You remember, my Second.

　Angolmore says with a wistful look on his face.


'I remembered, or rather, I came to myself.


　It was a strange experience.

　It was only for a few days, but I really wanted to be the emperor.

　But... The brainwashing spell that had been cast on me had just been broken. The emperor is no longer important to me.

　The strong emotions emanating from the crisis of life. I've fulfilled the conditions for the release of this brainwashing spell.

　I'm surprised at myself. It means that for a moment, I was ready to die.

　I almost despaired that the world's number one position, the one I sought, would never exist in this world.

　The truth that was revealed by this battle is that it was such a shock to me.


Anko.
Yes, my Lord.

　When I quietly call his name, Anko looks down and replies.


　...... Honestly, I had every intention of not losing. Since I came to this world until today, I have never seen anyone with a higher level of skill than these two. I'm going to fight two such people, two against one. Even though my goal is to die, I always want to not lose. But I could tell you that I wouldn't be surprised to lose.

　Somewhere in the back of my mind, I was expecting it. Anko and Miroku, the two of them, would cause something to happen that would make me cringe.

　And guess what?


Nothing, right?
Yes ......
Do you know how you lost?
...... Aha, shame on you.

　Anko covered her face with her hands and shook her head.

　'I don't know if I can think about it,' he said.

'There were no off-field rules this time. So, as soon as the match starts, run far away with the dark transition. Then, if you summon the Black Flame Spear to come back behind me with the Dark Transference, I'll be forced to use the Transformation. If you use dark magic to set up a curtain during the six seconds of invincibility during the transformation, and if I set it up in the remaining two seconds of invincibility, I can avoid it with my imaginary shadow and we'll have a game in hand.

You can find out how to do that at ......

There's more than one answer. Think harder. It's easy for me to tell you the answer, but the answer I know is the ...... countered answer (・・・・・・・).

!


　We all have to transcend, on our own.

　I know how difficult that is.

　But it's the only way.


Miroku, you too.

Yes, sir.

''This has shown me how important it is to have countermeasures against long-range attacks. It must have seemed impossible. But I believe that you are not the kind of man who would give up because of that. I'm sure you're not the only one who's ever won, that man inside you was.

......!

'Is the samurai you aspire to be the one who can't be stopped by a single flying tool?　With a body like that, how can you face the Seventh Zero Ring (Nana Yoleikan)?

I can't do it. ......


　You can't do that. I can't either.

　As long as I'm the king of the mountain, I can't face me for the rest of my life.

　No, I've been there once in my life. And I've come to this world.

　Maybe this is my salvation, maybe it's my d*mnation.

　Maybe it's that I should keep despairing and regretting each and every time for many years to come.

...... idiot.

　A ridiculous idea. Extremely arrogant. And extravagant.

　This is the best of both worlds. I'm a hard man to talk to.

　That was rude. Complaining in despair about the afterlife (bonus stage) is a disgusting thing to do.

　You should just cultivate it.

　If you can't afford to have a temper tantrum, just cultivate everyone.


''Haha, you're finally getting serious.
Thanks to you.

　Angolmore, who had been observing us intently, gave his usual wasteful, pompous smile.


'Anko, Miroku. Thanks for hanging out with me. Thanks to you, I'm out of my brainwashing.

I am glad to be of service to you, Lord. I am glad to be of service to you, my Lord, but I have reflected on the matter. It's a fool's errand to fail to live up to the Lord's expectations. I will change my mind and do my best .......

　Anko, who had probably never thought of devotion before, uttered that with a wry smile.

　That's right. You're the most powerful creature I've ever admitted to, and you've never had to devote yourself to anything. And the first time you do something for the first time is very exciting. I can't help but smile.


'Yu is of the same mind as well. If we're going to fight with the Lord, we must be samurai alongside Him.'

　Miroku is also very motivated.

　Fighting together. That's the thought that he entrusted to the Seventh Rekan.

　It must be hard. Miroku must make that wish come true.


It is a good thing for both of you. I'm happy for you.

　I nodded, and they bowed deeply, their expressions faltering a bit.


''Well, see you later.''

　The two are "repatriated" and take a breath.

　Both Anko and Miroku have plenty of motivation. They have the right ingredients. Certainly, it's tempting to expect it.


　But ...... how long will it take?

　I'm ready to do it too. I'm going to continue to grow.

　Will this gap close in the future?

　If I'm thirty or forty, the difference will still be this way, won't it?

　It's instantly scary to think about that.

　So .......


I've decided to --


　Oh, I see.

　So it was all Winfiled's readings.

　I guess she's made me aware of it now, thinking about my future.


'Spreading all the knowledge.'

　That's right. If I don't, I'm on my own for the rest of my life. This battle has made me realize that.

　If I do that, the value of everything will change drastically, nations will be devastated, and many of the nobles will lose their interests.

　I don't care. I've decided after the winter title fight that I'm selfish and I'm going to turn this world into an utopia.

