Chapter 155 - My Darling Diva Daughter

The meeting with King Gandhilis went well enough that he agreed to attend

the next meeting of the allied nations.

Even though the Phrase and the mutants were long gone, it was still

important to keep having international conferences. If anything, it was more

important than ever, since we wanted to bridge the cultural divide between the

eastern and western continents.

We needed to ensure that the countries on the eastern continent familiarized

themselves with Gollems and magical technology, while at the same time

getting the countries of the western continent more familiar with general

magic. To do that, the heads of state all needed to come to a mutual

understanding.

As an example of broadening this kind of cultural awareness, I did a magical

aptitude test on King Gandhilis and Princess Cordelia. Maybe it was because

they were from a mining nation, but they both had the potential for Earth magic

within them. After a little guidance from Leen, they managed to cast an

elementary spell called [Stone Bullet]. Earth magic was fairly simplistic, but it

had a lot of practical applications when it came to stuff like mining.

I gave them a beginner's manual for Earth magic, and everything went pretty

smoothly as far as first international meetings could go. If only it were always so

simple...

Usually, I ended up getting caught up in weird situations where I had to solve

problems for the countries before they'd talk to me... Though honestly, you

could probably consider the whole Ark thing a weird enough situation on its

own.

The wicked devout... Whoever or whatever they were, I wasn't about to let

them bring chaos to this fledgling world. Not when peace was right on our

doorstep.

After saying our goodbyes to the royals of Gandhilis, we headed back to

Balmung and made preparations to return to Brunhild. I could've simply used

[Gate] to go back, but Arcia wanted to cook for us.

"Look, father! Look! Eat up!"

"R-Right, I get it! I'll eat!"

The Balmung dining room was filled to the brim with food.

There's way too much here... She made enough for a goddamn imperial

feast... I can't eat this, not on my own... Why didn't I bring Yae?! This is what

she does best!

"Oh my, this is delicious. What do you call it, Arcia?"

"That's apple and cheese wrapped in prosciutto, Mother Leen. The ham itself

is from a Bloodboar."

Wait, Bloodboars are those giant white pigs you find in snowy places... Never

realized they tasted this good...

Lu chomped down a mouthful of our daughter's cooking.

"Interesting... The sweet-and-sour elements of the apple mix very well with

the saltiness from the ham... I'm very impressed."

"Oh? I never thought you'd praise me so highly, mother. How kind of you,"

Arcia said with a smug look on her face, as if to quietly communicate her

personal feelings of victory.

Please don't put me in a tough spot again...

"However...if I were you, I'd add lemon juice or black pepper as the final

accent. It falls just short of perfection, I'm afraid."

"Urgh! O-Obviously I knew that!"

Welp, looks like Lu struck right back... She's got a real smug look on her face

now too... You really are mother and daughter, you know that?

There was too much food in front of me. Enough to overwhelm my sense of

sight and smell, let alone taste. I attempted to take a little respite from the

feast, turning to Arcia with a burning question.

"Where's Quun?"

"She's in the ship's hangar with the other two, taking apart the Gollem they

recovered. I tried calling them in, but they didn't really reply..."

Ugh... Once they're focused on something, they just won't quit. Get in here

and help me, guys... Please... There's way too much here for me to eat on my

own! Wait, I can just go grab them. Yeah, I'm not fleeing the feast! I'll come

back!

I walked into the hangar and saw Doc Babylon, Elluka, and Quun all sitting on

the floor, staring at something. They had frustrated looks on their faces.

Dismembered and discarded Gollem parts were strewn about the room,

apparently exhausted of any possible intel.

I peeked over at what they were all staring at. It was a red octahedron about

the size of a baseball.

"What's this?"

"The G-Cube we recovered from the Gollem... It's clearly an operational

power source, but it's different from a normal Gollem's composition."

"Different how?"

"Most of the parts are from standard combat Gollems...but the Q-Crystal is

from a soldat."

I didn't really understand what they were getting at. What made it so

different from a normal modded Gollem?

"It's a Gollem, yet at the same time...it's not. An unknown entity created by

combining factors that shouldn't be combined."

"And look at this red thing! It functions like a G-Cube, that much I've

surmised...but it's a complete enigma. Not even my [Analyze] works on it."

Doc Babylon held up the octahedron to the light. It was a bloodred,

translucent gem, as far as I could tell. Still, the fact that [Analyze] hadn't

worked on it was concerning...

Let me try my divine sight... Oh... Now that's interesting.

"Don't handle that without protection. There are traces of the wicked god's

divinity leaking out of it. It's nothing too dangerous, but it might make you ill."

Doc Babylon immediately dropped the octahedron, letting it fall to the hangar

floor with a clatter.

"The wicked god? Didn't you kill that?"

"Yeah, I did. But apparently there's some residue left or something."

Both Elluka and Doc Babylon raised their eyebrows at that, turning to me and

asking about the residue in unison.

I didn't fully understand it, so I simply repeated Arcia's analogy about the tofu

dregs.

"I see... Well, that certainly explains it. Residue's a rather fitting term."

"Even if it's just pulp, it's true that it comes from the same source as the

wicked god itself... We can't afford to take any chances."

NEET god or not, the power of a god was still beyond mortal comprehension.

Regular human beings couldn't do a thing in the face of such power. And this

world had been abandoned by the gods, which meant its protection rested

solely on my shoulders.

Though saying it had been abandoned by the gods wasn't quite accurate.

After all, I was technically a god, and I was this place's caretaker now. I sure

didn't know where to begin when it came to world management, however.

I was still a rookie in the god business, so I could only hope that my seniors

would give me a little help. But I knew I wouldn't get much help from Karen or

Moroha, so I figured I had to turn to someone higher up the totem pole. The

only two I could really think of were God Almighty himself or Granny Tokie.

Unfortunately, Granny Tokie had been pretty damn busy lately, so I'd seen

neither hide nor hair of her. Given how busy she was with the timequake and

my kids coming through, I felt the need to not burden her further. And with that

in mind, I decided to go straight to the top...to God Almighty. It'd just be a

matter of paying him a visit and getting some answers.

"Even if this is the work of a wicked god, an engineer still had to have put this

patchwork Gollem together."

"I'd usually only expect this kind of work from the five great

gollemancers...but the Professor is still in Panaches, and the Maestro is a

misanthrope...so I doubt they had anything to do with it."

The five great gollemancers, huh...? That's those two, then Elluka, then the

Seekers...so it can't be any of those guys.

The other one was the witch-king of Isengard, who was dead.

"From what I understand, the wicked devout are something of an

organization. You might even call them a cult. With that in mind, would it be too

unreasonable for them to induct an impressionable genius into their ranks?"

Ugh... I don't like the sound of that.

I couldn't help but grumble upon hearing Quun's suggestion. These people

might have been worshipers of the wicked god who just got taken over...or they

could've just been regular people being manipulated by something the wicked

god ended up leaving behind.

"We don't have much intel, so it's pointless to speculate. If they're planning

to mess things up, I'll just mess them up first."

"Heh heh heh... That's our father for you..."

"That's all I have to say about this right now. So, let's go eat, okay? Arcia's

been waiting for you."

I made the three technologists get up, then followed them until I saw them

enter the dining area. After that, I picked up the red octahedron, sealed it away

with [Prison], and tossed it into [Storage].

◇ ◇ ◇

"Aww! If I knew it was gonna get that exciting, I would've gone with you!" Frei

grumbled a bit as she slapped her palms on the table.

Come on, now... No need to misbehave.

"The wicked devout, huh? I wanna fight them!"

"I don't think we have to do that..."

Linne was all amped up to go to war, while Elna was coming off as a lot

calmer. I personally felt Elna was in the right.

"Don't do anything reckless, okay? Especially not without our permission,"

Elze said, and she narrowed her eyes slightly at Frei, who had a habit of running

wild. Frei seemed to get the message right away, but Linne didn't seem all that

happy to hear it.

"Let's just table this discussion for now, okay? Like Elze said, don't do

anything reckless."

"Okaaaaaay..." Linne grumbled quietly, but still nodded her head. Quun, Frei,

and Arcia all gave obedient little nods as well.

"Now, everyone. It's time to take a bath and get ready for bed. Come along!"

"Okaaay!"

Yumina smiled before leading the girls off to the bath. She seemed more like a

schoolteacher than a mother. Our bath was massive, big enough for us all to

soak in the tub at the same time, even. Linze said she didn't feel confident

enough in Linne's swimming, though.

Now that the kids are gone, I can head up to the divine realm and see what's

what. Oh, better not forget my offering...

God Almighty was a fan of traditional Japanese confectionery, so I'd made

some dorayaki and yokan for him.

I opened up a [Gate] to that ever-familiar cloudy expanse. I'd expected to

spend some alone time with God Almighty...but I was surprised to see another

god sitting on the other side.

"Long time no see, kiddo."

"Oh, hello there. You're looking well."

