Vol.6 Chapter 3: Makoto Takatsuki Arrives in the Elven Village

Chapter 3: Makoto Takatsuki Arrives in the Elven Village

"This is my big sister and our priestess, Florna," Lucy said,

introducing the woman more properly. "Florna, these are the heroes

of Roses—Makoto and Prince Leonardo."

"Welcome to Canaan. I'm Florna, the Priestess of Wood," she

replied.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Makoto Takatsuki," I said, offering my own polite introduction.

"It's been a while, Lady Florna," the prince added. Abruptly, Florna said, "Later, Lucy."

"Yup, see you," Lucy replied.

I thought we'd be talking for a little longer, but she'd just up and left.

Really? Already? We'd just met, though... "Lucy, wouldn't it have been better to..."

"Don't worry," Lucy replied. "Everyone will come together since a member of the family's back. We can talk later."

"Right. I guess that's fine." At least the family connection made things easier. We could accomplish one of our goals right away.

"Come in, everyone!" Lucy exclaimed. "This is where I grew up—the village chief's home."

It was a mansion built from weathered wood. The beams that supported the walls and ceiling looked to be made of demon trees that'd been processed with magic. The carpet on the floor was woven in a complex design that had magic characters embroidered into it. Bookshelves covered the walls, and they were filled with books on magic. It felt like I was back in the Water Temple's library.

So this is where Lucy grew up...

We walked farther inside, and I peered around, taking everything in. I spied a rocking chair in the room, and an elderly elf sitting in it. The wrinkles on his face were deep-set, and his body seemed to be withering away, but his eyes still had a sharp glint in them.

"I have been waiting for you, Hero of Roses," said the old elf. "I presume that you are Prince Leonardo?"

"No, this is him," I answered, pulling Prince Leonardo out from

where he'd hidden behind me. Why'd he look at me and think of the

prince? Surely I am a blatant commoner?

There was a long silence.

Uh? What gives?

"Grandpa...don't try to play it cool when your eyes are that bad." "I-Indeed. Lucy, introduce us," he said.

You should have done that from the start!

"Um, this is Prince Leonardo of Roses. This is Janet of the Pegasus Knights of Highland. This is my best friend Aya, an otherworlder."

He nodded and hummed along as she introduced us one at a time, but when she said "otherworlder" he gave a jolt. Otherworlders really were rare, then.

"This is Fuuri from Cameron," she continued, using the usual lie. "It's nice to meet you," Furiae added after a moment. She'd gotten a

lot friendlier.

"What beauty..."

That was Furiae, all right. Even Lucy's grandpa had fallen for her. "Hey! Grandpa..."

His expression snapped back to a serious look, but it was probably already too late.

"Thank you for coming all this way, everyone," he said. "I am Canaan's chief, Walt J. Walker. You are welcome here as long as Lucy calls you friends."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Lucy protested. "I haven't introduced Makoto yet."

Oh, right. I'd gotten only halfway introduced before being mistaken

for the prince.

"Hmm, that would be the youth with such little mana? He doesn't look like a hero, so I assumed he was probably your porter," Lucy's grandpa said with a chuckle.

Hey! I am a hero...more or less... Even if I do have a mana stat of four...

Lucy clutched her hands together behind her back, fidgeting, and she stepped a little closer to me.

"He's a State-Authorized Hero of Roses, and...my lover, Makoto

Takatsuki."

"What in the world?!" the old elf yelled. I'd assumed that he was in the rocking chair because his legs were bad, but he practically leaped up from it, waving a staff around. "This is the first I've heard of that!"

"That's because I just told you!" "No! He isn't right for you!"

"And what's that supposed to mean?!"

Yeah...this seems about right for her family... Their levels of excitement seemed to shift at the slightest thing.

"Grandpa, you shouldn't be so angry, it's bad for your blood

pressure." Another elven woman had come out to check on the

commotion and calm him down. She also looked related to Lucy.

The chief's breaths were now coming in wheezing gasps. "So you're already pregnant, then?" asked the new woman. "What?! Where'd that come from?!" Lucy demanded.

Sasa and I stared at each other in shock. Where had that come from?

"Well, why else would you bring a man back?" "I'm not like mama and you lot!"

"Don't even try it. I bet you're at it like rabbits." "We haven't yet! W-We've only...k-kissed..."

"You've only kissed?" asked the other woman tauntingly. "What are you playing at? What'll become of our reputation?"

While Lucy and her sister were having their...charming...conversation, someone came up next to me. It was Lucy's grandpa.

"Boy, what is the relationship between you and Lucy?" he demanded with a vice-like grip on my shoulder. I really didn't like the look in his eyes.

"Uh, well, you see..."

