A Muddled World

The discussion between Refreese and Panaches went without issue. They

established a clear border between their territories and established friendly

trade.

The people of the regular world didn't know what Gollems were, and the

people of the Reverse World were mostly unfamiliar with magic. And so, in

order to reconcile these differences, the world leaders needed to take the

initiative. Panaches decided to send some work Gollems and engineers to

Refreese, and Refreese would send some magic scholars and books over in

return.

I hoped that the cultural exchange would enrich both nations. I'd received an

information report from Anubis and Bastet, who were both still in Isengard.

Since the divine venom didn't affect regular humans, and they couldn't even

see it, life was actually continuing pretty ordinarily over there.

At the time of their report, the two Gollems were in a port town to the east of

the country. They'd heard rumors that some of the more inland towns had been

destroyed by golden monsters, and that the knight order and Gollem squad had

been sent out to deal with them. Bastet and Anubis were set to leave the town

shortly after their report, their next destination a larger settlement near the

heart of the island.

After I received that report, I headed off to consult Elluka about what I'd

heard from Blau about the white crown.

"We met Noir quite by coincidence. The crown Gollems were all unearthed in

ancient research facilities, or ruins of particular note... But not Noir. We found

that one in a mine."

"Really?"

"Yep. A leylightstone mine. It was one that had been abandoned for quite

some time. I originally thought we'd found some decommissioned mining

Gollem, but when I saw the crown series emblem on its neck, I knew exactly

what we'd stumbled upon."

Elluka apparently set to work repairing Noir immediately, but it took her a

considerable amount of time. After a year, the repairs were complete, but Noir

refused to contract with her.

"Crowns are picky when it comes to their masters. I just didn't have the right

qualities, you know? Then, when I went out on a trip, my sister snuck into the

lab and, well... the rest is history."

Elluka shrugged a bit as she sipped her coffee. I wondered if the crown

Gollems had special qualities they looked for when it came to their masters. The

black crown had Norn, the red had Nia, the blue had Robert, and the purple

chose Luna...

I couldn't really think of anything connecting them... besides the fact that

most of them were pretty annoying at times.

From what I understood, the blue crown was passed down the Panaches

family line, and the former master of the red crown was Nia's dad. It might have

been a genetic thing.

"Actually, the circumstances in which we found Noir was a little odd."

"How do you mean?"

"Well, typically, you unearth legacy Gollems inside the earth, or deep inside

ancient scientific facilities. But with Noir, it was carelessly discarded in a

mineshaft, one that wasn't even ancient! If you consider that it was a closeddown mineshaft, then it must have had workers in it, right?"

"Which means Noir must have been put there after the mine closed... Or Noir

walked there and shut down."

"It's also possible that someone forced it into shutdown mode."

According to Blau, Noir should've been with the white crown. I wondered if

Albus, the white crown, had been the one to force its other half into

shutdown... It didn't show up anywhere when I used my search magic, even

though it should've just resembled a white version of Noir or Rouge. There

shouldn't have been anything stopping me from finding it.

Basically, there was either something blocking my spell... or the white crown

was just gone entirely...

Either way, worrying wasn't going to solve anything. I decided to take it easy

for a little bit.

I left Babylon and went to Brunhild's castle. After I entered the living room, I

found Leen sitting there with her arms folded. Paula was sitting next to her in

the same pose, but I had a feeling Leen was the only one in thought.

"Something wrong?"

"A trifling matter. I was just thinking of the magical aptitude held by the

denizens of the Reverse World, compared to that of ours."

Seems like she's thinking about something complicated again... Well, I better

sit down and hear her out.

"It's likely due to evolutionary differences and environmental factors. The

people from the Reverse World have less magic power on average. They also

have a lower amount of people with an aptitude for magic. However, their

ability to manipulate magic is actually more refined, likely because they've been

using magitechnology for a long time."

Oh yeah, that makes sense. Candles are still common here, but the other side

has had leylightstone and stuff. You can adjust the light settings on those things

by tweaking magic flow.

"So you're saying Reverse World natives aren't really good with magic?"

"Not necessarily, no. There are people from the Red Cats who wield magic

well, right? The leader of the Black Cats as well, if I recall."

Well, putting Nia and her group aside, I recall helping with Silhouette's

summoning ritual...

"I'm sure the difference will become less important as time goes on and both

sides mingle and reproduce. The people of our grandchildren's grandchildren's

grandchildren's generation will likely be on common ground."

"That's quite a while away."

"Oh, are you sure? You're a god-to-be, and I'm part of a long-lived species.

Such a period may well be a blink of an eye in due time."

Leen took hold of my hand. I wasn't surprised that she felt that way, given her

fairy nature. She'd lived for a long time, after all.

"Our grandchildren's grandchildren's grandchildren, huh...? That's pretty hard

to imagine."

"Our children will have fairy blood, so they'll live quite a long time as well."

The children of a fairy and a human didn't take on characteristics of both

parents like half-elves; they'd always come out full fairy. The same could be said

of Sakura, as well. Any kids I had with her would come out demonkin of the

overlord's lineage.

The fairy race also had an extremely low male birth rate. There was only

around a twenty percent chance that fairy children would be boys.

God also informed me that my kids would effectively be demi-gods. They'd

have longer-than-average lifespans compared to regular humans, but that'd

only bring them to maybe living twice as long as their peers. Their kids would

have lesser lifespans as the divine blood ended up being diluted. My

grandchildren and great-grandchildren would probably have standard human

lifespans.

Either way, my children with Leen and Sakura would live the longest.

"Seems we'll be together a long time, eh?"

"I'm a little worried, though... If my daughter physically develops before her

body stops changing... she might end up looking older than me for the rest of

our lives!" Leen grumbled quietly. That was certainly possible. Leen's body

made her look like a twelve-year-old. Physically, she didn't look that much older

than Sue. But since her body wouldn't grow more, that meant Sue would

eventually overtake her.

According to God Almighty, the divinity granted to my fiancees would halt

their aging once they reached a certain point in adulthood, but Leen was

already an adult by the standards of her race. She was probably a little insecure

about her looks and hadn't quite come to terms with the fact that she didn't

have the body she wanted.

"C'mon, don't worry about things like that. I love you for who you are, Leen.

So I'll be by your side no matter what."

"That's not really the issue... Agh... Well, no matter. It's pointless to envy a

daughter that hasn't yet been born."

Leen chuckled softly before reaching up to give me a hug and a kiss. I

wrapped my arms around her delicate body in turn, giving her a quick squeeze.

"I'll be fine enough if you keep on giving me all your love... I don't want to get

jealous if you fawn over our daughter, after all..."

"I-I'll try my best... Ahaha, that probably sounded lame..."

"My, you really are a troublesome man... I don't mind, though."

I was glad she was so calm around me. I didn't really think she needed to get

jealous of our kid. The love between a man and his wife was different from the

love between a father and his daughter, anyway. That reminded me, though...

"Leen, this might be a bit late to ask, but... do you have any siblings? And are

your parents still around?"

"It definitely is a bit late to ask."

Leen grinned, teasing a wink my way. I kind of always had the image of Leen's

parents being dead already, since she was the matriarch of the fairies.

"I have no siblings. Races with such long lifespans have a low conception rate,

and by nature, we're a curious species. For the majority of our lives, we go

around investigating things that we like. That's why, when it comes down to

actually trying for a baby, it's usually just the one."

I wondered if that wouldn't eventually lead to their extinction, but it seemed

like their long lifespans kept that balanced, somehow...

"And your parents?"

"My parents are in Avalon right now. It's a realm where many fairies dwell

after reaching a certain age."

Avalon was a separate pocket of reality you could get to from the Sea of

Trees. It was functionally similar to the spirit realm, apparently. Older fairies

often made the pilgrimage to Avalon and lived their last few hundred years

there in peace.

"My parents will likely never return from Avalon, but I think they're probably

still alive."

"Isn't that a bit...?"

"It's nothing to worry about. I said my tearful goodbyes to my parents a few

hundred years ago, and I have a new family now."