They greeted me, but I only had questions. Just what business did the god of

destruction have here? Although, he was a god, so he had every right to hang

around.

"Oh, before I forget... Brought you a little something. Dorayaki and yokan."

"Oh, you need not have bothered, but thank you. Let us enjoy them at once."

"Hey kid, want some booze?"

No thanks... Didn't you drink a ton of it the last time you came down here? I

remember being scared you'd destroy the world or something...

"What brings you here today, my boy?"

"Well, actually..." I began to explain the current situation to God Almighty.

When I defeated the wicked god there, I became the world's caretaker, so he

no longer had omnipresent senses when it came to the events of my life.

I wasn't really sure I was worthy of the title, but I was still technically the god

of that world... Newbie or not, its safety was my responsibility. That was why I

had to know what a god should do under such circumstances.

"Ordinarily, I would say to let things play out...but the presence of the wicked

god complicates matters. The way I see it, you have two options."

"And they are?"

"Option A would be to grant a divine weapon to a mortal in that world,

allowing them to awaken as a hero. Then, it would be a simple matter of sitting

back and letting them take charge of the situation. Normally, I would take that

approach, but your situation is rather unique. You are not only the guardian of

that world, but also a resident of it. Option B would be to handle it yourself.

These residual dregs of malignant divinity, or even a new wicked god, should

still pale in comparison to you."

Wait, really? Just like that?

"Wait, old man. There's option C! Just take everything in that world and—"

"Rejected."

"I didn't even get to finish!"

I had no interest in hearing out the god of destruction... It was pretty obvious

he wanted to simply trash everything and be done with it.

Please don't treat the world I live in like some kinda disposable napkin...

"That world has been bequeathed to you. Whatever happens to it is solely up

to you. Oh, though I would request that you refrain from physically conquering

the world. It may be your world, but that does not mean you can lay claim to

the lives and lands within it. It belongs to the people of that world, first and

foremost. It's simply your job to ensure that its inhabitants stay on a proper

course, free from cosmic sway."

No plans on taking over the world here. Frankly, it'd be a massive pain in the

ass.

Traditionally, gods were merely impartial observers of their worlds. They

could occasionally nudge civilizations along the right path, but only in extreme

situations did they make themselves known. They'd give out holy blades,

choose oracles to speak for them, or even send angels or incarnations to spread

the good word and save innocent souls.

It was a bit more complicated for me, though. I was technically still mortal,

and I lived in the world I was in charge of.

"The wicked god's dregs and supporters should mean very little to you.

Though I imagine it may be a troubling task... Please don't forget to completely

excise the threat, however. If you leave anything behind, it'll simply regrow

eventually."

"Ugh."

Why is this thing starting to feel more like weeding a garden? Guess I've gotta

be thorough when pulling the roots...

"Oh yeah, will I need to warn the gods down there about this?"

The world wasn't just a place I managed, but also a resort of sorts for the

divine.

Let's see... Putting Karen and the Brunhild gods aside... There's the goddess of

dance, the god of strength, the god of industry, the god of glasses, the god of

theater, the god of puppetry, the god of wandering, the goddess of flowers, and

the goddess of gemstones down there.

"That will not be necessary. They are currently living as humans in that world,

not the divine. They are on vacation, so there is no need to bother them."

Guess that saves me some work. It's hard enough looking after the kids, so I'd

rather not have my hands full with a bunch of gods too.

"It's not a huge deal, aye! Wicked god stains are the worst to scrub out when

they spread across the lands... I usually find it easier to wreck the whole place

instead of wasting my time huntin' the blobs down."

Hell no, man... I know it'll be a hassle to clean up, but c'mon!

"At any rate, there is not a single thing explicitly forbidding you from directly

interfering in this case, so feel free to treat it like pest control and handle the

situation. Though be warned that if you fail, you will only invite further ruin for

yourself down the line."

"Ugh..."

Pest control... Well, I guess it makes sense. To the gods, dealing with this kind

of thing probably isn't too dissimilar to scrubbing out a persistent stain or

putting down rat traps. I'm sure it's work that most would rather not deal with.

Either way, I had God Almighty's approval, so I was clear to handle the issue

however I felt like.

◇ ◇ ◇

"Dad, I wanna go hunt monsters!"

"Huh? Little strange to say that all of a sudden, isn't it?"

The next morning, when we were all having breakfast together, Linne

suddenly blurted out an odd request.

"Fight monsters? Like...hunting?"

"Mhm! I can't get any quests from the guild, and Brunhild doesn't have very

many strong beasts, so I'd like to take a trip to Mismede or the Sea of Trees!"

Though Linne was quite excited, Linze seemed rather troubled by the idea. I

could understand to an extent... The little girl was talking about something

quite dangerous as casually as one might plan out a picnic.

"Oh, I wanna go too. It's been way too long since I killed some magical beasts.

At this rate, I'm gonna get rusty," Frei said and raised her hand, volunteering

herself for the excursion.

Hrm... Kinda figured you'd keep her from acting all reckless, but you want in

too? I thought as I turned to Quun.

"Do you kids do a lot of monster hunting in the future?"

"The environment's a little different in this time period. There are more

Behemoths in the future, which has led to mass migration of monsters and

beasts across the world. Stampedes aren't all that uncommon. Linne and Frei

often accompany Yakumo on excursions across the world thanks to her [Gate]

spell."

That made sense. Behemoths had a habit of scaring the local population and

driving them down into places where people lived whenever they appeared.

Come to think of it, Guildmaster Relisha had said something about a small

uptick in the number of monster clashes lately. The increase in Behemoths was

probably on account of the atmosphere having a higher magical concentration

due to the two worlds merging. With all that in mind, it'd probably be better for

the world overall if that excess of monsters was put down.

I turned back to Linze, offering her a sympathetic smile.

"What do you think?"

"I think Linne's strong enough to hold her own unless she goes up against a

particularly tricky foe... But if she's outnumbered or facing something she's

unfamiliar with, she could still get hurt. So basically...I can't let her do this on

her own."

"How about letting me go with her, then?" Karina, who strolled over to the

table and picked up a piece of fruit, suddenly interjected.

"Hunting's my forte, after all. I can teach her the best way to deal with any

prey."

...Hunting isn't just your forte, you know? You're literally the goddess of

hunting...

A small show of hands determined that only Linne and Frei were keen to go

hunting. Elna resisted the idea, albeit hesitantly, while Quun and Arcia seemed

completely uninterested. Arcia did tell them to bring back some good meat,

however.

Linne then brought up the fair point that we should invite Allis, since she'd

probably be a bit upset if she learned she missed out.

Obviously I'd be joining them as well. I didn't want my kids doing something

completely ridiculous in foreign territory.

"So, Linne, what are we hunting?"

"Dragons!"

...Linne, sweetie? Dragons are kind of the family members of one of my

summons... And Luli's sitting right there... She's literally staring at me right

now... Don't put me on the spot like this...

"But dad, isn't it okay to hunt bad Dragons that break the rules? It's fine to

hunt subspecies that can't think or talk too, right?"

"You sure seem well versed in Dragon hunting..."

She was right, yeah. There were some Dragons that were okay to hunt. The

unthinking ones were little more than magical beasts at that level of intellect.

I called Luli over to hear her take on the situation.

"I think there are a fair few Dragons near a sanctuary in the Sea of Trees.

Though if it's a real fight you want, I'd go for the Fiendrakes."

"The what?"

Fiendrakes were a subtype of Dragons. That wasn't fully accurate, actually... It

was more like their evolution ran parallel to Dragon's. They were incredibly

strong, but had no means of communicating. In basic terms, they were

unintelligent creatures with all the might of a fully-fledged Dragon.

There were many different types of Fiendrakes too. Personally, I'd fought a

poisonous one before, a Hydra. It was a horrible nine-headed beast that grew

extra heads back each time it lost one. If it were just a matter of strength, that'd

probably fit the bill for what Linne wanted... The only issue was that they

tended to be pretty tricky creatures.

I took out my phone and ran a search for Fiendrakes. There were a

surprisingly large number of results. Eventually, I settled on the best spot for

hunting one.

"I say we go here...in the Sea of Trees. There's a small handful clumped

together, and it's not far from this settlement either. We can get some hunting

done and make the place safer at the same time."

I made a mental note to reach out to Pam, since she was in charge of stuff in

the Sea of Trees. I didn't want to make a fuss or anything, so I figured it'd

probably be better to visit her directly with a gift.

I looked over at Linne, who was absolutely raring to go. There was no way I

could back out at this point. It would've been far easier if I'd simply said no...but

I knew that the day would come when my kids had to return to the future.

Thus, I wanted them to return home with fond memories of Brunhild and their

family. Fond memories such as a day of hunting Fiendrakes together with their

father.

"All right... Let's go."

"Yaaay!" Linne cheered loudly. Frei also seemed pretty excited. Hunting

wasn't an awful hobby to have, and she probably helped out a lot of people

whenever she did it... Still, part of me couldn't help but wish she was a little

more feminine in places.