We were together, yes, but I was worried that saying so in front of Sasa would end badly. However, at that point, Sasa grabbed hold of my arm and smiled.

"Lu's his girlfriend. Also, so am I...along with Princess Sophia of Roses."

"Bwuh?!" came the simultaneous gasp from the chief and Lucy's

sister.

"What in the world...?" her granddad said.

"You got a princess and a man. Not bad, Lucy..." her sister added.

Things were just all over the place now! I ended up having to explain everything rather than holding some of it back. Naturally, I also added our reason for coming to Springrogue—we were here to investigate the origins of the monster stampede.

"A stampede of monsters from the Forest of Fiends..." mused Lucy's grandfather with a grave expression. "This should be discussed with the other villages. I will prepare the council. Everyone, this way."

We were guided further into the mansion, into a room that was about fifteen square meters. At the center of the room was a massive magic circle.

What's this for? I wondered.

Lucy looked at my confused expression and began to explain.

"Makoto, this room..."

Springrogue—the country we were in—was the only nation on the continent that had no king. Rather, it was a collection of hundreds of villages of elves and demihumans. So, how had it become organized as a country? According to Lucy, Springrogue had established a council.

"Representatives of each village come together to make up the Springrogue Council," she explained. "They deal with the overall

running of the country. The chairman rotates between each village on a four-year cycle. Grandpa was chosen back in the past."

"The system was implemented by the legendary Johnnie Walker,"

Prince Leonardo said. Johnnie Walker had been one of Abel the

Savior's companions, as well as Lucy's great-granddad.

"Great-grandpa was too free-spirited, though, so he was never the

chairman," Lucy added.

"My father spent four hundred years ensuring his lineage as he traveled the world," the village chief remarked absently. Well, the rumors did say that Johnnie Walker had left behind many children.

As the conversation went on, images of various elves and beastmen started appearing above the circle. I-Is it...a video conference system? There were twenty to thirty images, and all of them floated in the air. Each one also had sound.

"A summons from Canaan? That's a rarity." "What is it?"

"You're cutting into time with my grandkids."

The elderly voices were probably from the chiefs of other villages.

W-Wow! I'd underestimated fantasy worlds! This was a full-on broadcast.

"It would appear that there has been an occurrence in the Forest of Fiends which led to a stampede on a town in Roses. Does anyone have more information?" Lucy's grandfather asked the rest of the assembly.

"Hmm, I have nothing..."

"Things seem too calm for a stampede." "That's rare for the Forest of Fiends."

The first few people to speak up didn't have anything new to add.

"Actually, there have recently been more sightings of the undead,"

one remarked.

"Ah...I seem to remember hearing the same thing."

"My own village has reported seeing undead in the forest." But eventually, things shifted in a more promising direction. "They're being summoned by the Forest of Fiends, then."

"This won't end well."

"It wouldn't be an issue if they stayed in the Forest of Fiends. But

since they're out in the Great Forest proper, we need to take action."

The chiefs all wore serious expressions as they started up a debate. I wasn't quite following the conversation, so I softly asked the question that was on my mind.

"Why is the forest summoning the undead?"

"The grave of Bifrons, the Undead King, is within the Forest of Fiends," Prince Leonardo told me. "It's called the Demon Lord's Grave and it's protected by tens of thousands of undead."

"The Demon Lord's Grave..." I murmured. I recognized the name—it was on the quest board at the Macallan guild, listed as a mythril rank investigation. Naturally, no one had taken it.

Actually...Lucas might have said that he'd tried?

"Why would you just leave something like that?" Sasa murmured. "Couldn't you just destroy it?"

I was honestly thinking the same thing.

"Well, warrior," Furiae began, "powerful magic seals it away, but the grave still gives off a strong miasma. Normal people can't get close to it, and destroying it would require the sacrifice of an incredible

number of people."

While our group was whispering amongst ourselves, the conversation between the chiefs continued.

"Speaking of these things, where is the Hero of Springrogue?" "Training in the Great Forest for this Northern Front Plan."

"That was just Highland's decision. Hardly something we should be involved in..."

"Highland is a large country, though. We don't have much room for argument."

The debate had started to include some complaints about Highland, and now Janet had a scowl on her face.

"My apologies for the summoning today," said Lucy's grandfather. "Let us reconvene in seven days from now with all the villages. I

would appreciate the hero being contacted as well." "Understood."

"Oh, very well then." "What a pain."

Gradually, the images winked out.

I see...so the country unifies its responses like this? It was pretty democratic. I'd heard citizens of Springrogue referred to as just "tree people" that lived alongside nature, so I'd honestly expected them to have a fairly primitive lifestyle... Seeing this, though, maybe Springrogue was the most advanced of them all.

