“Welcome back, Jane-san.” (Makoto) The Pegasus Unit, led by Janet-san, who had volunteered for the preliminary investigation, returned. It seemed the Arctic Continent was quite cold, as everyone’s faces were a little pale. “We have returned… Um, Takatsuki Makoto. Were you waiting outside for us?” (Janet) “Yeah, I was training in magic.” (Makoto) When I added that it was fun because there were lots of Water Spirits around, I got a look like I was some kind of pervert. “Come on, everyone, let’s head inside.” (Makoto) I urged them to go indoors since the deck of the airship was freezing. The pegasus were led into the indoor stables, while Janet-san and I headed to the meeting room where everyone was waiting. “In conclusion, we did not find any sign of monster hordes whatsoever.” (Janet) That was Janet-san’s report. “None at all…? That’s strange.” (Sakurai) Sakurai-kun crossed his arms. Even such a casual gesture looked model-like on him. “How far did you investigate? The Arctic Continent is vast. There’s always the chance something was overlooked…” (Nina) Nina-san spread out a map. “Then, let me mark the areas we investigated.” (Janet) Janet-san began marking red Xs one after another. “We investigated these twenty locations. The search was centered around the Abyss.” (Janet) “That many in such a short time!? Remarkable!” (Fuji) Judging from Fuji-yan’s surprise, it seemed Janet-san was very capable. “Hmm, looks like we won’t be needed after all, Aya.” (Lucy) “I wasn’t planning to go outside from the start.” (Aya) Even Lucy seemed impressed by Janet-san’s efficiency. Sa-san was sipping cocoa in a warm-looking sweater, completely in sightseeing mode. “But…don’t they say Arctic monsters are hard to spot due to camouflage? There’s always the chance you missed some…” (Saki) That was Yokoyama Saki-san. “Yes, that is possible.” (Janet) Janet-san readily admitted. “We have, in fact, sighted monsters native to the Arctic Continent. Ice Wolves and White Beasts, for example. But none of them were on the scale of a monster stampede.” 𝘙𝙖NO͍ᛒĘS̈ “Then it’s unlikely anything was overlooked…” “Still, I doubt the earlier reports were complete fabrications…” “This is troubling. We were supposed to assess the scale of the stampede, but if there aren’t any monsters at all…” Everyone exchanged looks in silence. The room was ruled by silence for a while. No one could propose the next course of action. (So basically, we’re lacking information.) (Makoto) “Well then, guess it’s about time I…” (Makoto) I was about to happily head out when… “Wait, Makoto.” (Lucy) “Stop right there, Takatsuki-kun.” (Aya) Lucy and Sa-san grabbed my arms. “What’s wrong? You two coming along?” (Makoto) “Listen, Makoto. You heard Janet-san’s report, right? They’ve already covered a huge area efficiently with their whole squad. There’s no way you’d just wander off alone and find something they didn’t.” (Lucy) “Also, the landscape in the Arctic Continent looks the same everywhere, so without Return Magic you’d get lost. Can you even use it, Takatsuki-kun?” (Aya) “Well, no, I can’t…but there are tons of Water Spirits here, and Dia the Great Water Spirit too.” (Makoto) It should work out somehow, right? Follow current novels on 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹~𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮~𝚗𝚎𝚝 “It’s not that I think you’d get killed by monsters, but the search should be left to the professionals.” (Lucy) “Exactly. You’d just get lost, so let’s wait in the airship.” (Aya) Persuaded by the two, I gave up on my Arctic stroll. Afterwards, it was decided that we would move the airship to a new location every other day for one week, and if nothing happened, we would report [No abnormalities found]. Still no abnormalities today. Sometimes, far off in the distance, we caught a glimpse of an Ice Wolf, but it quickly vanished. The Arctic Continent was utterly