The next day I woke up at 9 am.
Looking up at the sky through the window of my room, I saw that Zogral was still there, wrapped in a golden barrier in the northern sky.
I will definitely defeat it sooner or later. Just wait and see. With renewed determination, I stepped away from the window.
After taking a shower, I got ready and left the room.
I went to the dining room on the first floor and found Iris and the others already there.
"Good morning, Kou. Did you have a good rest?"
"Yeah. I am fine. How is everyone else?"
"I was fast asleep after that. I think I was very tired."
"Me, too."
"I couldn't sleep a bit, so I drank some herbal tea and then went to sleep."
"I had a good night's sleep! I told all the Helper Slimes about the ritual, so rest assured!"
Surara said, and his body turned a little vertically.
He was a little bit taller than usual, and his body was bent over.
"Thank you. Surara!"
I went over to Surara and patted him on the head.
"Hehehe! I got praised!"
It's a relief to see him in such an innocent mood.
I took my seat, and soon after, my meal was served.
On the left side of the oval white plate was a pancake, and on the right side was a salad of salmon and avocado.
The pancake on the left side was so thick that it could have been used as sandwich bread if it had been split into two in the center.
The pancake was fluffy, and white steam rose from the sides.
It was just like "freshly made" bread.
The size of the pancake was also quite large, one size larger than the palm of my hand.
The salad on the right has ten pieces each of salmon and avocado cut diagonally.
…It's extravagant.
In Japan, not many restaurants would serve portions so generously.
The sour cream instead of toppings was also plentiful, and there was even a bowl of hot pumpkin soup.
"With this amount of food, I certainly don't think I'll need lunch."
Iris nodded her head in agreement as she took a bite of the sour cream-covered pancake.
"The sourness of the cream is nice. It goes well with the sweetness of the pancakes."
"The avocado is very tender and ripe."
"Chewy! The salmon is so juicy!"
"Aren't you going to eat it, Kou-san?"
Lily, sitting across from me, asked me.
"Are you feeling unwell?"
"No, I was just watching everyone else. Eating is not the only thing to look forward to when it comes to meals."
When I was in Japan, I always ate alone. I didn't have time to go to the restaurant with anyone.
My days were like yogurt drinks in the morning, sweet bread for lunch… and convenience store bento for dinner.
Compared to those days, the meal was quite extravagant now.
Not to mention the gorgeousness of the menu and the fact that I could sit around the table with so many people.
There is a saying that "who you eat with" is more important than "what you eat," and it is certainly true.
If I had been alone, this breakfast would have been a tasteless one.
While I was thinking about this and putting the pancake in my mouth, a male staff member came over to me and said.
"Kou-sama. I have a message from King Octo. Would you like to hear it now or would you prefer to have it after the meal?"
"Now is fine. Tell me."
"I understand. He said he would send someone to pick you up at 11:30 am and that he would like you to come with him to the plaza."
"All right. Thank you."
I thanked him and returned to my meal.
The pumpkin soup was rich and had an irresistible, penetrating sweetness.
The dessert that followed was a dense pudding with a concentrated egg flavor, and it, too, was quite a delicacy.
Phew.
Thank you for the meal.
If I ate this much, it would certainly last me until the end of the night.
After waiting for everyone to finish eating, I told everyone about my plans for the rest of the day.
"According to King Octo, the pickup will come at 11:30. We will meet at the entrance of the guest house at 11:25, which is five minutes before, and we will have free time until then. Is that alright with you?"
"I'm fine."
"I'm fine, too."
"Me, too."
"I have no objection to that. …By the way, Kou-sama, do you have any plans before you leave?"
"No, I don't have any plans. What's wrong?"
"I'd like to talk to you alone for a moment if you don't mind. Would you like to go out in the garden?"
"I understand."
As I nodded, Iris, who was sitting next to me, spoke up.
"Leticia. Do you have business with Kou?"
"Yes. Of course, I have no intention of interfering with his relationship with Iris-sama, so please don't worry about it. I would rather call it a family meeting as a sister."
"Wait, Leticia. I'm not the Greedy Dragon, so I'm not Leticia's brother."
"Ara, pardon me. However, until yesterday, I had been treating you as my brother, and it is not something that can be suddenly changed. So please accept it."
"I see."
If I am told to accept it, there is indeed no way to refute it.
Leticia is quite pushy in this area, isn't she?
Leticia and I went out together into the garden of the guest house.
Iris, Lily, and Surara (the two and a companion) seemed to be getting ready in their rooms.
"Leticia, don't you have to get ready?"
"Don't worry about that. I already did that before I came for breakfast."
That's all right then.
We walked around the garden for a while and stopped at the pond.
"Shall we go around here?"
"Yes. So, what's the story?"
"There are two topics. The first is about weapons."
"About weapons?"