Leen smiled sincerely. I couldn't detect any sadness at all. The Avalon stuff

was probably just regular business to the fairies.

"...I kinda wanted to meet your parents, to be honest."

"Well, I'd have certainly liked to meet your parents as well..."

Given that I have godlike powers, it wouldn't be impossible to return back to

Earth. But I'm technically definitely dead there... If I want to introduce Leen to

my parents, the best I can probably do is stand by their beds like a ghost or

something. But if they woke up and saw that, they'd die from shock themselves.

Maybe I can visit them in a dream sequence or something... Man, this is kind of

a weird topic.

Well whatever, no point worrying about the impossible! As if to break the

solemn silence, my phone began to vibrate. I had an incoming call from

commander Lain. I wondered what was up.

"'Sup?"

"This is Lain. There's someone at the gates calling himself a friend of yours..."

"A friend, huh?"

I wondered who it was. If it was Zanac or Micah, then Lain should've been

familiar with them... Maybe it was Ende?

"Well, he's... How can I put this without seeming rude...? He's wearing...

interesting clothing. He also has a tiny crown on his head, and he's calling

himself a prince?"

"Oh, I know who it is. I'll be down in a sec."

Well, there's nobody else it could be with a description like that. Guess His

Royal Doofus teleported over. At least give me some warning before you... Oh! I

checked my texts and saw that he'd actually sent me a message.

It seemed like he'd actually taken my advice to heart about only texting me if

it was important. Though he hadn't exactly given me too much warning. The

text came three minutes before he arrived...

"Is it the prince you brought up earlier?" Leen crooked a brow.

"Yeah. It's my first time being on the other side of a guy just appearing out of

nowhere with a teleportation power, so I guess I was reflecting on the

inconveniences I might've caused in the past."

...Well, in my case, I always try to notify people beforehand. Mostly. For the

most part... When I can, I mean... Most of the time, it's during emergencies!

"Wanna come with me, Leen? I can introduce you to him."

"Sure thing. I'm a little curious about him. Come along, Paula."

Paula rolled over and grabbed on to my ankle.

I held Leen close and invoked [Teleport], taking us to Lain.

As I'd expected, the boy in front of us was the prince I expected. A short cape,

bob-cut blond hair, white tights, and pumpkin pants. It was Robert.

"Hey, Touya! We're here!"

"Not sounding so princely right now, are you...?"

I would've given him a soft chop on the forehead, but he'd brought guests.

Obviously one of them was his Gollem, Blau. They wouldn't have been able to

come without invoking its power, after all.

The other guest was a girl in a pretty dress. Her hair was long and lovely, and

her adoring gaze was well and truly fixed on the prince.

The girl was Robert's fiancee, Cerestia Twente Hernandez. I'd met her a few

days ago and handed over a smartphone to her. She was the Queen of Strain's

niece, making her genuine royalty.

Ceres had accepted all of Robert, despite his weird attitude and fashion sense.

She was really the best partner possible for him.

It was a little rude of me, but I had some initial doubts about how legitimate

her love was for him... Though it seemed like she really loved him. Different

strokes for different folks, as they say.

"Ah, Touya. Thank you so much for that gift the other day. I can speak with

Robert on a daily basis now. It's so wonderful!"

"I'm just glad you like it."

Ceres smiled widely as she flashed the mass-produced smartphone my way.

The two of them were escorted by four guards, but there was another young

man with them as well. He didn't seem that far from me or Robert in terms of

age. His eyes were golden, and his hair was ashen-grey. His ears were pointed,

and his tanned skin had splotches of scales covering it. Two horns sprouted

from his scalp, and he had a lizard-like tail.

"Are you... dragonkin?" Leen spoke up. She was the court magician of

Mismede once, so it stood to reason that she'd be curious about his race.

"Dragonkin? I don't know of that race... I'm a dragonewt. We dragonewt have

inherited draconic power. It marks our lineage as the Grand Potentate's flesh

and blood."

Dragonewt, huh? Maybe that's what they call dragonkin in the Reverse

World... He looks pretty similar to Sonia, from my perspective.

"That's right! I brought him here to meet you, Touya! He's—"

Robert suddenly fell forward and landed on his face. Then, he began snoring

loudly. That was the price for using his power...

Leen and Paula stared at me with wide, confused eyes.

"Oh, don't worry about it. This is just normal for him."

Blau immediately hauled Robert over its shoulder. Ceres took out a small

handkerchief and wiped the sleeping beauty's face clean of dirt. How very

dutiful of them...

"Forgive us, please. Could we have a room with a bed? He should wake up in

around four hours."

He sure likes his naps... I didn't mind letting them have a room, so I told Lain

to show them to a vacant one.

Blau left with Robert, his guards in tow. Ceres cleared her throat and gestured

toward the dragonkin... Er, I mean, dragonewt.

"I'll introduce him in Robert's stead. This is Zanbelt Gal Lassei. He's the second

prince of the Lassei Military Kingdom."

Zanbelt bowed his head softly.

...Oh. The prince brought me another prince.

◇ ◇ ◇

The Lassei Military Kingdom.

It was a nation north of Isengard and west of Strain. The country was

multicultural and valued a powerful military over all else.

If I had to pick an equivalent country, it'd probably be Mismede. There were

all kinds of races living harmoniously in that country, but the most interesting

thing about them was their national culture.

They were referred to as the Military Kingdom, which clearly meant its people

prized strength over all else. But it wasn't just physical strength. They also

strove for mental strength.

In short, they respected people who honed both body and mind.

It was fine to have a strong body, but to have a truly strong mind, one would

also need to empathize with others. They were the living personification of the

phrase, "a healthy mind in a healthy body."

Putting Gollems aside, they were the strongest country in the world.

A quote from a famous piece of detective fiction came to mind... "If I wasn't

hard, I wouldn't be alive. If I couldn't ever be gentle, I wouldn't deserve to be

alive."

As for the reason the second Prince of Lassei decided to visit us?

"I wish to face the strongest person in this nation. My father has granted me

permission."

"Wait, wait... Hold up. No holding back? Dude, you'll die."

The strongest in this country... That's probably Moroha or Takeru. Going up

against either one of them is basically suicide, and I'd rather not have foreign

blood on my hands.

The second prince of Lassei, Zanbelt Gal Lassei, seemingly took offense to

what I had said.

"I am the second prince of a proud military kingdom. I am certain that my

strength puts me in the top five of my entire nation, so I do not believe I would

lose so easily to any foe. If you wish to decline my offer because you fear a loss,

I'd appreciate you being honest."

That's definitely not why I'm declining, man... Ugh, what do I do?

"If he says he wants to fight, why not allow it? Since he brought up the

challenge, he won't be able to complain when he loses, right?"

Zanbelt's brow twitched a bit in response to Leen's words. I wondered if she

was trying to egg him on intentionally...

"What's your fighting style, Prince Zanbelt?"

"I am adept in all forms of combat, but my preference is hand-to-hand

brawling."

I see... That'd probably mean Takeru's his best bet. Given that he's the god of

combat, that would make them an interesting match.

"And you're sure about this? You don't plan on backing down?"

"Not in the least! I wish to fight against the strongest around in order to hone

my skills! That's a warrior's greatest joy!"

Prince Zanbelt grinned broadly as he spoke. I was worried he wouldn't have

the chance to throw a single punch...

◇ ◇ ◇

"Wahaha! What a hot-blooded young'un! I'll be glad to pummel you!"

Uncle Takeru grinned, sending wild laughter echoing around the northern

training grounds. Ende and Elze stood by my side, displaying the same forced

smile I had. Moroha stood by grinning even more madly than Takeru. She'd

volunteered to be the referee. Leen sat on a nearby bench, casually reading a

book. Paula seemed pretty hyped up, though.

Robert's fiancee, Ceres, wasn't interested in the fight at all. She walked off to

Robert's bedroom instead.

Apparently, she loved to spend her time watching Robert's face as he slept.

She certainly had some unusual taste... But given Robert's own unusual taste,

that probably made them a good match.

"How long do you think he'll last?"

