207-201 Reunion




 There wasn't anything unusual on the road to Melatni, but here was an episode that showed Nadia's relationship with Sekiroth-san... or rather, the white wolf's bloodline.

 One day three years ago now, when Nadia was working solo, she had been saved by the White Wolf bloodline.
 At the time, Nadia was still a rookie, but her sword skills had attracted a lot of attention since then, and apparently there were many adventurers, from newcomers to mid-level adventurers, who had invited her to join their parties.
 But Nadia had politely declined them all.
 So the adventurers, who were not amused by that, asked the bandits to capture Nadia and a plan was in place to capture her.
 And while she was being attacked, a white wolf bloodline that happened to come to Grandle on an expedition came across the scene and was good until the bandits were defeated.
 However, at the time, Nadia had been raised with the supremacy of the human race to the core, so they suspected that she might be one of the bandits, not to mention a thank you.

 I glanced at Nadia and she looked down, her face red and embarrassed.
'I see. But you don't seem to have that much resistance right now, though?
We were the ones who taught Nadia's little girl how to be an adventurer.
'Well, it just happened. Nadia's swordsmanship was moderate, but the way she fought was too clean, or she didn't have the basics like hiding and investigating the weaknesses of demons.
Okay. So that's why.
 When you met us, you had normal contact with Keti and Kefin because the white wolf bloodline had changed Nadia's ideology of human supremacy.
'I didn't expect you to be at Luciel's party, though. You never know when and who you're going to meet, you never know how you're going to come across.
It's true.

 We let the horses run for an hour or so while we continued these conversations.
 Then Forenoire was slowing down, but the horses were starting to get tired, so we decided to take a break.

'Let's take a break around here. We haven't had anything to eat since this morning, and I'm starting to get a little hungry.
I'll do what he says.
Luciel, what are you making?
Oh, no, it's ready-made.
 I decided to offer the pot-au-feu and pasta that I had made up in Nerdal.

''Well is that a magic bag if you're going to serve something warm?''
'Yes. There was a time when a magic bag was indeed too hard for me, and the Pope gave it to me.
We got it....I guess the church has some money.
 I nod my head at Mr. Sekiroth's words.

'What about the church itself? It's true that the Pope gave it to me, but I just inherited it from the Pope, and it was originally used by him.
'But since the healer was such a racketeer, the church's pay must be good, right?
 Mr. Bazan told me to point that out, but I realized that I didn't know that because I had been in my present position without knowing how much people in general were paid.

'Sure, I had a title, so I guess I got paid quite a bit. But I don't know what other people were paid. There's no place in the church to spend money, so I never got to hear about that either, so...
 I'll go to the Healer's Guild in Meratni for this and ask Krul-san if I can ask her, and I'll learn what I'm missing in my knowledge.
 Beside Bazan-san's dismay at hearing this, Basra-san opens her mouth.
''A personal item.
'.........maybe. Alright, since it's going to get darker if we keep talking about this, let's just end it now.
 Everyone didn't ask any more questions, so we began to eat.

 The rest of the day was uneventful, and after eating and resting the horses, we rode off again towards Meratni, when we finally came to the outer walls of Meratni.
 The first person to notice the discomfort was Forenoir.
 Forenoir stopped running and began to soften as he looked around.

'What's going on?'
 I couldn't understand why, I tried to meditate and check my surroundings, but I couldn't feel any signs or magic.
 However, the other horses also began to notice the strange change that Forenoir felt, and the birds, which are not usually a common occurrence, flew away as if they were fleeing somewhere.
'Could it be an earthquake? Or is it a demon attack? Let's all proceed with caution, just in case. If it's a demon, we're at a disadvantage because there's no terrain to use as a shield.
All right. You take the lead.
Yes. Let's go to the forenoon.
 That's when I called out to him, and I could hear a sound that seemed to cut through the sky, gradually getting closer and closer.
'What is it?' What is this sound that cuts through the air? Is it getting closer and closer?
That one? What is it? Pterodactyl? No, it's a big one for that.
Let's just go.
 Forenoir and the others ran hard after that, but the pterodactyl? The full extent of the speed of the game was revealed when the speed of the game was gradually catching up to us.

'Oh come on, that's too over-techno-lozy, isn't it?'
 As if to mock my mutterings, the flying object slowly loses altitude.

 Forenoire notices that I'm surprised but not frightened, and stops trying to escape.
'Hey, Luciel, I've never seen anything like that before. If it's the new golem, we're in trouble and we're running away.
 Mr. Hazan noticed us stopping and shouted, but I shook my head and gave him a brief description of this flying object.

