About five months have passed since the ritual was performed in the suburbs of the Northern Town.
Kousuke and his companions finally returned to the Northern Town, their final destination.
“Whoa. We finally made it.”
“Big town!”
“Northern town!”
As Kousuke looked at the Northern Town with deep emotion, Seiya and Shia cheered with joy.
The children didn’t know the details of the ritual Kousuke was performing, but they knew from experience that they had been traveling for a long time.
Of course, it wasn’t just the children, but the women who had traveled with them for so long felt the same.
Shurein approached Kousuke and said,
“It seems like we’ve finally arrived.”
Sylvia went on to offer her congratulations.
“Congratulations, Mr. Kousuke.”
“I don’t think it’s time to celebrate yet, as the ritual isn’t over.”
Floria said this to Sylvia with a smile.
These three had been traveling together from the beginning, so they had experienced the hardships together.
That’s why their joy was all the more profound.
Of course, Colette and Peach were equally overjoyed.
However, with the children there, there were still things to consider.
“We can see the Northern Town now, but what do we do next~?”
In response to Peach’s question, Kousuke explained his original plan.
“Ah. We’ll enter the Northern Town as is and rest today. Since we’re here, let’s do some sightseeing with the children.”
Kousuke hadn’t intended to finish the ritual on that very day.
Staying in the same place for one night wouldn’t be a problem, and he wanted to perform the final ritual with utmost care.
Furthermore, he wanted to perform the ritual after an overnight stay and after the children had returned to their village.
Colette and Peach, sensing Kousuke’s thoughts, nodded in agreement.
“Yes. I think that would be for the best.”
“I agree~.”
With the agreement of the three mothers, the children’s future plans were also decided.
“I see. Then, we should take care of the aftermath of our journey.”
“Indeed.”
They needed to organize the various items they had bought during their travels.
Shurein and the others were tasked with this.
Being able to quickly and efficiently discuss and decide things with a sense of familiarity was a result of their journey so far.
***
Kousuke and his companions, having secured lodgings in the Northern Town, immediately began their activities.
However, Kousuke, the two mothers, and the children spent their time leisurely sightseeing in the town.
“So many pilgrims!”
Miku noticed the pilgrims disembarking from ships at the port, the northern gateway, and tugged on Kousuke’s sleeve.
Kousuke thought that her ability to observe important things, despite her gentle nature, was probably due to her mother’s blood.
“Yes. That’s right… but don’t stare too much, okay?”
“Okay!”
Miku, who had honestly nodded to Kousuke’s words, was tightly clutching a Streep doll for children.
In fact, Miku had not let go of the Streep doll for a moment throughout their journey.
She had continued to practice diligently, listening to Mia’s instructions.
Mia, meanwhile, had already returned to the tower.
Believing that Miku wouldn’t get sidetracked even if she were alone, Mia had not accompanied them on the journey, except to assign tasks in towns with Teleport Gates.
Kousuke and Floria’s parental desire to have Mia, who was occupied with tower management, come out had only been half successful.
By the way, the wind chime bought in the Eastern Town is still cherished by Miku.
Even though she seemed satisfied with the Streep, it appeared that one was one thing, and the other was another.
Perhaps it was unusual for a child to have a Streep, Miku occasionally drew sideways glances from people while they were sightseeing.
Most of these glances were affectionate or encouraging, and largely positive, so Kousuke and Peach paid them no mind.
There were also some ill-intentioned glances mixed in, but Kousuke and his companions chose to ignore them as well.
Of course, this was to help them get used to such gazes and to ensure they were aware of them.
It was a form of training, but Peach declared that they still needed more training in this regard.
Furthermore, naturally, Seiya and Shia, who were with them, were also receiving similar glances.
Colette’s reason for not intervening was her own past struggles with people’s gazes after leaving her village, and her agreement with Peach’s educational approach.
She believed that if they got used to it from a young age, they wouldn’t have to bear unnecessary hardships like herself. This was the reason for the current attention from their surroundings towards the two children.
Whether they understood Colette’s parental intentions or not, Seiya and Shia enjoyed sightseeing in the Northern Town, completely unconcerned by the surrounding gazes.
“Could it be that their resilience in these matters is due to inheriting Kousuke’s blood?”
“Eh? I don’t think that’s quite right?”
Kousuke questioned Collette’s words, which he couldn’t ignore.
However, having heard about Colette’s disposition before meeting him from Sylvia, he couldn’t strongly refute her.
“Hmm, well then, let’s just say it’s thanks to Peach.”
“Yes. Let’s do that.”
“Hey, hey~? I feel like I’m being dragged into this~?”
As Kousuke and Colette reached this understanding, Peach interjected as if to protest.
In response to Peach, Kousuke and Colette exchanged glances.
“No, you see…”
“Obviously, you’re used to things like this, aren’t you, Peach?”
“I won’t deny that, but it’s more of a racial trait, isn’t it? Or rather, it would be more problematic if elves lacked this know-how. Perhaps it’s because the entire race tends to seclude themselves in the forest~?”
Kousuke and Colette exchanged glances again, this time for a different reason, at Peach’s sudden remark.
Then, Colette, a (Spirit) Elf, tilted her head and asked Peach.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well, you see~. Both we Succubi and Elves are known for our beauty among Humans, right?”
Kousuke and Colette nodded at Peach’s preamble.
Elves have long been called “Beauties of the Forest,” and Succubi are also famous for their beauty, being a race that charms Humans.
In the past, Succubi, who were considered proactive in matters of sexuality, had interacted not only with Humans but also with various other races.
As a result, the entire race naturally developed methods to protect themselves.
Peach’s “intuition,” which she often mentioned, was one of these methods.
Succubi passed down not only such special abilities but also solid practical skills from generation to generation.
One of these was the training they were currently giving Miku and other children.
On the other hand, Elves, who had always secluded themselves in forests and had not actively interacted with other races, had almost no such know-how.
Even if they were beautiful from the perspective of other races, when a single race lived together, it became the norm, so it was natural for this to happen.
Kousuke and Colette nodded in admiration at Peach, who was unusually eloquent.
“I see. So that’s what you were trying to say.”
“If a race sticks together, various troubles are eliminated, but the things needed for interaction with others also disappear, is that it?”
“That would be about right~. …Hey, Miku! You can’t just start playing here!”
Colette, who had nodded thinking it was a neat explanation, was completely interrupted by Miku’s sudden action.
Watching Peach rush to stop Miku, Kousuke and Colette exchanged glances again and chuckled softly.
Peach was unusually talkative this time.
With this, the long journey of Kousuke and his companions on the Central Continent has come to an end.
Only the final ritual remains!
…However, Chapter 4 ends here.
The remaining story, including the ritual, will be written as the epilogue.
Like the prologue, it will be written in a few chapters and then end… or so it’s supposed to be?