peaceful. I was training in magic together with the Water Spirits. “Right hand: Delayed Magic. Left hand: Acceleration Magic… Yeah, this is pointless.” (Makoto) I have been experimenting to see if I could create new spells while practicing Destiny Magic, but it wasn’t going well. The Destiny Goddess, Ira-sama, can create new magic in a single second, though. As expected of a Goddess. “You look bored, Our King.” (Dia) Seeing me like that, Dia spoke up. We were on the airship’s deck. The sky was clear, but the wind was strong, so blizzards swirled around us. Which meant the only one foolish enough to be outside was me. “There’s nothing to do.” (Makoto) “Then, how about going to the Abyss together? Last time, that little white one was around, and we couldn’t relax.” (Dia) She meant the last time we went to Hades. “I’ll get scolded if I act on my own.” (Makoto) “Those women dare dictate to Our King? How presumptuous.” (Dia) Lucy and Sa-san forbidding me from going out alone seemed to really anger her. “Well, those two are more experienced adventurers than me. I’ll respect the veterans’ opinion.” (Makoto) “If Our King says so… But still…” (Dia) “Takatsuki-kun, you’ve been outside this whole time?” Someone unexpected approached me. “I’m bored.” (Makoto) “Haha. Saki was worried you’d catch a cold.” “Our King does not catch colds.” (Dia) “Really? That’s amazing, Takatsuki-kun.” (Sakura) “For once, that’s right!” (Dia) For some reason, Dia answered in my place. “What about you, Sakurai-kun? Aren’t you cold?” (Makoto) “Not today, since the sun is out.” (Sakura) “Ah, you’re right.” (Makoto) Looking up, faint sunlight shone down on us. Snow danced all around, not falling from the sky, but lifted by the strong winds. As long as sunlight reached him, the Light Hero, Sakurai-kun apparently didn’t feel cold. “So, Takatsuki-kun. What do you think about the monster stampede?” (Sakurai) “Hmm, I can sense monster presences here and there. But I can’t tell if that’s normal or abnormal. I don’t know much about the Arctic Continent.” (Makoto) “They say it’s mostly uninhabited and neglected…though a lot of monsters come from the Last Dungeon, so it supposedly has more monsters than even the Demon Continent.” (Sakurai) “And yet, looking around, I don’t see any.” (Makoto) Only endless silver-white ground stretched out around the airship. No monsters in sight. “Maybe they’re in the sea?” (Sakurai) “That could be…” (Makoto) Which meant…wasn’t this my chance to shine? Surely Janet-san wouldn’t want to investigate the freezing Arctic seas. That thought must have shown on my face. “Don’t sneak off, Takatsuki-kun.” (Sakurai) “Even you, Sakurai-kun?” (Makoto) I wouldn’t actually just wander off without telling anyone. “Still, I thought this would feel more adventurous.” (Sakurai) Sakurai-kun said something uncharacteristically whiny. True, while it was nice to finally escape our busy schedules and relax, just waiting around was boring. “Alright then! Let’s go explore a bit together!” (Makoto) “Eh? But Janet already finished searching this area this morning, right?” (Sakurai) Sakurai-kun widened his eyes. “Let’s check out the second floor of the Abyss! They said the inside of the Last Dungeon hasn’t been explored yet.” (Makoto) “Wasn’t that scheduled for the final day…” (Sakurai) “Doesn’t hurt to check multiple times, right?” (Makoto) “Maybe… Noel did say she’d leave decisions up to you if you were there.” (Sakurai) Queen Noel, what a good call. “Alright, let’s go before Lucy and Sa-san catch us!” (Makoto) “Saki would probably stop me too, so yeah, let’s.” (Sakurai) Just as our plan was coming together… The ground shook faintly. Dia called me briefly. Sakurai-kun’s calm expression turned serious. “Takatsuki-kun, this quake is…” (Sakurai) “Finally, some action.” (Makoto) It wasn’t a natural quake. “I’ll go alert Fujiwara-kun and the others!” (Sakurai) Sakurai-kun started to