Prologue

It was a blood-soaked era, when both land and sky were stained a crimson red.

The philosophy of the Great Demon, embodiment of darkness itself, was a simple one: Size equals power. It was an undeniable truth. But no matter how close the demon had gotten to approaching this ideal, he could only be described as a fool after creating something like this.

“I knew he was a moron, but this is so absurd it’s actually comical,” the witch spat with utter displeasure, a frown on her typically alluring face.

“This is making me nauseous...” The knight was clutching at his stomach through his armor.

“Bwa ha ha! That’s one hell of a sound! He had to be wasted when he came up with that!” The swordsman laughed so hard he was almost rolling on the ground as he took a drink from his bottle of booze.

“You have to admit, though, he had the right idea.” The half naked monk crossed his arms as he stared up at the object approaching from afar.

A loud thud echoed around them.

“I’ve finished my assessment of the enemy’s plans. They’ve attached legs to a mountain and intend to use it to crush the army and city behind us.” The priestess, who’d been innocently observing the enemy, announced the obvious with some gravitas.

Yes, she had said “a mountain.” The source of the earlier thud was a thing of nightmares: a massive mountain with four insectile legs attached to it. This was not a figure of speech; their adversaries had remodeled a literal mountain into a mobile fortress. Whoever was responsible for this had probably concluded that they could use the mountain to crush all of their enemies’ forces, cities, and bases. It was an absolutely ridiculous strategy, but once it was actually executed, the result was straightforward, astronomical destruction. Who in the world could stand against a moving mountain?

“So, what’s our strategy?” the monk asked.

“Our only option is to climb onto it and destroy the magic furnace that’s powering it. I don’t know if they implemented this specifically to counter me, but the exterior of that thing has been warded against magical attacks to an almost paranoid level. Attacking from the outside is impossible,” the witch replied. However, this was futile. No ordinary human could possibly scale a moving mountain that made the very earth shake, then defeat whoever was likely lying in wait there.

“All right, let’s go with that, then!” Even though the suggested plan was akin to suicide, their young leader childishly accepted the challenge. “Charge!”

“So it’s just the same ol’ plan,” the swordsman said with a cynical expression.

“The simplest path is often the most effective. That holds true for both us and our opponent,” the monk added, nodding in approval.

The leader rushed ahead with his sword raised high, followed by the other two.

“I wish this was a little easier,” the witch said. She’d become fed up with their opponents, whose actions had left the party no choice but resort to force.

“It’s the most efficient method, so I figured this would be the easiest way,” the priestess added, tilting her head in confusion.

“Yeah, no, there’s nothing easy about climbing those massive legs,” the knight retorted as he ran forward.

All six of these heroes were now moving with unbelievable speed, but what was the point of a group of mere humans running up to a moving mountain? They were nothing more than ants to it; their actions were practically pointless.

Another loud thud echoed, but it wasn’t the sound of the mountain’s footsteps this time.

“Ugh! You have to be kidding me!” the knight shouted.

Countless boulders rocketed into the sky from the mountain, resulting in an assault of such wide coverage that it was impossible for them to fully dodge. It was honestly ridiculous. Common sense would suggest that a mountain had no need to go out of its way to do that; it could resolve everything by simply crushing them underfoot. Was there really a need for it to actually carry out an attack?

“The construct’s defenses are first-class, yet it only attacks by launching boulders. Looks like they couldn’t give it everything.” The witch fired off a storm of colors—red, yellow, blue—unleashing a wave of destruction. The boulders, which were an attack of nothing but pure physical mass, were swallowed up by the magical volley and disappeared.

“Let’s keep going! Get straight up to it!” Despite the witch’s efforts, however, a seemingly inexhaustible supply of boulders continued raining down from the mountain, so the young man at the front just kept running.

Wow, this thing really is pretty massive from up close. The closer the young man got, the more the mountain grew in front of him, now too enormous for him to even fully make out. He furrowed his brow.

With every step the mountain took, it created tremendous vibrations and sent clouds of dust billowing, engulfing them all. A hit from even a fragment of the boulders flying around inside the cloud would kill an ordinary person. However, all of the heroes leaped triumphantly out of the cloud and began hopping up the mountainside by the strength of their legs alone, using small footholds in the rock as leverage.

“What the hell are those things hanging over us?!” the leader shouted.

“They seem to be an enhanced variety of tree-dwelling, monkey-type monsters. They must intend to cling to us and make us fall,” the monk explained.

“Gotcha,” the swordsman replied casually.

With their red eyes glaring at the party, the long-armed, pitch-black monkey monsters waited at the foot of the mountain. The monkeys spread their arms wide and jumped down, aiming to grab on to the young man and the rest and force them to the ground. Of course, this strategy required them to still have their arms, and above all, their heads. With a sharp sound, fifty monkey heads fell to the ground, the twisted expressions on their faces still lingering. It had happened so quickly, the monkeys hadn’t even had the chance to register what had happened.

“I’ll handle the one coming from the sky on the right, so I’m leaving the left one to you,” the witch said as she looked up.

“Understood!” the knight replied.

The witch used her magical attacks to deal with the massive monster that was attacking from above, which looked to be something in between a bird and a dragonfly.

“Agh, dammit! It keeps swapping between being fully resistant to magical and physical attacks!” the knight cursed. He launched out of another foothold and jumped up, climbing onto the back of a winged snake—a beast as long as about four houses standing side by side. If what he’d just said was true, the enemy monster possessed a terrifying ability.

“All right, let’s do this!” Meanwhile, the young man swiftly ran across the mountain’s moving legs. He charged bullishly ahead, as though the large army of monsters that seemed to fill the mountain’s entire surface were no hindrance.

“Leave the troublesome ones to me,” the monk said. Some of the powerful monsters had somehow managed to block the young man’s way, but the monk used all his limbs to kick and punch through them, smashing through carapaces that not even swords could slice. He twisted off their tentacles and broke their large horns. The monk’s body itself was a lethal weapon. He could pulverize, subjugate, and destroy anything and everything.

“That one must be their leader!” The young man continued forward and pursued a grotesque monstrosity farther in the back. Its body was made up of over a thousand pieces of armor joined together, and its countless gauntlets and greaves wriggled.

“You damn freeeeeaks!” the armor monstrosity shouted. No one bothered to point out the hypocrisy of its words because its judgment wasn’t incorrect.

“Light, come forth!” the young man cried.

“Light, come forth,” the priestess echoed.

Light started emanating from their bodies. The great light of life shone out into a world that was full of death and destruction, lamentation and sorrow, and covered by a bloodred sky.

But that is a tale from long ago. Those battles have long since ended.

And the young man, the priestess, the swordsman, the witch, the monk, and the knight...have now all grown old.

Chapter 1: A New Departure

A dream of the past, huh? How many years has it been since then? How old am I turning this year? Was it ninety? What a state I’ve fallen into. My skin’s nothing like it used to be.

An old man of small build woke up in his bed and smiled cheerfully as he stared at the wrinkled back of his hand. He was lucky to still be alive. While struggling through the era of darkness, he’d stood on the brink of death more than a handful of times. It was highly fortunate that he’d lived long enough for his short hair to turn completely white, his body to grow shorter, and his skin to be full of wrinkles.

I don’t think I’ll last another decade. He didn’t have that many years left, but for a man who always lived thinking his own life was as good as gone, he didn’t really care that it was coming to an end now, so his smile remained unfaltering.

“Good morning, Ferd.”

“Morning, Elrica.”

The old man Ferd smiled at Elrica, the old woman lying next to him and his lifelong partner. Elrica was also around ninety years old; she’d grown shorter over time, her long hair had turned pure white, and her face, once praised as possessing the most immaculate beauty in the world, was now covered in wrinkles. The two of them had been together for close to eighty years, and they’d grown old before they’d even noticed.

“I’ll go check on the field first.”

“Okay. I’ll prepare our breakfast.”

“Thank you.”

Ferd slowly got out of bed, stretched his back, then got changed and headed to the field, leaving the breakfast preparations up to Elrica.

“Weather’s pretty nice again today,” Ferd muttered as he looked up at the blue sky, a hoe in hand. Day after day, on both sunny and rainy days, he had the same flood of emotions.

Eighty years ago, the sky had been red. This was no figure of speech—light brown clouds had drifted across a deep-red sky, and the world was covered in darkness. A being born from the darkness who called himself the Great Demon King had changed the natural order of the world itself. The demonic underlings he’d created ran rampant, leaving behind only death, despair, and grief. But all that was good had risen up against him. Humans, elves, dwarves, halflings, fairies, mermen, beastfolk, and various other noble creatures fought against the Great Demon King and emerged victorious. The blue sky had returned, and so did peace.

“Hmm...” Ferd, who’d devoted most of his life to the land and his field, put down his hoe and looked over his recently harvested field.

I wonder what state my hometown is in. Is it still deserted? Or has it been redeveloped? After thinking about his remaining lifespan when he’d woken up, Ferd suddenly remembered the faraway village he’d grown up in. He was born the third son to a family of poor villagers, and his living conditions growing up were far from comfortable. Since he was just the spare for the spare of the eldest son, he was treated poorly, and he’d practically had no belongings of his own; his family simply could not afford it. But even that life was still fine with him. It was certainly better than when his village was later swallowed up by the forces of darkness while he was yet a boy, and his family and everyone around him was killed.

My son...is probably fine. Next, Ferd thought about the son he’d had with Elrica. His son had once said that he’d go search for new excitements and began touring the continents. He seemed to be doing well in the neighboring continent, and the letters he occasionally sent didn’t indicate anything unusual.

Nothing seems to have changed with my grandchild either, but...I still haven’t met my great-grandchild. Ferd regretted not knowing what his great-grandchild looked like. The child was still too young to endure intercontinental travel by boat, and Ferd himself was in no position to act rashly either, so if things continued like this, he might pass away before seeing their face.

It’s my great-grandfatherly duty to sneak snacks and pocket money to my great-grandkid, then get chewed out for doing it without their parents’ permission. It’s not right that I haven’t gotten around to that yet. A very grandfatherly line of reasoning ran through his mind while he thought of his son, grandchild, and great-grandchild.

“Phew...” Ferd let out an unconscious sigh as he thrust his hoe into the ground, but there was no emotion or strength behind his motion; he simply swung downward.

I’d love to see everyone again. Finally, the faces of the companions who’d stuck with him through thick and thin appeared in Ferd’s mind. For him, whose youth had been torn apart in the chaotic era, the only bright memories he had of his past were the days he’d spent with his friends, Elrica among them.

“Hmm.” He put strength behind it as he swung his hoe down again, but his mind was still not focused on his field.

“Breakfast is ready,” Elrica called.

“All right, I’m coming back. Say, dearest.”

“What is it, honey?”

Once Ferd returned home for breakfast, he looked Elrica straight in the eye before continuing, “I don’t think it would matter much if we were to leave this place.”

“Right. It’s already been over seventy years, so most of those who were around at the time have likely passed away, excluding those of the long-lived races.”

“Indeed.”

Elrica could guess what Ferd was planning thanks to their long relationship, but she didn’t press him to share his thoughts and instead simply stated the facts.

“Then...how about we go see the others?”

“Yes. Yes, that’s a wonderful idea.” Elrica smiled at Ferd’s sudden suggestion. Perhaps she had been wishing for that too.

“All right. In that case, we should send letters to our acquaintances. I’d feel terribly guilty if anyone took the trouble of coming to visit us while we were away.”

“It’s been a while since the last time, but should I bring out a familiar?”

“Good idea.”

With the matter settled, Ferd wrote letters to their few acquaintances to let them know that he and Elrica would be going on a trip, then had them delivered via bird-type familiar. As they lived in a secluded mountain area, the pair didn’t have any neighbors they needed to inform of their departure.

“We’ll need to take our old equipment out too.”

“This brings back memories.”

Their wrinkled hands moved restlessly late into the night as their busy days continued.

“Come to think of it, we’ve spent a long time in this house.”

“We’ve made some changes to it along the way, but we’ve still been here for close to seventy years.”

A few weeks later, Ferd and Elrica finished their preparations. They stood outside the small house they’d spent all those long years in and looked at it with nostalgia. It was by no means luxurious, but in return, it was a house filled with memories, and they were attached to it.

“Those clothes of yours really take me back.”

“I could say the same to you, Ferd.”

“Hoh hoh hoh!”

“Heh heh heh.”

Ferd carried a shield and a sword in a completely unadorned scabbard, while Elrica wore a pure white robe and held a white wooden staff. The two of them smiled as they looked at each other.

Ferd, in particular, had grown short in his old age, so he looked rather odd carrying his sword and shield—like a child struggling with a grown man’s armaments.

“Shall we go now?” Ferd said.

“Please watch your step,” Elrica replied.

“I’m not that frail and withered. You should be careful.”

“I don’t believe I’m that withered either.”

The two of them descended the mountain while cheerfully chatting away like any married couple would. They were headed toward their final journey. But even though they claimed that they were still hearty, no one who spared them a glance would ever believe that they were in good health.

“What? Are those kids?” Herman, a golem carriage driver with a load of passengers bound for the next town over, didn’t think they looked well either. From where he sat, he saw the backs of two small humans who he presumed to be children, so he hurriedly picked up his carriage’s speed a little to catch up with them.

“Hmm? Two old people?” But when Herman got close enough to turn his head and look at their faces, he realized that they weren’t children but two elders. “Granny, gramps, did something happen?” I haven’t heard of any poor harvests lately. I don’t think they were abandoned to reduce the number of mouths to feed. Herman called out to the pair once he caught up, but his mind was filled with questions.

They were currently in the large kingdom of Rin. The highways were so well maintained that there were barely any bandits or monsters. But even so, it was strange to see two elderly people casually walking along the road. Understandably, this led Herman to immediately assume that the pair had been kicked out of their village so there’d be fewer mouths to feed.

“Hello there. We thought of going to visit our acquaintances and friends one final time. My wife and I have just started our journey,” Ferd said.

“I see...” Herman was convinced by Ferd’s explanation since the old man clearly didn’t have long left to live, but the driver would have a bit of a hard time sleeping if he abandoned them here and went his merry way. “You’ll die if it rains. Do you have any money? If not, there’s your sword, or the granny’s staff...though it seems to be the ordinary kind, not magical. You can pay with your sword then, so hop aboard.” Herman thought that since the people in his covered carriage had paid the appropriate fee, they would be dissatisfied if he let the elderly couple ride for free. So if they didn’t have any money, he’d take even the cheap sword in that clearly shabby scabbard as payment. Elrica’s staff was pure white and somewhat refined, but it only looked like a regular staff to Herman, so he didn’t think it had much value.

“My sword carries many memories. Besides, we do have money. See?” Ferd glanced at his scabbard before taking out several silver and copper coins from the pouch in his breast pocket.

“Oh, that’s enough for two passengers. Get on.” Herman confirmed that the money was sufficient to cover the fare and pointed toward the carriage with his thumb.

“What should we do, dearest?” Ferd asked Elrica.

“Let’s take the chance and get on,” she replied.

“Agreed. Let’s do that, then. Thank you for the ride.”

And so, Ferd and Elrica became Herman’s customers.

“Dearest, this must be state-of-the-art magical technology!” Ferd said.

“Yes, it must be, honey,” Elrica replied.

The two of them got excited when they saw the metal horses, making it obvious at a glance that they were country bumpkins.

“Huh? Granny, gramps, you two don’t know what a golem carriage is?” a kid asked, head tilted in confusion.

“Addie!” the kid’s mother scolded.

“Oh please, don’t worry about it. My wife and I came from far out in the sticks, you see. This is our first time seeing anything like this,” Ferd spoke truthfully while waving his hand.

Horse golems had been in use for roughly the last forty years. They were made from copper and magic and possessed neither intelligence nor the ability to run. However, while they were unsuited for the battlefield, where greater mobility was necessary, the tireless golems were perfect for transporting people and goods along the more placid highways, and had since become a necessity for people traveling the main roads. The fact that Ferd and Elrica didn’t know that could only mean that they’d suddenly come from a very, very remote place. The two of them had actually been left completely behind by the flow of society, and could even be called foreigners in a sense.

A carriage for travelers on the highway, huh? We live in good times. Ferd smiled as he compared the chaotic past to the peaceful present.

Back during the all-consuming demonic war, if someone heard of a carriage speeding down the highway, they’d assume those folks were trying to make a desperate escape—even with all the monsters set to attack the carriage along the way. With that in mind, even though the horse golems were unfamiliar to them, it was a truly peaceful ride inside the large carriage, not a single fearful face in sight. Of course, that was because the Rin Kingdom was a large country and took care in maintaining its highways; carriages on the frontier had to be more heavily armed and wary.

“In any case, do you think Sazaki will still be there?” Elrica, her thoughts back in the past just like Ferd, wondered if they would find the person they were looking for at their destination.

“I’m sure he is. It would take something truly major for him to leave that place.” Ferd, who was close friends with Sazaki, was convinced they would find him there.

The two of them were headed to Lianard, in the hopes of meeting someone there. The region was known not only for its production of alcohol, but as a place where many different kinds of alcohol were stocked. The one who they hoped to find was a truly hopeless man named Sazaki. If given the choice between only drinking water or alcohol for the rest of his life, he would have chosen the latter in a heartbeat.

As a sidenote, even though Herman had been completely unaware of it, he had set his eyes on something truly monumental.

That humble sword had vanquished a multitude of monsters: an ancient dragon, a true giant, an abyss dweller, a mechanical god, and finally, darkness itself. And alongside this was the staff that had aided that sword. It was impossible to put a price on these items, and if they were ever put up for sale, the world’s most powerful nations and greatest temples would be willing to go to war to obtain them. If they were to be given names, they would be the Sword of Ferd the Hero, and the Staff of Elrica the Saint.

Thanks to Herman’s kindness, the pair had gotten a lift to just outside the walls of Lianard. However, it seemed that there was a line waiting to get in—as if it were taking quite a while for the guards to work through the queue.

Ferd popped his head out of the line to see what was ahead. “It seems we’ll be awhile at the gate.”

“Our turn will come eventually,” Elrica replied.

“Mm-hmm.” Ferd agreed with a nod.

A couple in their nineties wouldn’t get irritated by that level of inconvenience at this point, so they just stood still like rocks or trees. If they weren’t standing, people might think they were dead.

Some time later, it was finally Ferd and Elrica’s turn, but the gatekeeper was puzzled to see two solitary old people come forward when he called.

“Next. Hmm? Granny, gramps, where are your companions, and how many of them are there?”

“It’s just my wife and I.”

“We thought we’d come see an old friend’s face before our time was up. We rode here in a carriage,” Ferd explained.

“I understand.”

Ferd’s words worked like magic. Most people would understand if an old man told them he was coming to meet a friend because his end was drawing near.

“You may pass.”

“Thank you very much.”

Ferd and Elrica looked like just an elderly couple to the gatekeeper, so he doubted there would be any problems and simply let them pass.

“Things sure have changed here, honey. Or rather, I suppose they’ve actually gone back to normal,” Elrica said.

“They sure have, dearest,” Ferd replied.

As Ferd and Elrica stepped foot in Lianard, they were dumbfounded by the state of the town. It had once been famous for its distilleries, but once the war hit, the town morphed into a military production facility, churning out medicine and alchemical supplies. Back then, Lianard was filled with shady looking fellows and restless craftsmen with grim looks on their faces.

“Is it true that moonless liquor has arrived?”

“Gimme the whole barrel!”

“Bring the booze out now!”

The town was now just like it had been before the war. The place was lively, with the shouts of merchants and craftsmen that dealt in alcohol echoing all around, and business was thriving. Ferd and Elrica were only familiar with Lianard’s brutal atmosphere during the war, as well as how the town had been when it was just starting to go back to alcohol production right after the war. Thus, they were truly surprised at the vast difference between now and back then. But no matter how one looked at them, they were nothing but an elderly couple that had come from the countryside to turn to their children for help—a pair of complete country bumpkins visiting a big town.

I guess this is fine in its own way. I don’t understand the merits of alcohol one bit, but this is much better than them making drugs that trade away chunks of your lifespan for temporary strength. Ferd recalled a type of powerful drug they used to produce in Lianard. He surveyed the town as he toddled forward.

During the great war, which had been a constant back-and-forth, those who lost their families to the demon army often sought out ways to quickly strengthen themselves in order to take their revenge. In response, a group of eccentric alchemists created an enhancement drug that was manufactured for a time, but the side effects were highly severe, so the alchemists themselves sealed it away.

But that was also a tale of the past. Nowadays, Lianard only drowned itself in booze, not hatred and rabid obsession.

“Now, where could he be?” Ferd rubbed his chin, wondering where Sazaki was.

“I’ll handle this. Excuse me, sir. Have you seen an old man on the ground with a drink in hand?” Elrica called out to a man passing by.

“Oh, you two know that old drunkard? He’s lying down in that back alley.”

Elrica’s outrageous statement made Ferd instinctively move his hand from his chin to his mouth. Was it because he found his wife’s description of Sazaki to be a bit too much? Or because he was about to burst out laughing since the man she’d asked actually understood who she was talking about?

“Dead drunk, as I suspected.”

“Just like usual, I suppose.”

Just as they thought that they might, when Ferd and Elrica arrived in the back alley, they found themselves looking down their noses—not metaphorically, but at the actual ground.

“Hic. Did I drink so much I started hallucinatin’? I could swear I heard Elrica’s voice and maybe that moron Ferd alongside her.”

An old man around the same age as Ferd and Elrica was sprawled out in the alleyway, clearly drunk, with bottles of booze in both hands. With his long white hair tied up in a knot and the smell of alcohol emanating not only from his worn-out, shabby clothes but from his skin as well, he looked like any homeless person. However, the weapon he had on his hip was quite unusual. It was a special weapon known as a katana that had drifted in from Eastern countries and wasn’t the sort of item a homeless man should be carrying.

Ferd leaned close to the homeless man, and shouted in his ear, “If I’m a moron, then you’re a drunken moron!”

“Argh! Ferd?!” The man—who, unlike Ferd, had retained much of his height—was startled by Ferd’s loud voice and jumped to his feet as if he’d been splashed with water.

“I’m here too.”

“Elrica too?! You guys came down from the mountain?!” The homeless man smiled, his face as wrinkled as the elderly couple’s.

“You really haven’t changed a bit.” Ferd had a peculiar expression as he looked at the homeless man, a mix of exasperation and nostalgia. “Well, whatever. Long time no see, Sazaki.”

The homeless man Ferd was looking at was in fact the person they were here for. He was an old man named Sazaki, also known as...

Chapter 2: The Lightspeed Blademaster

There were quite a few people who were classified as masters of the military arts. Those who lived through the great war honed their martial skills anew so that they could survive should a similar battle happen again. But naturally, of course even masters were reluctant to commit to either devoting themselves to protecting others without self-regard or to relentless slaughter, in the pursuit of perfecting their art.

Therefore, it was fair to say these were two contrasting people; in their way of life, the kind of swordsmanship they aimed for, and their teachers. If one only looked at the surface, at least.

“There you are, Michael!”

Shortly before Ferd and Elrica started their journey, an uproar was taking place in a neighboring country. Within a forest, the moment more than ten knights spotted a slender man in his forties, they drew their swords, shouting his name and charging at him with ghastly looks on their faces.

“Tch.” The man, Michael, clicked his tongue at the incoming trouble and drew his sword. Now that his sword was unsheathed, it was perfectly clear that a fight to the death was about to take place. With this being ten against one, however, the outcome was already apparent...or it should have been.

“Die!” The knights’ eyes were filled with murderous intent. Not only had Michael been caught red-handed committing multiple murders, he’d even killed some of the knights’ colleagues, so no one would question whether his capital punishment was deserved, and the knights had no choice but to capture him. However, the fact that they hadn’t managed to analyze Michael’s profane sword would prove fatal.

“You nobodies,” Michael scoffed.

As Michael’s jet-black sword came into view, the knights heard a grating noise, like the buzzing of a winged insect. Even though they were in the middle of combat, they suddenly started vomiting gastric juices and felt unimaginable physical discomfort.

“Now die.” Michael swung his black sword down on one of them, a dark, ominous mist emanating from it.

The knight somehow managed to raise his shield to block the incoming attack, but the light vanished from his eyes as he witnessed the unbelievable sight before him. While the knight had just narrowly managed to ready his shield, Michael cut though it, his armor, and eventually his body like a piece of paper.

“Urgh!”

“Oooooh!”

The other knights desperately tried to turn things around, but to no avail. They were too busy being assailed by tremendous fatigue, nausea, and shivers to summon their full strength. It was as though they had suddenly fallen severely ill. One after another, they fell to Michael’s sword.

“Hmph,” Michael snorted, after killing every last knight in what seemed like seconds. He was certainly a powerful man, but this tragedy had also been made possible thanks to the power of his profane sword, which lacked even an inscription.

Murderous intent and bloodlust were stressful feelings for living creatures. This sword increased its sharpness in reaction to the enemy’s murderous intent, but it also possessed the hidden ability to amplify that intent and send it back to its source. That amplified murderous energy was powerful enough to cause actual harm, and the knights had practically self-destructed because of it. It might have seemed like a very simple trick, but since it was impossible for someone not to direct any bloodlust toward the person they were trying to kill, the knights never stood a chance.

“Well done,” a man who had been hiding in the trees and watching the slaughter unfold congratulated Michael. He was in his twenties—about half Michael’s age—with swaying, luminous, golden hair.

“Your praise honors me.” Michael bowed deeply to the young man.

“We both got a bit too rowdy. I didn’t mean to make so much noise that we would be pursued, but...well, what’s done is done,” the young man muttered.

“Indeed...” Michael replied with an indescribable expression.

There was a clear power difference in their conversation, but that was only natural; the seemingly young man was Micheal’s teacher and was actually over eighty years old, but he had used the forbidden Soul Eating technique to rejuvenate himself. That meant that his real strength was also...

“There! I found them!”

“They just keep on coming...”

About ten more knights had noticed something was unusual and were coming this way, but they posed no threat to the young man.

“Come, let death enthrall you.” The young man unsheathed and raised a sword even blacker than Michael’s.

That was all it took to end it. The knights turned their own bloodlust toward themselves and stabbed their throats with their own swords. This was a technique only possible because the young man had mastered both the profane sword and dark magic, and it was practically unbeatable.

“Now, shall we head to the Rin Kingdom?” he asked.

“Yes, sir,” Michael replied.

The two wielders of dark magic moved forward to achieve their ultimate goal, though it was a foolish and infantile one. They were on their way to the home of those who could be referred to as their “polar opposites.”

Meanwhile, in the capital of the Rin Kingdom, the country in which Ferd and the others were located...

Although this was a powerful nation, it had almost been destroyed during the great war. Therefore, the kingdom respected both the martial and the literary arts, and valued ability regardless of social status or origin, making use of all sorts of talented people, which had resulted in a miraculous recovery for the country. That was why its knights honed their skills day and night. The knights of the capital in particular were the cream of the crop, well-versed in the swordsmanship, spearmanship, horsemanship, and hand-to-hand combat of course, but also in magic and pharmacology.

One such knight was gripping his sword above his head while his colleagues watched attentively. Ever since the great war, demons who possessed higher combat prowess than humans—also known as monsters—had been the knights’ greatest potential enemy. For that reason, many people took an overhead sword stance to emphasize the power of a single strike.

The knight was up against a man in his sixties. Although his hair was noticeably white and his face was wrinkled, he was muscular and looked like a veteran. This man was Clovis, a warrior world-famous as the founder of the Clovis School, and thus he was a fitting person to have been invited by the powerful Rin Kingdom as a swordsmanship instructor.

He has no openings! Sweat dripped down the knight’s brow. To the average passerby, Clovis had simply pointed the tip of his blade to the ground without taking any sort of specific stance. However, the trained observer would’ve noticed the distance created by the veteran’s seemingly innocuous act. If his opponent took a single step forward, it would be the end for them.

What is this?! thought one knight.

What’s going on?! thought another.

His pressure vanished?! thought a third.

Not only was Clovis within distance of certain death, but the psychological pressure he was exerting suddenly disappeared, leaving the knights perplexed.

I can’t feel any threat at all! Why is such a powerful man doing this?! What sort of strategy is it?! The knight fighting Clovis was especially confused, his mind in complete chaos.

But then, Clovis emitted an explosive aura, making the knight instinctively put himself on guard. It was only a reflex caused by sensing threat, which created a momentary discrepancy between the knight’s body and mind, but that one moment was more than enough for Clovis. He moved in a relaxed manner, the complete opposite of the fiery aura he gave off, once again unnerving the knight, and drew closer as if to enter the gap in the knight’s consciousness.

“Rah!” The knight’s shout was filled with strength as he swung down his wooden sword to intercept the attack, but a sword could only strike true when the wielder’s mind, technique, and body were one. Half-hearted strength was meaningless, and his wooden sword cut through air in vain. Instead, Clovis’s sword rested right at the base of the knight’s neck. “I-I admit defeat...” Sweat poured from every pore in the knight’s body; if this had been a real sword, his carotid artery would have been severed.

“The demonstration is over. Just emitting your aura like this can become a powerful weapon. This goes without saying, but it’s dangerous to assume that the strong emit a strong aura and the weak emit a weak aura. You will only be taken advantage of if you think like that. Mimicry, deception, and disguise are common in nature as well as in people, so don’t be fooled by appearances and intimidation.” Clovis, who had toyed with the knight using only the strength of intimidation, taught the knights a simple lesson about being a warrior.

Even though it was a simple technique, Clovis emitted an aura so powerful it could make even the best knights cower, and there were very few who could completely block it, making it a challenging experience. And because these knights were elites, it was sometimes necessary for them to deal with masters who used intricate techniques, so having Clovis demonstrate one was extremely meaningful.

“Today’s demonstrations are over. I will be returning to the town of Lianard soon, but make sure to keep up with your training,” Clovis said.

“Th-Thank you very much, sir!”

Clovis kept knocking the knights around for a while. After his job was over and the gasping knights saw him off, he was approached by the captain of the knights.

“That was magnificent, Sir Clovis.”

“Oh please, I still have a long way to go compared to my teacher, or those who studied under him before me.”

He’s being modest again...

The knights had the utmost respect for Clovis as a warrior, but they questioned his tendency to be extremely humble. The knights serving at the royal palace of the Rin Kingdom were the best of the best; any single one of them could face even five of another nation’s knights at once. If Clovis, who took no notice of them, humbly claimed to be inferior to his senior disciples and his surely elderly teacher, the knights would lose face.

“May I have a moment of your time, instructor?” A middle-aged man cut in front of the captain and called out to Clovis, his glasses glinting as he pushed them up his nose.

“What seems to be the matter?” Clovis grimaced inwardly. Though he was acquainted with the man, he had no plans to meet with him today, and in the capital, unscheduled meetings were all but guaranteed to lead to trouble.

Meanwhile, in the town of Lianard—before Ferd and Elrica’s arrival—a particular old coot was drunk.

“Weee...”

“That old man is wasted again.”

“Yeah. He’s apparently been like that since before my father was born.”

A group of men were gathered in a back alley, whispering as they glanced down at an old man, Sazaki, who was sprawled on the ground with an empty wine bottle in one hand. He’d been a fixture in the town—the homeless man who could be found lying around here or there with a bottle of alcohol in hand—since before many of the townspeople had even been born. The residents of Lianard were good at holding their liquor and were unlikely to completely ruin themselves like this, so it was quite unusual to see someone with a drinking problem so severe that he couldn’t even keep a roof over his own head.

“But where does he find the money to keep buying booze?”

“I’ve wondered the same.”

One thing had remained a mystery for years now, unsolved to this very day: How did Sazaki, the homeless, afford all of his alcohol?

“Well, whatever. Let’s go.”

“Yeah.”

The men observing Sazaki left.

Depending on the location, a homeless drunkard could be killed by ruffians, but fortunately, Sazaki, horizontal with a bottle in hand, was an everyday sight for the townspeople, so barely anyone paid attention to him. That being said, there were still exceptions.

“Ugh, this guy reeks!” A boy of roughly twelve years old with a wooden sword at his waist and conspicuously red hair—looking like quite the rascal—glared at Sazaki with an obvious frown.

“Hic. Is that little Carl I hear?” Sazaki responded drowsily, cracking his eyes open in annoyance, his black pupils reflecting the light.

“I’ve been wondering for a while, but which is more important to you: alcohol or the sword?”

“Hic. Booze, obviously.”

“You have a sword at your waist, so aren’t you a swordsman, old man?!”

“When you get to my level, even a stick’s fine. Whee...”

Carl was one of the few people who actually talked to Sazaki, but a boy rife with common sense and a homeless old man who never let go of his drinks made quite the unbalanced pair.

“If you can do just fine with even a stick, wouldn’t you have a better life if you sold that sword? Is it dull or something?”

“Bwa ha ha ha ha! No one would buy a cursed blade that would fly right into the neck of an owner it didn’t like!”

“So it’s a profane sword!”

“Hiccup. Listen well, kiddo. This is an Eastern weapon called a katana. So it falls under bewitched swords, not magic ones.”

“That still doesn’t change the fact that it’s dangerous!”

“You’re pretty smart.”

“So you’re making fun of me now?!”

“Bwa ha ha ha ha!”

Carl noticed an unusual sword—a katana—at Sazaki’s waist, and was suggesting that Sazaki would be able to live a little better by selling it. Although he yelled at Sazaki when the old man talked about the dangers of the katana, Carl didn’t believe his story at all. The owner of such a cursed sword was guaranteed a death from insanity, which didn’t fit at all with the image of a homeless man lying down with a bottle of alcohol in hand.

“Why do you even have that in the first place?”

“It’s kinda like a memento of a powerful old enemy, but also someone who’s sort of a friend. While I said booze is important to me, I can’t seem to throw this thing away either. Nah, booze really is number one in the end.”

“That was on the verge of sounding like a nice story, but you had to ruin it by going on about alcohol again, you old fart!”

“I just wanna point out that I ain’t fed up with my life and turning to booze for an escape. I’ve loved drinking since I was young.”

“I didn’t ask, but also that sounds awful!” The kindhearted Carl still showed interest in Sazaki’s story, but the fact that the old man wouldn’t distance himself from alcohol made Carl’s blood pressure rise. “Enough about the booze. Look at how far my sword skills are coming! Hmph! Hmph!” Carl realized that they weren’t getting anywhere, so he focused on the wooden sword in his hands and started swinging it up and down.

“Amazing.” Sazaki gave a curt one-word response.

“Take a proper look, you damn geezer!” Carl’s blood pressure rose more and more.

The sight would have made sense to any onlooker that knew that Carl had demanded that Sazaki teach him the way of the sword. The infamous drunkard seemingly had nothing but time on his hands anyway.

“Hold on, now. How did you know I wasn’t looking at you, when you were turned away from me and focusing on the tip of your sword?”

“Huh? Well...I just kind of did?”

“At your age, being able to swing a sword that well and still notice your surroundings is plenty impressive.”

“Is that so?”

“Yup, yup.”

Sazaki was mostly focused on trying to drain the last drops of alcohol from the bottom of the bottle, but Carl was somehow fooled into thinking he was being praised.

“Tell me again why it is that you want to swing your sword so earnestly,” Sazaki said.

“What, again?”

“Come on, just say it.”

“All right. Because I have a younger brother and sister, so I want to be a reliable older brother. That’s enough, right? I’ve already told you many times.”

“Don’t forget that goal.”

“Of course I won’t. That’s why I need to start training under the Clovis School!”

“Well, do your best.”

Every time Carl met with Sazaki, Carl had been forced to tell him the reason he swung his sword. He spoke his piece again today, picturing the faces of his younger brother and sister. He was also eager to request to study under the Clovis School, one of the most famous swordsmanship schools in the world and an influential institution in this town.

“Anyway, looks like you haven’t neglected your running and your fundamentals training,” Sazaki said.

“I won’t get stronger by slacking off.”

“Hmm. If only all the youngsters in the world were as diligent as you.”

“Are you perhaps complimenting me?”

“Is that how it sounds to you?”

“You dumb geezer!”

“Gwah ha ha!”

Even though Sazaki had praised Carl for not neglecting the running, practice-swinging, and posture training assigned to him, the boy still had insults to hurl.

“Well, I guess I’ve got a little time for you today.”

“Really?! Then teach me a sure-kill move or something!”

“Don’t be silly. Just swinging your sword down is guaranteed to kill.”

“I-I see!”

The alley echoed with the noisy chatter of the strange teacher-student pair for a while.

“See you, geezer! Don’t kick the bucket yet!”

“I might die if I run out of booze.”

“Yeah, whatever!”

After a while, Carl left, still as boisterous as ever.

“Dear me. Did you just call him amazing?” As soon as Carl left, an old man in his sixties appeared from the shadows of the alley. Despite his age, he was muscular, and together with the sword at his waist, anyone could tell he was a seasoned veteran.

“Oh, you’re back? I mean, compared to how I was as a kid, he’s just an ant.”

“Ha ha. Holding him to your standards would be all kinds of unfair.” The respectable old man smiled awkwardly as he approached Sazaki, who’d completely finished his drink.

“He’d have a bright future with you. Let him train with someone suitable, and if the boy shows promise, take him to your dojo.”

“How about you, then?”

“Maybe if I had another twenty or so years in me. But with only ten years left, it’s not quite enough.”

“Very well. Your fellow pupils will probably complain, though.”

“I told you your place is good enough, so it’s all fine. Helps that your teachings are based on the Sazaki School, though.”

“I see. I suppose I’ll take on your final disciple, then.”

“Thanks.”

“On another note, someone apparently stole from a neighboring country’s enhancement drug stockpile. The perpetrator might be coming to this town soon too. Rumors say his name is Michael and he fights with a unique assassination-based sword style.”

“Huh? Those drugs after all this time? It’s been, what, twenty years?”

“I would say so.”

“Man, what a mess. I know you think the drugs are hidden somewhere, but I can’t tell you for sure either. Seems that the alchemists back then carefully erased all records, and the real thing hasn’t been seen since then.”

“Good grief. Please be careful just in case.”

“Sure. Oh yeah, do you have any good hooch?”

“Actually, we should be getting some in from the capital soon. I don’t drink much, so I’ll give you some as soon as it arrives.”

“Yippee! Thanks!”

“I’ll see you next time, teacher.”

“Right.”

No one was aware of this strange meeting.

A few days later, a flustered Carl ran around town.

“Hey, geezer, listen to thiiis!”

“Shadduuup!” Sazaki, who was lying down in an alley as usual, jumped to his feet at Carl’s shouting.

“Yesterday, someone from the Clovis School invited me to go visit their dojo!”

“Good for you. I had nothing left to teach you, so that’s honestly a relief.”

“Huh? Really?”

“I misspoke. I’m relieved because teaching you was honestly a pain,” Sazaki corrected himself, deliberately making his words sound horrible.

“Give me back what little bit of emotion I felt for you!” Carl shouted, his face crimson.

“Still, I’m happy for you.”

“R-Right!”

“So, did you already go for the visit?”

“I did! They also asked me if I’d like to join the school, so I’m going again tomorrow to do that!”

“Do your best, then. There are a lot of people there, so don’t get lost among them. Oh, and cooperate with the others,” Sazaki said, congratulating and encouraging the boy.

“Yeah!” Carl nodded.

Because the Clovis School was so well-known, its doors open to all, many people joined. However, only a handful of people made it to the top, so significant effort was necessary to make it there.

“And, well, you see... During my practice swings at the dojo, I was praised for having good muscles. Thank you.”

“Hmm. Well, you know, I can say at least that you have fully mastered just the fundamentals.”

“I’m not sure that counts as mastery, but thanks! See you later!”

“Bye.”

After thanking his strange teacher, Carl got embarrassed and left with a parting remark, but thankfully, he wasn’t the kind of boy who would be out and about some hours later wandering the night. At night, Lianard was just like any other town of alcohol, filled with bars in every corner, where the merriment never stopped.

