Chapter 4: Now, you say ‘fishermen’ to me. master.

Elysia, crying and sobbing, clung to me.

It was only after she had calmed down a little that we could begin to talk.

“Ah, ha-ha… It’s been a while, Elysia.”

“Sniff… Master… there’s something… I’ve always wanted to tell you.”

“Hm?”

She stopped sniffling and slowly opened her mouth.

“Actually… your disciple… had feelings for you…”

The child suddenly began to confess.

“I don’t know exactly when it started… *sniff*… but I began to see you, Master… with feelings beyond mere respect…”

Her words grew faster, as if a dam had broken.

“Do you know how much I struggled to hide my feelings? I tried so hard to keep them hidden… until I defeated the Demon Lord!”

So that’s how it was.

I hadn’t known.

I had only thought Elysia was a blunt and cold child.

“I vowed to confess these feelings once the Demon Lord was defeated… and to somehow spend my entire life by your side… That’s what I vowed! But then…”

To think she had been thinking such things.

In truth, I had only been thinking about returning home.

I hadn’t really given much thought to how Elysia felt about me.

“As soon as the Demon Lord was defeated, you said you’d return to your hometown, leaving without a single regret… That’s just… just too much… *Waaahhhhhh*…”

Elysia burst into violent sobs once more.

The clothes I was wearing were thoroughly soaked with Elysia’s tears.

I patted her back and parted my lips.

“Ah… I see. Ha-ha. I never imagined you were thinking something like that.”

“Still… I don’t resent you, Master. You also have your own… *sniff*… life, don’t you?”

Elysia seemed to have regained her composure.

“I’m satisfied just being able to share my true feelings with you, Master, even if it’s only in a dream.”

A dream?

This isn’t a dream.

“Elysia.”

“Yes, Master.”

“This isn’t a dream, you know?”

“?”

Elysia’s sniffling abruptly stopped.

With wide, bright eyes, she looked up at my face.

Then she reached out and felt my face.

A subtle touch.

She cautiously yet subtly pinched my cheek.

“Ow. You should pinch your own cheek, not mine.”

In retaliation, I gently pinched Elysia’s cheek.

And then, as if she had only just realized it was real, her face instantly turned bright red.

“Kyaaaaah—!!”

Elysia screamed so loudly it felt like my eardrums would burst.

She buried her face into the floor and couldn’t lift it.

****

After rolling around on the floor for nearly 30 minutes, Elysia finally managed to speak, putting some force into her voice.

“Please… pretend you didn’t hear what I said earlier…”

“Uh… okay.”

If Elysia were to die right now, her cause of death would surely be a heart attack from excessive embarrassment.

Not just her face, but her entire body was red, to that extent.

Now that she seemed to have grasped the situation somewhat.

We could finally have a proper conversation.

“First of all… how did you know I was Terda? My appearance has changed.”

“How could I possibly not recognize you, Master? I remember every single movement of your facial muscles. Even if your appearance changes, my eyes cannot be deceived.”

There are things that don’t change, even if a person’s appearance does.

Expressions, speech patterns, and behavioral patterns fall into this category.

These are unique, embodying a person’s history, and thus serve as elements that constitute their essence.

Elysia possessed eyes that could see through such things.

‘Indeed… she’s skilled enough to be praised as the Sword Saint of the continent.’

As the disciple I personally raised, I knew it well.

Elysia’s talent as a swordswoman.

It was her eye for observing opponents.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Elysia’s eyes, capable of catching every minute movement, every subtle muscle twitch, were what made her the ‘pinnacle of swordsmanship.’

This time, too, it was thanks to those eyes that she was able to recognize me immediately.

“I see. That’s a relief. I was worried you might not recognize me.”

“So this is your true form, Master. It’s fascinating.”

“It’s a bit plain compared to my appearance as Terda, isn’t it?”

It certainly is.

A giant body, nearly two meters tall.

Muscles that supported that body.

And platinum blonde hair flowing.

My appearance in the other world was the typical archetype of a chosen hero.

In contrast, now I look a bit delicate and plain.

“Not at all. Your current appearance, Master… is simply your appearance.”

“Is that so? Ha-ha.”

Still, Elysia saw my current appearance favorably.

“You’ve become a little… cuter… perhaps… *Ahem!* No, that’s not it.”

“?”

Just now she asked me to pretend I hadn’t heard her words.

Now Elysia was subtly appealing to me.

After continuing our personal chat, we moved on to the main topic.

“I see. Monsters from our world are appearing in your world, Master…”

“And people with magical powers have appeared too, apparently. There was nothing like that in this world before.”

Elysia pondered the situation with a serious expression.

“How are things on your side? There were still some remnants of the Demon Lord’s army, weren’t there?”