"That depends on Master, I think."

"Yeah, you're right. I don't think he'll go all-out on the prince..."

Ende, Elze, and I were both chatting amongst ourselves about the fight. The

prince narrowed his eyes and glanced my way. It seemed like he had a keen

sense of hearing.

"I, Prince Zanbelt Gal Lassei, will fight with the military arts my nation taught

me! Let us begin!"

"Good hustle, kiddo! Then I, Mochizuki Takeru, will face you!"

"Ready? Fight!"

At Moroha's command, the battle began. In less than the blink of an eye, we

heard a thwacking sound, and Prince Zanbelt went flying backward at incredible

speeds. He rolled on the ground and started twitching. Takeru had hit him in

the chest with an elbow strike.

Elze, Ende, and I cried out in utter disbelief. What the hell was that?!

We ran up to Prince Zanbelt in a panic. He had foam coming out of his mouth,

and his eyes had rolled back into his head.

"Were you trying to kill him or something?!"

"Wahahaha! No way! If I wanted him dead I'd have plucked his heart out of

his body! I held back just enough that he's simply on the verge of death! His

heart might've stopped a little bit, but some Restoration magic will fix him right

up!"

Wait, no! If he needs Healing magic to survive, then you already did too much!

I freaked out and cast [Cure Heal] on Zanbelt. The prince promptly opened his

eyes.

"Augh! Waugh! Wh-What was?! What happened?!"

"My uncle took you out in one shot... Don't you remember?"

"N-No! Th-That's impossible, I couldn't have been beaten so easily!"

The prince fell to his knees in disbelief.

"That was a little dull, Takeru. You should've played with him a bit longer."

"If his block game was that bad the entire match, he wouldn't have lasted

long! I certainly don't think he'd have lived up to your hopes, Moroha!"

"W-Wait! Please let me try again!"

Zanbelt butted in on the exchange between the two gods.

"Hm. Again, huh? Got a plan? Otherwise, it'll just be a repeat of what just

happened."

"Yes! I'll unleash the true power of the dragonewt! I cannot possibly lose!"

"Hoh... The dragonewt's power, eh? Color me intrigued... I'll fight you once

more, then!"

Both parties agreed, so we decided to start again from the top. I wished the

guy would just give up, though...

"HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

"Oh?"

Zanbelt took a combative stance, and a chi-like energy began swaying around

his body. His muscles beefed up, and scales spread out all across his skin.

"Oh, is that fighting spirit?"

"Yup, it's fighting spirit."

Ende and Elze looked quite surprised. Apparently, fighting spirit was a method

of dispersing magical energy throughout your own body and using it to change

your physical characteristics. Sonia's ability to release stored power was a

similar application of this ability. Given that she was of the dragon clan, and

Zanbelt was of the dragonewt, it wasn't too surprising they had similar abilities.

"Attacks like your earlier one won't work anymore! I have assumed the form

of a valiant Dracul! My speed, strength, and durability are far higher than they

once were!"

Zanbelt punctuated his sentence with a beastly roar.

"Ready? Fight!"

At Moroha's command, the battle began. In less than the blink of an eye, we

heard a thwacking sound, and Prince Zanbelt went flying backward at incredible

speeds. He rolled on the ground and started twitching.

"IT HAPPENED AGAIN?!"

Nothing changed?! That part was basically identical! We rushed over to

Prince Zanbelt in a panic. He had foam coming out of his mouth, and his eyes

had rolled back into his head. Again. I cast [Cure Heal].

"What?! Huh? I, what...?"

"My uncle took you out in one shot... Again."

"N-No! Th-That's impossible. I was a Dracul this time! I couldn't have been

beaten so easily!"

The prince fell to his knees in disbelief. Again.

"Guh... I accept my loss!"

"...Yeah."

I didn't really know what to say to him. Saying something like, "You did well,"

or "You tried" wouldn't work, since he didn't get to do a thing.

I decided to turn to Takeru for commentary. He was an adult, so he'd

probably be able to say something more inspiring.

"So... how was he as a foe?"

"Completely worthless!"

You're crushing him here! Throw him a bone! I-I get why you said it, but still...

You didn't really give him a chance to do anything.

Zanbelt raised his head slightly, then crawled toward Takeru before bowing

his head.

"I-I admit my loss! But that power you wield... It's as if you're a combat god!

It's far beyond my level... So far beyond... I beg of you, please take me as your

disciple!"

"Heck no!"

Please stop trampling on his heart! At least pretend like you thought about it!

He looks seriously upset!

"Isn't it possible to take him on? You took Ende and Elze, didn't you?"

"Ende is a person I scouted myself, and Elze benefits from certain qualities

you bear. Compared to those two, this little squirt isn't worth writing home

about. Can't exactly teach a little baby about arithmetic, right?"

"A-Are you saying I'm weaker than those two?!"

Prince Zanbelt desperately pointed at Ende and Elze. It was probably hard for

him to accept that those two were Takeru's disciples.

"You couldn't even judge my strength properly. If you can't appraise based on

posture and appearance, you'll get embarrassingly defeated someday!"

Someday? That just happened, didn't it?

Prince Zanbelt glared over at Ende and Elze with fire in his eyes.

Hey, easy now... It's not their fault he turned you down.

"Th-Then how about this?! If I can defeat either one of those two, will you

take me on as your disciple?"

"Sure."

"Perfect! It's a deal!"

The two of them let out small exasperated whines when they heard Takeru's

swift declaration. I could understand their feelings.

"Ende, Elze. If you go easy on him, tomorrow's training is gonna be a full

course of extra-hard work."

The two of them shrieked softly and went pale in the face. I was a little

worried about what kind of training he'd been putting them through...

"Whichever of you beats him the fastest gets a break tomorrow afternoon."

"Hell yeah!"

The two of them cheered in unison. I really, REALLY worried about their

training regime.

After that, he fought them one after the other... and he lost just about as

quickly as he lost against Takeru. I didn't really have any comments left to give

at this point. Using my Restoration magic on the prince was starting to feel like

a chore.

The one who got the afternoon break ended up being Ende. That bastard

should've let Elze win! I felt kind of bad for her.

In the end, Zanbelt demanded a fight with me, but I was so tired of the

process by then that I just punched him and sent him flying off into the sky. It

took a while to sink in, but I started to realize that Prince Zanbelt was actually

kind of an idiot.

"This can't be... I'm a proud dragonewt... Dragon blood flows within me...

How could I lose to mere humans? The humans in this country... are far too

unusual!"

Zanbelt was on the ground, staring at the floor and muttering. Nothing mere

about the humans here, Prince.

"Listen, kiddo. You gotta discard the crap about being a proud dragonewt and

things about it being impossible to lose to humans. Pride is one thing, arrogance

is another. Thoughts like that won't make you any stronger."

The prince raised his head when Takeru started speaking. He'd been beaten

so thoroughly that his clothes were tattered and torn. My Restoration magic

only healed his body, not his possessions.

"If you keep talking about your own strength without considering the might of

your enemies, then it screams inner weakness and insecurity. That's exactly

how you looked to me. Easy to break, weak."

"Guh..."

"But if you're faced with that weakness and you decide to tackle it, then you

can become a strong man. You've been given that chance with this defeat,

understand? You now have the choice to make use of it, or put it to waste."

"M-Master..."

I didn't know why the prince was so overcome with emotion... I thought he

was putting a little too much philosophical stock in Takeru's words.

The gods didn't usually handle things all that well, to be honest. It was more

likely that Takeru just said all that stuff since it felt like something smart, rather

than actually saying it because he was smart.

"Oh right, what'd you even come here for? It wasn't just to fight, was it?"

"O-Oh, right. M-My father entrusted me with this letter. Here..."

Thanks to Elze's question, Zanbelt suddenly remembered his original purpose

in coming to Brunhild. He took out a crumpled up letter from his pocket... that

he really should've given me that to begin with.

I opened the letter and it contained a notice that the Grand Potentate of

Lassei would be participating in the upcoming world conference at Brunhild. He

also asked us if we'd be able to chip away at the pride of his arrogant son a bit.

