The children, having stayed one night in the northern town, returned to their village with Colette and Peach.
Kousuke had properly explained that he couldn’t return with them as he had business here.
After seeing the children off, Kousuke and the others headed to the outskirts of the northern town.
The location was, of course, the very place where they had performed the first ritual.
“…Hmm. It’s just a normal plain, but it feels profound when I look at it like this,” Kousuke mumbled as he surveyed the surroundings before starting preparations for the ritual.
Hearing Kousuke’s mumbling, Silvia smiled and replied, “It was the beginning of a long journey, wasn’t it?”
“That’s right. And, if you think about it, this is the first time I’ve traveled all over the Central Continent,” Kousuke said.
It had been over twenty years since Kousuke came to this world, but he had never done anything like circling the Central Continent as he had this time.
Before conquering Amamiya Tower, when he was adventuring with Kouhi and Mitsuki, he had thought about being able to see the whole world someday, and now it felt like a part of that dream had finally been achieved.
And because of that, Kousuke’s heart was full of various emotions.
As Kousuke stood there, Shurein and Floria, who had been on guard, approached him.
It seemed they had overheard the conversation between Kousuke and Silvia, as both were smiling.
“When you say things like that, Kousuke, you sound like an old man!”
“Indeed. You can travel the world as much as you want from now on, so don’t talk as if this is the last time,” Shurein added, agreeing with Floria. Hearing this, Kousuke slumped his shoulders.
“An… old man… No, well, I suppose it might sound that way depending on how you hear it,” Kousuke replied, feeling dejected. Just as Silvia was about to comfort him, something very rare occurred.
“What are you saying? Master is always wonderful,” Kouhi chimed in.
“That’s right. At least as far as appearance goes, you’ll be like this for a while longer, won’t you?” Mitsuki added. Kouhi and Mitsuki, who usually didn’t interject in such situations, spoke up. They too had traveled the Central Continent for five months and felt something about witnessing the completion of a ritual.
Shurein and Floria, looking surprised, flustered, and awkward at this unexpected intervention, quickly said,
“N-no. I don’t think of Kousuke as an old man, either!”
“M-me neither!”
Seeing the two flustered, Silvia put a hand to her mouth and stepped in to support them.
“It’s alright. Kousuke-san doesn’t think you two are seriously considering that,” Silvia reassured them. Kousuke, looking at Silvia and then nodding, also covered his mouth and agreed.
“Of course not. …Well, there’s no point in talking about this forever, so let’s get started,” Kousuke said, looking at Shurein and Floria, who had relieved expressions. The others then moved away from Kousuke’s side, just as they had done during previous rituals.
Once Kousuke confirmed that the women had moved a sufficient distance away, he began preparations for the ritual.
This time, unlike previous rituals, there was no need to place divine beasts or divine tools.
There was also no need to prepare magic circles, so Kousuke could begin with just himself.
Thinking there was no point in prolonging it, Kousuke immediately began chanting the norito.
However, after chanting only two or three words of the norito, Kousuke lowered his raised right hand. It wasn’t that it was no longer necessary for the ritual. Rather, the ritual was interrupted due to an unexpected development. Kousuke involuntarily looked up at the sky in response to the unforeseen situation.
Seeing Kousuke’s reaction, the others quickly realized that the ritual had not gone smoothly. They exchanged glances and then hurried towards Kousuke.
“What’s wrong, Kousuke!?”
“Was there some unforeseen event?”
“Kousuke-san!”
Kousuke, with a wry smile, shook his head and said to the women who had rushed over in a panic, “Ah, no, well. It’s not that the ritual failed… Floria, you’re the closest, aren’t you?”
“Me…? Is it an unforeseen event?”
“Yes, that. It was a bit unexpected, or rather, I miscalculated something. It might be… a bit… no, quite? Dangerous?”
The others gasped at Kousuke’s uncharacteristically ominous words.
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The current ritual was to create a hexagram around the Central Continent. To achieve this, Kousuke had specially traveled overland around the continent, linking the six points that would form the vertices of the hexagram.
However, the rituals performed at each location did not create a precise hexagram. Each ritual automatically adjusted to ensure the accurate formation of the hexagram. Naturally, Kousuke had intended the same for the final ritual, but the current outcome made it clear that this approach would not work.
Upon hearing Kousuke’s explanation, Floria sighed. She understood Kousuke’s concern about the “danger.” “So, in other words? Does it mean that the final ritual must be performed on-site?”
“Ah, yes. Well, something like that,” Kousuke replied. The “on-site” here referred to the vertex point located above the hexagram. More precisely, for this ritual, it meant the northern sea, far from the northern town. Based on past experience, traveling by land route (in this case, sea route) would mean finding a ship and heading to that location. Furthermore, they couldn’t stay in the same place for too long, so they would need to find a ship willing to take them there by the next night.
The women’s reactions to understanding the need for a ship were divided. More accurately, all members except Floria looked concerned about the difficulty of finding a ship in just one night. Floria, alone, sighed again as she looked at the expressions of Kousuke and the others.
“As expected, you all didn’t realize it either?” Shurein asked, sensing Floria’s realization. “If you say that, does it mean Floria has a way to prepare a ship?”
“Eh? You have a plan!?” Kousuke enquired with surprise. Floria nodded and turned her gaze to Silvia.
“I do. Actually, while I understand Kousuke not realizing it, Silvia, I’m surprised you didn’t. …Well, perhaps it’s understandable in a way.” Silvia looked at Floria in surprise, having no idea what she was referring to.
“Even though Silvia worked with me on the site’s operations for a long time, it was limited to religious matters, after all,” Floria explained. As Floria spoke, the others also had a look of realization.
Seeing the others’ expressions, Floria nodded and continued, “That’s right. Since we’re at it, we should ask the country for help.”
“That’s true… but, is it really okay?” Kousuke worried that seeking help at this time might lead to complicated issues. Floria shook her head.
“No need to worry. Rather, I think Towa would be happy to lend us her help, wouldn’t she? Have you forgotten the original reason for this matter?” The original plan was for Kousuke to create his own divine realm in exchange for Mia controlling part of the tower’s functions to deal with other countries interfering with the Central Continent. Considering that, Floria believed that having Towa’s help to prepare a ship would be a minor matter. Moreover, it would be more problematic for Razek Amamiya later if a private ship were hired and casually observed Kousuke’s ritual. Floria declared to those present that they would gladly lend them a ship or two rather than risk that.
It seemed like it would go smoothly, but at the very end, an unexpected situation arose! lol. After this, with Towa’s help, everything was resolved.