But there were dangerous rumors in this bustling town. It was said that the enhancement drug that had been used for a time during the great war—but which was eventually wiped out of existence—still existed, and that an improved version was currently hidden somewhere. It was only a rumor in the end, but unfortunately, these kinds of rumors never disappeared, and if someone denied them, it was in people’s nature to become even more suspicious. And those who sought strength would sometimes stray from the right path and pursue heresy.

If the drug does exist, would it be in the lord’s castle?

Michael, who’d snuck into the city under cover of darkness, was one such person. He’d caused an uproar in a neighboring country searching for a similar enhancement drug, but that drug hadn’t been nearly up to his standards, so he’d come to Lianard, which had been a major production center for medicine during the great war.

I need to be careful of Clovis and his lot.

One of the reasons Michael believed that the enhancement drug was in Lianard was because a large Clovis School dojo was located there. However, he had things backward. The fact of the matter is that it was because of men like Michael that the school was so popular.

I don’t think I’d come up short against even the school’s best students, but when it comes to Clovis himself... Michael could judge himself objectively. The people at the top of the Clovis School were all freaks of nature, and Clovis himself was famous as one of the best in the world of martial arts. The corpses of all the monsters he’d cut down were proof of this. There was a good chance Michael wasn’t at his level, which was why he wanted to avoid coming into contact with the man, but...

Perhaps it was a prank from the gods, but something unbelievable happened. By sheer coincidence, Clovis was walking completely alone at night down a deserted alley to deliver an item, something he was typically highly unlikely to be doing, given his position. And then, by an even crazier coincidence, Michael and Clovis happened to come across each other in that same alley.

This can’t be! Michael went pale the moment he saw Clovis’s face, which looked exactly like the sketch that circulated certain parts of the underworld. From Michael’s point of view, he could only assume that not only had Clovis predicted his actions, he’d also come to kill him alone without bringing along any small fry that might get in his way.

I’ll kill him first! Michael assumed that Clovis would have prepared a contingency for him running away, so he decided to kill Clovis first in order to get out of this desperate situation.

Could that be Michael?! Clovis was also confused. Since there was no sketch of Michael going around, Clovis couldn’t be absolutely certain, but since he was a master, he sensed the stench of blood from the man, so he suspected that the person before him might be the Michael he’d heard about.

In other words, since Michael was the one who knew for a fact that he was facing Clovis and had decided to kill him, he’d taken the initiative and had an overwhelming advantage. He drew his sword with a short exhalation and tried to stab his opponent, hoping to bring him down in the fastest way possible.

Clovis was clearly slower, if only by a moment, but...he moved his feet, knees, torso, elbows, arms, and even head with such momentum that it felt like every muscle in his body might be twisted off, drawing his sword. But instead of thrusting it, he raised it and swung it down, before Michael’s sword could react to his intent to kill and unleash its power, and before it could pierce his body.

“Argh?!” Michael couldn’t believe it. Even though he’d definitely taken the initiative and thrust his sword in a straight line to kill his opponent, the slower Clovis’s sword had severed Michael at the shoulder.

Clovis—whose muscles were now bulging across his entire body—and his fellow disciples of Sazaki had a creed: If you swung your sword downward, it was guaranteed to kill. Ultimately, both of them—Michael, as well as Clovis—had mastered the use of swordsmanship to take lives.

Magic tools and profane swords, supernatural abilities and authorities, and special abilities that were guaranteed to kill on the first try... In a world overflowing with such things, simply arresting someone was a lenience that could not be afforded. This was in no way an exaggeration, especially since there were plenty of people or tools that could still kill their enemy even if they were dismembered or unconscious. Which was why Clovis and his fellow disciples had been taught by their teacher that if they swung their sword down during a fight to the death, they had to do so to kill their opponent. And in order to faithfully adhere to that teaching, overwhelming speed was necessary.

Clovis silently looked down at the collapsed Michael.

Tch. I’d like to call him a disappointing apprentice, but...Clovis truly is impressive, isn’t he? Michael’s teacher, a seemingly young man, was also observing his disciple’s defeat from a faraway roof. I never expected his swordsmanship to be that fast. I don’t think I’d lose against him, but if I were to face him head-on, I might lag behind. Besides, I have nothing to gain by fighting over some drug I don’t even know exists for sure. I think I’ll retreat here. No, Michael wasn’t even a disciple to him—just a sacrificial pawn used to measure Clovis’s strength.

“I thought I’d picked up on someone who reeks of blood. You smell just like the guy using the secret Soul Eating art or whatever. I’ll warn you: I suggest you come quietly.”

The young man hadn’t noticed the man who’d now set his alcohol bottle down on the roof and started talking to him. Startled by the voice coming from behind him, he ignored the warning by drawing his sword. This deceptively young man, with his sword techniques acquired through years of diligent training, skills related to the Soul Eating magic, and a refusal to give up beaten into him by a harsh past, could certainly be classified as a master. But who cared about his techniques, skills, or history? None of that mattered at all at the scene of a murder. There was no need to know his name. There was no need to know his past. There was no need to go easy on him.

Speed left all of that behind.

“You drew your sword, huh?” Sazaki’s murmur was the only sound that could be heard.

He drew his sword.

There was a red flash.

He sheathed his sword.

He brought his alcohol bottle to his mouth.

He drank.

Silence.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Sazaki, the homeless, had once also been known as Sazaki, the Lightspeed Blademaster. The brilliance of his sword had yet to fade.

Ferd and Elrica’s visit to Lianard took place after those turbulent events. And now that the Blademaster and Hero were meeting again after such a long time, their conversation would shake the entire world.

“Y—”

“No.”

Or perhaps not. Sazaki the Blademaster had been about to say, “You of course brought me some hooch, right?” when Ferd immediately cut him off. The two of them had known each other since they were young and could be called best friends, but because of that, they didn’t hold back against each other.

“I’m—”

“No.”

Sazaki, the homeless, had been about to say “I’m sure you actually brought some expensive booze despite saying that, right?” when Elrica also cut him off. She’d also learned about the behaviors of a drunkard and how to deal with one during their old journey, so she didn’t hold back either.

“Actually, why did you two come down from the mountain?” And as Ferd and Elrica knew, once Sazaki got the topic of alcohol out of the way, he got straight down to business.

“’Cause our end is drawing near. We set off on a journey to see our son, grandchild, great-grandchild, and acquaintances. We came to you first since you’re the closest.” Perhaps influenced by his unchanging best friend, the elderly Ferd unconsciously explained in the same tone as his younger days.

“Man, that’s nice. Hmm? If I remember right, your son and his family live—”

“On the neighboring continent.”

“Good luck on the long journey, then. You know, I actually only have about a decade left too.”

“I’m surprised you haven’t drunk yourself to death. Right, Elrica?”

“I wholeheartedly agree.”

“Bwa ha ha ha ha! As if I could die from drinking too much!”

In contrast to the laughing Sazaki, Ferd and Elrica looked truly exasperated. Even back during their harsh journey, Sazaki had been constantly drinking. He’d consumed such massive quantities of alcohol that, logically speaking, his body should have broken down; he shouldn’t still be alive.

“All right. How about I join you on that journey of yours?” Sazaki said.

“What? Well... What should we do, Elrica?”

“I don’t mind.”

“In that case, let’s go on a journey together. It’s been a while,” Ferd said.

“It’s decided, then. Let’s add Elrica and reform the Shining Stars after eighty long years,” Sazaki replied.

Sazaki’s sudden declaration made Ferd’s wrinkles and cheeks twitch, and he felt like shoving an alcohol bottle right into his close friend’s mouth. It wasn’t because he said he wanted to accompany them on their journey. Both Ferd and Elrica were happy that their journey to meet their friends would also be one with an old party member. However, “Shining Stars” was the name of the team Ferd and Sazaki had formed when they’d just started out as warriors. Elrica asked her husband the meaning of the unknown name with her gaze, since it was a youthful fancy he’d kept hidden from her.

“So, who’re you going to meet next?” Sazaki asked.

“Lara,” Ferd replied.

“Ah...” Sazaki has been full of smiles, but the moment he heard that name, he got a strange, defeated expression and scratched the back of his head. “Seems like my journey ends here. I wish you luck.” Sazaki shook his head and suddenly returned to a bright expression.

“What are you talking about? You haven’t taken a single step yet,” Elrica interjected with a glare.

“You’ve met her for some reason or another, right?” Ferd asked.

“Well, yeah, but...” Sazaki scratched his head again in response. The woman called Lara was the cause of his evasiveness. “I’ve set things up so when I die, my inheritance will go to Lara and our son. And you know, I was trying to show off, so I feel embarrassed now.” Sazaki hung his head, wondering what to do.

“Ah, I see.” Ferd had an indescribable expression.

Lara was Sazaki’s wife and they even had a child together, but their relationship had maintained a reasonable distance for seventy years now. Sazaki seemed to be embarrassed because he’d arranged for what few belongings he had to be sent to her after his death, so he was worried about how he’d face her now.

“Well...I had been thinking about going to see Lara soon, so this is perfect timing. I think I’ll go get ready for the journey, then. I need to tell my disciples too.” Though worried, in the end Sazaki chose to join them on their journey and leisurely stood up. The Blademaster had been sitting on the ground with a bottle of alcohol in one hand this entire time.

“Huh?!” Carl, the rookie swordsman who’d just started at the Clovis School, was looking at something truly unbelievable.

“Oh, you’re here, greenhorn Carl.” Sazaki, the homeless, was actually walking on his own two feet.

“Has the alcohol finally broken your head?!”

“Everyone always says something like that whenever they see me just walking around normally.”

Carl had just shouted something incredibly rude, but most people who knew Sazaki would have the same reaction. Sazaki had actually had conversations like this many times, going back years. When he’d abstained from alcohol for a time during the great war, there had been an uproar, with people assuming that humanity had finally lost and that the end of the world had come.

“I’ve decided to head out on a journey for a bit. Okay, now you’ve been informed.”

“Wait a second! I’ll go get you a drink right away, so don’t die before then!” Apparently, Sazaki’s sudden declaration made Carl believe that Sazaki wasn’t acting weird because of too much alcohol, but rather because of a lack of it.

“Listen here, greenhorn. I decided to go see my friends and acquaintances. I might be going pretty far, so I won’t be back for three years or so.”

“What?!”

Normally, Sazaki would just laugh and tell Carl to hurry up and go buy him the drink, but strangely enough, he told the boy his plans with a straight face. But Carl couldn’t help but be surprised that this homeless old man had suddenly said he was going on a journey, and that he wouldn’t be back for another three years, no less.

“You’ll just die right away!”

“Moron. You think someone who’s been lying around town all year round would die just from going on a trip?”

“Well...I guess you have a point.” Carl was trying to bring Sazaki back to his senses, but now that Sazaki mentioned it, Carl remembered that the old man was in incredibly good health, except when he was drunk, at least. “But why so suddenly?”

“Well, I won’t die from going on a journey, but now that I’m an old man, there are a lot of people I’d like to see one last time.”

“Right, I suppose that’s true for the elderly...” Carl was convinced once he heard the reason behind Sazaki’s journey, since he was talking like a proper elderly person, but he was a bit lost for words. Carl was still a boy, so he felt lonely at the sudden departure of Sazaki, who’d helped him out in all kinds of ways.

“Relax, I’ve decided that I’ll die surrounded by the alcohol here, so I’ll be back.”

“Shouldn’t you choose to be with your grandchild or something?!”

Sazaki was such a hopeless drunk that he knocked Carl’s loneliness away in the most unexpected of ways.

“So, I’m leaving town. Don’t forget why you’re trying to get stronger.”

“I get it already! I’ll become a reliable brother for my younger siblings! That’s fine, right?!”

“Yeah, it is.”

“Don’t drop dead during your journey, old maaan!”

“Who do you think you’re talking to, little greenhorn?”

After doing nothing more than one-sidedly informing Carl of his plans, Sazaki turned on his heel and left, grinning at the boy’s jeering goodbye. The boisterous boy and the hopeless drunkard of an old man—melancholy didn’t suit this strange teacher-student pair, nor would it have suited their farewell.

However, Sazaki had one more disciple in this town.

“Oooooh!”

“Haaaaah!”

The violent shouts of men training with wooden swords roared throughout the Clovis School dojo. The dojo covered a large area, with both the inside and outside of the wooden building being used as training grounds, suggesting that the school was getting preferential treatment from the town’s lord.

A great man sat far inside the building. His muscles toned despite his over sixty years of age, this man was the teacher of all the others, who trained here so diligently. He was Clovis, a man who had kept cutting and cutting. He’d been apparently busy the past few days, often leaving the best students in charge of the dojo and visiting the lord’s mansion. According to rumors, he’d captured and killed some criminals, earning praise for his great actions.

He really is incredible. He keeps saying that he’s inferior to his teacher and his fellow pupils, but he must be being humble. One of the students, a really skilled one for his age, shuddered at the fierce majesty Clovis exuded despite just sitting there.

A lot of mystery surrounded Clovis. Although he stated that there were others more skilled than him, no one knew anything about those alleged people, so most just assumed that he was being humble. And yet, his words were the truth. Clovis was weaker than his teacher and fellow disciples, even some of the more junior ones. However, he was the most successful of them all in the eyes of the public.

“Focus.”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

He rebuked a young man whose mind seemed to be wandering during training. Clovis had many students across the world and could spot the ones who weren’t concentrating even in the middle of tens of people practicing fervently. It was thanks to his excellent leadership and observation skills that he could pass on his techniques properly. Considering that some of his fellow disciples had left their teacher and created their own schools but were having trouble passing their techniques on to their successors, Clovis’s talent was hard to come by. Many people believed that the teacher who’d trained Clovis had to be a respectable person, but...he was actually just a homeless man known as the Blademaster.

Clovis had also been busy the past few days taking care of Carl, his newest junior disciple, and dealing with the aftermath of the incident with the profane sword users. It was unusual for his teacher, Sazaki, to be visiting his dojo during a busy night, but the bigger problem was the people accompanying him.

O-Oh no, oh shit... Clovis, a great man of advanced age, muttered in his mind with the same type of language he’d used in his youth.

“We apologize for suddenly intruding unannounced.”

“N-No need to apologize! Please make yourselves at home!” The reason Clovis, who hadn’t even been nervous when he’d worked as a swordsmanship instructor in the royal palace, was frozen in place lay with the old man and woman bowing apologetically to him.

My teacher has a very limited number of friends!

Sazaki had visited Clovis uninvited and asked him to hand over various items he’d left with him because Sazaki was going on a journey with his friends. Although Sazaki looked like nothing but a homeless man at a glance, Clovis knew that he’d once been part of the great Hero’s party. That was why, when Sazaki introduced these two as his friends, their status flashed into Clovis’s mind.

“Hey, you’re treating them much differently than you treat me,” Sazaki teased the nervous Clovis.

“Think about it objectively. Do you think you need to be modest when dealing with a drunkard lying down in an alley with a bottle of alcohol in his hand?” Ferd immediately quipped.

“Well, that person understands the principles of alcohol, so he should be respected.”

“Maybe a drunk fool’s principles.”

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. He called my teacher a drunken fool! Not that he’s wrong. Clovis shuddered at Ferd’s behavior and thought he was being too unreserved.

“In any case, Eastern clothes, huh? I haven’t seen these in a while.” Ferd cut the small talk and looked at Sazaki’s outfit fondly with nostalgia.

“Right? I haven’t worn these in ages either.”

Sazaki was wearing a somewhat unique getup. His outfit consisted of a raincoat, gauntlets, close-fitting trousers, leggings, tabi socks, and straw sandals. Although these clothes were very unusual in this region, there was more interaction with the Eastern countries now compared to when Sazaki and the others were young, so while his clothes had once been considered eccentric, they were now just seen as foreign clothing that people came across occasionally. Sazaki had left all of these items in Clovis’s care, but they were all fully custom-made and boasted the highest defense against both physical and magical attacks. Together with the bewitched sword at his waist, they were probably valuable enough to construct an entire castle.

“Since we’re at a dojo anyway, how about we have a go, for old times’ sake?” Sazaki grinned and shook his sword while looking at Ferd.

I-I get to waaaaatch?! What?! Is it all right for me to be the only one seeing this?! If my fellow pupils learned about this, they’d have my head! Clovis instinctively covered his mouth with his hands to hold back a childlike squeal.

A match between the legendary Blademaster and another legendary figure—if Clovis’s guess was correct—was an event so major that powerful warriors across the entire world would kill to witness it. However, there was one problem with that.

“Everything around us would get blown to bits,” Ferd replied with exasperation.

“Right, I suppose so.”

“Oh, well...” Clovis certainly did not want his dojo to be destroyed and quickly regained his composure. He knew the absurd reach Sazaki’s sword had, so he was well aware that what Ferd had said was very much possible.

“Okay then. Thanks for everything, Clovis. If you learn anything more about that mysterious profane sword wielder, let me know through Lara,” Sazaki said.

“Very well. Although I’ve already informed the Rin Kingdom.”

“That’s probably gonna take some time.”

“What’s that about a profane sword wielder?” Ferd asked in confusion about what Sazaki had mentioned as he was saying his goodbyes.

“Two profane sword wielders attacked Clovis and me. Clovis took care of some well-known guy called Michael or whatever, but we have no idea who the one I killed was. Still, that’s common in the way of the sword. You might kill or get killed by a skilled guy you know nothing about.”

“Hmm.” Ferd didn’t suggest anything foolish like arresting and questioning that man. Since magic and special abilities existed, this wasn’t a world where you could simply disarm an opponent, capture them, and interrogate them, no matter how inferior they were. Since that mysterious man possessed several unknown abilities that could easily kill a person, a duel with him could only end with one party’s death.

“’Kay, so I’ll be spending the night at the same inn as them, so I’ll see you again in a few years. Take care of that greenhorn Carl for me,” Sazaki said.

“Yes, teacher.”

Sazaki picked up everything he’d left with Clovis and entrusted Carl—the boy he’d been looking after for the past few years—to Clovis, a man with supreme leadership skills. If possible, Sazaki would have liked to continue instructing Carl until the end, but when he took the time he had left into account, he would most definitely stop halfway, so he had no choice but to entrust the boy to a trusted disciple instead.

“I pray that the weather is kind on your journey.”

“You really get it, huh?” Sazaki grinned at the way Clovis didn’t wish him safe travels, but fair weather. This was going to be a journey with the old Hero, Saint, and Blademaster all together. It would be far from peaceful, but there was no one who could endanger their safety either. However, Ferd and Sazaki’s relationship didn’t need any formal titles; they were just two inseparable partners in crime.

“Hey, Ferd, how long has it been since we last rode in a carriage together? I can’t recall the last time.”

“I haven’t the foggiest idea.”

“I remember being blown away the first time we rode one...”

“I was so excited to see the horses up close.”

“Bwa ha ha! But before we could be excited, we had to get over our shock at those strange, four-legged creatures!”

“Ha ha. Indeed. When I learned how much they cost and the labor involved, I figured that only nobles could afford them.”

As they left town, Sazaki looked somewhere far into the distance, and Ferd nodded along as he reminisced. The two of them had been born in a rural area, so they’d never encountered horses, which were luxury animals. As such, the first time they ever saw one, they’d shuddered, wondering what kind of creature it was. And once they’d learned how much it cost to purchase and maintain one, they were further dumbfounded.

“And when Elrica—”

“Please stop it, honey.”

“Ha ha ha.”

The fond memories stimulated Ferd’s brain, but as he was about to mention what had happened the first time Elrica had seen a horse, she stopped him, her cheeks a faint red.

After all, her first words were “Is it tasty?”

No wonder she didn’t want that story mentioned. Ferd recalled a young Elrica closely observing a horse for the first time, then asking about its flavor. Naturally, now that she’d grown old, Elrica found her reaction back then to be a bit extreme, which was why she’d stopped Ferd from broaching the subject.

I suppose I won’t talk about the time Elrica mixed up sugar and salt either. Let’s call it a warrior’s mercy. As Sazaki looked at the playful couple, he decided to keep Elrica’s blunder to himself. Because of her circumstances, she had once been so sheltered that she had mistaken sugar for salt. Had Sazaki not noticed in time, dinner that night would have been an absolute nightmare. But that was well in the past. Now, she was an old woman who had successfully raised a child.

Man, this takes me back. Sazaki looked back on the past with fondness. Since there were other customers in the carriage, for once he was not drinking. During the Great Demon War, Sazaki and his friends would travel from place to place to fight, so their carriage was like a second home.

That horse did a fantastic job too. Sazaki didn’t actually drink, but he raised his alcohol bottle to the fine horse that had once pulled their carriage, and which had been praised as the best horse of its time. But even the best horse in the world couldn’t fight against the passage of time, and that animal Sazaki and the rest called a comrade in arms was no longer in this world. And it wasn’t just the horse. In the seventy years that had passed since the end of the war, a lot of people had died, and with the exception of long-lived races such as elves, most of the generation involved in the great war had already passed away. Sazaki and the others, who had been young at the time, and those born a little later after them would be the last generations who recalled the war. Once they were dead, the great war that had split the entire world would be relegated to the pages of history.

It sure is peaceful. Everything Sazaki saw around him was tranquil. A young man yawning. A woman gazing at the scenery. An elderly couple who looked like they were on their way to meet relatives, just like Ferd and Elrica were. This was the peace that Sazaki and his friends had won.

The sky had grown rotten and collapsed on itself. The earth had burned. People were dying out. The natural order had come undone. And darkness had descended. Those days had been governed by fear and despair. It was an apocalypse no one would possibly forget.

“But, so what?!”

All until Ferd—the small, frail old man with a smile plastered onto his wrinkled face, who was sitting right in front of Sazaki—had risen to the occasion.

I know he’s my friend, but he’s one crazy guy. Who else could have been so confident that they could do something to fix the situation? Most people would say those were the ramblings of a madman.

Sazaki had only been a child at the time, but he still remembered it vividly. Mankind’s living space had shrunk in an instant, and the sky had turned red. It was a time of absolute chaos, when champions, sages, military masterminds, knights, and even kings had been powerless to do anything. During those uncertain times, a single boy had raised his sword to the sky and declared that he would do something about it. Those had undoubtedly been the nonsensical words of a naive child. Then, the boy grew into a young man, and just like he’d said, he did something about it. The sky became blue again. The blazing earth calmed down. He freed the people from certain demise, restored natural order, and tore the darkness apart.

Oh boy. I got myself involved with a real weirdo. Blind to his own shortcomings, Sazaki always saw Ferd as an oddball. All of their party members were eccentrics and oddballs, but in a sense, Sazaki was especially bizarre. With neither cause nor ambition, he’d accompanied his friends into the realm of darkness just because he’d felt like tagging along, and had even participated in the final battle. Gone straight to the land of death out of simple friendship—what would one call that if not bizarre?

Lara and the others had a sense of purpose when fighting... Oh maaan, I really have no idea how to face her... Sazaki thought about his allies, who, unlike him, had all fought in the great war with a clear objective in mind. Suddenly, he found himself at a complete loss about how to deal with the wife he was on his way to visit, after having already sent her his embarrassing last will. Although Sazaki was an easygoing person who spent all his days drunk on the ground, he had surprisingly normal worries. That was why, just as Ferd and Elrica had imagined, he was embarrassed that his will, which contained all kinds of memories and words of love, had been read by anyone while he was still alive.

Wh-Whatever. It will all work itself out! Sazaki was practically desperate as he thought about his wife Lara, but since their destination wasn’t that far, he didn’t have all that much time to prepare mentally.

“I can see Malgad now, Sazaki,” Ferd said.

“Great, I can drink now.”

“I guess so.”

After spending a few days rattling around inside the carriage, Ferd looked out at the town ahead of them, ignoring Sazaki, who was swinging his alcohol bottle back and forth. The place looked uncanny, with several large towers protruding from the massive castle walls and strange red and blue smoke rising all over the place, making some people hesitate to enter the town. This was Malgad, the Town of Magic. Just like the name implied, it was a town where mages gathered to conduct research day and night. This was where golems carriages had been invented.

“It feels like Malgad hasn’t changed at all.” The bizarre smoke brought back memories for Elrica, and she assumed that the town hadn’t changed.

“It hasn’t. It’s full of weirdos, the same as ever,” Sazaki said in affirmation.

Even back during the great war, Malgad had been a base for mages—a shady place where shady people constantly conducted shady research. In other words, both in the past and present, the general public believed that everything about this town was suspicious, and that it was likely to go up in flames at some point.

“We’re here!” the driver announced.

“Finally!” Sazaki jumped off the carriage, opened his alcohol bottle, brought it straight to his mouth, and poured the alcohol down his throat. “Man! Booze tastes as good as ever!”

“Shall we go in, honey?” Elrica suggested.

“Yes, dearest,” Ferd replied.

The two of them ignored Sazaki—who wasn’t addicted to alcohol, just an appreciator of it—and walked toward the town gate.

“It’s really crowded. Are those merchants?” Ferd wondered.

“They must be dealing in magic tools,” Elrica replied.

As the pair continued walking slowly, they spotted a group of people gathered in front of the gate. Although they seemed like commoners, they were well-built and well-dressed, so the old couple assumed they were probably merchants who’d come to sell magical products.

“I hope those don’t blow up on us on our way back out,” Sazaki muttered after having his fill of his drink.

“It’s not like we’re still at war or anything, so I doubt— Wait, we aren’t, are we?” Although Ferd denied the idea at first, he suddenly grew anxious as he thought of the past.

“Well, it’s probably gonna be fine. Probably.”

During the great war, the residents of this town had developed powerful magic tools, but there had also been frequent incidents that demonstrated their lack of understanding of the concepts of safety and reliability.

“Do you think they might be checking the people leaving for dangerous items?” Given how eccentric this town was, that sounded quite likely, so Ferd leaned out of the line to check.

“Out of the way, geezer!” a man in his thirties shouted at Ferd from behind.

“Whoops, my apologies.” Although Ferd apologized, he was puzzled if he’d really been that much of a nuisance, since he was pretty far from the man.

“I’m a Progressive. Let me through.” The man ignored the line and continued walking until he reached the gate, where he arrogantly gave only a few words of explanation, as if to say, “I don’t need to say more, do I?”

Mages were divided into six layers based on ability: Coastal, Surface, Middle, Progressive, Deep, and Hadal. The Coastal layer included all novice mages, the Surface layer referred to proper mages who’d finished their training, and the Middle layer were the veterans. The fact that one was considered a veteran after reaching the Middle layer showed just how steep the path of magic was. The Progressive layer was synonymous with the most elite mages, the Deep layer consisted of only a handful of geniuses that represented an entire era, and only a few people in history had ever reached the Hadal layer.

Taking all of that into account, the Deep layer was considered the absolute peak, with a few exceptions, and the Progressive layer was the one right behind it. Perhaps it was only natural that a man in only his thirties who’d already reached such a level would demand special treatment. In fact, in small countries, Progressive mages were considered a powerful military asset and were treated with respect wherever they went. However, this was the Town of Magic. While Progressive mages weren’t exactly a dime a dozen here, they weren’t rare enough to be at the top like they would in small nations.

“Is this your first time in this town? Rules are rules, so unless it’s an emergency, please get to the back of the line.” The gatekeeper knew that making exceptions to the rules without good reason would make things spiral out of control, so he’d told the man to wait his turn like everyone else.

“What was that?!” The man was so irritated by the gatekeeper’s reply that his face turned crimson. “You’re useless! Let me speak to an authority!” People of his ilk were fond of resorting to that special move. However, it bore repeating that this was Malgad, the Town of Magic. By using this “special move” he might as well be digging his own grave—no, an entire mausoleum.

“Now, now. It’s Malgad’s ideology that layer classifications are only superficial in the world of magic. Please be calm.” Unable to remain indifferent to this scene, an old man in his seventies who happened to be coming out of town pulled his hood back and tried to mediate.

“Get out of here, geezer!” Despite being a wielder of magic, the man showed neither reason nor intelligence and just shouted, his face still as red as ever. However, the gatekeepers had turned pale.

“My name is Aldrick, and I’m involved in Malgad’s administration. You asked for an authority earlier. I believe I qualify for the position.”

“So wha— Wh-What? What? What?” The man started screaming again at the old man who’d called himself Aldrick, but as his brain recognized the name, his face turned paler than anyone else’s, and he struggled to say anything coherent. “Th-That’s a lie.”

“No, not quite.”

The old man standing before the haughty younger man—who was hoping this was all a lie—was Aldrick the Incinerator. He was a great mage who’d reached the Deep layer—which was the realistic pinnacle of magic, excluding the exception that was the Hadal layer. And he was no ordinary Deep mage. He was powerful enough to be considered adjacent to the Hadal layer. Just like his title suggested, he specialized in unique fire magic, and he was rumored to be powerful enough to face even an ancient dragon’s breath head-on—which was something that could easily melt castle walls.

“D-Do you have any proof?”

“Will this do?”

The man continued his unsightly, vain struggle, but he was rendered speechless when rings of light with intricate patterns appeared on all five fingers of Aldrick’s right hand. The number of rings of light that appeared on a mage’s dominant hand were directly linked to their layer: one ring for Coastal, two for Surface, three for Middle, four for Progressive, and five for Deep. Even though the Progressive and Deep layers were only a single ring of light apart, it was imperative not to underestimate the difference between them. Each one ring required tremendous effort and talent to surpass, and the deeper one delved into the path of magic, the larger that difference became. Therefore, while the younger man was in the Progressive layer, there was an unbridgeable gap between him and the Deep layer Aldrick was part of.

“I-I, um, i-i-if you’ll excuse me.” Now that the man had been presented with the proof that the one he’d been talking to was clearly above him, and a semilegendary figure no less, he muttered a few numb words and quickly left the line.

I wish they’d make a special entrance and exit for people like him. This makes me nervous... One of the gatekeepers was feeling nervous about Aldrick lining up like normal when he was someone deserving of special treatment, and wished his superior would act more according to his status. But unfortunately, what Aldrick had said about a mage’s layer being considered a purely decorative title in Malgad was true, so even he had to abide by the ideology that had continued for centuries.

Aldrick watched the younger man leave, then noticed an elderly couple standing still like plants, making him doubt whether they were even still alive, along with another hopeless old man nonchalantly drinking alcohol at the end of the line...

“Let—” He somehow managed to stop himself from yelling at the gatekeepers to let these elders through immediately, but sweat started pouring down his entire body.

Wh-Why is Master Sazaki here?! Aldrick was absolutely astonished. And it’s not just him! Those two must be the great Hero and his wife! Aldrick was actually acquainted with not just Sazaki, but Ferd and Elrica too. But unlike Sazaki, who visited the town occasionally, Aldrick had only met Ferd and Elrica once during his youth. However, Aldrick’s mentor had told him that the old Hero was on a journey, and the people next to Sazaki looked vaguely familiar, so he was confident that they were the Hero and his wife.

My mentor told me to leave them be if I ever saw them, but I can’t exactly... No, it would certainly be wrong of me to intrude on their private affairs... Aldrick understood that there was a difference in status between the people who’d literally saved the world and himself, and someone who’d distinguished himself in a relatively peaceful era, so he considered the tottering couple far above him.

I-I need an autograph— Wait, no! What am I thinking?! Aldrick was feeling dazed.

People currently in their seventies had been born during the time of the final battle between mortals and the Great Demon King, or after the Hero’s party had effectively disbanded, so their generation hadn’t been involved in the great war. However, since they’d grown up listening to the heroic saga of the Hero’s party, there were a great number of fans of the heroes among their generation.

Aldrick was one such fan, and as a kid, he’d played at being the Hero with a wooden sword and shield in hand. So now, a man in his seventies was currently staring at the frail, nearly-ninety-year-old couple with stars in his eyes, making for a somewhat bizarre scene. It bore mentioning that the Deep layer Aldrick belonged to was the highest level of mage in the present age, with certain exceptions, so he was guaranteed excellent treatment no matter which kingdom he went to. Moreover, he was a prestigious figure who even qualified to attend the Magic Council, an honor awarded to only select high-ranking mages from around the world.

If only it weren’t for my work! However, Aldrick had been called to said council, so he had no time to spare. Plus, the heroes seemed to be attempting to avoid attention, so he was hesitant to call out to them. As such, he ended up leaving for work, unable to make anything of the situation.

But let’s put Aldrick aside for the moment. Meanwhile...

“Ferd, Elrica, and that stupid husband of mine have arrived, huh?”

In a small grimoire store, a place only a select few could perceive, an old woman of tan complexion, who had once been utterly bewitching, narrowed her red-and-blue heterochromatic eyes as she muttered to herself with amusement. Inside her desk was a letter sent by her friends, informing her that they’d be dropping by to see her, as well as what was effectively a love letter from her husband, labeled as his last will and testament. She was Lara, the Witch who had once been part of the Hero’s party.

◆◆◆

Clovis, the swordsman.

A perfected individual or a conduit for inherited techniques? Opinions of which one is correct differ from warrior to warrior. At the very least, not a single one of Clovis’s fellow disciples looks down on him.

Carl, the one with potential.

Future. Potential. Oh, what wonderful words. But also so dreadful.

Sazaki, the Lightspeed Blademaster.

As he waved an empty alcohol bottle around, the young Sazaki came up with a truly childish hypothesis. If he could swing his sword faster than anyone else, wouldn’t that make him one of the strongest? As it turned out, he was right.

Chapter 3: The Witch of Annihilation

“Gosh, that drunkard husband of mine. Looks like the alcohol finally did his head in. When I asked his disciple, he said that his teacher was doing fine, yet he brought me his last will.”

Far in the back of a shop packed with old books, Lara—a tanned, wrinkled old woman with short hair of pure white, one eye red and one eye blue—muttered in exasperation. However, her mouth was unconsciously curled up into a smile. She’d already read Sazaki’s will—which had been written using a somewhat peculiar magic tool—numerous times. It didn’t just detail his inheritance and how to deal with the bewitched sword he carried at his wait, but also contained memories of their first meeting, the great war they’d fought in, the day of their wedding, the time they took down the Great Demon King, and the time their son was born. Finally, it ended with words of love.

“Hmph. Good grief.” Lara laughed scornfully, her lips still forming a smile. She knew that Sazaki kept a lot of things unspoken, but seeing it all put into words made an indescribable feeling rise inside her. “Not to mention I also got a letter from Ferd and Elrica.” Lara put away Sazaki’s letter and remembered the letter she’d received from her friends via familiar a few weeks ago, thinking how unusual it was that it had arrived at the same time as her husband’s letter.

“A final journey, huh?” As Lara thought back on the letter’s contents, her fingers started moving unconsciously and she cast some magic. “This sure takes me back.” A picture appeared out of thin air, depicting its subjects with such accuracy that it was almost like the past had been perfectly preserved on it. In the center, it showed Ferd in his younger days, smiling like a little brat, with Elrica snuggled up to him. Sazaki was shown on one edge of the picture, drinking from an alcohol bottle, and Lara was next to him with her arms folded. Their other comrades were also included. The people in this picture were humanity’s strongest, legendary group: the Hero’s party. However, it was also a gathering of misfits, eccentrics, and oddballs. For example, one of the people in the picture was a large, muscular man dressed in only a thin piece of cloth wrapped around his crotch, proudly showing off his muscles. Yes, they’d had a narcissistic exhibitionist in their ranks.

“All right, since they’re here, I’ll go pick them up.” Lara considered herself someone who’d been tossed around by this group of weirdos, and thought back to her party members’ eccentricities as she looked at a picture of them. She then looked up, stored the picture in a separate space, and left the store to deal with the matter at hand: meeting up with her husband and friends.

“This place is still the same. I don’t know if I should be feeling nostalgic, or wishing that things would actually change around here,” Ferd said.

“I agree, honey,” Elrica added.

As the pair entered Malgad, the Town of Magic, they were somewhat relieved to see that the scenery was just as they remembered it. However, there were shady groups of people clad in robes and hoods everywhere, so it was far from an ordinary sight.

This scene brought back memories from Ferd’s younger days.

“Come to think of it... I was almost scammed when I first came to this town. Some con man walked up to me claiming he had a sword with an invisible blade for sale. In reality, it was just a handle,” he said.

“Bwa ha ha ha ha! Man, that’s a blast from the past! And you’d have bought it if I didn’t stop you!” In contrast to the frown on Ferd’s face, Sazaki took his mouth off his alcohol bottle and burst out laughing.

“Yes, that did happen,” Elrica reminisced.

“We were in the Town of Magic, after all. I was impressed to see something like that for sale, but that guy was terrible. He was just toying with the pure heart of a youngster from the countryside.” The young Ferd, who’d very obviously been a bumpkin, had almost been tricked by one of Malgad’s swindlers, which was how he’d learned how harsh this town actually was. “I don’t know how to put this, considering I’m the one who wanted it, but wouldn’t an invisible blade be really convenient for an assassin? I’m surprised he was selling it so brazenly, even though it was a scam.” Still frowning, Ferd was astonished at how lackadaisical he’d been in his youth.

“I don’t know if it’s correct to call those the good old days,” Elrica concurred with an awkward smile.

“Well, a bunch of things were certainly messy during the great war,” Sazaki also agreed, a similar smile on his face.

During the great war, there had been many with questionable morals, and danger lurked around every corner. The present day had far more rules and regulations, and the crimes and dangers of the past had abated a fair bit.

“Soon, they’ll start saying that you can’t drink alcohol in public. Oh no, no, no.”

“You’d be better off that way.”

“I can’t hear you, la la la—”

“Hmm.”

“La-laaaaa...”

Sazaki was cracking jokes with Ferd, but as he was ending his sentence in a silly way, a faint voice reached his ears, causing his tongue to stop working properly.

“Lala? Seems like you’ve drunk so much you even forgot my name.” An old woman with a straight back appeared from the other side of a crowd. Lara grinned as she looked at her drunkard husband, who was gazing up at the sky.

“Oh! Lara! It’s been ages!”

“It really has been a while.”

“You two look as lively as ever, Ferd, Elrica.”

Ferd’s and Elrica’s wrinkles deepened into smiles, as they were both delighted to see their old friend again after so long. But behind them, Sazaki was still staring at the sky as he brought his bottle of alcohol to his mouth, trying to drain every last drop. However, his bottle was already empty, making his desperate efforts all for naught.

“Oooooh, it has been a while, hasn’t it, Mrs. Lara?” At a complete loss for what to do, Sazaki blinked repeatedly and slurred his words as he attempted to greet his wife.

“Indeed it has, Mr. Sazaki.”

Just what kind of letter did that Sazaki send? Ferd instinctively met Elrica’s gaze, seeing how flustered the normally sarcastic and carefree Sazaki was.

If Carl, the boy who could be called Sazaki’s final apprentice, was here, he’d have immediately shoved a bottle of alcohol into Sazaki’s mouth to try and bring him back to his senses. However, Sazaki and Lara’s son, who lived far away, had often witnessed scenes like this, so it could be that men just lived different lives when they were away from home.

“Come to the store. I have alcohol too.”

“Yippee! I’m truly grateful!” However, the moment Lara told Sazaki she had alcohol, he went back to normal and approached her with a spring in his step. He was pretty much dancing exactly to her tune.

“Then we’ll take you up on your offer,” Ferd said.

“Then if you’ll excuse us, Lara,” Elrica followed.

“Come on in. But I don’t have enough beds, so you’ll need to stay at an inn. I’ll be borrowing this husband of mine, though.”

As Ferd, Elrica, and Lara were talking, next to them, Sazaki’s steps became irregular.

“So, as it said in our letter, our ultimate destination is the neighboring continent,” Ferd said.

“We have to see our great-grandchild’s face, right, honey?” Elrica added.

“That’s right, dearest.”

After they entered Lara’s store, Ferd and Elrica gave her the outline of their plans, and they grinned from ear to ear in great anticipation of getting to see their great-grandchild.

“And I’m tagging along. Hic. Man, this drink’s good,” Sazaki said.

“Oh, I see.” He’s always been a good companion in strange ways. Lara brushed off Sazaki, who was in a good mood after getting a drink, and shrugged her shoulders at her husband, who’d always been motivated by friendship above all else, ever since he was young. “In that case...yes, I think I’ll join you too. I should at least meet my old comrades one last time.”

“Ooh! That’s great to hear!”

“Oh my.”