Either way, I finalized the necessary preparations before taking my kids off to

slaughter Fiendrakes.

Guess this is one way to bond with your kids...

◇ ◇ ◇

It was one thing to talk about slaying Fiendrakes, but it wasn't supposed to be

an easy feat. In some instances, portions of national armies had to be dedicated

to taking out individual threats. They were more powerful than standard

Dragon subspecies, they weren't capable of communicating, and they often

came with unique abilities. The only saving grace was that they rarely came

close to human settlements. But just because they didn't directly terrorize

people didn't mean they weren't serious threats. Their presence often caused

other magical beasts to stampede into civilized areas, and they could have

adverse environmental effects. The Hydra I'd killed, for example, was letting out

a toxic gas that affected nearby water sources.

At any rate, they were ferocious dragonic foes. They weren't the kind of

enemy you'd face lightly... Or at least, they weren't supposed to be...

"Hey, I found that one first!"

"You snooze, you lose!"

"You two need to be a little more gentle. You're going to damage their

resource value."

Allis and Linne were casually wiping out beast after beast as they walked

through the dense woodland. Frei was casually pacing behind them, tossing any

valuable corpses in her [Storage]. The mood definitely didn't fit the image of a

group going off to face down a ferocious Dragon...

We carried on through the dense jungle, straight on course toward the

Fiendrake's nest.

"Daaaaaaaaad... Are we there yet?"

"Huh? It's not much further. Just a bit past the upcoming river," I said after

checking our course on my phone. The news seemed to fill Linne with a little

more energy.

Ende couldn't help but sigh as he watched the kids bound along ahead of us.

"The kids sure are tough..."

"Keep it together, man. We've gotta set a good example."

The kids with us were Frei, Linne, and Allis. The adults accompanying them

were me, Ende, and Karina.

Linze, Hilde, Ney, Melle, and Lycee wanted to join us, but the first two had

business to attend to, while Allis objected to her mothers accompanying us.

It wasn't that Allis had a problem with them or anything, but she apparently

wasn't a fan of how overprotective they could be. It was clear from the outset

that Ney and Melle wouldn't be able to help themselves if they saw their

daughter facing a Fiendrake. They might even interfere and kill the Fiendrake

themselves if they saw her in danger. I had a feeling Allis was trying to avoid

that kind of outcome. She didn't even want Ende to tag along, but I had to ask

him for permission to take her hunting. He was allowed to join us on the

condition that he didn't interfere with the Fiendrake battle under any

circumstances, and I was made to promise the same thing.

Of course, we both secretly agreed to step in if the kids faced any grave

danger. After all, Ende had only promised not to interfere with Allis, and I'd only

promised not to interfere with Frei and Linne... Nothing was stopping us from

saving each other's children! Those poor, naive kids clearly didn't understand

how sneaky grownups could be. Though technically, I wasn't a grownup... At

least by Earth standards, anyway.

"BRAAARGH!" a massive boar roared as it suddenly charged out of the

underbrush. It had sleek black fur and long, spear-like tusks. It was over three

meters tall, and each time it turned or shook its head, it brought nearby trees

crashing down. It honestly would've been more appropriate to call those tusks

blades!

"Oh, it's a Bladeboar. If we go by guild terms, it'd be a red-tier monster," Ende

casually explained what the creature was. I was thankful, since I'd never seen

one before.

Red-tier implied it was the kind of monster you'd need a special listing for, the

kind you'd need a veteran party to take down...yet the kids were casually

playing rock, paper, scissors in front of it... Didn't they have more pressing

matters to deal with?

"Woohoo! I win!" Allis cheered loudly as she pounded the air with her fist.

The two losers grumbled a little before backing off.

Wait, they're doing a one-on-one?

"Bring it on!"

"GRAAARGH!" the Bladeboar roared once more before charging at Allis like a

lance-wielding knight.

Allis didn't waver at the sight, simply bracing herself instead. The Bladeboar

continued charging forward like an out-of-control car, so it was only a matter of

time before it crashed...

"Prismatic Guillotine!"

A crystalline material suddenly emerged from Allis's right arm, taking on the

form of a huge machete. She raised it high and swung it forward, slicing the

Bladeboar clean in half as it charged headlong into the weapon's edge.

"Overkill..."

"...She's totally ruined the pelt."

Ende and Karina couldn't help but mutter. Allis was definitely a bit rough

around the edges when it came to being a real hunter. She had the mindset

that simply killing the monsters was more than enough.

"Hey, Frei, can you stash this for me? Arcy can cook it for us!"

"Sure thing, but...you've got blood all over you, Allis. Could you clean her up,

father?" Frei casually shoved the Bladeboar into her [Storage] as she turned to

me. She was right. Allis was basically covered in the animal's blood, since

splotches of the stuff were soaking through her clothes. It was a hell of a sight.

I quickly cast [Clean] on Allis, clearing away the blood and grime.

"If she's this tough, she'll make short work of the Fiendrake..."

"Don't underestimate them. A Dragon's still leagues beyond a beast, even

when mindless. Plus, there are different kinds that have all manner of tricks up

their sleeves," Karina replied. She had a point. That poisonous Hydra I'd fought

was pretty damn tough. It was important not to let your guard down around

them.

We eventually came to the edge of the river, so I opened up a [Gate] to get us

to the other side. We then carried on straight ahead, and the jungle gradually

gave way to a more barren, rocky environment. We were in some kind of

rugged canyon.

Linne and the others clambered up over the uneven, rocky surface.

Don't go too far, now... Ah, wait...

"...You guys hear that?"

"I did. It's nearby."

I thought I faintly heard the roar of a Dragon off in the distance, so I checked

with Ende. He'd heard it too. It was possible the enemy had already caught our

scent. And so, I whipped out my smartphone and looked up the Fiendrake's

location. It was headed right for us.

"Hold it, kids. The enemy's already on its way to our location. Let's move to a

more open space so we can fight it better, okay?"

"Okay! Linne, Allis. Let's head that way. It'll provide a better vantage point."

"Got it."

"Okaaaaaay."

The two girls followed Frei's instructions and moved to a broad slope without

much cluttering it. Linne and Allis then equipped their gauntlets, while Frei

equipped a spear. They were ready to go.

"Don't forget that you guys are just here to watch! And go easy on the

commentary too!"

"Yeah yeah, I know."

I'll switch from spectator to fighter if things get real bad, though...

Ende, Karina, and I sat ourselves down on a nearby rock.

Man...I kinda feel like a parent watching his kids on sports day. Oh, actually,

I'll record a video to show everyone else later.

As I moved to get my smartphone, Ende did the same thing. Apparently, we'd

arrived at the same conclusion.

"Oh, I think it's here," I remarked as I heard the sound of flapping wings in the

distance. The sound grew louder until I could see the form of a Dragon in the

sky.

It was jet black and fairly large. It had four legs, while leathery, bat-like wings

jutted out from its back. Huge horns adorned its head, while a red fin ran down

its back all the way to the end of its tail. Its tail was jagged with a spiny flail

instead of a tip, which kind of made it resemble a cocklebur. Its eyes were

bloodshot red, so there wasn't much in the way of friendliness radiating off

them. I got the vibe that it was hellbent on wiping out these two-legged

intruders who'd wandered in on its territory. Couldn't blame it, really.

"Never seen that kind of Dragon before... It's gotta be a Fiendrake,

though...right?"

"It's a Nidhogg. A rare kind of man-eating Dragon that feasts on human

corpses," Karina quickly answered my question.

A Nidhogg, huh...? And it's a man eater? Kinda scary.

"GROAAARGH!" the Nidhogg let out a tremendous roar. To my ears, it

sounded more like a joyful exclamation than anything hostile. It seemed more

excited about finding new prey than anything else.

"All right, let's do this!" Frei exclaimed as she twirled a spear that was longer

than her own body, then lobbed it straight into the sky at the Nidhogg. The

spear went hurtling through the air, but the Nidhogg deftly avoided it.

"Too easy," Frei said, then grinned and waved her hand, causing the spear to

stop and double back. I hadn't noticed at first, but the spear was actually

pointed at both ends. It came hurtling backward at an incredible speed,

shredding through both of the Nidhogg's wings.

"GKHACKH?!"

"Nice!"

With its leathery wing membrane torn, the Nidhogg lost its balance mid-flight.

As that happened, Linne cast [Shield] to create footholds in the air, allowing her

to jump up within striking distance.

"Take this!"

"GRAUGH!"

Linne swung both of her fists down hard against the Nidhogg's back, setting

off an explosive force right at the base of its wings. The creature was set

completely off-balance by that, so before long, it tumbled down, smashing into

the rocky ground below.

"Prismatic Guillotine!" Allis shouted as she brought her crystal machete down

with perfect timing, completely shredding the Fiendrake's wings. No matter

what happened now, it would never fly again.

"Their attacks are pretty standard so far..."

