Kousuke, having returned from Asura’s Divine Realm, proceeded with the travel preparations in the management layer.
That said, the modified wagon was already prepared, so all that was left was to gather the minor items.
While the main objective of this journey was the Divine Realm Conversion of the Central Continent, there was also the goal of thoroughly exploring the continent at the foot of the towers.
Although he had visited in passing using the Teleport Gates before, he had never circumnavigated the continent.
This was true not only for Kousuke but for the other members as well.
If anything, it was only Colette and Silvia from before Kousuke met them who had wandered parts of the continent as adventurers.
For this reason, the other members were also somewhat looking forward to this journey.
Colette and Peach would not be able to accompany them for the entire trip due to child-rearing, but Shurein, Silvia, and Floria had declared they would follow unless something special arose.
Therefore, the travel preparations were not shouldered solely by Kousuke; the women were also involved.
As a result, the day after Kousuke returned from the Divine Realm, Kousuke and his party appeared in a northern town on the Central Continent.
The northern town bustled as a port of embarkation for ships heading from the Central Continent to the North Continent.
In the past, it had shown significant movements such as opposing Razek Amamiya, but now there was no trace of that.
It was possible that something was happening unbeknownst to Razek Amamiya, but such things could happen in other towns as well.
In short, the northern town at present was not showing any signs of rebellion against Razek Amamiya, and it bustled while enjoying its benefits.
Of course, just because they were on the same continent did not mean they were identical to other towns.
Due to the influx of people and culture from the North Continent, it had a different atmosphere from other towns.
The northern town, which had originally been strongly influenced by the North Continent, retained that atmosphere unchanged.
Kousuke and his party, having teleported to the northern town, did not take time to enjoy the town’s atmosphere and instead first moved to a place slightly outside the southern part of the town.
By performing the first ritual there, they would begin the Divine Realm Conversion work that would follow.
To put it simply, they would draw lines of divine power from this location, circle around the Central Continent, and return to this spot to form a single ring.
By performing similar rituals at six locations, including this one, and then performing the ritual again at this spot after connecting the lines, the Central Continent would be converted into a Divine Realm.
Since the act of drawing lines with divine power was the most important, aerial travel using Hiryu was not possible.
In that regard, the modified wagon, which would travel on the ground, was slower than Hiryu but was the perfect (or perhaps not so perfect) means of transportation for this ritual.
Having moved to a secluded spot, Kousuke and his party were busy preparing for the ritual.
However, since Kousuke was the one actually performing the ritual, he was the only one busy.
The other members, being outside the town, were keeping watch to ensure they were not ambushed by monsters.
Moreover, even though it was outside the town, it was not so far that it would take hours to walk, and the monsters that appeared were not particularly strong.
And most importantly, perhaps because Nana was with them, no monsters approached.
The members’ watch was focused more on ensuring that parties of monster hunters were not approaching rather than on monsters themselves.
Since they might not come from the direction of the town, Shurein and the others were keeping watch in all four directions.
Meanwhile, Kousuke was steadily advancing the preparations for the ritual.
Since this ritual was for converting the entire continent into a Divine Realm, it could not be completed with just a norito.
Therefore, a magic circle was also being prepared on the ground, but if various things were used carelessly, evidence would remain.
Considering the future, it was important not to leave any such evidence, so various measures were being taken.
Kouhi and Mitsuki were working beside Kousuke to take on such supportive roles.
Furthermore, it was also their role to make any visible phenomena that might occur afterward invisible.
Although there were likely no individuals capable of performing such rituals in this world, they were still taking every precaution given the nature of the ritual.
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After an hour of work at the ritual site, Kousuke finally nodded with satisfaction.
“Alright. Is this alright? …… Nana! Come here!”
At a corner of the magic circle, drawn with materials that would leave no evidence later, Kousuke called out to Nana.
Nana, who had been on guard, joyfully rushed to Kousuke’s location upon being called.
Where Kousuke was standing, a circle about one meter in diameter was drawn.
“Nana, stay in the center of this circle… ah, that’s right. Sitting would be good, wouldn’t it?”
To Nana, who seemed to be asking how, Kousuke added that explanation.
As if in response, Nana wagged her tail left and right at that spot.
After confirming Nana’s tail wagging, Kousuke instructed her to stay there until he said otherwise and moved to a different location.
It was a spot directly opposite Nana.
Kouhi and Mitsuki stood outside the drawn magic circle.
Shurein and the others, who were observing, watched from a distance further away from Kouhi and Mitsuki.
With all preparations complete, all that was left was for Kousuke to perform the ritual.
Just as Nana was asked to sit at a part of the magic circle, Kousuke intended to involve those connected to him in the Divine Realm Conversion ritual.
Specifically, it would be performed involving the Three Divine Beasts and divine tools.
Therefore, Nana was designated as the first.
At the subsequent five locations, a Divine Beast or a divine tool would be placed where Nana was currently located.
Kousuke, having arrived at his designated spot, relaxed his shoulders and began to chant the norito.
As Kousuke uttered his first word, the magic circle drawn on the ground emitted light, and immense power erupted from Kousuke.
“This is…”
Floria, who was observing from the outside, let out a groan and looked at Silvia.
Silvia, too, had a stern expression but shook her head from side to side.
“…I understand what you want to say, but stopping midway would be more dangerous.”
The power emanating from Kousuke was such that it could, at worst, feel life-threatening.
Shurein, who was observing the ritual like Silvia and Floria, also had a stern look on her face.
However, seemingly undisturbed by the onlookers, Kousuke continued the ritual with an expression as if nothing out of the ordinary was happening.
In fact, although he recognized that great power was being used, he did not feel any life-threatening danger as Silvia and the others feared.
Kousuke continued chanting the norito, showing no sign of noticing Silvia and the others looking at him with pale faces.
And when Kousuke finished chanting the norito, just like a scene he had seen before, the magic circle that was glowing on the ground began to rise towards the sky.
At first, it was slow like a turtle’s pace, then it gradually accelerated, and in the end, it disappeared into the sky at a speed that the naked eye could not follow.
Of course, these scenes were made invisible to anyone other than the members by Kouhi and Mitsuki’s abilities.
Thus, the first ritual performed at this location was concluded.
Since it would be troublesome if the ritual attracted attention and was studied, it was conducted under strict alert measures.
