"There's a good spot for it.

　Fluttering, Bastet jumped down from the white 'crown', Albus' head.
　The place is in the middle of a nameless forest located almost in the middle of Isengard. It is a place far from the town and other places where people don't see you.

Then do you want to plant it here?
"Okay. Let me out.

　Following Bastet's instructions, Anubis took out the 'Holy Tree' from the 【Storage】 of the collar and dropped it on the ground with a botch.

''Well then, Albus-san. Please.''
Know by heart.

　Receiving the seedling of the "Holy Tree" from Anubis, Albus lightly dug into the ground and planted it there. Immediately after planting it, glittering particles of magic element flowed out of its tiny leaves. This was proof that the divine demonic poison that was polluting this earth had begun to be purified.

''All that's left is to protect this seedling until it grows to a certain extent.''
How long is that?
''According to Uncle Kosuke, a radius of 20 meters will be purified in about two days. After that, you can go and call the king and his friends.
'Twenty meters in two days?　Is that going to cleanse the whole country?
''I heard the speed of purification will increase as she grows, so she'll be fine. In the meantime, you'll take care of the guards, Mr. Alves.
"Leave it to me.

　Albus nods coyly at Bastet. And suddenly, Anubis glares at the depths of the forest and snarls.

''It looks like the forest dwellers will be here as soon as possible!

　Three green-skinned kobolds appeared from deep in the forest, making a rustling sound and scraping leaves.
　They were goblins. They must have come to eliminate an enemy that had invaded their territory. They held a thick club and stone spear in their hands, ready to kill.
　To the sidelines, Bastet and the others look like a black dog, a black cat, and a human-like child in armor. If you have a good nose, you would have noticed that these three bodies don't smell like living things, but the goblins' own stench has made their noses stupid.

''Gah gah gah!''
"Giggles!
"Gah!

　Three goblins attacked Bastet and his friends as soon as they found food.
　But the opponents were bad.
　Anubis bit into one of the throat whistles and slammed into the ground with force. Its fangs, made of crystalline wood, easily bit off the goblin's neck and took its life.
　The remaining two goblins were instantly separated from their necks and bodies by the crystal sword of Albus, which was pulled out and released. A few seconds during this time. It wasn't even an opponent.

''As expected of you, Albus. Nice work.''
"No problem.

　Albus returned his sword to its sheath as he heard Bastet's praise.

'Miss!　Miss!　I will be...
"Wow, wow.
I'll be sorry... I'll be sorry. I'll be sorry.

　Anubis rolled around on the ground in a rumble.

''Don't be silly, be more alert to your surroundings. We can handle this level, but if the mutants come in packs, we'll have no choice but to retreat.''
"Hey.

　If there are two mutants, Albus will take care of it. But when those two mutants call out to their nearby friends, there's no way to prevent them from doing so with just one Albus.
　If possible, I'd like to kill the mutants before they call their friends. This is just a way to buy time, but that's our mission in the first place, so there's no problem.
　Two days to go. Hopefully we will be able to protect the 'Sacred Tree' without encountering any mutants. After that, we can leave the rest to the kings.
　While looking at the "Sacred Tree" that was shimmering beside him, Bastet began to be cautious of his surroundings once again.


　　　　　　　　　　◇ ◇ ◇


　The war cudgel "Mace" and the axe spear "Halberd" clash head-on. They crossed each other as if they were passing each other, made a U-turn and slashed together again.
　It would be difficult to keep the balance, but both of them are handling it quite well.
　Ahead of me, a white and blue frame gear was fighting on a flying object that looked like a surfboard. They were Rain-san's white knight 《Shine Count》, the leader of Brunhild's knights, and Norn-san's blue knight 《Blue Moon》, the deputy leader. Ah, now it's already 'Nolue', huh?
　In fact, if there were two Norn, it would be confusing, the deputy leader, Norn-san, who is a wolf beastman, changed his name. I heard it was correct to change the name, or rather, to make it closer to the proper pronunciation. It seems that the correct name is 'Noren'.
　So now we have Norn, the Master of the Black Crown《Master》and Nolue-san, the wolf beastman and deputy leader of the group. Incidentally, perhaps because they had the same name, they are both close to each other.
　Norn, who is cool despite his young girl appearance, and Nolue-san, who looks mature but is naive and innocent, look like water and oil, but it's strange.
　The white knight and the blue knight now stay in place and strike each other.

