----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint

"All users of the Transference Gates please keep moving forward in an orderly fashion.

　Listening to the synthesized voice of the announcement, I stand in line in front of the gate to return to Hakone Base. It's been three days since the interspecies war ended, and when I wake up this morning, I find an email from my mother, who's been busy dealing with the aftermath of the war, telling me to return to the Hakone base.
　The email said that she would not be able to protect me because most of the security forces would be dispatched to Noah's Island for the cleanup and consultation with other countries. Well, there's no problem at all because I can see Alice and Shingo after a long time, but... but even so, the line is too long!

"I can't see the gate entrance at all...

Con.....

　The con on my shoulder also replies to my muttered words in a dreary voice. As I recall, they've been working on transferring a large manufacturing plant to this side since yesterday, so that's probably why the gate is so crowded like an idiot.
　As I wonder how much longer it will take me to get under the gate, I turn around to hear the sound of a motorcycle blasting from behind me with the gas pedal fully open.

'I wonder if that's Mr. Cote?'

　Just in time. Since we're running on the supply route, we should have a priority permit to return to the Earth side, and I'll be treated as a "supply". I've got an idea, and I half step out of the line and wave my hand so that Cort can see me.
　As I waved my hand, Mr. Cote noticed me and came up to me and stopped the bike.

Hi, Yuki," he said, "are you coming back to earth? Are you coming back to earth too?

Yes, but the line is so crowded I don't know when I'll be able to get through the gate. Mr. Court, you have a permit for riding a motorcycle, right?　If you'd like, you can carry me as well as supplies.

　At my suggestion, Mr. Cote rubs his chin with his hand and thinks about it, but after a little while he asks me a question.

'Good, but have you ever ridden on the back of a motorcycle, Koki?　If you've never been in one, it's dangerous, so I'm going to give you a little...

That's okay. I can handle it.

　It's all right, Mr. Cort!　I can ride with ease. I've been killed in a motorcycle accident in a previous life, so I can't afford a tandem.

All right, you can sit back there.

　As I thanked Mr. Court for squeezing into the front and vacating the seat in the back, I stepped onto the bike and the bike started to slow down from earlier. Come to think of it, Macho's direct squad is supposed to be on guard duty, why is Mr. Cote going back to earth?

'Don't you have a job, Mr. Court?　As I recall, my dad's unit is in charge of security, right?　

I'm the liaison to Hakone base. I'll have some urgently needed military supplies sent over from Earth as soon as possible.

　So that's why. I've always had the impression that Claire and Ellis were in charge of that kind of work, but we all share the responsibility for that kind of work. I was enjoying the bike for the first time in a long time, when Cort continued.

'Besides, I wanted to give Victoria something from Earth as a gift, so I ran for it myself.

Is that Victoria? Is that Victoria?

'Yes. I'm going out with her.

........is that so?

　Mr. Court sounds happy and tells me that he and Victoria are dating, but it's consensual indeed, right?　It's not like she was forced to do it, right?
　But I can't imagine her being able to have a girlfriend by decent means with a face like a murderer, Cort-san. When I was thinking about such things inwardly, Court-san asked me a question in a sad voice, unlike earlier.

''After all, Kouki-kun also thinks I forced you to make a pass at Victoria, right?

No, it's not!　Mr. Cote is a good man. I believe in him.

'No, it's fine. I've asked the captain many times, 'We're in agreement, right?' And he asked me, "What do you think? I'm used to it.

　Even that muscle-brained macho is worried about me, so I guess everyone I talked to came to the same conclusion. But Court-san is kind enough to raise kittens, and that's probably what attracted Victoria to him.
　 There's one thing that I can help you with - there's one thing I can do for you.

Mr. Cort, as a token of my appreciation for giving you a ride on my bike, I'd like to share a little piece of useful information with you.

Hmm?　What?

'Before, Victoria asked me about the brand of perfume that Noah's female officers wear. As I recall, the quality of cosmetics, including perfumes, is much higher on Earth. So I'm sure she'd be happy to give you some cosmetics as a gift.

"Ho, that's good to know. Well, I'm going to try perfume this time.

　After that, I go under the gate and emerge from the exit of the Hakone base while talking about presents with Court-san. It's the first time I've been on Earth in months, but it's a strange feeling considering it's only been a few days since I left Alice and the others.　As I get off the bike and head toward the aisle while thanking Court-san, I'm yelled at from behind.

''Koki-kun!　I forgot to mention that I've completed the Sword of Orihalcon. It's stored in the armory on Noah's Island now, so you can take it when you're free.

　I completely forgot about it, but come to think of it, I had asked the blacksmith in the royal capital to create it. Well, I don't mind next time, but for now, I want to see Alice's face. I replied to Court-san with a smile, 'I understand,' and then decided to head quickly to Alice's room.






　I lightly dressed myself in front of Alice's private room and pressed the intercom, and then I heard a voice saying 'yes' from inside the room. As I waited, the door opened and Alice peeked out.

"Alice, it's been a while...

