"It's amazing… It looks as though it's almost back to normal already."
As we all walked through the [Great Devil's Nest] on our way to the place where Sage-san lies, I couldn't help but look around at my surroundings and say that.
The depths of the [Great Devil's Nest], which had been obliterated by Avis's attack and reduced to nothing but a desolate wasteland, were already covered with plants that were close to the original [Great Devil's Nest].
"Crazy. The growth rate of the organisms here is strange."
(I guess the environment of this forest is special after all…)
Yuti and Merl-san could not help but be astonished at the scene before their eyes.
However, as expected, the monsters had yet to completely return, and there was no sign of them attacking at all.
"So this is the vegetation of the [Great Devil's Nest], huh…?"
Then Odis-san observed the surrounding vegetation with interest and collected some of them.
"Um… are you going to use those plants for something?"
"Hmm? No, this is just my research. As you can see, I'm an elf… and I'm studying plants all over the world to see if there's anything that can help me develop my magic."
"Heh! So the plants that grow here are not normal?"
"Yes. First of all, I'm surprised that the black hardwood tree can grow here in such a normal way… There are also many other plants that I've never seen before. I really wish I could have explored this place earlier… but it's just too dangerous here. I don't think I'd want to come to a place like this on my own if I didn't have Usagi, Iris, or even Yuuya-dono to help me."
"B-but Iris-san and Master Usagi come to my house rather normally, you know?"
Yes, I often hear about the dangers of the [Great Devil's Nest] from the people around me, but for all that, the two of them came to my house without hesitation.
But Odis-san shook his head at my words.
"Don't lump me in with those two. They are out of the ordinary among the Holy, you know. Besides, I'm not that good at fighting."
"Hey! You can't talk about me like I'm a monster."
(That's right. And it's no different from the fact that this place is dangerous for us as well. It's just that the area around Yuuya's house is still manageable. As expected, I can't even think about living there.)
As I always thought, Sage-san, who would build a house in such a place, was a crazy person.
With a wry smile on my face, I called out to one of the twins… Ruri-san, who was looking at the surrounding plants in the same way as Odis-san.
"Ruri-san, you're looking at the plants so intently. Are you interested in them too?"
"Hmm… unlike Master, it's just a hobby, but… Rill isn't interested, is she?"
"Yeah, I'm not interested."
"I see…"
Even though they are twins, they have different hobbies and interests.
When I was thinking about this, Ruri-san's eyes lit up, and she looked at me.
"More importantly, you are amazing, aren't you? We've only known each other a short while, and you can already tell us apart?"
"W-well, yeah, I guess so."
"By the way, how do you tell us apart? Is it from our hair?"
"No, it's your atmosphere."
""Atmosphere?""
Not only were they surprised by my answer, but also Odis-san.
"That's amazing… Even I made a mistake sometimes…"
"How can that be for the master?"
Well, they indeed look exactly alike, and it's no wonder that people mistake them, isn't it?
"Brother Yuuya is amazing, isn't he?"
"You're the first person who said you could tell by our atmosphere!"
"I-is that so? I mean… Brother Yuuya?"
[T/n: They called him Yuuya-Ani or ユウヤ兄]
When I asked them back about the unfamiliar words, they smiled and nodded.
"Yeah! You seem to be older than us, so it's Brother Yuuya, right?"
"Yes, yes! That's why you don't have to use honorifics either!"
"I-I see."
I was overwhelmed by the two energetic people, so I nodded obediently.
I was embarrassed by the way they referred to me, as I had never been referred to as a brother before, even by my actual brother and sister, Sora and Yuuta.
As we continued on our way, deepening our friendship, we finally reached our destination.
"This is the place where Sage-san lies."
"Oh…!"
In front of us, there was a single cave that had not collapsed in any particular way. This area also received Avis's attack, and I thought that it had been blown up, but… it seemed to be undamaged.
Could it be that Sage-san's power also protected this cave?
Then Ouma-san, who was the only one who knew about Sage-san, narrowed his eyes nostalgically.
"This presence is… without a doubt. It's his. So, you've been sleeping in a place like this, huh… and yet you're still as eccentric as ever."
His voice sounded both appalled and saddened.
Everyone could hear Ouma-san's voice, and they kept silent.
"…Hmph. I showed you something out of place. Let's get going."
"Ah, wait!"
After saying that, Ouma-san quickly went into the cave, and we hurriedly followed him.
As we entered the cave, I thought back to that time.
"If Night hadn't brought me here, I wouldn't have known about Sage-san's existence… Thanks for your help once again, Night."
