We live at the foothills of Dragon Peak.
Reunion
Immediately after the courageous divine words resounded.
The desert sand swirled as if to wring the body of the Great Sand Serpent. And then, it easily severed its long, giant body in two!
The Great Sand Serpent, divided into a body buried in the sand and an upper half that had emerged above ground, collapsed with a shriek.
However, it seemed not to have died yet.
The Great Sand Serpent opened its mouth, lined with eerie fangs, and spat out dark, viscous fluid.
“Don’t touch the Great Sand Serpent’s saliva! It’s a poison that dissolves everything!”
People warned each other with vigilant voices.
But the Great Sand Serpent’s counterattack was over.
The Great Sand Serpent continued to shriek, but its upper half, fallen on the sand, became immobile as if bound by something.
“Please finish it while my Older Brother’s divine arts are still effective.”
Then, a clear female voice flowed.
“Ooh,” the people replied, and simultaneously attacked the Great Sand Serpent, whose movements were bound.
Some repeatedly swung their blades, carving into the Great Sand Serpent’s thick hide.
Others severed it with a decisive finishing move.
Some used brute force, others relied on the number of their attacks, and each defeated the Great Sand Serpent with their own preferred method.
The deceased Great Sand Serpent melted away, leaving behind a large, earth-colored Magic Crystal Stone.
“Good cooperation. However, apart from the divine arts, there were no other notable magic or techniques.”
Srain, who had kept his magic sword sheathed and observed, muttered this, realizing he wouldn’t be needed.
“Yeah. The people in this region seem to be weak in arts, so perhaps they are better at fighting centered on their own physical strength and skills than using techniques that lack the power to defeat monsters?”
But that divine art that split the bodies of multiple Great Sand Serpents splendidly and even sealed their movements… and that voice!
“I’ll leave the monster extermination to them, but my real enjoyment starts now. Indeed, that one seems the most interesting!”
“Ah, Srain!!”
Before I could urge him to stop, Srain moved.
With speed that didn’t even leave an afterimage, Srain launched a surprise attack on his intended target!
“!”
The person Srain suddenly attacked gasped, looking into the darkness beyond the night.
However, Srain’s attack, which should have been a complete surprise, was elegantly deflected by the other’s blade.
“Hey, you! What are you doing to my Younger Sister!!”
Without a moment’s delay, the person beside her unleashed an enraged torrent of abuse. And then, he attacked Srain with a sword strike!
“Were you the one who used that divine art earlier? That was a splendid display of power. However, this woman over here is more interesting!”
Srain grinned and easily deflected the intervening sword strike.
And with the same movement, he swung his deflected magic sword again.
Not at the one who intervened, but at the target he had been aiming for from the beginning.
“Srain!”
However, Srain’s magic sword did not reach its intended target.
This is because, this time, I intervened.
Drawing the wooden swords from my hips, I stopped Srain’s heavy blow.
“Elnea-kun!?”
Then, the one I shielded called out from behind me.
A cool and beautiful voice.
To the familiar female voice, I replied while keeping Srain in check.
“Amira, it’s been a while! Alf, you seem well too.”
Among the group being attacked by the Great Sand Serpent under the starry sky were people I knew well.
The powerful words that echoed in the night.
A beautiful voice with a gentle resonance.
Yes. It was the Divine Race siblings, Amira and Alf.
“No way, is it really Elnea!?”
“It is, Alf. But let’s postpone our reunion greetings!”
And so, I faced Srain.
“Srain. These people are my best friends. So, put away your sword. Otherwise, you’ll be forcibly sent back, you know?”
It would be meaningless if I, who came all this way to solve a problem, ended up causing one instead.
If Srain were to go any further berserk, I would have to deal with him seriously.
Perhaps sensing the determination in my eyes, Srain, with a smile, obediently withdrew his magic sword.
“A woman who didn’t flinch when faced with my complete surprise. A man who, despite a momentary delay, drew his sword for his sister regardless of the opponent. And, as expected, Eruru. Truly interesting.”
“The surroundings are not interesting at all!”
In fact, it’s a nuisance!
With the extermination of the Great Sand Serpent over, the surrounding people also started to pay attention to the brief commotion we had caused.
Some, mistaking Ruilala and Cadis for intruders from the same Demon Race as Srain, became wary.
“Oh dear. Srain, you definitely did that on purpose, didn’t you?”
“Why do you think so?”
Srain replied, showing no sign of wanting to fight.
“You deliberately made a showy entrance to leave a strong first impression and make people notice us, didn’t you?”
You were worried that because you arrived to help but didn’t get a chance to show off, your first impression would be weak and you might be underestimated, so you tried to avoid a bad first meeting, right?
But you went too far!
I understand Srain’s consideration, but I don’t want him causing problems.
After all, as expected, Alf is still on guard.
“I understand Alf’s anger if Amira was attacked, but can you forgive this for my sake? Come on, Srain, apologize!”
I pushed Srain’s head down and forced him to apologize.
Srain mumbled, “Only you treat me so carelessly,” but surprisingly, he apologized quite readily.
Watching our exchange, Amira smiled.
“Elnea-kun, you’re always so natural. Come on, Older Brother, you can relax too. If this Demon Race person is Elnea-kun’s friend, I’m sure they’re not a bad person, right?”
“No, they are very bad people. So Amira, you mustn’t go near Srain. If anything troublesome happens, tell me immediately!”
After all, he’s the Mad Abyss Demon Lord! I didn’t actually say that.
However, perhaps my casual and uninhibited behavior worked, because not only Amira, who was smiling, but also Alf finally calmed down.