Lara had recently gotten nostalgic after looking at a picture of her old comrades, so she also thought it would be nice to see their faces one last time, and thus said she would join Ferd and the rest on their journey. Ferd and Elrica welcomed her with smiles different from the ones they had when thinking about their great-grandchild.

“All right, we’ll go choose an inn, then come back again later,” Ferd said.

“Sure. I’ll keep the shop open,” Lara replied.

Ferd and Elrica decided that the conversation would be lengthy, with their travel plans and everything, so they went to secure a place to stay for now, leaving Sazaki behind.

“I’m only going to say this once, but your ears aren’t damaged or anything, right?”

“N-No?” After Ferd and Elrica left him behind, Sazaki found himself in a frozen stupor as he went for another swig, but Lara’s words quickly snapped him out of it.

“Me too.”

Nothing she muttered made any sense. However, Sazaki suddenly remembered that his friends had just left...as well as the last sentence he’d jotted into that letter.

“O-Oh. Right. Yes.” This was the most he could reply with.

“Now then, we’re going shopping. We need to buy some alcohol to load into the carriage.” Lara got up like nothing happened and left the store.

“O-Oh yeah.” Sazaki followed after her, but his articulation remained awkward.

“Ah! It’s the old Witch!”

“Heh heh heh, I’m gonna boil and eat ya.”

“Waaah!”

As soon as Lara stepped outside, a local kid called out to her. Since she was good at playing along, she put on a terrifying smile and sent the kid on its way.

“I’m the drunk geezer lying on the ground. You’re the old Witch. We sure have grown old.” Sazaki had now pulled himself together and was back to cracking jokes.

“I used to be called the pretty Witch,” Lara replied with a grin.

“And I used to be called the drunken lad.”

They might have been a wrinkled elderly couple now, but they’d obviously been young once. The two of them headed to a liquor store straightaway.

“Oh, hi there. If it isn’t the old Witch and our store’s savior. It’s been a while, huh?” the burly shopkeeper greeted Lara.

Lara nodded. “Hmm. Now that you mention it, it has been quite a while. But I don’t know about calling this drunkard your savior.”

“What are you talking about, Lara? Drunks are the gods of liquor stores.”

“Well, whatever. It seems that lately, this ‘savior’ found something interesting in Lianard, because he hasn’t been back from there for a while,” Lara said.

“Yeah, I thought so. His presence or lack thereof has a big effect on our sales numbers,” the shopkeeper replied.

“I’d like to say that it shouldn’t make such a difference since he only buys the cheap stuff, but...” Lara started.

“It’s a different story when those cheap drinks pile up into an actual mountain,” the shopkeeper finished.

“Bwa ha ha ha ha!” Sazaki couldn’t say anything in response to his wife and the shopkeeper’s silly conversation, and just burst into laughter next to them.

“Come to think of it, do you not drink?” As the shopkeeper was picking out the usual alcohol, out of curiosity, he asked Lara if she drank.

“Only a little. You can guess what happens after you’ve been married to this man for over seventy years, right?” Lara wasn’t alone in this; all of her old comrades kept their distance from alcohol because of Sazaki’s constant drinking.

“Right... You’d probably feel like you’ve had enough alcohol just looking at him.”

“Precisely.”

“Here you go. Let’s see, your total is...this much. Come back again soon.”

“Oh no, we’re leaving town.”

“That’s pretty sudden. What’s the occasion?”

“Our honeymoon,” Lara said with a smile befitting the Witch—making Sazaki choke next to her—then left the store. “See you later.”

“Y-Yeah.”

“Oh, it’s the old Witch and the old man. I haven’t seen your husband in a while. Would you like to buy some vegetables?” a vegetable seller greeted Lara as she was walking through town.

“Yes, I would.”

Even though Lara hardly ever used magic in town, because she had mysterious, heterochromatic eyes, and often smiled cynically, people thought of her as the “Old Witch” and called her that.

“I’ve heard rumors that they’re making vegetables resistant to diseases. Is that also a mage’s job?” the shopkeeper asked Lara.

“No idea. It’s probably not just mages, but also alchemists, apothecaries, eccentrics, and all other kinds of people involved,” she replied.

“Oh, I see.”

The shopkeeper casually chatted with Lara. She’d lived in this town for decades and was surprisingly friendly, so most people didn’t hesitate to talk to her. Not that most of them were likely aware of her true strength.

Meanwhile, Ferd and Elrica were wandering around town.

“Where should we stay the night, dearest?”

“That’s a good question, honey.”

As Ferd and Elrica toddled through the town, they surveyed their surroundings with troubled expressions. Since everyone in this town, young and old, was dressed in robes and hoods, every inn looked like it might be a place for shady transactions, so they were worried over which one to choose.

It was then that a large man walked in Ferd and Elrica’s direction. He was so tall that the average man would have to look up at him, and his skin was green. His protruding belly and sagging skin made him appear obese, but he was actually a mass of highly dense muscles. This was a common trait among the race called orcs.

Ferd stared at the forehead of the orc—who was large both horizontally and vertically—digging through his memories and arriving at a question.

“A member of the Flame Vortex clan is here?” Ferd muttered unconsciously. If his memory served him right, the three vertical red lines on the orc’s forehead were the symbol of a militant orc clan called the Flame Vortex. However, the clan’s settlement was farther to the south, so it was unlikely to see one of its members around here. This orc was clearly a traveler of sorts living away from his clan, so there were none of his brethren nearby.

“You know my clan, mister?” The orc let out a low, growling sound. He wasn’t being threatening; most orcs just innately had powerful voices.

“Indeed. During the great war, I took part in the Battle of the Red Lake. There, I fought side by side with the Orc Alliance and became acquainted with the Flame Vortex clan. The bravery of Sir Gugan, the chieftain at the time, is still burned into my memory.”

“Really? Based on your age, I assumed you were probably a veteran of the great war, but to think you also participated in the Battle of the Red Lake.” The orc’s eyes showed clear respect once he heard Ferd’s explanation.

Orcs were a militant species who valued honor and sought to fight in a way that wouldn’t bring shame to the spirits of their forefathers, their ancestors, parents, children, and clan. The Red Lake—named so quite literally—was a sacred site for orcs and also where they could obtain the raw materials for the war paint that enhanced their physical abilities, and it was also treated as a base for strategic supplies. That was why the demon army had launched an attack on the Red Lake during the great war. As a result, an alliance formed between the orcs that had gathered from around the world to protect their sacred site, the races struggling to survive, and the Hero’s party, all in the name of fighting a deadly battle against the demons.

As a sidenote, orcs saw humans as a completely different species, so they didn’t view them in a sexual manner. Therefore, there was no trouble between men and women even if orcs were mixed into human fighting groups, and people who’d had painful experiences with their groups breaking apart often trusted orcs for their fighting strength and sense of values.

In short, orcs were generally considered extremely reliable people in this world.

“You too, miss?” the orc asked.

“Yes, I also participated in that battle,” Elrica replied.

“This might sound impolite, but may I shake your hands?” After learning that Elrica had also fought in the Battle of the Red Lake, the orc extended his hand for a handshake.

“Certainly, if you’re all right with someone like me,” Ferd said.

“Of course,” Elrica added.

The orc gently shook their wrinkled hands in turn. While he hadn’t been involved in the great war himself, for the orcs, who valued honor, the battle in which they’d fought to the death to protect their sacred site was an event they would continue teaching their descendants. Since this orc had also grown up listening to that story, he wanted to shake the hands of the people who’d fought back then.

“I will be off now.” After shaking their hands, the orc left as a dignified warrior.

It had been almost seventy years since the end of the great war. Although it was a time span of several generations, it wasn’t long enough for the ones who’d thrown themselves into battle to completely fade from people’s memories. The depth of the scars that the war had left made the achievements of the party that brought it to an end all the more impressive.

“Were you remembering the old days?” Elrica asked.

“Hmm? Yes, I was. Hearing that place’s name brought back memories of long ago.” Ferd came back to his senses as he was a bit absentmindedly thinking about the past.

“The same goes for me. I haven’t heard anyone mention the Red Lake in ages.”

It had, after all, been seventy whole years, to be exact. It was a time when their skins had still been unblemished and lacked any wrinkles, when they’d simply continued running ahead through their youths. It had been the springtime of their life, where they’d kept fighting again, and again, and again, and had finally won. However, since everything had been so bloody at the time, there were few memories suited for reminiscing, so they rarely spoke of the past.

“I imagine very few orcs from back then are still around,” Ferd said with a hint of sadness. While he hadn’t been that close with the orcs, the fact that the majority of his comrades were no longer around made him feel lonely.

“Yes. An orc’s lifespan apparently doesn’t differ that much from a human’s.”

“All right, this seems like a fine place.” Ferd shook off the gloom and picked out an inn for he and his wife to lodge at. However, their choice was as shady as any other, with hooded figures coming and going at all hours.

“That’s fine with me,” Elrica replied.

“Excuse me,” the two of them said as they entered.

“Welcome,” said a staffer.

Thank goodness. The employee isn’t wearing a hood, and this doesn’t look like some cult’s headquarters. The old couple was relieved to see that the employee at the front was wearing normal clothes, and the interior design was also ordinary.

“Is this your first time in this town, dear guests? Of course no innkeeper would be wearing a hood,” said the employee, who was apparently the innkeeper. He was a very ordinary, middle-aged man. He was apparently used to guests scrutinizing his appearance, so he spread his arms wide with a grin.

Ferd and Elrica could only chuckle awkwardly in response.

“Please write down your names here,” the innkeeper asked.

“Here you go.”

“Thank you very much.”

Although Ferd and Elrica put down their real names, the innkeeper didn’t pay too much attention to them. Their names had been pretty common to begin with, and now that seventy years had passed since the great war, it was impossible to connect a frail elderly couple to any legendary figures. The Hero imagined by the postwar people was a great man with bulging muscles, hair like a lion’s mane, and eyes sharp like a hawk’s, even when he was old. Meanwhile, the actual Hero was a small old man with a wrinkled face and the corners of his eyes forming a smile. There was a massive discrepancy between people’s imagination and reality.

I should avoid serving them any hard food. The innkeeper was even concerned about their teeth. Old age was cruel. Even if no one had worried about them when they were young, now that they were old, people assumed they were feeble.

“Ha ha ha. I’m not sure how to put it, but I feel a little guilty for letting people assume these things. I’m still very much healthy,” Ferd said with an awkward smile after they entered their room for the night.

“Oho ho ho, me too.” Elrica placed a hand on her mouth and laughed elegantly.

Ferd had not only picked up on the innkeeper’s concern for their teeth, but the worry of those who watched them hop on and off a carriage. They all wondered if the elderly couple would be all right.

“I was the one worrying about others when I was young, but I didn’t realize that one day people would be worrying about me,” Elrica muttered quietly.

“Ha ha ha ha. It’s true that I never imagined this reality when I was young.” Ferd nodded in agreement.

Normally, as children reached adulthood, they would start to worry about their aging parents, which made their parents more aware of their own health. However, Ferd and Elrica hadn’t fallen into poor health, and their son knew that his parents were superhuman. With that in mind, he hadn’t shown them any needless concern, or he might have been scolded.

“However...” Elrica started, cutting herself off.

“However?” Ferd repeated.

“You’ve always been the same gentle rascal, Ferd.”

“And you’re still the same gentle tomboy, Elrica.”

“Oh my. I’m too old to be a tomboy.”

“Then I’ve also graduated from being a rascal.”

“Oho ho ho ho ho.”

“Ha ha ha ha ha.”

Some things changed with time and age.

“Now then, shall we head back to Lara’s?”

“Sure.”

But it seemed that there were also things that never changed.

“We’re back,” they announced, returning to Lara’s bookstore.

“Come in.”

Hmm?

There, they immediately noticed something extremely strange.

Sazaki... thought Ferd.

...isn’t holding an alcohol bottle, thought Elrica, as though she had heard him.

Sazaki was sitting far in the back of the shop, empty-handed; this was the most out-of-character thing they could have possibly witnessed. If Sazaki’s disciples were here, they would either be preparing themselves for their teacher to soon leave this world, or try to force a bottle of alcohol into his mouth to bring him back to his senses. Although it was said that he had never let go of his alcohol even once during the great war and that he was never sober, the members of the Hero’s party knew that Sazaki would drop the bottle under certain conditions.

The first such circumstance was when Sazaki had small children in his home or other quarters. When his son was little, Sazaki did all of his drinking outside the home, never once within it. The second circumstance had been the final stages of the great war, when he’d fought battle after battle without even the time to get a drink. And the third one was...when he was being bashful. Decades ago, right after he’d gotten married to Lara, Sazaki had been briefly witnessed drinking water instead of alcohol, and the rest of their party members had pinched each other’s cheeks to check if they were dreaming.

In other words, there was only one answer that could be derived from this information.

“What do you want?” Sazaki seemed to notice the wrinkled couple’s warm gazes and waved his hand as if telling them to look away.

“I didn’t say anything. Right, dearest?” Ferd replied.

“That’s right, honey,” Elrica added.

“We ran into an orc while walking around town. He said he was in his thirties and part of the Flame Vortex,” Ferd said, deciding to change the subject and set the embarrassed Sazaki aside for the moment.

“Oh, him. His kind is rare around here so I remember him. He came to the Town of Magic to expand his knowledge or something,” she replied.

“Oh! The Flame Vortex clan! After the Battle of the Red Lake, the orcs shared some of their local alcohol with me. It was delicious!” Sazaki immediately reverted to his regular boozehound persona upon reminiscing on those times.

Elrica was also thinking back to the past, but she was thinking about the Flame Vortex’s chieftain at the time, not their hooch.

“I didn’t ask that orc because I thought it would be rude for our first meeting, but do you happen to know how Chieftain Gugan passed away after the war?” she asked.

“The clan’s base is really far away... But if their chieftain was assassinated or something, it should have reached my ears. Do you know, Lara?” Sazaki said.

“I only learned this by hearsay, but he apparently died peacefully, surrounded by his family,” Lara replied.

“What, really? If I remember correctly, he said that his ideal death would be to have his heart ripped out from the inside after being swallowed by a dragon.”

The chieftain of the Flame Vortex clan during the great war, who’d had a small connection with the Hero’s party, had already been of quite advanced age, as might be expected from someone of his status. Therefore, he’d since already passed on, but unfortunately it seemed that he had not achieved his ideal death.

“I don’t think the chieftain was all that great at holding his liquor,” Sazaki told Ferd.

“What? That great warrior?”

“Yup. I once invited him for drinks but he looked strangely nervous.”

“Now then, Elrica. Nothing good will come out of letting the men into the kitchen, so come and give me a hand,” Lara said.

“Very well.”

“Just be careful with the sugar and salt.”

“Gosh, even you, Lara? Please stop bringing up something that happened seventy years ago.”

While the men were having a lively chat, Lara and Elrica stood up and headed to the kitchen.

“Oh no, I’ll help too, Lara,” Ferd offered.

Lara stopped him as he tried to get up. “Our kitchen’s too small to fit three people. I’ll call you if I need a knife, though.”

“Well, that would be a job for Mr. Sazaki, the party’s culinary blade,” Sazaki said jokingly, although it was actually the truth. Whenever the Hero’s party had needed to prepare food during their travels, Sazaki had always been the one holding the kitchen knife.

As a sidenote, since Ferd and Sazaki had been born into poverty, they could eat pretty much anything, and their mentality was that as long as the food wasn’t completely rotten, it was probably fine. The only exception was something like mistaking sugar for salt. On the other hand, when Elrica and Lara had been young, taste had been secondary or even tertiary to them, and the only things they’d regarded as important were nutrition or the ability to eat quickly. In other words, most of the members of the old Hero’s party hadn’t been picky about their food, nor had they been particularly enthusiastic about cooking. Though there had still been one physique-focused picky eater among them.

Elrica and Lara headed to the kitchen, while Ferd turned to Sazaki and kept the conversation rolling.

“It looks like you still drink pretty much anything.”

“Well of course. If it’s got alcohol in it, a drink is a drink; they’re all the same. Ah, unless it’s the stuff some amateur alchemist has made on a whim. Those creations are sacrilege against all brewers out there.” Sazaki essentially welcomed all kinds of alcohol, an appreciator of drinks both cheap and expensive. In his mind, brewers were of the highest social status, ranking higher than even kings and gods.

“Oh, what’s this?” Speaking of rankings of loftiness, Elrica found something interesting on her way to the kitchen. Several lines were carved into a pillar, with the newer ones being higher up.

“Hmm? Oh, that’s our son’s height,” Lara said.

“Oho ho ho ho. We also have one like this.”

“Looks like every house is the same.”

“Oho ho ho ho.”

Those markings were a record of the height of Sazaki and Lara’s son, and similar ones were also in Elrica and Ferd’s home.

This was a trivial conversation, that one wouldn’t imagine coming from the people who’d saved the world. However, they’d been born in an era where just getting to chat with a friend was precious, and the current peace only existed because they’d fought and earned it.

Lara and Elrica continued chatting as they prepared dinner in the kitchen.

“Oh, you came by golem carriage? That was the correct choice. Who can say how long it would’ve taken you to arrive if you’d traveled on foot,” Lara said.

“Did your apprentices make those golems?” Elrica asked.

“No, they move around all over the place, so it seems that they were indirectly involved in the distribution and manufacturing, but not the design itself. But as long as they’re working hard while they’re still young, I have no complaints.”

The topic moved to the golem carriages that had been produced here in the Town of Magic. Elrica wondered if Lara’s apprentices had been the ones responsible for them, but the moment her apprentices became independent, they began traveling the world and got involved in various projects, so they had no time to settle down and design something themselves.

“In any case, it looks like you’ve stopped using magic to cook.”

“It’s boring to focus solely on efficiency like I did when I was younger.”

Watching Lara cook with a kitchen knife in hand was a novel experience for Elrica. Seventy years prior, Lara would use magic to make cooking utensils float and cut down on cooking time. However, people’s sensitivities changed with age, and even Lara, a mage of the Hadal layer, was no exception. Lara didn’t go out of her way to explain it, but the reason she started cooking by hand was because she believed that simply using floating cookware to cook for Sazaki and her son was too aloof.

“Besides, you’re the one who used to say that meals were only meant for nutrition, yet here you are cooking properly,” Lara said.

“My, I was just a bit ignorant about the world.”

Elrica, who’d first mentioned Lara’s change, seemed to be different herself too. While these women were warriors and possessed superhuman abilities, having children must have changed their sensibilities.

After dinner was prepared, Ferd, Elrica, Sazaki, and Lara sat down at the dining table. Even though they were former world saviors, there was nothing unusual being served at dinner. The most outstanding item was some freshwater fish that had been kept fresh through magic, and the rest was just ordinary bread, vegetables, and soup. They didn’t have anything like fancy meat or wine the nobility would eat.

“How long has it been since the four of us ate together?” Ferd wondered.

“I think the last time was our first reunion, when your child was born,” Sazaki replied.

Ferd dipped pieces of bread in his soup and ate little by little, while Sazaki neatly ate all of his fish.

“It feels like yesterday that your rascal of a son left for the neighboring continent, but he has a child and even a grandchild now. So that makes Elrica and Ferd great-grandparents,” Lara said.

“Oho ho ho ho ho. I became a great-grandma before I even realized,” Elrica added.

Lara grinned as she ate her salad, and Elrica laughed elegantly as she put her glass of water down. Just as Lara said, Ferd and Elrica’s son was quite the rascal. As a young man, he’d declared that he was going on an adventure and left for the neighboring continent, with which there was little to no contact, and made a name for himself there.

“They say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” Sazaki grinned as he thought back to the foolish youngster who’d declared he’d bring an end to the era of darkness, and the very similar boy who’d been born later and rushed forward to adventure.

“Look who’s talking,” Ferd said, asserting that it wasn’t just his son who took after his parents.

“Bwa ha ha ha ha!” Sazaki burst into laughter.

“Hmph. He’s just a greenhorn.” Lara laughed scornfully.

Sazaki and Lara’s son was a prominent warrior who possessed advanced skill in both swordsmanship and magic, perhaps thanks to his parents’ genes. Normally, it was necessary to devote an entire lifetime to master either swordsmanship or magic, so having both at such a high level was certainly unusual.

It seemed an inexorable truth of the world that a conversation among the elderly would gravitate to their children. Even a band of heroes who had saved the world from destruction couldn’t escape it. Though it was unbearable for the children dragged into it.

“Oh, that reminds me. I tinkered a bit with a golem carriage my apprentice sent me, so using that will make the trip much easier.” Lara remembered the improved golem carriage in her possession and suggested they use it for their journey.

“Ooh. Then we’ll take you up on your offer.” Ferd was thankful.

“When you say you tinkered with it...it’s not gonna fly us straight to the neighboring continent or anything, is it?” Sazaki, however, was concerned, having spent much time with his wife.

“I just fiddled with the suspension and other details to kill some time.” Lara seemed to realize the reason behind Sazaki’s concern and gave a straightforward explanation.

“So, who are we going to see next?” Lara asked Ferd about their plans.

“Stein,” he replied.

“Ah...I see.” Lara looked at the ceiling with an expression that was impossible to describe. Her reaction made it clear that there was something seriously wrong with this Stein person. Granted, all of the members of the Hero’s party were problem children, but Stein’s entire existence seemed somehow flawed.

“Now then, let’s go give our regards to everyone around and get ready. Hopefully everything goes to plan.” Lara pulled herself together, concluding with an ominous comment.

The next day, there was turmoil.

Aldrick, who should have been on his way to the Magic Council, found himself in a rocky canyon. That was an abnormal situation in and of itself.

“Let’s go.” Aldrick turned to his five subordinates with a sharp gaze—an expression that he never wore around town.

There was something peculiar about the five. All of them had their heads completely covered by the hoods of their robes, with their faces fully hidden behind masks with geometric patterns drawn on them or that were modeled after animals. These five were a task force working for the Magic Council, and they supported the world order in all aspects of magic. Right now, they were being commanded by Councillor Aldrick, who’d suddenly changed his plans and joined them. This group had been dispatched in a hurry after the location of heretics being pursued by the Magic Council had been discovered. With the exception of Aldrick, they were all elite mages who belonged to the Progressive layer.

Using magic to enhance themselves, the group moved across the canyon with incredible speed.

I hope this doesn’t turn into a mess. Aldrick could be called a master mage and he was accompanied by five elites, so there were few situations this group couldn’t deal with. And yet, he was still hoping that this wouldn’t turn into a big mess. Sadly, his wish would not be granted.

How on earth did things turn out like this?! Aldrick cursed silently as he spotted what looked like an altar at the end of the canyon.

The bloodstained altar wasn’t a problem right now. The real issue was the five creatures surrounding it that looked like a mix between ants and humans, their faces and bodies half-human, half-ant. They could only be described as ant-men. Their twisted visages definitely belonged to the heretics that Aldrick’s group had been pursuing; in other words, these creatures were undoubtedly human.

“Gyaaaaah!” Once the twisted ant-men noticed Aldrick approaching quickly, they emitted a cacophonous noise to intimidate him. Then, their spindly fingers started shining, and flames suddenly erupted.

A magical attack?! So they still have their original abilities?! Aldrick had judged that the ant-men used to be human, but it was a little unexpected to see creatures that had clearly lost all reason making their fingers glow and using offensive magic.

However, the ant-men had only made three of their fingers glow. Their flames were only powerful enough to turn a normal person to charcoal—far too inadequate against the great mage known as the Incinerator. Every finger on Aldrick’s right hand started shining, and complex patterns emerged in the air; his alias was very much literal.

“Flames, come forth!”

His flames incinerated the ant-men, magic and all. A miniature, bright-red sun erupted in the desolate canyon. Though it should bear no repetition, mages of the Deep layer stood at the realistic pinnacle of magic, excluding the exception among exceptions that was the Hadal layer. There were very few who could stand against fire magic used with deadly intent by one such as Aldrick. At the very least, the ant-men weren’t among that negligible number of people.

The ant-men and their magic ended up trapped inside almost perfectly spherical flames—something impossible in nature—and were completely incinerated, unable to even cry out in their last moments. There was nothing left afterward.

Aldrick the Incinerator, master of fire, member of the Magic Council, and the one closest to the Hadal layer. Though their faces were still hidden behind their masks, his subordinates looked at him with respect. With Aldrick there, even people as highly skilled as them were nothing more than insurance and errand boys.

“Tch!” The moment Aldrick saw a tome bound in red chains on the altar, he frowned and even clicked his tongue. “I read about this in documents. It’s a magic tome made during the great war which has a strategic-class demon imprisoned inside it.” Aldrick had a truly dour expression and knew exactly what this artifact was. There was only a fifty-fifty chance that they might be able to cleanly deal with this situation.

“What should we do? It looks unstable, so I think moving it would be dangerous,” one of Aldrick’s subordinates said.

“Wait one second...” he replied.

Aldrick and his subordinates were of the same mind. The tome, which was likely being used in some sort of ritual, was in an unstable state, so it was unclear what would happen if they moved it carelessly.

“After I report to the Magic Council via magic, I’ll ask my teacher who’s nearby.” Aldrick decided to get help from someone who could wipe the tome out no matter what, and his subordinates tensed up. “My apologies for the sudden call, teacher. It’s Aldrick.” He used a spell that could only be performed by a limited number of master mages, which allowed the transmission of messages through great distances, then waited for his teacher to reply.

“What is it?” The no-nonsense voice belonged to Lara.

Perhaps it could be said that couples tended to resemble each other, because just like Sazaki had multiple disciples, so, too, did Lara have many students of her own. Aldrick was one of them and ranked highly among his fellow disciples.

“You left to attend the Magic Council, so if you’re going out of your way to contact me, it must be something bad, right?” Lara knew that her student Aldrick had recently attended a meeting where high-ranking mages from around the world gathered to discuss matters related to magic. Since he’d gotten in touch with her right after that, she could guess that something was wrong.

“Yes. You see, we’ve found a magic tome, which I believe to be the work of Grace the Grievous. A strategic-class demon is likely sealed inside it, but it seems that heretics tampered with it, so it’s unstable.”

“That idiot’s work, huh?” Lara frowned at the mention of a name she hadn’t heard in a while.

Grace the Grievous was the same age as Lara, and although she’d been well-known as a magic technician during the great war, she had some terrible vices. She prioritized power and destructiveness, while disregarding control and safety almost completely. As a result, Grace’s creations could be useful if used properly, but handling them incorrectly would lead to destruction. The same was true for this tome. A demon as powerful as a mage of the Deep layer had been trapped inside it with the goal of using it as a strategic weapon, but demons were creatures that strongly wanted to destroy humanity. Obviously, the demon couldn’t be controlled at all, so the tome had been sealed away. Aldrick was deeply concerned to have stumbled upon something this dangerous.

“But you said something about heretics messing with it?”

“Yes. It was a group the Magic Council was after. I analyzed the magic cast on the altar, and it seems that they were planning to extract power from the demon sealed in the magic tome. However, they apparently failed to control it and ended up turning into ant-man monstrosities, so I disposed of them.”

“As usual, those who worship evil gods don’t really think ahead.” Lara said with a sarcastic grin.

She was correct, though. The people who worshipped the evil gods who tried to bring harm to the world were so strongly bewitched by their destructive power that they couldn’t think in the long term. They focused only on what was right before their eyes, sometimes committing terribly violent acts.

“All right, I guess I have no choice. If this is a parting gift from Grace, it’s my duty as her former peer to deal with it. I’ll fly there with magic, so tell me your location. Oh, I should mention that my companions are a bit too heavy for me to transport, so I’ll be coming alone.” Although Lara’s tone suggested this would be a chore, she declared that she’d dispose of this relic herself.

“Thank you.” After finishing his conversation with his teacher, Aldrick turned to his subordinates. “She’s on her way.”

“Ooh...” There was a stir among the five.

Lara held several public positions, something unusual for a member of the Hero’s party, among which was a permanent seat on the Magic Council. Therefore, the task force that worked directly under the Magic Council knew that Lara was Aldrick’s teacher, and they were excited that a legendary figure would be coming to them.

“She said she’ll be using flight magic, so she’ll be here faster than reinforcements from the council.”

“Wow, flight magic?” Aldrick’s subordinates trembled at the thought.

Simply floating a little was one thing, but magic to fly across the sky was extremely difficult to control. Even Aldrick couldn’t fly to a neighboring town, so it was considered magic that the vast majority of humans couldn’t use. There were many conflicting opinions on this topic. Some believed that the gods had placed natural laws restricting flight magic so that mortals couldn’t carelessly enter their domain, while others thought that it was simply too hard to control and consumed too much mana.

“I also reported to the Rin Kingdom. Since we can’t move the tome, we can only pray that its seal lasts until my teacher or the council’s reinforcements arrive.”

The most reliable ally they could ask for was on her way via flight magic. However, Aldrick and the rest were worried that the contents of the magic tome—which they were keeping under control with various kinds of sealing magic—would break through their defenses and emerge before she arrived. Unfortunately, when things can go wrong, they often will.

“This looks like it’s going to break. A mage of the Hadal layer or my teacher could have destroyed the tome altogether, but...”

Not long after, the contents of the tome burst through its manifold seals right before Aldrick’s eyes.

“We’ll observe it for the time being and deal with it if it starts heading toward a human settlement.” Aldrick prepared himself for the worst, distanced himself from the tome, and waited for the right moment.

The sound of something breaking echoed in the area, and the tome exploded into shreds.

“Gyaaaaah!”

And then it appeared. Accompanied by an earsplitting shriek, a jet-black ant as massive as a mountain came into being. Its jaws could tear the land itself apart, and a simple charge using its gargantuan body could annihilate armies and take down fortresses.

“Gyaaah!”

“It’s not going to stay put. Although we’re fortunately far from populated areas, it will be dangerous if it keeps moving. I’ll draw its attention.” Aldrick sensed the impending crisis because of the giant ant’s irregular movements, so he decided to keep it there.

“Yes, sir.”

“Flames! Come! Forth!” Aldrick put all of his strength into each word as all of the fingers on his right hand turned a hot, burning crimson, and he brought forth the flames of hell. His flames didn’t cover a particularly large area; they were only big enough to engulf a single human. But since they had been created by magic, they ignored the laws of physics and could melt even boulders without radiating heat to their surroundings.

“Gyah?!” Despite being unintelligent, the giant ant sensed that those flames were a threat and hardened its carapace further. The flames hit it directly, but not only did it survive, it barely had any scorch marks on it.

“Looks like this is going to take a while.”

“Gyaaaaah!”

Aldrick calmly observed the giant ant which was still full of vigor and screeching with rage, despite getting hit by a magic attack from a mage of the Deep layer.

It’s resistant to heat. Or perhaps its carapace is just too strong? I’ll attack with sheer mass next. Aldrick moved his fingers, which were still glowing bright, and the moment the giant ant neared, he gathered all of the surrounding boulders into one large mass, then created more boulders with his magic to add to it.

“Raaah!” Aldrick used magic to launch the mass of boulders, which was about as big as the mountain-sized ant’s head, to gauge its resistance to attacks of pure mass.

“Gyaaaaah!” But even so, the only cries the ant let out were shouts of rage, not its death throes.

Even in an era of champions and great men, this demon would have been classified as a strategic-class weapon. Although it didn’t have any special abilities, it was a monstrosity of the most straightforward sort, possessing both the mass of its enormous body and an abnormally hard carapace.

“This ant sure is noisy.”

“Teacher?!”

In other words...it was nothing but a mere ant to Lara, who’d arrived with astonishing speed. A strategic-class demon? The creatures Lara, Sazaki, Elrica, and Ferd had faced weren’t such lowly creatures. They had fought directly against an enemy who’d quite literally almost destroyed the world, and they had won.

“Disappear.” Lara the Witch activated her magic.

Her fingers glowed, indicating a rank that should have been unattainable: one ring of light for the Coastal layer, two for the Surface layer, three for the Middle layer, four for the Progressive layer, five for the Deep layer, and a sixth around a finger of the opposite hand, reserved for the living legends of history—the Hadal layer.

Yet, even that was mere child’s play here. The Hadal layer was just a legend, they said, reached by a few in history. Was something of that level enough to stand against the darkness that had smashed the natural order itself? Then was the glow of seven fingers necessary? Or was it eight? No.

The ant saw it. It saw everything: on both of Lara’s hands, the fingers were glowing—all ten of them. This wasn’t the Hadal layer or something just beyond it; it was something impossible to classify. If it had to be called something, it would be a place deeper than the depths of the ocean: the Abyssal layer.

Lara, the ultimate mage in history, flexed her fingers. With that simple motion, ten glowing rings overlapped above the ant’s head, creating a complex, mysterious pattern in the air with its center aimed at the target. Finally a pillar of light towered over the surroundings.

All sound vanished.

All vibration vanished.

The ant’s existence had been completely erased.

“Hmph.”

This was the result of her diving continuously into the abyss of magic. She was the Hero’s party’s greatest firepower, and the Great Demon King, who’d smashed the natural order and plunged the world into darkness, had simply described her as a deviant. This was Lara, the Witch of Annihilation.

Several days later, Aldrick visited Lara’s bookstore—wearing a hood, naturally—to return something his teacher had entrusted with him.

This golem won’t blow up or anything, right, teacher? He nervously backed away from the golem carriage Lara had entrusted him with, which betrayed a glimpse of what he thought about his teacher. It looked like an ordinary golem carriage, so nothing about it was dangerous at a glance. However, having reached the abyss of magic, Lara sometimes had questionable common sense. As her student, Aldrick was quite aware of this and was reacting accordingly. Despite his advanced age, some things never changed.

“Thank you,” Lara said after coming out of the store.

“Please, don’t mention it,” Aldrick replied with his back straightened up. He was always his usual self, even if he was dealing with a famous mage or the Magic Council’s chairman, but this wrinkly old woman was the exception.

“Looks like you gave up on bringing the fancy paper for autographs.”

“I...beg your pardon?”

“Heh heh. I can give you mine if you’d like.”

“Ha ha ha ha ha. I have no idea what you’re talking about.” That was the great old mage and sage Aldrick for you. Even when Lara brought up the matter of autograph paper, he didn’t show any particular reaction. On the surface, at least.

She figured out I was stressing over it... Aldrick, the great old mage and sage, was also a fan of the Hero. Actually, he’d spent the entire night worrying whether he should bring any paper to collect autographs, but he’d tearfully given up on the idea.

“Out of curiosity... Yes, I’m asking out of pure curiosity, but does anyone else have your autograph?”

“Who knows? You might be the first.”

No, if anything, his desire to go get some autograph paper might be going strong even now. In fact, Aldrick’s feet were slightly moving backward.

“So, what happened with the heretics?” Lara went back to a serious topic.

“It’s clear that their objective was to surpass human limits, but we can’t identify how they got their hands on the tome. We’re also investigating any connection with the profane sword wielder Master Sazaki took down,” Aldrick replied with a stiff expression.

When Lara and the others analyzed the now-shredded magic tome that had contained the giant ant, they confirmed that there had indeed been five people trying to extract the demon’s power. The origins of the book were still unclear, but Lara had a hypothesis.

“I doubt that’s actually the case, but perhaps that major moron Grace, who I thought was dead, could still be alive.” She wondered if the original owner might be involved.

“That should be impossible...”

“Well, it will be resolved. That’s everyone’s fate, including mine.”

“I see...”

Aldrick didn’t deny Lara’s carefree words. Anyone familiar with the Hero’s party would agree that they could be called the nucleus of fate and destiny. Even if you did nothing, they’d jump into trouble on their own and resolve everything before you even knew it; it was something like fate. That was all the more true when the Hero was involved, someone who wasn’t just the closest to fate but its very principle.

“Oh, that’s the golem carriage Lara was talking about. It looks the same as the rest. Looks the same...”

“That’s right, honey.”

When Aldrick recognized the voices behind him, he straightened up and held his arms stiffly to his body, while Lara grinned as she looked at her apprentice.

“You’re the apprentice Lara mentioned that she left her stuff with once... Yes, I think it was sixty or fifty years ago? Have you ever been to our place?”

“Y-Yes. I have met you once, when my teacher brought me along with her...”

“Oho, goodness me. Then allow me to reintroduce myself. I’m Ferd.”

“And I’m Elrica.”

“M-My name is Aldrick.”

Ferd remembered Lara’s apprentice, a boy who’d looked at him with a strange excitement, and realizing that he was acquainted with the old man in front of him, he decided to introduce himself again. Meanwhile, if there was a gauge expressing Aldrick’s emotions, it would have easily broken past the maximum by now.

“Besides Al, I also heard Ferd and Elrica. Hey, Al, been a while. Sorry for the trouble.”

“It has been a long time indeed. I assure you, it was no trouble at all.” Oooh boy, oh boy oh boy oh boy! When Sazaki came out of the bookstore at the end, Aldrick’s emotions went out of control. Even so, he gave a proper reply, which had to be a necessary skill for a mage challenging the depths of sanity.

“Now then, let me say this again. I don’t know when I’ll be back, but if anything you can’t handle happens, I can at least advise you. Message me again through magic at that time,” Lara told Aldrick.

“Very well. I wish you good weather on your travels.”

“Hmph, so you do get it.”

They said that couples resembled each other, but perhaps the same was true for their students. Aldrick wished his teacher luck on her journey using similar words to Sazaki’s student Clovis.

“Well then, it’s time to go. It won’t explode, so hop on.”

“We’ll accept your kind offer, then.”

As Lara urged them, the old members of the Hero’s party got on the carriage. It was the exact same scene as in the old days.

“Take care.”

The town had wide streets since various medicines and magic tools were transported here, so the carriage progressed comfortably.

Boo-hoo... I should have mustered the courage and brought the autograph paper... Aldrick wasn’t brave enough to ask the great warriors for their autographs, so he only saw the old veterans off, his thoughts similar to a child’s even though he was in his seventies.

Meanwhile, those old veterans were feeling rather carefree.

“The carriage doesn’t shake as much,” Ferd pointed out.

“Well, of course. I was fed up with my butt hurting, so I fixed that,” Lara said.

“I see. The woman who used to float inside the carriage really does go to extreme solutions.” He thought back to when Lara used to complain that her butt hurt, so she’d just floated instead of sitting down.

“Bwa ha ha ha ha!” Sazaki burst into laughter.

“I almost assumed that you were supposed to be floating while riding a carriage,” Elrica confessed that she’d almost thought that was common sense back then.

“What are you laughing about when you were grieving after an alcohol bottle rolled and broke because of all the shaking?”

“This is a wonderful improvement. Yes, no doubt about it. I believe it will go down in history.”

Lara earned her laughing husband’s respect after she reminded him of the harshness of their prior carriage journey. Apparently, traveling via carriage had also been a trial standing in the way of the Hero’s party.

“Anyway, what could Stein be doing? Well, probably the same as usual.”

“I agree.”

Ferd and Elrica ignored the couple messing around and thought about the comrade they were on their way to see. He was a muscle-brain named Stein who had once stated that if he and the horse pulled the carriage together, it would go three times faster.

◆◆◆

Aldrick, the Incinerator.

The flames dance, dance, and dance again. Even dragons fear them and tremble.

The Battle of the Red Lake.

The Great Demon King looked down on the orcs. When the orcs, who only had a few connections between their clans, gathered in solidarity, incited by the mission to protect their sacred site, they brought about destruction beyond anyone’s expectations.

Lara, the Witch of Annihilation.

By remaining sane despite reaching the unthinkable Abyssal layer, Lara has proven that humans are merely under the impression that they’re sane.

Chapter 4: Fist of the Aimless Path

“Hah!”

Over one hundred monks thrust their fists forward in unison.

“Hah!”

They kicked their legs toward the sky. All of their bodies were trained to the utmost, reflecting the sunlight as though they were forged from steel.

“Hah!”

No, their bodies were, in fact, shining. When monks like these condensed the life force found in nature and all living things—the Life Wave—inside their bodies and turned it into power, they glowed as a side effect.