"Woof!"
Night barked happily at my words.
There was nothing special about the cave, but a path was cut straight into it, and we all went straight to the depths of the cave and… finally found Sage-san's remains.
I didn't think too much about it at the time, but the fact that the bones were still so clean might be because Sage-san had performed some kind of magic on himself.
"T-this is… the legendary sage…!"
When Odis-san approached Sage-san's bones in front of him fearfully, he knelt down and began to shed tears.
"O-Odis-san?"
"Ugh… I'm sorry… For those of us who master magic, the sage is just like a God…"
"…I didn't expect that weirdo Odis to be so thrilled…"
(Well, I don't know. Even I get nervous when I think about being in the presence of the sage.)
As Master Usagi said, this cave was really just a cave with no special ornamentation, but it was filled with a strange atmosphere that made you feel very relaxed.
Then, unexpectedly, Yuti tugged on my clothes.
"Question. Why are the sage's bones still there?"
"Eh?"
"Burial. If it's a grave, it should be buried or something."
As Yuti said, when a person dies, they are usually cremated, buried in the ground, or buried in water, or memorialized in some other way.
However, what can I say…? I was hesitant to touch the bones, or rather, I was unable to touch them.
As if to represent my feelings, Ouma-san, who had been quietly staring at Sage-san's bones until now, opened his mouth.
"…It's fine for him to stay like this. It's not like he wants to be buried by someone else."
"Affirmative. I see. But he's strange."
"…You're right."
After a while, Ouma-san, who was once again silently looking at Sage-san's bones, turned to me.
"Now, Yuuya. You don't seem to realize it, but it looks like there are still some things left behind by the sage in this place."
"Eh?"
"What?"
When Ouma-san said that, not only me but also Odis-san's eyes widened.
It was here that I inherited the magic circuit and magic knowledge from Sage-san, but was there still something left behind?
I was led to a place where Ouma-san said he could feel the presence of Sage-san, but what was there was just a rock wall.
"Here."
"Err…? It just looks like a dead-end to me…"
Odis-san also put his hand on the wall and seemed to be examining things carefully but eventually nodded.
"Yeah. From what I can see, it's just a wall."
"Hmm. There's no way he's going to build a mechanism that you can see through, is there?"
"Ugh…"
"It's okay. Anyway, Yuuya. You're the key."
"Eh, me?"
"Yes. It appears that you have inherited something from She sage in this place, but that was not everything. As a result, you are now qualified to inherit everything that the Sage left behind."
"No way…"
I was astonished by Ouma-san's words.
I-it's true that the house, the garden, the weapons, the magic circuit, and many other things were given to me by Sage-san. They were all coincidental, and even though they were called qualifications, I didn't really feel anything.
However, as if reading my thoughts, Ouma-san continued.
"You seem to think that everything is a coincidence, but that's not true. What he left behind is not something that can be inherited so easily. Think about it. If his legacy were to fall into the hands of the Evil…"
"…Honestly, I don't want to think about it."
(Rather, at that moment, our defeat will be decided.)
Ouma-san nodded at Iris-san and Master Usagi's words.
"That's why. Even if it seems like a coincidence, that's why his legacy has been made in such a way that it cannot be passed on without qualifications. If so, why was Yuuya able to inherit it? It's mainly because he judged that you are qualified for it."
"That's…! B-but I've never met Sage-san like you, you know? And I don't know much about him either! Grandpa seems to have met him… so maybe it was Grandpa who should have inherited the legacy, not me…?"
"I don't know about that. But that's the thing about him. Even if he were acquainted with Yuuya's grandfather, he would not hand over his inheritance just because of that blood connection. As I have said many times, only you are qualified to inherit his legacy."
"….."
I was so shocked that I could not say anything.
If what Ouma-san said was true, then it was inevitable that I would inherit the house, the weapons, and everything else.
But if that's the case, I had no idea why I, a person he'd never met before… had this qualification.
Could it be that Grandpa asked Sage-san to do it? That might be the most realistic… but it's really just a feeling, but it doesn't seem right.
I've been thinking about it for a while, but in the end, I don't know the answer.
"Well, I'm curious as to why, but that's not important right now. The only person who is qualified to inherit the sage's legacy is you… and that's all that matters. If you understand that, then go ahead and touch that wall."
"Y-yeah."
I touched the wall as Ouma-san told me to, and as if in response to that, a complex magic circle suddenly appeared on the plain rock wall!
"This is…"
"Ridiculous! I've never seen magic this complicated before…!"