　The bingo prizes were lukewarm. I'm not sure I'll be able to catch up with them in my lifetime if we don't change things at the national level.


"From now on, I will say everything I want to say, especially without limit and without hiding.

'Huh, haha, hahahaha!　Okay, so that's how you want to use the Empire!　Hahaha, that's funny, my second!

　Angolmore, reading my thoughts, opened his mouth wide and laughed.

　Oh yeah. In other words, it's a test case.

　First, we'll try it out in the Empire, where it doesn't matter what happens. If it looks like it will be worse than I thought, I won't do it in the Castal Kingdom, and I'll just spread it out thoroughly only to the title fighters.

But wouldn't that mean that all the empire would have more power?
Winfiled probably has that in mind too. I don't know.
So, have you?

　Angolmore is in an instant good mood. The empire is going to be in a hell of a lot of trouble, and he's probably in a mesmerized state. It's always the same.


...... do it.

　But still, what a scary thing Winfiled is. Even if he is looking into the future, it's not just a matter of being able to read the future so sharply.

　My dream of becoming the world's number one is swapped for that of an emperor. The moment I came to myself, I thought my gut was going to churn, but on second thought, the irony could not be greater. And at the same time, it was a hint.

　In the first place, in this world right now, there is no place for me to aim for to be number one in the world.

　A vacation - or so Yukari had said.

　For a month, I'm going to stop my hands from cultivating myself and move my hands to cultivate others.

　That kind of 'best vacation in the world' didn't seem so bad now.

　Take a break for a while, look back, and you may not even realize it until you do.

　I didn't notice it just because people pointed it out to me. Seriously, fighting Anko and Miroku made me realize this.

　Of course, I also know that that's not the only reason Winfiled used the Brainwashing Magic on me. She has always had multiple aims in mind ever since we met, even without me saying it. Every stone she throws is a stone to get three or four birds in the air.

　Hence, we can be sure. I can be sure that her tricks are waiting for us in the future.

　I'm looking forward to it. It's a game. I'll be able to play this game without a care in the world.



Now, let's get some sleep. Cubero, pitch the tent.
Yes. I'm coming.

　As I said it, Cubero swallowed his words and followed the instructions.

　When given a task, he doesn't waste time talking about it and acts first, which is typical of his seriousness.


'Wait a minute,'
I'm curious. What is it?

　As I look back, admiring the sincerity of Cubero's work, Gloria begins to speak, unusually distraught.

''I mean,''
It's too strong, it's broken.

　So that's how Gloria saw it.

　It's a pleasure to hear that from a genius.


I'm sure you have the same talent. You'll come to understand it eventually.

Yeah?　Thanks. But honestly, I can't believe it's this far: ......
I didn't think about it, sir. I didn't think about it.

　Gloria's hand trembled slightly as she stroked her silvery white hair in embarrassment.

　Fear?　Excitement?　Warriors?　I don't know. But I'm sure you got something to shake about my game with those eyes. I'm glad I showed it off, I can truly say that.


'By the way, you said you were going to spread the knowledge around.
I'm interested, and I'd like to know.

I like to read.
I'm a bookworm, with a thirst for knowledge.

...... Shut up, Shiva.
It's true. It's true.

　And then he bites right back.

　The answer is yes, of course, and she's one of the people I'd love to teach.

　For some reason, she's a strange guy who argues with herself, but she has a lot of things she wants to teach me.

'You can ask me anything you want. Whether it's how to learn a skill you want to learn or how to attack a grade A dungeon, I know most things, so I can teach you right now.

'Oh, is that ...... okay?'
'As a reward?　A boon?

From now on, I'm going to answer all the title contenders if they ask me.

　When I told her that, Gloria opened her mouth and then said a few words.


''Second, that's odd.''

I don't want you to be the only one to say that!



　　* * *



　Aker, a city in the southern part of the Marvel Empire.

　In the forest on the outskirts of the city, the Promenade family's house is located in the middle of the forest.


''Raska-sama. His Highness Wright will be arriving in Akar around noon two days from now.

'Well, thanks for the report. Get ready for some hospitality.

"Ha.


　A languid looking male elf with short dark brown hair, called Lasca, received the report in a pompous manner.

　It was a young human man with long reddish brown hair who gave his report.


'By the way, Selam. How's Tame after that?

Yes. I've done everything that Master Laska asked and I was able to taste "Madaladir" the other day.

Great. Now keep up the good work, and you'll be able to taste a blind lake like me. Now keep up the good work, and you'll be able to taste a blind lake like I did.

'A grade A demon is still a dream for me, sir.

If I'm going to teach you the art of summoning, why shouldn't you be a master at it?

Yes, I'll do my best.

Do so.


　Laska nodded good-naturedly before tipping his glass and letting the wine pour into the serum.

　Then he brought it to his mouth, savoring the aroma, and opened his mouth.


'You will be quiet this time, alpha,'

"Your daughter has my sincere wishes for a successful match.

Salem. You know that, but don't you think about betraying me either.

"...... Of course, Mr. Laska.