The next day, Shin and Schnee prepared to join Tiera and decided to visit their acquaintances in Erkunt to inform them of their imminent departure . In other countries, they would have left immediately, but in Erkunt they had made many acquaintances , from the king to former players .
Shin first informed the guild that they would leave on a journey, as to not be reprimanded again . Then, they headed to the institute of magic to meet Hilamee . Being former players, they decided to keep in contact in case anything happened . Just then, Luxuria arrived: she had somehow caught wind of Shin’s departure .
“You’re going already? You could take it easy a little longer…”
Luxuria grabbed Shin’s right hand and brought it to her chest, looking up at him with pleading eyes . While she didn’t state it outright, it was clear that she wished for him to stay there forever .
“My comrades contacted me, looks like they got involved in something troublesome . We’re in the same party, so I can’t ignore them, can I?”
Shin spoke while slowly removing his hand from Luxuria’s grip, thinking that her gaze alone would be enough to make any Chosen One fall for her .
The fact that Tiera sent him a message meant that his assistance was needed .
“We plan to leave right after we’ve said our goodbyes . ”
“That’s really sudden…”
“It can’t be helped . Ms . Luxuria, you should know when to give up . ”
Masakado, who had joined them in Erkunt just a few days before, was rather dejected . Hilamee agreed with Shin and tried to appease Luxuria, but she didn’t hide the fact that she felt lonely as well .
For former players that knew of the game era and the current era, they couldn’t help but hope for Shin to be in the same country, if possible .
“I’m a former devil, of course I don’t know that . ”
Luxuria herself knew that it was impossible to keep Shin there . She wasn’t acting, she really felt lonely .
“…well, it can’t be helped, can it . I’d like to go with you, but I grew fond of this place, so that won’t do either . ”
Luxuria had grown quite attached to her title of health officer of the institute of magic . Masakado added: now that she was an angel, the infirmary had gained a divine-like atmosphere .
“I didn’t do anything special though . ”
“Why not use the chance to behave more angel-like too?”
“If you mean that you like the well-behaved type better, I’ll think about it . ”
Luxuria talked while looking at Schnee and Shin raised his hands in surrender . He just meant to crack a joke but felt that any more banter wouldn’t sound like a joke at this point .
“In any case…thank you both for everything . If you ever come around here again, please visit . You will always be welcome . ”
“Next time visit when I’m here too!”
Shin and Schnee still had places to visit, so Hilamee and Masakado prompted them to go . At the rate they were going, they wouldn’t ever stop talking, so Shin gladly took the cue .
“It’s a pity, but I very much look forward to seeing you again…”
Luxuria finally gave up and said her goodbyes . Before Shin could reply, though, she went up to him and whispered:
“That thing you gave me after the battle…makes me feel like I’m always being embraced by you, so it’ll do for a while . But next time, you’ll have to keep me warm yourself, okay?”
“Wait, what!?”
Shin hurriedly closed Luxuria’s mouth, but it was too late: the bomb had already been dropped . Hilamee and Masakado tilted their heads, as they hadn’t heard clearly, but Schnee was next to Shin, so she had to have heard everything .
Shin, slowly and timidly, turned towards her, but found her smiling as usual .
(She’s the same as always…chillingly so . )
Shin understood well how terrifying it was for her to remain unchanged . He wasn’t inferior to her in terms of ability, but he definitely couldn’t win against her as far as their relationship’s power balance went .
“Well, Shin? We should go soon, or we won’t be able to depart before the sun sets . ”
“Y-yeah, you’re right . So, see you guys . If anything bad happens, don’t hesitate to contact us . ”
Egged on by Schnee’s smile, Shin quickly left the institute . The remaining locations were the royal castle, where Sherlene and the others were, and Vulcan’s workshop . They hadn’t met Lecus and the other students, but, because of Avaritia’s attack, many inquiries and messengers were keeping them busy, so they couldn’t move freely .
Since there was no other way, Shin left a letter and some items as parting gifts for them .
“I see, so you’re leaving . It’s a pity…sir Namsaar wanted to thank you in person too . ”
“My comrades requested my help, after all . I’m glad that Namsaar recovered, though . ”
Sherlene said that Namsaar had regained consciousness and was gradually recovering, though he still struggled to move on his own . After waking up, he had apparently said that he would take responsibility for the incident and step down from his position as leader of the knights .
King Kreunzeit, however, pressured him to earn more accomplishments to cover for this failure and stopped him . Shin and Schnee said that if Namsaar stepped down, there would not be much difference between Sherlene and Fagall, so he resolved to strive more to fight for the country .
