

It's nothing...

The man called Raid is truly annoying.

More importantly I should have been more careful.

No!　We can't give up yet!

Speaking of which, Ichijo-san!

'Yes! ........What is it?

My face must be very amused now.
But as long as I'm wearing a mask, no one will know.

'Why did you come here, Ichijo-san?　I believe you were at headquarters?

Oh, well, you see. Mr. Zeke overheard me talking about a person of that description in Rathhausen, and he suggested that I should go there.

Zeke?

What the hell were they thinking?
I told you not to talk about it, but...
I knew I should have killed you then, didn't I?
Why the hell did you have to do that?

Hmmm........I think someone like that was here before........

While I'm trembling with anger, Yogi is going down memory lane, saying something in a babbling voice.

''Um ... do you remember anything?''

Then a curious Ichijo asks.

Mazu.........

I'm starting to get to this point in time, but at the end of the day, right? .....

Well....

Ichijo looks disappointed.
Thank God Yogi is an idiot.

But Yogi is still thinking.
We can't let our guard down.

'Hey Nito?　We need to talk about something else.

Then the raider spoke to me.

'Nah?'

If possible, I'd like you to shut up because it's too much trouble.
Or I'd like you to walk away because you're in my way, but....

As a matter of fact?　You want me to do a mock fight with you?

What?

Lots of things have happened since that thing with the Empire, haven't they?　After we formed the White King's Squad, we each trained ourselves to become stronger. But we don't feel like we're getting any stronger. So, here's the thing!　　It's just that you're here, and I thought we'd have a mock battle to see what I'm missing, right?

Then why don't you ask Reinhardt?

'He's no good. I think it's worth it for me to take on you as hard as I can.

'It's almost our first time meeting, and I don't know if I'm going to be asked to do that all of a sudden.......'

With a sideways glance at Yogi and Ichijo, I gave Raid an aura of "go away".

Then the expression on the raids' faces became cloudy.
But immediately, the raider grinned.
What is it?

Oh, no!　Was it Masamune?

Then all of a sudden Raid said that in a deliberately loud voice, as if to interrupt the conversation between the two.
Reacting immediately, Ichijou turned his gaze to Raid.

''Do you know something?!　Anything!　Any little thing!

Ichijo was desperate.

'I knew I'd heard that name somewhere from the moment I heard it.

Then Lade turns the corners of his twisted mouth and narrow eyes to me and shows me a grin and an angry smile.

This guy.........what do you mean by that?

'Really?　Um ... can you tell me where you heard that?

Well I can't remember much either, can I?　Healer, right?　As I recall....

'Yes, sir!　I'm a healer!

One of the articles is unintentionally excited and forward.

Isn't that right?　I've heard that somewhere too...

Yogi thinks stupidly and honestly.

Grinning and giving me a disgusted look, as if he's waiting for me to say something.
On his face, he says, 'If we don't have a mock battle, I'll talk?' And it says.

And that was the time.

'Oh, yes!　Masamune is, um, I think it's called "The Raid! --

Reluctantly, but it can't be helped.

'Oh?　What?

You want to play a simulation?

Hmm? Yeah, I'd like to hook up with you. I'm not making a big deal out of it. We just need a few simple moves in front of the guild. What do you think?　You got a problem with that?

-- 'I'll keep my mouth shut and you'll fight me. Then you won't complain, right? ...is that what you're saying?
This is a knight in shining armor...

What? ...so....

Then Ichijou seemed to want to hear the rest of the story.

'Hmm?　Oh, I'm sorry?　I was trying to remember, but it looks like I was wrong.

...I see.

Ichijo's shoulders slumped, disappointed.
Then Yogi gave him an unwanted follow-up.

'But I'm sure you were there, okay?

Is that true?

Ichijo regains his energy.
What a simple guy.
Somehow this guy is starting to look like an idiot too.

'Yeah, I'm pretty sure there was a guy with that name. It's an unusual name, right?　How could I forget?

You're forgetting, you know!
It really helped that Yogi was an idiot.
If this guy had a good memory, Ichijo would have found out who I was by now.

But he's not supposed to be in this country anymore. I'd know if he was. That means I'm out of the country.

'Well what was he doing here?

I think I'm an adventurer, right? ...I have a feeling.

What's going on in this guy's head?
How could he remember that much, and besides, I was right in front of him, and why didn't he notice?

'Well he's been an adventurer and...'

'If I were to go, it would be Artemias or Latosfilia. As I recall, there was also a Heil Kuwait in that direction.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. You talk too much, Yogi?

Heilkwaite?

Don't you know?　Well, let's just say, it's a school for bonbons.

'A school of magic? .....

Then Ichijou remained silent and made a difficult expression.
What in the world was he thinking?
You're not going to come to the academy, are you?

'Well, there's going to be a school match between Heilkwaite and Fischanatika soon!

It's the first time I've heard of a school game...

"Kind" Yogi answers to everything.
When I was there, he just came out of nowhere and said, "Well, this happens every year, but not this year, huh?

I said, "Well, this happens every year, but not this year, okay?　After all, Fischanatica has nineteen brave men and women who were summoned by Greberg's summoning of brave men, right?

Hearing that, there was surprise and then a grimness on Ichijou's face.
It was a complex expression, even though he was astonished.

Didn't Ichijou know?
Haven't you read the demonic message?

'Well, now I remember, Nito is at the academy now too, right?　Did you read about it in the demonic newsletter?

Well, yeah.

It's so depressing.
It's all over the place.

Nito went to school?

Yes, well I've been doing some research.

Oh, yeah... well, there's...

Mr. Hidaka?　I don't know, but as far as I know, I haven't seen any.