''After all, unlike on the ground, I tend to attack with just my upper body movements.
'Well, you can't fly or jump, and it's hard to do that part. And Else's Gerhilde is completely unsuitable for something like that.

　I look up at the battle between the two of them and return those words to the other deputy commander, Nicola-san, who stands beside me.
　I heard that the doctors also initially thought of combining Else's Gerhilde and Linse's Helmvige, but they gave up in the end.
　The flight unit used in the battle against the Mage King was modified to fly for a long period of time and was used by Yae and Hilda, but this "flight gear" is basically an equipment unit for the Black Knight "Night Baron" and the Heavy Knight "Chevalier". It's not suitable for Yumina and the rest of the exclusive machines 《Valkyria》.

"Most of the flying mutants are not the type to fight while staying in the air, but the type to charge into it. In the end, it's going to be a matter of how to duck the attacks of the opponent, and how to hit your own attacks in passing each other.

　If the ground-going mutant is a beast, the flying mutant is not a bird, but a fish that swims in the ocean.
　Most of them use their hard bodies as weapons to fly like bullets. There are some types that fly crystal arrows, but those types of flying types are often slow-moving. It's a turret type.
　This is the key to identifying and attacking these bullet and turret types.

''On the other hand, I think it's hard to defeat enemies on the ground.
"Flying at the very edge of the ground would interfere with the other frame gear, you know. So I'm going to ask you to switch to shield mode and do some ground fighting.

　Deer. While answering Nicola, I turn my attention to the mechanical blue deer that is currently running around on the ground.
　It's a new deer-shaped overgear that is one size larger than the frame gear, the "Deerbrow".
　The overgear can only be handled by the 'crown'. In other words, there's a blue crown, the 'Distortion Blau', inside that thing. In other words.........

'Hey!　That's great!　I'll do what I want!

　Robert's voice echoed around the area from the speakers. The only person who responded to it was his fiancée, Celes, who came with him. He is clapping with a big smile on his face. They're as close as ever.
　Norn's 'Léonoir' and Nia's 'Tigaluge' are completely offensive overgear. In contrast, the 'Diabloo' driven by Robert is a defensive type that emphasizes mobility.
　The large horns that extend from the head create a magic-powered barrier to guard the surrounding area.
　It was also able to use that barrier to make a rushing attack.
　It seems that the doctor was wondering whether to use a horse or a deer, but in the end he ended up with a deer.
　 The fact that all three of them have a runaway habit is a bit worrisome though.

''It was pretty good, wasn't it?　That 'Deerbrow' is built to take advantage of the blue crown's golem skills.

　Dr. Babylon came in from behind, with Rosetta in tow. She has an example of an etheric stick in her mouth.
　It looks like a cigarette, but it seems to be some kind of aroma that relaxes the mind. I have a feeling that it might contain some suspicious ingredients. It seems that a young girl is smoking a cigarette, which is not good for the world.

'Are you sure you wanted to incorporate the Golem skill?　It's dangerous...
'The cost of that prince is the least of the risks. Nia might bleed to death and die, and in the case of Norn, she might even go back to the fetus. But in that prince's case, he'd just fall asleep.
You're not going to sleep forever, are you?

　Of course, I don't mean death. I'm talking about a lifetime of sleep.　That's what I mean.

''That's okay. 'It's only a partial appropriation of Blau's abilities, and if you are in that state, you won't die. There are many ways to wake her up. ...By the way, I haven't slept for four days now.