"It's smart to disable the wings. Same strategy you'd use with Wyverns," Ende

nodded and responded to my comment as we both watched what was

unfolding.

The Nidhogg suddenly craned its neck and opened its mouth wide, glaring

right at Frei.

Oh, I see what's coming...

With a mighty fwoosh, flames billowed out from the Fiendrake's maw. It was

a classic fire breath attack.

"Oof," Frei grunted as she suddenly dematerialized the spear in her hand,

pulling out a heavy blue-white buckler shield from her [Storage] to take its

place.

The Nidhogg's fire breath lashed forward, hitting the shield head-on. But all

the fire within a certain radius of the shield found itself diverting, protecting

Frei completely. It was clearly some kind of magical artifact.

"Now!" Linne exclaimed as she suddenly burst in from the side, her gauntletclad fist smashing straight into the side of the Nidhogg's face.

"GRAUGH?!"

Ouch. That's gotta hurt.

"RAAAAAAAAARGH!"

The Nidhogg faced her this time, opening its mouth once more. But now it

launched a volley of flaming globs instead of the direct stream it had unleashed

earlier.

Linne was able to duck, dodge, and dive between the shots, avoiding harm.

The same couldn't be said for the nearby rocks, which exploded on impact and

sent a hail of burning stones into the surrounding area.

"Hup!"

The Fiendrake's tail lashed out, just barely missing Allis. The girl had crouched

down low, then hopped back in order to get out of its range.

Frei stashed her buckler back into her [Storage], swapping it out for a hefty

battle-axe. She then charged headlong toward the Dragon, but it quickly

realized her intent. Without hesitation, it began spewing flaming bullets toward

her to ward her off.

"Wait...isn't the Dragon a different color...?"

"Now that you mention it..."

The Fiendrake's scales had lost their jet black luster and were gradually

turning red. Eventually, even the reddish hue changed to black again, with

luminous orange lines running through its body. The entire creature almost

appeared to be composed of molten rock.

"GRARGH!" the Nidhogg gnashed its teeth as it roared yet again, sending

sparks flying from its mouth. In an instant, its entire body bloomed into a flower

of flame.

"GROAAAAAAAAARGH!" with its entire body ignited, the Nidhogg let out a

furious bellow. The heat rolling off it was so intense I could even feel it from my

viewing area.

"Let's see how the kids fare against its blazing malice form..." Karina grinned

slightly as she gazed at the burning beast.

So what, you were waiting for this?

The intense flames made it hard to get close to the Dragon. If Elna or Quun

were there, they might have been able to use Water or Ice magic, but that

wasn't currently an option.

"Yeowch, it's hot! Do something, Frei!"

"Like what?! It's easier said than done, you know?!" Frei replied to Linne as

best she could while avoiding the Nidhogg's claws.

"Uhm, let me see if I have anything enchanted with Water or Ice in here..."

Frei mumbled as she started rummaging through her [Storage] space, looking

for anything that could help. She organized her regular weapons pretty well, but

her less-used ones were basically all cluttered up in there. It was a bit ridiculous

to see her frantically looking through her stuff in the heat of battle.

"GRAGH!"

"Ah!" Frei yelped as she jumped to the side, avoiding another blazing swipe

from the Fiendrake. That one was so close it had me on the edge of my seat.

"Hah!"

"GRARGH?!"

The Nidhogg was suddenly stopped in its tracks by a blast of raw chi from

Linne's fists.

"GRAGH!"

"Ack!"

As a consequence of drawing its attention away from Frei, Linne found herself

almost struck by a flaming bullet launched from the Nidhogg's mouth. She

leaped up into the air to avoid it, using [Shield] to create more footholds for

herself.

"Got it! The Icebringer!" Frei exclaimed as she raised a transparent blade high

into the air. Even from as far back as I was, I felt a chill emanating from it.

"This blade was forged from eternal ice shaved from the perpetual frostwall

in the Elfrau Kingdom! It all began five hundred years ago, when the elven

spellsword Cradlestone needed to defeat Vocarumble the Manacrusher—"

"Skip the lore and just use it already!" Allis yelled out in a panic as she

narrowly avoided the Fiendrake's flames.

In response, Frei brandished the sword and pointed the tip toward the

Nidhogg.

"[Freezing]!"

The air suddenly chilled, forming flakes of snow, which then clung to the

Nidhogg's body and cooled it down. The flames covering the beast died off,

reverting its scales to their original black hue. But that proved to only be

temporary... Soon enough, the flames began to lick their way outward from the

Fiendrake's cracked form once more.

"I can't keep this up forever! Finish it now!"

"Got it! Prismatic Rose!" Allis replied as she formed a thorny vine of crystal

around her right hand.

"Prismatic Guillotine!" she then exclaimed, as she conjured up her crystal

machete on the end of the vine and began to swing it around like a whip. Once

she'd built up sufficient force, she brought it slicing down on the monster's tail.

"GYAAAAAAGH!"

With a sound that was more like a dull thud than a slicing chop, the Nidhogg's

thick tail was completely severed at the base. The Fiendrake lost its balance as a

result, falling forward face-first.

Linne saw her chance and immediately cast [Shield], using it like a staircase to

get as high up into the sky as possible...before jumping down.

"Meteor kiiick!"

"GRARGH?!"

Her body had been enchanted with [Gravity] to make her even heavier as she

drove the full force of that extra weight into the Nidhogg's back. The impact

was followed by a sickening crack from the monster's spine. Presumably, it

broke.

"This is it for you!"

"Grauuugh..."

Before I could even tell what happened next, Frei ran her Icebringer through

the Fiendrake's skull. In the blink of an eye, the Nidhogg froze over with ice.

"I'm gonna finish it!"

"W-Wait, Linne! Don't do what I think you're gonna do!"

Before Frei could stop her, Linne slammed a devastatingly powerful strike

directly into the Nidhogg's side. Cracks ran out from the center of the impact,

skittering across the surface of its body. The mighty Nidhogg's form shattered

into a million little pieces, not unlike a fallen Phrase.

"A-Ah... O-Oh no..."

"...I can't say I'm terribly surprised."

As the Nidhogg crumbled, both Ende and Karina let out their own comments.

Clearly, my daughter hadn't learned anything from her earlier hunts. Now

there'd be no valuable resources to harvest from the beast. It was just frozen

hunks of meat... Though maybe I'd be able to salvage something from the

severed tail, at least. But still, this was more about the hunt than the spoils, so it

was still a worthwhile venture.

"...I shouldn't have frozen it."

"I-It's not a big deal! We beat it!"

"I would've hit it the same way..."

Frei grumbled quietly as she opened up [Storage] in a wide radius and

absorbed the frozen Dragon meat.

Oh yeah, I guess if we defrost it, it could still taste good.

Dragon meat was generally good, but I didn't know anything about Fiendrake

meat. The Hydra I'd killed was too toxic to consume, at least.

"Daaaaaad! Where's the next Dragon?!"

"Now hold on a second... Let's at least take a break, okay? Lu and Arcia made

us lunch."

I didn't want my reckless daughter getting herself caught up in her own

impatience. It'd be better to rest before continuing the hunt, if we were even

going to do that.

I took out a few chairs and a large table from my [Storage], then set out the

boxes of food Arcia and Lu had prepared for us.

"Wow, looks yummy!"

The first set of boxes contained rice balls. The second had greasy stuff like

chicken, fried shrimp, croquettes, and southern fried chicken. The third set had

fried eggs, sausages, hamburg steak, meatballs, cherry tomatoes, and a side

salad. The fourth set had sliced fruits and healthy dessert items in it.

It all looked pretty yummy, but it was pretty clearly aimed more toward the

kids.

"Let's eat!" I said as I conjured up a sphere of water for the kids to wash their

hands in. They quickly rinsed their hands and started chowing down on the rice

balls. They sure were eager...

I decided to have some too. I picked up one of the rice balls and took a big

bite. It was just salty enough for my tastes, with tuna and mayonnaise inside.

"Bwugh! This one's pickled plum... You take it, dad..."

"Huh?! B-But, I... Okay..."

Allis bit into a rice ball and apparently disagreed with the filling, so she passed

it to her dad to finish. Her lack of interest in pickled plums certainly betrayed

the fact that she was just a child.

I chuckled a little at Ende's own reluctance, but then Linne suddenly came up

to me with a rice ball of her own and held it up to me.

"Take this, dad..."

"You too, huh?"

I took the pickled plum rice ball from my daughter and begrudgingly chowed

down on it.

Buegh! Eashen's are way sourer than the ones in Japan!

We took our time enjoying our food, but we all gradually noticed the noise

from the nearby woodland growing louder.

"What's going on...?"

I heard the sounds of birds flapping their wings, of hooves on the ground, of

rustling leaves and cracking branches...

Wait, no way... Don't tell me...

I quickly pulled out my phone and did a search for monsters and magical

beasts in the local area. The results screen showed an enormous wave of red

markers rushing straight toward us.

Oh shit! It's a stampede!