Cone!

　Before I can say hello to Alice, Con jumps up from my shoulder and dives into Alice's chest. You lizard bastard!　I want to dive, and I'm with you. I mean, at least let me say hello!　I glare at Conn with some resentment in my eyes, but I feel worse for being angry when he shows me how his whole body is expressing his joy at seeing Alice.

'Wow, I can now fly Con,'

Con!　Concon.

'Haha, good for you. I'm glad they told me.

Cone, cone, cone. Conconcert.

Oh, and they have friends out there?

　Seeing Alice talking to Kon with a gentle expression, as if she were a spoiled child, soothes my war-torn heart. But it's time for me to talk to Alice too. Huh!　I don't suppose the guy at the con is floating letters now, do you?　Why is Alice able to talk to Conn normally!

'Wait a minute. How does Alice know what Con is saying?

Kong?

　Even Kong, who was supposed to be talking to me, was startled by my words and made a strange noise. Did you make some kind of new type of translator?　When I was thinking about this, Alice gave me a far more outrageous answer than I expected.

''What?　I can understand it through gestures and such. And Conn has a lot of facial expressions........can't you see that, Conn?

　I don't understand, no matter how expressive they are, they're not that different from lizards. Or rather, the Alice who understands is just crazy, and I'm a normal person.　Thinking this inwardly, I looked at Conn and he was also tilting his head while looking at me.
　It's a good thing that you're able to get a good idea of what's going on in the air between the two of you, or perhaps you've sensed the delicate atmosphere between the two of you.

'Let's go into the room for now. I've heard from the skinhead, but I'd like to hear more about the other world in detail.''

　I chuckle at Alice, who beckons me in as she says it, and we enter the room, which is furnished with girlish decor, and we drink tea and talk about the months we lived in the other world.
　Alice listens with a twinkle in her eye as I do my best to blur the talk of direct war and ghouls and tell her about the coolness of life in the Ursna Empire and the knights of the Merkava Kingdom. After about three hours of talking, with occasional breaks, I suddenly noticed that Alice had a serious look on her face and stopped talking for a moment to think about something.

'Alice, what's wrong?'

'Well...'

Yes.

"I want to go to another world too!　I'd like to ride that white dragon you were talking about earlier, Mr. Lilynn.

　No, because it wasn't me who rode Mr. Liling, it was Con!　In the first place, there's no way you can say 'please put me on your back' to a dragon that falls under royalty or something like that among the dragon race. It's Alice's request, so I want to do something about it, but sometimes it's impossible.
　When I was thinking about how to convince Alice to give up while also trying to convince her to give up, Con, who was eating a tomato on the table, brought up the letters.

''Rilyn would give you a ride if I asked her to. She's a gentle dragon, you know.''

Really?

　 Surely Con would give them a ride if he told them, but they shouldn't bother him too much, right?　

'Con, I hate to tell you this, but I think you're bothering Mr. Liling.

''Don't worry, basically the Dragon Tribe has a lot of spare time in the village. Besides, I have a question for Rylin as well.

　Hmm, that's good, then. It's been three hours since we got back, so it's been three days on Noah's island, so we can go now. If you want to dive the gate from the earth, you can just grab the manufacturing plant we're carrying it into and go, the rest is just for Alice's convenience.

If it's okay with you, I'm going to go over there and ask Rilin-san to help you.

Really?　I'm not busy, so I'll be there soon!　I had too much time on my hands, so I was even going to take a walk outside the base if you didn't show up.

Yeah, that's why I was wearing my 'camo'.

　At my words, Alice said, 'Yes! She replied cheerfully, but I couldn't ask her because I was pretty sure those clothes were her room clothes. Without letting it show on my face that I was about to subtly misunderstand Alice's taste, I held her hand as I opened the door to my room.





　When I ducked under the gate and returned to Noah's Island, most of the people who had been queuing up three hours ago had disappeared. It seems that the transfer of the large components has been completed and the gate is ready to be used at about the same speed as usual. When I looked at Kong, I saw that he had somehow magically created a green-colored sphere and was holding it with both hands.

What are you doing?

I'll get Lirin.

　Con floats the letters so that me and Alice can see them, and then tosses the ball up into the sky. At first it floated wobbly and unreliably, but when it floated up to about 10 meters high, it was sucked into the sky with a rapid acceleration.
　Oh, by the way, I need to text my mom that I'm going out on a scenic flight with Lyrin-san on the terminal, or I'll be scared when she finds out. I remembered what happened when I went to the northern continent to get the orichalcon, and I manipulated the terminal on my arm to create an email.

''Speaking of which, why did Joachim-san take the Ket Shih tribe's beastman as his wife?　As I recall, in Joachim's country, there was a lot of discrimination.

That's what I was thinking, and that's what I heard.

　When I replied while operating the terminal, Alice cutely asked me, 'Tell me more about it...' so I smiled and told her the story that I learned from his wife, 'Meena', while smiling.