'It's okay. That thing has an ally on board.
Do you need a ride? And you think you're on our side?
Yeah.
 What came down was a bird-shaped amphibian that looked like it had been painted bright red.
''It looks like it's an image of a fire spirit, that's what it looks like, a phoenix.
 Surprisingly, there were no propellers at all, and it appeared to be flying while activating the afterglow of magic power.

 As the flying object slowly landed on the ground, Lionel and the others descended from inside.

''Luciel-sama, well done, well done.''
 As soon as he suddenly appeared, the bank of tears was about to break, and Lionel, pulling slightly, thanked him for literally flying in and betting his labored words to Lionel.
'Well done to you, too, for coming over. Keti-san and Kefin-san also put in a lot of hard work, including escorting Lionel-dono.
Why is Lady Luciel using honorific language?
 Lionel looks puzzled as I speak in a stranger's manner.

''Meow, Luciel-sama, your clutches, your clandestine honorific language is very unpleasant.''
'Master Luciel, didn't you tell us that we were your followers, even though you've been de-slaved?
 That's where Ketty and Kefin would share their thoughts with me, and Ketty was still the same, but Kefin's tension was also awesome.

'No, for some reason Lionel was about to cry, so I wanted to tease him. Well, but you did a really good job of running over. Thanks. 'Whoa! Dolan, Paula, it's been a long time since I've seen you, Lisian. You've built an amphibian far beyond what I imagined.
 The first thing I had asked Doran to make, the first thing I wanted him to make, finally saw the light of day.
'Long time no see, Luciel-dono. It took me a long time to make it. I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I've been able to use all of the dragons and also the money from Luciel's trade association to finally make this dream come true. I am truly grateful.
 Luciel Chamber of Commerce money? It's totally sleep deprived, but when we had a conversation yesterday in the magic ball, you said it wasn't a problem, right? Thinking about this now seemed to mess with my head, so I decided to abandon it.

'Luciel, it's been a while. When I was making this with my grandfather, my skill in creating magic tools became IX. Now I can make a fully automatic cooker.
''Luciel-sama, it's been a long time. It's been a while since you told me about the demon detector you told me about, and although I've been able to detect it with my magic power, I'm afraid I haven't been able to devote enough time to it.
 For some reason Paula and Lisian came up to me and told me about it, and for some reason they put their hands together and showed me their palms.
'What are those hands?' 
 When I asked them, they nodded widely.
 I'm sure their perception of me is that these two people are the ones who give me the magic stone.
 When I thought that, I was a little confused as to why that made me feel so happy.

'I heard there's a big one,'
I'm sure it will be enough to complete the job.
'I don't see why we should give it to you here. More importantly, how do you make a demon ball?
I'm done with that one. I've made it small, so it's not a problem.
'What? I'm the one who completed the Demonic Ball.
I made it smaller and lighter.
It all happened when we got to Meratni. Be quiet or I won't give you the magic stone, okay?
 I felt somewhat envious that these two didn't blink and were being honest about what they wanted to do.
 When I told them that I would give them the magic stone when I arrived in Meratni, they became quiet at once.

There is no other reason for you to call us here this time other than you have been made a wise man?
 Lionel wants to know why he was called this time, but I decided to explain that he was called by his master, not me.

'Oh. Actually, "Before you do, this guy can't be moved anymore, so put it away.
 But Dolan broke into the conversation, but there was a word I couldn't hear now.
'Can't we move it now? You're not moving now?
Oh. Once it stops, it takes an enormous amount of magic to try to move it again. That's why it can't be done immediately.
 
 I have to give kudos just for being able to do it in practical application.

''Well Master Luciel, excuse me for a moment.
 With that, Lionel made his way to the amphibian and touched it heavily, and the amphibian disappeared in an instant.

''I guess we're good to go as far as the magic bag is concerned.
'Yes. Thanks to Lady Luciel. Besides, since we are just a stone's throw away from Melatni, may I ask you about the matter you just mentioned while walking?
'So be it. Mr. Bazan, now that you have been able to join your squire in this way, could you please go ahead to Meratni and tell your master that you are almost there?
Yeah. This looks like it's going to work, so we'll go ahead and go.
Nice to meet you.
 When I asked him to bow his head, he immediately agreed and agreed to go ahead of me.
 This is how we saw Bazan and the others off and walked to the city of Meratoni, exchanging information with Lionel and the others.