episode_0249

After the Great Sage Who Pacifies Heaven’s sticky and lewd morning service ended.

It was just the right time for breakfast, so I left the room with the Great Sage Who Pacifies Heaven.

As it happened, the other kids were also coming out of their rooms for breakfast, so we all started breakfast together.

But for some reason, I’m at the head of the table.

Isn’t Tamamo the owner here? Why are you on my left?

“…Well, it’s not something to worry about.”

The breakfast here is pretty good.

It’s not enough to make your eyes widen and shout something like ‘Mimi,’ but it feels like breakfast from a decent high-end hotel.

Sliding sound

Lucy, who had been absent, opened the door and came in during breakfast.

“Lucy?”

“Hero. I have something to tell you.”

“Something to tell? What is it?”

Lucy sat demurely in her seat and said.

“I received a message from the Holy Kingdom.”

“From the Holy Kingdom? I thought the communication device didn’t work properly because this place is too far from the Holy Kingdom?”

“As the power of the seal that was staying here disappeared, what was interfering with the communication device’s magic disappeared as well. Still, I got some help from Tamiel due to the physical distance.”

Ah, I see?….

When I glanced at Tamiel, she seemed to be saying, ‘That’s what I’m capable of.’

She shrugged her shoulders and raised her nose.

Seeing that, I turned my gaze back to Lucy.

“So? What did they say?”

“Well, just the usual superficial words. That the energy of the last remaining fragment of the Demon King has disappeared, that you’ve worked hard, and so on.”

“Hmm…. Was it judged that the ‘yoma’ died, like Tamiel?”

My gaze shifts from Lucy to Tamamo.

“I was wondering what I should do if it wasn’t judged as dead.”

“Hic….”

Tamamo flinched and cowered at my words.

That Tamamo. When I first met her, I thought she was quite a sly type, but she’s more of a small-town person than I thought.

Her top priority is the stability of herself and her family, and she only became strong for that.

Then, somehow, she became a yoma…. Now that the yoma’s power is gone, she was trying to borrow ‘my power’ for the stability of herself and her family. But I’m not yet able to help her.

Even if all the ‘Demon King’s fragments’ are defeated, the ‘Demon King’ remains.

I don’t know how that Demon King will appear…, but what is certain is that my fight is not over yet.

That’s why I can’t be with Tamamo here.

‘So I entrusted her to the Great Sage Who Pacifies Heaven….’

Unless it’s a very special case, it should be fine.

“So, the important thing is that they are holding a festival to commemorate the achievements of the hero who defeated all the Demon King’s fragments and brought peace to the world. And they have decided to hold it in the ‘Roman Kingdom’.”

“In the Roman Kingdom?….”

Why there of all places?

My celebration party in that place, the hometown of another hero, Ragna Roman….

Is it politically involved in some way?

It doesn’t matter either way, but….

“Speaking of which, what happened to Ragna Roman?”

“If it’s the other hero…. Well, everyone is being quiet about it, but the evaluation isn’t very good. Because Hero Leon defeated all of the Demon King’s fragments. At least Hero Abel ‘martyred’ himself during the Demon King’s subjugation, but Hero Ragna didn’t have anything like that.”

“”””….””””

Everyone fell silent at the word martyrdom.

The people here know very well.

That Hero Abel did not ‘martyr’ himself.

However, it was difficult to openly say that a hero had been corrupted by a fragment of the Demon King and had turned his sword against the same hero, so the Holy Kingdom hid the truth and announced it to the public.

I understood that, so I didn’t say anything special.

“But why there?”

“The Roman Kingdom said they wanted to do it themselves? The Roman Kingdom’s evaluation is not good in many ways. So, maybe they did it to turn the situation around a bit?”

“Hmm….”

Then does that mean I’ll meet Ragna there?

As I stopped eating and fell into thought, Tamamo, who was sitting on my left, carefully opened her mouth.

“Um, excuse me….”

“Ah…. Mino.”

“Yes.”

“What I asked you earlier. Would that be okay?”

At my words, everyone’s eyes turned to the Great Sage Who Pacifies Heaven at once.

The Great Sage Who Pacifies Heaven, regardless of whether the attention was focused on him or not, smiled slightly at my question while eating and replied.

“Yes. Anything for my husband.”

I nodded lightly at the Great Sage Who Pacifies Heaven’s trustworthy words and turned my gaze to Tamamo.

