Running. He kicks second base, then third base, and thrusts home with a momentum that could be described as reckless.
　A Razor-beam-like blast from the center's strong shoulder extends to the catcher.
　A cross-play between a mis-mid runner who slipped in and the Belfast catcher who received the ball.
　A cloud of dust billows up and the two fallen men are momentarily lost to view. The bleachers, which had been watching with bated breath, fell silent, and the umpire's loud voice broke the silence.

''Ceceeff!

　Instantly, a tsunami of cheers echoed from the bleachers. Players rushed out from the Miss Mid bench and threw up a runner who had slid home.
　With the game tied 1-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning, a single run now scored the game-winning run, and Miss Mid won the final game, 1-2, with a goodbye victory for Miss Mid.
　The first baseball world championship was won by the Kingdom of Miss Mid. Second place went to the Kingdom of Belfast and third place to the Regulus Empire.
　The silver tape was launched into the stadium and confetti danced over the players' heads.
　No, it was a good, tense game. Both sides were fighting fair and square, to the best of their abilities.
　A thunderous applause was sent to the players of both countries. Then, the ceremony moved on to the awarding ceremony.
　As a representative of the host country, I presented a commemorative trophy and plaque to the team captain, and medals to all the athletes according to their rankings.
　I had planned to give out medals by rank, just like in the Olympics. Third place would be a baboon kane, second place a mithril, and first place a medal made by Orihalcon.
　If it's a real Olympics, there would be bounties for each country, but I'll leave that up to each country.
　The trophies and medals are inscribed with the first World Games. There are some countries that did not participate in the Olympics, but it is the first World Games, and it is still the World Games.
　Hopefully, there will be a second or third World Championships in the future.
　Applause rained down from the spectator's seats, where the excitement still lingers in the air, enveloping the athletes who fought through the competition.
　As a side prize, not really, I allowed them to use a room in the castle as a place to celebrate, and I gave them a few barrels of liquor and festive food with my pocket money. The room would be a disaster, though, so I hope you won't have to just pour beer on it. Well, I don't think we have that kind of culture here.
　The baseball tournament came to an end without a hitch.
　It's almost four o'clock in the afternoon. Are the qualifying rounds of the Shogi tournament progressing smoothly?
　Accompanied by Yae, Yumina, Suu and others, we headed to the shogi qualifying venue.
　The venue was less crowded than in the morning. It's probably because those who had already decided to win out and those who had been eliminated had left.

''Ah, father!

　Among the visitors in the hall, Sue spotted the Duke of Ortlinde and ran up to him.

''Hey, I heard that the baseball was decided by Miss Mid's victory. I could feel the story over here.''
'I'm sorry to hear about Belfast.
Well, there are no absolutes in every game. But I think it's enough to be proud of, even if it's second place.

　It certainly could have gone either way in that game. I think all of us who watched that game knew that.

'How's the qualifier over here?'
'That's not so bad. There were a couple of guys I couldn't let my guard down. To be honest, I'd rather not.

　Today's qualifiers and the nominated players, a total of 32 people, will start playing tomorrow morning.
　If it goes well, the winner will be decided in the evening, but it depends on how the pressure of playing consecutive games will affect the outcome. I should have made it a little easier, but I didn't think I'd have so many entries.
　Tomorrow's game will be projected on a screen for as many people as possible to watch. I'll have Monica and Rosetta set it up afterwards, but it's going to be a lot of work, so I'm going to help with that too.
　I heard a vibration of an incoming call on my phone, so I took it out and checked it.

'Oops, it's hard work here too,'

　I let Yumina and the others take care of the situation and teleported to a church standing on a hill outside of town.





''Oh, tomorrow? Jeez, what time is it?
He says it will be around noon. Maybe a little off.

　When I told His Holiness the Pope, who was preaching God's teachings in the church, that the person on the other end of the phone who had just called me was planning to come, he was breathing heavily, perhaps in excitement. Is he all right? Is he over 60 years old? You can't ask a woman how old she is, though.

"But I don't know, Your Holiness.
'Calm down, Phyllis. There's no point in panicking now.

　The Ramish holy knights who didn't know what the story was about were all scowling, but only the only one who understood, Cardinal Phyllis-san, was equally flustered. Well, I guess it's more impossible to tell them to get used to it.
　Hanakoi's sister murmurs to herself while looking at the situation.