Stampedes typically began when monsters grouped up in a frenzy, running

amok and charging forward in one big wave. And it didn't just involve monsters

or magical beasts either. Regular animals often got swept up in the mix,

creating a veritable tsunami of irrational danger.

At the moment, that raging wave was headed right toward us.

What should I do? If I wanna get everyone to safety, then I should just open a

[Gate]... But there's a village nearby, and it's right in the stampede's path... Hell,

protecting that village is why we came out to hunt the Fiendrake to begin with.

And based on how loud the stampede is, I doubt they'll stop.

"What do we do?"

"Well, we should probably stop it," I said as I nodded at Ende. Pam would be

upset if we let the stampede go unhindered, anyway.

"Killing a ton of monsters?! Count me in!"

"Oh! Me too! Hey, Your Majesty! Lemme join too!"

"No. I'm not killing them. If we just randomly poach the whole crowd, it'd

disrupt the local ecosystem."

"Aww..."

"Aww..."

Linne and Allis seemed disappointed, but I knew there'd be no point in killing

the stampeding creatures. Magical beasts and monsters were good sources of

food and materials for the local tribes. Killing them en masse was an easy feat,

but also highly immoral.

"The smartest thing to do right now is to divert them. Let's see... [Earth

Wall]."

I erected a massive stone barrier that stretched several kilometers to my left

and right. It was about twenty meters high. It was a great and mighty wall, more

than capable of holding back a charging Dragon. And, at the very least, it

granted us peace of mind.

"...I'll never get used to your insane powers, Touya," Ende mumbled as he

slowly shook his head.

What?! I'll take the wall down when the stampede's over! It's fine!

"But won't the monsters just smash into the wall and crush each other?"

"Nope. It's all good. I've infused the wall with a [Gate] enchantment that

sends them about twenty kilometers backward."

If the stampede kept on going, they'd just run in an endless loop until they

tired themselves out. I'd come up with a rather simple, yet ingenious solution.

Still, what could've caused the stampede? These kinds of things typically

happened as precursors to natural disasters. But there were no active

volcanoes in the Sea of Trees, and I would've been warned by the spirits about

any earthquakes.

If the monsters are panicking because they feel threatened...then did

something show up that scared them?

I used [Gate] to move up to the top of the wall. It was more than ten meters

thick, so I didn't have to worry about falling off. I then looked off into the

distance and saw the stampeding wave of monsters, a huge cloud of dirt behind

them as they charged. It was clear to me they were fleeing something.

"I see... So that's it, huh?" Karina seemed to have identified the cause in

seconds.

"Hm?"

Huh? What can you see that I can't? I just see trees and dirt clouds...

"[Long Sense]."

I projected my senses out toward the stampede.

Hm...? There's something in the trees? No, it's big enough to move the trees...

Wait, what is that thing? Under...the trees? Wait, is that a head?!

I narrowed my gaze and finally realized exactly what I was looking at. A turtle.

A ridiculously massive turtle. It was a turtle with a patch of forest on its back.

What the hell?! A Behemoth?!

"It's a Zaratan. Rare to see them on land, I must say. It's a type of magical

beast that usually lives in the sea. There's an old story about a group of sailors

who found a mysterious island, only for it to be a Zaratan's back. Oh, and it's

not a Behemoth either. That's their normal size."

"Seriously?"

No way... It's way too huge. Isn't it hundreds of meters across? Don't think it's

over a kilometer, at least...

It was no wonder the beasts were running from that thing. It shook the

ground with each step it took.

"Zaratans are extremely docile magical beasts. They just happen to be large,

so they often leave a lot of collateral damage in their wake. I'm sure it's

probably just lost and confused," Karina said, her expression filled with a sense

of relief. I would've been a bit scared if the turtle was aggressive.

"Daaad! Are you gonna fight it?!"

"No, I don't wanna do that..." I replied. I didn't really know what else to say in

response to Linne's innocent question.

Can I even beat it? It's larger than the wicked god was... What would I even do

with its corpse?

"So wait, if this thing's on land, then why hasn't it caused stampedes before

now?"

"Zaratans can hibernate for thousands of years. The forest probably grew on

its back while it slept."

So this thing's just been sleeping in the Sea of Trees for thousands of years?

Fortunately, the Zaratan was slow, but less fortunate was the fact that it was

so huge. Every step it took covered a considerable distance. At the rate it was

going, it'd be at my wall before long.

"Why's it coming this way, though?"

"It might be trying to eat the stampede?"

"Oh, yeah. When you wake up, you usually want breakfast."

The kids had a few ideas, but I wasn't so sure any of them fit the bill. One

thing was certain, though. If it kept on shambling slowly, it wouldn't catch

anything.

Ende calmly looked off at the Zaratan before finally speaking up and saying,

"It might be heading for the sea..."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. If it's an aquatic creature, maybe it's trying to get home?"

That made sense. If it wanted to return to the water, then it'd have to walk

over to the other side of the nearby village. And that meant the Zaratan itself

was just an innocent creature, making the stampede a mere byproduct of its

existence.

"We'll return it to the sea, then."

"Whaaat, really? You're not gonna fight? But I wanted to ride a Frame Gear..."

"You can't solve everything through combat, Linne."

My daughter grumbled a little, but I wanted to show her that there was more

to problem-solving than brute force. I did feel like a hypocrite saying that,

though... Fighting was definitely how I solved most of my problems.

"So, uh, how are you gonna send it?"

"I was thinking of just using [Gate]."

It knew it wouldn't be hard to lock on to it, since it was pretty sluggish. Sure, a

portal that large would suck up a lot of trees as well, but all the trees over there

had gotten flattened by the Zaratan anyway, so it seemed like a fine solution.

I wasn't going to drop it into the sea directly, however. Instead, I planned to

put it by the shore. If I plopped something that large directly into the water, it'd

create a devastating tidal wave.

"But there's gotta be animals living on that turtle, right? Won't they die?"

Ah...

Allis had a great point. I hadn't even considered that. And so, after hearing

her say that, I ran a search on my smartphone to see if there were any animals

on the Zaratan's back. Sure enough, there were. Some were fleeing, while

others were staying still. Either way, if the Zaratan returned to the sea, they'd

drown and die.

Guess I'll warp the animals off first.

"Target lock. Every living creature on the Zaratan's back."

"Understood... Targets locked."

"[Gate]."

I warped all the animals off to another location, freeing them from the

stampede. They quickly scattered and ran to safety.

"There we go. Now all I have to do is move the Zaratan and—"

"GROAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!" a sudden, loud roar echoed out through the

nearby area.

The hell?!

I looked over and saw the Zaratan roaring to the heavens. Its movements

suddenly grew far more erratic, and its massive body began flailing from side to

side.

"What's happening now?!"

"...It's hard to see from here, but there's something by its feet. I believe the

Zaratan is being attacked," Ende said, narrowing his eyes.

"Say what?!"

Don't tell me the tribespeople are attacking it. That's way too reckless!

"No. It's not the tribes. It's...Gigants. Tsk. That's not good. They're really

swarming the poor thing."

I'd heard of Gigants. They were vicious magical beasts that resembled gigantic

ants and lived deep underground. Once they started attacking, they wouldn't

stop until they were dead. They were connected through a hive mind, so if one

started attacking, it'd usually communicate with all others in the vicinity and

they'd join in. The only way to deal with them was to completely eradicate the

nest, since no matter how far away you got from them, they'd never stop

hunting you.

Now these swarming menaces were attacking the Zaratan... It had probably

crushed one by mistake during its advance, which would've alerted the entire

nest.

Gigants had strong enough jaws to tear limbs off the human body. The

Zaratan was huge enough to survive that kind of onslaught, but the Gigants had

an overwhelming numerical advantage. The sight honestly reminded me of

stories I'd heard back on Earth, of the Amazon's army ants that could pick entire

cows and horses clean of their flesh given enough time.

From the looks of things, the Zaratan was definitely in pain... It was a bad

situation all around. My concern wasn't so much for the Zaratan, though. I

didn't think the Gigants would be able to kill it... But if they kept biting it, it'd

surely go even more berserk, which would only serve to make the stampede

worse.

"Let's get the Zaratan out of here," I said as I opened up a [Gate] beneath the

Zaratan's feet, sending it to the Sandora coastline. Naturally, all the nearby

features of the forest, Gigants included, went tumbling through with it. I was

fairly sure the portal I'd opened up led to an uninhabited area, but I followed

them just to be on the safe side.

My eyes adjusted to the sight of a rocky beach area, with the sea spreading

out far in front of me. I saw the Zaratan, forest still on its massive back, slowly

walking toward the water. However, thousands of Gigants clung to the poor

beast's ankles, gnawing at its flesh without mercy or any signs of stopping. The

great beast's legs were covered in open sores, and a trail of blood followed

after its slow march.

"Hey! Leave the turtle alone!" Allis suddenly yelled at the Gigants,

manifesting her signature Prisma Rose whip in her hands. It looked like she

couldn't bear to see the poor creature in pain.

