"I'm sorry...

　I rubbed my forehead against the ground in the quiet woods near Aruch, where there was no sign of people or monsters.
　That's the best way to apologize that I know of.
　That's right, get down on your knees. My bet was that I would apologize to King Malmedri and ask for his forgiveness.

　"What is it with you all of a sudden? Son of man.
　"It's because of me that all the males have returned to their king!　I'm really sorry, sir!
　....

　Why don't you shut up?　Say something. You're scaring me.

　"Look up. Human child. Didn't I tell you?　'I'm just here to talk to you,'
　....

　Huh?　Seriously?　
　Am I forgiven?　Is he alive?
　I looked up with a glint in my eye.

　''Well, if the current situation had gone on a little longer, I would have considered my contract with the humans to be broken and destroyed that city.''
　....

　My eyes lost their sparkle.

　'Just kidding, man-child.
　....

　It's not funny.

　"...so, man-child. What do you mean, you're the cause?

　I told him about my blessing and my part-time job and how I didn't know about my contract.

　''....Hmm. Well, that clears up the mystery. You said Kakeru, son of a man.　You can't blame me if you didn't know. This contract was made a long time ago. From now on, you must be careful. The world will always spin out of control if you try.
　Yes, I'll see to it.
　Son of man, you have received the 'blessing of the soul'. I feel good now that the cause of the problem has been solved. I will answer you only one question.

　Huh?　I had a hunch, but is King Malmedri kind?
　But you have questions. I have a lot of questions.
　Why did you sign such a contract? Isn't the fertility of the Malumedori species enough to keep them from going extinct? In the first place, if King Malumedori were here, they wouldn't have to deal with humans.
　But the words that came out of my mouth did not come close to the truth about Malmedori.
　I'm not really interested in that.
　What I want to know is.

　The king looks a lot different from the Malmedori I know.

　Yes, the mystery of King Malmedri's appearance, which clearly looks like a dragon. It has feathers that the dragons I know don't have. When I put it on my back, it was so fluffy and soft that I wanted to use it as a hug pillow. I'd really like to know why you look like that.

　I'd really like to know why I look like that. That's a mystery I'd like to know, too.
　"Huh?
　I do not understand. My wings and physique were transformed when I took over the throne from the previous generation. This is what the humans call evolution. I don't know why the crowned Malmedori became this.

　I guess the monsters of this world do grow and evolve after all.
　My sister said there was a human-sized Oystercatcher. I've never seen one before.

　Oh, really?
　I'm sorry, son of man. "Forgive me, son of man, but I can't fly, even if my wings grow. Only a barnacle.
　....

　So it's not funny.　

　Well then, I think it's time for me to go home. By the way, there are no monsters around here for some reason.
　Oh, yes. It looks like this guy Sirius has wiped them out.
　"I see. And I look forward to the day when this Sirius fellow comes to me.
　....
　"So long, Kakeru. I look forward to seeing you again.
　Yes, I'll look forward to it too!

　I don't want to see him again.
　I thought as I watched King Malmedri's back as he left, humming.
　-- I guess I really just wanted to know the cause.　Oh yeah, come to think of it, what color is a monster's soul?　

　Concentrate your consciousness.
　........Oh, so the soul of a monster is purple? It's called an ancient species, so their souls are on a different scale.

　Satisfied with my new knowledge and the fact that I was safe, I turned my attention to Aruch.


　* In front of the south gate of Aruch *

　It's different, isn't it?

　I was making my way back through the forest and back to the south gate. I didn't encounter any monsters on the way back, it was really just a walk back. I even passed a little brother and sister who might have come to get some herbs. If it's as safe as this outside of town, I'm not surprised there aren't any standard make-believe quests.

　But there's one thing that I can't agree with right now.

　I'm sure you'll find a lot of people waiting at the gate for me to return.　Why isn't anyone there?

　The adventurers who had gathered to participate in the emergency quest are gone. Not even Aria, who was supposed to be a party member, is gone.

　The reason for this commotion was my part-time job. I didn't get into a battle with an ancient species, and they left after just a short conversation with me. That's why I'm going to turn down the emergency quest reward or something.
　But, just in case you've had a one-on-one with the ancient species that everyone fears, what's the point of not having one to greet you?

　Really, I feel like this world is treating me wrong somehow.

　I exhaled heavily and walked into the city.