　Hmmmm," the doctor lets out a strange chuckle. This is not good..... I've been forcing him to do a lot of things lately.
　The Doctor, who has the same body as the Babylon Sisters, is far more durable than a normal human. However, the brain inside her head itself is that of a human. Hence, it is a body that needs sleep and other things in its own right.

'Don't come to this place, sleep. You're risking your life if you don't get some sleep, okay?

　In fact, that's why the record for insomnia was removed from the Guinness Book of World Records. They said if they kept breaking the record, people would die.

I need to complete my work before I go to bed. I don't mind being rewarded for all my hard work, Fuyao.
What do you want?

　I ask the doctor, who is staring at me with shaded eyes, wary of me, just in case. I'm grateful to him for that, so I'd like to make that happen if it wasn't so unconventional.

It's a very simple matter. "Hey, it's a simple matter, let's have a hot, unhurried night with me.
I can force you to lay down on your knuckles right now.

　Hi, Dauto. As far as I'm concerned, it's not a good thing since it's something a perverted little girl would say, but then she threw a direct line into it. I'd be scared to have her grin with her shaded eyes and spit out lines like that.

"Then give me a hug. Let's hug, hug.

　The bar has been lowered considerably. Is this a negotiation technique where you make a big request first with the assumption that you will be refused, and then pass on the small request that is the real goal?　What was it, I think it was "Door in the Face"?
　I reluctantly pick up the doctor who is waiting in front of me with his arms outstretched, reluctantly.

''Gufufufu. It's been a long time since I've had Fuyao-kun's body.... It's nice. It's exciting.
...or I'll throw you out.

　Geez, the doctor puts his strength into the arms around my neck and the legs entangled in my side. You're a koala clinging to a eucalyptus tree, you!　It's not a hug, it's more of a cling, this one.
　The force of the hug disappeared in a huff, and I began to hear a quiet sleep. Huh?　Hey, hey.

You have fallen asleep, sir.
Seriously....

　I sigh at Rosetta's words as she peers at the doctor from behind me. When it comes to this situation, I can't just throw it away.

It's true that you've been working hard.
What?
Five thousand years ago, you were a genius to begin with, so you only did what you liked, and you acted like a curious man.
It's still the same...
No, no. No, no, no, no, no. I never used my power for anyone. ...Perhaps you have crossed five thousand years of time to meet the Master.

　That's too much love. Well, it's certainly helped us in many ways.

"In the first place, our affection for the Master isn't just because he owns Babylon, is it?　Our personalities and ways of thinking are what originally divided a person's personality.

　Rosetta points to the sleeping Dr. and laughs. Mmmmm..... There are certainly many things that come to mind. In the first place, Babylon itself is structured in such a way that no matter how you do it, you can't make anyone other than me a master.
　If the conditions are right, I'll give it away, right?　and then the fact is that it is made so that only one person can inherit it, a determined one. It's usually a scam.
　The Doctor knew in The Treasure of the Future Vision that for five thousand years, no one else with all the same attributes as him would be able to get it except me. That doctor could induce Babylon to be obtained by me.
　Was it all set up by this person? Well, it's fine that I rather like this situation right now.

''Or rather, okay, it's heavy. Rosetta, can I have your back?
Yes, sir.

　Rosetta, who has her back to us, gives the sleeping doctor a piggyback ride.

"Let her sleep on the 'wall' bed. When he wakes up, I want you to tell him 'thank you' for everything.
'Oh?　Is it time for a derriere?
It's not.

　With the Doctor on his back, Rosetta took a short transfer back to Babylon.
　After you've done this much, I can't back out now. I'm not going to pull back, though.
　In a few days, the battle will begin in Isengard and the battle against the evil gods will begin.
　I'll drag him out and make sure to put an end to this mess. If anything, though, it's more difficult after that. Marriage and god training, you know.
　Well, we'll just have to do it.