"Wait, Allis?!"

Heedless of Ende's cries, Allis charged forward and cracked her whip, striking

down one of the Gigants that clung to the Zaratan's leg.

Gigants had an empathic hive mind. One Gigant's pain was shared across all

Gigants within a certain area. And now, thanks to that attack, all the Gigants

turned their heads to look at us. A sense of dread overcame me.

The chittering Gigants began to crawl toward us, apparently recognizing us as

enemies.

"Hey, dad! Can we kill these?! Can we?! Can we?!"

"...Yeah."

"Hurray! Take this!" Linne merrily exclaimed as she started punching out the

Gigants.

...Of course this happened.

"Hee hee hee hee... Time to test out my new weapons!"

I looked over and saw Frei slashing Gigant after Gigant with a set of

twinblades I'd never seen before.

You too, huh?

I let out a small sigh as the kids began fighting the swarm.

The Gigants just kept coming, but the kids didn't let a single one get past

them. You'd think the Gigants would've learned their lesson, but apparently

not. It would've been pretty easy for me to wipe them all out with magic, but I

got the feeling the kids would get really fussy at me if I ruined their fun, so I

elected not to.

"Well, uh...they sure are doing a good job..."

"Can't lie, I feel pretty mixed about this as a dad."

Ende and I could only stare blankly as our kids kept on fighting. I didn't really

know how I ended up with such frantic battle fanatics for kids... They didn't

really seem to do much ladylike stuff either... Frankly, it made me concerned for

their marriage prospects... Then again, I wasn't in any rush to give them away.

Yeah, I guess this is fine, actually. Keep killing those ants, kids!

"Oh yeah, the carapace of a Gigant sells for a lot. You should pick them up."

"Oh, sure."

Karina's voice snapped me out of my pondering. I opened up [Storage] and

sucked all the dead Gigants up into it.

"Prisma Hammer!" Allis exclaimed as she formed a giant crystal hammer and

smashed a ton of Gigants at once... Unfortunately, that rendered them

unsalvageable, so there was no collecting to be had for me there.

The number of Gigants gradually began to dwindle, and before long, the

amount of them clinging to the Zaratan had gone considerably down. I'd also

put as many as I could into my [Storage].

The Zaratan finally made it to the water, one of his front feet submerging

itself. The great beast was home safe.

"Last one!" Linne yelled as she charged forward with an explosive kick,

blasting one final Gigant into a nearby dune. The beach was littered with the

corpses of giant ants. There weren't any living ones left on the land, and the

ones still clinging to the Zaratan were drowning in the sea. It was over.

"That was fun!"

"The turtle's safe too!"

"Mhm. That was really exciting."

The kids all started cheering and hugging each other as they celebrated their

victory. Ende and I just sort of sighed in relief. If the kids were happy...that

meant our trip had gone just fine.

"The Zaratan's heading out. Looks like it really did want to get to the water,"

Ende mumbled quietly as he watched the troublesome creature swim out

deeper.

"Bye-byeee! Don't come ashore again, silly!"

The kids waved goodbye to the Zaratan, and the creature turned its head and

gave them a little half nod...almost as if it were responding. Then, just like that,

it sank into the watery depths.

"It's gone."

"Sure is. Let's head back to the Sea of Trees and see if that stampede's over,"

I said before I warped us all back to the top of the wall I'd built.

Sure enough, the stampede seemed to be dying down. The beasts and

animals that were once a uniform crowd were now slowly dispersing, which

meant I could get rid of the wall.

I used Earth magic to undo the construction, returning the area to how it

looked before.

"Well, there we go... Sheesh... It's been a wild hunt..."

"It was really fun, though!" Linne screamed, seeming happy...which made me

happy too.

"Okay, time to head home," I said as I opened up a [Gate] and followed my

kids through it.

We all made our way back to Brunhild Castle's reception room. All my wives

were there, enjoying a spot of tea. Melle, Ney, and Lycee were with them as

well.

"Moms, I'm home!"

"Ah! Welcome home, Allis! Huh?!"

Allis charged forward, practically bounding into the air. Ney stood up and

caught her in her arms.

"Welcome home, Allis."

"Not hurt, are you?"

"I'm okaaay!"

Melle and Lycee crowded her too. They were probably worried about her...

They had a habit of coddling her, as I recalled.

I looked over and saw Linne hugging Linze, while Frei was getting some head

pats from Hilde. It was nice seeing them welcomed back in their own ways.

"You've been out a while, Touya. Did everything go okay?"

"Yeah, it was fine... As fine as it could've gone, at least."

I could only say that and flash a strained smile in response to Yumina's

question.

"Would you like some tea, Touya? Ende and Karina, how about you?" Lu

asked as she quickly started preparing some refreshments, which was just what

I needed before dinner.

In the background, I could hear Lu bickering with her daughter. Something

along the lines of, "I'll make father's tea!" followed by "That's my responsibility!

Stay in your lane!" and such.

I leaned back against the couch and closed my eyes.

Whew... I'm more tired than I thought.

It'd been a hell of a day, and I'd ended up being dragged around a lot by my

kids. But while looking over at Linne and the rest of the kids telling Elze, Linze,

and the others about the Fiendrake and the encounter with the Zaratan...I

realized the fatigue was all worth it.

This isn't so bad, huh?

I smiled as I looked over at my family...when something suddenly materialized

in the air and fell right on top of me.

"Ghagh!"

"Whagh?!"

The "something" made a strange noise, rolled off me, and landed on the next

couch cushion over. It wasn't a something at all. It was a someone. A girl.

Where'd she come from?! Wait, no way...

"Daddy!" as soon as the girl saw my face, she yelled and gave me a big hug.

Agh... Is it really...?

"Yoshino?!"

"Yoshinooo!"

Frei and Linne confirmed my suspicions. It was Yoshino, Sakura's daughter.

She must have materialized above me with [Teleport].

This was the sixth child now... They'd been coming in faster and faster as of

late.

I slowly pried Yoshino's hugging arms off me. Her pinkish hair was cut short,

with a little cherry blossom hairpin clipped at the side.

She was Sakura's daughter, so she had to be part of the overlord's

species...but there were no visible horns. Perhaps they were hidden in her hair?

She was supposed to be older than Arcia, yet younger than Quun, so that put

her at about nine...but she looked smaller than that.

She wore a navy blue dress with a fancy collar and hem... It kind of reminded

me of the typical schoolgirl uniform back in Japan. Maybe you'd call it a sailor

dress? I didn't really know, but she sure was cute.

"You're...Yoshino?"

"Ah! Mommy!" Yoshino exclaimed as she flew from my side and charged

toward Sakura, pulling her into a tight cuddle.

Poor Sakura seemed more dazed and confused than anything else.

"U-Uhm...w-welcome...h-home?"

"Yay! I'm home!" Yoshino said, her smile wide.

The other children began to crowd her.

"Jeez, you showed up outta nowhere!"

"Nice to see you here, Yoshino."

"You're finally here, Yoshino..."

"Hurray, you're here!"

"You're late, sis!"

The kids started making a racket, but it was mostly celebratory cheering.

Let's see here... So now there's my second daughter Frei, third daughter Quun,

fourth daughter Yoshino, fifth daughter Arcia, sixth daughter Elna, and the

seventh is Linne...

I was once again overcome with shock at just how many kids I had. Then

again, I did have a lot of wives...so it was probably inevitable.

"Ah?! Wait, I can't get distracted! Daddy, you need to help! We're in big

trouble!" Yoshino abruptly turned toward me with a look of desperation on her

face.

We? Who's we?

It seemed like something big was going on...and whatever it was, I couldn't

ignore my daughter's desperate plea.

Don't worry, Yoshino! Whatever you need, I'll provide!

◇ ◇ ◇

When Yoshino had landed in this time period, she'd ended up in the

mountains of Triharan. She'd immediately started hunting monsters and traded

their spoils for money. After that, she used [Teleport] to warp from town to

town. She had her smartphone on her, so she could've contacted us at any

time, but she couldn't resist taking a look around a past version of the world

she knew.

She went from Triharan to Strain, then to Allent, then to Panaches. She spent

a day in each of these nations before finding herself on an island.

It was a small island called Arosa, which was located between Panaches and

Palouf. It was part of a small handful of islands in the region. The inhabitants of

the island were very kind and welcomed Yoshino with open arms. But then

something strange happened. A group of unusual monsters emerged from the

sea and began to attack the locals.

According to Yoshino, they were humanoid Fishmen. Their bodies were

coated in scales, and they had fins on their backs. They also had sharp teeth and

gills on their necks. There were ten of them in total, and they mercilessly set

themselves upon the villagers.

By the time Yoshino had realized what was going on, a few of the people had

been clawed or bitten by the Fishmen. She was quick to act after that, though.

And once she'd taken out a few of the invaders, the rest of them retreated back

into the depths.