“As you heard, I can’t stay here for long. And maybe…. It’s just my intuition, but it won’t end with this battle. So I can’t grant your request right now.”

“…So, instead, the Great Sage Who Pacifies Heaven will protect us?”

Perhaps because she’s so perceptive, she quickly grasped my intentions and asked as if to confirm.

I nodded because there was no reason to hide it.

“Of course, you might not feel like it’s a big deal because Mino was defeated by the Great Sage Who Pacifies Heaven, but he’s still pretty strong.”

“No. I know this person’s power very well. Even now…, I can feel it well.”

Tamamo replied with a slight smile on her face.

I’m glad she understands.

I nodded lightly and turned my gaze back to Lucy.

“When do we have to go?”

“Hmm…. I think they think it will take some time to get there because of the location. So I think it’s okay to move at a leisurely pace….”

Saying that, Lucy glanced at Tamiel and shrugged her shoulders and said.

“Well, since we have Tamiel, the travel time doesn’t really matter to us. I think she’ll adjust it for us if we just tell her when we’re going, right?”

“Really…. What do you think I am.”

Tamiel said in a slightly complaining, disgruntled voice, but her expression didn’t seem to be thinking much about it.

Well, if I had to say, it feels like she’s just joking.

“Hmm…. Okay, I understand.”

The matter with Tamamo is settled, so there’s nothing more to do here.

“Should we stop by Joe on the way, since we’ve come this far?”

Since they said we can take our time, there’s no need to go right away.

Besides, now that we’ve come this far, it might be good to go to Joe, which is Baekryeon’s hometown.

Thinking that, I looked at Baekryeon and Baekho, and Baekryeon nodded lightly.

“Hmm. I won’t refuse such consideration.”

“I’ll be able to meet the King of Joe after a long time.”

Perhaps because it’s about going to their hometown after a long time.

Baekryeon and Baekho seem very excited.

“In that sense, I think we should get going now.”

“I thought you could stay a little longer…. That’s too bad.”

Tamamo seemed genuinely disappointed, smacked her lips slightly, and bowed slightly.

“I, Tamamo, will never forget your grace. Whenever…, whenever you want to hold this Tamamo, please come and find me.”

“…Hold?”

“…”

“Heh heh….”

Seolrin was the first to react to Tamamo’s unnecessary words.

I avoided Seolrin’s gaze, who was looking at me with drowsy eyes.

That Tamamo, saying unnecessary things….

She probably said it on purpose.

Maybe it’s a small revenge for the fact that I’m leaving even though I held her so tightly.

* * *

Returning to Joe was not difficult.

Thanks to Tamiel’s space teleportation magic, we were able to arrive in Joe in an instant.

“Welcome. Baekryeon. And it’s been a long time, Lord Baekho.”

“Yes. I’m sorry I couldn’t greet you properly at that time because my physical condition wasn’t very good. King of Joe.”

“Your condition has already been reported to me by the vice-commanders, so I know it well. If you had forced yourself to come in that situation, I would have gotten angry at you.”

Thanks to Baekho and Baekryeon, we were able to enter the palace with a free pass.

And as a bonus, I had the opportunity to meet the people of the Baekho unit and have a few words with them after a long time.

…Actually, I hardly talked to them, so it’s the same as strangers….

“And you have shed a layer of skin.”

“…Can you feel it?”

“Yes. I’m sensitive to such things.”

As the Queen of Joe looked at me and spoke quietly, a drop of cold sweat ran down my face without me realizing it.

Every time I meet this person, I feel strangely similar to the Great Sage, the Equal of Heaven.

Her attitude, which seems a bit detached from the world…, and her perceptiveness….

While I was thinking that, the Queen of Joe continued.

“It’s a good thing. I was originally going to entrust it to the Baekho unit, but…. I can entrust it to you with peace of mind.”

“?”

“The report came in a few days ago. A report came in that a strange structure suddenly rose near the East Sea.”

“Structure?”

And if it was a few days ago….

Was it around the time I was in the Holy Kingdom?

“Nothing has happened yet, but we can’t just leave something unknown as it is. I was going to send the Baekho unit to investigate it, but would you be willing to investigate it for us?”

“Investigate? Us?”

“Of course, if you accept the request, I intend to pay a reasonable reward.”

An unidentified structure that appeared in the East Sea….

“I accept.”