...I see.

Then Ichijo immediately got up from his seat.

'What?　You're leaving already?　I've got plenty of booze left in the tank.

Yogi recommends a drink to Ichijo.

'I'd like to take you up on your offer, but I have a feeling he's going to leave while we're here to relax... for now, I'm going to go to that Artemias. Yogi-san, was it?　Thank you very much. And then there's that one--

'Don't worry about it, I know who Nito knows!

You're a convenient idiot..........Yogi.

Raid lifted a finger in a squeaky finger and replied.

'Nito, mock fight. Let's go outside, okay?

I'll have to do it.

Hey, you guys!　I don't know what it is, but...　I heard the White King's knights and Nito are having a mock battle.　Let's just grab a drink and watch it!

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

So you're a college student?　These guys are....

Me and the raider take a group of yogis and go outside the guild.




o.




　Outside the guild, a flock of yogis had gathered around us.
Everyone had a mug in hand and said, "Let's get on with it! I've been encouraging them to do so.

For some reason, Ichijo, who should have been in a hurry, also seems to be "observing" the match.

--I want to learn about Nito-san's battle'........

"No sword and no magic. But I'm going to use my magic. But I'm going to use magic, otherwise I can't compete. But I don't use long-range magic, I only use reinforced melee magic.

Okay.

I've swallowed the rules of the raid.

I'm going to meet up with Toa and the others in front of the guild.
They should be here by now.

In that case, let's get this done before then.

"[Casque de Iff]!

As a red magic circle appeared at his feet, the raid was instantly clothed in a robe of fire.
It wasn't as wild as the one he had seen before, but much calmer.
Overall, the flames seem to be balanced and full of life.
Could this be the result of 'training'?

What do you think, Nito?　Compared to the King's Shield do I make it?

What I did in front of the dungeon, I had a run-in with Raju in front of the dungeon, and that's what was published in the demonic newsletter.

'Be honest with me,'

There's no point in telling a lie.

'Well, then, I'll feel free to tell you--it's not as good as the king's shield, is it?

I see.

Some frustration could be seen in the raid.

''Well let's get started!

At that moment, Lade ran to the ground and thrust his fist at me.

'They move better than me, too.

'Ha!　Yeah, right!

I flicked Raid's fist with my right hand.
I'm only going to be on the defensive.
If I fight back, I might kill him.
It's a wonder they didn't die when I crushed them before.
"These guys are fragile.

Raid after raid, thrust after thrust, kick after kick.
I take all of them down, and then I take them.
Every time we make contact, the raid's flames go out and a shake appears at the same time.

"What?　Magic?!

No, I didn't use magic. It was done with simple bare hands.

Apparently, I wasn't expecting the flames to go out.
The Raid must have thought I was magically disabling it.

Each time I received it, the lit flames scattered.
And the crowd cheered, excited by the sparks of fire scattered around them.
In response, "Do more! And agitated adventurers.

But any more would be pointless.

At that moment, the raid focused all the flames on his right hand.
The flames that should have been all over his body instantly moved, instantly.
In terms of movement speed alone, it would be comparable to the chanting of the rage, wouldn't it?

That's all I can do!

Last time. I'll take it, no avoiding it.

Thank God!

Then Raid splashed up into the sky and swung his burning fist at me like he was going to slam it into me.



----.



'Lies... right?'

At that moment, one of the adventurers who were around said that.

''Huh.......So this is where it is.''

I sensed something like sadness from the raid.

'Sorry?'

No, that's okay. I'll figure it out. So?　How was I?

'Well I'm not saying it won't work for the Empire. But it won't reach the king's shield.

I see.

Why is this place so silent?

--that's because I stopped Lade's fist with my index finger.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

At that moment, the crowd that had been hit by the shockwave let out a loud cheer.

The Raid wanted to know how close the Empire was to him.
Not that he didn't think it was passable.
But that was against the king's shield and all but the Emperor who was there.
But it would still be better on the other side.

'Sorry to take your time, don't you?

No, just keep me in the dark and I'll be fine.

'Heh!　I'm not going to get into it from the start.

Then the raider said that and left with a wry smile.

''That's quite a feat, Nito-san!

And it was Ichijo who came up to me.
He seemed to have seen the end of it while pretending to be in a hurry.

'It's no big deal,'

Then I could see Toa and the three others in the distance.

''Well then, I'll take my leave too.''

Are you going back to the Academy?

Yeah.

Is it a school game?

Well that's about it.

'Well maybe I'll go to Heilkwaite as well, but I'll be happy to call on you again then.

Oh...is that so? Oh, I see.

You didn't have to come

Well, then.

Then Ichijo walked towards the main gate.

'What?'　Are you going to leave now?

And that's when Yogi spoke to me.

'Yeah, I'm done with my business. Bye.

Keke, you're not very sociable as usual. Why don't you come back once in a while?

Yogi said, and said one last light goodbye.


The crowd looked on as I let out a dungeon vortex.

As strange as the noise of these adventurers is, the royal capital feels darker than before.
My first thought is that there seems to be less people on the streets than before.
It used to be more lively and full of people.

'Nito?'

Then Toa was waiting for me in front of the vortex.

'....I'm coming.

Nem, Sufilia, and Toa went into the vortex.

.........

The Empire ... or not.
Things have a priority.
But what am I supposed to do?

I've always had a habit of looking up at the sky when I'm troubled.
It's not that I have anything written in the sky.
Even if the sky is a campus, if it's grey in origin, I can't draw anything.

''Is the sky still ... gray ...?''

Do we have to go against the flow and live with it?

I turned away from the sky.