I think we managed more than chipping away... The boy's arrogance had

basically imploded. Still, since the king asked us to do that in the first place, it'd

probably be fine. They were quite the spartan family, though. Their family

motto was probably something like, "Strength above all else!"

"I have a better grasp of my own weaknesses. I shall etch those words of

yours into my heart, Master. I will continue to train hard starting tomorrow.

Thank you so much for your guidance!"

"Mmph. I ain't making you my disciple, kiddo. But I invite you to come back

once you think you're stronger. I promise to break your spirit even harder next

time."

...Are you sure you're not a demon instead of a god? This is kind of like a lion

cub getting pushed down a mountain, enduring hardship to make it all the way

back up, then the parent pushing the cub back down again...

I felt like Takeru would toss boulders down the mountain for extra effect.

Either way, it seemed like Lassei would be joining us for the summit. It was

going to be more like a party than a formal meeting, but it'd be fine.

I really hoped that the Grand Potentate wasn't as thick-skulled as his son,

though...

◇ ◇ ◇

"What good little ones you are. Here, eat up!"

"Meow!"

"Woofity woof."

The tavern owner smiled wide as she fed some leftover food to a stray cat

and dog. She turned around to deal with her customers afterward.

The black cat, Bastet, and the black dog, Anubis, had successfully infiltrated

Steele, the second capital of Isengard.

Taverns and inns were the best places to gather information. Their ears were

on constant alert for interesting info, while they got to enjoy food left to them

by kind individuals. They didn't really need to eat, though.

"...Isn't it fine if we don't eat this stuff, sis?"

"Don't turn down the kindness of strangers, dummy. Being friendly with

humans will help us in our goal, anyway."

"Oh, gotcha."

Anubis chowed down on his food, shrugging internally. The food wasn't

completely useless, at least, since it'd add a little extra fuel to their internal

generators.

The two of them continued to pretend like they were focused on their meals

as they secretly listened to their surroundings.

"Didja hear Tohnam got attacked by golden monsters?"

"Seriously? What about the knights?"

"They got roughed up something fierce, so I heard. How many towns is that

now?"

"Dunno, been a lot now. Things got real bad around here since that meteor

shower."

The golden monsters were likely the mutants. It seemed that many towns had

been attacked in recent memory.

"I even heard stories about golden skeletons marching around..."

"Huh, seriously? Where are they headed?"

"South, so the stories said."

"South? To Isenberg?"

Isenberg was the capital city of Isengard. Ever since that giant Gollem

rampaged there, the capital had been on a downward spiral.

That wasn't the only reason for the decline, though. The death of the witchking and his lack of a successor caused massive disorganization because the old

man had been handling the government almost entirely on his own. Obviously,

successor conflicts broke out, and nobles scrambled to claim all the political

power they could gain. The regular people were left to their own devices.

Everyone who lost their homes, jobs, or family due to the Gollem rampage

was ignored by the nobles that were meant to be helping them. In the end,

there was a mass exodus from the capital. The people who left the city

increased by the day, to the point where it could barely be considered a capital

city anymore.

"Wonder if this is the witch-king's curse..."

"Quit it. You'll jinx us..."

"Either way, this country's basically done. We should flee to Gardio or Strain if

we can... I know ships are going out right now, but I dunno how long that'll last.

They'll probably abandon Isengard eventually."

The number of people fleeing Isengard increased by the day, too. The unease

of the people fed into more rumors, which in turn increased unease... The

whole country was screwed up.

"The skeleton story sounds worth investigating."

"Then we're gonna go south?"

The two Gollems communicated on a quiet wavelength.

"If the rumor is true, this is the doing of those mutants. We need to head

south right away, let's go."

"Gotcha."

Bastet and Anubis turned tail and ran out of the city. Nobody noticed them

leave.

The shadow of darkness covered them, and Bastet jumped on to Anubis'

back.

Anubis crouched down and sped off at insane speeds. The two creatures

vanished southbound, into the black.

Unfortunately, this frequent behavior on their part led to rumors of a

strangely-shaped creature speeding around the roads in the dead of night. The

population of Isengard was further demoralized by the thought.

◇ ◇ ◇

"I can't say I understand, but it seems all's well that ends well!"

Robert had finally woken up from his slumber. It had been two hours since

Prince Zanbelt challenged and lost to Yae, Hilde, and Lu. Losing to so many one

after the other would naturally make one think that the Lassei Military Kingdom

was lacking in strength, but the real reason was that my fiancees were too

beyond the human norm... They were at the point where they could kill elder

dragons alone with little issue.

I felt a little bad for thinking so, but I firmly believed half of the knights in our

order could probably trounce Zanbelt as well. They'd been rigorously training

under Moroha, after all.

I expected Prince Zanbelt, who basically had his dreams shredded and

stomped on and burned, to get depressed. However, he somehow bounced

back the other way completely and got really pumped up. By the last fight, it

almost seemed like he expected to lose, but he went into it happily. And then,

by the end...

"Now I understand just how weak my body truly is! I know now that I must

train even harder!"

He spoke merrily, a strangely optimistic expression on his face. I neglected to

comment, since he seemed happy enough. And after that, I passed him a

response letter to the Grand Potentate of Lassei, and the group returned home

thanks to Blau's power.

Robert'll be due another nap when he gets home. That power really is a

blessing and a curse.

We turned to head back to the castle when my phone suddenly started

vibrating. I had a call from the King of Egret, Lefang. I wondered what was up,

maybe another Tentacular issue?

"Hey, 'sup. Need something?"

"Ah, Grand Duke! Sorry for the bother, but could you swing by?"

"What's going on?"

"There's an unidentified vessel approaching my nation from the southwest.

Our Luphu scouts reported from above, and it seems to be an armed ship."

The Luphu were giant birds used by Egret. I wondered if the vessel was a

pirate ship or some kind of warship...

Southwest, huh...? On the new map, the only country in that direction from

Egret is Helgaia, Land of Fiends.

When I first learned the two countries would merge, I researched the Reverse

World nations I hadn't been to. Silhouette and her Black Cats were instrumental

in me learning even more, which was why I knew a good deal about Helgaia.

It was a country populated by demi-humans referred to as fiends.

These 'fiends' were just what the Reverse World called demonkin. Stuff like

werewolves, alraune, vampires, and ogres. They were humanoids with more

monstrous qualities than regular beast-people. Unlike goblins, kobolds, and

minotaurs, these were fairly intelligent people that established their own

culture. But, much like the demonkin of my home, the fiends were persecuted

throughout history for their inherent qualities.

Eventually, a vampire proclaimed himself the archfiend and founded Helgaia,

a safe haven for the fiends. Several nations found the idea of a fiend nation

disturbing and declared war. But the archfiend fought all of them back until

they gave up.

The number of fiends (demonkin) in the Reverse World was pretty small as a

result. Basically all of them lived in Helgaia. That was consistent with my

experience, since I hadn't seen a single demonkin-like person at all over there.

Helgaia was smaller than Xenoahs, and it had a climate much like Egret's. It

was a tropical paradise that allowed the fiends to live there peacefully,

apparently.

I wondered if this incoming warship was actually from Helgaia... I was under

the impression that Helgaia was much like Xenoahs when it came to conflict

and outside communication. That they'd retaliate against offensive acts, but

wouldn't start fights themselves...

Either way, I couldn't just leave the situation unaddressed.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Sorry for the hassle. I just figured since the enemy's coming from the other

side, it'd be better to have you here. You're the mediator, after all."

"I don't remember signing up to be the mediator..."

I sat on the beautiful shores of Egret and used a divine-infused [Long Sense]

to check out the incoming vessel.

There was definitely a ship headed our way. Two of them, actually. They were

jet black and lined with cannons. Kind of reminded me of the black ships

approaching Japan under Commodore Perry... The ship had a sail, but there

were also two large wheels on either side. There weren't any chimneys, but it

really did resemble a steamboat. There wasn't any steam, though.

It was probably a ship that used Gollem technology.