I heard that Joachim-san, who was training when he was young, was injured in the forest and went missing. He was starving and injured and was about to die when 'Meena' happened to pass by and saved him.

How dare you try to help me? You don't get along with the humans, do you?

But I didn't feel good about abandoning him to die. So I was about to get involved, and I was about to pour the potion I had in my mouth and leave, and then........................and then a demon appeared in front of Meena-san.

　Alice listens as I speak with a sense of realism, hugging Conn. It was the same when we talked in the room, but maybe she likes to talk about these things?　

I heard that Meenya-san was too terrified to run away, but when she heard a noise behind her, she came to her senses and turned around and saw Joachim, who was battered but recovered enough to stand up with his medication, drawing his sword.

'So?　What's going to happen to you two?

Joachim stepped in front of Meena and fought the demon while protecting her, and although he struggled, he somehow defeated the demon. He said this is how they met.

Wow, Joachim, you're really good-looking, aren't you?

　Well, I'm sure it was adapted from the story his wife told him. The story that follows is one in which Joachim single-handedly defeats a horde of demons that are attacking the Ket Shi village.
　It seems that he overcame a crisis like a fairy tale heroic tale and got married while taking a number of twists and turns... but that coupled with the fact that the information he received was a "katsuobushi" (dried bonito flakes), he doesn't have much credibility in my book. I am hesitant to tell the truth to Alice, who is excitedly pondering the encounter between Joachim and Meena, so I was thinking inwardly that I should keep quiet about the information fee when I saw a magic circle appear in the sky.

''Beautiful ..., is it magic?''

Yes, I don't have access to it yet, but that is the transference magic used by the Dragon People.

　Alice's question brings the letters to life as Con proudly wags his tail. I haven't seen magic in a long time either, but I'm still overwhelmed by the huge magic circle floating in the sky. I'm sure you'll be able to find the right one for you.

'It's been a while, Kon-sama, Kouki-kun. Sorry for the delay.

Cone, cone, cone. Conconcone?

No, that's not true. So you want me to take Master Kong, Kouki and Alice and walk around the area?

　I have no idea what Con is talking about, but it seems he's asking for a ride with us. As I watched the conversation between Kong and Lilin-san for a while, it seems that the negotiations were concluded and Lilin-san put her beautiful wings on the ground and said, 'Please ride on my back.

''Thank you, Lirin-san. Then I'll let you ride.

'Thank you for listening to my ego, Mr. Liling,'

CON!

　Alice and I thanked Lilin-san for her help and then got on her back, but for some reason Con was relaxed on her back like a big man. I'll have to make Con learn to be 'reserved' and 'modest' sooner or later... Alice is also poking Con's cheek and warning him not to be too bossy.

''That will make you float.

　Lirin-san told us and then flapped his wings to the sky. I looked at Alice, who was sitting beside me with Noah Island getting smaller and smaller by the minute, and saw that she was smiling with the happiest face I'd ever seen.

'Good for you, Alice, it's the dragon's back you've been wishing for.

'Yes!　Great, fast and expensive.

　Seeing Alice in a huff makes even me smile. Speaking of which, Con also said he had something he wanted to ask Lilin-san, but what happened to that?　Curious, I turn to Con, who is sitting on top of Mr. Liling's head, and ask him a question.

'Con, are you done with your errands?　You said you wanted to ask Mr. Lillin something.

'It's over. It didn't work out in the end, though.

　Con looks somewhat lonely as he walks towards me with the letters floating around, even Alice has stopped humming and is looking at Con with concern. What the hell is wrong with you?　I don't often see the normally energetic Con slumping.

'What's the matter with you?　If you have a problem, you can talk to me about it.

Do you want me to come along for the ride?

'The box that Marvelous gave me won't open. It was in the house where my mother lived in this world, but it's enchanted and no one can open it.

　It's a very good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for. It's a very good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for, but if you look at it carefully, you'll see that the entire box is engraved with detailed decorations.
　I'm not sure if this is the same function as the magician who uses the magician's magician, but if it is, it must be very complicated. It's a good idea to be able to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

Con!　

What's going on?　Are you okay!

　Alice hurriedly called out to Kon, who suddenly let out a squeal while shedding tears, but Kon was trembling with big tears in his arms as he held the box with polo tears streaming down his face. When I was about to take Kon away from the box, I heard the faint sound of music.

''Conju-kun, don't you hear something?''

Yes. That's a music box.

　I followed the faint sound of the music box and found that the sound was coming from the box Con was holding. Does this song have some memories for Conn?　I decide to listen to it in as gentle a voice as possible while patting Con's head.

'Do you know this song?'

It's a lullaby of the dragon tribe. And the magic I can feel from the box is similar to mine, so I think it must be my mother's magic.

　Right, this music box must have been made by Con's mother. His mother had been destroyed before he was born, so this was the first time he felt the warmth of a parent.　When I said to Kon, who was hugging the music box, 'Thank goodness you're taking good care of it,' she still had tears streaming down her face, but she sounded happy, 'Kon! And then he rang loudly - and loudly.