But...Will this system work during wartime?

Their overall leader changed every four years, after all. I guess it

wasn't our place to criticize how other people ran their countries.

With the meeting concluded, we all filed out of the conference room—next, Canaan held a feast to welcome us.

There was a lot of food, and a lot of Lucy's family. The majority of the cooking utilized wild plants and fruits, grilled horned rabbits, river fish, and so on. The seasoning was light, but everything was done well and it all tasted good.

"Oh, so you're a prince? How cute."

"Do you like older women?"

"Hey! You're over forty years older."

"You're not much different. You've been and gone twice."

Prince Leonardo was proving popular with the female elves. Incidentally, they were all fairly old in literal terms but still looked to be in their twenties. On top of that, they were all visions of beauty. That was elves for you...

"M-Makoto..." he pleaded, looking my way for help. Unfortunately, I was caught up with Lucy's granddad.

"So, Makoto. Tell me about your relationship with Lucy." "Um, well we met in Macallan."

"Come on, grandpa, this is the tenth time!" Lucy protested.

But the old elf just kept going. "You say you are with both Lucy and

this Sasaki woman! Surely that must be in bad faith!"

Incidentally, Sasa was currently nestled on my lap. She said it was because she was drunk...but I wasn't so sure she was actually even tipsy.

"Come on, grandpa! Enough already!" "It is not! You're too much like Rosalie!" "No way, not even slightly!"

"Right, she'd already had kids by Lucy's age," one of the sisters

chimed in. "So did you!" "Did I?"

Lucy's mother... I kind of wanted to meet her once. I also wanted to

speak with the priestess, but Furiae was currently doing so. She must have been talking as one priestess to another—I'd have to get Furiae

to fill me in later.

The elves were all heavyweights when it came to drinking, and it didn't look like the party would end any time soon. The prince, however, was dropping off, so I walked him to bed. Janet's

subordinate was keeping watch over him, so I didn't need to worry.

Lucy, Sasa, and Furiae were all still at the party, so I'd need to head

back.

But I am feeling a bit tipsy, so maybe I'll get some air first...

I wandered around the darkened village for a while. It felt kind of empty without any street lighting. There were spots of glowing moongrass all over the place though, and they bathed the area in moonlight.

Night Vision enabled me to see, despite the dim lighting. Considering how good elven eyes were, they must only bother with this much illumination. The barrier around the village kept it safe, and the silver light from the moongrass was gorgeous.

As I was walking through the village and enjoying the night breeze, a female voice called out to me.

"Oh, I haven't met you before."

An elf woman was standing in the moonlight.

Is she one of Lucy's sisters?

Her big blue eyes reminded me of Lucy, though her hair shone gold in the moonlight. She had an aura of refinement that would make you assume she was nobility if she were human. If Lucy were a bit older and calmer, would she look the same?

This woman hadn't been at the party.

"I'm Makoto Takatsuki. I'm an adventurer who's in a party with Lucy."

"Oh my! When'd Lucy get a man?" She grinned, sensing some gossip. "How about we talk for a bit? You're an interesting one." As she spoke, she started tugging me along by the hand.

Sh-She's strong.

Suddenly, my feet lifted from the ground.

Flight magic?

It was a relatively popular mid-rank spell, so there was no shortage of users. Yet, this mage made the floating feel natural, more than any other time I'd experienced it. That was another impressive thing about her. Before I knew it, we'd arrived at the top of the massive tree in the middle of the village. There was a thick branch just big enough for the two of us to sit on.

"This spot has the best scenery in the village," she explained. "It lets you look out over the forest, yeah."

The Great Forest was lit by the moon overhead. The trees might've been reacting to the mana from the moon since they were also faintly glowing. There was, however, a conspicuously dark spot within the sea of treetops. Is that the Forest of Fiends?

"You're interested in the Forest of Fiends?" she asked. "Yes, we came to investigate it—"

She cut me off. "Hmm, I'm more interested in how far you and Lucy have gone." Still holding onto my hand, she used her other hand to ruffle my hair. She was really touchy-feely. Sasa was the same, but this woman certainly was more used to it.

"Well, we've gone together into Labyrinthos and the Great Forest," I

said.

"That's not what I meant by 'how far...'" She chuckled, still not

letting go of me. "You're...Makoto, right? There's something strange

about you. You have practically no mana of your own, but the

elementals love you."

"You can see them?" I asked.

"Of course. I can see water, wind, ground...but of course, fire

elementals are the ones I like the most."

W-Wow! She's mastered four elements.

I'd been speaking with Lucy's family earlier, but none of them could

see the elementals.