“Things on our end are almost completely settled. Most of the remnants are weakened because they aren’t receiving the Demon Lord’s demonic energy anymore…”

If so, how are the monsters appearing in this world so vigorous?

It seems the only person who might have even a slight clue about this situation is her.

Saint Irene.

She might know something.

After all, I was summoned across dimensions to be a hero in another world, which was part of the history of the goddess the Saint believed in.

“Perhaps it’s faster to ask Irene after all.”

“Indeed, the Saintess might know something.”

“Then, I’ll release the summon, and could you ask her?”

Elysia paused for a moment after hearing my request.

Then, with a slightly sulky expression, she opened her mouth.

“I’ve only just reunited with you, Master, after so long… Could I… stay a little longer?”

“Ah… you want to?”

I was a little flustered by her words.

Because Elysia had always had a resolute expression and only said, “Yes, understood, Master,” no matter what I asked.

It felt unfamiliar and surprising to hear her express her emotions and utter such a petulant remark.

“Well, it’s not urgent anyway. We can take our time.”

At my words, Elysia’s expression softened.

For Elysia, postponing my request was a first.

It must have taken quite a bit of courage for her to say that.

‘I’ve known her for ten years, but this is the first time I’ve seen her like this.’

Both the confession earlier.

And the way she’s acting now.

It seems her feelings have changed quite a bit while I was gone.

While I was comforting Elysia and we were talking about other topics.

Suddenly, the voice of a news anchor from the TV I had left on caught my ear.

“Breaking news! While the Mir Guild is engaged in battle with a horde of ‘Griffins’ descending from North Korea, there are reports of another monster horde heading south via a completely different route.”

Elysia and my gaze simultaneously turned towards the TV.

“Satellite imagery confirms that approximately 30 large entities are moving south along the coast at a speed of 40 km/h. Their exact species has not yet been identified, but they are believed to be monsters originating from at least an A-rank gate.”

According to the news report, no countermeasures seemed to have been prepared yet for the monsters descending along the coast.

“A-rank or higher is quite dangerous.”

As I stroked my chin with a worried expression, Elysia spoke.

“Is it enough to worry you, Master?”

“For now, I’ve completely lost my strength, so fighting those kinds of creatures would be difficult.”

Elysia rose, wearing an expression that seemed to say she understood.

“Then I will go and take care of them. Creatures that could pose a threat to your safety, Master, must be eliminated beforehand.”

Elysia instantly radiated killing intent with a fierce gaze.

“If you go, I have to go too.”

The constraint of the ‘Dimensional Summon’ skill.

There was a description that summoned beings could not move beyond a certain distance from the caster.

“Don’t worry, Master. I will guarantee your safety.”

Indeed, with Elysia here, there’s no need to worry about danger.

Moreover, since they are monsters appearing from an A-rank gate.

Most Awakened would only increase the damage if they tried to fight them.

It would be a wise choice for Elysia to go first.

‘…And, of course, the magic stones that come from dealing with them.’

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t tempted.

Just dealing with D-rank gate goblins earned 500 million.

There’s no telling how much I’d earn by wiping out A-rank gate monsters.

But there was a problem.

“But, it’s quite a distance.”

A distance that would take at least 30 minutes by car.

If I had my hero-era body, it would be a 10-minute run.

But now I’m just an ordinary person.

Moreover, I don’t have a license or a car, so I’d have to use public transportation.

And there’s no way buses would be running in the middle of the night.

“You don’t need to worry about that.”

Elysia hesitated, seemingly pondering for a moment.

Then, she shyly crept closer to me, turned her back, and knelt down.

“Ahem! You… you can just… ride on my back…”

With an inexplicably expectant expression.

Elysia suggested I ride on her back.

As if she was embarrassed herself and wanted me to quickly get on.

Her head wasn’t even looking at me, but her hand was gesturing for me to lean on her back.

…We weren’t the kind of relationship to naturally engage in this much physical contact.

A piggyback ride, of all things.

“A piggyback ride… that’s a bit much.”

“Ma-Master. There’s no time to hesitate. Uh… right now, monsters might be holding swords to innocent people…!”

There was no good reason to refuse.

Though I wasn’t thrilled, I had no choice but to get on Elysia’s back.

In that state, Elysia and I became one, soaring through the night sky.

*Whoosh–!!*

Against the backdrop of the white moon in the dark sky.

A pair, a man and a woman, soared through the buildings.

*Whoosh, whoosh–!*

“Ugh… Elysia… a little slower…!”

“Heh-heh, Master, just bear with it a little longer. We’ll be there soon!”

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh–!!*

Elysia’s back wasn’t a very comfortable ride.

Elysia subtly seemed to glance back at me, a faint smile on her face.

It felt like she was doing it on purpose.

It seemed like a small act of revenge against me for abandoning her and leaving for my hometown.