I could see an emblem of sorts painted on the sail, which was perhaps the

national emblem of Helgaia.

"I can't say for sure if they're here to attack or not. What do we do?"

"Hmm... My people are concerned, either way. We need to determine what it

is they want."

The King of Egret folded his arms and pondered. He really was a large man,

with well-toned muscles and tattoos all over his body. Today, he was wearing a

garb that kind of reminded me of stereotypical Native American wear. He

glared out to the sea in thought.

"Why don't we send them a request to stop their advance? If they don't

listen, it should prove they have no intention of negotiating."

Hilde, who had been quiet up until now, raised a good point. We could

determine our course of action based on how they responded to that simple

request.

"And if they attack?" Said Elze, who was also accompanying me on the

mission.

"Well, I don't think Egret would want us to sit back and take a beating, right?

Though we should aim to capture them instead of killing them. Don't want to

burn diplomatic bridges entirely."

"Mm. I agree with the Grand Duke. But if we determine that they've come

here to declare war, then we needn't hold back against them."

The king and I seemed to agree, for the most part.

Helgaia didn't seem like the kind of country to randomly declare war, so I was

sure it wouldn't need to come to bloodshed.

"I'll go over and try to talk to them."

I cast [Fly] and shot off from the beach. When I made it to the airspace above

both ships, I used [Speaker] and cleared my throat, broadcasting my voice to

the surrounding area.

"Attention, attention. Black ships, do you hear me? You are steadily

approaching waters belonging to the Kingdom of Egret. Please stop your ships

at once, and we will send out a messenger to— Augh!"

One of the cannons suddenly fired at me mid-sentence... Well, that's certainly

unfriendly. I get that I made a suspicious entrance, but isn't that a bit of an

overreaction?

"I'll ignore the fact that you just fired on me, but any further attacks will be

regarded as a declaration of hostility. First off, we want to know your intentions

in these waters. Allow me to repeat myself. Please stop your ships, and listen to

us. We'd like to open up talks w—"

As I continued talking, a guy on one of the decks below pointed up and me

and shouted orders to his men. Right after that, two more cannonballs came

flying my way.

Goddammit, they really aren't interested in talking, huh? Are they that

desperate to fight? I could hear a few people on the ship decks yelling to

prepare more cannons and knock me down.

Well, if it's capture you want... I'll make you suffer a bit first.

"Come forth, Dark! I seek an Abyssal Conqueror: [Kraken]!"

Two massive shadows appeared beneath the ships. Writhing tentacles rose

from the depths, lifting both ships into the air. The people on deck started

running around in a panic.

The Krakens latched themselves to the backs of the ships, impeding their

movement. I telepathically communicated with them and explicitly instructed

them not to damage or destroy the ships. But I wasn't quite done messing with

them.

"Come forth, Dark! I seek Abyssal Warriors: [Merfolk]!"

A group of fishmen rose from the deep, scaling the sides of both boats with

tridents in hand. Merfolk were deep-sea monsters, but they could operate out

of the water for brief periods. They were stronger in the water, but still had

considerable strength outside of it.

"Eeeek!"

"Gyaaah!"

The crewmen pulled out their swords and moved to attack the Merfolk, but

their blades were unable to pierce the tough scales the monsters had.

After the men were disarmed, I had the Merfolk tie them up with rope.

Once the ships were completely taken over, I noticed something interesting.

Not a single member of either crew was demonkin. It seemed like these weren't

Helgaian ships at all. They were just pirates.

I landed down on deck and told the Merfolk to bring me the man I'd seen

barking orders earlier. He was a heavyset man with a massive beard, who

resembled a stereotypical pirate in many ways...

"So you're the captain, huh? Why'd you ignore me asking you to stop?"

"J-Just who are you, huh?! One of the archfiend's trackers?!"

"The archfiend?"

Does he mean the leader of Helgaia? Are they being chased down or

something? I was about to ask him for more information, but one of the

Merfolk beckoned me over to the ship's hold. Non-verbal summons were kind

of a pain in the ass when they needed to tell me something, but I just rolled

with it. I got the gist of what they were saying, so I headed deeper into the ship.

Inside the hold, I found a cage containing three women. They were bound in

iron chains. Two of them had dark skin and wore maid uniforms. They were

dark elves... Probably. The third had blood-red eyes and long, silvery hair. Her

skin was deathly pale, and her ears were a little pointy. I recognized her race,

since my knight order had someone like her. This woman was a vampire.

She looked to be in her early twenties, but vampires lived for so long that

guessing would be pointless. She was wearing a very expensive-looking dress,

far higher in quality to the maid uniforms worn by the other two. She was

probably of noble birth.

"...Who are you, exactly? I take it you're not with the pirates?"

The vampiress glared over at me with anger in her eyes. But when her gaze

fell upon the Merfolk by my side, she cowered slightly. That was natural, since

fish-people weren't exactly the most aesthetically appealing sight.

"My name is Mochizuki Touya. I'm the Grand Duke of Brunhild. Who are you,

exactly?"

"Brunhild? I've never heard of that nation..."

"It's a little country. I wouldn't worry too much about that. Forgive me for

assuming, but you seem to be a vampire. Are you from Helgaia?"

"...Indeed I am. My name is Claudia Mira Helgaia. I am the bride of Archfiend

Aluford Culhat Helgaia."

Wait, what?

◇ ◇ ◇

"So you're saying that these pirates came to Helgaia, broke out of jail... and

kidnapped you?"

"Yes... I was so curious to see real live humans, so I headed down into the

dungeons. Unfortunately, the pirates escaped at exactly the same time."

That was some pretty bad luck.

I asked Claudia, the alleged bride of Helgaia's archfiend, how she ended up

with the pirates. I'd taken her back to Egret for the time being. Even in the

Reverse World, demonkin (or fiends) were discriminated against due to their

frightening appearances.

From the perspective of the pirates, they'd probably entered a monster nest.

I had a feeling they escaped because they thought they'd be eaten. I guess at

a glance, seeing weretigers, werewolves, and ogres would give you that

impression, but all the demonkin I knew were pretty friendly people.

"So those ships were pirate vessels?"

"No, their ship was so damaged that by the time they reached Helgaia, it sank

into the ocean. Those black ships were something that my husband created as

part of his tinkering hobby... I didn't think they'd ever be stolen or hijacked."

His hobby?! He built those warships as part of his hobby? How much free time

does he have? Oh wait, he's a vampire... He technically has all the time in the

world.

The archfiend who founded Helgaia to defend the persecuted fiends was

probably still the current reigning archfiend, given his vampiric nature.

Warships were probably necessary to rescue persecuted demonkin from

other nations, anyway.

"So, what will happen to me now?" asked the vampiress.

"We'll make contact with your home country, and arrange for you to be

returned home. You're a victim in all of this, so please feel free to enjoy yourself

in my home until all this is dealt with."

The King of Egret spoke calmly as he sat down on his couch, causing Claudia to

bow her head.

"I am humbled by your kindness, King of Egret. I was not aware that this

country even existed, especially so close to Helgaia, but I truly appreciate your

manners. I honestly feel a little shameful for keeping such a curious bias toward

human beings..."

"Don't worry about it, compared to demonkin... or, uh... fiends... humans are

weaker on average. S'why we get around with our smarts. But that kind of

ingenuity can go sour in the wrong hands, especially when coupled with

prejudice or fear. It can make men like those pirates go out into the world with

bad intent. I just hope you know we're not all like that."

"Of course..."

The King of Egret decided not to force Helgaia into any negotiations if they

didn't feel comfortable opening themselves up to other nations. They were fine

not to establish diplomatic ties, just so long as there wasn't any hostility. The

king said that he wanted to honor Helgaia's wishes as much as possible.

Personally, I felt that they'd benefit from opening their borders a little bit like

Xenoahs, but I agreed that forcing their hand wouldn't necessarily be good. I

had a feeling the King of Egret felt the same, but he surely had his reasons.

"Now then... as for sending the pirates and the hostages back to Helgaia..."