''Even so, it's unusual. It's only once every hundred million years that the World God comes down to the world below.

　No, I've already been down there twice. Well, according to what I heard later, the first two times were the so-called avatars, or alter egos. I heard that he's still a hell of a being.
　I don't know if he's going to descend as that avatar this time, or if he's going to be humanized like his sisters.

''Hey, if there was any disrespect, the world would end there or...''
No way. It's an endorsement of non-intervention to begin with. You shouldn't feel so self-conscious about it.

　Mr. Phyllis started to run off with strange things, so I calmed her down. Is he okay, this guy. I don't think he's a candidate for the next pope.

''Anyway, I'll be there at that time too. My sister will be there too, so I'll be fine.''
''Hmm, it's a bit difficult for me to see you because of what happened with the Dependent God [that]...''

　My sister gives me a difficult look and crosses her arms.
　That's right. Normally, it is your role to capture or defeat that Neat God. However, that neat god has been absorbed by the evil gods and can no longer be touched as a god.
　As I recall, she couldn't make it one more step in time. It was because Hanakoi's sister was taking a nap.
　I haven't seen any movement since then, but on the contrary, that's creepy. As usual, low-grade flames are appearing here and there in various places, but so far they have been defeated by higher-ranked adventurers.
　I still think we need to find a way to repair the world's wards.
　It's not impossible. I believe that a visitor from the Underworld, whom Old Parellius met 5,000 years ago, may be the key to this.
　Perhaps ... perhaps a golem with a special ability in the Underworld, or perhaps its wielder was summoned to the Underworld by an experiment by Old Parellius or something.
　And with his power, he may have restored the boundaries of the surface world.
　Perhaps the key lies in the "other side" of the world.
　As I was thinking about this, I heard a noisy voice, or rather a meow from across the church. Is it a cat's meow?
　I looked over and saw dozens of cats running up the hill road leading to the church. Ew!
　As it is, the cats pounce on me and make mewing noises. Rather than attacking me, they seem to be appealing to me in some way. What is this?
　At any rate, the "gate" calls for Amber, who was in the castle. Ember can understand the language of the cats.
　At the appearance of the divine beast White Tiger, Amber is asking something from the cats who have become completely docile.

''So, what did you say?''
"Yes, well..........I heard that Nantarou is fighting a duel. I think he came to the Lord to stop it.
'Duel! Who?!
"They say you're the devil king.

　Headache.........





　The saber and rapier sparks. A handful of Nantaro's thrusts are released towards the Demon King. The Demon King flicks the tip of that rapier with his saber and uses the returning blade to sidestep it, but with the cat's agility, Nyanthalo quickly ducks it and adjusts his stance.

''Don't do it, Cat Knight!
It's no use guarding your mother if you can't handle this much.

　Nyantaro squints at the grinning Demon King and says to him.
　They both jiggle to their feet and confront each other, with the sunset floating in the schoolyard in the background.
　Both of them kick the earth at the same time and close the distance towards their opponent, trying to exchange a killing blow....

Slip.
Gafu?
Bunyan?

　I did, and then my magic made me slip and fall down with great force. Stupid, these guys.
　The two people (one and one?) who fell over and fell down. Sighs towards the

''What are you doing, Your Majesty the Demon King?''
'Bu, King Brunhild! This is it! I was trying to see what this cat, who claims to be Fianna's bodyguard, could do, and I have no other intentions!

　Sakura's mother, Fiana, is the principal of this school. Her bodyguard is Sakura's summoner, Nantaro.
　He said he'd see what he could do, but something is fishy. It seems like there was some yakuza in there, where his daughter and his two ex-wives (though not married) had been treated so curtly.
　Well, I guess he still had some reason left in him. And I wasn't using magic.
　Like everyone else, perhaps under the influence of becoming a military family member, Sakura's magic power is also becoming stronger. In my opinion, it might already be higher than the Demon King. Which means that Nantarou, the summoned beast of Sakura, may also be stronger in its own right.
　Nevertheless. Even if they were to duel with the king of a country or something stupid. I mean, the Demon King also left his guards behind and didn't come to this place by himself.

"What are you doing here too?
'Meow! The Princess says that when the Demon King comes, don't be shy. He doesn't mind if I lose my legs and feet during the Meowara Festival!
Guffaw!