"Which means you can see them as well?" she asked, suddenly edging closer. I could feel her breath on my cheek.

"Y-Yes... Though, only water elementals..." Well, strictly speaking, I could see the fire elementals when I kissed Lucy, but I kept that quiet.

"Hmm... What a strange human you are, to be so close to the

elementals. You certainly are an interesting one." As she spoke, she planted herself in my lap. She must have been using magic, because I couldn't feel any weight at all.

"Um, what are you doing?" "Stay still a moment."

She was leaning in closer to my face when the silence was broken by someone calling my name from the trees below.

"Makoto! Where'd you go?"

"I can smell him around here..."

Lucy and Sasa must have come to search for me. Did Sasa really have a sense of smell on par with a dog?

"Sorry, I should be heading...huh?"

Before I knew it, the woman was gone. She'd vanished so completely that I almost thought I'd hallucinated her.

What the hell...? Maybe I'd been daydreaming? Not entirely with it, I

made my way down from the tree.

"Hey, you two," I greeted.

"Takatsuki! Hm...were you with someone?"

"I can smell a new perfume on you," Lucy said. "Huh?"

The two of them leaned in close to me, then proceeded to stare.

"N-No! I was just looking at the moon." "Lies."

"P-Princess?"

Furiae had shown up as well.

"You're lying, my knight! You were with some woman!"

And so the lie was seen through instantly. Fate magic must have let her know that I'd been talking with someone. In the end, I explained about the elf woman, but when we got back to the party, she wasn't there.

"I think it might have been mama," Lucy told me the next day. "Huh?"

We'd been put up in Lucy's old home and Lucy's sister was making

breakfast.

"She had blonde hair and blue eyes, and looked like me, right? Plus, she was good at magic?"

"Yeah," I replied. "She kind of had the same air as you. Also, she had crazy control of her mana." She had certainly looked like an older

sister of Lucy's.

"Lucy looks the most like her," the sister interjected, still cooking. "Damn you, Rosalie. If you're back, you could at least show yourself."

I heard the chief complain quietly.

That was Lucy's mom? I should have spoken with her for longer.

Springrogue's strongest fighter was Rosalie J. Walker, also known as the Crimson Witch. She was one of three mages to be considered the strongest on the continent—alongside the White Grandsage and Oz the Northern Miracleworker—and was currently the most powerful mage in Springrogue.

Her fame had been cemented a century ago in the great human- demon war. One of the four demon lords that had ruled the Demon Continent at the time was Valac, King of the Flies. A hundred years ago, he had commanded a force to attack the western continent, and the six heroes of the goddesses had met him in battle.

At the time, Rosalie had been a companion of the hero of Springrogue. The war between the demons and the human- demihuman alliance had been long and drawn out—the demon armies had seemed endless, and the defenders had been gradually dwindling.

Valac had sent his forces forward and stayed on the continent himself. The Grandsage had somehow kept these forces held back, but without reinforcements, they'd lose the war of attrition sooner or later. Rosalie had feared that outcome, so she'd led a counterattack alongside the Hero of Highland. Why Highland rather than Springrogue? Well, the Hero of Springrogue had already been wounded in battle and had withdrawn from the front lines.

The Crimson Witch had specialized in ultra-long-distance teleportation, and she could take two people in total—including herself. Therefore, she'd taken the strongest fighter (Highland's

hero) and together, they'd managed to strike the demon lord down.

Having proven herself a hero, she'd married the Hero of Highland and they'd all lived happily ever after.

It'd been a picture-perfect fairytale ending. However, the Crimson Witch hadn't been able to function under the strict class divides in Highland, and the marriage had broken down within five years.

Apparently, she'd then returned to Springrogue before starting to travel the world, sticking her nose into anything that seemed interesting.

Her specialization now was elemental magic. None could match her with fire and wind elementals—she would use them to create massive giants of fire and leave only ashes in her wake. Because of that, she had gradually become known and feared as the Crimson Witch.

That was the tale of Rosalie the Crimson Witch, as told by Lucy over breakfast.

"Hey, Aya, Fuuri, I'll introduce you to my friends around the village!"

Lucy exclaimed after we finished eating.

"Sure."

"I don't have anything else to do."

So, the three girls headed out into the village. Lucy hadn't been

home in a while, so I figured we should let her do her own thing.

I'd wanted to talk to the Priestess of Wood some more but couldn't

find her. Maybe she was working. The Hero of Springrogue was

training, so I couldn't talk with them either.

Guess I have some free time. Maybe I could check out the Wayward Woods?

I'd been to that dungeon with Lucy once before. Unlike the Forest of Fiends, it was suitable for iron rank adventurers, just as long as you didn't lose your way.