The King of Egret glanced over to me. Yep, no biggie.

"I'll use [Teleport] to get to Helgaia, then I'll open a [Gate]. That's the safest

way to do it."

I could've just warped there with Claudia and the others, but I didn't want to

take any chances, since it was my first time moving toward Helgaia. I didn't

want to end up in a bad spot.

"Thanks a lot, Grand Duke."

"Er... Huh?"

"The Grand Duke of Brunhild can use magic to move around. He can take you

back to Helgaia in the blink of an eye!"

"Is such a thing really possible?"

The archfiend's bride stared at me in confusion. It must have seemed

ludicrous to her, since she didn't live in a society with much magic. Plus, Helgaia

was largely closed off to outsiders, so the idea of me just being able to appear

there probably sounded odd.

"Alright, lemme just..."

"Your Highness!"

Totola Luphu, one of the king's attendants, came rushing into the room. I'd

met him some time ago, back when he visited Brunhild on his giant bird.

"What's all the fuss about? You show disrespect to our guests."

"I apologize for my rudeness, but it's an emergency!"

"Huh? What's going on?"

"There are four black ships on the horizon! They're coming straight for us

from the southwest!"

"What'd you say?!"

The King of Egret rose to his feet in a hurry. More black ships? Is it more

pirates? No, it's more likely to be...

I opened up a [Gate] to the beach and headed there with the Claudia, her

maids, and the king of Egret. I could see the silhouettes of four ships in the

distance. They were still a fair bit away, but they were clearly the same kind of

ship as the two we'd confiscated earlier.

"They were probably sent out in pursuit of the pirates."

"Mhm. Looks like I don't need to go to Helgaia anymore."

I nodded at the King of Egret, and Claudia placed a relieved hand over her

chest. Elze, Hilde, and Yae, who had all been lounging on the beach, walked

over.

"Are you going to go out and ask them to stop?"

"Pretty much, yeah. At the very least, I need to inform them that this is a

country, and not some uninhabited area."

I sighed a little as I answered Hilde's question. I was getting a little tired of the

chores...

Totola and the other Luphu riders could go out there and do it instead, but

they'd be in trouble if they ended up getting fired upon.

"I just hope that the ship crews will be polite, I do."

"Same here. I really don't wanna dodge cannonballs again."

I used [Fly] for the second time that day, zoomed out toward the ships

(keeping my distance this time), and triggered [Speaker].

"Attention, attention. Black ships, do you hear me? You are steadily

approaching waters belonging to the Kingdom of Egret. Please stop your

advance. If you're from Helgaia, please listen to what I'm saying. We have Lady

Claudia, and she wishes for you to stop your advance as well."

Now all I had to do was wait and see.

The four ships moved forward for a little bit until the one at the front of the

group started to slow its water wheels. The other three ships followed after

that. It seemed they were complying with our requests. I slowly drew closer to

the leading ship.

A pale-skinned man stood on the deck of the main ship. He had long, silver

hair and wore a cape that fluttered in the breeze. He was staring right at me.

The man was clearly vampiric. I could tell that at a glance. Which meant... he

was probably the archfiend.

I landed on the deck. The demonkin around me regarded me with suspicious

eyes. None of them raised their weapons, so I assumed a passive stance.

"Identify yourself. I am the Archfiend of Helgaia, Aluford Culhat Helgaia. In

case it wasn't clear, I am a vampire lord."

Not just a regular vampire, huh? A vampire lord...

That reminded me, the overlord of Xenoahs had a vampire lord amongst the

four elite ministers of his nation. That guy looked like he was in his twenties,

but he was hundreds of years old.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Archfiend. I am Mochizuki Touya. I preside over

the Duchy of Brunhild as its Grand Duke. I hope we can get along."

My words caused the demonkin around me to murmur amongst themselves.

"A grand duke?"

"This kid is the king of that island?"

"But he said that island was Egret or whatever... What's the deal?"

"There's no way a world leader would come all the way out like this..."

Uh... Isn't your leader right here on the boat? He's standing right in front of

me!

"Grand Duke of Brunhild, is my wife unharmed?"

Huh? Why's he glaring at me? I can sense a scary aura coming from him...

Apparently, I was the subject of a misunderstanding. They probably thought

the pirates kidnapped Claudia on my orders.

"Sorry, let me just clear up something. The group of pirates that kidnapped

your wife is completely unrelated to us. I recently rescued her and her maids,

and they're currently settling in Egret's castle, completely safe and sound. I

came out here to help return her to you."

The archfiend's expression changed into one of wide-eyed shock.

"...Oh, really? When they washed ashore, they kept saying that we wouldn't

be forgiven by the outside world if we harmed them... I assumed the kidnapping

was some kind of plot from one of the human nations."

Nope, it was all a terrible coincidence. They just happened to break out as the

queen was nearby. What a world.

I figured things would go faster if I had him meet with his wife, so I opened up

a [Gate].

"Claudia!"

"Sweetheart!"

The archfiend rushed straight through the portal towards his wife on the

beach, then gave her a tight hug. It was nice seeing such affection.

"Are you okay, my sweet? Are you harmed?"

"I'm okay. The Grand Duke of Brunhild saved me from those pirates, and the

King of Egret has been more than welcoming."

Claudia smiled toward her husband, prompting the archfiend to look at the

King of Egret.

"You're the leader of this land, then?"

"That I am. King of Egret, Lefang Letra. It's a pleasure to have you here in my

nation."

"Thank you for your kindness. I truly appreciate the hospitality you've shown

my wife. I cannot thank you enough."

"You'd be better off thanking my friend here. The Grand Duke of Brunhild

saved Lady Claudia singlehandedly."

The archfiend stared at me in utter disbelief. It wasn't exactly

singlehandedly... I had summoned two Krakens and a whole group of Merfolk to

help.

"King of Egret, would you mind if I asked something...?"

"By all means."

"I admit we're not as worldly as other nations, but I hadn't noticed any nearby

islands... Has... Has Egret always been here?"

"Ahaha. Don't worry, you should just ask the Grand Duke about that. He's a

master manipulator of magic, with incredible knowledge about worldly events.

He's also served as a mediator between many nations and led us toward

prosperous relations. I'm sure he'll help you out."

Did you just volunteer me for the entire explanation?! I know I'm the most

qualified guy, but still! Well, whatever. I'll just tell him about it. It's up to him if

he believes me... And so, I projected a world map into the air with my

smartphone.

"This is a current map of the world. Ever since that meteor shower a few days

ago, two worlds were fused into one. The left half of the map is the world you'd

be familiar with. The one on the right is the world I and the king of Egret are

more familiar with."

"Really?! This is incredible... The two maps are identical, or rather, mirrored...

Then, hold on... If this island here is Helgaia, then this one is..."

"Egret, yes. That's where we are right now." I then briefed the archfiend

about the current situation with the mutants.

Apparently, no mutants had appeared in Helgaia. That was good, but also kind

of a pain, since I had to explain a bit more about the threat they posed.

I played back a video of one of the fights we'd had against them, which

allowed the archfiend to see the danger that could arise from one appearing in

Helgaia.

"...I see. So, Grand Duke, you say you are trying to create a summit for the

leaders of both worlds to meet?"

"Nothing too extreme, but yeah. I want us to negotiate and get along better,

so all the nations can develop friendly relations."

I talked to him about the upcoming summit, which prompted him to ponder

about it.

"Well, answer me this. In the world you know, how are fiends... How are

people like me treated?"

"If I'm honest, well... There's still prejudice, and those that judge you on

appearances. But most countries over here have laws against that kind of

discrimination, and some nations accept demonkin unconditionally. We also

have a nation similar to Helgaia. It's called Xenoahs."

"Oho... And what about... slavery?"

"Demonkin who commit crimes might be sentenced to hard labor in the

mines, but that applies to humans as well, and most developed nations on our

side have outright banned slavery in a non-penal context."

"I see..."

Only Yulong and Sandora recognized slavery as an everyday thing. Other

countries only approved of slavery as a punishment for crime, and some nations

didn't even allow that.