　The Demon King falls down holding his chest.
　The Demon King is devastated by the merciless treatment from his daughter.
　I wonder......... This guy makes me afraid to have a daughter.
　The thing is, if Sakura and I had a child in the future, that child would be his grandson. If even his grandchildren are called "annoying" by him, he'll probably pass away........

........Nantaro, is it over?

　The window of the classroom is opened and Sakura peeks out. After ordering her to beat up her own father, the fact that she's standing still and still makes me feel the bloodline of the demon king again.
　Instantly, the demon king jumped up and rushed to the bottom of the cherry tree at a glance.

''Farnese! I've come all this way, so let me meet Fiana at least once!
Your mother is busy. Demon King is busy.

　Splash! And the window is closed. There's a better way to say it..... Look, the Demon King has gone blank.

King Brunhild do you think my daughter hates me?
'No I don't think it's all that easy to say. And if you really don't like it, I think it's even harder.
'That wasn't too tight! My chest is aching like a sore thumb!

　In Sakura's case, it's a different feeling than hating or hating her.
　If you're honest, it's like you're a pain in the ass or you don't care. Anyway, he's not interested in it. They have never been in contact with each other as father and daughter, so it's not hard to understand. If you don't have that kind of parent-child affection, you are just an annoying old man.
　You don't have a sense of distance..... I think we need to fill in the blanks first.

It's a good idea to be able to have a good time with them. I'm sure you'll be pleased to know that I'm not the only one. I'm sure most noblemen wouldn't accept a girl with no horns, even though she has the blood of a demon king in her veins. Rather than being despised and talked about behind their backs as an abominable princess, they wanted her to be removed from their hands and live as an ordinary commoner, but this is not possible.

　Well, I think Sakura understands that the circumstances are just the way they are, so it was unavoidable in some cases.
　But the reason Sakura is avoiding the Demon King isn't because of those circumstances or past events, it's simply because she's annoyed with him, I think.
　Even if that's true, I can't bring myself to say it out loud. As expected, it's awkward to add more pressure to the situation.
　As I was pondering what to do, Fiona-san and Sakura came out of school with me.

''Oh ... oh! Fianna! It's been a while!
It's been a while. His Majesty the Devil King. Welcome to Brunhild.

　Sakura was clearly mortified at Fiana's smiling reply. Hey, hey, you're talking like a snake.

"I'm sorry to hear that the boy has caused you some trouble. Please forgive me.
Oh, no, it's okay. I'm sorry I came to see you so suddenly. I came here yesterday, but Farnese turned me away.
Well.

　When Fiana-san glared at her lightly, Sakura looked away in a bad way. Apparently, nothing was conveyed to Fiana-san.

'........because it would definitely interfere with your mother. I'm busy preparing for the children's party, even if it's just for that.
A children's group?

　The Demon King reacts to the words Sakura uttered. Oh, yeah, right.

''Tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, I'm thinking of inviting the children of the school and town to a story reading. I thought this would be fun for the kids who can't read.
"Law.

　Books themselves aren't so cheap in this world, and sometimes the literacy rate isn't high enough to read a book with a story to tell. So we have to hear those stories from bards and storytellers. There are also plays, but they are not what a child can afford, even for cheap admission fees.
　Moreover, many of them are standard fare, and most of them are familiar to everyone.
　So I picked up some stories from the e-books that I thought my kids would enjoy and had Sakura and Lindsay "translate" them into a new book of stories.
　I had to translate words like "car" and "gun" that we don't have. I'm not much of a translator when it comes to old stories and fairy tales.
　When I was reminded of that.

All right, I'll help you with this kid's group or whatever it is you do.

　Suddenly, His Majesty the Demon King said such a thing and slapped his chest one.
　He's starting to say something troublesome again, isn't he? Isn't that kind of thing said to be annoying.....

''No, that can't be...''

　As expected, you can't let the king of a country help you, Fiana-san tried to refuse softly, and the demon king continued to speak.

'Never mind. You are busy, aren't you? That's more useful than a cat's hand, huh?
"Oops, that's not something I want to hear. I'm much more useful than you.