I should be fine on my own.

As I was leaving, Prince Leonardo came up to me. "Where are you going, Makoto?"

"I want to take a look around the Wayward Woods."

"You're going to a dungeon alone?" he asked worriedly. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"I'll run away if it looks dicey. It'll be fine." "Well then...I'll come too!"

Oh, he's gonna give me some backup?

"Wait," Janet interrupted. "If Prince Leonardo is going, then so shall

I. Princess Sophia entrusted me with her brother's safety."

"She did?" It was the first I'd heard of it. I'd thought that the Pegasus Knights would be heading back since we'd arrived in Canaan.

"She also asked me to look after you." Janet's gaze turned cold as she stared at me. Apparently, my reputation as a womanizing hero had been solidified...even though I was still a virgin.

"Nrow, nrow," Twi mewed, jumping up on my shoulder.

"Weren't you with Furiae?" I asked, rubbing the cat's throat and

prompting it to purr. Janet stared fixedly at Twi.

"Want to touch Twi?" I asked.

"I-I do not!" Janet shouted with a glare. She sure looked like she did... Regardless, the three of us (plus one cat) headed for the Wayward Woods.

The Wayward Woods was a dungeon within the Great Forest. Its main characteristics were being a sea of unchanging trees with shoulder-high weeds. The thick mist kept it gloomy even during midday when the sun was high, and elementals were said to enjoy leading travelers astray. It was, to sum it up, easy to get lost.

"Yup, we definitely need Mapping," I said as we walked.

The guild considered it to be a dangerous dungeon, but less because of the monsters and more because of how easy it was to lose your sense of direction.

"Your Mapping skill seems well developed," Janet remarked.

"The woods are even less pleasant than I thought," added the prince.

We kept talking as we traveled through the woods. Fortunately, we hadn't come across any dangerous monsters so far. After a while, though, we stumbled across something bizarre.

"What happened here?" Prince Leonardo murmured, sounding

frightened.

"Be careful, Your Highness. There could be dangerous monsters around." Janet lifted her spear, ready to protect him.

"They're corpses..." I mumbled. "Not just animals either—there are

monsters too." The bodies were scattered around the trees. Deer,

horned rabbits, and so on. At a glance, it looked like a person had killed them.

Were they...eaten?

The animals all had bite wounds. However, there seemed to be very little blood for the injuries they'd sustained. I didn't really want to stare, but looking closer, I saw that the bodies were all dried out.

"Makoto Takatsuki. You are familiar with this dungeon, correct? What kind of monster did this?" Janet asked.

"The monsters in the Wayward Woods are the same as in the rest of the forest. I've never seen something that would do this."

Honestly, this was the first time I'd seen anything like this, anywhere. "Makoto...have they been drained of blood?" asked Prince Leonardo.

"Looks that way." Drained of blood... So, a vampire? At this time

of day? Weren't the undead active at night?

"Well, we heard during the conference that there are more undead

around," the prince pointed out.

"The Demon Lord's Grave... The undead gather around that area, right?" I asked. Lucy's granddad had mentioned something like that.

"Bifrons... The Undead King who was sealed over a thousand years

ago but still produces miasma..." whispered the prince.

"The seal hasn't been broken, has it?" The idea of a sealed grave

gave me a bad feeling.

"That seal was created by Abel the Savior and the Grandsage, so it'll never break!" Prince Leonardo exclaimed.

"Hmm..." Well, I guess I'd just have to believe in that.

"You are prone to worry, Makoto Takatsuki," Janet said. "It would

take Shur or Setekh to break the seal, and Abel the Savior defeated

both of them. Undead are the worst type of demon, so Highland would never set up paltry measures to counteract them."

Janet seemed to find the idea laughable as well. Maybe it was just

me fretting too much since I wasn't from this world...

But...

That was when we heard it.

It was a strange noise, like a crunching, slurping sound. It reminded me a bit of a carnivore eating its prey. What was that sucking noise, though? I'd never heard anything like it before.

We all exchanged looks and naturally fell silent, walking as quietly as possible.

"Should we go back?" I whispered. Escape was always a good option when you found an unknown enemy.

"No," Janet argued. "I want to know what made that mound of

corpses. We need to at least see it." There was a certain amount of

logic to her reasoning.

I turned to Prince Leonardo. "Hold on to me tightly so Stealth stays

active on you."

"R-Right!" The prince was already nervous, and he tightened his grip

on my arm.

"U-Um...I cannot use that skill either," Janet admitted in

embarrassment.

Stealth definitely didn't fit the image of a Ballantine knight, so I wasn't exactly surprised.

"Then you hold on to me too."