In any case, monks were quite mysterious, or perhaps contradictory, creatures. Their beliefs differed from sect to sect, but oftentimes, servants of the gods were forbidden from wielding bladed implements and taking lives. However, in times of turmoil, it was up to each man to protect himself. That was how monks came into being: individuals who could fight without wielding a blade or any other such arms. But therein lay the small contradiction. Monks’ tempered bodies, combined with their faith in the gods and the enhancement that the Life Wave granted them, made them an even more lethal force than blade-wielding bandits. With these tools at their disposal, they could easily pulverize boulders or even human skulls.

Of course, those who didn’t follow such doctrines naturally just took up the sword. But that was another matter.

This current scene was unfolding along the Boiling Mountain, home to shrines and temples dedicated to the gods of war and combat, where monks of various sects all came together in friendly rivalry. According to legend, this place had been named the Boiling Mountain because the steam and vapor coming from the monks’ bodies covered the whole mountain. Monk representatives from each sect would sometimes gather to hold a meeting at the temple built at the summit of the mountain, but something was strange about the mood today.

“I will confess. I have one regret,” muttered an extraordinary man who appeared young but was actually over three hundred years old, standing before master monks who were in their fifties, sixties, or even eighties.

The man was not one of the long-lived races, like elves. He was human, but despite being over three hundred years old, he had rich, golden hair, clear, blue eyes, and taut, smooth skin, which meant that he’d stopped his aging thanks to his perfect mastery over the use of the Life Wave. He was none other than Albert, High Priest of the Church of Roaring Earth, and known as one of the first monks. Albert and a few others had been the first to open this path, so he garnered respect from all monks, regardless of sect. Even now, the masters gathered at his call.

However, despite his physical youth, Albert’s mental fatigue had never ceased worsening, and he was thinking of letting his life come to an end. But before that, he confessed his sole regret to his students.

“He had no faith in god, so I thought I had to seal his fist. But I was reluctant to do it. Of course, I wasn’t certain if it was possible to seal his fist in the first place.”

Albert’s one regret was about a disciple he’d cut ties with, the Vile Fist—that was the only apt way to describe him. It was absolutely out of the question for a monk, a servant of god, to have no faith—someone like that was no longer a monk at all. That was why Albert had needed to seal the Vile Fist, but the problem was that although his student had been ineligible as a monk, he’d already reached a form of perfection. This disciple had descended the mountain before Albert could do anything, quickly becoming someone his teacher couldn’t interfere with.

“I regret it,” Albert muttered once more.

And that was only natural. The Vile Fist, a failure as a monk, hadn’t been excommunicated or expelled even after leaving the mountain, and was still a member of the Church of Roaring Earth. He was even registered to the temple of the Boiling Mountain. The fact that this godless disciple might still be allowed to return at any time could only be explained by a lingering attachment from Albert and the Church of Roaring Earth. However...perhaps it would still have been better to correct his path, even by force; whether or not that was possible was a different matter.

Far away from the Boiling Mountain, there was a place called the Divine Land. Like the Boiling Mountain, it housed many shrines and temples devoted to gods of war and battle, and martial artists from all over the world came there to train. The Divine Land also contained a training ground for monks, just as the Boiling Mountain did, though it had a different founder. Currently, however, the Divine Land was hell on earth.

“Hah!”

A monk’s thrust glowing with the Life Wave—meaningless.

A kick—meaningless.

A knifehand strike—meaningless.

A high kick—meaningless.

Everything was meaningless.

The jet-black brilliance before them consumed every blow.

“You meddled with the Death Wave?! You fool!” spat a monk, despite his divine allegiances.

The Life Wave was the energy of life, and its opposite was the Death Wave, the energy of death and destruction—a taboo power for monks. This shining, black, demonic monk who harbored the Death Wave broke the skulls of the weaklings boasting that the Life Wave was the righteous path. Those who demanded he respect the gods found their hearts pierced by his might. But in the end, his path was still a ruined one.

“Aaaaah! Power! Poweeeeer!”

The man known as the Vile Fist was a deformed mess. His body was like a massive boulder, but underneath the torn clothes that no longer served their purpose. His right half bore the face and body of a young man, while his left half was shriveled and elderly, its skin hideously burned.

“Poweeeeer! I need poweeer! I need to be strooong!”

The Vile Fist, reduced to this grotesque form, had an unfocused gaze and looked like he’d completely lost his mind. He was drooling as he kept shouting about his blind faith in power.

“The weak will die!”

“What are you talking about?!” a monk shouted back, unable to comprehend the Vile Fist’s screams.

“The great war! The Great Demon King! The fiiire!”

“Wh-What did he just say?!” These words from the Vile Fist made everything clear to the surviving monks. His mind was still stuck on the Great Demon King and the great war, when both the weak and strong had been left with no choice but to die.

“Streeength!”

The more righteous of monks hadn’t been involved in the great war, so they didn’t agree with the Vile Fist’s views. Those who were born after the war and had no connection to it didn’t understand the obvious fact that the weak would simply die in such circumstances. But if anyone who’d experienced the great war had been here, things might have been a little different.

The world was stained red with blood and with the crimson of the sky. In an era filled with all manner of wretchedness—flames, death, despair, darkness, defeat, hatred, fear, ruin—weakness equaled death. It was a sin. There had been no tomorrows, no future. The elderly died. The young died. Infants died. All were destined to die in that world. Even monks had been no exception. During the great war, their stronghold, the Boiling Mountain, had been on the verge of falling. That was why everyone had sought strength: to avoid death, to avoid destruction, to keep living. This persisted even after the war ended. However...in the end, perhaps there was no meaning in seeking strength beyond what one could handle.

“Poweeeeeeer!”

A torrent of dark power surged from the Vile Fist’s body as he shouted at the sky. In terms of pure destructive power, the Death Wave was clearly superior to the Life Wave. And yet, there were almost no Death Wave users, simply because it was easy for someone to become entranced by the power and lose their sanity—as was happening right now—eventually leading to their death.

“Dieeeee!”

The Vile Fist’s words and actions were no longer coherent. If you were weak, you would die, so you became strong to avoid death. Such was his thinking, but he’d stepped over a line that should never be crossed, turning into a destructive force, devoid of reason. Being on the verge of losing his sense of self was no different than death.

“Oooooh!”

“Agh!”

The Vile Fist continued his rampage, turning the remaining monks into lumps of flesh in an instant.

“Oooooooh!”

The only thing left was the Vile Fist, rampaging until his life ran out. Of course, the monks wouldn’t keep quiet after learning of this. Thanks to a few survivors, news of the situation traveled, and monks across the world started preparing for war.

“Moo!”

“Bawk bawk bawk!”

The cries of cows and chickens faded out into the blue sky. It was peaceful. Or rather, it should have been peaceful in the town of Lime. The town was surrounded by vast meadows, which the livestock industry took advantage of. Between this and a healthy merchant populace, the town had flourished. However, the monks of the Church of Roaring Earth who resided here were currently moving about to and fro in a strange hurry.

“What an alarming situation.” Deep inside a temple outside of Lime, Lutz, a boulder-like monk who was over eighty years old, sat on the floor and muttered in a grave tone, “A Death Wave user who can single-handedly take down the monk training ground in the Divine Land would have no reason or morals. Moreover, if he’s over eighty or ninety years old, I doubt whether he has retained any rationality at all.”

There had been a report of the destruction of the monk training ground in the Divine Land, which was close to Lime, with a few survivors providing details. The culprit appeared to be of advanced age, around his eighties or nineties. And yet, his body was muscular, and his frame was so large that people had to look up at him. He was also clearly a user of the Death Wave, covered in a black aura. The problem was that the more he used the Death Wave, the more he lost his sanity, and the more it all got out of control. In other words, given that he looked to be around ninety, there was a high chance that the power of the Death Wave had grown within him to a frightening degree.

“I have to kill him, even on the off chance he turns out to be a fellow student. No, that would actually be even more of a reason to kill him.” It would be more than just shameful to this elder if his sect had produced someone who’d been tainted by the evil path and spread death and destruction. Eliminating the Vile Fist was his fated mission.

We now turn back to the town of Lime, where prized livestock meant to feed nobles were being raised, the guards keeping a watchful eye over them, on the lookout for any scoundrels who might have evil intentions for these valuable creatures.

“May I have a word with you?” Edward, one of Lime’s newest guards, called out to a clearly suspicious man.

“With me?” There was no point in the man playing dumb. He was in his nineties, his bald head gleaming in the sun, with suntanned, wrinkled skin and gray eyes. He was tall enough that Edward, a man of average height, had to crane his head a little to meet the man’s eye. The old man’s entire body was like a withered tree trunk, and he looked suspicious in every meaning of the word. Yes, Edward could picture every last inch of the old man’s whole body, which meant...

“What happened to your clothes?”

This suspicious man—nay, this exhibitionist—wore nothing more than a single piece of cloth wrapped around his waist.

“Are you perhaps from one of the massive tribes of savages to the north?” Edward asked again.

“Muscle tribes?”

“Massive, I said—the first part only barely even sounds like muscle.”

“Yes, I’m part of the muscle tribe.”

“Okay, sure, but I’ve never heard of that tribe before.” Oh dear. He’s so old that my words aren’t getting through to him.

Edward thought that the old man might be from one of the northern tribes that prided themselves in their recklessness and called themselves savages. The men were called barbarians and the women amazons. They were known for exposing a lot of their bodies, wearing only the minimum amount of clothing or furs and painting traditional designs on their skin. It was thus natural that Edward would assume that the old man was one of them. However, the answer the man gave was one so absurd that Edward could only chalk it up to old age.

“You don’t have a holy mark, so you can’t be a monk of the Church of Roaring Earth...”

The only other possibility was that he was a monk from the Church of Roaring Earth, which had a temple a short distance from Lime. Young monks in training always ran hot, so they tended to disregard clothing a little without caring about what the public thought. When they came to town to buy daily necessities, many were dressed lightly. But if that were the case, the old man would have a holy mark somewhere denoting him as a member of the Church, and he wasn’t young enough to not care what people thought of him.

“I’m no monk, but I have faith in my muscles, if I had to pick.”

“R-Right... We’re in the middle of town, so could you please put on some clothes?”

“That would be a bit difficult... I can’t do it because of my muscles.”

“Excuse me, could you repeat that?”

“I can’t wear clothes because of my muscles.”

“I-I see...”

Edward was at a complete loss. He’d only asked the old man to put on some clothes and stop exposing himself, yet every reply he received was about muscles. Half naked men hadn’t been a rarity two centuries ago, but as the era and culture changed, people no longer showed more skin than necessary in public. But simply being half naked wasn’t a crime, so Edward was truly stumped, as he couldn’t do anything more than ask the old man to put on some clothes.

“You seem to be quite old, so you might lose your life from a cold or something.”

“I appreciate the concern, but I’ve been dressing this way since I was a teenager and never caught a cold.”

“Right...”

Edward still tried to use common sense to make some kind of breakthrough, but the answers he got back made him question his common sense itself. If what the old man was saying was true, he’d been consistently half naked since long before Edward had even been born.

“If I may ask a question myself, I’ve noticed that the monks of the Church of Roaring Earth I often see around town are strangely flustered today. Would you know anything about that?” the old man asked.

“It’s been on my mind as well, but since my rank is rather low, I haven’t been informed of anything in particular. Wait, is it raining?” There was no way Edward, someone so low on the pecking order, would know anything about the monks. And as it suddenly started raining, his attention completely turned to the sky. “Let me show you to your home before it starts coming down for real.”

“Show me home?” The old man moved away from the topic of muscles for the first time after hearing Edward’s proposition.

“Yes. Now come on, before the rain gets stronger.”

“Thank you very much.” Urged by Edward, the old man started walking toward the inn he was staying at. “Did you become a guard recently?”

“Yes. I first became a guard in the neighboring town, but there was a small manpower shortage in Lime, so I came here just recently.”

“I see.” The old man struck up a conversation with Edward as they walked together and got a bit of his life story. “What about becoming an adventurer?” he asked.

The profession he was referring to was something of an exotic one. The labyrinthine areas referred to as dungeons were said to be either trials left by the good gods or traps laid by the evil gods, and were known to contain many dangerous creatures as well as treasures. The people who challenged those dungeons were known as adventurers, and could bring back riches and treasures and earn prestige and glory. It was a profession that many young people were attracted to.

“I wanted to be an adventurer when I was a child, but then I started thinking about how I’d like to protect the town. I know there’s more to it than that, but such was my childish notion.”

“I see, I see.”

“What did you do when you were young, mister?”

“Ha ha ha ha ha! That was eighty years ago, but I wanted to do something a little different from other people.”

“Something different?”

“Yes, different.”

Thus continued the conversation.

“We’ve arrived. This is where I’m staying,” said the old man as they arrived at a small inn. “Hello, Ms. Ivy,” he greeted an old woman in her eighties who was hunched over and sweeping outside.

“Oh, welcome back.”

“This is where we part ways,” Edward said.

“Thank you again for your kindness.”

“Please, don’t mention it. Farewell.” After seeing for himself that the old woman at the inn knew the old man, Edward concluded that this was definitely where the old man was staying, so he left.

“He was worried about you? What a kind soul.”

“Perhaps things haven’t changed from the past, in a good way. He reminds me of a friend of mine.”

Ivy and the old man chatted as they watched Edward leave.

“Well...there might also be some people who’ve changed in a bad way. I’m going to patrol for a moment,” the old man added.

His hunch was correct. He found something during his patrol—or rather, someone. Death itself was emanating from a large man who had bulging muscles despite being over ninety, its fog thick enough to block out even the rain clouds. During the great war seventy years ago, this man had foolishly believed that the path of life and light was the correct one. However, he’d been unable to master the Life Wave and despaired at his own gradually declining strength. So, in search of power, he’d reached out for the Death Wave...

“Oooooh!”

And this was the result. His cloudy eyes, dripping drool, and meaningless roars showed that the man no longer had anything resembling reason. Despite that, the monk skills ingrained in his body hadn’t disappeared, and he had become an extremely dangerous person, having already destroyed an entire monk training ground. With all sense of reason gone, the Vile Fist continued running down an aimless path.

“The Great Demon Kiiiiing! Destructiooooon!” But it seemed that his heart remained forever trapped in the great war. “I don’t want to die! I want to live and be better than anyone eeeeelse!” The feelings he had been hiding for decades came out into the open. He wanted to get strong and survive. That objective had become twisted at some point, turning into a delusion of standing above the weak and basking in a sense of superiority.

Even though the war ended, not everyone was saved, huh? The half naked old man, his body like a withered tree, stood in the way of this delusional figure. The old man realized that the Vile Fist was actually a monk who’d participated in the great war, but he remained silent. Even a thousand steps away was already a killing distance, so there was no need for him to move any closer.

“Aaaaah?!” On the other hand, the Vile Fist screamed a cry of astonishment. He remembered the withered old man from the Boiling Mountain, from the battlefield, and from the final encounter. The old man had definitely been present in the massive decisive battle where all the mortal races had gathered to fight as one. He was the object of the Vile Fist’s envy and jealousy. This was foolish; the path followed by the old man he so envied wasn’t an easy one either. Just like the Vile Fist, even though he’d thrown himself into the battle to save the world, he’d been unable to save himself.

“Diiieeeee!” But none of that mattered to the Vile Fist. His unusually dense Death Wave became partly tangible, making his body grow into an abnormally massive size. If his fist hit the ground, the earth would be pulverized into tiny pieces, and if it hit the sky, it might shatter the very air itself. If he were to face someone who’d mastered the Life Wave, it would look like black lightning clashing against a white sun.

The Vile Fist closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye, and thrust out his enlarged fist—which was large enough to cover the entire upper half of the old man—throwing off purple lightning from it. The Vile Fist looked like a corpse. Yet the destructive blow unleashed from his powerful fist didn’t touch the withered tree of an old man at all. It was like a thunderclap, pulverizing everything in its wake. But there was no point if it didn’t make contact. Who would just stand and get hit by something they knew was coming?

The wave of life and the wave of death, the righteous path and the wicked path, the power of light and the power of darkness, and most importantly, faith in God. The great figures who’d opened the way of the monk three centuries ago called themselves the power of light to protect faith, life, and their sects, while those who derived killing techniques from there called themselves the darkness of death.

Yet some might argue that this was too narrow of a way to define things. Why walk this predetermined path of life and death when you could fly as high as you wanted? With that thought in mind, this old man had concluded that it was narrow-minded to not fully master and understand the path of both life and death. That was why he’d studied both the Life Wave and the Death Wave. He understood the value of life. He understood the law of survival of the fittest. And he also had set foot on a yet untrodden path: the path to pure, unadulterated power, where there was no good or evil. This colorless power neither glowed brightly nor shed black lightning.

“Hah!”

After the old man dodged the Vile Fist’s strike, his arm, which looked like a withered branch but was actually made of pure, hypercompressed muscle, twisted into a fist, throwing a straight punch that stabbed the Vile Fist in the chest. The blow was clean and bloodless; he had used only the necessary force to end the beat of this monster’s life.

“I remember you from the great war. I believe you were a monk of the Church of Thunderclouds,” the old man muttered, standing over the Vile Fist’s disfigured corpse.

This old man was the source of regret for Albert, one of the founders of the Church of Roaring Earth and monks themselves. He had continued walking his own path, with no faith in the gods. He was a member of the Hero’s party, Stein of the Null Wave.

A few days later, the Hero’s party arrived in Lime to meet Stein.

“Ooh. There are so many cows. It sure is tranquil, dearest,” Ferd said.

“Yes, it really is, honey,” Elrica replied.

The two of them were sitting in the driver’s seat of their golem carriage and having a leisurely chat as they observed the cattle grazing in the meadows around Lime. Between the cows slowly eating grass under the blue sky, and a small old couple passing by, it was as though the flow of time had slowed down in this specific location.

“I hope Stein has since learned the human tongue so that we can communicate a little,” Sazaki said.

“I’m not confident I can remain sane around him,” Lara added.

In contrast to the small, tranquil couple, Sazaki and Lara—who were sitting in the back of the carriage, with their backs straight and their heights intact—were thinking about Stein. For Sazaki, Stein was, in a sense, a poor match in terms of combat techniques. And although Lara dwelled in the abyss of magic, she believed that Stein’s words and behavior could wear down her sanity.

“Hmm? There are five people ahead of us. They don’t seem to be bandits, though,” Ferd said as they were crossing a small hill.

“My condolences to any bandits trying to mess with this carriage,” Lara joked, shrugging her shoulders. Although the four people in this carriage might have already outlived their times, they had still once saved the world. If mere bandits attacked this carriage, they would be sent straight to the underworld.

“That’s right. After all, we have Lara—” Sazaki started.

“We have Sazaki here,” Lara interrupted.

“No, no, I’d try to resolve things peacefully. I wouldn’t be the cause of the condolences.”

“Don’t make me laugh.”

“Those muscular five...might be monks of the Church of Roaring Earth,” mused Ferd.

“Do you think they have anything to do with Stein?” asked Elrica.

“I can’t say. I haven’t heard anything about him mending his relationship with the church.”

Ferd and Elrica ignored Sazaki and Lara’s messing around, concluding that the group of five men, whose burly bodies were obvious even from a distance, were probably monks of the Church of Roaring Earth, which had a temple nearby.

“Greetings, Brother. Has anything happened?” Ferd asked one of the monks.

“I offer my thanks for this blue sky. We regularly check to see if anything unusual has happened in the area. This is simply part of that. Have you seen anything out of the ordinary, mister?” one of the monks asked.

“No, we came here thinking everything was nice.”

“That’s great to hear. Welcome to the town of Lime.”

“Thank you for working hard for the public.” After confirming the holy mark of the Church of Roaring Earth, Ferd finished his conversation with the monk and started the carriage again.

“Gratitude for the blue sky, huh? Whew! I bet you were a bit startled,” Sazaki said with a grin.

“Just for a moment. I thought he knew who we were,” Ferd replied with a hand on his chest.

The monk didn’t mean anything deep by offering his thanks for the blue sky, but these four were some of the key people who’d turned the red sky back to blue during the great war. And the fifth one was not far away.

“All right then. Finding Stein shouldn’t be that hard. Right, dearest?” Ferd said.

“We only need to ask around for a half naked old man,” Elrica replied.

The two of them looked around as they entered Lime, but finding Stein wasn’t a particularly difficult task.

“Back when you found Sazaki, you just had to ask about an old man lying on the ground with a bottle of alcohol in hand, after all,” Lara said.

“Saves you the trouble of looking for me, right?” Sazaki added.

“That’s right. It’s convenient because you don’t have to give a detailed explanation when describing a homeless man.”

Unlike the toddling couple, Lara and Sazaki walked steadily and chatted jovially.

Sure enough, just as it had been possible to find Sazaki by asking for “the old man lying around with a bottle of alcohol,” it was possible to find Stein by asking for “the half naked old man who keeps talking about muscles.”

“Excuse me, sir. Have you by any chance seen a half naked man wandering about, constantly saying something about muscles?” Ferd asked a passerby.

“Yes, I saw him over there. I think you’ll find him if you keep asking in that direction,” the man replied.

Lara and Sazaki covered their mouths in shock, even though they should have expected this.

Some time later...

“Ooh! My friends! What a wonderful day this is!”

After asking some more passersby, they finally found Stein.

“Time to celebrate our reunion!” Stein sounded positively thrilled.

“Blegh!” Ferd, on the other hand, sounded like a strangled chicken. It was a very apt description, since Stein was hugging him tightly. It was a unique scene: a frail old man in his nineties being strangled to death by another, half naked ninety-something-year-old man.

“Oho ho ho ho.” Elrica only laughed elegantly.

“Your turn, Sazaki.” Next, Stein turned to Sazaki with his arms outstretched in welcome.

“He’s calling for you. Off you go,” Lara said, trying to push him into hell.

“No, absolutely not. No way. No! Way!” Sazaki was categorically opposed to the idea.

“Then, Elrica, Lara.” After being refused by Sazaki, Stein turned to the women of the group with his arms still open wide.

“Oho ho ho ho.” Elrica simply laughed and ignored him.

“In your dreams,” Lara refused while waving her hand, as if telling him to make do with just the guys.

“I see you all have magnificent muscles, like usual,” Stein said.

“Where exactly do Elrica and I have muscles?” Lara replied.

“I’ve already told you. The entire body is muscles. In other words, your brain is also a muscle, and intelligence varies with the amount of muscles in your brain,” Stein explained his theory to his comrades in a casual tone.

“Is that so?” Lara looked worn-out. She could understand his theory thanks to her knowledge, but when he kept going on and on about muscles, it ended up sounding like he was speaking to her from the other side of an abyss.

“Now come on, if you haven’t had lunch yet, let’s go eat. The inn I’m staying at is also a restaurant. This morning, I heard the good news that they would be getting fresh chicken breasts. Merriment is something to be shared with friends.”

“Ha ha, let us go together, then.” Ferd, who’d almost been strangled to death like said chickens, smiled awkwardly as he accepted the invitation from a fully unchanged muscle head. There were some people who’d changed completely, but the man named Stein was still exactly the same as he was in Ferd’s memories.

Stein was staying at an establishment that functioned as both an inn and a restaurant, which was catered toward commoners and its meals weren’t anything special. However, the members of the Hero’s party had come from humble beginnings, and Stein’s eating habits were a bit unbalanced.

“I see you still go for milk and chicken breasts,” Ferd said, smiling awkwardly at Stein’s unchanged diet.

“Of course. You could say that’s the reason I’m in Lime,” Stein was obsessed with milk and chicken breasts, using the mysterious theory that good muscles came from a good diet. That was the reason he was staying in Lime, a town with a flourishing livestock industry.

“Oh, that’s right,” Sazaki said like he’d just remembered something nice.

“Don’t add alcohol to my milk, Sazaki.” Stein kept his friend in check, not wanting to miss even his slightest movement.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“The fact that you didn’t deny it makes your intentions obvious.”

Thus, a fight broke out between the Blademaster and Fistmaster.

“But...I see. I received Ferd and Elrica’s letter, but it looks like Sazaki and Lara are also on their final journey,” Stein muttered with deep emotion, bringing the fight to an end. The conflict between him and Sazaki was fruitless in every sense, something that hadn’t changed since seventy years ago.

“There are people I need to greet before I die, and I also need to see my great-grandchild’s face. Ha ha ha!” Ferd said.

“Ferd. I wasn’t certain if I should bring it up, but your elderly attitude feels out of place. Incredibly so,” Stein said.

“Oh, hush.” Ferd, the very portrait of a good-natured old man, frowned at Stein’s observation.

“Bwa ha ha ha ha! Aha ha ha ha! You’re saying the same thing as me! It really seems off!” Sazaki burst into laughter, earning a glare from Ferd.

“Are you going to the Boiling Mountain?” Stein asked reluctantly, looking at the ceiling with his arms crossed.

“Yes, we intend to. We fought alongside its monks on many occasions,” Elrica replied while making sure not to mention certain topics—those being the Church of Roaring Earth and Albert, one of the founders of the way of the monk.

What should I do...? Stein pondered, still looking at the ceiling. Although both the Church of Roaring Earth and Albert had been great to him, he’d cut ties with them to walk his own path. As a result, even though he’d achieved great things in the fight to protect the world, his ingratitude toward his teachers had still left a lingering unease in his heart. What should I do...? Stein repeated the same words in his mind.

Since Stein had mastered the Life Wave, the energy of life itself, his lifespan should have been extended, but that wasn’t the case because he’d also mastered the Death Wave, its complete opposite, so he didn’t have that much longer left to live. Of course, he could use just the Life Wave if he wanted to, but he had no interest in living a long life. In other words, he didn’t have many opportunities left for reconciliation. Even so, Stein was troubled, because he felt that he’d have a lot of nerve to show up now after having left the Boiling Mountain.

“This ain’t like you, man. When we first met, you said that you left the mountain in search of muscles, yeah? So, what are those muscles saying now?” Surprisingly, this crude manner of speech didn’t come from Sazaki, but from Ferd, who was nibbling away at some vegetables.

“Yes...you’re right. My muscles yearn for a reunion. If you’re headed to the Boiling Mountain, I’d like to accompany you,” Stein replied.

“We’ll be going to various places along the way. Is that okay?”

“I still have about a decade left. It won’t be a problem.”

“Ha ha! Then you’re welcome to tag along, Stein.”

“Ferd.”

“Yes?”

“Speaking like you did in your youth with the way you look now feels out of place. Incredibly so.”

“Then what do you want from me, man?!”

“Bwa ha ha ha ha!”

“Heh.”

“Oho ho ho ho.”

Just like in the old days, Stein made his decision thanks to Ferd’s encouragement. He had no intention of reconciling with his teacher or the church he’d once belonged to, but he still felt that he should show his face at least once.

“Gah?!”

As he finished reading the letter in his hands, Lutz stood up, letting out a strangled cry. He was a monk and the man in charge here at the temple of the Church of Roaring Earth near the town of Lime. He was a veteran who’d taken part in the great war in his distant youth, and though he was well into his eighties, he was still tough like a boulder; the young monks of today had never once seen him shaken. And yet, his eyes were now wide open, and his jaw looked like it might hit the ground at any moment.

Senior disciple?! Here?! The Boiling Mountain?! To see our teacher?! The reason that Lutz’s mind could not complete a single sentence was Stein, a former fellow disciple.

Lutz had interacted with Stein before the latter’s departure from the Boiling Mountain and idolized him as his senior. However, Stein had never set foot in the temple of the Church of Roaring Earth, even though he’d entrusted the cleanup of the Vile Fist he’d defeated to his junior. But according to Stein’s letter, not only would he come and see Lutz, it also said that he was planning to go see their teacher Albert, although it would take him some time.

I need to sweep this place clean... No, Stein isn’t the kind of person who enjoys people going out of their way for him. More importantly, I need to send a letter to our teacher!

Lutz started moving in a hurry, but there was one part of the letter he’d completely overlooked: Stein had said that he would be visiting “with friends.”

Several days after Lutz received the surprising letter, Ferd, Elrica, Sazaki, Lara, and Stein—a group with an average age in the nineties—were headed to the temple of the Church of Roaring Earth, located on a mountain near Lime.

“Heave-ho.”

“Are you all right, honey?”

“Perfectly. But are you all right, dearest?”

Ferd and Elrica were climbing up the mountain stairs with their short legs, each worrying about the other—or at least playing around as if they were worried.

“What are you on about? You aren’t even slightly out of breath. Right, my floating dearest?” Sazaki said, seeming exasperated by the way the other couple japed with one another when they didn’t look the least bit fatigued.

“Indeed, my drunkard honey,” Lara replied as she magically floated to avoid the trouble of climbing the steep stairs.

“That’s no good at all, Lara. It looks like the muscles of your brain haven’t declined at all, but it’s a bad idea to neglect training your lower body. The Church of Roaring Earth has magic weights, so let’s use those. A suitable one should weigh as much as a cow.” Stein tried to push his good intentions onto Lara.

“No need. I’ll never understand you monks and your obsession with weights.” Lara, however, turned him down instantly.

“Mgh... Hmm? That’s right, Sazaki. I just came up with a method for everyday training.” Stein now set his sights on Sazaki.

“Don’t go making my alcohol bottle heavier willy-nilly.” But Sazaki made the first move.

“Guessed it, huh?”

“Hmm? Looks like there’s a high-ranking priest up there...” Ignoring his frolicking friends, Ferd strained his eyes to take a closer look at the man at the top of the stairs. It was difficult to get a clear view of him because of the distance, but there were limited reasons for someone who looked to be in his eighties to be standing there. If it was a young man, it would be easy to assume that he was guarding the temple gates, but the fact that an elderly high-ranking priest was there could only mean...

“I have been waiting for you.” The priest bowing his head deeply was Stein’s fellow disciple, Lutz. It was certainly not his job to greet guests at the gate, for Stein, his senior, he only felt it proper.

“You didn’t need to come out to welcome me, Lutz.”

“I respectfully disagree. I apologize that I only waited for you at the entrance.”

Stein truly believed that he wasn’t someone that needed to be expressly greeted, while Lutz had actually wanted to go all the way to Lime to greet him. However, he was well aware that Stein would have hated that, so he’d made do with waiting at the gate.

“Your companions are—” Th-This is strange!

Lutz had started saying, “Your companions are most welcome too,” but then lightning flashed through his mind. While he had missed the part in Stein’s letter that mentioned he would be accompanied by friends, it would be natural to assume that there had been some kind of trigger for Stein to suddenly try to make contact with the Church of Roaring Earth after he’d almost completely severed ties with it. So, what had been the trigger? The people Stein had worked together with in the past could have been one such catalyst.

“It has been a while, Mr. Lutz. I’m Ferd. We’ve met several times on the Boiling Mountain and the battlefield. We’re on a journey to see our old friends and acquaintances one last time.”

During the great war, Lutz had wondered what kind of people his former comrade had as companions, which had led to him meeting them several times on the battlefield.

“I offer my thanks for this blue sky, dear members of the Hero’s party,” Lutz said to the greatest heroes known to history. Albert, one of the founding fathers of all monks, had once commented that he didn’t understand how the man this group was centered around could still maintain a human form. “Allow me to show you inside.”

Urged on by Lutz, the group stepped onto the temple grounds. Having already made his resolve, Stein moved forward without hesitation, entering the Church of Roaring Earth for the first time in seventy years. As he entered the temple grounds, he was immediately hit with a nostalgic sight.

“Hah!”

“This takes me back.” Stein looked nostalgically at the young monks thrusting their fists in the vast training ground. In his younger days, he’d also trained tirelessly here alongside his fellow apprentices.

“You could give them some instruction if you like,” Lutz prompted Stein.

“Master Albert would just rush over here telling me not to teach the young ones.” Stein’s way of thinking was far removed from any ordinary monk’s to begin with, even before taking into account his mastery of both the Life and Death Waves and the different path he’d walked. His teachings weren’t suited for most. “They’re all proper monks, though. You all must be instructing them well.”

“Thank you very much.” Lutz hadn’t expected a compliment from Stein, so it was hard for him to even raise his eyes as he forced out a reply.

There was a strong bond between Lutz and Stein. Lutz had been an orphan, and he’d become a monk after finding his way to the Church of Roaring Earth, which took orphans under its protection. He’d been discovered by Albert and became his disciple, then developing a relationship with Stein, who was already studying at the Church. However, the days that came after were dark ones. It had been a time of pure chaos, where the entire sky had turned bloodred, as much blood flowing on the earth as it had in the sky. Naturally, the servants of God of the Church of Roaring Earth stood with the mortal races and fought to reclaim the blue sky and peace...and many of Lutz’s fellow disciples met their ends in the process.

However exhausted the monks had been, the Boiling Mountain remained a powerful base for the mortal races during that time, and an eyesore to the Great Demon King. In other words, it had been inevitable for the monks, led by Albert, to clash with the demon army atop the Boiling Mountain. Stein had decided that his home would not be freed from this crisis until the source, the Great Demon King, was eliminated, so he’d left the mountain.

“It truly has been ages, hasn’t it?” Lutz remarked.

“Indeed, it has,” Ferd replied.

Ferd and the rest were led to the rather underutilized temple interior, where they exchanged greetings with Lutz again and got straight to the point.

“As I wrote in my letter, I’d like to meet Master Albert again before I pass away. Ferd and the others are also obliged to him, so we’ll all be heading to the Boiling Mountain together. However, we might make many stops along the way, so I will send a letter to our teacher once the details are decided,” Stein told Lutz about their plans.

“Very well. I’m sure Master Albert will be delighted too.”

“We’ll see,” Stein gave a vague reply. I’m sure Ferd and the others will be welcomed with open arms. But as for me, well, I’m fairly certain he’s going to strike me. Though Lutz was unaware of this, Stein had quarreled harshly with Albert before taking off, so their relationship wasn’t one that could be easily mended.

“Has Mr. Albert been well?” Elrica asked.

“Yes. But that might change once he finds out who’s coming to visit,” Lutz predicted in a somewhat joking manner.

“Don’t be so ominous. For the record, Elrica, Lutz isn’t actually joking.” This was a serious matter to Stein, and his expression here defied description.

“Oho ho ho ho,” Elrica chuckled anyway.

“In any case, it seems you are now in charge of a rather large temple, Mr. Lutz.” Ferd was happy for Lutz’s success, even though they were only casual acquaintances.

“He was the best of his generation, after all. His skills have attracted attention since way back,” Stein said that this was only natural, nodding his head.

“That’s quite enough of that...” Lutz felt anxious because his past might get dug up at this rate. No matter the era, it took resolve to listen to an elderly person talking about your younger days.

“Anyway, did you find anything out about the Death Wave monk?” Stein inquired as to whether there was any progress on the investigation into the Vile Fist, which he’d requested from Lutz and the other monks involved.

“Unfortunately, we don’t know any details. But according to the few monks who survived the attack, he seemed to be horrified by the Great Demon King and the great war, and he was shouting that he’d be killed if he wasn’t strong.” The only thing Lutz knew for certain was about what the Vile Fist himself had said and done.

“Hmm. He was also screaming that he didn’t want to die, and that he wanted to be above anyone else...”

“He wanted more power but didn’t know his limits and exceeded them. It happens often. And maybe some greed was also involved.” Sazaki shrugged his shoulders; he’d only heard the story about the Death Wave monk secondhand.

“Indeed,” Stein agreed.

During the great war, it had been common for people to misjudge their abilities, exceed their limits, and end up destroying themselves. That was proof of how much the despair the Great Demon King had brought to the mortal races. Even seventy years after the end of the war, there were still people obsessed with survival.

Well, I’m a bit of a weirdo. Sazaki understood that there were those who fought tooth and nail to cling to life, but since he’d voluntarily joined the fight to defeat the Great Demon King—an undertaking that should have surely led to death—pretty much just to tag along with his friends, it could be said that he was the complete opposite. Considering that everyone except him in the Hero’s party had fought for the continuation of life itself, he really was an exception among exceptions.

“Oh, that’s right. Lutz, there’s one more thing I’d like to ask you.” Stein decided to give his junior a break from all the reminiscent talk and moved on to their main question.

“Go ahead.”

“I suppose we have no idea where to find him, do we? Hopefully the Church of Roaring Earth does...” Sazaki whispered to Lara.

“He is an elusive one.”

The two of them had a specific person in mind: the last living member of the Hero’s party, who had no fixed address.

Some time later...

“Thank you for all the trouble you’ve gone through for me, Lutz.”

“Please, don’t mention it.”

After they finished discussing the main topic, Lutz ended up getting suckered into talking about the old times. He and Stein exchanged their goodbyes in front of the temple gates. The last time they had done so, more than seventy years ago, Stein’s departure had been abrupt, but now, he faced his junior disciple properly.

“Also, I see you’ve improved. Those are some wonderful muscles.”

“Uh... Th-Thank you very much...” Lutz bowed at Stein’s praise. It was impossible for others to understand how he felt, hearing this.

“Until next time.” Leaving behind the words that he’d never said during their previous parting, Stein turned to leave the mountain.

“Indeed.”

“I’m truly glad Mr. Lutz had the information we needed,” Ferd said.

“So am I, honey,” Elrica replied.

Meanwhile, these two were simply happy that this unexpected stroke of luck had given them a specific destination. Although it wasn’t certain, Lutz had given them information about someone who was likely to be their last comrade. Their next stop would be Juliano, the Town of Labyrinths. It was a strange town where adventurers gathered, constructed for the sake of exploring the several dungeons in the area. But in the meanwhile, Stein’s behavior was taking a mental toll on Ferd and the rest.

“Well...I had a feeling this was going to happen,” Elrica muttered.

“Same here, dearest.”

“Indeed.”

“Yup.”

Ferd, Sazaki, and Lara all agreed in turn. Stein was the only one missing from their conversation, but the half naked monk’s behavior was excessive as usual, and the others were feeling something between nostalgia and exasperation.

“The carriage would move three times faster if I pulled it, but the horse golems are taking up the ideal pulling position.” Demonstrating his muscle-brained way of thinking, Stein was running side by side with the carriage, while asking if there was anything that could be done about the horse golems, which could only move at a set speed.

“Just think about it logically. If we had a man who was not only ninety years old but also half naked pulling our carriage, we would be stopped by both guards and patrolling soldiers.” Ferd heard Stein’s voice from the outside and explained something very normal.

“The horses are completely naked and they don’t get stopped, so I’ll be fine too.”

“That’s not the point, you muscle-brained moron!” Stein’s reply was so unexpected that Ferd ended up unintentionally speaking like in his youth.

“Bwa ha ha ha ha!” Sazaki guffawed like this was the funniest thing ever.

“Looks like men stay the same until the day they die.” Lara was astounded that the men hadn’t grown at all in the past seventy years.

“Oho ho ho. It seems so.” Elrica chuckled with nostalgia.

Many people thought that the Hero’s party was a group of dignified, taciturn champions, but they were actually a bunch of jokers.

“But man, Juliano, huh? Have any of ya delved into a dungeon since the end of the great war? Ahem. Have any of you? Neither Elrica nor I have,” Ferd said, collecting himself and switching back to his usual tone mid-sentence.

“Is that elderly speech pattern actually just an act?” Sazaki quipped.

“Shut it, Sazaki.” Because Ferd’s old comrades hadn’t changed a single bit, he recently found himself often switching back to his old speech patterns.

“I haven’t. What about you, Lara?” Sazaki asked.

“Nope.”

“Hey, Stein,” Sazaki asked next.

“Neither have I.”

“So that means none of us have.”

Though it might have come as a surprise to many, during the great war, the Hero’s party had actually never delved into any dungeons—which were said to be either tests from the good gods or traps laid by the evil gods—where treasures awaited and monsters roamed.

“We used to be really busy, after all.”

The reason could be summed up in Ferd’s single sentence. During the great war, where deadly battlefields were scattered across the land, the Hero’s party had been embroiled in fighting on many stages, so they’d had no time at all to challenge the dungeons. In other words, Ferd and the others hadn’t been adventurers, but a combat unit formed to destroy the Great Demon King; they hadn’t participated in any such frivolous activities. Many assumed that the Hero’s party had fought their way through every dungeon out there, but that was simply a misconception.

“Say, Lara. Are dungeons actually sent by the good gods or the evil gods?” Sazaki asked.