Given that Yulong and Sandora didn't really exist anymore, it was universally

acknowledged that casual slavery just wasn't a thing anymore. Though

obviously, there were underground slave trades and trafficking rings. We did

make a habit of destroying those each time one was uncovered, though.

"Helgaia was formed as a result of human oppression. I'm sure many of my

people would object to mixing with the outside world."

That was fair. Xenoahs was much the same. Even though they'd opened up

borders, their scale was still small as far as trade went.

"But... Helgaia will have no future if it remains isolated. We'll slowly die as the

rest of the world leaves us behind. As its leader, I must avoid that outcome."

"Then how about making ties with Egret to start? If you two countries

established embassies in each other's territory, then you could help exchange

culture."

After I spoke, the King of Egret took a step toward the archfiend.

"Mmh. If it's alright with you, Archfiend, I would like for Egret to extend a

hand toward its new neighbors."

"...Very well. I think it would be a good first step. We'll be in your debt."

The archfiend shook hands with the king of Egret. I was glad to see things

working out well there.

Obviously, I'd help out in bridging friendly relations between the two

countries, as well. I told the archfiend to call on me if he needed help. In

response to that, he glanced at his wife and then smiled in my direction.

"Actually... Enormous Tentaculars have started appearing in the seas around

our country lately. They're disrupting the fishing trade... Do you perhaps have a

solution for that?"

The king of Egret and I glanced at each other, and I let out a bitter chuckle.

Welp... Guess it's time for squid-fishing again.

◇ ◇ ◇

It was finally the day of the multi-world summit.

Brunhild was the host country for the event, but obviously, that didn't mean

much special. All we did was provide the venue and help other countries set up

anti-mutant countermeasures.

Also whenever countries had disputes, Brunhild would get called in to see if it

could be resolved. My country was sort of like an arbiter nation at this point.

Just like during the days of the old alliance, the summit quickly turned into

more of a party than anything else. We just let it happen at this point, since it

was better if people had fun.

Various world leaders chatted and made merry with each other. It was nice to

see.

There was no shortage of new and interesting people to talk to, since world

leaders from the Reverse World territories were here as well.

The Reverse World nations we'd invited were:

The Kingdom of Primula.

The Triharan Holy Empire.

The Kingdom of Strain.

The Allent Theocracy.

The Gardio Empire.

The Lassei Military Kingdom.

The Kingdom of Panaches.

There were seven in total.

I asked the archfiend of Helgaia if he wanted to join in, but he elected to pass

this time around. He was only interested in establishing firm relations with

Egret as a first step.

I'd met with the rulers of Triharan, Strain, Primula, and Panaches before, but

this was my first time talking to the leaders of Gardio, Allent, and Lassei.

The new Emperor of Gardio, Lancelet Rig Gardio, was a nice young man. After

the whole situation with Isengard was over and Lucrecion stepped down as

successor, the throne went to him instead.

We spoke a little bit, and I could tell he had serious and studious intent

behind his eyes. Yumina confirmed his disposition with her mystic eye, saying

he was pure of heart and determined. He was around the same age as Lestia's

knight king and King Cloud of Lihnea. They all got to talking and seemed to

become fast friends.

Next up came the Pontifex of Allent, Graud Zeth Allent.

He was close to sixty, but he didn't look that old at all. He was a large-framed

man with an intense stare and a big white beard. He reminded me of Baba from

Eashen in many ways.

Given that he was a holy leader, I imagined him as this slender and frail guy...

But he ended up being a total macho man instead. Still, we had a beefy dude as

the leader of Felsen, too.

Apparently, the Allent Theocracy was formed by a great hero who unified

several tribes under the influence of various elemental spirits. The country then

adopted a religion centered around the spirits, which were considered holy

beings by the citizens of Allent.

When I explained to the Pontifex that I could use Spirit magic, he initially took

offense. He declared, "You would dare to try and bend the holy spirits to your

will?!" and other stuff like that.

After I explained to him that it wasn't like summoning, and that it was just

reaching a mutual agreement with the spirits, he calmed down a bit and

apologized.

Shirahime, the Mikado of Eashen, was also at the meeting. I brought the

Pontifex to meet her, since she could summon the Snow Spirit (who also

happened to be her mother). I could've summoned a spirit by myself, but I

wanted to use the chance to bring some of the leaders closer together...

Unfortunately, it didn't work out like I expected.

When Shirahime called the spirit out, the Pontifex immediately got down on

all fours and started praying to her. Loudly. The Snow Spirit was so embarrassed

and red in the face by this that she immediately returned to the spirit realm.

I couldn't blame the guy, since it was his first time ever seeing a spirit, but

still... I promised him that I'd give him some elementary-level books about Spirit

magic, which prompted him to grab me by the hands, and he thanked me

profusely. His grip was so tight it hurt...

Still, everything was fine for the most part. Except for one world leader...

"I wish to fight Mochizuki Takeru! I've heard great things about your uncle!"

"I don't know about that..."

The sudden challenge came from the Grand Potentate of Lassei, Gimlet Gal

Lassei.

He was Prince Zanbelt's father, and also one of the dragon clan, a dragonkin...

Or, uh, a dragonewt.

He was a buff old guy. Kind of looked like a beefier, aged-up version of his kid,

in fact. I could see multiple scars along his arms and neck.

Unfortunately for him, Takeru was away on a trip with Elze and Ende. He'd be

back by the evening, but I didn't really want to have Lassei humiliated at an

international summit.

"Didn't you hear what happened when your son tried to fight him?"

"Not at all. I could tell at a glance he thoroughly trounced my boy! Zanbelt's

confidence was utterly broken, and he's been working far more earnestly as of

late! I'd like to express my appreciation through combat with the man who

helped my son."

"...That's kind of a weird leap in logic."

C'mon, man... At least be honest. You just want to fight, don't you? What a

pain...

Moroha or Karina were available to fight him, but I really didn't want to

humiliate the guy in front of everyone else. I grumbled quietly and wondered

how to stop the guy asking when a ray of hope suddenly shone down from an

unexpected source.

"If it's a bout you'd like, then why not face me, Grand Potentate?"

"Oh?"

The beastking of Mismede came wandering over with a smile on his face.

...Dude, really? Your own guards are burying their faces in their hands right

now.

"You're the leader of Mismede..."

"Aye. I'm quite the fan of combat myself, and I feel like I could fight you

without holding back. How about it?"

Wait, hold on here! Isn't this a little beyond normal socialization? This party

was for us to chat, not fight...?

"Is there a good place for a battle?"

"The Brunhild knight order has a training field nearby. How about that?"

"Interesting. Sounds good to me!"

The Grand Potentate started to leave the room along with the beastking. They

were both grinning madly.

"Wait, are you guys seriously gonna fight?!"

"Fret not, Touya my lad. I don't plan on holding any grudges if I lose. Plus,

your training grounds are designed to prevent death, no?"

"Well, yeah... but..."

The training area had been set up to automatically cast [Mega Heal],

[Recovery], and [Refresh] on anyone with sufficient injury. I set it up that way

because I was worried Moroha would go too far while I was out of town or

something. The knight king came to spar with her now and then, so it wouldn't

exactly be a good look if my sister accidentally murdered the hell out of him one

day.

...You know, come to think of it, inviting the king of Lestia over for Moroha to

beat his ass isn't exactly good, either... So I guess it's fine if these two spar? I

grumbled a little bit, at which point the queen of Strain came over to tap me on

the shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. The Grand Potentate is an honorable man. He would

never mix personal grudge into political business."

I was still a bit worried, so I had Yae and Hilde go after them with orders to

break any post-match spats up if it came down to it.

The Lassei and Mismede guards also followed after them, sighing heavily in

unison. I felt bad for the regular soldiers assigned to guard those muscleheaded dorks.

"Oh, right. Have there been any Isengard refugees in Strain?"

Yumina suddenly spoke up, directing a question toward the Queen of Strain. I

was actually interested in the answer to that as well. If my intel was correct,

there were definitely a few people fleeing Isengard.