She gently grabbed the sleeve of my other arm. We carried on, soon drawing close to the source of the sound. There were more and

more corpses littered at our feet, and the smell of blood was strong in the air.

"It's a feeding frenzy..." Janet murmured. Prince Leonardo had paled

even further.

Our breath had caught in our throats at the sight.

The forest floor had been dyed bright red, with over a hundred monster corpses lining the area. They had all been bitten, without exception. Standing in the middle of them, munching and slurping, was...a humanoid. We watched it for a while.

Suddenly, the thing turned our way. Its face was eyeless, with just black holes where eyes should have been. Its pale white skin was cracked and pulsing with dark blood. Just looking at it, I knew that this thing was a blight on existence.

The teeth in its maw were sharp like a shark's, with rivulets of blood

running down them as evidence of its earlier activities.

Is that...a vampire?

It seemed ridiculous to compare that abomination to the Grandsage—the whole thing was blasphemy.

Beside me, the prince was shaking, and he let out a small whimper. Janet had a sheen of sweat on her forehead. The vampire grinned in our direction, opening its mouth. Janet and I readied our weapons.

"My apologies, I was focused on my meal. Oh, how embarrassing," it

said, scratching its head with a clear laugh.

H-Huh...?

The shockingly friendly response made me stall.

"Elves... No, you don't feel like elves. Oh, you humans are in the

forest?" It chuckled once more. "I can't see you, but then again, I've got no eyes!"

While its tone of voice was cheery, overall, the thing just seemed

crazed. Was it an enemy? The other two couldn't seem to manage a word.

Since I was calm, I'd have to talk with it.

"Likewise, we apologize for interrupting your meal," I said.

Its face morphed into an expression of surprise. "My, how polite. To think that someone would speak normally with me... I never would have thought so a thousand years ago. My, how times change."

"A thousand years ago?" I asked.

"Well, I only just woke up from a long sleep. That's why I'm so, so hungry. Though honestly, it shames me to eat such base food."

A thousand year...sleep? Could it be?

"Are you Demon Lord Bifrons?" I asked, a slight quake to my voice. It started laughing uproariously. "Me?! The Great Bifrons?! Humans

have gotten even more amusing over the last millennium! No, I am merely a nameless demon. It is an honor to be compared to him, human."

"Ah." So he wasn't a demon lord. Thank goodness. I was still the only one talking—the others were speechless. Twi hissed on my shoulder, fur standing on end.

Time for a strategic retreat, I think. That was when words appeared in front of me.

Will you run from Demon Lord Bifrons's subordinate,

Setekh?

▶ Yes

No

Come on...seriously?

A demon lord's subordinate was standing right in front of me. Didn't

Abel the Savior take this guy down?! We need to run!

It hadn't even taken me a second to make the decision. This wasn't

someone I could fight. Even RPG Player was asking to run.

"Well then...I've got an appointment to keep, so I'll leave you to it," I

said, maintaining a calm front as I bid the demon farewell.

"Oh. Is that so, human? I'd hoped to talk for a while longer. A shame."

The demon didn't look particularly torn up about it, and he didn't stop us. Phew. I tugged at Prince Leonardo's hand and clapped my

other hand on Janet's shoulder. The two of them stood rooted to the spot, shuddering. Hmm...maybe I should pull them? But Janet's armor looked pretty heavy, so I probably couldn't manage it on my own.

Suddenly, there was a keening howl—a shadow passed over our heads and attacked the vampire.

A Wolf King from the Great Forest? That shadow was indeed the leader of the forest wolves. It must have come for revenge after the demon killed its pack.

"My, what a bouncy puppy," the vampire remarked, laughing

joyously, heedless of the wolf's jaws around his throat. Then, fixing his arms around the wolf's neck, the vampire leaned in and used his own teeth to tear a chunk of flesh from around an artery. The Wolf King scrabbled at the ground as gushing blood showered the area.

However, the vampire's arms held fast, and the wolf breathed its last in the hold. Then, with a grotesque slurping sound, the vampire started draining the wolf of its blood like one might down a sports drink.

The Grandsage definitely has better table manners. If she'd drained

me like that, I would've been a mummy in a moment.

The vampire seemed focused on its meal, and I would've loved to get

away in the middle of it, but...

"Phew, fresh is definitely best for blood. Monsters of late have been dying all too quickly. I thought this puppy might have lasted a little longer."

The drained carcass fell to the floor with a thud.

It's already done...?

Now that the wolf was out of the way, the vampire's entire body was stained red. His eyes were still empty hollows, but it seemed like his skin had been slightly rejuvenated. Was he regaining power? While I was thinking over the implications, Setekh the vampire sniffed at the air.

"Oh my. I may not be able to see you, but it smells like none of your blood is yet tainted."

