As we passed through the Town Gate, we were greeted by a sea view.
　The blindingly blue water of the Kajuu Sea and the pleasantly white sandy beach.
　Ray's eyes immediately lit up.

Wow!　That's great, Magnus!　You're really connected to a different place!　And this is the ocean?　This is the sea?　I've never seen it before!

Chosen by the Warriors of Light, Rei grows and matures every day in the harshest of battles, but it reminds us that he is essentially just a 14-year-old boy. That's how excited he was.

'Shall we go play on the beach for a bit?'
'What?　No, no, but it's a waste of time and...
It's not too late for the meeting anyway. Let's take a break for a while.
Is that so...?　Is it OK......... Then!　By all means!
"It's settled. I'll teach you how to swim.
No, I don't think we have time for that.

　We spent a lot of time like that, playing with the water in the surf.

　We were going to have lunch with our meeting partner in the port city of Nerf.
　He's the best and strongest vanguard I've ever met.
　He's a level 26 Swordsman.

Sorry I'm late, Master Magnus. We had a bit of a scare coming up.
No need to apologize, Mr. Lawrence. I'm rather relieved to see that you're still a "lawman's dog", as usual.

　The captain of the Kajou Marine Police (Cagliostro), who had arrived late to the appointment, and I stood up and exchanged a firm handshake with him.

"I assume you have a messenger from the Malm Chamber of Commerce...
Yes. I hear there's a boy who wants to learn every single swordsmanship skill I have.
This is it. His name is Ray.
Ha, nice to meet you, Mr. Lawrence!　Magnus told me that there is an extraordinary swordsman in Qaziou, and I have come to ask him for a lesson.
Any compliment would be muffled in front of Lord Magnus, though.
'Yes, eh, I think both Magnus and Mr. Lawrence are amazing!　I mean, the two of you took down the Demon Sea Generals together, right?
''Mm. Let me tell you, Chocolat was very successful, too!
'Excuse me!　But that was just a story, not that I despised Chocolat...
Haha, well, now that we've been introduced, shall we eat?

　I offered Lawrence a seat.

It's on me. Be my guest.
No, I don't think so, Master Magnus.
Why?
I'm a marine police officer. I'm a marine police officer (Cagliostro) and it's a bribe to take a feast from a civilian. Not allowed.
You were always a lawman, weren't you?

　I couldn't help but laugh, thinking that a small meal would be fine.

We're the ones who will be in charge this time, isn't that the least bit polite?
That's exactly the kind of concern you don't need, Master Magnus.
M...?
"You saved the Qaziou here. I am on a quest to save the world. At your request, no one in the Qaziou would refuse you.

　Lawrence said adamantly, then turned to Ray and

There you go. You don't have to be shy. I'll teach you everything I can.

　He said something dependable.

　The vanguard position of a swordsman, compared to, say, a warrior, can only equip swords, and instead of being devoted to interpersonal combat, they can learn a variety of skills.
　In particular, Lawrence is one of the world's leading swordsmen, so he has the Fang Slash, Thrust Rush, Feint, Power Slash, Falcon Blade, Fast Move, Vocal Slash, Phantom Blade, and more. ...etc., the list of available skills is endless.

　All of these are to be learned by Ray by imitation.
　And then, they'll be able to learn theirs as well.

　The system defines "genius" as a person who can master skills that have not yet reached the level of mastery.
　Lawrence is that genius.
　The Flashblade is supposed to be at level 27, but he had already mastered it when he was at level 23.
　In addition, Lawrence's experience with us in defeating the Demon Sea Generals gave him a huge amount of experience, and his level instantly increased to 26.
　That's how he mastered Blue Lightning, which should have been level 31.

　And with the universal learning vanguard, a skill unique to the warrior of light, Ray could master even the feats of a genius just by following our example.
　Lawrence is exactly the best teacher for Ray.

　　　　◇◆◇◆◇

　Using a key, I opened the back door and found myself in the Empress' bedroom.
　The canopy bed with a curtain that sits in the center of the room, and it looks like it can sleep about a dozen people at once.

Excuse me.

　I was going to say a few words and interrupt you, but Ray grabbed my sleeve in a horrible way.

'Are you sure you want to break in?　The Empress's bedroom!　It's a woman's bedroom!　Sigh.... it smells so good.
'This isn't a feminine scent, it's simply incense burning, Master Ray.

　So don't be shy, Chocolat pushes Ray back as he develops a mysterious theory.

　Inside, the owner of this room was waiting for him, alone.

''It's been a long time, Lord Magnus. I'm glad to see you in good health.''

　His Majesty, Empress Farah Alabana, was lying in a slovenly position on her bed.

'You are the one who looks well. You are the one who looks good, and you look good. You seem to be ruling well.
Well, Ramsey and Krim are very good at what they do. They've made my life a lot easier.

　My girlfriend and I talk about what's going on.
　After that, Chocolat and Ray, who have never met before, greet each other.

We are very pleased to see you, Your Highness.
We'll be ready.

　Chocolat picks up the hem of her skirt, reverently but unapologetically, Ray says her name with a shudder.

''Huh. As usual, your party is a lively affair, isn't it?
Yes. So I don't feel so lonely.

　I said that from the bottom of my heart.

I see that you have a messenger from the Mallum Company.
Yes, I received a letter from you, Lord Magnus. A passionate love letter. Did you enjoy it?
'Yeah, Magnus!
I'm thrilled that you are finally ready to be my husband and rule Alavana together.
"Master Magnus!　No way, forgetting the mission to save the world, this woman and her power!'
'Calm down, both of you.... Your Majesty is just teasing me.

　And hey, Chocolat, can you stop talking about "this girl" or something dangerous?