　One bee and one invisible spark. Are you going to do it again? You wanna go again?
　Well, that's the thing. A chance for a father-daughter rapprochement?
　It's not something I'd let the king of a country do, but the person I'm helping is my own daughter, and as long as she's wearing a badge, she's no different than a normal person. On the face of it, there's no problem. This might help Sakura to soften her attitude a little.
　What can I do, let's just get rid of the skin. I'm going to talk to Fiona.

'If you're willing to help me, then fine. In fact, we were short on people.
But...
'And I think there's a lot of things we can use at Xenoas, such as the way this school is and its educational policies. If you look at it as a form of cultural exchange, that's not a bad thing.
'Mmm! Indeed!

　His Majesty the Demon King nodded in agreement with my intentions. I don't know to what extent he's serious, but I don't want to dare to make a comment.
　Ignoring my concern, Sakura discouraged and countered.

I'll let Nyan Taro help you. I can even read a book.
But Nyan Taro can't pronounce it clearly, can he?
It's not like that! I can't even speak the language!

　Nyantharo raises his voice in an unexpected way. Is it really so?

Why don't you say, "Seven grains of green beans, seven grains of uncooked rice, seven grains of green beans, seven grains of uncooked rice?
"Meowthamamme, meowthamme, meowthamme, meowthamme, meowthamme, meowthamme, meowthamme, meowthamme....

　Look at that.
　Nyantaro collapses from his knees. Cherry Blossom groans, gumming up.

'Well, for that matter, I don't think I'll be turning down anything that offers to help me. Even Sakura would want the children's party to be a success, wouldn't she?
Okay, all right. I can help.

　Reluctantly, Sakura agrees, and the demon king smiles happily when he hears that.

But don't interrupt your mother. Also, you can't blow strange things into the children.
"Mm, I promise.

　As I listened to their conversation, Fiana watched it with a smile on her face as she listened to their conversation. It's subtle, but I wonder if this is another form of parent-child relationship. Ah, yes.

'Could you stand over here for a moment, Fiana-san?'
'What? Is this it?
His Majesty the King is here. A cherry blossom tree stands between us. Come on, come on.
What?

　With the three of us standing around the cherry blossom, I step back a bit and hold the camera on my phone.

'Yes, smile~'

　Click! And then you hear a shutter sound and the picture is taken.
　Then you can take out the paper for printing from the "Storage" and transfer it to the "Drawing" and voila!
　You don't need to take a picture to transfer the artifacts, but it's more accurate if you look at a still image. The doctor said that he would make a magic artifact that anyone can print out, but for now, he's busy working on the phylum of dimensions.
　I hand the completed paper to each of the three of them.

''Well........''
Oh, my God!
Mmm....

　The three parents and their children stare at the photo (not exactly a photo) that was given to them, showing three different expressions.

'I guess I can have this one! King Brunhild!
Yes, here. It's a gift for today.
Thank you!

　In contrast to His Majesty the Demon King, who is shouting with joy, Sakura is looking at the photo with a difficult face. You don't think she's going to break or cut off the part of the picture with the Demon King in it, do you? Please, please don't do that just for this occasion.
　As expected, Sakura didn't go that far either, but she looked annoyed with her own dad, who was a good old man and was frolicking with a photo. Well, I can understand that. This guy must be over 100 years old, right?
　Fianna looked at the photo, looking impressed.
　Oops.
　I took the mass-produced white phone out of storage and handed it to Fianna. I'll give it to her since she's the chief executive of the educational institution called school in our country. You can get instructions on how to use it from Sakura.
　When the Demon King saw that, he said he wanted one too, but when I told him that in other countries they only give it to the heads of countries that have joined the East-West Alliance, to my surprise he said, "Well then, Xenoas will also join. Hey, is that okay........
　It's most welcome for Xenoas, which has been in a state of isolation for a long time, to be opened up to the world, but is this good enough as a reason?
　The Demon King says that as Xenoas, he has been thinking in that direction since the collapse of Euron, and that this is just a start.... I doubt it's true.
　Well, it's not something I can decide on alone, so we've settled on talking about it after the festival is over.
　If this is the case, I might have to think about the other invited countries, Hannock, Felsen, Lyle, Elflau, and Yishen. Oh, and Parellius Island, too.
　It's not an East-West Alliance anymore, it's more of a World Federation. I don't even know if any other countries will join yet.
　Whatever it is, it's going to be busy again, and I sighed a bit.