"Tainted blood?" I asked after a pause.

There were two meanings to that phrase. One implied that there

were no demons in a person's ancestry. The other, when used by a

vampire, meant that a person had not yet had any "experience" with

the opposite sex.

So essentially, he's saying we're all virgins.

I'd really prefer if people stopped prying into my privacy like that!

The prince was a child, so that went without saying, but I couldn't help but mentally note that Janet was "untainted" as well. I glanced at her. Considering her current, pallid complexion, it really wasn't the time to poke fun.

"Oh! How long has it been since I have drunk fresh human blood?! It must be delicious!"

Setekh's hands shot open and his mouth split into a grin. Then, his body split as well—all the markings that had looked like cracks in his skin opened wide, revealing mouths.

He's covered in mouths?! Gross!

It reminded me of the blight dragon in Labyrinthos. The hundreds of mouths started to cackle, and the various laughs formed a discordant symphony. Hearing the horrendous sound, I decided that I didn't want to stick around. Quickly, I yanked at the prince and Janet.

"Ahhhhhhh!" the prince yelled. Suddenly, he leaped at the vampire. "P-Prince?!"

"Prince Leonardo!"

Janet and I instantly raced after him.

"Blizzard Blade!"

His sword closed in.

"Oh, the food is coming to me," Setekh remarked. He caught the

prince's blade, holding it back with two fingers. Fangs shone red with blood from the demon's wide mouth.

I need to protect the prince!

Janet moved first, though.

Thunder Lance! She wrapped herself in aura and rocketed forward.

There's no way that attack's dodgeable!

"My, how sparky," the demon said. He used his other hand to catch Janet's spear. "This power feels akin to the Hero of Lightning from a thousand years ago. Perhaps you're related?"

He's way too strong!

The vampire paused for a moment. "I suppose it is my turn."

Makoto! Cover your ears!

As soon as I heard Noah, I hurried to do as she instructed.

Not a moment too soon—a shock wave almost brought me to my knees. It thudded into my stomach as all the birds fled the treetops. Prince Leonardo and Janet collapsed where they were. They still had mana, so they were probably still alive...although...

Shit.

"Elementals," I called, praying they'd respond.

Makoto, the dagger!

I followed Noah's advice again, unsheathing the dagger and funneling the elementals' mana into it.

It began to ring, becoming an ad-hoc mana blade thanks to the elementals. This vampire associate of the demon lord had easily defeated both Prince Leonardo, who was the Hero of Ice and Snow, and Janet, the Hero of Lightning's sister. Plus, considering what he'd said...

If he's talking about a hero from a thousand years ago...then he

must be old enough to have fought Abel the Savior.

A cold sweat sprang up on my back. My elemental magic was great for wiping out a bunch of small fry at once, but I was out of my depth against a single strong opponent. That was why I avoided one-on-one battles, focusing instead on ambush tactics.

I wasn't sure what I should do...so I just set Calm Mind to maximum and kept pumping mana into the blade. However, the vampire did nothing. He just stood there.

"That elemental mana..." he murmured eventually. "The pressure of that godslaying blade... It cannot be." His voice had changed, shifting

to shock. His lack of eyes made reading any expression on his face pretty difficult. Suddenly, he gave a polite bow. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Setekh the vampire. I follow the Great Iblis and the Daemon Typhon."

I...wasn't sure how to react. What had brought this on?

"Could you tell me the name of the god you follow?" he asked. I wasn't sure how to answer. Noah was usually treated as a wicked deity. Then again, the creature asking was a demon, so...

"The goddess Noah..." I answered. The shift in his behavior was

dramatic.

"Oh, what fortune! A disciple of one of the old gods that helped us so much! To think, I'd meet a comrade here!"

"Uh...ummm?" What the hell?

Makoto, humor him. You can't beat him now.

I let out a mental sigh. "You know her disciples?" I asked him.

"But of course! He was a true hero! He slaughtered the pretenders to

the title, people following the foul Sacred Deities! Simply recalling

him sends me all aflutter!"

My predecessor apparently had rave reviews. Then again, it made

sense from a demon's perspective.

"So, we will soon start preparing for Lord Bifrons's resurrection with the archbishop. Would you care to join us?"

I let out a mental yelp. I'd never expected to be asked that. At least

now I knew what the plan was, though.

"Um, would that archbishop be the cambion Isaac?" I asked. "Indeed, my comrade! I see you are already acquainted!"

"Ah, well, a bit." As enemies... Still, it was him again...

"Cambions were pitiful a thousand years ago, but this one awoke me from my slumber, so they've grown much more useful," Setekh told me happily. This vampire sure liked the sound of his own voice.

