No, no, it's more like a... well, more like a palace, if you will.

I was in the dungeon now.
And I asked Vel to help me modify the inside of the dungeon.

''I know what you're saying, but...''

The interior of this dungeon is made of my memories.
This means that you can change your appearance at any time according to my imagination.

Like that?

Hmmm ... well that's fine. Then we'll go to the annex next.

Are you still going to do it?　I mean, why shouldn't the master do it?　The master can do it too, you know?

'I'm still getting used to it, and you, the Lord, are better at dungeons than I am, aren't you?

But you know what?　I'm a master at this, you know?

Vel looked fed up with the way I was treating him.

The school was all turned off.
It was an eyesore to begin with, and that dirty schoolhouse was unpleasant to look at.
I'm leaving my house behind, partly because it's something that's convenient.
Basically, it's still Vell's residence as before.

And I erased all the residential areas around it and built a palace near my house.
We are currently working on some minor changes to the palace.
The rest of the land has been cleared, but I thought it would be unnatural to leave it empty, so I left it as a grassy field.
Even though we are in a dungeon, there is a vast grassland and open sky here.

''Well then, Vel, take care of the rest, okay?''

'What?　Are you going to go now?

'It's about time for Toa and the others to wake up. Besides, Vel and I share a memory, don't we?　Then you know what I like, and you can continue on without me, right?

Well, yeah, but...

See you later.

I left the dungeon with a sulking Vel at my side.




o




Yesterday, I sent Toa to his room right after that.
He said he was fine, but I didn't see it that way, and both Sufiria and Nemours seemed worried about him.

I was worried about leaving them alone, and from then on I stayed with them.
But that didn't mean that there was anything in particular that bothered me.
Toa was able to talk normally, and as he said, he was fine in that regard.
But still, I was worried.


I entered the dormitory and proceeded down the hallway.

'Hmm?'

Then I met Toa there, coming out of the room.

'Are you up already?'

Have you been away again?

Toa looked a little tired, even though he was asleep and awake.

'Well, yeah, I was just cleaning up the dungeon for a bit.

Well did you get any sleep?

I'll be fine. I'm not that tired these days without sleep.

These days, sleep is something I don't need anymore.
I don't need to sleep all the time and the sleepiness doesn't come over me.
I woke up for about three days before, but I didn't get sleepy.
But I try to sleep, at least.
If I don't sleep, I feel uncomfortable.
But it's only a matter of lying down, though.

''So........''

'Is your body okay now?　If you'd rather stay in your room today...

'I'm fine. I'm totally normal, I can have a conversation, and besides I'm feeling kind of good today.

Am I thinking too much?
He certainly doesn't look pale.
He looks tired, but he's the same as always.
Besides, it seems wrong to impose the human way of thinking on Toa, who is a demon race.

''What about the others?''

He's still sleeping.

'Right. Well what do you say we go to the diner?

I need to take a quick shower I'm sure everyone will be up soon and then I'll be on my way.

I see.

I feel a little itchy.
What is it?
I feel like I don't know what to say.

'Do you want to join us, Nito?

Ha!

Then Toa said something outrageous.
For a moment, I thought I had misheard him, but there was no way I could have made a mistake at this distance.

'Oh!' ...you! .....

The Toa was laughing with amusement when I was distraught.
There was the same Toa that I had always seen.
This smile always saves me.

'Ha!　How am I supposed to get in there?　Don't tease me!

I'm not kidding. I'm just asking you to come in with me, okay?

....

What is it?
I've been feeling uncomfortable since yesterday.
Something is wrong with the toa.
It's supposed to be the usual Toa, but for some reason, it's like it's not the usual Toa.

"Are you sure you're okay?　You have a fever, don't you?

I'm normal!

At that moment, Toa suddenly let out a loud voice.

''What ... what's going on?''

Nothing....

I think he's not feeling well...

'It's okay I just wake up in my sleep and I'm in a bad mood.

Would it have been?
Toa always seemed to be in a good mood and brighter in his sleep.
No, but does that kind of thing depend on the day?
What about the demon race?

.........

Well, there's a lot going on with women...

I'm sorry...

Then suddenly, Toa apologized.

'What?'

I don't know why Toa is apologizing.

I don't know how to respond to it.
I can feel the emotion, but I don't know what Toa is thinking.

'You're overreacting...I don't mind. That's just the way it is sometimes.''

Now that we're here, I really wanted to ask Toa a few questions.
But now is not a good time to ask.
I don't know if I'm going to have another fit.

"Are you sure you're okay on your own?

'Yeah...'

When we act, we walk with both of you, okay?

Are you going away again?

I'll tell you what. I'm going to see Zeke and his friends. I've got some questions about the Empire.

So....

I didn't know how to respond to Toa's poorly worded response, and out of fear of pausing, I just answered the requirements.

'Please tell the two of them when you wake up, and I want you to wear the ring at all times. I'll know right away if something is wrong.

Hey?　Nit......

Then suddenly, Toa called my name, as if to leave my words behind.

'Are you not bothering me?'

'Annoying?　Me?　What makes you think that?　In fact, I'm grateful for it. That you're still with a guy like me, and that you're still with me. Why do you think that is?

''Because........the Empire might attack us again, and this time the demons might come, and it's all because of.......me........''

It's not the Toa's fault. It's all my fault. I made an error in judgment. The Empire or the demons, yes. It wasn't the Toa's fault.

As I said this, Toa slowly looked up and looked me straight in the eye.

'Hmm?'

Give me a hug...

Huh? .........