Luckily, none of the villagers had died, but the ones who'd been bitten ended

up collapsing with a fever, and then their bodies began to change.

"Change? How do you mean?"

"Scales started spreading out across their bodies from the wounds...and

webbing appeared between their fingers and toes... It's like..."

"Like they were turning into the Fishmen who attacked...?" Sakura said, her

words eliciting a nod from Yoshino.

In zombie movies back on Earth, being bitten by a Zombie typically turned you

into one too. But the living dead of this world didn't have any such ability. They

were just shambling corpses.

"I wonder what kind of bite can mutate the body in this way, I do..."

"If I were to guess, it'd have to be a curse of some sort," Leen replied to Yae.

Curses were typically imbued by ancient spells, but certain monsters had

similar characteristics. The most obvious curse-inflicting monsters that came to

mind were Basilisks, Cockatrices, and Catoblepones. They all had the ability to

petrify their enemies. These Fishmen might have been monsters like that.

"Are there any Fishman-type monsters in this world? I've never heard of

them."

"I've heard of Merfolk, but none with that kind of mutating ability. It could be

a type of monster native to the other world."

Leen had a point. The Reverse World would obviously have creatures unique

to it, just as the regular world did. Now that the two worlds had merged,

there'd be some degree of crossover. And logically, it'd be much more likely to

see flying or sea-dwelling monsters show up all over the place rather than landdwelling ones.

"Anyway, we need to help the villagers! You can use [Recovery] to cure their

conditions, right?!" Yoshino pleaded with me as she grabbed my arm. Tears

welled up in her eyes. She sure was a kind girl... She barely knew those people,

yet she was begging so fervently for their lives.

If their mutation really was caused by a curse, then my spell would be able to

handle it. Besides, I just couldn't say no to my daughter's tears.

"All right, let's go. Tell me exactly where the place is, Yoshino."

"Hurray! Thanks, daddy!" Yoshino smiled wide and gave me a big hug.

Sakura reached out and gently stroked at the girl's hair. She was a lot more

loud and expressive than her mother, that was for sure... But honestly, I was

quite glad. I always thought kids should be full of energy.

Elna nervously came running up to me and said, "I'll come too! I can use

[Recovery] as well!"

Oh yeah, I forgot about that.

I was thinking of just going myself to keep my kids out of harm's way, but...I'd

sort of forgotten about the Fiendrake and Gigant encounter we'd just been

through. My children weren't so fragile, after all.

"Sure thing, Elna. I'll be counting on you."

"A-Ah, okay! I'll do my best!"

"I know you will, attagirl!" Elze came over and hugged Elna from behind,

giving her a tight squeeze.

"Ahhh... She's so cute! My little girl's so cuuute..."

"M-Mother... You're embarrassing meee..." Elna looked at me as she said

that, seemingly pleading for help, but I firmly agreed with Elze.

Right after that, Yoshino told me exactly where Arosa Island was. I elected to

teleport there first and open up a [Gate] after making sure it was safe.

"All right, let's go."

"Mhm..."

"Okay!" Yoshino exclaimed as she held her arms out. I grabbed her right, and

Sakura grabbed her left. We could all use [Teleport], so we didn't actually have

to hold hands, but Yoshino insisted.

She triggered [Teleport], and the scenery around us immediately transformed

into that of a calm beach.

It was almost dusk. The emerald sea in front of us gently lapped at the sands,

while the calm breeze kissed my cheek. It was a veritable tropical paradise.

The beach was lined with houses on stilts, and I could even see some

waterfront cottages by a pier a short distance away. The sight called the

Maldives or Tahiti to mind.

"This way!" Yoshino yelled as she gestured toward me and Sakura.

We followed her into one of the stilt-houses. Inside, a woman was resting

atop a simple straw bed. She had black hair and looked to be in her forties. I

immediately noticed a bite wound on her right arm, and sure enough, blue

scales were spreading out from it to her shoulder. Her fingers definitely looked

like they were webbed too... Just as Yoshino had said, she was gaining fishlike

features.

"Auntie Mau! I brought my daddy!"

"What's that...? I told you to run, child... You silly girl..." the woman gave a

weak smile as sweat beaded across her brow, her voice barely a whisper. She

was still conscious, but she appeared to be teetering on the edge of delirium.

"Auntie Mau let me stay with her, and she fed me when I was here. Please

help her!"

"Yeah, don't worry. I've got this. [Recovery]!"

I cast my spell and touched the woman's arm. The scales immediately faded

away in a flash of light. Just as I'd suspected, it was a curse. I also cast [Mega

Heal] and [Refresh] on her for good measure.

The color slowly returned to her face, and her eyes snapped wide open.

"How do you feel now?"

"My arm... It's healed... There's no pain at all. How did you do that?" Mau

asked. She looked absolutely astonished as she traced her arm with her

fingertips. She was all better now.

"Are you okay, aunty?"

"Mhm, I'm fine. Thank you... Your daddy's an amazing man..." Mau said.

Then, she smiled as she reached out to stroke Yoshino's hair, which made a

little smile creep over the girl's face.

That was one person safe, but I still needed to heal the others. And so, I

walked out of the stilt house and cast [Gate]. Elna led the charge, and soon

enough, everyone from the castle's reception room followed through the portal

behind her.

"Hm? You're here too, Ende?"

"Allis insisted we come..."

I shrugged as I looked over at Ende's family, as well as my own wives.

...You guys aren't gonna have anything to do here without Healing magic, you

know?

"Don't worry, I'll prepare food for the villagers. They'll be exhausted after this

ordeal. Arcia and the others can help."

"Sure thing!"

Lu and Arcia began busying themselves, and I certainly couldn't complain

about their intentions.

[Recovery] helped reverse unusual bodily conditions, but since the curse's

progression varied by person, it would be better to treat everyone individually

rather than all at once. Thankfully, I wasn't the only person here who could cast

it.

"All right, Elna. You start casting [Recovery] on anyone who needs it. If you've

got other Healing spells, feel free to use those if you think they'll help. Same

goes for you guys."

"O-Okay, got it!" Elna said as she nodded firmly.

There were five people here other than me who could use Light-aspected

Healing magic: Linze, Sue, Leen, Elna, and Quun. We all split up and began to

heal the afflicted villagers. The others were helping Lu and Arcia, using Earth

magic to build an oven to help cook. Melle and the rest of her family waded into

the ocean to spear some fish.

"That should be everyone..." I mumbled as I let out a sigh and sat down on

the beach. It had taken a while, but all the villagers were finally cured. Just after

I yawned, Yoshino appeared and tugged at my sleeve.

Hm? What's up?

She was with Sakura, and they both implored me to follow. I went after them

and found three dead Fishmen crumpled in a heap. Their bodies were scorched

in various locations. Presumably, they were the ones from the earlier attack.

"Did you do this, Yoshino?"

"Mhm. I have Fire and Wind magic, so I used compound spells."

Fire and Wind? I thought Sakura had Water and Darkness, though. That's

totally different from what she's got. Anyway, putting that aside... Compound

magic, really? That's some pretty top-tier spellcasting.

"Do you have any Null spells other than [Teleport], Yoshino...?"

"Mhm. I have [Absorb] and [Reflection]." Yoshino promptly replied to

Sakura's question. That meant she had three. Pretty impressive, really.

Wait, no... Quun has [Enchant], [Mirage], [Program], and [Modeling], so

that's four... Elna has [Multiple] and [Boost]... Plus, [Absorb] and [Reflection]

are both anti-magic abilities, so they kind of overlap. Then again, [Absorb] is

more about sucking up magic, while [Reflection] diverts it, so it's not exactly the

same. Either way, that makes her pretty much impossible to beat with magic...

That's wild.

I looked over the Fishmen. They looked like no Merfolk I'd ever seen before.

I guess it's a new kind of monster? But...what's this strange feeling I get when

I look at them? Don't tell me...

I toggled my divine sight and immediately scowled at what I saw.

"What's wrong, daddy?" Yoshino asked.

"[Apport]."

I used my magic to pull out the Fishman's heart. A baseball-sized octahedron

manifested in my hand. It was the same thing I found within the wicked

devout's Gollems. The same device that had been used as a stand-in for their GCubes had been beating within the Fishman's chest... Well, it wasn't entirely the

same, but it was close enough. The one embedded in the Gollem had been

blood red, while this one was deep blue. But, just like the red one, there was a

hint of muddied divinity flowing from it.

"What is this...?"

"The work of those annoying wicked devout folks, I think..."

But what did they have to gain by attacking this island? I didn't think this

place was especially important. Maybe they hadn't targeted this island

specifically? It could easily be that they'd sent Fishmen all over the place just to

attack whoever they found. But what would the point in that be? Why did they

have such an infectious curse?

"Hup..."

"Ow?!"

I was crouched over the corpse, lost in thought, when Sakura suddenly karatechopped me in the head.

What was that for?!

"You look too worried... It's bad for our daughter to see you concerned... Que

será, será... Whatever will be, will be..."