"Incidentally, how are...we resurrecting Lord Bifrons?" That was the

most important question. Humanity had to stop it.

The vampire chuckled. "I'd love to tell you, but not even I know the full method. Sir Isaac would be a better person to ask."

"I-I see..."

Damn, he was keeping that information need-to-know. I figured that

I shouldn't stick around, so I decided to end the conversation.

"Well, I should be leaving with those two about now," I said, pointing at the two collapsed forms. Upon closer inspection, they were both breathing, and they didn't look too hurt.

"Hm, I can pick up the stench of those deities on the pair of them..." the demon spat. "Oh, wait, your dagger possesses the same scent.

What is the meaning of this...?"

Guh, was he on to me? I guess there's only one way out of this situation—

"It is all according to Lady Noah's guidance," I told him.

—blame Noah.

Hey!

"I see, I see! Her plans run deep indeed!"

He was a pretty open vampire. I'd love to keep talking, but him finding me out was scarier than the information was tempting. I'd just ask one more question.

"One last thing... When will the demon lord be resurrected?"

"I believe Sir Isaac said the rite would take place on the next full moon."

The next full moon...should be in four or five days. If we'd just taken

it easy for the next week, the demon lord would already be back. Damn, that was close.

"I shall continue the hunt to regain my power then," the vampire told me. "May the old gods bless you."

"Indeed...thank you for the information," I replied.

At that, Setekh vanished into mist. Thanks for the help, Noah.

You were cutting it fine.

I could do without bumping into the demon lord's subordinates on the roadside! Oh, right! I can't just space out here.

"Prince Leonardo! Janet!"

I rushed over, then used potions on both of them. Slowly, they opened their eyes.

"Urg...Makoto?"

"I'm...alive?"

The two of them got up. Thank goodness... They both seem fine.

"What happened to that demon?!" Janet demanded, grabbing me. "Don't tell me you killed it?!"

"He was way beyond me. I managed to get him to leave."

I couldn't exactly explain that it was because he was friendly with my predecessor, so I just used Eir's blessing to handwave past that little detail. That wasn't the important information, anyway. The moment I finished explaining the demon lord's revival, the pair paled again.

"That demon...was Setekh, Bifrons's subordinate?"

"The next full moon? This is awful..."

Man, it was all too much.

"Why are you so calm?" Janet demanded, peering at me strangely. "I'm...not?" I half asked. "I was really nervous until the vampire left."

There was a pregnant pause, then she sighed. "You certainly don't look it."

"We should head back to the village," the prince suggested. "We need to make sure Springrogue knows."

"That's true, and we need to share it with the other countries as well," Janet said. "If possible, my broth—some other hero could come and help us in the next four days."

"Let's hurry then," I urged.

The two nodded and we returned to Canaan without stopping.

Janet and Prince Leonardo were being seen to by a healer while the second emergency meeting in as many days was taking place.

"Indeed! We need every able fighter! Heroes are a given, but we need fighters from every village!" Lucy's grandfather exclaimed. It sounded like he wanted an allied force involving all of them.

The battle would take place in three days—the day before the resurrection. How many troops would we manage to gather? Janet was using communication magic to report back to Highland and asking that any nearby heroes be sent our way.

"Makoto...you met Bifrons's subordinate?" Lucy asked, worried. "Are you okay?"

"Things got a bit dicey, but I'm fine."

Sasa and Furiae were looking concerned as well.

What he said, though...

The demon lord's resurrection was something that would affect more than just Roses—it would stymie all the countries of the

continent. This must've been what the Snake Sect was aiming for.

Therefore, we all made our preparations for the battle three days hence.

"It galls me...that all we can do is wait," Janet complained, practicing with her spear. The lack of help she'd been against the demon was grating on her.

"I couldn't do anything..." Prince Leonardo said. "My inexperience put the two of you in danger."

"Well, a demon lord's subordinate showed up out of nowhere. That would shock anybody," I replied, encouraging the prince to not let it bother him.

"By the way, what's the meaning of those clothes?" he asked.

I wasn't wearing my usual traveling gear. These garments were

shabby and worn.

Sasa walked up, wearing clothes in a similar state of repair. "I'm ready, Takatsuki."

"Ah, Sasa. Got it. Let's go."

"Where are you two going?" Janet asked.

"The forest is dangerous at night," the prince added.

They'd stopped their practice to pay more attention to us.

"Sasa and I can use Transformation to look like undead and scout the

Forest of Fiends," I explained. It was getting boring just waiting around, plus it'd be a waste of time.

Prince Leonardo and Janet both looked blankly at me. I just wanted to scout the mission area for information, basically RPG 101, but they were really shocked by my plan.