head inside the airship, when… “Makoto! What happened?” (Lucy) “Takatsuki-kun, Sakurai-kun, what’s the situation?” (Aya) Lucy and Sa-san teleported in. As expected of the Water Country’s top adventurer duo. Quick response. “The cause is that.” (Makoto) I pointed more than a kilometer away. The horizon itself was shaking. “W-What is that…?” (Lucy) Lucy murmured in shock. “A monster horde. We finally found them.” (Makoto) “There are way too many! A natural stampede usually has ten thousand at most!” (Aya) “I haven’t seen many monster hordes, but that’s not ten or twenty thousand… That could be over half a million—” (Sakurai) Before Sakurai-kun could finish speaking… The airship began to slowly lift off with a deep hum. Multiple footsteps echoed at the same time. “Takatsuki Makoto! Monsters have appeared! Then the investigation should be my— Wait, what?” (Janet) Rushing in, Janet-san froze at the sight of the horde. Fuji-yan, Nina-san, and Yokoyama-san, who followed, were also left speechless. The airship rose higher, revealing the full scale of the horde. A monster army filling the silver-white land. And they were perfectly aligned. A faint sense of deja vu hit me. “This looks like more than the one million Demon Lord army I fought a thousand years ago.” (Makoto) Everyone turned aghast at my words. “Makoto…you fought that army, right? Was it really ?” (Lucy) Lucy asked nervously. “Yeah, about this much.” (Makoto) “Takatsuki-kun… Wow.” (Aya) “We must report this to the homeland at once! This is beyond us!” (Janet) “Agreed. First, send word via communication magic, then we should retreat from here.” (Fuji) That was Janet-san and Fuji-yan. A reasonable decision. But something bothered me. “Shouldn’t we investigate further?” (Makoto) “Takatsuki-kun! What are you saying?” (Saki) Yokoyama-san snapped at me. “You noticed something…?” (Nina) Nina-san, pale at the sight of more than a million monsters, asked. “I doubt this is a natural stampede. There must be someone leading them. Monsters don’t line up this neatly on their own.” (Makoto) “Yeah… I thought that too.” (Sakurai) “But confirming that would be…” (Janet) “I’ll just go take a quick look.” (Makoto) I said the obvious, but Janet-san gaped. “Makoto! You can’t get near that!” (Lucy) “It’s too dangerous!” (Aya) Lucy and Sa-san tried to stop me, but this time I wasn’t backing down. “It’s fine. There are plenty of Water Spirits here, and more importantly, we’ve got the Light Hero, Sakurai-kun.” (Makoto) “Wait, Takatsuki-kun!? You plan to drag Ryosuke along?!” (Saki) Of course Yokoyama-san objected. “Is it okay if I am at the frontline and Takatsuki-kun backs me up? As long as the sun’s out, we’ll be fine.” (Sakurai) Sakurai-kun looked determined. Seeing his expression, Yokoyama-san didn’t press further. “You two are going, then? Takki-dono, Sakurai-dono.” (Fuji) Fuji-yan looked tense, but didn’t try to stop us. “That’s what this investigation is for. A natural stampede and a Demon Lord-led horde are completely different. We need to confirm it.” (Makoto) “Please, take care. Don’t push yourselves too hard.” (Fuji) “Of course. Lucy, Sa-san, I’m leaving everyone on the airship to you.” (Makoto) “Don’t overdo it, Makoto.” (Lucy) “Don’t worry about us, Takatsuki-kun.” (Aya) “It’ll be fine, Saki.” (Sakurai) Sakurai-kun embraced Yokoyama-san. Picturesque. Should I do that too? …Nah. After brief farewells… “Let’s go, Sakurai-kun.” (Makoto) “Got it, Takatsuki-kun.” (Sakurai) We leapt from the airship while being seen off by worried faces. >The conversation between Makoto, Fuji-yan, and Sakurai-kun was the very picture of an exchange between friends. It was great. -I wanted to write an exchange between these three, so I am satisfied. >I thought this was an arc of Sakurai-kun, but it was Jane-san’s. -Sakurai-kun will be shining from here on…I think. I will be busy for a while, so I am thinking of writing slowly.