“If Elnea says so, I guess I have no choice. However, if you try to harm my sister even slightly, I will never forgive you!”
Amira, come here. Alf said, taking Amira’s hand and hiding her behind him. He’s still a wonderful, sister-loving older brother, just like before.
“I’m truly sorry to both of you. Grrr, I intended to help with the monster extermination, but I ended up causing unnecessary trouble.”
Dropping my shoulders, I said, “It’s backwards,” but Alf cheered me up.
“No, you helped. Thanks to you, the Great Sand Serpent came out of the ground. If it had stayed underground, we might have been exhausted.”
“Does that mean I was a delicious bait!?”
Well, I thought I hadn’t been very useful, so if I was helpful even as bait, I’ll consider it good.
“The monster that mistook Elnea for delicious bait has good instincts.”
“But also foolish.”
Without minding the curious stares of the surroundings, Ruilala and Cadis approached us.
So, I introduced them to Amira and Alf.
“Both of you. These three Demon Race people are my companions. This berserker is Srain. The silver-haired gentle man is Cadis. Ruilala… you’ve met her before, so you know her, right?”
When we were defeating the Demon King, you must have seen her even if you weren’t close, right?
Alf and Amira nodded, without mentioning the Demon King’s defeat.
“Srain, Cadis, Ruilala. These two are the Divine Race siblings I told you about before. Be nice to each other.”
The reason I came all the way to the Eastern Continent in the first place was because Alf and Amira seemed to be involved with the Holy Knight Academy.
If that weren’t the case, I would have hesitated to come, even with the shadow of forbidden techniques.
Of course, I had also told the three of them about Alf and Amira.
After all, they are to become Divine Race and Demon Race.
If I don’t explain properly, problems could arise immediately upon meeting.
…Huh?
It feels like there’s already been a bit of trouble, but is that just my imagination?
Let’s forget about it.
By the way, I definitely didn’t mention that they are descendants of the Fighting God, or that Amira inherited the power of the Fighting God.
Those are things that absolutely must be kept hidden.
Especially from Srain!
As I took this opportunity to introduce both parties, people from the surroundings started to gather.
“Alf, are these people your acquaintances?”
“Amira, were you alright?”
“What are these people?”
Although Alf and Amira have relaxed, others are still highly vigilant.
After all, they are people who don’t know us at all.
Moreover, when they thought we came to help with monster extermination, Srain suddenly attacked Amira!
Ah, I remembered it again…
“Old man, you all have worked hard to exterminate monsters.”
Alf said this to the people who had gathered, and then he introduced me.
“This is a human kid named Elnea. As you know, we came from the west, but he’s a best friend who lived near our hometown.”
Alf-san laughed heartily.
He’s probably trying to ease everyone’s tension by speaking in a lighthearted tone.
“Elnea-kun is our lifesaver, Older Brother and me. So, he’s not a bad person. As for the Demon Race people… since they seem to be Elnea-kun’s companions, they’re probably good people, right?”
Amira also smiled gently.
Even though she was suddenly attacked by Srain, she forgave them because they are my companions.
Amira is truly a good person!
“If the two of you say so, then let’s leave it at that.”
There were about ten people who had gathered.
They were a mix of men and women, but mostly young people.
I couldn’t tell their race, but since Alf emphasized “human” when referring to me, there must be some people who can’t intuitively distinguish races.
“To everyone, I apologize again. I meant to help, but I ended up causing trouble, so I’m sorry.”
I was the only one who apologized!
Not only Srain, who caused the problem, but also Cadis and Ruilala, none of them bowed their heads!
Well, from the Demon Race’s perspective, a commotion without destruction or bloodshed probably doesn’t count as a commotion.
“If Alf and Amira don’t mind, then we have no problem. More importantly, why are you all in such a place?”
That’s also our question.
Why were Alf-san, Amira-san, and the others exterminating monsters in the middle of this desert?
It’s possible they were just attacked by monsters and were exterminating them, but that’s just a possibility.
But the real question is why Alf-san and the others were in a desert where nothing could be seen.
Moreover, Uncle Luludodo’s figure is nowhere to be seen among the entourage.
Uncle Luludodo should be traveling with Alf and Amira to train them and protect them from assassins from the Divine Race Empire.
Amira, perhaps sensing my looking around, said.
“Lord Luludodo is waiting in a nearby village. He said that we alone would be fine for this level of monster extermination request.”
“Extermination request…? So, you all received a request from that village or somewhere and came to exterminate these monsters?”
Alf nodded to my question.
“We are all learning Kenjutsu at the Holy Knight Academy. Various requests come in there. Like exterminating monsters and Yōma.”
“I see!”
The Holy Knight Academy, established in the great desert, is where those aiming for the pinnacle of the sword gather.
A place where skilled warriors gather naturally attracts requests to solve problems that are difficult for ordinary people.
Alf and the others were out on such a request to exterminate monsters.
“Your situation… well, you have a lot going on this time too, don’t you? The fact that you’re adventuring in a place like this with Demon Race members instead of Mist, and so on?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
“Well then, tell us about it as we head back to the village. Talking in a place with nothing but sand will just make our throats dry.”
Alf said this and instructed everyone to withdraw.
The surrounding people also began to move according to Alf’s instructions.
“Are you perhaps the person in charge of this group, Alf?”
“No, Amira is the captain as she has the most skill. But well, I’m better at giving these kinds of instructions.”
“An older brother borrowing his sister’s authority!”
“Shut up!”
Alf, laughing, said “Don’t say unnecessary things,” and began preparing to withdraw himself.