''Hmmm, it's just a light joke. As an empress, it's hard to say even the simplest of jokes because there's too much responsibility involved in what you say and people are too reserved. It's really quite formal.

　That's why His Majesty Farah says he's hungry for a conversation where we can talk lightly to each other.

　The reason why I came to see you in secret like this, even though I was in charge of the key to your bedroom, is similar to the reason why you came to see me in secret.
　Even if you didn't use the back door, as the "demon king's avenger", if you say that I came to see you with a legitimate reason, you could have gone through the minimum procedure and been given the highest priority for an audience.
　However, that "minimum" procedure is an extremely cumbersome one, with formality upon formality.

　I'm not sure how much time I have, and neither does His Majesty Fara, so if this is how we can meet on the sly and comfortably, there's nothing better than doing so.
　It's a good thing that Chocolat, who is of the same s*x as His Majesty, is also there, so I don't have to be shy (if I were alone, I'd be hesitant to enter a woman's bedroom from the back, as I'm sure I would be).

'And now, Lord Magnus. You were requesting that Ramsey and the others train the boy, weren't you?
'Yes. I want to help them absorb their skills.
Yo, it's a pleasure to meet you!
"Unfortunately, Ramsey and his men were away on a distant expedition, and are not in the capital at the moment. But they will be back within three days. After that, you are free to learn as much as you wish.
Permission granted, sir.
It's a pain in the ass!

　I politely thank him, and Ray follows, biting his tongue.

　Ramsey, the legendary adventurer, is now serving His Majesty Farah as a highly skilled secret agent.
　In addition, the four men who once called themselves the "Six Stars of the Unguarded Volunteer Corps" (except Nadia and Salima) work for Ramsey.
　The four of them have been exempted from the charges and have been granted a reprieve on the condition that they serve the country's interests.
　It's better to use it well than to execute them uselessly, as far as His Majesty Farah is concerned.

　I wanted to see what four of these "six stars" possessed in terms of combat skills.
　For example, Bajin's Hot Air Sword.
　This rare and powerful skill was perfected by refining the Gale Wind Sword, a skill that can be learned by someone who is a trained thief and a swordsman as a subordinate, and by refining it even further (in other words, almost giving up one level of status gain).

　In the past, Crown Prince Heydar used his knowledge of the universe (system) gained from Jamuitan, the Demon Storm General, and his Personality Assessment skill to efficiently train these six stars.
　That's why Bazin and the others have developed such powerful skills.

　And Rey's "Universal Learning Vanguard" can even learn the skills developed through these special processes by imitating them.
　It's as if the consumer is enjoying the delicious taste of a carefully crafted agricultural product.
The story is about how foul the warrior of light is a foul occupation (class), just like the brave man.

　　　　◇◆◇◆◇

　Like cotton sucks water, Ray learned a series of powerful skills.
　His honest and diligent temperament helped him learn in a short period of time.

　In my opinion, the reason the four warriors of light have different powers is largely rooted in their individual temperaments, isn't it?
Of the four of us, only Rey has the Universal Learning skill.

　And to complete the process of learning such a powerful skill, we went to Luxnir, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxn.

"It goes without saying, Ray. We're not exactly back to square one, are we?
Yes!

　We ascend the castle with great enthusiasm.
　We presented the letter given to us by King Rakstad in advance, and with the highest priority and the least amount of formalities, we were able to have an audience with Grand Duke DeBellon.

"Oh, welcome to you, 'Avenger of the Demon King' Magnus-dono!　As a sovereign nation, our Grand Duchy assures you of our utmost concern and support, just as our sovereign nation, Rakstad, assures you of our utmost concern and support.　Most of all, I can't help but get excited at the sight of you standing side by side with our nation's warriors of light!　I hope that you will join forces with me to defeat the Maggot General and bring peace to our country!

　His Highness declared in a good mood.
　Other than Rey, he did not mention that the face of the warriors of light was missing.
　Is this a generous attitude of not prying into the situation at every turn?
　Are they satisfied with the fact that a man who has already defeated three of the "eight demon generals" has come to Luxun?
　In my eyes, unlike King Luxta, he seemed to be a bit more careless with his attitude.

　Oh well, but it's easier to do than someone with a hard head.
　I bowed my head politely and begged, "May the wise Grand Duke, Your Highness.

'I offer this to the wise Grand Duke. I am sure that the military prowess of the knights of Luxun will reach far into the northern continent. I would therefore like to ask this lei to teach me how to play them.
Ho-ho, ho-ho, not so much.
Well, I'll take care of it, Your Highness!　Let me learn your skills, knights!
Okay, okay!　Help us spread the word and help us defeat the Bull King!

　His Highness was in a good mood and allowed Ray to mingle and learn with the knights for a while.

　There are many skills that knights learn, such as bodyguard, to protect and defend their fellow man.
　If Ray learns these skills, our party's strength will increase.
　It's not a bad idea to have a good idea of what you're doing, but it's not a good idea to have a good idea of what you're doing.

　I'm not going to be the only one who's been in the business for a while. That was just a side note.
　I'm not going to be able to get a good idea of what I'm talking about.

''Ray. I'd like you to live in the palace for a while and learn everything you can about it.
Haha.....I'm nervous to get used to it...

　We discussed it like that after we resigned from the Grand Duke's presence.

''I mean, wouldn't Magnus be willing to live in the royal palace with us...?
'There's no point, you know. I've got things to do in the meantime.
'Huh...'
'Because it's pathetic that I'm the only one who hasn't done anything while Ray has been working hard. I'm going to get you the magical armor you deserve right now.
'Really?　Can I count on you!
Of course I do.

　I assured him in a strong voice, and once I was done, I separated from Ray.
　I decided to leave Luxon with Chocolat.