Suddenly, Toa said that.
I was inwardly surprised and embarrassed, but as a man, I couldn't let it show on my face.

Should I have worn a mask?

I couldn't look away from Toa's moist eyes, and I did as I was told and held her gently.

'Hurry, come back to me.'

The Toa is still strange today.

''Oh, yeah I'll do that as much as I can.

But still, when is my mental level going to go up....

I slowly pulled away from Toa.
Then I looked into Toa's eyes again.

See you guys I'll be right back.

I whirled out behind me, checking on Toa, and told him.






　--he was gone again.

'Masamune...'

I want to be there for him.
But that's.....

"Yes, it's a false love--

In my head, the other me whispers.
It speaks to me all the time.

'No!　I'll take the Masamune! .....

"Sly girl"?　I don't even love you and you're holding me...

'Not so!　It's not!

'So what's the difference?　What do you know about him?　One way or the other, he takes your lips, then he gives you a hug, and then what's next?　How far are you willing to go with him?　You know what he has to do, right?　I can't stop paying attention to you. But you know that, don't you?　"He'll do anything I ask him to do?"

It's not...not....

You want only one thing. And when you're done, you'll have nothing more to do with him?　And return the favor. Try to be of service to him. It's the only way you can make amends, isn't it?

Atonement? .....

"Because, you know what?　He would have been a lot happier if he hadn't met you, wouldn't he?　He has that much power, but you're holding him back.'

I'll ... prevent ...

I'm not in love with Masamune?

No, that's not possible.

It can't be...


--Toa stood there, alone, for a while.





o





What did you say?

I was at the dragon's heart headquarters, making sure it was in the black dragon.

'It's a kagetora. You know it.

The dragon's brow wrinkles.

--mostly about The Heart of the Dragon and the Empire.

'The Dragon Slayer's Kagetra. The name of the leader of The Heart of the Dragon, a party that existed hundreds of years ago.

The heart of a dragon?

It was Zeke who asked me that at the time.

I could tell by the look on his face.
Alford and Eliza seemed to want the answer to the same question as well.
In other words, this black dragon is the only one who knows about this story.

''Father, what in the world do you mean by that?　I never told you that The Dragon's Heart existed hundreds of years ago!　Isn't your father the founder of this organization?!

Then the black dragon was reduced to human size, and then he seemed to have his head in his hands, but after a while...

Mayfly...............

'You're supposed to be meeting with Kagetora. We can talk about me later, but for now, I want to hear your story first.

The black dragon took a generous pause and began to answer when he did.

''The Heart of the Dragon is ... if you want to be exact, it wasn't me who founded it. Rather, it was the name of a certain adventuring party.

'Adventurer? .....

Zeke was puzzled.

'Hmm, those five adventurers who destroyed the empire and protected this continent from the empire in the past. That was the 'Heart of the Dragon'.

I'm aware of that. I know that, and I know you're an acquaintance of Kagetora. But I don't know the details.

I go on, leaving Zeke next to me, who wants to know the details.

Kagethras is the only person I have ever recognized. She did not live selfishly, but always looked out for the well-being of the world. That is why I did what she asked of me and helped in the war.

You helped him?

'Hmm. Strictly speaking, it was me and the then 'Heart of the Dragon' that destroyed the Empire back in the day.

Well......
No wonder the emperor got angry.
In other words, he's after this black dragon and its 'dragon heart'.

While we're at it, do you want to hear something that we couldn't hear before?

What's a magistrate?　What was wrong with that one?　From what I know, I heard that Kagetra was so strong that even the Black Dragon couldn't keep him away. Don't tell me that guy was an abyssal mage too?

No, it's not.

Then the black dragon cut off the conversation once and then changed it.

''Fire, water, lightning, wind, and earth. Kagetora possessed these five attributes of magic. Hence, he was able to handle explosive magic. Each living thing had its own unique mana, and the mana belonged to the nature of its host. In other words, everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. But Kagetora handled these five attributes equally and excelled at them. That's why explosive magic was born.

Hmm?　You know, I've heard that story before...

''Explosive magic is a powerful spell that can produce huge explosions at a distance. Hence the fear then and now.

That means....

That's right. Yeah, Kagetora was a brave man.

As I recall, Khalifa said something like that.
That Kagetora was a brave man.

"But Kagetola was not just a brave man.

You mean that one?　Was he a brave man and an abyssal user?

No, it's not. Didn't I say so?　You're saying he didn't have an abyss?

Hmm? ... yeah. That's right. Then what is it?

When you hear the word strongest, you can't help but think of the abyss.
But this guy was the first to tell you that Kagetora has nothing to do with the abyss.

'He was a particularly gifted mage among the brave men and women.

Gifted?

''That's right. Hence, Kagetra was able to handle the final depths of the heroes. In addition to Ichijo and Alford, I have met a few other brave men and women. But although they possessed explosive magic, none of them had come to that magic. Only one of them reached that point. Only Kagetora.

And then?　What's that final profoundness?

Really, unlike healers, we're blessed to be brave...
Not only can he use the fire attribute, he can use four more attributes, and he can also use explosive magic.
That's all, and now you're saying there's even more?

f*ck you...........

It's a magic unique to the brave, a magic that can only be handled by those who have gone through the magic and reached it.

This dragon is a joke.
I'm sure you'll get an answer soon.

You're not going to get away with it.

"Heavenly attributes?

I think there was a book with that title in a forbidden book in Heilkwaite....

'Yes. Kagetora was able to handle the magic that ruled the heavens.

After all, no matter how far we go, we are blessed to be brave....