“No one knows the answer. Right, Elrica?”

“Yes. It seems certain that they were created by gods older than the ones that exist now, but we don’t know anything beyond that.” Neither she nor Lara had a definite answer.

There was no doubt that adventurers who tackled dungeons would improve their skills and earn fame and treasure. Some said that this was the good gods’ way of giving humans the opportunity to train themselves and obtain glory. However, countless people had also died in fear and despair inside these dungeons. Some said that these places were traps created by the evil gods to tempt humans to their deaths with the dazzling splendor that lay within.

“The Church of Roaring Earth doesn’t have a fixed opinion on the matter either. Well, there are certainly quite a few monks who belong to adventurer parties and train in the dungeons.” Stein joined the conversation now, apparently having given up on trying to take the horse golems’ places.

“Were you not interested in trying?” Ferd asked.

“Good muscles require sunlight. I don’t want to be underground all the time.” It seemed that Stein wasn’t really interested in dungeons, his reasoning for this being very on brand for him.

“I see.”

“However, it would have been nice to challenge one at least once. If I tried entering one at my age, I doubt the Adventurers’ Guild would allow it. If I were a receptionist, I would definitely refuse my own entry.” It seemed that Stein had a few regrets on the matter, but he judged, quite reasonably, that this would be out of the question for him now.

If your common sense...

...extends that far...

...then why...

...are you always half naked?

His four companions silently came to a single, shared thought in tandem.

In order to delve into dungeons, people had to first register at an organization called the Adventurers’ Guild. It had originally been just a small, mutual aid organization formed by adventurers as protection against the crimes that often took place inside dungeons, but over the course of one or two centuries, it grew much larger, driven by the growing interest in dungeons. Today, anyone who challenged the dungeons at all was beholden to it.

As a result, people who weren’t registered with the Adventurers’ Guild couldn’t enter, and someone in their nineties wouldn’t get permission to enter at all, even if Stein revealed that he was part of the Hero’s party. In fact, if a member of the Hero’s party was given permission to enter a dungeon and by any chance died there, liability issues would undoubtedly arise. The Adventurers’ Guild would likely refuse him in particular more vehemently than they would if he’d simply been old.

“I’d always wanted to try at least once,” Ferd said, always enamored of the idea of adventure.

“I’d go if there was alcohol,” Sazaki added, true to his usual standards.

“Milk, in my case,” Stein followed in a similar vein.

“You guys really haven’t changed at all.” Lara shrugged her shoulders.

“Oho ho ho ho,” Elrica laughed with her hand over her mouth.

People changed, but even if they didn’t, it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Some time later, Albert—Stein and Lutz’s teacher—received their letters.

“Well, I’ll be,” he simply said and looked up at the blue sky.

◆◆◆

Stein of the Null Wave

A man who exists between life and death, common sense and nonsense, yet not a single person doubts the conviction that dwells within him.

Interlude: A New Legend Is Born in Labyrinth Town

Juliano was called the Town of Labyrinths because of the many dungeons (aka “labyrinths”) that existed around it. It had grown by absorbing greed and lives. Dungeons produced all kinds of things, from treasures of simple gold and silver to medicines that could cure all diseases, as well as special weapons that emitted light or fire and unbreakable shields. These places granted adventurers fame, fortune...and death.

Of course, the adventurers who delved into dungeons were prepared to lose their lives, but most of them had a baseless confidence that they alone would be the exception to the dangers. Or they simply couldn’t face the idea of death. They would surely make it back alive, they thought. They would surely strike it rich. Surely, surely, surely. No matter how much the dungeons swallowed up that certainty of theirs, humans couldn’t leave these things alone. The Hero’s party was headed to a town inhabited by those who’d lost their minds a little bit. But those who’d experienced the great war knew that the brave warriors who’d declared they would bring back the blue sky had been the most insane back then.

The adventurers who challenged those dungeons woke up at different times. If they’d delved into a dungeon the day before and enjoyed a toast after, they’d wake up late, and conversely, those who were planning on entering a dungeon that day woke up early.

“Mmm!” Theo, a young man who was already a Depth Delver despite his youth, got out of his bed and stretched, his golden hair shining as bright as the morning sun. “All right! Time to give it my best, as usual!” Theo slapped himself on the cheeks to psych himself up, then tidied up the pure white sheets of his well-crafted bed. The bed wasn’t the only item of high quality in the room—the dresser, chairs, desk, and other furniture, as well as various small items, were all first-class goods.

The fact that Theo, who was just a young man from the countryside, was surrounded by expensive items was another reason that there was no end to the number of people aiming to become adventurers. As long as one had the skill, one could obtain fame and riches, whether they were a farmer’s fourth son or a brat from the slums. The word “adventurer” was essentially synonymous with success in life. However, being an adventurer wasn’t as simple as people tended to think. Unless one formed an adventuring party with comrades whose strengths complimented their own, they wouldn’t be able to delve into the depths where wealth and glory lay. But Theo was also blessed in that regard.

“Good morning, Mia.”

“Good morning to you too, Theo! We have a beautiful blue sky again today!” Her hair swayed as she spoke her praises to the sky.

“Yes, indeed.”

Mia was at the ambiguous age of which she could rightfully be called either a girl or a woman. She was wearing a priest’s outfit that had been plundered from a dungeon, and her hair and eyes seemed to shine golden thanks to the light magic dwelling in her body. In rare cases, mana could manifest as a physical characteristic, and Mia’s light-based magic was so powerful that she was glowing ever so slightly.

People’s feelings about the blue sky varied greatly from generation and location. The knight orders who’d served as the main force during the great war, the church forces with their monks and temple knights, and the groups of warriors who’d existed since long ago, had all inherited their love for the blue sky from their predecessors. Besides them, the few remaining elderly humans, the deeply religious rural folk, and the long-lived races, like elves or dwarves, who lived far longer than humans, all gave their reverence to the blue sky daily, hoping that it would never turn red again. But in a town that no longer had any connection to those things, a blue sky was just a blue sky, and the bloodred sky was just a thing of the past. Theo had grown up in an insular, pious, traditional village, while Mia wouldn’t care so much about the sky if she hadn’t been raised by the church. That was another sign of the changing times.

“Good morning, Theo, Mia. Nice blue sky we have today.”

“Good morning, Freya.”

“Good morning to you too, Miss Freya.”

Freya had long, red hair tied up in a bundle, narrow eyes of a similar red, and a smaller build than Mia’s. Her love of the blue sky came from a slightly different place than Theo’s and Mia’s.

Although Freya looked like a little girl, she was actually a dwarf, a race with a lifespan of around two hundred years, though that number varied greatly from individual to individual. Dwarves were closely associated with mountains, the underground, ores, fire, and weapons. They were shorter than humans on average, and the men were short and stout with prominent beards, while the women often looked like little girls.

Freya was a little over sixty, but by dwarf standards, she was a young girl who hadn’t even lived half her life yet. However, she had been born in a generation where the scars from the aftermath of the war had still been clearly pronounced, so she’d inherited the love for the blue sky that even the dwarves, who often lived underground, still harbored.

“We have a big job waiting for us. How about we warm our bodies a little?” Freya invited Theo.

“Sounds good.”

“Do your best!” Mia cheered them on.

There was no lascivious meaning behind Freya’s suggestion to warm their bodies. It was just a daily routine that could be seen as a bit dangerous.

A little later, Theo and Freya were facing off against each other in a large manor’s garden.

“All right, let’s do this.”

One of the two was clad in armor as black as burnt charcoal and wielding a massive wooden sword. Every part of the armor was jagged and intimidating, and it was so large that the average man would have to look straight up at it. However, it was Freya’s cute, muffled voice that had echoed out from it. Some among the dwarves, the race who lived side by side with metal and had no peer in terms of blacksmithing skill, could operate incredibly unique armor like it was their own limbs. Therefore, even though she looked like a small girl, as a warrior, Freya could take the role of a sturdy vanguard.

“Yeah!”

In contrast, Theo’s garb was extremely plain. He had leather armor protecting the bare minimum areas, like his chest, and his only armaments were a wooden shield and sword.

“Let’s go!”

Following Freya’s cry, the large armor dashed forward, with force befitting its appearance. Once it got close to Theo, it raised its sword over its head and swung it down on him.

“Hmph!”

Despite being lightly armored, Theo chose not to dodge and instead raised his shield. Even if Freya herself inside the armor was light, the suit had weight befitting its size, so a wooden sword swung with that special strength could easily smash an ordinary person’s skull and turn their body into a stain on the ground. But since she was using a wooden sword, this was only really a game; she wasn’t fighting seriously at all. If she was wielding her usual greatsword, she’d turn a person’s entire body into red mist. Therefore, Theo had to fight back with the appropriate force. He simply let a tiny bit of the power of light inside him circulate his body, and that was plenty. When Freya’s sword slammed into Theo’s shield, not only did the shield not break, the sword bounced back upward.

“One more time!”

Freya held on tightly to the wooden sword which was about to slip out of her hands thanks to the recoil, then slashed horizontally from the side this time. If an ordinary person took this blow, their body would be sent flying, and every bone in their body would be broken.

“Hngh!”

But Theo blocked with his shield without shaking in the slightest, and instead, the wooden sword couldn’t stand the impact and snapped. The power and mana of light was similar to the power of the earth in terms of defense, causing powerful recoil against attacks, and even allowed one to maintain their position after being struck. If there was one difference between the power of the earth and the power of light, it would be that the latter had slightly fewer users and was more difficult to control, but it provided a more solid defense in exchange. Theo’s mastery of the power of light at such a young age marked him as a clear genius.

“That should be enough.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Elise, a tall woman with amazing looks and a figure that would put most ladies of the night everywhere to shame, and Amalda, an expressionless woman with nevertheless beautiful features, entered the garden. The two of them were also Theo’s companions and powerful adventurers, which was why they’d been chosen for the decisive battle against a dragon deep in a dungeon.

“All right, let’s do our best.” Following Theo’s words, having already finished breakfast and other preparations, his adventuring party, the Light in the Abyss, left from the manor.

“Look, it’s the Depth Delvers.”

“Today’s the day, huh?”

Theo’s party wasn’t alone now. Passersby stirred when a dazzling group of people appeared, walking confidently down the main street. This group consisted of many warriors, mages, and priests, the foundational classes of all adventurers. With the exception of Theo’s group, all of them were in their thirties, the prime of an adventurer’s life.

The reason behind the commotion was that these were all top adventurers who mainly fought in the deepest parts of dungeons—commonly called Depth Delvers. They wielded weapons enhanced by numerous kinds of magic, exceedingly high-level physical abilities and fighting techniques, and the knowledge to fight in dungeons. Only a handful of adventurers had mastered all those to a high enough degree to travel to the depths of dungeons and make it back alive; the fame and treasures they earned were the envy of all.

By now, the gathering of Depth Delvers had grown into an elite group of about thirty people, enough that this could be called a general mobilization of all the Depth Delvers in Juliano. There was a berserker clad in the pelt of a black magical beast, a mage adorned with many jewels, a monk dressed in plain yet glistening garb, an elf wielding a bow that spirits danced around, a dwarf heavy warrior wearing a suit of armor that looked like it was born from the earth itself, a dark elf thief hiding their face behind a hood with complex patterns and armed with various tools, and so forth. The list went on and on. Their very presence was palpable, and even veteran adventurers broke into a cold sweat and made way for them.

This elite group left the town and marched toward a nearby mountain. Today, the temporary alliance of Depth Delvers formed in Juliano would travel to the deepest layer of a dungeon known as the Nightless Inferno and slay a dragon.

“We’re teleporting down to the fiftieth layer, right?” asked Lloyd, the leader of the Path to Glory party and the one leading the Depth Delver alliance. Once they arrived at the mountain, his dignified, lionlike face remained undaunted as he looked at the palm-sized glowing orb floating at the cave’s entrance.

“Yeah,” his companions replied.

One of these devices, known as transporters, existed in every dungeon. They were extremely convenient devices that allowed people to go back and forth between layers they’d been to before, so they wouldn’t have to go through the entire dungeon every time. But their origin was completely unknown, and they were one of the reasons that some people claimed that dungeons were traps created by the evil gods. If dungeons were trials created by the good gods, it was unlikely that those gods would have made things so convenient. People reasoned that they’d been installed by the evil gods to lure people into the dungeons. But at the end of the day, no one had the perfect answer for what dungeons truly were, and it was unclear whether that answer would ever be discovered at all.

“Are you all ready?”

“We’re good to go.”

“Same here.”

“Yes, no problems here.”

Lloyd got confirmation from every single party present.

“We’re also ready.” Theo, being the leader of his own party, also nodded at Lloyd.

Along with Mia, Theo was the youngest in the alliance, but he wasn’t someone to make light of. Adventurers believed in meritocracy, not seniority, so most of them didn’t care about someone’s age as long as they had a track record.

“What about you, Ginny?” Finally, Lloyd turned his gaze to Ginny, another key figure.

Ginny was a beautiful woman in her thirties. The blue eyes behind her glasses gave off an intellectual sparkle, and the long golden hair that swayed down to her waist seemed to shine brighter than any work of art.

“I don’t have any problems either.” Her voice was so smooth it almost felt artificial, like it was coming from a delicate musical instrument rather than a human throat.

“Let’s go, then.” After confirming that everyone was ready, Lloyd activated the transporter.

The adventurers were greeted by a vast underground space, their surroundings heated and crimson. Flames were erupting all over the scorched ground, and lava flowed far in the distance. The heat was overbearing, but the divine protection the priests had applied beforehand shielded them from temperatures to a certain degree, so they could all somehow move around properly. This dungeon, known as the Nightless Inferno, could be described as the underground space of an active volcano, and was constantly illuminated by flames and lava that burned up all intruders.

“Here they come!”

Everyone was ready to fight even without Lloyd’s warning. The dungeon had already bared its fangs. When it came to transporters, there were both lucky and unlucky destinations. Adventurers could be transported to a relatively safe part of the dungeon, but they might also end up getting attacked by monsters straightaway. This was very much the latter case.

“Oooooh!”

The scorched ground started to swell. If any lizard-men had been here—a race that had similar values to the orcs and could only be described as bipedal alligators—they would have frowned. The monsters that jumped out of the ground, numbering around the same as the adventurers, were also bipedal alligators. Lizardmen detested these creatures and called them underground dwellers. The difference between the two races was that flames gushed out from the gaps in the underground dwellers’ scales and fangs. Dwellers were taller than lizardmen, who were already two heads taller than humans, and their bodies were also wide and bulky. Their eyes were strangely empty, showing no signs of intelligence, as though they operated on pure instinct.

An arrow pierced one of the dwellers’ eyes.

“Gyah?!”

The dweller instinctively pulled out the source of its pain, but then a second arrow pierced its remaining eye. A master archer had calmly placed arrows in both of the monster’s eyes, then took aim on the next target, expressionless and emotionless. This coolheaded hunter was one of Theo’s comrades, Amalda, a woman of few emotions and subtle physical movements. She handled her bow—which had a blend of red, blue, and yellow on it—with calmness and magnificent skill, taking aim at the underground dwellers’ eyes one after the other.

“Graaah!” the adventurers’ vanguard shouted as they clashed with the underground dwellers. The towering dwellers had such tremendous physical strength that ordinary armor would shred like paper under their might, and not even spears or crossbows could penetrate their scales. But everyone here was far beyond human.

“Hah!”

A monk intercepted the wildly swinging underground dwellers. The difference in ability was evident. Compared to the underground dwellers’ crude, wide swings, the monk’s fist advanced through the shortest path and smashed their jaws, which were lolling in an unsightly manner.

“Take that!”

Freya, the one wearing the most impressive armor in the vanguard, swung her black greatsword down, rendering the dwellers’ scales useless. She bisected them from head to groin, leaving even their corpses with nothing valuable remaining.

Theo was also part of the vanguard, and the momentum of the charging dwellers stood no chance against his shield that reflected light like a mirror.

“Gyagh?!”

The underground dwellers were confused. They’d tried to use their momentum to blow away a tiny creature, but when they crashed into his shining shield, they were the ones violently sent flying backward. This should have been impossible considering the difference in physique between them, which was akin to that between a child and an adult, but the underground dwellers, creatures that lived on instinct, couldn’t comprehend the tenacity of the power of light that was causing this. However, as creatures that lived on instinct, they should have been able to regain their balance faster. As one of the underground dwellers tried to stand back up after getting knocked away, there was a flicker behind it—and not because of the heat.

“Gyah?”

The confused underground dweller’s consciousness and life came to an end. Elise, another of Theo’s companions and a woman of such unmatched beauty that she seemed out of place, pulled a dagger glowing with an eerie purple light out of the dweller’s neck, then vanished again with a flicker, like a mirage.

“A monk slayer!”

The moment they heard that name, the monk, swordsmen, Theo, Freya, and the vanished Elise all went on their guard. Deep inside the battlefield, lava itself gathered into a squirming mass about the size of an underground dweller. The Great Demon King had repeatedly enhanced monsters like this one and sent them to the battlefield on the Boiling Mountain. Many monks had fallen victim to them, earning them the name “monk slayer.” The reason they were so deadly to monks was perfectly obvious from their appearance alone. There were few monks so skilled at the use of the Life Wave that they could punch living lava and come out unscathed. Even a monk powerful enough to be one of the Depth Delvers had a clear frown on his face.

However, while the improved specimens that had wreaked havoc during the great war boasted such strength that even high-ranking monks couldn’t stand against them, the original creatures found here had a clear weakness. They were far too slow—about as fast as an old man using a walking stick—possibly because of their viscous, almost fluid bodies, which made them ideal targets for magical attacks.

“Light, come forth and cleanse this wicked one!” Light gathered on Mia and her priest’s staff, and spheres of light assaulted the monk slayer.

“I’m firing a shot!” A mage of the Progressive layer fired a ball of light as four fingers shone on their hand.

And thus, the monk slayer was vanquished without putting up any fight at all. Even though these monsters possessed the uncanny ability to instantly defeat any human they touched, they had weak defenses against spiritual or magical attacks, so they were practically no threat against a mage or priest of sufficient ability. This wouldn’t have been possible against the fearsome monsters of the great war who’d had their flaws removed and were worthy of the name monk slayer, but the original creatures weren’t a big issue if countermeasures were taken against them.

Of course, while the underground dwellers and monk slayer had been dealt with almost effortlessly, that was because they’d been up against thirty Depth Dwellers, who were essentially the highest rank of adventurer.

Honestly, it would have been absurd for any of them to be struggling so early in the game.

“All right. Let’s take a short break after we descend. The real fight is ahead of us.”

After all, these adventurers were here to challenge a dragon, the apex of apex predators. It made sense for them to take a break before the decisive battle, but they all kept their wits about them, checking in on each other.

Theo and his companions were doing much the same as the others, but there was one person who didn’t seem all that interested in taking a break. She approached them.

“May I have a moment of your time?” Ginny asked.

“Yes? What is it?” Theo replied in confusion.

Any typical country bumpkin would be ecstatic to have a woman like Ginny talking to him, but unfortunately, Theo was surrounded by ladies of comparable beauty to Ginny’s on a regular basis.

“I’m sorry to interrupt. I don’t know many people your age who have such strong control over the power of light. Do the two of you have any particularly extraordinary relatives?” Ginny asked Theo and Mia.

“Um, no, not really,” answered Theo.

“Me neither,” said Mia.

The two of them exchanged glances as they replied. It was true that neither of them were related to anyone famous.

“Oh, is that so? I suppose the power of light is straightforward, so as long as you have the aptitude for it, it will develop smoothly,” Ginny said. “The power of darkness, on the other hand, is dangerous, so that would be a wholly different matter.”

“Yes. I believe that the power of light is a wonderful force that will respond to anyone who puts in the effort,” Theo replied.

“Indeed it is. I’m sorry for taking up your time. Good luck out there.”

“Yes, the same to you.”

Ginny left, apparently having said all that she came to say. Theo and Mia glanced at each other again, a bit bewildered.

Ginny was correct, though. Unlike the power of darkness, the power of light wouldn’t betray its user and didn’t tempt one toward destruction and their own ruin. Therefore, while the power of darkness was quite difficult to handle, those with a talent for the power of light typically thrived and achieved greatness. More importantly, when light and darkness—which were meant to be two sides of the same coin—had clashed so intensely back in those chaotic days, it was light that had come out on top, so it was generally believed that the power of light was superior.

“All right, break’s over. Let’s go.”

But more than anything, survival was their top priority right now.

“Here we are...” Lloyd, the leader of this group which was composed of over thirty top elites, looked up at a massive gate that seemed out of place for the caverns below a volcano.

The tightly shut wooden gate was proof that labyrinths were man-made—or rather, God-made. Of course, in a place like this, this was certainly no ordinary gate. Particularly powerful foes awaited beyond the imposing gates that separated labyrinth layers. Unless one possessed some extremely special ability, once inside, there was no escaping until the boss that lay beyond had been defeated. Of course, if they themselves were defeated, the death that would come with it could be considered an escape, in a sense.

“Just stick to the plan, everyone.” The fact that they had a plan assumed that they knew what the dragon beyond this gate was like.

Ordinary adventurers believed that the dragon in this labyrinth had never been defeated, but it had in fact been killed at least once by a group of elites 150 years ago. Of course, unless some anomaly occurred, even if monsters in a labyrinth were defeated, new ones of the same power were created in their place. Therefore, all of the adventurers present had taken countermeasures based on the records left by their great predecessors.

“With all of us together, we can do this,” Ginny said encouragingly. She’d played a major role in deciphering the records from the past, and she’d also contributed greatly to devising the countermeasures they planned to employ—not that these measures were especially complex; in fact, they were quite simple.

Phew... All right. Theo psyched himself up and steadied his breathing.

There was absolutely no point in asking Depth Delvers why they went to such dangerous places. There were many reasons, such as wealth, fame, and self-improvement, but ultimately, it was because they were irredeemably, magnificently foolish that they took to the challenge of venturing into the unknown.

“Let’s go.”

Following Lloyd’s command, these magnificent fools went through the gate.

And there it was.

It’s huge!

One couldn’t fault Theo’s reaction to the creature. The sight was imposing and eerie. It was as if a lizard’s limbs had been forcefully attached to a massive stone bridge. The creature’s scales looked like they’d been carved out of deep-red stone, its fangs looked sharp enough to pierce any substance, and its yellow eyes were slit vertically. But no explanation was necessary here. It was a scene out of everyone’s imaginations: a dragon, the apex of apex predators, lording over a rocky cavern.

The dragon stood as high as a ten-story building, and its roar generated such a powerful impact that the sound waves felt like an attack all on their own. If an ordinary person had been present, the roar alone would have blown them away and stopped their heart. But the people currently present were the cream of the crop. They wouldn’t falter from a mere impact like this—as long as it wasn’t accompanied by flames.

“Block it!”

Theo and the other members of the vanguard who excelled at defense raised their shields and prepared themselves for the incoming threat. Even little kids knew what would come out of a dragon’s mouth.

“Groooah!”

This was one of the reasons dragons stood at the apex. Its roar was accompanied by a surge of crimson-red primordial energy: fire. Though it ought to go without saying, as organic creatures, fire was a humanoid’s worst enemy. Coming into direct contact with it would turn their skin into charcoal, and if they inhaled the heated air, their lungs would be burned raw and lead to their death.

This was fire, the original destructive force and a power that humans couldn’t oppose—unless they had the supernatural power of magic on their side, that is.

“Light, come forth!” Light overflowed from Mia’s staff.

“May the earth’s protection be with us!” Freya evoked the protection of nature from her armor.

“Spiritual force field deployed.” Shining, blue butterflies danced from Amalda’s bow.

And those three weren’t alone.

“Life Wave, full throttle! May God be my witness!” A monk unleashed the Life Wave and God’s blessing.

I spent a fortune to make this equipment! If it melts here, I’m coming back to haunt this dragon! A heavy warrior raised a specially made, fire-resistant shield.

“Whooooooaaa!!!” A berserker clad in the pelt of a fiery magical beast screamed.

Let’s do this! Theo thought, blocking the flames with his glowing shield.

Working together, they created a large, dome-shaped barrier that could fit everyone inside it, which the dragon’s breath splashed against. Though deathly flames consumed the world around them, the force of light stood against those flames, leaving the adventurers safe and sound.

“Another one’s coming!”

The group of adventurers, who were the peak of humanity, did a fine job of defending against the dragon’s breath and even had a little time to get ready for the second wave.

“Groooaaargh!”

“Hrrrngh!”

The adventurers clenched their teeth as they endured the next scorching bellow. The ground outside the barrier burned crimson from the dragon’s breath, and it was truly uncanny that it wasn’t melting. Without proper countermeasures, these flames could easily burn not just a thousand people, but more than ten times that number. It was only because they were the Depth Delvers that these adventurers could stop these flames not just once, but twice.

“It’s coming again!”

“Here’s a potion, Mia!”

“Drink up, you guys!”

The dragon was preparing to let out a third wave of flames, but three breaths in quick succession must have been too much even for this fearsome creature, because there was a short pause before it could continue. Elise and the master thief took advantage of that opening to give their mage allies potions that would restore their mana. A small fraction of assassins and thieves could use a special ability that raised the effectiveness of medicine. But this meant that these specialists of dirty work, who had the skills to assassinate even famous knights, had been reduced to mere pharmacists—and it was all this dragon’s doing.

“Roooaaaaargh!”

“Raaah!”

The vanguard blocked the third torrent of hellish flame with a war cry that matched the dragon’s roar. The area was bathed in crimson. Even a metropolis could be devastated by three bouts of dragon’s fire, with countless people lost to the flames. In other words, the dragon couldn’t have anticipated that so few humans could block its flames thrice.

“Grraaarghh!” The dragon roared again. This wasn’t a cry of pure bloodlust—there was agony mixed in too.

Labyrinth dragons had a biological flaw so absurd that scholars and sages had been racking their brains over it for centuries: They were poor at regulating their own body temperature, and by breathing fire, they kept rapidly increasing their own temperature, which eventually caused them to overheat and die. Essentially, whoever made these dragons had equipped giant, cold-blooded lizards with a fire-breathing device that would never cool down; there was a complete disconnect between dragons’ abilities and their biology. There was also a subspecies of labyrinth dragons that could breathe ice and snow, but they didn’t have a way to stop their own temperatures from dropping either, and would die of hypothermia, so they were also beyond saving. Compared to true dragons, labyrinth dragons could be likened to children that didn’t understand their own strength.

“Groooargh!”

The pseudo-apex lizard was thought to be either a defective organism that rampaged because of its own heat, or a product of the good gods’ tampering to create a trial that humans could stand a chance against. Either way, the creature still had one weapon: its overwhelming mass.

“Block iiiiit!” Lloyd ordered everyone to defend to the death.

“Yeaaaaah!” Theo gathered every ounce of strength in his body and braced for the impact.

The dragon charged forward with bloodshot eyes and drool dripping down its maw, clearly in a state of disarray. The outside of the barrier had already turned into a scorching hell, so if the adventurers scattered to avoid its charge, they would lose their lives. Their only option was to stand their ground.

“Raaaaah!”

“Groooooh!”

The dragon crashed into the Depth Delvers’ barrier, causing it to crack. Even if this dragon was but an imitation, each of these great warriors—a great engineer; a mage of the Progressive layer, who were considered the elite among mages; a berserker with the strength of a hundred men; a monk who’d trained nonstop; an elf who lived alongside the spirits; a dark elf with assassination techniques; a dwarf heavy warrior; the leader of the Depth Delvers; Mia, who was practically a budding Saint; and Theo, who was a budding Hero—could do naught but stick to their guns and endure the assault, waiting for the dragon to self-destruct.

“Roooaaaaargh!”

“Raaaaah!”

At this point, neither side exhibited any intelligence. The dragon simply roared, trying to break the barrier, and the adventurers shouted back, as if to muster every drop of strength in their bodies. It was a very simple battle: Either the dragon would break the barrier or the adventurers would destroy the beast. An unstoppable force versus an immovable object.

“Tch. Light, come forth!”

“Graaaaah!”

Another clash. The barrier cracked further, and a single additional collision with the dragon would probably shatter it completely. The unstoppable force was about to topple the immovable object.

“Gooooo!”

But there were no screams of terror from the brave warriors who challenged the unknown depths; there were only cries of victory. All thirty of them became like a single entity, and not only was their barrier repaired, it even became stronger, overflowing with the brilliance of life, the sparkle of existence, a unified will, and the very power of light.

“Gyeeeeeh!”

None of the adventurers noticed that the dragon’s ear-piercing scream lacked power. However, all of them could tell that the dragon had been repelled by their barrier after three collisions.

“Gweeeeergh. Gah. Gwah.”

The repelled dragon was unable to stand and writhed on the ground like it was drowning. Its body temperature had risen too high, and its vitality kept draining from its body, enabling the adventurers to halt even an all-out attack from it. There was only one fate in store for the monster now: death. Three gouts of flame and three collisions. Even though a single one of those was enough to kill almost any living creature, it only took six actions for the dragon to meet its own end, so it was no wonder that dragons born from labyrinths were called defective.

“Grrr...” The dragon let out a short death cry as all of its vital functions ceased.

“I-Is it dead?”

“Did we win?”

Although the dragon had stopped moving, the adventurers were still unsure if it was alive or dead. But then, an event that cleared all doubt took place.

“The transporter activated?!”

“We won! We really won!”

The adventurers erupted with joy as their bodies and the dragon started glowing faintly. It was a well-known fact that once the boss waiting beyond a gate was defeated, the transporter would activate, forcibly teleporting the victors and the boss’s corpse outside. The fact that this phenomenon was currently taking place meant that the Depth Delvers had truly defeated a dragon, even if it was only an imitation. It was a truly remarkable achievement, and the moment a new legend of Dragon Slayers was born. If no one minded the thing still stuck in the ground, that was.

Chapter 5: Labyrinth Town’s Braggart

“Like the gatekeepers told us, the dragon subjugation festival sure is lively,” Elrica said.

“It really is,” Ferd added.

When they visited Juliano, the Town of Labyrinths, and started looking around, they found that the townspeople were busy celebrating a dragon’s defeat.

“What a glorious day.”

“I can’t believe they actually slew a dragon!”

“Bottoms up!”

“Three cheers for the adventurers!”

The townsfolk were singing the adventurers’ praises for their great dragon-slaying feat, as errant flower petals fluttered through the air like confetti. The various stands produced their specialties, and there were even some who looked to be professional street performers wandering about. Although the gatekeepers had told Ferd and his companions the reason behind the festival, they were here for their old comrade, not the labyrinths. However, that comrade was also a problem child.

“Now then, what do we do?” Ferd asked.

“Yes, what should we do?” Elrica repeated.

The two of them looked troubled as they gazed over the hustle and bustle across town. The reason behind their distress wasn’t the commotion Stein had caused by being half naked when they’d entered town, nor that Sazaki’s alcohol had been suspected of being an illicit substance.

“What name is he going by now? It was Luca five years ago,” Sazaki asked.

“I have no idea,” Lara replied.

“Me neither,” Stein added.

The trio racked their brains, equally troubled, and it was no wonder: The man they were looking for changed his name so often that even his comrades couldn’t keep track of it.

“What’s he doing now? I think he was selling something before.”

“I have no idea.”

“Me neither.”

A similar exchange repeated. Moreover, that comrade of theirs had kept moving from place to place after the war and didn’t have a steady job. It was almost a divine miracle that the Church of Roaring Earth had been able to tell them his location; a priest of high rank who was acquainted with him had happened to see him in this town by pure coincidence. However, since the priest had hesitated to talk to him, Ferd and the others weren’t able to learn their comrade’s exact whereabouts. In other words, they were looking for an old man of unknown name, uncertain address, and unclear occupation. The guards would probably scowl at such a vague question.

“We could head to a bookstore and ask after him. There are some facts that we do know for certain,” Elrica suggested.

“That sounds like a plan, dearest,” Ferd replied.

“Excuse me, sir. Would you happen to know an elderly man in his nineties, who is often called a braggart because he tries to aggressively sell his self-written heroic saga and says strangely dramatic things?” she asked the owner of the bookstore she had just entered.

“Are you talking about the braggart geezer at the general store? If you’re his acquaintance, tell him that a story whose protagonist changes name all the time won’t sell.”

My comrades are so easy to read, Ferd thought. It seemed that, following Sazaki and Stein, they’d been able to identify yet another one of their companions instantly. Ferd realized anew that perhaps his party members were a bit too distinctive.

“Is this really the place? Well, it does seem very likely,” Ferd said.

“Indeed. This looks just like the type of general store he’d run,” Elrica added.

The two of them looked up at what was apparently a small general store, which was located away from the main street, and noted that it reeked of their target’s personality.

“Hmm. Swords, armor, medicine, books, daily necessities, alcohol, and magic tools. There are too many signboards. He’s always been like this. He starts off trying to cover every base, and he only thinks about what he’s doing once things don’t work out.” Stein pointed out that the signboards were far too numerous even for a general store.

“Oh? Alcohol, you say?” Sazaki said, his interest as a connoisseur piqued.

“He apparently carries magic tomes too. I suppose he got permits for all kinds of things.” Lara was also interested as a connoisseur herself.

“Let’s try going in, then. Hello.” Ferd entered the general store to see if the shopkeeper was the man they were after.

If one were to describe the inside of the store in one word, it would be “eclectic.” Every kind of item listed on the signboards was crammed into the store, although each in small quantity, creating a disorganized space with no sense of unity.

The shopkeeper was quite the dandy fellow. His shoulder-length hair was dyed blond, and his clothes were fancier than a commoner’s. He wore a ring with a large blue gemstone on his index finger, and earrings glittered on his ears. However, he was still a wrinkled ninety-year-old man in the end, so it couldn’t be denied that he was trying too hard to imitate young people’s fashion.

“Hello! Welcome to my— Aaaaagh?!” The shopkeeper started greeting his customers with an unusually powerful voice for his age, but the moment he recognized Ferd and the others, his voice turned into a scream. “Gaaaaah! Why?! I haven’t done anything wrong!”

“What a suspicious reaction. What did you do?” Ferd asked.

“Nothing, I told you!”

“Then why are you panicking so much?”

“With all of you gathered here, it’s a surefire lineup against me!”

“There are few people this lineup wouldn’t work against.”

“Well...I suppose that’s true. Yeah. Wait, no! Why are all of you here?!”

The old man’s brown eyes went as wide as they possibly could as he hid behind the counter and stuck only his face out. His tone was like that of a young person’s and unsuited to a man his age. He was acting like he had something to be guilty over, but he really had done nothing wrong, and was just frightened because he’d fallen into a hopeless situation.

“We wanted to see our friends and acquaintances again before we died. We plan to visit the neighboring continent to meet our great-grandchild at the end of the journey. We also plan on going to see Mr. Albert on the Boiling Mountain.”

“O-Oh, I see. Right. I get it now. But, Mr. Albert as well? Have you prepared yourself, Stein?” After listening to Ferd’s explanation, the shopkeeper let out a sigh of relief.

“More or less.”

“But well, no... Hmm. Mr. Albert, huh? It would be very rude of me to be absent when all of you are going... There are a few others too... But after all this time... Hmm...” The shopkeeper was troubled.

Even though he found socializing bothersome and had spent his life moving from place to place, even changing his name, the man still had a number of important acquaintances. He also felt that it would be wrong for him to be the only person absent when his old friends had come to visit him, of all people. And although he hadn’t said it out loud, he wasn’t happy to be the only one left out when Ferd and the rest, who could be called his only comrades in life, had come back together again.

“All right. Then I’ll also join you! I’d be worried about leaving Lara on her own!” the shopkeeper said with his arms crossed and chest puffed out.

“Ooh, we’re happy to have you,” Ferd said.

“I’m also worried about you.” Lara, who was thought to be the only person to emerge from the abyss of magic with her sanity intact, pointed out that the shopkeeper was also a problem child.

“Then I’ll change my name back too. From today on, I’m Max again.” The shopkeeper went back to the name he’d used when he was part of the Hero’s party.

“Just how many names do you have?” the exasperated Sazaki said.

“I honestly don’t know. There are some names I’ve only used for a single day.” Max shrugged. “Okay then, time for a closing sale to empty out my inventory. Thanks for helping out!”

“Oh?”

“Yes?”

“What?”

“Huh?”

“Hmm?”

It seemed that the elderly group of people in their nineties couldn’t hear Max very well. But whether they’d heard him or not, it had already been decided that for a limited time only, this shop would be run by the heroes. And so, some outrageous people started working in the “Truly Incredible” general store. Max’s store was away from the main street and had a silly name, but it was a surprisingly convenient place to shop. The owner was more lively than his age would imply, and kept the store open until late at night, stocking the store with a wide range of products with no sense of unity, making it ideal for restocking on items you’d forgotten to buy or suddenly needed.

“All right, Ferd and Elrica will be stocking shelves. Sazaki will be in charge of weapons. Lara will deal with medicines and magical stuff. The warehouse is yours, Stein.”

After putting their luggage away, the five employees were immediately assigned to their positions. This was certainly a fortunate business; in any other circumstance, the labor costs alone would be tremendous. Although it was impossible to calculate an exact figure, even royalty and nobility might hesitate if they had to give each of these particular individuals a salary.

“Welcome in!”

“Welcome in.”

Ferd the Hero and his wife Elrica were greeting the customers.

“I’ve always wanted to try running a liquor store.” Sazaki, the Lightspeed Blademaster, loitered around the alcohol section.

“I highly doubt it, but there aren’t any magic tomes from the great war, are there?” Lara, the Witch of Annihilation, was checking to see if there were any dangerous items around.

“Where do these go?” Stein of the Null Wave brought merchandise from the warehouse.

“My, there are so many people here. Are they perhaps your friends?”

“Yes, they are! My old buddies are helping out a bit!” And the owner, Max, was chatting with a regular customer.

All of the employees were members of the Hero’s party, making this unmistakably the biggest misuse of talent in history.

“Ha ha ha. This is my first time welcoming customers as a store clerk.” But the leader of the group, Ferd the Hero, was enjoying the situation and laughing merrily alongside Elrica.

“Oho ho ho ho. The same goes for me.”

Ferd had been born in a farming village and spent all of his youth fighting, so he didn’t have any experience doing something like working at a store. The fact that he could have such a fresh experience was proof of how peaceful the world had become.

“Hello.”

“Welcome in.”

“Welcome in.”

Ferd and Elrica greeted a woman who entered with her child. If the woman knew she was dealing with the former Hero, she might tumble to the floor and faint. However, there were people here who could do something if her soul left her body a little, so everything should be safe in that regard. Probably.

“Is this a howsie, gramps?”

“That’s right, it’s a horsie.”

The elderly Hero was small and smiled brightly, making him look friendly, and even now, the little kid was talking to him while pointing at a small wood carving of a horse.

“Did the Hewo ride a howsie too?”

“The Hero traveled on a carriage, so he might have ridden one back then.”

“Wow...”

Unaware that he was chatting with the hero himself, the child kept asking Ferd questions about his glory days.

I’m glad my apprentice isn’t here. I bet he’d have waited in line even before the shop opened. Lara, who was glancing over at the former Hero serving customers, thought that if her apprentice Aldrick was here, he’d be wandering around the store. And that would have inevitably been followed by Lara telling him to get out because he was getting in the way and giving him a kick in the butt.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes?”

Ferd wasn’t the only one who had to work as a shop assistant. Lara turned around toward the timid voice addressing her and replied to the middle-aged man it had come from.

“What’s the best ointment for an insect bite?” he asked.

“It depends on who it’s for, the affected body part, and the type of insect. Some products aren’t recommended for children.”

“Oh, it’s for me. I think I was bitten by a painbug here on my arm.”

“Let me ask just in case, but have you ever developed a rash after using any medicine?”

“No, I haven’t.”

“Has a certain type of food ever made you feel sick?”

“No, not really.”

“Hmm. Fireman’s herb ointment would be the common solution. It has a strong smell, but it should be more than enough for something like a painbug bite. You might have heard of an ointment that doesn’t smell, but you better forget about it. The better processed it is, the stronger the smell becomes, so an ointment with a weak smell will also have a weak effect.”