I guess you're right. Not much we can do right now.

Sakura suddenly began to sing.

Oh, hey. I know this one...

"Oh, I know this song!" Yoshino said before she started to sing along with her

mother.

The song had the same meaning as the words Sakura had just spoken...

"Whatever will be, will be." It was the main theme song of an American movie

from the 1950s, performed by the actress who starred in it. The song ended up

getting translated into Japanese and became pretty popular.

Sakura and Yoshino both sang in perfect harmony, their gentle voices echoing

across the beach.

Wow, I'm surprised Yoshino can sing so well. No, wait...it actually makes a ton

of sense.

The newly healed villagers ended up walking over and asking me about the

song.

The two continued singing for quite some time, and soon enough, the entire

village had surrounded them. Their voices were utterly bewitching.

When they finally stopped singing, they were met with a round of applause.

Sakura didn't show much emotion in response, but Yoshino kind of hid behind

her mother's leg out of shyness.

"Food's ready!"

I walked over to the stone-magicked table on the beach. It was lined with all

kinds of dishes cooked up by Arcia and Lu.

...Wow, that's a lot.

The recovering villagers thanked everyone for the help and dug right in. They

certainly weren't in any condition to cook for themselves, so it was likely a very

welcome meal.

Before joining them, I shoved one of the dead Fishmen into my [Storage]. I

figured having Doc Babylon, Tica, and Flora take a look at it later on might be

helpful. Looking into its genetic makeup could yield some answers, after all.

I didn't know what these wicked devout were planning, but they'd made my

daughter cry... That alone was unforgivable.

◇ ◇ ◇

Meanwhile, in the Magitechnocracy of Isengard...the trade hub of Sieglan,

located in the south of the country, was in a state of disarray. It was once a

bustling mercantile city that kept up active trade with the Gardio Empire, but

ever since Meteor Day, it had been isolated from the rest of the world.

What was once a place filled with life was now little more than a hollow slum.

It had all begun with an alleged miracle drug, a potion that kept corruption at

bay, purported to have been made from ground-up Puretree branches.

Naturally, the people flocked to buy it. And all of them were, unfortunately,

unaware of how catastrophically addictive it was.

Those who'd ingested it soon lost their vitality, becoming little more than

shambling, apathetic husks. Many were crippled by the addiction, and soon

enough, they wasted away and died.

Those unlucky enough to survive gradually underwent physical changes. Some

of these changes were more prominent than others... Some of the afflicted

grew scales on their skin, while others grew sharp claws where their nails had

once been. Their minds changed alongside the physical deformation as well.

Their sanity gradually slipped away...until all they could think about was getting

more of the drug that had hooked them. They lost their sense of reason,

reduced to little more than raging beasts.

A weakened man was in one of Sieglan's back alleys, his mind long gone. He

was once a butcher. And at the suggestion of one of his regular customers, he

tried a cheap, yet effective, medicine. At first, he thought it was a scam...but he

took a few doses and felt his worries float away. His pain, his sorrow, his

doubt...all were wiped from his body. He felt euphoric.

He needed more. He abandoned his business and skulked around town

looking for as much as he could get. At first he only bought it, but eventually, he

was fine stealing it.

The more medicine he took, the more his body changed. He grew physically

larger, his skin hardened. He became almost like an Orc. And yet, the man

didn't care. In fact, the man likely didn't even notice.

The medicine became scarcer as time went on. The man's stress levels rose in

turn. He became anxious. He fell into fits of depression and rage. Nothing he did

eased his heart. He was angry and sad all at once. He became aggressive,

lashing out for the smallest things. The few people remaining in his life soon left

him, but that only accelerated his mental decline.

When he began killing people for looking at him wrong, he felt nothing. He

only had the capacity for impatience, exhaustion, and irritability. He hated the

people around him, for they refused to give him his fix. He hated the town

itself, for it lacked an adequate supply of what he needed. He hated the world,

for it had failed to deliver that sweet rush directly into his veins.

The man collapsed in a filthy alley, weakened and filled with spite, cursing the

world that brought him here. And then...two shadowy figures appeared before

him.

"Here he is. Let's hope it's not another failure," the man in a metal plague

doctor's mask muttered as he glanced down at the prone man. A metallic red

rapier sat at his waist.

"The drug he took had a concentrated dosage. He should still have his ego

intact, so I think you'll find him to your liking," the man in a spherical diver's

mask answered his beaked friend. One wouldn't expect him to see very well

through the latticed peephole on the front of his headgear, yet he seemed to

see just fine. A metallic blue hatchet sat at his own waist, glowing faintly.

The former butcher glared up at the two men, rage faintly burning behind his

gaze.

"Me...di...cine... Give...me..."

"I've something better than medicine for you, friend," the man in the plague

mask merrily said as he pulled a pistol out from a deep pocket, aiming it at the

man's chest. He then pulled the trigger without a moment of hesitation,

shooting the former butcher square in the heart.

Oddly enough, there wasn't any blood. The struck man began to convulse, but

he didn't die.

"Ghah... Ghkah... Ghkhah!"

"Don't die, okay? It'd be a real pain to find another candidate..."

The former butcher's body began to change even more. His muscles

expanded, bulging blood vessels peeking out from beneath his taut skin. His

eyes rolled back into his head and a strained scream leaked out past his lips.

Eventually, he stopped convulsing and stilled. He was unconscious, but he

certainly wasn't dead.

"Bingo."

"Hah... And thus the new devout is born."

The former butcher rolled onto his back, revealing his bare chest. A

disturbing, ominous pattern sprawled out across it, with the gunshot wound as

the center. He slowly staggered to his feet.

"Hey there. You feeling okay?"

"Not... Awf...ul... Feel...better..."

The man's muscles were pulsing and rippling. He honestly looked ready to

burst. But he didn't seem to be in any pain as he looked up to the sky with

sunken eyes.

"...Maybe he took too much? What's with the way he's talking?"

"It's not a big deal if he talks funny, right...? Oh, it's manifesting."

"Ghah?! Wh...at...?!"

The former butcher began clutching at his chest. His ribs suddenly bent

outward, his upper torso exploding into a shower of blood...and a shining,

sticklike object suddenly burst out of his open wound.

The butcher was still lucid, however, and he reached out with wavering hands

to pull the object free.

"It's pretty big... Is it a greatsword?"

"Don't think so, but... Oh, now I see."

As the butcher pulled the object from his chest, the full shape of the bloodsmeared manifestation was revealed. The handle of the weapon was thick and

rugged, like the kind you'd find on a machete. But the blade was, well... It was

obvious what the weapon was. The beast of a man held a metallic brown meat

cleaver in his hands.

"So that's the shape his wicked vessel has taken?"

"I...cut... I...cu...t...meat..." the butcher stared vacantly as he spoke, his jaw

slack and listless.

Not long after, there were various reports of bodies in the streets of Sieglan.

They'd all been sliced up into chunks of meat.

◇ ◇ ◇

Meanwhile, in the icy Elfrau Kingdom.

"Hmhm..."

A lone boy walked through a snowy plain. It wasn't snowing, but the boy was

still not properly dressed for such a cold climate. The clothes he wore were

rather modest, but anyone with a discerning eye would've realized it was a

custom-fit outfit woven from the finest of materials. At a glance, one would

probably assume the boy to be a spoiled rich kid. But he wasn't just that... He

was a royal child from a particularly powerful family.

The boy looked to be around five or six years old. He had silky blond hair tied

up behind his head and a perfectly adorable face.

"Wh-Where'd I drop my phone...? Wah...if Yakumo or Yoshino were here, I

could warp out... Hm?"

The boy suddenly noticed something running toward him in the distance. It

was an enormous white canine, which bounded toward him at incredible

speeds. As it got closer, he realized it was a magical beast. A Snow Wolf.

Snow Wolves were considered red-rank monsters, and they were known for

their agility, brutality, and ice manipulation abilities. Even grown men had

trouble hitting these creatures, and they were known to gobble up men,

women, and children without hesitation. And yet, the sight of the Snow Wolf

yielded no fear from the boy. Instead, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness."

"RAAARGH!" the Snow Wolf bellowed at the boy. Just as the beast closed in,

surely to swallow the boy whole, the two of them locked eyes.

While he'd inherited his mother's blonde hair, the boy had his father's dark

eyes. But in that moment, his right eye shifted to a dark gold. It was a kind of

muddy gold with a faint hint of green mixed in.

The stare from his right eye, filled with green-gold light, seemed to pierce the

Snow Wolf to its core. In a matter of seconds, the hulking canine grew docile

and fell to the ground, resting on its stomach.

"Grhhh..."

"There we go. Good boy! Sorry, but I need to ride you. Take me to people,

okay?"

With that, the boy clambered up onto the Snow Wolf's back and snuggled

into its fuzzy fur.

"Oh, how cozy... Let's go."

"Ruff!"

The Snow Wolf began charging through the snow as fast as it could, taking

care not to jostle the little lad on its back.