We returned to Ingrid’s underground city from the dragon’s location, just as we had come, thanks to Clara’s magic.
Kousuke could have used a magic circle to return by himself, but since the women were with him, that wasn’t an option. Furthermore, there was no need to refuse something Clara had gone out of her way to prepare. Kousuke and the women shared the feeling that it was part of the journey, even if it took time to reach their destination. They understood that complaining to Clara about the road, even if it were a desolate, straight path, would be unreasonable.
Putting that aside, Kousuke and the others, having spent the same amount of time returning as they did traveling there, decided to stay another night in Ingrid’s village. Before going to the dragon, they had to pick up the items they had bought in the underground city, and more importantly, there were still other places they wanted to see. Since they were told they didn’t need to return immediately from the underground city of Ingrid, the women, in particular, were very enthusiastic. The reason for their excitement was how much Ingrid’s handcrafted accessories had touched their hearts. By the way, Kousuke had also found something that interested him, but since it was related to tools, he had acquired it separately from the women.
Then, three days after parting with the dragon, Kousuke and his party finally returned to Asgard from the underground city of Ingrid.
“Thank you very much for your hospitality,” Kousuke said, bowing his head to the representative. The representative, looking slightly flustered, waved his right hand.
“No, no. We are the ones who received your hospitality. After all, it’s thanks to you that we were able to meet that person.”
“It’s reassuring to hear you say that.”
“Yes. Well then, I wish you and everyone good health.” As the representative raised his right hand, Kousuke and everyone with him nodded. Clara was among them. She had not been sent back while Kousuke and his group were staying in the underground city and had shrewdly enjoyed sightseeing in the city with them.
Among those who saw them off were the residents of the underground city where they had stayed, as well as representatives from other cities. The fact that there were more people than when Kousuke’s group first arrived was likely due to the interactions they had over the past few days. A somewhat sad expression could be seen on their faces. Nevertheless, Kousuke and his party could not say “we’ll meet again.” They fully understood that Ingrid’s underground city was a special space, not a place one could easily visit.
Ingrid, on the seeing-off side, seemed to understand this as well, as no parting greetings were exchanged. After a somewhat perfunctory conversation, they somehow started walking towards their next destination. Kousuke and his group had heard from Lang that this was Ingrid’s unique way of parting. The Ingrids, who had repeated such partings for a long time, had no intention of changing their customs. Therefore, Kousuke and his party, following the unfamiliar custom, gave a parting as best they could and left the underground city.
♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦♢♦
“This is rather sad,” Shurein murmured softly on the way back to Asgard. Silvia and Floria, though not saying it out loud, Kousuke could tell from their expressions that they felt the same.
“I don’t know when the next time will be, but I think we’ll come again someday,” Kousuke replied vaguely. Shurein looked surprised.
“Hmm. May I ask why?”
“No, it’s not anything specific,” Kousuke replied, shaking his head. However, before anyone else could say anything, Kousuke paused for a moment and continued, “But I don’t know if the Ingrids who are here now will be here when that next opportunity arises.”
“I see…” Shurein nodded sadly at Kousuke’s words. Indeed, if the women became gods and Kousuke himself became a god, the opportunity to return might arise. Nevertheless, Kousuke’s farewell in the Ingrid style was because he wasn’t sure if the Ingrids he visited this time would still be around.
As the subtle atmosphere lingered, Clara, who had been walking ahead, spoke to Kousuke in an unusually bright tone. “By the way, what are we going to do about Amamiya Tower from now on?”
“Hmm? What do you mean?”
“Are we going to accept the Ingrids or not?”
“Well, it’s just as I told that dragon. We’ll accept them as long as we can. But if we judge it to be impossible, we’ll stop there.” Kousuke looked at Shurein as he said this. It was the vampires who were accepting the Ingrids, and there were limits to how many they could protect. Accepting them without limit was impossible, no matter how you looked at it.
Clara nodded in understanding at Kousuke’s answer. She had anticipated this answer, but she had asked the question at this time for two reasons: to change the subject, which was becoming somber, and for another separate reason. Kousuke, realizing this, turned the question back to Clara.
“Is something wrong?”
“No, nothing in particular. It’s just that now that we’ve met that dragon, I thought you, Kousuke, would do something about it.” Kousuke responded with a wry smile to Clara’s answer. He had no intention of retracting his words about not forcibly accepting the Ingrids, but seeing the situation firsthand, his desire to help them had certainly grown stronger than before. However, that didn’t mean he had come up with any good ideas right away.
As Kousuke pondered what to do, Silvia suddenly offered a thought. “Is it not possible to let them live on other floors?”
“Well, you might have forgotten, but the Ingrids are a species that cannot survive without someone’s protection,” Kousuke said again. Silvia sighed and drooped her shoulders, saying, “That’s right.” It was a rare oversight for Silvia.
Floria patted Silvia’s slumped shoulders to comfort her and said, looking at Kousuke, “What about having their familiars protect them?”
“Hmm. I’ve thought about that. But how effective it would be is a bit questionable, don’t you think?” While communicating with fox familiars that could transform into human form might not be a problem, it was uncertain whether interactions with other familiars would go smoothly. Furthermore, few foxes could even take human form, and most of them were involved in running inns or protecting their own kind, so it was difficult to let them go easily. For now, it was hard to say that assigning foxes for the Ingrids was feasible.
Kousuke, who had been racking his brain for a solution, eventually gave up and shook his head. “No. Pushing it further could lead to an accident.”
“Indeed. Since many lives are involved, it’s not something to be decided solely by impulse,” Shurein added in agreement with Kousuke’s words. He didn’t intend to suppress his feelings of pity, but if he let that emotion alone dictate an important decision, it could lead to even greater accidents. In the end, the conclusion was to settle down and carefully consider this problem.
This concludes the discussion about the Ingrids. I feel like I couldn’t use much dialect.