“Huh? Is that so? Then the one that didn’t work before...”

“Was either for kids or made by a novice. Well, it could be a number of things, really.”

“Thank you very much. I’ll buy this one.”

“Here you go.”

Lara promptly served the customer.

Witches were also experts in various medicines, not just magic. Especially when it came to Lara, the one and only Witch of Annihilation, there was little she didn’t know. However, right now her knowledge wasn’t being used to fight against some poison humanity had never encountered before, a god’s curse, or some ritual that would destroy the world, but merely for some insect bite medicine.

Once the customer left, Sazaki approached Lara.

“Do you have a medicine license or something?” he asked.

“I’ve had the highest kind since before I even met you.”

“Really, now? I’d look pretty cool if I had some kind of qualification too. How about being honorary president of the Alcohol Enthusiasts Club?” Sazaki wondered with his head cocked to one side.

“Even if that club did exist, I wouldn’t call an honorary title a qualification,” Lara replied with the simple truth.

Although Lara had a license to handle medicine, she’d never had a chance to demonstrate that skill, so even her husband Sazaki had to confirm it. Simply put, the Hero’s party had almost never needed to rely on medicine.

“Strange things always end up happening when you’re with Ferd,” Sazaki said with a grin.

“If you say so, it must be true.” Lara shrugged her shoulders.

You could say that Sazaki had seen more of the chaos that unfolded around his best friend Ferd than anyone else had, but even he had never expected to be working as a store clerk at his age. However, there was a big problem with Sazaki as an employee, and it wasn’t that he was drinking the store’s alcohol without permission.

“Booze is booze, so I can’t tell the difference between what’s popular and what isn’t.”

“The honorary president of the Alcohol Enthusiasts Club really is on another level.”

Despite always going on and on about alcohol, Sazaki didn’t care at all about different brands or traits, so he couldn’t give detailed explanations about the products. Even if a customer asked him about the alcohol, he’d probably just tell them it was all delicious and leave it at that. Sazaki would only be able to contribute in the evening, when the adventurers started going around town and the store would bring out its swords and armor to the front.

“It’s time for our lunch break!” said a smiling Max as he briefly closed up shop for lunch. He was acting as though they saw each other every day, even though he’d almost never contacted them. “Thank you, my friends! I look forward to your help this afternoon too!”

Even though this lunch was commemorating the entire Hero’s party gathering for the first time in over fifty years, it was the same as always: bread, salad, soup, alcohol, and chicken breast.

“The customers are unexpectedly normal. I was expecting a bunch of outlaws. Hic.” As Sazaki sipped his drink, he remembered the customers they’d had this morning—a middle-aged man and a housewife with her kid—and commented how ordinary they were for a town full of hot-blooded adventurers.

“Right? Well, that’s only in the morning. In the evening, adventurers start walking around town, so the clientele will change in an instant.” But Max, who lived here, knew that adventurers delved into labyrinths in the morning and noon, so very few of them were aboveground that early.

“Do ordinary townsfolk avoid adventurers and go out during the morning and noon?” Satisfied with his chicken breast, Stein asked Max about the relationship between the town’s common folk and adventurers.

“I’m sure that’s true to a certain extent. People who put their lives on the line have a certain air about him that’s too intense for ordinary folk. Especially in this town, where it’s like a battlefield is just a short distance away. And it’s even more intense since they come right back to town still wrapped in the air of that battlefield. But there are a lot of people who’ve gotten used to it too.” Like Max explained, the fact that the dungeons were so close meant that the people who’d just fought to the death in there came straight back to town afterward. That could be rather stressful for ordinary people, so those faint of heart tended to avoid adventurers.

“I see.”

“Dear me, was I also like that when I returned from the battlefield?” Ferd wondered if he’d also seemed menacing back then.

“The way you—” Max was about to say that Ferd’s elderly attitude didn’t suit him at all.

“I’m tired of hearing that acting like an old man doesn’t suit me, so don’t bring it up, Max,” Ferd interrupted Max, looking fed up, since both Sazaki and Stein had already poked fun at him for it.

“Pfft, of course they’d say that. But on a serious note, back then, people only looked at those returning from the battlefield with admiration and respect. After all, humanity would have gone extinct without the strong. There was no room for them to feel scared.” Max’s opinion was that people being able to fear their own kind was more proof that the world was now at peace.

And he was certainly not wrong. Those who’d returned from the battlefield during the great war had all been equally worthy of respect. Even if they’d brought the air of the battlefield back with them, it had already been so commonplace that no one would feel afraid of them.

“I’ve never thought of Ferd as scary,” Elrica said.

“Is that so? Ha ha ha,” Ferd replied.

“Oho ho ho ho.”

“Hey, Stein, let’s go drinking.” This time, it was Max who looked fed up with Elrica and Ferd suddenly getting all sappy.

“Go with Sazaki.”

“No, it can’t be him. There’s a chance he might start going on about his happy marriage.”

And Max was right, because Sazaki had made an outrageous love confession—or perhaps blunder—in a recent letter, so he silently gulped down his drink.

Sazaki is silent? He must have done something. Lara is...the same as usual. So she must have said something too. Max’s magnificent insight was at work. He found it strange that Sazaki hadn’t immediately denied it. It also seemed off that Lara, who would normally jump at the opportunity to tease her husband, merely continued eating as though this didn’t concern her at all. Considering that the two of them didn’t seem to be fighting, there were a limited number of conclusions that could be drawn from this.

Let’s just say that I’m happy they’re getting along so well. Max shrugged in his mind. He was a man who’d repeatedly changed his name and moved from place to place because he found human interaction to be a pain. As a result, he was single and had no children. He could at least congratulate his friends on their happy marriages, though.

“By the way, Max. Do you have anything that would make a good souvenir for our great-grandchild?” Ferd asked.

“How old are we talking?”

“No older than five. Right, honey?” Elrica cut in.

“That’s right, dearest.”

Right, Ferd and Elrica had their son later in life. Max thought about the age of their son and grandchild. Even after the end of the great war, for various reasons, Ferd and Elrica didn’t have their son until they were in their thirties. And because their son had kept running around all over the neighboring continent, Ferd and Elrica’s grandchild and great-grandchild were also born a bit late.

“How about A Tale of Great Adventure?” Lara grinned next to Max, who was thinking about Ferd and Elrica’s family and trying to come up with a present for their great-grandchild.

“Oh, that’s right! I have A Tale of Great Adventure!” Max clapped, finding the suggestion great.

Ferd, on the other hand, grimaced. “From what I remember, the main character’s name changes around ten times. I would only confuse my great-grandchild by reading them that kind of story.”

“Well...I regret that. Just a little. Just that part.”

One might think that the book known as A Tale of Great Adventure that had Ferd grimacing was an authentic account written by Max, detailing the journey of the great Hero’s party—but it wasn’t.

“I’ve also wanted to go to the underwater city where magical knowledge lies. Where was it?” Lara started asking Max about the places he’d allegedly traveled to in a somewhat contrived manner.

“It’s, you know...there. Yeah. It was deep at the bottom of the sea, in a place you’ve never even heard about, Lara.”

“Oh, I think I remember a similar story about the bottom of the Black Vortex Sea.”

“It’s probably there. Yes, it must be.”

A Tale of Great Adventure was a story that took place after the war with Max as the protagonist, following his journeys to lost cities in the sky or underwater ruins. It was a tale of trials bestowed by the gods, meetings and partings, and battles revolving around hidden treasure. It was written as if it were a true story, but none of it was authentic. Moreover, the book showed a strange realism where the protagonist changed names as often as Max himself did. The book hadn’t sold at all because it was called a true story despite being purely fictional and because of the protagonist’s rapidly transforming name, so Max had a considerable number of copies left.

“Couldn’t you have written about your real battles?” Sazaki asked why Max hadn’t just written about their journey.

“I was always fighting for my life so I barely remember any of them!” Max had been quite desperate during the war, so even if he’d wanted to write about their fights in detail, it would have been difficult because his memories of those times were poor.

“I see.”

“Ahem. I’d like to get rid of my stock of A Tale of Great Adventure too, so I’m counting on you all!” Max regained his composure, but no one replied to him. “Okay, let’s work hard in the afternoon too...” After lunch was over, Max put on a show of crocodile tears for his heartless friends.

The moment they returned to the store, a bit of a commotion took place.

“Pardon us,” said one of several men who were entering the store.

“Welcome! How may I help you?” Why?! I haven’t done anything wrong! Max greeted them with a respectful bow, though he was screaming internally.

The men’s imposing armor shone brightly even inside the store. The blue dragon crests—the symbol of the Rin Kingdom—emblazoned proudly on their chests made it clear that these men weren’t just ordinary guards. They were knights under the direct command of the royal family, who strictly enforced the law in the Town of Labyrinths, where various products were produced. Their authority was so great that even the Adventurers’ Guild considered them a thorn in its side, as there were no pies that these knights did not have their hands in. There were few reasons men such as these would set foot into a general store far from the main street.

“We happened to hear that you’re suddenly closing up shop. May we ask why?”

Since Max had so suddenly announced he would be closing the store, he was clearly being suspected of fraudulent activity or of trying to skip town.

Man, I almost had a heart attack there! Once Max realized the fairly innocuous reason these eminent knights had come to his general store, he felt so relieved that he almost fell to his knees.

The Town of Labyrinths, where gold, silver, and hidden treasures had been unearthed, was naturally a hotbed for all kinds of crime, and the powers that be were constantly on watch. As a result, public order was maintained fairly well, but it was safe to say that the knights were a high-strung sort. But otherwise, this town could become a danger zone in an instant because of its close involvement with the dungeons, so it was no wonder that the knights were so vigilant.

“You see, some of my old friends came to visit and said that, before they died, they would be going to see someone who’s helped us in the past. I thought I might as well join them, but it seems like the journey will take a while, so I decided to close the store,” Max explained.

“He’s talking about us,” Ferd cut in.

“I understand. May we see the back of the store, just in case?” the knight asked.

“Feel free!”

Max had nothing to feel guilty about as he led the knight farther to the back. Through his connections, he had obtained legitimate licenses to handle medicine and alcohol, and he didn’t carry anything illegal. And the store was filled with elderly people who were clearly in their final years, so his claim about them going to say hello before they died seemed extremely plausible. The knights already believed him regarding the reason for the store’s closure, but there still had been a number of cases of storekeepers dealing in illegal goods suddenly closing up shop and fleeing in the middle of the night, so the knights weren’t going to cut corners here.

“Thank you for your cooperation,” the knight said.

“Please, don’t mention it. Thank you for your service,” Max replied.

Max’s store really had nothing suspicious going on, so the knights concluded that everything was well and left.

“What, they didn’t take you in?” Sazaki said with a grin.

“This isn’t a joke, Sazaki. Those knights report directly to the royal palace. I was really, seriously sweating there. My heart is still beating like a drum.” Max didn’t even have the mental strength to swear at Sazaki. He was a drifter without long left to live, so dealing with authorities always got him flustered.

“Well, they weren’t the type you occasionally hear about,” Sazaki continued, still grinning from ear to ear.

“They are the kingdom’s elites. There are only a few bad apples among them,” Max explained.

Sazaki was referring to the guards and knights who accepted bribes or made unreasonable demands. Max realized what he meant and replied that only a few people among the high-ranking knights were corrupt. He didn’t fully exonerate them, however, because he knew that justice and goodness in people and organizations were never total and absolute.

“Max, where should I set out the swords for the evening?” Stein asked.

“In the empty space in the back, please. And no children are allowed in during that time.” Max wiped the sweat off his brow and left stocking the shelves for the evening up to Stein. Weapons were dangerous to have around in the daytime when children visited the shop, so they came out at a specified time.

“Understood.”

“For the record, Sazaki, these are ordinary mass-produced weapons.”

“Oh man, you don’t have any legendary swords you found in your fantastic adventures?”

“Get Ferd to show you his.”

Max noticed that Sazaki’s attention had turned to the swords the moment he heard about them, so he made sure that his swordsman friend knew that the products in the store weren’t anything that great.

“Sazaki,” Stein said in a low, yet sharp voice.

“Yeah.” Sazaki gave a brief nod.

“Huh? What? What is it?” Max was the only one who hadn’t realized what was going on.

“Someone with inverted muscles has entered the store.”

“Inverted awareness too. You know what that means.”

Thanks to their unusual senses, Stein and Sazaki had noticed that something was odd about the man who’d just entered the store. What they meant in their exchange was that both the man’s body and mind were facing notably outward. And yet, he’d entered the store looking all nonchalant. This showed that he was constantly on the lookout for an escape route.

“Sir, may I have a word with you?” Max smiled brightly, stopping the man as he walked out of the store empty-handed, apparently not having found what he wanted.

“Yes?” The man, who was in his mid-forties, cocked his head in confusion, as if he found it strange that Max had called out to him.

Max had no intention of getting involved in a debate of whether the man had or hadn’t committed a crime, and above all else, he had something of an ultimate weapon on his side.

“What did you do?” A wrinkled elderly woman, Elrica, toddled over from the back of the store.

“Huh?” The moment the man heard her question, his body and tongue drifted out of this control. “W-Well, um, there’s already a bargain sale going on, so I thought it would be a waste to pay and just stole them.” He took out several small items that he hadn’t paid for out of his sleeve.

“Are you starving or living in poverty?”

“N-Not really...”

“Have your circumstances forced your hand?”

“No, I wouldn’t say that...”

“Is this the first time you’ve done this?”

“I’ve done it another twelve or thirteen times.”

“Are you part of the Thieves’ Guild or an unlawful organization?”

“No.”

The man spoke the unadulterated truth, without making any excuses.

Although it was a legend long since forgotten, it was said that a sinner couldn’t lie in front of a priest or saint of the highest rank. The virtue, divine power, or the majesty of god—whatever you wanted to call it—that stood behind such a holy person was too much for a mere mortal to resist. However, certain masters who’d gone through severe training and had the blessing of the god of thieves could escape it using powerful auto-suggestion.

“I’ll handle the rest, Elrica,” Max said.

“Very well.” Elrica nodded and didn’t do anything more, since the use of intense force was unnecessary.

My store’s more of a hobby, but casually stealing from people is out of the question. I’ll hand him over to the guards... Wait, now that I think about it carefully, my store is a pretty insane place to be in right now. As Max thought about what to do with the thief, he realized—albeit a bit late—who exactly was running this store at the moment, which reaffirmed to him what it meant for him and his comrades to all be gathered in one place. The poor thief never stood a chance.

Fortunately, there were no incidents after that, and the elderly employees did their job like normal.

This takes me back. As noon passed and the sun started setting in the horizon, Ferd was overtaken by nostalgia. When was the last time I tasted the air of the battlefield? It was a feeling that Ferd used to experience every day, a tension that was constantly surrounding him. But this is a little different. There’s an air of sloth and greed, albeit in a good way. There’s no dread of an impending death. If one thing was different from the great war of seventy years ago, it was that instead of the pure, unadulterated bloodlust that came with fighting for one’s life lingering around them, one could sense an optimistic will, mixed with the desire for money, fame, and more.

“I’m getting nostalgic.” Elrica, who was moving the goods to the front of the shelf, seemed to feel the same, and she looked outside with a wistful look.

“As am I,” Ferd said from next to her.

Coincidentally, many adventurers were returning to the surface at that moment, and the town’s atmosphere had started changing radically.

“Alcohol’s good to go. Swords are good to go. Muscles are good to go.” Stein was checking everything as he stocked the shelves with items from the warehouse which were meant to meet demand from adventurers.

“H-Hold on a minute. What was that last item you mentioned? We aren’t selling chicken breasts.” For a moment, Max was confused about what Stein meant.

“I was talking about my evening muscles.”

“Oh, yeah, yeah...” Max said, giving up. “Ahem. Only novice adventurers come to my store. The veterans are familiar with the large stores on the main street, so they have nothing to do with this place.”

“I bet those large stores carry legendary swords.”

“I told you to just get Ferd to show you his, Sazaki. Still, yes, holy or profane swords retrieved from the depths of the labyrinths do apparently go up for sale from time to time. Oh yeah, I heard that a store called Hearth of the Labyrinth sells holy swords.”

“If adventurers sold them those swords, it probably means they weren’t even worth using as backup weapons.”

“Very perceptive. From what I’ve heard, they’re selling stuff like holy swords that forcefully drain the wielder’s vitality to convert it into the power of light.”

“Then that would make them profane swords, not holy.”

“Agreed.”

Max and Sazaki both shrugged. The dungeons weren’t full of just gold and treasures, but special weapons as well. But powerful weapons were indispensable to adventurers, so it was safe to assume that the best ones would never make their way to the market. In other words, the holy and profane swords acquired in dungeons and seen on large stores’ shelves were the ones that had been sold off for one reason or another.

“But I see now, they do have stuff like holy swords and whatnot. Hey, Lara, wanna go check them out in our free time?” Sazaki was showing a rare interest in something other than alcohol.

“Yeah, sure,” Lara agreed to tag along without being particularly reluctant.

Those do really get along. If anyone besides Sazaki invited Lara, she’d just tell them to go alone. Actually, no, if it was Elrica, Lara would go with her. Max was watching their short exchange and got reminded of the unique relationship the pair maintained.

“Evening!” a man said as he entered the store.

“Hello and welcome!” Max replied, shifting his attention to a new batch of customers. Four young men, barely in their twenties. They must be either guild trainees or newbies. Max looked at the young men, who were too young to be called full adults but too old to be called boys anymore, and concluded that they were either trainees at the Adventurers’ Guild or rookie adventurers.

I don’t smell the murky scent of human blood, but there’s a faint smell of monster blood. Rookies, huh? thought Sazaki.

They’ve only just started their training, but those are pretty decent muscles, Stein silently evaluated.

Those who challenged the dungeons were, in a sense, valuable industry workers, so the loss of personnel would naturally lead to the decline of that industry. For that reason, those who came to the Adventurers’ Guild without a proven track record could only delve into the dungeons after undergoing an extremely rigorous training regimen. It would be a major waste to simply throw human resources away without a plan, so it was very fortunate that the guild had the leeway to teach new adventurers how to survive in dungeons. Otherwise, a great number of newbies would get swallowed up by those deadly locales.

“Where are the secondhand clothes?”

“I’m going to look at medicine.”

Just like Max assumed, those four were newbie adventurers who’d just finished a day of training, and they’d happened to hear that the store was holding a going-out-of-business sale, so they’d come to purchase various goods. Two of the young men stopped when they noticed that the sheathed swords were also on sale.

“Oh, the swords are also up for cheap.”

“You’re right. What should I do? Maybe I’ll buy one as a spare...”

Weapon production had always thrived in this world, as people needed to have the means to combat the monsters that appeared everywhere. Moreover, the Town of Labyrinths was full of weapons found in dungeons and swords made specifically for adventurers, so mass-produced swords could be bought for cheap. And they were even cheaper since Max’s store was holding a sale, so even novice adventurers like these could afford to buy them.

Sazaki approached the rookies. “Let me give you some friendly advice. Buy a complete replacement for your sword, not a spare. I don’t know if you hit something hard with it or just handled it roughly, but the entire sword is weakened. It’s gonna break sooner or later,” he told them.

“Um...”

When Sazaki wasn’t lying on the ground with a bottle of alcohol in hand, but instead standing straight and tall, he had the clear air of a veteran. The young adventurer wasn’t immediately convinced by suddenly being told to get a new sword, but he was overwhelmed by Sazaki’s presence and couldn’t argue back.

“H-How do you know that?” the man curiously asked Sazaki.

“As you get older, you get a better idea of what kinda stuff you can cut. And that sword has gotten brittle, so it would be pretty easy to cut.” Sazaki’s answer, however, was incomprehensible.

But this illogical argument was well received among adventurers. Many of the best adventurers or masters had said something similar or completely identical, and that wisdom was passed around adventurers.

“Um, how good are you...?” The young man had no proof that Sazaki was a master of the blade, so he was curious to know exactly how skilled the old man really was.

“There’s no point in asking someone over sixty or seventy how good they are, so just drop it. There’s a good chance they have a bunch of people with a grudge against them. They will only tell you that they’re nothing special, and they can’t show killing techniques in public anyway. In fact, they might think you’re trying to figure out their identity, and in the worst-case scenario, you’ll end up getting firsthand experience of getting slashed.”

“Eep!”

Sazaki’s warning was accurate. There was a high chance that a warrior who’d lived a long life had incurred the hatred of many. Moreover, if they’d managed to survive under such circumstances, it was possible that they still maintained their skill, and they might even try to eliminate someone trying to find out more about them.

“I-I’ll buy a new one, then.” After being pressured by Sazaki and hearing his blood-soaked warnings, the young man decided to buy a mass-produced sword that was about the same quality as the one he already had.

“Good. You do that now. Your sword is your lifeline, so make sure you check up on its condition every day.”

“He’s really caring.”

“Ha ha ha, always has been.”

Max and Ferd looked at their friend, who’d always been a kindhearted man despite his brusqueness.

After the young man who bought a sword on Sazaki’s advice left, even more young adventurers continued coming to Max’s store.

“Say, Max. These novice adventurers are all pretty polite.” Ferd was impressed by the manners the youth of today showed, given that these rookie adventurers were courteous even to a frail old man like him.

“That’s right. Most of them have been humbled by their training and had the pecking order hammered into them. I often hear of country bumpkins boasting of their strength becoming adventurers, then coming back as different people when they visit their family homes. In other words, they’re nothing like you in your youth,” Max pointed out.

“Shaddup. Like you’re one to talk.” Apparently, Max had also messed up a lot in his youth, so he was in no position to criticize others.

“I-I guess so. I shouldn’t have said that... Ugh, thinking of the past is giving me a headache...”

“Oh shush. Leave me alone, Sazaki.” Ferd noticed that Sazaki, who had been wandering around the store, suddenly appeared with a wide grin on his face, and waved his hand at him as if telling Sazaki to leave.

“Aw, what a shame.” Heh heh heh. I’ll talk about the time we formed the Shining Stars next time. Ferd’s decision had most likely been correct. Just a little more and Sazaki would have revealed a story only he knew about Ferd at the height of his mischievousness.

Of course, it was only natural that Ferd hadn’t possessed any manners since he’d just been a boy from a farming village, and stuff like etiquette hadn’t been regarded highly during the great war anyway.

“I-Incidentally, I’d like to ask for some advice... What do you think I should do about my stock of A Tale of Great Adventure?” Feeling troubled about his past, Max tried to pull himself together by asking Ferd for advice on how to deal with the source of his current worries: his stockpile of books.

“I think you should give up on selling any copies. You might as well donate them,” Ferd dismissed him completely.

“Ugh... Why did I think that a protagonist who repeatedly changes his name would be cool?”

“Well, I can understand a protagonist acting in the shadows under an alias, but changing his name ten times is way too much.”

“Yeah...” Max sniffled.

However, when one door closes, another one opens. Perhaps some kind of miracle occurred, because shortly after, in walked a finely dressed, bespectacled middle-aged man, who said, “Good evening. I heard from a bookstore in town that there are some unusual books here.”

“We do have a few magic tomes.” Lara assumed the man was looking for books that aided mages with magic.

However, the man was after something completely different. “No, I’m looking for something no one has read, or that almost no one knows exists.”

“Yes! Here! We have it right here!” The moment Max realized what the man was referring to, he raised his hand, smiling from ear to ear.

Not many people would be so happy to admit that their own book had hardly ever been read... Still, what a curious customer. Of course, we live in a world with people like Sazaki, Stein, and Max, so I suppose that people like this man can exist too. Ferd thought how unusual it was that someone was deliberately searching for strange books, but his companions included a practically homeless lush, a half naked man obsessed with chicken breasts and cow’s milk, and a man who traveled from place to place using various aliases. By comparison, a customer like this was hardly an oddity.

Even Sazaki and Stein were paying attention to the strange man.

“Here it is! A Tale of Great Adventure! It’s a book that compiles the adventures of my youth, crossing mountains and valleys, from castles at the end of the sky to cities at the bottom of the sea!”

I wouldn’t buy it based on that synopsis... Ferd communicated with his eyes.

Nor would I, Elrica, likewise, replied with her gaze.

“I see. It must have been written based on some terribly dangerous experiences, right?” the man asked while nodding.

“I-Indeed! Let’s see... Right, there was a deadly struggle against an evil dragon...and other stuff!” Max stammered as he emphasized the danger of the book’s contents.

Your wording makes it sound completely fake... From Ferd’s perspective, the description seemed too unnatural and unrealistic.

During the great war, there had been one species that acted in an exceedingly unique way. Those were the large and powerful apex predators that had existed since the age of myth: dragons. They looked like a mix between snakes and lizards, with long, flexible tails, wings akin to a bird or bat, the exact design of which varied by individual. They had the sharpest fangs in the world, which could easily crush even fortresses. Furthermore, dragons boasted massive bodies the size of castles, and many of them possessed numerous special abilities; their power was practically on the level of divinity. Their scales could repel all magic and legendary weapons, and their breaths—which contained fire, ice, lightning, poison, and the like—could obliterate just about anything.

Dragons were largely solitary in nature, and each unique. A blue dragon had been the symbol of the Rin Kingdom since ancient times, as some would actively support the mortal races. But others were the complete opposite. Evil dragons, as they’d been called, had joined the Great Demon King’s army and fought head-on against the forces of life and light. As a result, in an extremely unusual turn of events, dragons had split up into two groups, and an unrelenting fight to the death had taken place. In other words, the common assumption now was that it was dragons who fought other dragons, and even if a human were to claim that they’d fought a dragon, there was no way they would have actually survived to tell the tale. It would just be the sort of empty bragging that no one would believe.

“Very well. I shall buy a copy.”

“Huh?! Th-Thank you very muuuch! Please, right this way!”

However, it looked like there were also exceptions to the rule here. It was unclear why the man wanted to buy the book, but Max bowed deeply and quickly tried to settle the bill, afraid that the man might change his mind. It was such a miracle that Sazaki and Stein continued observing the transaction, curious to see if the man would actually pay for the book.

There are some strange people out there...

Certainly...

Meanwhile, Ferd and Elrica couldn’t believe their ears and just looked at each other, dumbfounded.

The evening sun had just set over the horizon. The heat of the day still lingered around town, and it was the time when many adventurers had already started drinking in the taverns.

“The only people out now are all going drinking, so I don’t think we’ll be getting many more customers. I can handle the rest of this alone. Thanks for your help today, everyone. See you tomorrow!” Max said.

“Mm-hmm. See you tomorrow then,” Ferd replied.

Max’s store didn’t get much traffic at this time of day. The few customers who did appear only made quick visits to pick up small items before heading straight back out. Therefore, the shopkeeper thanked his employees and bade them farewell, and the elderly temporary assistants returned to their inn. But before that could happen...

“Lara and I will have a look at swords in town before we head back. We’ll just be browsing, so we should be back before dinnertime.” Sazaki and Lara were planning on checking the holy and profane swords in the large stores before going back to the inn.

“All right. Then we’ll head back first,” Ferd replied before they parted ways.

The first store that the pair stopped in was decorated with various dazzling weapons. There was a sword that glinted both white and blue and seemed to be clad in an icy air, a blazing red spear, a mace that seemed to be shining faintly, and more; every weapon seemed to be emitting a strong radiance of some kind. But that was to be expected. Weapons found in dungeons were often imbued with mana, and they had a different presence from ordinary gear. That went double for holy and profane swords, which were classified as particularly powerful.

As mentioned before, powerful weapons were indispensable to adventurers, so many of the weapons on display had obviously been deemed unnecessary by high-ranking adventurers and sold off. Therefore, even though the stores carried first-rate weapons, almost none of them were good enough to be used as a warrior’s trump card. But although these weapons weren’t the top of the top, not just any ordinary store could deal in top-notch magical arms. Hearth of the Labyrinth, a large store that specialized in dungeon weapons, was one of the most prominent such shops in this town, and Max’s general store seemed truly insignificant compared to it.

“Welcome.” An employee greeted a group of customers with a deep bow.

Said customers weren’t ordinary people, though. One was a particularly muscular warrior, standing out even among the well-trained adventurers, clad in a pelt that exuded intense power. Another was a priest wearing a white habit with a divine blessing and a mace hanging from his waist. A third was a fighter who gave the clear impression that he wasn’t just anyone, even though he was currently unarmed. Since high-ranking adventurers had to make their way up from the deepest layers of the dungeons on their return to the surface, they were often active in town at later hours than most people. In other words, the adventurers currently in the store were some of the best, if not the best.

Adventurers from different parties tended not to interact with each other inside the store and simply stayed silent. Getting into a fight in the best weapon store in town and being barred from entry would be the height of foolishness, and if they couldn’t manage even that level of risk, they wouldn’t be alive now. That said, the store did have several powerful guards who could mediate in simple arguments, as well as immediately subdue any petty thief.

“Thank you for your business.” An employee bowed deeply to customers leaving the store.

To the surprise of many, the shopkeeper wasn’t a dwarf—a race that specialized in creating weapons—but a human. And when one became the head of such a large store in the Town of Labyrinths, they typically wouldn’t come out to the front of the store unless some major business negotiations were taking place or some top-ranking adventurer was involved, and would instead typically stay in their office as the supervisor.

Therefore, the proprietor of the Hearth of the Labyrinth, Beardy, was an eccentric man indeed. But it could be precisely because of his eccentricity that he’d managed to set up such a large store in the Town of Labyrinths. The forty-something-year-old man who was dressed up as an ordinary clerk and bowing to customers was none other than Beardy himself. Of course, he had various reasons for doing this. He wanted to determine whether the visiting high-ranking adventurers were suitable to do business with, to make sure his employees were doing their jobs properly, and to check whether any of the customers were carrying rare weapons. If anything, what made him most eccentric was that it was the last reason that mattered the most to him.

However, the customers visiting today were the biggest eccentrics of all. In the eyes of one of these men, powerful, handpicked guards, advanced magical security measures on the level of a fortress, any manner of glittering weapon, and even adventurers of unrivaled strength who fought in the deepest parts of the dungeons could be cut down in an instant.

“I’m only browsing, so please don’t mind me.” To Sazaki, the Lightspeed Blademaster—who’d just casually entered the store—everything was the same as a novice adventurer’s sword: incredibly easy to cut through.

Who are they?

The adventurers and Beardy observed Sazaki and Lara when they burst into the store. Even in their old age, mages were often powerful and not to be underestimated, so the crowd wasn’t feeling contempt but genuine curiosity.

I was hoping to find a sword to pass on to little Carl after I die, but...it doesn’t look like it’s going to be that easy. Meanwhile, the caring Sazaki had simply visited the store in order to see if he could find a sword for Carl, the boy he’d left under the care of his student, Clovis.

Sazaki had trained various disciples and could somewhat understand what kind of swordsman Carl would become, so he also predicted what kind of sword would suit him. However, it wasn’t going to be that easy to find a sword for a boy who Sazaki considered an ant compared to himself. All of the glamorous swords in this store were unfit for the role.

“For your final apprentice, I’m guessing?” Lara noticed that Sazaki seemed to be picking out a sword for someone and ventured a guess.

“He’s just a boy from the neighborhood. Not really an apprentice. If only I had another twenty years in me.”

“My, my. So that’s what you think?” She realized that Sazaki, who couldn’t express himself honestly, had a bit of regret in his voice. She was impressed that Carl was apparently skilled enough to have gotten Sazaki’s notice.

“Hmm. How do they look to you?” Sazaki was convinced that he could cut through anything in this store, so he instead asked Lara what they looked like from a mage’s perspective.

“First-class.” She evaluated them as just that, nothing more, nothing less.

“Are there any legendary weapons?”

“Don’t be picky.”

“What? All men are like that. I’m not the only one.”

“I see.” As Sazaki kept fussing over legendary weapons, Lara remembered the other men she knew, including her own son, and was convinced.

“So, where’s that supposed holy sword? I don’t sense that kind of power anywhere, so has it been sold already?”

“From what Max said, it didn’t sound like something that would sell, but it certainly isn’t here.”

“Are you looking for something?” Beardy, who’d been observing Sazaki this whole time, spoke to the customer who’d announced he was only there to browse. He hadn’t actually realized Sazaki’s true ability. He was just interested in the katana Sazaki was carrying, with its unusual sheath and grip.

“I really was just browsing... Well, if I had to say, I was looking for a weapon to give to a boy I know. And I also heard about a sword I’m not sure really counts as holy or not.”

“My apologies, but that holy sword has already been sold.” Beardy deduced that Sazaki was an oddball of a teacher looking for a sword for his disciple, but since the pseudo holy sword was no longer available, he bowed to his customer in apology.

“So it sold? From what I heard, it was a pretty strange sword,” Sazaki asked as he rubbed his chin, the surprise evident in his voice.

“Yes. It was a holy sword that converts vitality into the power of light.”

“Good job managing to sell that.”

“Ha ha...” Beardy had an awkward expression, showing that not even he had expected it to sell.

“It might seem strange to say this now that it’s actually been sold, but I wonder what the owner was thinking when he bought it.”

“I couldn’t say. I haven’t asked him about it...” Beardy replied vaguely.

Holy swords surpassed all other kinds in terms of power and renown. That was why Beardy couldn’t help but buy that particular weapon, believing it would add prestige to his store. However, there weren’t that many people crazy enough to use a sword that drained their vitality in the depths of the dungeon. Therefore, Beardy had concluded that the pseudo holy sword would be purely decorative. Of course, many other weapon stores sympathized with Beardy’s decision. It was common knowledge that anyone dealing in weapons would want to carry a holy sword in their store at least once, so no one in the same business as Beardy had mocked him for purchasing this sword, faulty though it might have been.

“The Hero was that great, huh?” Sazaki said with a grin.

“Indeed,” Beardy agreed.

Holy swords were held in such high regard because it was said that the legendary Hero had once wielded one.

“I’d like to see the great Hero’s sword, even just once. A pure white sword forged by the gods themselves, shining with primordial gemstones, they say.” Beardy seemed like he was about to let out a passionate sigh.

“Yeah, I’d love to see it too.” Sazaki nodded repeatedly.

Lara gave her husband a sidelong glance of exasperation.

“By the way, on a different topic, do you ever end up with katanas from Eastern countries, or do any appear in dungeons?”

“I’ve heard that they’re sometimes for sale in other shops, but I’ve never heard of katanas appearing in the dungeons here. It’s a bit far from here, but they apparently show up in the Great Labyrinth. According to rumors, they’ve even found ones that rival the Seven Rainbow Katanas in that place.”

“Uh-huh. Weapons on the level of the Seven Rainbow Katanas, huh?”

“Yes. But they’re probably comparable to the purple one, the weakest of the seven. One like the green or yellow count as legendary weapons, after all.”

When Sazaki changed the subject, Beardy immediately took the bait. It was precisely because he wanted to talk about those rare katanas that he’d called out to Sazaki in the first place.

The Seven Rainbow Katanas represented the peak of the Eastern countries’ katana craft and were each given a color of the rainbow. Even the lowest-grade purple one boasted unparalleled sharpness, while the green, yellow, and above were hailed as the weapons of legend. However, no one knew where any of them were, with the sole exception of the purple one, which was enshrined in the holiest location in the Eastern countries. In other words, it was being treated as a treasure and not a weapon, so no matter how terrifying its sharpness was, it shouldn’t be brought into battle.

“Sorry for taking up your time when I’m just browsing.”

“There’s no need to apologize. You were looking for a sword for your apprentice, weren’t you?”

“Nah, he’s not that important.”

After learning what he wanted, Sazaki left the store with Lara.

“Did you hear? The Hero’s sword is apparently a big deal. No wonder it can’t be cut,” Sazaki told Lara with a grin the moment they left the store.

“I knew you’d say that.”

In purely physical terms, without considering any emotions, Sazaki could cut through almost everything and everyone. That included his disciples, who were accomplished swordsmen, and his son, a talented magic swordsman. And although it would be incredibly troublesome, he could also cut Max, Elrica, and Lara. The same went for Stein, although it would be extraordinarily troublesome. However, there was one person, just one person that Sazaki thought he probably couldn’t cut. It wasn’t their old enemy, the Great Demon King; obviously, Sazaki was only here because he’d already defeated him. No, it was Ferd. To repeat, in terms of whether it was physically possible, all emotions aside, Sazaki probably couldn’t cut Ferd—that’s what he believed. That was true in both the past and present.

“Ha ha ha. What a lively town this is, dearest,” Ferd said.

“It really is, honey,” Elrica replied.

Even though he was an old man slowly toddling down the road now, the Hero was still the Hero. Ferd, Elrica, and Stein were walking through the Town of Labyrinths at night to return to their inn. The town’s adventurers had only just started drinking, so no one was going out of their way to mess with a group of elderly people, and there was no real commotion either. However, it seemed that Stein’s sharp senses had noticed something.

“Mm-hmm. As I expected, I can feel magnificent muscles all over town,” Stein said.

“I’ve been wondering for a while, but how can you sense the presence of muscles?” Ferd asked.

“Listen carefully to your muscles, then both you and Elrica will be able to do it too.”

“I think you have too much faith in me.”

Stein seemed to have awakened to a sense that might drive an ordinary person to insanity if they were to understand it, and he insisted that Ferd and Elrica could also do the same.

“For the record, I’m being deadly serious here. If you look into your own body and mind, you can also look into those of others. In other words, as long as you face your own muscles, it’s easy to feel the waves of others’ muscles. This isn’t like being one in body and soul, but being one in body and muscles,” Stein explained.

“I doubt that’s really a thing. Right, dearest?” Ferd paid little attention to Stein and brought up the subject with Elrica.

However, his wife remained silent.

“H-Huh? E-Elrica?”

“In a broader sense...that might be one way of thinking... For example, in a religious organization that mainly consists of monks...” Elrica trailed off, her wrinkled face twisted into a troubled expression.

“Huh?” Ferd was flabbergasted. Perhaps his brain was refusing to acknowledge that his wife had just affirmed the muscle brain’s point of view.

“It would appear that Elrica understands.”

“No, I’m only talking in a very broad sense...”

“But can you deny it altogether?”

“Well...that’s hard to say. If it’s a little bit, yes, just the tiniest bit, then it might be possible...” Elrica wasn’t completely swayed by Stein, who kept nodding, but she did agree with his theory, if only slightly.

“Ha ha ha. What a lively town this is, dearest.” Ferd decided that he’d lose his mind if this went on, so after a pause he repeated himself, acting like nothing had happened, and gazed out at the town.

“It really is, honey.” Elrica also departed from the previous topic of conversation to agree with Ferd.

“Incidentally, there’s something I’d like to ask you once we return to the inn.” Stein also seemed to want to change the subject.

“Hmm. Very well.” Ferd felt that his friend’s voice was strangely worked up.

“Understood.”

At the end of the day, he’s always been the most serious of us, Ferd thought.

Seventy years ago, Sazaki had been easygoing, while Lara had been a bit different, more sagacious. Elrica had been serious in her youth, or more like driven by a rigid sense of duty, so she’d also been a little different. Although Max had possessed a sense of responsibility in some strange areas, his behavior had been too capricious in everything else, so in the end, Stein had been the most serious one among them. This opinion wasn’t Ferd’s alone; everyone in the group besides Stein agreed with him.

I have to ask again. Stein felt conflicted but he decided to take action. As their comrade, he felt that he absolutely had to know what Ferd and Elrica were thinking at the moment.

“So, what is it?” Ferd asked Stein once they were back in their room.

“Did you regret it?” Stein’s question wouldn’t have made sense to anyone else. But Stein had asked him this several times before, and Ferd’s answer was concise and unchanging.

“No.” The Hero, who was on the verge of becoming a thing of the past in both his name and his life, declared this with no hesitation.

After the end of the great war, thanks to the physical aftereffects of defeating the Great Demon King, Ferd the Hero had been forced to live the majority of his life on a remote mountain. Said aftereffects had been so terrible that even those involved, like Sazaki or Stein, could only visit occasionally. In other words, it could be said that Ferd had chosen to defeat the Great Demon King in exchange for most of his own life. That was why...