"Not as many as Gardio, but yes. But starting fresh in a new land is a difficult

undertaking, so a lot of my people are worried the Isengardian refugees may

turn to thievery or highway robbery."

It was a shame, but there was a high chance of that happening. Bastet and

Anubis' intel suggested a lot of weird stuff was going on in Isengard.

I could understand wanting to flee such an uncertain country, but turning to

crime in other countries just made the world a worse place. Refugees seemed

to be an issue no matter the time or place... It certainly wasn't a big issue for

the time being, but I knew it had the potential to become one.

"Do we know any more about what's happening in Isengard?"

"I've got people on it. Unless it's absolutely urgent, I'd suggest keeping as far

away as possible. We need to take a lot of care when dealing with them right

now."

"Why? Do you think Isengard could launch an invasion?"

"Not Isengard, no... But there could definitely be a fight."

I was certain that the mutant Dominant Constructs were behind this. I was

only aware of a handful. There was Yula, the one that helped form the wicked

god. Then, there were the twins, Leto and Luto, the ones that roughed up Ende.

I knew about those three, but there could've still been more. I needed to talk

more about this with the Sovereign Phrase, Melle, as well as Ney. They probably

had more information about the Phrase in general.

"Are there any issues in your world right now? Er, rather... on your continent?

Any strange incidents or conflicts?"

"Conflicts, hm... Zadonia, the land of ice, has recently stepped up its conflict

against Dauburn, the land of fire."

If I recalled correctly, Zadonia and Dauburn were two nations to the north of

Allent. I'd heard a bit about their conflicts before.

"Those countries fight like cats and dogs. If Zadonia brings up a point, then

Dauburn will immediately double down on that point being wrong. If Dauburn

imports a specific model of Gollem, then Zadonia will import slightly more of

the same Gollem out of spite. It's almost a tradition at this point for them to

feud and one-up each other."

Fighting like cats and dogs, huh? Reminds me of some nations back on Earth.

"Zadonia's environment is covered in ice and snow, while Dauburn's is a heatridden desert. They have polar opposite environments, despite their close

proximity. Apparently, the royal families of each nation pass down a story

blaming the other country for their habitat."

"Huh? A story? Don't they know the actual reasons?"

"I don't believe so. I only know the stories mention something was stolen."

"Stolen by who?"

"Both sides."

That sounded odd to me. I asked for a little more information, and apparently

both oral traditions claimed that the other country stole something of great

value. I couldn't really say I understood.

The Pontifex of Allent was more knowledgeable about this stuff, so I asked

him.

"Ah, that tale. I hear the old scrolls of Zadonia and Dauburn state that Zadonia

was cursed by an ice goddess, while Dauburn was cursed by a fire demon.

Apparently, both sides stole offerings from the other, incurring the wrath of

both entities. From what we understand, at least... Dauburn stole Zadonia's

offering to the ice goddess, while Zadonia stole Dauburn's offering to the fire

demon..." Hrmm... So... Dauburn was offering something to a fire demon, and

Zadonia was offering something to an ice goddess... and they stole each other's

offerings? Then the goddess and the demon caused the harsh environments as

retribution? Hrmm... I don't really think it was a real god or a real demon,

though. I mean, gods aren't even allowed to interfere in stuff like this.

The incident at the Ramissh Theocracy sprang to mind, and I wondered if this

was another case of spirits causing trouble. "What are you pondering, Grand

Duke? Are you perhaps thinking of bringing Zadonia and Dauburn together?

Even if you are our global conciliator, that would be quite the tall order. Those

two tend not to take the advice of others."

The pontifex commented all of a sudden. Uhhh... global conciliator? When did

I get that job?

"Then again, you did bring Primula and Triharan together. You even stopped

the war between Gardio and Isengard. Maybe you could do it!"

"Ah, those incidents weren't exactly planned, I just..."

The King of Primula must have overheard our conversation, since he walked

over and started to talk.

"I was a little surprised when you kidnapped the Triharan commander, Touya.

Are you perhaps planning on kidnapping the leaders of Zadonia and Dauburn as

well?"

"No, absolutely not! Please don't make out like I'm some kind of regular

kidnapper... Though it might be good to get them into a secluded space where

they can talk to each other like adults and leaders."

"I have my doubts about that. They'd be more likely to start beating each

other to a pulp."

...That doesn't sound good. Maybe it'd be better if I tied them up with rope?

Ugh, now I really am sounding like a seasoned kidnapper.

If there was some kind of personal grudge, I'd be fine with letting them deal

with it, but I didn't exactly want them causing trouble for their people.

"Do the people of both countries hate the other side, too?"

"Not the commoners, at least. I'm fairly sure most of them would be happy if

the grudge match ended. After all, the rivalry means orders like forced

conscription are in place. Most able-bodied people in both countries are called

to war at least once a year for some petty grudge fight, and I can't imagine they

like it. Nobody can live near the borders, either. Every time they have one of

their yearly wars, the territory shifts slightly."

Apparently, even if one side won the battle, they'd immediately retreat

because they couldn't handle the harsh climate of their won land. What a

bunch of morons.

"In truth, we Allentese people are quite content with their constant feuding.

It means neither country will ever try and quarrel with us."

It seemed like if either Zadonia or Dauburn attacked Allent, that would leave

them open targets to their most hated rivals. Neither Panaches nor the

Kingdom of Gem had been attacked by those nations, either.

From that perspective, letting the two countries constantly bicker could

potentially be good for world peace. But then I glanced around the room and

saw the king of Lihnea laughing alongside the young King of Palouf, which made

me immediately change my mind.

Palouf and Lihnea had similar skirmishes against each other for many years,

too. That was largely because Prime Minister Wardack had taken control of

Lihnea, and he was planning on messing the whole place up with that crappy

fake prince, Zabune. After all that was settled, the two nations gradually made

peace. Hell, now Princess Lucienne of Palouf was even engaged to King Cloud of

Lihnea. It was a great union.

If any countries were proof that relations could be repaired, Lihnea and Palouf

were prime examples. It also helped that both Lihnea and Palouf had their

leaders changed, though...

I decided to keep an eye on Dauburn and Zadonia before deciding to do

anything. I didn't want to become a proactive meddler in international affairs.

As I thought quietly to myself, my phone began vibrating against my chest

pocket. It was a call from Guildmaster Relisha.

Oh, she must be calling to see if I got permission to set up guilds on the reverse

continent. I was planning on bringing that up during the afterparty, but it seems

like we're in full-on party mode right now, anyway...

I quickly picked up the call.

"Heyo, what's up?"

"It's Relisha. We've detected an upcoming mutant emergence zone."

"...Where?"

"It's... in the sea... Or above the sea. Hard to say. Either way, it's in the waters

between Refreese, Lihnea, and Panaches. We can't tell where the emergence

point is exactly, but it's around there."

The sea? Seriously? That's never happened before. If it was just regular Phrase

coming out, we'd be able to predict where they'd go, since they only targeted

humans in a mechanical way. But the mutants are way more erratic.

They probably had some kind of goal, though. They wouldn't come out for no

reason. But whether that goal was to serve the wicked god's plan, or some

whim of the mutated Dominant Constructs remained to be seen. All we could

do for the time being was observe them and figure out their target.

The only saving grace to this situation was that there were no innocent

human settlements out at sea.

"How many can we expect, and when?"

"Roughly ten-thousand. We're getting similar readings to the emergence

event at Yulong. We estimate they'll break through in roughly thirty hours."

Almost the same amount as the Yulong invasion... All of them are mutants

too, geez. But still, we're much stronger and far more unified now. I have

Reginleif, and all my fiancees have their personal frame gears. We've got new

models for the Chevaliers and Knight Barons, and we even have two brand new

Over Gears.

I'm not worried about this fight in the least. I have the backing of nearly every

country in this new, unified world. Nothing can possibly go wrong.

I told the leaders present at the summit about the incoming mutant invasion

and asked them to nominate knights to participate in the defensive battle.

No way in hell I'm letting these mutants or that wicked god just do as they

please. This is our world, not theirs.