Judging from the reaction of Odis-san, the Magic Saint, who was the most knowledgeable about magic in this group, this magic circle must be out of the ordinary.
Then, Merl-san also opened her eyes to the magic circle in front of her.
(I-I know about magic as part of our knowledge, and I've seen a few planets that have actually developed magical civilizations… but I've never seen magic in this form before…!)
Sage-san's magic was described to be out of the ordinary even when considered on a universe-wide scale.
As everyone was immensely shocked by the fact, the magic circle eventually transformed, and letters appeared on the surface.
"T-this is…"
"Question. What does it say?"
"Eh?"
I looked at Yuti, who seemed to be unable to read the letters that had appeared, and tilted her head. I didn't think it was possible, so I looked around at the others, but they all had the same strange expression on their faces.
"It looks like some kind of text, but… I wonder what it says?"
(I've never seen it before.)
"…I don't know any of these letters either."
"It's kind of cool, right?"
"It's kind of awesome!"
(No way… even my language converter can't translate it…!)
Amazingly, no one could read the letters that appeared on the rock wall.
I tried to look at Ouma-san, who was closest to Sage-san, but…
"….Zenovis. Do you really want to hide it like that? He must have constructed his magic in such a way that only Yuuya can read it. What does it say, Yuuya?"
"Woof…"
"Fugo?"
"Pi."
Aside from the Night and the others, even Ouma-san didn't seem to be able to read it as well.
But──.
"Um… it described the location where Sage-san's legacy is kept."
"!?"
When I read the words and told them so, they all looked at me at once.
Yes… for some reason, I can read the words that appear on the rock wall. I wondered if it was the effect of being qualified to carry on Sage-san's legacy, as Ouma-san had said.
Everyone was appalled by my words, but Odis-san, who has quickly recovered, asked excitedly.
"Yu-Yuuya-dono! So, where in the world is the sage's legacy hidden?"
"E-err… I'm not sure about the details, but it seems to be sealed in a certain planet in space."
(Space?)
"How did it get there…?"
"Unlike Merl-san's planet Amel, there is no way to cross over into space, so how did he seal his legacy on a distant planet…?"
While Master Usagi and the others were surprised at the location of Sage-san's absurd legacy, Merl-san was both surprised and calm.
(A planet? Do you know the exact location?)
"That's the thing… Sage-san, although he sealed the legacy on a certain planet, he didn't know what that planet was called or how to tell where it was, so he couldn't write about its location…"
(…Indeed, I've been exposed to the civilization of Yuuya's world and this world, but I haven't seen technology advanced enough to sail through space. If this is the case, as the Sage wrote, it will be difficult to tell where it is. I hope it exists at least in close proximity to this planet…)
As Merl-san said, it would take a ridiculous amount of time if we try to find the legacy that Sage-san sealed on a certain planet in the universe if we searched normally.
But…
"Um… I don't know the logic behind it, but it seems to me that as long as you get close enough to the planet, you'll inevitably be able to find out… where the legacy is."
(…Such an ambiguous thing… would normally have been dismissed, but considering the particulars of the magic that was just shown and the fact that the user of that magic is the former owner of the weapon that Yuuya-san is using, it's no wonder that such a thing is possible…)
To be honest, I'm wondering what Sage-san has sealed on a certain planet in the universe, but it seems that we can't find out here.
Then Odis-san, who had originally said he wanted to come to this place, nodded in satisfaction.
"Now… I have accomplished my purpose here. But there is still the legacy of the sage sleeping in the universe, isn't there? Then let's get moving!"
"O-Odis-san? That is, of course, but you should make some preparations or…"
"I just need this feeling!"
"Just a feeling?"
Do you really not need any weapons or items? I wonder if it is because he is the Magic Saint, and magic is his main focus?
In any case, I realized that Odis-san really worshiped Sage-san.
I laughed at Odis-san's reaction and called out to everyone.
"Well… it seems that Odis-san doesn't need any particular preparation, but what about the rest of you?"
"I'm ready whenever needed."
(Me too.)
Master Usagi and the others don't seem to need to make any special preparations either, so I turn to Merl-san again.
"Then… It's time to leave for space. It seems that everyone is prepared, but is there anything I can do to help you personally?"
(No. It's quite a distance to my home planet, but thanks to the energy I've acquired here, I'll be able to use the warp function, and more importantly, I've got plenty of food onboard. So we can board the ship and leave at any time.)
"Then we'd better hurry. The other day's attack ended up with them just retreating, so if we hurry, we can cut down on the time they have to prepare."
We all nodded at Iris-san's words, and we finally set off into space.