“Why would I regret fighting for tomorrow, the day after, and the future?” he once answered. “Why would I regret fighting for all living creatures to survive? Why would I regret fighting for people’s parents, friends, lovers, and children? Why would I regret fighting to ensure that tomorrow always comes? Why would I regret bringing back the blue sky everyone dreamed of? In exchange for all that, my life is an insignificant price to pay.”

For all those reasons, Ferd had no regrets. But he was still human.

“However...having Elrica and our son stay with me...” Ferd felt guilty about his wife and son getting stuck with paying the price for saving the world alongside him.

Elrica smiled softly at her husband. “I’ve said this many times before, but I don’t regret anything either. Besides, our boy understands too.”

“I see...”

Just as the perfect human didn’t exist, the perfect Hero didn’t either. Elrica knew that, and she was far from perfect herself. Their path as saviors might have ended while they were young, but their path as humans, as a couple, was full of bumps that continued to this day.

“I understand.” Stein had deep respect for the elderly couple’s feelings.

The Hero and the Saint weren’t the only ones with their convictions: Stein had his own, and of course Max did as well.

“You never know what life will bring...” Max muttered, sitting in a chair in his store. Now that his friends, comrades in arms, and employees—these all being the same people—had left, the place was suddenly quiet. With his brightly dyed hair and his flashy accessories, Max seemed like a man who was trying too hard to imitate the lifestyle of the youth, but he still had real concerns—ones beyond just his book. His voice came out weakly as he said to no one, “I should go visit dad’s grave... But, is there even any point now?”

It was Max’s family that was on his mind. He thought of his deceased father. Their relationship had been pretty tense, though the tension was mostly one-sided on Max’s part; his father hadn’t really cared either way. It had been a very common story back then. During the demon army’s prime, when humanity’s living space was continuing to shrink, before Ferd had taken up the mantle of Hero, many people simply stopped caring about anything, not bothering to fight back against their impending extinction. But such attitudes were inevitable in an era where many champions, sages, knights, and kings had already been defeated by the enemy. Humanity was deep in a collective despair, and Max’s father had been just one of many ordinary men. But young Max had been unable to stand that, so he’d left home, abandoning his father.

“Dad... You should have at least died after the sky turned blue again. Though I guess I’m in no position to judge you...” Max muttered as he looked at a ring with a large blue gemstone on his finger.

Owing to his apathy, Max’s father had passed away before the Great Demon King fell, so the shopkeeper had been unable to exchange any final words with him. Max was convinced that his leaving home had been one of the causes of his father’s death, so to this day, he’d been unable to visit the man’s grave. Of course, his guilt was just making him overthink the situation. Even if Max had stayed put, his father would probably have died just as soon. Never mind that if Max hadn’t left home, the Rin Kingdom would never have survived in the first place.

“I thought life would be easier once I got older.”

Max took his eyes off his ring, which looked the same as it did all those years ago, and sighed while looking instead at his wrinkled arm. His voice had been carrying a troubled tone for a while now, ever since he’d received a letter from a relative telling him that it was about time that he visited his father’s grave. After Ferd and the others had invited him on their journey, Max had simply been intending to say his final farewells to all the people who’d helped them back in the day. However, visiting his father’s grave had not been on that list originally, so he was at a complete loss.

“Phew...”

Feeling like his head was boiling, Max got out of his chair, walked outside the store, and looked up at the sky. Glittering stars and a perfectly clear black—not red—night sky stretched out above him. This was just one more thing Max and his comrades had returned to this world.

“Guess I’ll go for a short walk.”

Although it was just around time for him to close up shop, Max decided to take a walk around the night streets, something he wouldn’t normally do. In the Town of Labyrinths, however, guards and knights kept a watchful eye out even at night to make sure drunken adventurers didn’t cause a scene, and since there was currently a festival going on, public order on the main street was ironically the same whether it was morning or night.

“Ha ha ha ha ha!”

“Bwa ha ha!”

Max trudged along the side of the main street, hearing what were probably adventurers laughing in the taverns. He didn’t look like a champion who’d fought for humanity’s survival, but like an old man awkwardly wearing a young man’s clothing, yet still unable to adapt to the bustling modern era.

Him aside, though, this town was home to as many symbols of the present as it was of the past.

“Whoa. Get over here, Kevin. It’s the Depth Delvers.”

“What? It’s really them! Hey!”

“Congratulations, guys!”

“Good job!”

A group of Depth Delvers, the adventurers who were being celebrated for slaying a dragon, were confidently walking around town. But Max had no interest in them; he only gave the Depth Delvers a quick glance from the side of the road, the adventurers not even paying him any mind. These accomplished individuals lived in a different world from most, so it was only natural that they had to deal with such a wide range of people trying to approach them that they wouldn’t be able to lead proper lives if they paid attention to every random stranger.

“That’s Path to Glory, the party that spearheaded the dragon subjugation, right? They killed a dragon at the bottom of a dungeon. They’re basically superhuman.”

“Agreed. Oh, isn’t that pendant shaped like a broken fang? I’ve heard about those. They only give those to Dragon Slayers. I’ve heard these are the first ones in this town.”

As Max kept trudging along, the adventurers’ idle chatter caught his ear, but not enough for him to linger. He left the noisy area, breathed in the cold night air, and kept walking.

“Huh? What’s wrong, mister?”

Some time later, perhaps unable to stay indifferent to Max—or to be more specific, an old man walking alone outside at night—a young man named Theo, one of the famous Dragon Slayers, called out to him. Theo wasn’t there alone—he was being accompanied by Mia, the priestess, Freya, his companion clad in large armor, Elise, the one with concealed weapons, and Amalda, the expressionless one. All of them had a pendant shaped like a broken fang hanging from their necks.

“Oh no, nothing’s wrong! I just thought I’d take a little walk!” They’re top-ranking adventurers at their age? And he even looks more like a Hero than Ferd. Max noticed that these youngsters were wearing the pendant which signified the breaking of a dragon’s fangs, and realized that they were highly ranked despite their youth. And he believed that this young man was more fit for the role of Hero than that brat Ferd had been.

“You’re taking a walk this late?” Theo found it strange that a ninety-year-old man was taking a walk at night.

“You have a lot to think about at my age. So I went for a walk for a change of pace. Though as you say, it is a bit late for it,” Max explained. “By the way, is that pendant proof you defeated a dragon in a dungeon?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Yes. But the dragons down there are apparently like children compared to real ones. And these pendants are more or less compulsory for us to wear...” Theo seemed reluctant to show off his accomplishment.

“I see.” Ah, youth.

“Be proud of your achievements, Theo. It’s true that the dragons found in dungeons are said to be inferior to real ones, but in the adventuring business, you have to display your accomplishments, exaggeration or not,” came Freya’s muffled voice from the armor.

Theo nodded reluctantly. “I know, Freya.”

The one in the armor is a woman too?

“Man, I’ve had some deadly encounters with dragons in the past too. Like fighting them while flying across the sky.” The only way to win here is to run. Max had suddenly realized that he was in a pretty thorny situation, given the present company, so he concluded that he might get hurt if he got involved with them any further. So he decided instead to just pretend to be a crazy old man and make his escape, but...

“Huh?! Really?!” Theo’s eyes lit up, as though he was taking Max’s story completely seriously.

He’s actually interested?! Someone help! I was just about to go home! Max was taken aback by Theo’s unexpected reaction and looked meaningfully at his female companions for some kind of aid.

“Theo, I don’t think we should keep him out for so long!” Mia met Max’s eyes and seemed to realize what he was asking, so she kept Theo in check.

“Then if you’ll excuse me.” Nice! Now you can just go back to your inn and flirt! Max didn’t let this chance slip by him and managed to get away before Theo could respond, uttering a silent, worthless parting remark.

“Aww, he left. I wonder how he managed to fight while flying through the sky. Was it flight magic? Mia, do you think he could have distracted a dragon with advanced flight magic?”

“I think it’s possible! I’ve heard about a flying unit that was designed to fight against dragons during the great war! However, it seems like the survival rate was relatively low, so I can’t say if that’s something he actually would have done!”

“I thought it was possible since he looked like an old man who’d experienced the great war, but perhaps he was lying?”

“Who knows! But I’ve been taught that you should take elderly people’s heroic tales with a grain of salt!”

“Yes, I do hear that often. I remember my grandma saying that she made the mistake of marrying my grandpa because she believed his heroic tales. But even that was a lie, or more like her attempt to hide her embarrassment.”

Theo and Mia discussed the elderly man’s heroic tale. However, they both assumed that even if his story had been true, he’d only acted as a distraction for a dragon. The rest of their companions were of the same mind.

“The possibility isn’t zero.”

“It isn’t,” Freya said.

“Mm-hmm.” Amalda nodded slightly in response.

However, Theo and his companions all had the wrong idea.

“Phew!”

As he headed back home, Max wiped away some imaginary sweat. Anyone observing this man, whose life had been nothing but mimicry and deception, would only see him as an old person who had been left behind by the times.

Chapter 6: The Hero’s Party

“We’ve sure sold a lot, despite this being a last-minute sale. I didn’t have that much inventory to begin with, but I’m glad it went so well.” Max nodded as he looked at the shelves, which were starting to get noticeably empty.

Since Max had opened his general store on a whim, even though he carried a wide variety of goods, it was never in great quantity, so when a large number of customers rushed to the store to take advantage of the discounts, these goods ran out in the blink of an eye.

“There’s not much merchandise left, so I think we can cut down on staff a little. Ferd, Elrica, since you came all the way from the mountains, how about you take a look around town? The festival stalls are still open, so you have plenty of things to see.” Max judged that they didn’t need all six of them there, so he suggested that Ferd and Elrica, who’d been confining themselves to the mountains, go and see the town.

“Hmm. Then I suppose we’ll take you up on that,” Ferd said.

“Indeed,” Elrica added.

Ever since they’d come out of the mountains, the two of them had barely had any time alone together, so they decided to accept their friend’s kindness and go for a little stroll outside.

“Now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever taken part in a festival,” Ferd muttered once they were outside, the thought suddenly occurring to him.

“Oh, now that you mention it.” Elrica nodded, thinking about the past.

During the great war, festivals had been an unaffordable luxury, and the ones that had been held were more like victory celebrations, with Ferd and the others being the main characters instead of participants. As a result, this was their first experience of simply enjoying a festival.

“Bwa ha ha ha ha!”

“Aha ha ha ha!”

The old couple walked through town where the enthusiasm about the Dragon Slayers’ victory was still thick in the air, their eyes following street performers who were dressed in clown costumes, laughing as they jaunted through the streets.

“Mommy! Buy me that!”

“No. I bought you one yesterday.”

“Hey, there ain’t enough booze!”

“Then just drink it watered down!”

“Gwa ha ha ha ha!”

“It sure is lively, honey,” Elrica said.

“It really is, dearest. Oh? What’s going on there?” Ferd wondered.

“Yes, what could it be?”

The two of them observed all the hustle and bustle with smiles on their faces, when they noticed a group of parents and children all gathered together, absorbed in something.

“It’s so cute!”

“Yayyy!”

When they looked closer, they saw children petting five white furballs, each a little bigger than could be comfortably held in an adult’s hands.

Are they a tamer’s working animals? Ferd saw that the white furballs had four little legs, adorable, puppylike faces, and happy, cute, round eyes, so he assumed that they might be creatures belonging to someone with the special ability to control animals.

“These are animals called mimis. They live in the south part of the Rin Kingdom. The kingdom allows them to be brought into towns when they’re working under a tamer,” explained the middle-aged man who was in charge of the critters.

“Wow!”

“So this is a mimi!”

The children got even more excited about the animals.

“They’re adorable.”

“They certainly are.”

Behind the children, Ferd and Elrica also smiled at the cute animals. The two of them had been born in an era where people hadn’t had the time to fawn over cute animals, so this was all a fresh experience for them: both watching the children get all excited about the small animals, and the animals themselves looking content as they were simply petted.

“Mii!” One of the mimis turned its cute eyes toward Ferd and Elrica, letting out adorable mewls as it used its short legs to toddle closer to them. “Mii! Mii!” Then, it fell down on its back, as if asking them to rub its belly, which was covered in fluffy fur.

“Ooh, how adorable,” Ferd said.

“Goodness,” Elrica added.

The two of them smiled from ear to ear as they crouched down and took turns rubbing the mimi’s tiny belly.

“Mii! Mii!” The mimi was also enjoying this, or perhaps it was begging for more rubs, as it wriggled its body like a spoiled kid.

Hmm? Have my mimis ever shown their bellies to anyone like this? Meanwhile, the mimis’ tamer was puzzled.

These small animals didn’t show their bellies often, but there was something yet unknown about their ecology. They had a habit of fawning over those who were both overwhelmingly powerful and kindhearted. This was a type of survival strategy; the mimi instinctively knew that if it cozied up to Ferd and Elrica, its safety would be guaranteed.

“Ha ha ha.”

“Oho ho ho.”

But the elderly couple didn’t know that and simply smiled at the small animal vying for their attention.

“Shall we go somewhere else now?” Elrica suggested.

“Yes, though I’m a bit reluctant to leave,” Ferd agreed.

“Mii!”

The two elderly people couldn’t keep looking after the mimi forever, since it was for the children to enjoy. Though a bit reluctant, Elrica and Ferd decided to leave.

“It looks like something’s going on over there too.” Elrica noticed another crowd.

“Mm-hmm. What could it be?”

The two of them got closer, but they witnessed a...forbidden ritual, in a sense.

“Come, Great Demon King! Taste my holy sword!”

“Argh! Is that the sword bestowed upon you by those accursed gods?!”

“Whoops... This won’t do...”

“My, my.”

The handsome man raised his sword, causing the monster wearing a pure black mantle to shudder in fear, but Ferd also shuddered with it.

“Damn you, Herooo!”

As the monster shouted, Ferd’s eyes darted around. The Great Demon King and the Hero were about to clash—in a play. Naturally, a play about the Hero who’d saved the world was a cliché among clichés, so it was often performed at festivals like this one. But watching it was unbearable for the actual Hero.

“For all that is good! Justice is on my side!”

“Silence, inferior creature! The world will vanish into darkness!”

The real thing wasn’t so exaggerated. It was just a slaughter between some young people and a desperate guy, Ferd thought as he listened to the Hero and Great Demon King trade barbs onstage.

“You’re all defective creatures! Humans, elves, dwarves, orcs, goblins, and all the rest! You kill each other in wars for honor, money, justice, or some other ‘great cause’! You slaughter every last person, even the young! Those dogs who kill their prey to eat are far better than all of you! For how many thousands of years have you been killing each other for nonsensical reasons?! I’m sick of it! All of it! The living races? Yeah, right! You don’t care about life any more than I do, yet you have the nerve to call yourselves that!”

Memories of the screams of the Demon King—who’d fallen into despair while spreading despair everywhere himself—echoed in Ferd’s mind.

“Allow me to make a prediction! You defective creatures will destroy each other even without me doing anything! In the worst case, you might destroy this planet itself! So it would be much better to destroy you all now! Here and now, I’ll bring an end to this shared resentment that will continue until the end of times! The number of lives I will eradicate now will be far less than the number you living races would ever take from here on!”

He hadn’t been planning to reshape the world or anything. This was just the voice of a man who’d watched life ever since its conception, and was now, having given up, just trying to take control of the future and all the possibilities it held. Their battle hadn’t been about justice versus evil like it was depicted in the play. The fight between light and darkness, a clash of egos, had been decided after a deadly confrontation.

“I win! Justice prevails!”

“Shall we go see something else too, dearest?” Ferd suggested.

“Let us do that, honey,” Elrica agreed.

The elderly couple who’d secured the light of life left after watching the play. The two of them had long since stepped down from the metaphorical stage.

“Let’s sit down for a bit.” Ferd wasn’t physically tired, but he needed a moment to rest, so he moved to a bench.

“All right.”

“Daddy, mommy, hurry up!”

“I can’t help but keep thinking what wonderful times we live in,” Ferd remarked.

“Truly wonderful,” Elrica agreed.

The two of them were watching a boy cheerfully running around while tugging on his parents’ hands; such scenes were commonplace in this day and age. During Ferd and Elrica’s own youth, children had either been kept shut inside their houses or sent off to the front lines to do odd jobs. When they remembered those times, watching these children smiling almost felt like a dream.

That elderly couple looks on the verge of death. Are they okay? On the other hand, seeing a pair of old people nearing their nineties, sitting on a bench and looking far off into the distance as they were reminiscing, was frankly a sight that made one think they might pass away any moment now. The people around them actually thought they were one step away from death.

“Um, hello.” Eventually, someone even talked to them directly to confirm whether they were alive or not.

“Hello there.”

“Hello. Nice weather we’re having.”

Oh, thank goodness. They seem fine. Theo, the young man who’d approached them, felt relieved when Ferd and Elrica replied properly.

Because of all the clamor around the dragon extermination, Theo couldn’t even do his shopping properly, so he was currently in disguise, Mia with him. The fact that they’d come across not just Max but also Ferd and Elrica could only be because the two youngsters stood at the center of destiny as the budding Hero and Saint.

“My wife and I were saying that the world has become a much better place compared to the times of the great war.” Ferd had continuously been the subject of many young people’s worries lately, so he believed that this young man had also approached him out of kindness, and made sure to let him know that he wasn’t about to die or anything.

“So you fought in the great war, right?” Theo could easily see Ferd having fought back then based on how old he looked.

“Yes, I did. I’m surprised I survived.” Ferd truly thought that. Objectively speaking, it was a wonder that he was still alive.

“Excuse me for asking, but did you even meet the Hero? I have a dwarf friend, and her parents apparently told her that the Hero was an incredible person, but also eccentric...” Theo took the opportunity to ask something that had been on his mind.

Freya, a member of the long-lived dwarf race and one of Theo’s companions, had heard about the Hero from her parents who’d fought in the great war, but their impression of him was at odds with the image humans had of him. They claimed that the Hero was a great man, but also an odd one.

“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.”

“Oho ho ho ho ho ho.”

Ferd and Elrica couldn’t help but burst out laughing.

“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.” Ferd couldn’t suppress his fit of laughter.

“Yes, that’s right. He might have been a rather eccentric man. Back then, almost no one thought he could win.” Speaking for her husband, Elrica offered up the simple truth with a smile.

Whether it was a human, elf, dwarf, or any of the other various races, almost no one had seriously declared they would take down the Great Demon King. Moreover, claiming that a boy from no noble lineage and without any special training, who’d had to flee for his life from a small, poor village, could grow up, pick up a sword, defeat the Great Demon King, and bring back the blue sky, would be taken as nothing more than the ramblings of a madman. In other words, the dwarves and elves who had lived back then now described Ferd as eccentric, being as intentionally vague as possible.

“You’re going to bring the blue sky back? Dream on, you brat.”

“Do it if you can, bumpkin.”

“Are you stupid?”

“Hmph.”

Ferd was aware of that, and as he recalled the voices of the despairing adults of those long ago times, he could only laugh at how mildly it felt to be referred to as an eccentric now, when he’d been called a stupid brat back then.

“Ha ha. This is a good era to live in, isn’t it?” Ferd asked, somehow suppressing his laughter.

“Y-Yes, I think so,” Theo replied.

“It is.” Mia, who’d been watching everything by Theo’s side, nodded.

Of course, there was still injustice and evil in the world, but it was leagues better than the era where everything living had been destined to die a horrible death.

“I’m glad to hear that. There was meaning behind us fighting.”

“Yes.”

After the youngsters showed them that their fighting had borne fruit, Ferd and Elrica stood up from the bench with smiles.

“We will be taking our leave now.”

“If you’ll excuse us.”

The two of them thought that if the conversation continued, their identities as the Hero and Saint might be discovered, so they bowed to Theo and Mia and went back to sightseeing.

“There’s...something special about those two, isn’t there?”

“I...think you’re right.”

The two youngsters felt an odd profundity coming from the old couple as they saw them off, and they looked at each other in confusion.

This was a chance meeting between the old legends on their way out of this world and the upcoming legends. Since the elderly couple had already finished playing their part, there was nothing left for them to do. However...that wasn’t necessarily true if there were those who were trying to bring an end to this era.

Incidentally, because of its peculiarities, the Town of Labyrinths didn’t fall under any noble’s domain and was instead directly managed by the Rin Kingdom’s royal family. Orlando, a man in his fifties with sharp, hawklike eyes, was an outstanding individual who had been handpicked from out of the entire kingdom’s population to be the town’s governor. Without his ability and loyalty, he would have never been entrusted with the dungeons, where armed adventurers walked around like they owned the place and powerful weapons were procured. If the governor were to plot something wicked, the Town of Labyrinths that brought wealth and fame would instantly turn into a liability for the kingdom. That was why the town often received certain visitors.

“Thank you for gracing us with your presence today.” Governor Orlando, along with the most elite knights under the royal family’s direct command who guarded the Town of Labyrinths, were kneeling, their heads bowed. There were very few individuals both of these parties would be showing such respect to.

“Please, I should be the one thanking you,” a man said in a dignified voice.

This man was the one who was causing sweat to run down the backs of Orlando, a veteran of the cutthroat world of politics, as well as the robust knights who were on par with even the Depth Delvers, the most accomplished adventurers in the realm. If Orlando’s eyes were a hawk’s, then this man’s were a dragon’s. This was no figure of speech; his blue eyes were slightly slitted vertically and glowed faintly. His slender body was clad in the finest white and gold garments made by the kingdom’s finest artisans, but they did nothing to conceal the aura emanating from his wrinkled skin. And the long blue hair flowing down his back was swaying even though there was no wind, thanks to the immense power dwelling in his body. This ninety-year-old man, who’d outlived his time, looked like this because he was an abnormal human who carried the traits of an actual dragon.

“I know I’m causing you trouble, but for some reason, I believed it would be best for me to come here. And that thought became even stronger when I heard that a dragon had been defeated. I’ve made it a family precept to kill evil dragons on sight, so the blue dragon might have been pushing for me to come.” His wrinkled, lionlike, stern face was twisted sarcastically, but Orlando and the knights didn’t realize that as they still had their heads bowed.

In a sense, it was natural that Stein had detected multiple highly developed muscles in the Town of Labyrinths, and that knights directly under the royal family had come to a humble store like Max’s. As mentioned earlier, members of the Rin royal family visited the Town of Labyrinths often because of its peculiarities. But the one currently here wasn’t some trivial royal like a fourth or fifth prince. In a way, a man ranked higher than even the king had arrived with his guards, which made the people involved nervous.

The man’s name was Gale Rin. As evidenced by his last name, he was part of the Rin Kingdom’s royal family, but he wasn’t any ordinary member. Not only had he awakened the power of the blue dragon, who was the guardian of the Rin Kingdom and could be considered the ancestor of the royal family, he had also once been the king himself, having reigned two generations ago, who’d survived the great war and rebuilt the kingdom. That was the true identity of the person currently visiting the Town of Labyrinths.

Although it wasn’t widely known, this great man was also a bit cunning. Most of the people who knew this had already passed on from old age, but this man had seized power from his father—who’d been better off away from the world of politics—in order to rebuild the Rin Kingdom, which had been on the brink of collapse thanks to the Great Demon King’s invasion. He’d then deployed all of the powerful national treasures that had been needlessly stored away in order to maintain the front lines, but several of those treasures ended up not being returned after the war.

“If I were a little younger, I’d have participated in the extermination myself,” Gale said in a joking manner, but he was being half serious.

The blue dragon, the Rin Kingdom’s guardian, was incredibly hostile to all dragons that weren’t on the side of the living races. It was first on the list of dragons who’d killed their brethren who sided with the Great Demon King, but its hostility was also directed toward dungeon dragons, which it considered as imitations mimicking the appearance of its kind. As a result, Gale, the child prodigy said to have manifested the blue dragon’s traits more intensely than any member of the Rin royal family in history, also harbored enmity toward these inferior beasts.

“In any case, how is the dungeon now that the dragon has been defeated?” Gale asked.

“Well, as per regulations, dwarves are conducting an investigation using remotely controlled magic armors. They have finished investigating the upper levels and have reported that everything is normal,” Orlando replied.

“Mm-hmm.”

In extremely rare cases, when a boss-like monster was defeated in the depths of a dungeon, the dungeon itself would have something like an overreaction, giving birth to powerful monsters. Therefore, the dwarves who could craft special magic armor which could be remotely controlled to explore dungeons were highly valued. Since the person controlling the armor remained on the surface, they had the enormous advantage of being able to relay all information from inside a dungeon to above. Such devices were incredibly rare and quite expensive, though.

“We lack the strength to reach the bottom layer, but the investigation of the middle layers is about to finish,” Orlando explained.

“Everything seems normal in the middle layers too. I can’t officially declare it yet, but I don’t think there’s been an overreaction so far.”

“Yeah.”

Three figures suited in knight’s armor were walking cautiously through the Nightless Inferno, the dungeon where the dragon had been recently defeated. Although the armor suits were a dull black with a special fireproof coating, they were far larger than the average suit of armor, and the swords, shields, and spears they were carrying were imbued with mana. The most unique thing about these suits was that they were actually empty, and they were being operated by dwarves on the surface, who were well over a century old. It was a specialized skill; even Freya, a fellow dwarf and member of Theo’s party, skilled as she was, lacked the ability to synchronize her senses of sight, hearing, and smell with her armor and control it from a distance. But in exchange, these armors were inferior in combat ability to the Depth Delvers themselves, so they couldn’t investigate the area where the dragon had been defeated.

The suits of armor, which could be considered remotely controlled investigation devices, had finished searching through the middle layers and were about to leave the dungeon. However...

“A monk slayer’s coming!”

The armors switched to combat mode when a column of lava suddenly rose up far in the back of the room they were investigating. Since the lava itself was bubbling up, they deduced that it was a monk slayer. That was the correct conclusion.

“Huh?”

But also the wrong one. The three dwarves controlling the suits of armor were dumbfounded, even though they were on the surface, far from the actual battle. If a monk slayer was a mass of lava moving slowly, then what was this slender creature with proper limbs, which stood on the bright red ground on two legs? It didn’t have any other features; it was just a humanoid figure made out of lava.

“Eek!”

“This can’t be!”

“How?!”

The three dwarves on the surface turned ghastly pale and let out cries of terror. In the meantime, the red humanoid shape lunged forward and started running toward the empty armors. Its speed was both magnificent and terrifying. Its mobility rivaled high-ranking monks using the Life Wave, and would also be a fair match for even a Depth Delver specializing in melee combat.

“L-Light, come forth!”

The dwarves controlled their armors and used by-the-book magical attacks. These particular dwarves were highly valued because they could even use magical attacks remotely. However, it was pointless here. Despite having a body made of lava, the red humanoid creature formed its arm into a sword and somehow vertically slashed the magical ball of light. It then continued cutting the balls of light apart, quickly approaching the armor without slowing down at all.

“This can’t beee!”

The screaming dwarves remembered something: the reason the Boiling Mountain had once been on the verge of falling. These dwarves had also participated in the decisive battle against the flame troops, which had easily numbered over ten thousand and made up the enemy army’s main force.

“Aaaaah!”

One dwarf still recalled the fear he’d felt back then as he thrust his spear. Even though he wasn’t down there himself, perhaps due to his desperate survival instinct, the armor put so much strength into its legs that it felt like it might shatter the ground beneath its feet, making this an attack on the level of a Depth Delver’s. However, the spear, which was supposed to have been magically enhanced, not only failed to pierce the red humanoid’s body, it instantly melted. But that wasn’t all—the red humanoid raised its arm over its head like a monk would and slammed its fist into the armor’s torso. The armor melted and dissolved. It should have also been magically enhanced to be resistant to heat, but it melted without offering even the slightest of resistance, and the red humanoid’s fist passed right through it.

“Raaaaah!”

“Yaaaaah!”

The remaining armors swung their swords, coating them in as much power of light as possible, but the result was always the same: They melted and dissolved on contact with the creature. As if the light meant nothing, with a single swing of the red humanoid’s arms, the swords and armors were obliterated. They were truly no match for this being, with its magical resistance and tremendous speed. It was absurd, but this fight was being decided with a single touch.

“W-We must get the word out at once!”

The dwarves panicking back on the surface had an idea of what this creature was; something similar had appeared in the past. There was record of such a being appearing in dungeons before. But this was poor timing.

These dwarves had personally experienced the great war, so the name that immediately came to mind for them made its way to the higher-ups.

“The dwarves investigating the dungeon reported the appearance of a monster known as a true monk slayer, which was once spotted back during the great war.” The bad news was delivered to the former king, Gale, along with Governor Orland.

True monk slayers were monks’ archenemies, creatures who had thwarted many high-ranking monks. They were the natural enemies of those who fought with fists and swords. If this creature’s appearance was a chance one, caused by the dungeon’s overreaction to the dragon’s death, it was less of an issue. If the Great Demon King was somehow involved, however, this would be a worst-case scenario—true monk slayers being born anew in the modern day.

“Hmm. You should get the details sorted out. In the meantime, I’ll be away for a bit.”

With that, Gale left to seek the advice of the perfect individual for the job. Conveniently, he’d received a message from this person earlier, which was a rare occurrence. However, said advisor was rarely fond of obeying plans or even fate, and was the type of person who preferred to solve problems by punching them, to put it most simply.

Several minutes later, the entrance to the Nightless Inferno should have been on clear lockdown, but there was no one guarding it thanks to Gale’s arrangements.

“It’s hard to imagine that giant moron has revived, so I think this one is only similar to the monk slayers of the past. If he really had come back to life, he’d directly come to me instead of sneaking around. Don’t you agree, dearest?” Ferd asked.

“That’s right, honey,” Elrica replied.

“We’ll know once we go. Hic,” Sazaki said.

“Exactly,” Lara added.

“If this true monk slayer is a creature from back then, it’s my duty to take it down,” Stein said.

“I don’t think you need me here. I can go home, right? Right? Please say I can,” Max said.

The Hero’s party had assembled to solve the problem...by punching it. However, their enthusiasm varied greatly from person to person.

Ugh... Max, the least motivated one, sighed deeply in his mind. If that moron came back to life, he’d be headed straight for Ferd? Is that so? Well, I never met him in person, so I guess I wouldn’t know. And will you quiet down already?! Max called the Great Demon King, his old enemy, an idiot. From his perspective, the concern Gale had asked him for advice with—in other words, the revival of the Great Demon King—was nothing but a groundless fear. However, as the former king, it was only natural that Gale would want to know whether the monster that had been discovered was a true monk slayer, forged by the Great Demon King himself, or merely something similar.

“Let us go.”

Meanwhile, Stein was highly motivated, every muscle in his body bulging. He also doubted that the Great Demon King had revived, but monk slayers had taken the lives of many of his brethren, so he couldn’t just sit still if he heard about one existing.

“Pwah!” Sazaki was just tagging along for the ride, and he was drinking, as usual.

“Huh? The transporter has been tampered with. It was clearly done on purpose.” Lara carefully observed the dungeon and noticed an anomaly. “That’s a bit of a problem. At the very least, it means someone has figured out how this ancient transporter works.”

“In other words?” Max asked.

“We can assume that, at minimum, a mage of the Hadal layer is involved,” Lara said, estimating the power of the person that could be behind this anomaly.

“Blegh.” Max grimaced.

Someone had interfered with the transporter of unknown origin and disrupted its functioning, and unusual events were also taking place inside the dungeon. There was no doubt that a truly skilled individual was involved here.

“Then let’s hurry onward while praying that the giant moron doesn’t show up.” While Max called the Great Demon King a moron, Ferd took it a step further and called him a giant moron.

“Yes, let’s go,” Elrica agreed as the two of them started to run.

In the end, the unstoppable six entered the Nightless Inferno. They had no one to guide them; if they were surrounded by true monk slayers, the aftermath of combat would be unbearable for anyone besides members of the Hero’s party, all the more so if the Great Demon King was somehow involved. Of course, with Lara’s special eyes that could read the flow of mana, they didn’t need a guide in the first place.

Soon after, a unit that operated in the shadows of the Rin Kingdom, led by a bespectacled middle-aged man, sealed off the entrance to the cave.

“It’s hot! Man, this place is hot as hell.” Max was already fed up with the scorching hot cave.

But the first layer was still fine. There was just fire burning everywhere, and no lava flowing like there was in the deeper parts. However, dungeons were truly strange places; everyone could still breathe despite the fires burning in the enclosed space.

“I was told that everything was normal in the upper layers. What do you think, Lara?” Ferd asked as he walked without really minding the heat.

“They’ve done a pretty impressive job of covering their tracks, but there are traces of magic everywhere. Still, it’s human magic, not that moron’s.” As an expert on magic, Lara judged that there was nothing to be concerned about, also calling the Great Demon King an idiot in the process.

“That makes sense. During the final battle, he said that it was time to settle things. So even if he had revived, there would be no point to him messing around like this. If he wanted to settle the score for when I cracked his skull open, he would come directly to me,” Ferd muttered as he ran, looking off into the distance.

They were the Hero and the Great Demon King, light and darkness, justice and evil, and above all else, a winner and a loser. The two of them were like two sides of the same coin, and so Ferd understood the Great Demon King better than any other human could.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Thinking the exact same thing, Max nodded, not a single drop of sweat running down his face despite his complaints about the heat. “Anyway, we need to figure out what’s going on.”

Even as they conversed, they were all running like the wind. The party moved at incredible speed, making it hard to believe they were all in their nineties. Ferd was in the lead, moving in a way that made it seem like his usual toddling had just been a figment of the imagination. Sazaki and Stein followed behind him, neck and neck, followed by Lara, who floated along, Elrica, and finally a sprinting Max.

Man, this takes me back. Max had always been the one to bring up the rear, and he couldn’t help but reminisce as he looked at his comrades’ backs. I don’t have the power of light like Ferd and Elrica. I don’t have speed like Sazaki. I don’t have magic like Lara. I don’t have...muscles like Stein. Despite being a member of the Hero’s party, he thought that he was one or two levels below all his comrades in terms of ability. And he was aware that he’d seen more of their backs than anyone else had. Still, since we’ve all gathered again, I might as well do what I can. This man had already accomplished his greatest ambition, burned out, and all that was left for him was to die, so now he chased after his friends’ backs with his usual nonchalance.

“Whoa there, we’ve got company.” Sazaki took a step in front of Ferd.

Multiple bumps appeared on the ground, and around ten monsters resembling monitor lizards jumped out, each as big as a human adolescent. But the lizards were unable to perceive the red glimmer before them, and all of their heads were cut instantly from their bodies. In front of the Lightspeed Blademaster, jumping out from anywhere was a foolish act akin to suicide. To put it in extreme terms, to go up against Sazaki, one would need a body that couldn’t be cut, enough mass that it couldn’t be handled with just a sword, or speed comparable to his. It was impossible to put up a fight against him without any of those.

“Let’s keep going, ’kay?” The monsters were cut down one after the other, being slaughtered more casually than the casual words that came out of Sazaki’s mouth.

Man, that’s crazy... Makes you think that his theory about the fastest also being the strongest is right. Max’s comrade was always so skilled that it made one think that nothing could stand in his way. This made it hard to argue with his childish philosophies.

Thanks to Sazaki’s efforts, the group quickly made it through the upper layers and arrived at the problematic location.

“Hmm. There they are...” Stein had a strange expression as three red humanoid figures that were thought to be true monk slayers jumped out of the river of lava. His reaction was akin to what one might expect to see if someone was told about a demon wolf that could destroy the world, only to find a dog-shaped monster.

“Seems like those dwarves who encountered them didn’t know, but these things aren’t even taking a stance,” Max said.

“I was about to say the same,” Sazaki added.

Even though three of the monsters that had melted the dwarves’ special magic armors appeared, Max and Sazaki lost all motivation at the sight.

“We’re in a hurry. I’ll just check quickly.” Stein, who was still half scratching his head in confusion, spread his arms slightly and adopted a monk stance of the Church of Roaring Earth.

The true monk slayers didn’t react to this, simply charging toward Stein to ram into him with their scorching hot bodies, which not even the magic armors had put up any resistance against. Their behavior made everything clear: They weren’t using the martial arts stance specifically developed to oppose monks—in that respect, they were fakes. Right after one of the fakes swung its arms at him, Stein silently punched the lava creature without even exhaling. Thrusting one’s arm into lava was an unbelievably foolish thing to do. Yet, it was the fake that now faced something unbelievable—before it even had the time to be confused, the lava in its torso was blown away as punches rained all over its body. And then, unable to maintain its form, it vanished. The remaining two didn’t seem to care about the first one’s fate and attacked Stein, not having learned any lesson from this...and just like the previous one, they were struck until they vanished.

“They don’t have any ability to learn either. These really are different creatures,” Stein said.

Stein hadn’t used a layer of air or his muscles to counteract the heat of the lava; he’d protected himself using the Null Wave. However, it wasn’t through magic or mana but sheer force of will that he’d disregarded even lava, which was frankly not a human achievement. But to Stein, who’d once gone so far as to swim in lava, a body of lava attacking him at a fast speed posed no threat at all. Even Stein had been given the impression that true monk slayers were dangerous enemies, but these fake ones were no match for him.

“They didn’t react to your stance at all. They didn’t change their behavior when one of them was defeated. They only moved through instinct. They weren’t the monk slayers we know,” Ferd reviewed the facts.

“Right,” Stein agreed.

Even the monsters’ lava bodies, incredible speed, and immense numbers—more than ten thousand—were not enough to make them the monks’ sworn enemies. But the Great Demon King had equipped his true monk slayers not only with a body that could cause death with a single touch, stamina, and speed, but martial arts skills that surpassed the average monk’s, with learning abilities specialized against them. It was no wonder that the Boiling Mountain had almost fallen when the monks had faced such a unique threat.

Moreover, even after the battle on the Boiling Mountain had ended, the monk slayers continued wreaking havoc. Those who’d somehow managed to survive and gained experience during the final years of the great war possessed bodies of lava, had absorbed monks’ martial techniques, and had honed their own unique martial arts, making them fearsome creatures that could even be called masters of the craft.

He really is insanely strong. Max recalled the master-level monk slayers they’d fought during the end of the war, which reaffirmed Stein’s incredible ability, given that he’d killed most of them back then. Okay, I get it, calm down already! I’ll do it! Max shouted silently at the ring with a blue gemstone on his finger, which had been pestering him this entire time.

The Hero’s party continued pressing farther into the dungeon, never pausing. Sazaki cut down any monsters that stood in their way, and Stein slaughtered the fake monk slayers that occasionally appeared, so they were never impeded.

“Max, can you do something about that shrill noise?” Lara, who was floating slightly as she moved, seemed dissatisfied, and she frowned as she glared at Max’s ring, who was farthest in the back.

“I’d love to know that myself. If you have any ideas, please let me know.”

Lara’s abnormal senses had detected thoughts emanating from the ring, which sounded like a high-pitched voice. To Max, the ring’s owner, it was like there was a bell constantly ringing inside his head.

“What is it saying?” Ferd asked with a hint of laughter.

“I’ll try to put it elegantly. ‘If the adventurers managed to kill that filthy imitation, then so can you. Let’s go murder it. Let’s kill it now.’ Something along those lines.”

“Same as ever.”

“Tell me about it. It’s surprising, really, when the one who created it and put power into it is so ladylike.” Max frowned even more than Lara as he glared at his ring.

The majority of the equipment Max was wearing actually couldn’t be removed; it was as though it was cursed. The ring with the blue gemstone was one of these items, constantly tormenting its wearer.

“If that counts as ladylike, then I’m a Saint,” Lara said.

“Bwa ha ha! Well, she’s usually a quiet woman! She just can’t contain herself when it comes to other dragons!” Sazaki chimed in.

Apparently, Max, Sazaki, and Lara had different opinions about the creator of that equipment.

“Then we’ll leave the dragon to you,” Stein said

“Yeah. I really don’t wanna do it, but I should be able to handle a dungeon dragon...though please help me out if things get dangerous.”

“Or so you say, but seventy years ago, I learned that getting in the way of an expert can spell trouble. I never expected there would be a dragon near impervious to physical attacks... Not even my muscles were enough.”