The problem was that there was no one skilled enough to succeed him . That was how important Namsaar and the two Heroes were for Erkunt .
“Then, we will be going now . Thank you for finding the time to meet us .
Shin and Schnee had arrived during training, so they kept their farewell brief .
Sherlene and Fagall thought of stopping them, but after hearing that Shin’s comrades needed his assistance, they couldn’t . They saw Shin and Schnee off with bitter smiles .
Shin thought that if he lingered in the royal castle he could get involved in something troublesome, so they left quickly . Disappearing without a word would be disrespectful, so he visited the people he knew more, but he didn’t have much time to spare .
Soon enough, Shin and Schnee reached the next destination, the workshop that had become quite familiar by then .
Vaal was at the reception desk with about three other dwarves nearby . Based on past experiences, it was clear that they were there hoping to catch a glimpse of Schnee .
“Good day, Shin, Yuki—are you in a hurry, perhaps?”
“Wow, keen eye as usual . Yeah, we’ve got some urgent business to take care of, so we have to leave right away, but it felt wrong to do so without a word, so we came . ”
“!?”
“That’s a pity . I’m sure the boss will say the same too . ”
The dwarves reacted to Shin’s words with evident disappointment .
“Where’s the boss?”
“He went to a craftsmen’s meeting . The situation has improved, but the city still needs rebuilding . When will you depart?”
“That’s a shame, we have to leave today . It’s faster if we run instead of using a horse carriage, so we don’t need to make any preparations . ”
“Eh!? Today!?”
Vaal didn’t expect them to leave the same day as the visit, so he was very surprised .
“That’s why we’re in a hurry . Please tell Vulcan that I’m looking forward to talking about smithing with him the next time we come . ”
“…understood . Please take care . ”
Shin and Schnee left Vaal and the dwarves and headed towards the gate . He was strangely impressed by the sight of the three dwarves, crying and waving handkerchiefs as they saw them off .
“Ok, shall we go?”
“Yes . ”
Shin and Schnee passed Erkunt’s gate, waited until they were in a place where no one could see them, and then started running . They used 【Hiding】 at the same time, so they could go as fast as they wanted without worrying about being seen .
Their destination was the elf village called 『Lanapacea』 . Shin had never heard of it, but Schnee said to have been there before .
“The resurrection of the World Tree…according to Tiera’s message, it isn’t completely dried up, so hopefully we can do something . ”
“That’s right . Personally, I’m more worried about Tiera . ”
“About Tiera? What do you mean?”
Schnee’s tone and expression gave Shin a very bad feeling .
“The Lanapacea village is Tiera’s hometown . I believe that is the reason why, as she wrote in the message, things aren’t progressing well . ”
“…I see . ”
Shin recalled the image he had seen of Tiera holding the remains of a woman, weeping loudly .
“Tiera is an adult now, so maybe there is no reason to worry…but please keep it in mind, just in case . ”
“Got it . ”
Schnee didn’t seem to be all that worried about any potential issues . After all, Tiera had always been together with Schnee since losing her homeland . They had lived together far longer than Shin had .
Shin nodded, thinking that her judgement could be trusted more than his .
After all, hundreds of years had gone by, so it wouldn’t be strange if they had come to an agreement .
“Anyway, she was teleported next to her hometown…it feels like it was intended . ”
Shin noticed that he had never heard the name of Tiera’s hometown before . Her message didn’t mention it either and he wasn’t aware of the circumstances surrounding Tiera after she was cursed .
Shin thought that it was probably tied to her particular status as Priestess of the World Tree .
Other than Yuzuha and Kagerou, the experienced Shibaid was with her too . If something truly dangerous happened, he would surely contact them via Mind Chat . The message didn’t describe their situation in detail, but it looked like they were stuck at an impasse . In order to break through it, Shin’s assistance was needed .
“Anyway, let’s hurry while resting when we can . ”
They would take proper rest at night in Tsuki no Hokora and use the remaining time to proceed . They planned to maintain the maximum speed possible, while ensuring they wouldn’t arrive at Lanapacea exhausted .
“Understood . Oh, there is something I must ask you later, so please give me some time tonight . ”
“Okay, got it . ”
Shin answered Schnee casually, but he had forgotten . Forgotten that, now that there were no immediate emergencies, he could not avoid being interrogated about certain things .
“The meaning of Luxuria’s words: being enveloped by you . I will need a thorough explanation, is that clear?”
“Gwah!?”
What Shin explained that night and what happened next is a secret only Shin and Schnee knew .
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