“Tch. You just made me remember that pesky magic-reflecting dragon,” Lara said, clicking her tongue.

Stein decided to leave the dragon to Max, whose equipment was urging him to go kill it. He wasn’t being coldhearted or anything; it was just a rule of thumb to leave dragons to the specialists. In particular, during the great war, both allied and enemy dragons had been at their peak of power, and some had even given the Hero’s party trouble, as shown by Lara’s reaction.

“I wouldn’t really call myself an expert or anything... Wait, is this the end of the middle layers? If I remember correctly, there are a lot of fire spirits beyond this point.” Max was about to sigh, but when they arrived before the large gate separating the middle and deep layers, he changed gears and started considering the monsters beyond the gate.

Spirits, also known as elementals, were beings that could manipulate natural energy at will. They could cause a lot of trouble by simply running wild and spreading their power everywhere. The fire spirits in the area separating the middle and deeper layers of the Nightless Inferno were out of control, scattering flames. But since they were unintelligent, their behavior was simple, so they weren’t that difficult to defeat as long as one took the proper countermeasures. However, there was one problem.

“When an overreaction occurs in the dungeon, monsters from the depths might take their place, right?” Ferd asked.

“Apparently so. But something unusual seems to be happening this time, so I can’t predict what awaits,” Elrica replied.

According to the explanation they’d received beforehand, when a phenomenon known as an overreaction in dungeon technical terms took place, not only were monsters enhanced, but the bosses found in the areas between layers became more powerful too. Or a boss from a lower layer might end up higher up.

“Let’s go.” Ferd passed through the gate.

“Groaaaaar!”

A bright-red dragon, which should have been at the bottom of the depths, waited for them in the area between the middle and deep layers. It was about as strong as the one the rising legends had recently defeated, and was definitely not something that should have been there.

The next moment, Max’s blue ring shone.

“Grargh?!”

The dragon’s roar, which was accompanied by shock waves, turned into a scream of anguish. An arrow was sticking out of each of its inhuman eyes. Dragons’ eyes were relatively weak compared to their scales. However, there were practically no defensive barriers convenient enough to allow the user’s own attacks to pass through them, so in order to hit a dragon with an arrow, one had to stay focused while remaining defenseless on the brink of death.

Max was the one who’d achieved that extraordinary feat, but his appearance was strange. Gone was the old man who seemed to be imitating a young person’s fashion without regard for his own age. He was clad in a helmet with a design like a white hawk and full-body armor with hawk wings sprouting from its back, a red cloak swaying behind him. In his left hand, he wielded a black sword bearing a crest of a roaring lion’s head, and in his right, a gray spear adorned with a design like a dancing wolf. The bow he’d just used was on his back, with grass vines twined around its bowstring. The dagger at his waist was jagged like lightning. His equipment lacked any sense of unity, like a fine knight had picked up whatever he could carry at the moment. Every last item was full of pretense, befitting of the man named Max.

Max started running, his speed far inferior to Sazaki’s sword or Stein at his full strength—but it was more than enough. From the gaps of his armor leaked a small amount of blue mana, far inferior to Lara’s—but it was enough. His weapons contained the power of light, far inferior to Ferd’s and Elrica’s—but enough. He was inferior in all of the areas of expertise of the people who’d broken through the limits of humanity—but it was enough to kill a dragon.

“Gyaaagh!”

The dragon, its eyes still pierced by the arrows, screamed in fear. Perhaps because it had been robbed of its vision, its other senses could clearly recognize that a blue dragon, incomparably larger and more powerful than itself, was attacking with eyes overflowing with murderous intent. It was a misinterpretation, but also the truth.

“Graaaaah!”

The panicked dragon opened its mouth wide to spew its scorching breath. In response, Max flapped the wings growing out of his armor’s back and took to the air to get above the dragon. He only let out a short sigh of determination, but the spear he threw pierced through the top of the dragon’s head with tremendous force.

“Graaaow!”

Even though the spear hadn’t even penetrated its skull, the dragon screamed in agony, forgetting all the power it was putting into its breath. It was fairly well known in this world that dragons had an organ at the top of their heads known as a third eye or a mana receptor. Lizards had a similar photoreceptor, but dragons used their organ to perceive the flow of mana. However, a dragon’s third eye was closely connected to its brain, and the scales around it were thin. Therefore, if an attack hit perfectly and blocked that eye, the dragon would experience intense pain and lose access to most external information.

“Gyaaagh!”

And so, as the dragon fell further into panic, it was unable to see Max jump at its throat, where it had been gathering power to spew its fire breath.

Max let out another short sigh. His long hair flowed out from behind his helmet, not a dyed blond but its natural blue color. The eyes peeking through the gaps in his helm were slit like a dragon’s. The skin underneath his armor was covered in blue dragon-like scales. The man who was borrowing—and yet surpassed—the power of the blue dragon, guardian of the Rin Kingdom, plunged his sword into the fake’s throat.

“Grah?! Grogh?!”

By the time the fake dragon noticed the sword stuck in its throat, it was far too late. This kin-slaying power flowing into it reacted with the power that had been meant for it to emit its fire breath, detonating it. The power that then jumped out of its mouth didn’t cause the dragon any harm, but the flames pouring inwardly ran about its body and spread like wildfire.

“Gaah...”

Fake dragons already couldn’t regulate their temperature, so there was no way this one could withstand the heat and the kin-slaying poison. Its life functions instantly went past its tolerance level, and it collapsed with a loud thud.

“Woof... I’m sooo glad I haven’t grown dull,” Max whined like a baby as he drooped his shoulders.

The man known as Max had been shrouded in mystery ever since the great war. The first time he’d become known to the world was when his commander at the time recorded him in his diary as a fool who claimed to have slain a dragon single-handedly. Therefore, no one had paid him any attention at the time, not bothered by the fact that he was someone with absolutely no records of his name at all.

The origin of his equipment was also a mystery. His equipment had been transformed thanks to a special power, but it still had a true form. His armor wasn’t designed after a white hawk but a blue dragon, along with its wings and a blue cloak. The sword in his left hand had a crest of a roaring blue dragon. The spear in his left hand had a design of a dancing blue dragon. The bowstring of the bow on his back imitated the body of a slender blue dragon. The dagger at his waist was a dragon’s fang. If anyone could see these items’ true forms, they would realize that everything Max was equipped with were national treasures of the Rin Kingdom that hadn’t been returned after the war. But it wasn’t like Max had tried to keep them for himself—quite the opposite, in fact. He’d tried to return everything, but the equipment stuck to him like it was cursed.

“I’m only doing this ’cause Gale’s the one asking; I’m already sick of dragons. Get it, cursed equipment? Ugh! Shaddup! I don’t care how much you protest, you’re all cursed!” It was like the national treasures created by the power of the blue dragon had become attached to the man who was most capable of handling them.

Max casually dropped the name of Gale Rin, the former king who’d contacted him about this issue. Not because they were close friends, but because they were blood relatives—brothers, in fact. There was a reason Max, the man of many names, had been surprised when the knights under the royal family’s direct control had come to his store. His real identity was Gavin Rin, younger twin brother of Gale, the king of two generations ago. He was a man who didn’t officially exist, so it was only natural that there were no records about him.

In this era, the royal family believed that having twins would complicate the succession to the throne, so the younger brother was destined to disappear in the darkness of history, unknown to all. However, for better or worse, the twins’ father—the king at the time—had taken pity on Gavin and allowed him to live in the castle. Perhaps his father had been too kind. This was why he’d been unable to bear the Great Demon King’s invasion, which had drastically reduced the population of the mortal races and gnawed at the Rin Kingdom, and fell ill and lethargic, abandoning his government duties. Gavin leaving home and rejecting their father, and Gale effectively imprisoning their father and wresting authority from him hadn’t been separate events, but the result of the twins working together.

These twins had completely different talents. Gale had the talent to unite the nation and was truly fit for the role of king. Although Gavin didn’t officially exist, he was a talented warrior who could use the power of the blue dragon better than any member of the Rin royal family in history. That was why they’d split their roles: The older brother would save the kingdom as its king, and the younger brother as a warrior. He’d kept this secret even from the members of the Hero’s party that he’d later joined, but they eventually realized the truth during the war.

“All right, let’s go all the way to the end,” casually said the man who wielded a dragon’s power yet slew dragons with it.

This man held the unofficial record for slaying the most evil dragons during the great war. Max, known as the Dragonsbane Knight, or Dragon Knight for short, had completely burned out after saving his country, and had disappeared to avoid complicating the succession to the throne.

But the party wasn’t done yet. The real problem lay at the bottom of the depths.

“I’ve more or less figured it out, so I’ll tell you now. That messy idiot must be behind this.” Lara had figured out the cause of everything.

“Are they all fake?” Stein said, now aware of the cause as he rushed into the depths and defeated all of the fake monk slayers that occasionally showed up.

“If any monk slayers had survived the great war and were still in hiding, how powerful would they be?” This thought seemed to have suddenly come to Ferd.

“Don’t speak such terrifying words. If they had been training to kill monks for seventy whole years after the war, it’s very likely that they’d be unimaginably powerful.” Stein was very visibly frowning.

Although there had been very few of them, some of the monk slayers during the final stages of the war had been absolute monsters capable of going toe-to-toe with Stein. It would be downright terrifying if they were still alive today.

“If that time comes, we’ll just have Ferd do his best, right, Sazaki?” Max suggested, as if to say that only the Hero could deal with such troublesome foes.

“No, you see, my back...” Yet the Hero was pitifully tapping his back.

“Bwa ha ha! Yeah, right!” Sazaki laughed at Ferd.

“They really haven’t changed one bit.” Lara was feeling a mix of nostalgia and dismay, something common for her these recent days, as she looked at the men who were making a racket but still remained fully on their guards.

“Oho ho ho ho. That’s true.” Elrica looked fondly at them as she laughed.

Although Elrica has changed a lot. Lara glanced over at Elrica as she thought about the past.

If they were asked who among their comrades had changed the most, everyone would probably say it was Elrica. She was practically a different person compared to when they’d first met, so that was only natural. This refined old lady had a secret—something that had made all the top-ranking clergymen of the great war repent.

“Okay, we’re in the deepest part. The boss dragon already showed up above, so...let’s go home?” Max suggested.

“Why?” Sazaki asked.

“Well, it’s definitely gonna be a pain. There’s bound to be a monster worse than a dragon.”

“Worse than even the Great Demon King?”

“Ain’t no way it’s that bad.”

To resolve the problem, the party continued conquering the depths without slowing down for one second, until they reached the deepest part of the Nightless Inferno in the blink of an eye. If the Depth Delvers learned this, their jaws would probably hit the floor from the shock. And yet, Max, one of the people who’d accomplished this monumental feat, only found this place to be a bother, and he and Sazaki were just messing around.

“I wonder what we’ll see here.” Ferd ignored his comrades’ chatter and went through the final gate. “Hmm? This place is different from what they described,” he said, cocking his head.

“Indeed. We were told this was a wide area meant to fight a dragon in, but this vastness is on an entirely different level,” Stein agreed,

The Rin Kingdom’s intelligence agency had already informed the party about the room where the battle with the dragon took place, but the space before them was nothing like the intel said. The area was as vast as a plain, making it hard to believe that they were still underground.

“I’ve got a really bad feeling about this, or more like it’s kind of nostalgic,” Max said.

“Same here,” Ferd agreed.

The two of them weren’t feeling nostalgic for the empty plane before them, but for when the Great Demon King had unleashed overwhelming violence in an attempt to kill them.

The next moment, not just the ground, but even the walls and ceiling started swelling, and monsters started emerging from the entire vast space, easily numbering over one or two hundred. This space was known as a killing room, where an absurd number of monsters appeared. Rooms like this one could be found in some parts of larger dungeons, but shouldn’t normally exist in the Nightless Inferno.

“Hmm.” Sazaki lowered his waist and slightly leaned forward, twisting his body as he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword. If his disciples were here, they’d turn ghastly pale and drop to the ground while clutching their heads.

“Allow me,” Elrica interrupted Sazaki—he’d made the trip here plenty comfortable for her already. She held her staff with both hands and thrust it into the ground. Was she going to use a holy barrier to protect her allies? Perhaps bolster everyone with healing and protection magic? No.

Elrica, one of the members of the Hero’s party, was generally viewed as a compassionate and merciful person, who used the protection of the Great Lord to safeguard her companions. But that common opinion diverged from reality, and for a sad reason at that. During the initial stages of the great war, the church forces had been cornered and decided that the side of the living couldn’t withstand the Great Demon King’s invasion. So they’d used the power of all the gods to create a being for the sole purpose of defeating the Great Demon King. The golem-like human Elrica had been created only to kill the Great Demon King, and for no other reason; she was a Saint in name only.

Although Elrica had once been praised as the world’s most innocent beauty, she’d actually just been unfeeling and emotionless. The first thing she’d done the first time she saw a horse was asking how it tasted, and she’d been so ignorant about the world that she couldn’t even tell salt and sugar apart. She’d been the ultimate sheltered girl, created in utmost secrecy. Elrica the Saint had been a sword, a bomb, a trump card, or perhaps an assassin specifically designed to take the Great Demon King’s life. However, in the process of fulfilling her objective, she’d learned friendship, sorrow, joy, and love. After the end of the war, she’d chosen to live in seclusion with Ferd, and even had a child with him.

But let us return to the main topic. Like the general public believed, Elrica could also provide divine protection. But considering the purpose for which she had been created, her power was...the power to kill.

“Vanish in the light.”

Following Elrica’s declaration, symbols and words related to all the gods of light started emerging in the space around her staff. Every clergyman living in the present day would probably have turned pale at the sight. To create even a single of those symbols, it would take a crowd of priests gathered in a sanctuary and risking their lives. In other words, Elrica’s body itself could be considered a grand temple or sanctuary. Light was emitted from her body, engulfing the fire-related monsters which had appeared to fill the entire plain; then, they vanished. There were no traces of the monsters left. They’d disappeared completely inside the light. Elrica’s specialties were light-annihilation attacks that unfailingly eradicated enemies who had no resistance to it—something that shouldn’t normally be possible for the power of light—and killing techniques that would put any assassin to shame.

“I haven’t used this in a while.” This was Elrica the Saint, the anti-demon weapon of annihilation created by the church’s power.

“A big one’s coming,” Lara warned, although her expression barely shifted.

As the dungeon had been nearly conquered twice in such a short span of time, it was now mustering all of its strength to fight back. Perhaps it was trying to provide a worthy challenge to these powerful challengers, or perhaps it was merely trying to kill some rats that had snuck inside of its walls. The dungeon’s methods were incredibly straightforward: just throw everything at them all at once. That said, this was more or less the optimal solution. The mass and density of this concentrated assault, along with the resistances it gained from being a living creature, gave it a degree of defense against Sazaki’s sword, Stein’s fists, Max’s dragon powers, and Elrica’s light. Though it was still powerless against Lara’s extreme firepower.

“HRAAAAAAAH!”

What this resulted in was a creature slightly larger than a person, which was currently wriggling along the ground. It looked like a mix between a child, an underground dweller, pseudo-monk slayer, flame dog, lizard, flame spirit, and even a dragon, all these elements coming together to give birth to a hideous red burning mass with traces of crushed faces and limbs sticking out from all over. But no matter how ugly it looked, it was still an aggregation of the Nightless Inferno itself, with hazard to match. The flames emanating from the amalgamation could burn anything, leaving not even ash behind...

However, the air was soon filled with light. The power that had once crushed the Great Darkness which had beset the land was unleashed.

“AAAAAAAH?!”

In front of the ugly, confused creature stood a man with dazzling light emanating from his pure white hair, wrinkled skin, eyes, and even pores of his body. This was the man who’d saved the world and defied fate. This was the power of light he wielded, which exceeded all measure. He was the incarnation of the prayers and hopes of every living thing and the very antithesis of the Great Demon King—the darkness that had given birth to the world. The brave.

“All right, it’s been seventy years, but I suppose it’s time I did something.” Ferd the Hero had appeared.

“AAAAAH!”

The blazing mass was intimidated despite having no sense of self, and it unleashed tremendous, scorching hot flames that covered the entire plain.

“Hmph!”

Ferd raised the shield in his left hand and focused his power, and crystals of light materialized like shards of glass, pouring out from it. It was a gross misconception that the Hero’s armaments were a holy sword and shield, forged by the gods themselves and decorated with primordial gemstones. They were actually just an ordinary sword and shield, the kind you could find at any secondhand weapon store. However, once the bright, aberrant power transformed them into semi-tangible light, one could easily be fooled.

“AAAAAH?!”

The creature couldn’t understand. Each and every tiny glass shard clinging to Ferd’s shield easily surpassed the power of the Depth Delvers’ barrier, which had endured even a dragon’s attacks, and completely blocked the scorching flames it fired.

“Raaaaah!”

With his shield still raised, Ferd just charged bullishly ahead; he simply ran and ran. He blocked every bit of the torrent of flames. In his right hand, he tightly gripped the sword of light that even the Great Demon King, the embodiment of darkness, had feared.

“Hup!”

Ferd swung his sword downward. Despite being an amalgamation of all monsters of the Nightless Inferno, this hideous mass had been compressed down into a form that was only slightly larger than a human, granting it a density that no ordinary sword would work against.

But the same was true for Ferd. Even Albert, one of the founding fathers of the way of the monk, who stood at the pinnacle when it came to manipulating life energy, had once said that he couldn’t understand how Ferd could even maintain a human form and not simply disperse back into light. The pure power of light—a power of a magnitude that went beyond measure—had been concentrated into his sword.

“AAAH?!”

The sparking mass could put up no resistance against a sword like that. As Ferd’s sword smoothly cut into the ugly mass, light surged from the many monster faces sticking out of its form...and then the creature vanished. The power of it was overwhelming. But the Hero wielded a sword clad in the power of light and raised his shield to endure. Brute-forcing his way through this was all that he could do. Frankly, it was already a miracle that a boy from nowhere could manipulate the power of light at all, so it would be unreasonable to ask for more than that from him. It was thanks to this power that during the great war, Ferd the Hero had made it farther than anyone else, stood at the front of the front lines, and taken more attacks than anyone else could, even in the fight against the Great Demon King.

But that power came with a price. Just like too much medicine could be poisonous, too much light and life energy could have a negative impact on surrounding people. That was all the more true for the power that Ferd, who had become the vessel for all living things and transformed into light itself during the decisive battle against the Great Demon King, wielded. As a result of this, after the war, Ferd suffered from aftereffects that caused his powers to adversely affect his surroundings, so he’d decided to seclude himself in a remote area. His only visitors had been his powerful comrades, who could resist the force of his power, and the disciples they brought along when he was occasionally able to suppress it. In exchange for saving the world, he’d had to sever his ties with it.

However, in the decades following the war, the concept of the Hero as a vessel faded from people’s minds, and the power of light gathered in Ferd grew weaker. Now, he had finally returned to the world, only after his own end was coming into view.

In other words, this was what he was like after his powers had weakened.

“Phew, that takes care of that. Lara, I’m leaving the investigation of who did this up to you.” This was Ferd the Hero, the man who’d once saved the world.

“There’s still one more level to go. Look over there.” Lara pointed at a spot on the ground where the hilt of a sword was protruding, ever so slightly. Right next to that, there was an entrance to an underground area that was being magically concealed. “The wielders of the profane swords searching for the enhancement drug, the heretics trying to extract the demon’s power from the magic tome, and the Death Wave monk going berserk might all be connected,” she said stoically while undoing the magical concealment.

“I’m guessing you were trying to determine whether it would be easier to use the energy of death, or to extract power from a demon stronger than yourself,” she continued, speaking to no one in particular. “The mage cultists completely lost their minds, but the one with a body like a monk’s still had enough sense of self to speak of his past trauma. However, that was still too dangerous. In the end, you decided that the power of life and light is the easiest to wield, and also more powerful. There’s precedent for it too. During the great war, darkness undoubtedly lost to light, even though they’re supposed to be two sides of the same coin.”

Fear had been the source of the culprit’s actions. No matter how one looked at it, the world of man should have ended back then—unmistakably, certainly, absolutely, without a doubt. But fate and destiny had been overturned. This led one to realize that though the Great Demon King had nearly destroyed all life with his power, the Hero’s party had been more powerful than him yet, and so the world of man had continued to exist.

“But you weren’t confident in your body’s ability to absorb and store light. So, being an expert on weapons, but an amateur on enhancement drugs, you decided to seek that thing out. You senile old fool. Was it just because your life was coming to an end? Or did you grow anxious because we took care of everyone else involved?”

So, it seemed the power of light was necessary to avoid death.

“I’m right, aren’t I, Grace? It’s a bad habit of yours. You always leave a mess. You never think ahead.”

After the concealment and seal were undone, Ferd and the rest descended to the level below, from where light was shining.

“Aha ha ha ha ha ha! You were too late, you damn geezerrrrs! It’s already done!”

The woman who now called herself Ginny had manipulated those obsessed with power and even exploited adventurers, all to make the very life energy of this dungeon—a relic of the gods, some would say—go haywire and begin creating monsters again. Ginny had once been called “Grace the Grievous” and had used the holy sword that converted life energy into light, containing that energy within her body, thereby transforming herself into a giant luminous body with no trace of her former human form.

“Even if destruction comes! Even if death comes! Even if the Great Demon King is revived!” Grace screamed, her form shining. In a sense, she could be said to have a mistaken admiration for the Hero’s party, though it wasn’t their convictions she admired, but simply their status as the “strongest.” “Now get out of the way, you senile, old fools!”

“There’s no way we’re letting you get to the surface like that. I can’t believe you’ve even managed to stack black magic atop all that. Any human without resistance would turn into light and be absorbed by you,” Lara completely shot down the ambitions of this giant, luminous form.

Grace, in her endless pursuit of power, had even layered black magic atop herself that would turn the people around her into light and absorb them. If she went free on the surface, all of the weak would end up getting absorbed. But for Grace, that was only the natural course of action.

“What’s wrong with turning the weak into my food?! If you could get stronger by exploiting the needless, everyone would do it! Even if the world of man is destroyed, it’s fine as long as I get to survive!” Grace had already lost her marbles. Though she’d been called a genius craftsman, none of her creations ever brought decisive victory against the Great Demon King’s forces, and she’d been unable to overturn the world’s fated destruction by her own hands. Now, she’d grown senile and was simply doing all she could for her own self-preservation.

“You’re being an idiot. You aren’t trying to cull the weak, but to destroy lives and potential. What’s the benefit of limiting the prospects of future generations?” Ferd the Hero, the man who’d fought for the future, would in no way tolerate that.

“Who cares about that?!” Naturally, Grace wouldn’t tolerate the ones standing in her way either. It was a clash between a twisted body of light obsessed with flawed ideals and an older, fading light. “You doddering old foooools!”

Thankfully, a few stood in her way.

“Let’s do this,” said the Hero, sword and shield at the ready.

“Light, come forth,” said the Saint, staff in hand.

“Yeah,” said the Blademaster, hand on his sword’s grip.

“Dear me,” said the Witch, her fingers glowing.

“Hmph!” huffed the Monk of the Null Wave.

“Argh, dammit!” cursed the Dragon Knight, his aura tinted blue.

The Hero’s party had assembled. Not every member was present, of course—just the ones who were still alive. Moreover, they were all old geezers with only a decade or so left to live. However, if the Great Demon King had been present, he would likely have chided the twisted light that was Grace, saying something like, “Do you truly think you can defeat me, the darkness of the world, with a light only that strong?”

Sazaki’s body creaked and twisted. He moved at his fabled lightspeed, cutting through even sound. The red light that trailed from his body—which moved so quickly that even the darkness that had almost destroyed the world was unable to follow—turned into a flying slash beyond the perception of anyone but Stein and beheaded the twisted ambition.

“You filthy drunkaaard! How dare youuu?!” However, the glowing sphere that should have been torn cleanly away cursed at Sazaki.

“Tch. This is why I hate people who’re near immortal or whatever.”

The ball of light that had come detached reattached itself back to the main body, before the whole mass fired thousands of arrows of light. Each arrow could easily penetrate magically reinforced plate armor, and if they rained down on a city, the streets would be instantly littered with corpses.

“Vanish in the light!”

“In those hollow little things?” Lara asked.

According to an Eastern saying, a bundle of sticks was stronger than an individual branch. In the eyes of Lara, the Witch of Annihilation, the arrows of light Grace fired—despite having her body cut apart by Sazaki—were nothing but empty, inferior products.

“Deploying concept-destruction formula,” Lara said.

“Y-You damn freak!” Grace screamed.

A massive jet-black magic circle appeared before Lara. The patterns and words on it were products of the abyss—ones which not even Grace, someone who’d survived the great war and was called a genius, could comprehend in the slightest. When a thin, black beam of light emerged from the circle, the twisted mass of ambition known as Grace, which should have been impervious to the laws of nature, focused all of its abilities on defense, trying to somehow withstand it.

“Aaargh!”

And her plan had worked to some extent. Although the narrow beam was shaving away at Grace’s luminous body, it hadn’t reached her core yet. However, Lara wasn’t here alone.

“My path is null. My fist is null.”

“Blue power, come forth!”

The muscle head and the braggart?!

To the left and right of Lara’s attack, Stein and Max put all their strength into their legs, running at full pelt.

“Raaaaah!” Max had transformed into a blue spear. There was no human inside his armor anymore; blue scales covered his entire body, and his head was like a dragon’s. He looked almost completely like a dragon-man.

“What the hell is that?!” Grace was unable to witness the miracle of a human transforming into a dragon-man beneath Max’s armor, so she could only be shocked by the power that coursed through Stein’s entire body. The power between life and death had only been used by the Great Demon King and his close associates; Grace could never learn the specifics.

“Haah!” Stein leaped up, his fist scraping off a large chunk of the luminous body.

“The Null Wave?! Impossible!” Grace cried.

The attack blasted right through her purely conceptual defenses. Her luminous body neither regenerated nor reconstructed itself. Graced was terrified as her body remained damaged, nothing happening to fix it. But she should have realized this sooner. Had she thought about it for a moment, she would have understood just what the contradictory power that existed between life and death was: a nothingness that erased everything.

“Go through!” Max shouted.

“Graah?!” Grace cried.

On the opposite side of the luminous body, a blue spear that had been enhanced to the utmost limit pierced through, emerging from the gap that Stein had already excavated.

“Eek?!” Grace’s true body—which was formed of pure light and was controlling her luminous body from a different, higher dimension—cried out in fear as a hand reached out to her soul. “You’re a doll?! Th-That’s taboo!”

It was only natural for Grace to scream like that. Elrica, who had been staring intently at the luminous body, had just used a technique that allowed her to forcefully take possession of a soul. The only people who had historically mastered that technique were those famed for having perfected the art of murder. An ordinary Saint shouldn’t have learned something like that. However, as a Saint made to be a weapon of annihilation against darkness, it was natural for her to have mastered this divine technique.

“Dammit alllll!” As her defenseless soul was almost taken over, Grace took refuge in her luminous body in the plane of reality. However, Stein and Max were chipping away at that body piece by piece, with Lara’s magical attack still not relenting.

“Light, come fooooorth!” In order to resist, Grace—now within the luminous body—constructed a wall of twisted light that would repel all. The light was so powerful that it explained Grace’s arrogance at the start. No human in the modern day could break through it, and everything around it would simply dissolve to light.

“Well, well, you’re much easier to figure out now.” But for Sazaki, it was like Grace had now graciously come down to where her life was within his reach. The Blademaster had already drawn his crimson katana from its sheath—the weapon that spelled certain death for all who laid eyes on it, save for his comrades.

“I-It can’t be...” Grace muttered.

Sazaki’s red flash that now defied all perception mixed with Lara’s black of destruction, and Grace’s ultimate wall of light vanished. Moreover, the luminous body’s power continued to leak out through the gap that Stein and Max had wrenched open, so she couldn’t even redeploy her wall of light. All that was left was Grace’s main body, muttering in shock.

And then arrived the man who could crush even the intangible, whether it was forged of darkness or light.

“Light, come fooooooorth!” Seized by fear, Grace started shining, hoping to transform all into light. But she was up against light too.

“Light, come forth!” Ferd started shining too, but his light was leagues beyond hers.

“Aaargh!”

Grace was unable to look directly at the blinding light he emitted and shut her eyes. But perhaps it was fortunate that she couldn’t see. Unlike Grace, who was a body of light with a vague outline, Ferd could only be described as fully materialized humanoid light. Even though he was no longer the ultimate light that had wiped away the darkness, the yet-unparalleled master simply swung his shining sword down, its power condensed to the extreme. There could be no room for his enemy to resist or even cry in agony. The sword that had once driven darkness away passed cleanly through the twisted light, completely erasing it from the world.

Even if he had grown old and his final days were approaching, the Hero was still the Hero, and the Hero’s party was the Hero’s party. Otherwise, they would never have been able to emerge victorious against the forces of darkness that had almost destroyed the world, or against the Great Demon King—who had almost shattered the very laws of nature. They were the Hero’s party because they were the strongest that there was.

“Now then, let me contact Gale.” After confirming that Grace was gone, Max used one of his cursed pieces of equipment to get in touch with his older brother Gale. “Can you hear me?”

“Yes. How did it go?” came Gale’s voice from afar.

“The Great Demon King wasn’t involved, and the monk slayers were also fake. Grace the Grievous was responsible, and we ended up fighting her.”

“What? Grace? After all this time?”

“Lara will explain the details. And it seems that she also wants to call some of her apprentices to investigate just in case.”

“I see. I’ll start making arrangements immediately. Thank you again.”

“It’s fine. As for visiting our father’s grave, I’ll go there after I’ve visited a few other places. I honestly don’t know when it will be.”

“Very well. Contact me again when the time comes.”

“All right. Later, then.”

Although Gale and Max got along well, they had a complicated political relationship. So, once they had stated their business, they ended their conversation. The rest was a job for the experts.

“Okay, I need to go take care of my store’s inventory in the meantime.” As Max left the Nightless Inferno, he thought about his remaining inventory and considered his travel plans.

“By the way, do you happen to know a place that sells chicken breasts and cow’s milk?” Stein followed.

“Dear me. Cleaning all that up won’t be easy.” Then Lara.

“Good work, guys.” Sazaki also left the cave.

“I haven’t gotten a workout like that in a while,” Ferd remarked.

“Me neither,” Elrica agreed.

“Ooh, nice weather we’re having today.”

“Yes, truly.”

As the final two stepped out of the cave, they were greeted by the morning sun in the wide blue sky.

◆◆◆

“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha! You freaking moron!”

Such was the Dragonsbane Knight’s reply when the Great Demon King asked him why he fought for his kingdom even though he would never become king and would be forced to live as an outcast.

Epilogue

“All right, time to go, everyone. And good job, Lara.” Max had finished taking care of his shop’s inventory and was finally ready to go on a journey with his old companions.

“Goodness. I never imagined I’d be stuck cleaning up after Grace now.” Lara was complaining about having to get involved in all this unnecessary trouble and all the work that had come with the Grace incident.

Lara had conducted an investigation into Grace’s activities alongside her disciples and a royal shadow organization. They’d concluded that Grace—once hailed as a genius during the great war—had made every preparation possible, yet had only happened to turn into a being of light when she’d been cornered, by pure luck. It seemed that the success of the ritual that used the dungeon to turn oneself into a higher being was a miracle with almost zero reproducibility.

“Goodbye, Town of Labyrinths. You’ve been good to me.” Max bid farewell to the town, a place he had no particular feelings about. For a moment, his gaze alone was serious, likely directed where his brother was, but he quickly returned to his usual carefree attitude. He’d once been a man ready to die to protect his country, but he’d since accomplished that goal, burned out, and his comrades had also destroyed his common sense along the way, so now he could be called an extremely carefree, happy-go-lucky guy.

“It’s been a while, so I’d like to eat some squid at the beach. What do you think, Sazaki?” Max said.

“Oh, nice idea. Squid, octopus, shrimp, and sashimi from the Eastern countries,” Sazaki replied.

“I’d also like to eat some fresh blueback,” Stein said.

“Ha ha, so you want blueback, Stein? That sounds good too.”

There was such a lack of fanfare to Max boarding the carriage with Sazaki and Stein that it was hard to believe he had been traveling alone for almost seventy years after the war. When comparing the decades he’d been wandering around alone to the time he’d spent traveling with his companions, the latter had been far, far more eventful.

“The ocean was really vast. It got me all excited to see it.” Ferd also joined the conversation, looking nostalgic. For someone raised in a rural area, the ocean had been the most shocking place to see.

“Same with me.”

“Yeah. Stein sank straight to the bottom, though.”

“That was natural given my muscle mass.”

Elrica, the church’s treasured creation, Max, who’d grown up in the royal palace, and Stein, who’d been raised in the mountains, all felt the same as Ferd.

“Been forever since I got to go fishing while drinking. It’ll be nice,” Sazaki said.

“When was the last time we went?” Lara wondered.

“I think five years ago?”

It seemed that the two of them had been out and about together for one reason or another.

This is nostalgic, but also a fresh experience. Max felt a mix of emotions as he idly chatted with his comrades on the carriage.

During the great war, everyone besides Sazaki had been on a mission to defeat the Great Demon King, so they’d been unable to completely relax during their carriage rides. Now, however, their current objective was just to go and greet some friends, so there was a world of difference. However, there was one person missing.

“Still, Erhard could have at least told us where his grave might be,” Max complained.

“Tell me about it,” Ferd agreed.

Erhard, their deceased comrade, had been afraid that his remains would be used for some nefarious purpose, so he’d told Ferd and the others that he’d rest in peace in an unknown location, then quietly disappeared from the public eye. As a result, none of them knew where his grave was and couldn’t visit it to pay their respects.

“Well, he was a weird guy.” As Sazaki also reminisced about their comrade, everyone felt the need to point out that he wasn’t one to talk.

Elrica decided to ignore Sazaki and turned toward Lara. “Where do you think his body might be resting?”

“Who knows? It might be some secluded area, or even the bottom of the Great Labyrinth,” Lara replied.

“I see. The Great Labyrinth, huh?”

“It’s nothing more than a guess.”

“No, I think it’s quite possible.” Elrica nodded several times in response.

Just as its name implied, the Great Labyrinth was a dungeon beyond ordinary measure. Its lowest reaches had yet to be discovered, and it was said to be a hundred or even a thousand layers deep. Some also believed that it was the entrance to a bottomless abyss that stretched on into eternity. The person who they presumed to have chosen the bottom of that dungeon as his grave was certainly anything but ordinary.

“So, where are we going next?” Max asked.

Sazaki then gave his wife a meaningful glance, and Lara’s mouth twisted in an unusual way.

“Ah, I see. So we’re headed to Greer, the Academic City-State.” Max shrugged his shoulders, having figured everything out from their little exchange.

Their next destination was a slightly special location. Greer was an independent city-state inside the Rin Kingdom and where the Magic Council was established, making it the headquarters of mages. In other words, mages who’d been active during the great war often chose to retire there, and many of Lara’s associates lived in it.

“How many acquaintances do you have there now?” Ferd asked Lara, not worrying about her frown.

“Well, I’d say a few,” she replied.

“What about Falke or your disciples?”

“They should be there.”

“Speaking of Greer, it’s famous for its Magic Academy. Does it offer lessons on proper muscle nutrition?” Stein asked, getting straight to the point.

“I’m sure it does,” Lara replied, looking genuinely bothered.

“Oh! That’s great to know! Can we sit in on their lessons?”

“It’s not impossible.”

“As expected from a place where you and your colleagues are honorary deans. I can only presume it was wonderful.”

“I’d also like to visit the academy.” Ferd had no connection to the academy, but he was interested in it.

“Same here.” And the same was true for Elrica.

For Lara, Greer wasn’t just a place she only had some ties to and where a few of her acquaintances lived. As the center of all magic, Greer had a large school for educating mages. During the great war, the school building had also been turned into a fort within which students and teachers alike had barricaded themselves against the demon army, and during the fighting a considerable part of the building had collapsed. When it was rebuilt, the names of great mages of the time—including Lara, of course—had been engraved, and all those women had been awarded the title of honorary dean, and even had bronze statues of them built. However, Lara had asked to be excluded from both the honorary title and having a bronze statue of her younger self built, but they had been forced onto her for various political reasons.

“Well, nothing I can do about it, I guess.” Lara didn’t want to go to Greer, but she had no choice but to give in, since there were people there she felt she at least had to see one final time.

“Let us get going then,” Ferd said.

“Yes, it’s about time.”

And so, the carriage started moving. The next stop was Greer, the Academic City-State. The Hero’s party was on its way to visit a city of great mages, traveling underneath the blue sky.

◆◆◆

Elrica the Saint.

Everyone dreamed of these things: the blue sky, symbol of life, the continuation of life, the light of life. She was asked, implored, begged to make those dreams a reality. As an instrument of murder, for the sake of life, but without any consideration for life itself. She did so without her own will.

Ferd the Hero.

Everyone dreamed of these things: the blue sky, symbol of life, the continuation of life, the light of life. He declared that he would make those dreams a reality. The young farm boy wasn’t asked, implored, or begged by anyone. He did so by his own will.

A certain old couple.

The blue sky everyone dreamed of returned. Life continued. The light of life was solidified. He and she made them a reality. Everything else was a thing of the past. And life went on, with their child, grandchild, and even great-grandchild. And that was just fine.

Afterword

It’s nice to meet you, everyone. Or perhaps it’s been a while. I’m fukurou, the author.

I mainly work on web novels, but this time I was approached by Drecom to publish One Last Hurrah! The Grayed Heroes Explore a Vivid Future. If any of you are familiar with me, please allow me to make an excuse. Yes, it’s another strange concept thought of by a weirdo, but what’s wrong with having elderly people as the main characters? I came up with this idea while in the bath, and I got to writing the moment I sat in my chair. (As a sidenote, taking baths, going for walks, or taking breaks from work to escape reality often helps me come up with ideas.)

However, I still had to wonder how things would turn out with the protagonist being an old man, the heroine being an old woman, their friends being old people, the party members all being elderly, and even everyone else involved being elderly. To think this story has actually been turned into a book... I’m in awe of Drecom’s open-mindedness. I really wonder what the average age is of the characters in this book. Even though Carl and some others keep it lower, there’s still a limit... There are many stories where characters are old but actually appear young, but I can’t think of any that only focus on old people whose ages and appearances match, so it was an unexpected pleasure to be given the opportunity to turn such a strange idea into a light novel.

Thinking back, I started writing this around July of last year, so it took somewhere between six months and a year to publish this book. To be honest, I didn’t think there would be talks of turning this idea into a light novel with how peculiar the concept was, but then I saw a notification in my message box on the submission website. I think I was at work when it happened. I was finishing work in the afternoon and was about to casually check my readers’ comments when it popped up. I remember being so happy that I immediately called my parents. I was so shocked that I think my blood pressure and heart rate were through the roof.

Now, let’s move on to the actual book. Those of you who’ve already read the web novel will know that this is mostly about the elderly characters getting back together, and there’s not much continuity in the story. It’s like a collection of short stories, with a part for Sazaki, a part for Lara, and so on. I also wanted to dedicate more pages to characters like Aldrick or Clovis, so I made some changes here and there, and this is the result. Even so, the main theme remains the same. It’s a story about walking along the street and reuniting with dear old friends, relatives, benefactors, and, well, minor victims. If there’s one more thing to add, I guess it would be what the Great Demon King and his closest associates were like in their prime, when they were routinely fighting to the death against these outrageous old people.

But there’s still no end to trouble in the modern day these elderly characters live in. Many people of the postwar generation are approaching death, and certain problems arise specifically in times of peace. Of course, I doubt any of these problems will be a match for the group that once resolved the biggest problem in history. I would be extremely happy if you enjoy this strange story about old people who don’t mind disappearing from the stage.

Finally, I would like to thank my editor for their hard work, johndee for drawing these wonderful illustrations, Drecom for turning this bizarre story into a novel, everyone involved in the publication of this book, and above all else, you, the readers.

I truly thank you from the bottom of my heart!

fukurou