"Kou-sama with the magic sword Gram, Iris-sama with the holy dragon spear Fimul, and Lily-sama with the Yggdrasil bow… all of which are weapons of extraordinary power. …But I only use my bare hands. I don't think my unique ability, [Falling Star], was very effective against Zogral."
I wonder if that's true.
Just as I was wondering that the voice of [Full Assist] echoed.
Leticia di Meteor's statement is not wrong.
The Holy Dragon Spear Fimul's "Absolute Freeze EX" and the silver arrows released from Yggdrasil's Bow both contained enormous magical power and were able to strike an effective blow against Zogral's tentacles.
On the other hand, Leticia di Meteor's [Falling Star] is merely an attack that hits a huge mass, so it is not able to inflict much damage on Zogral's tentacles.
I see.
So it's important whether or not the attack has magic power.
As I was convinced, Leticia said further.
"Kou-sama. I am afraid that my current situation may be a great hindrance in the fight against Zogral. I know it's a presumptuous request, but could you please make me a weapon using [Creation]?"
"I know how you feel."
I nodded and answered.
"By the way, what kind of weapons does Leticia want? Do you have a request for a sword, a spear, or something like that?"
"I have tried many different weapons during my travels, but I am most comfortable with my fists. However, I can't just punch Zogral directly in the face, so something like Kou-sama's Gram, which can release magic power in a direction, would be ideal."
"Indeed."
Considering that, rather than a pure weapon, something that strengthens the [Falling Star] would be ideal.
Or something completely different.
"At any rate, I understand Leticia's idea. But I don't know if we can make the weapon as requested. Can I ask [Full Assist] for a moment?"
"Of course. Please do."
Leticia bowed with a polite gesture as she said that.
──Well, now. That's how it is, but do you have any good recipes?
I called out to [Full Assist] in my mind.
Search will now be performed.
…Search finished.
The search took 0.2 seconds, and there were no applicable recipes.
There is none. As expected, things don't go so conveniently in this world.
However, strengthening our forces is considered essential to defeating Zogral.
We will report back to you if we discover a recipe for a weapon that meets Leticia di Meteor's request.
Oh, yes. I'll be looking forward to it.
After I said that in my mind, I also told Leticia what [Full Assist] had said.
"Understood. If there are any items you need, please do not hesitate to let me know."
"I understand. By the way, you said you had two topics. What is the other one?"
"Well, that one's just a family meeting."
"What do you mean?"
"What do you actually think of Iris-sama, Kou-sama?"
Hmm?
What is she talking about?
"I mean, she's an important companion, but…"
"Is that all?"
"What else is there? …If I may add, I'm always grateful for her help."
"But you promised to go shopping with Iris-sama after the battle. …I think that's what you call a date."
"No, I think you're overthinking that."
"I see. I understand."
Leticia nodded with a wry smile.
"Even at a time like this, Kou-sama is still Kou-sama, isn't he?"
"What are you talking about?"
"No, don't worry about it. I'm just saying that the world could end in two or three days, and you should try not to have any regrets."
"It won't end."
I muttered to myself as I turned my gaze to the sky.
Zogral was still floating in the northern sky.
The golden barrier that surrounds it has not been broken.
"The Greedy Dragon is holding it back for now, and I'll definitely find a way to defeat Zogral in the meantime. As long as we win, the world will go on, so there's nothing to worry about."
"Kou-sama is very strong, isn't he?"
"Really?"
"Yes. The world will go on as long as you win. Maybe we will not be able to win. They might be swallowed up again. Those are the thoughts that come to my mind."
"I won't let that happen."
"I'll be counting on you."
Leticia giggled as she said that.
When the conversation was over, we decided to go to the entrance of the guest house.
The clock at the entrance showed that it was only 11 am.
"We still have plenty of time before the meeting time. What do you want to do?"
"I don't have anything special to do, so I thought I would wait here until the meeting time. What about you, Kou-sama?"
"Well, I guess I'll wait here, too."
While I was talking like that, I heard a voice behind me.
"Ah, Kou-san!"
It was a man's voice.
When I turned around, I saw a slender young man with glasses rushing toward me.
I know this young man.
Relic di Hubert.
He is the third son of the Duke of Hubert and an archaeologist.
He mainly researches ancient civilizations and has brought back to life many magical objects from the past.
For example, the showers in the rooms of the guest house are made of water magic stone, which seems to be the result of Relic's research.
Because of his many other achievements, he was appointed as a special professor at the Royal Academy at the young age of his early twenties.
Come to think of it; he must have been personally close to King Octo.
"Good morning, Kou-san. …I heard about yesterday from King Octo."
Relic said with a concerned look in my direction.
"I also watched the battle from my room at the Royal Academy. Are you injured?"
"I'm fine. I'm still alive and well."
I said and raised my right hand in a gesture.
Come to think of it; it's been a few days since I've seen Relic.
I remember the last time we saw each other was when we arrived at the guest house.
"So, what's going on today? Could it be that the person who King Octo assigned to pick us up is Relic?"
"Oh, there's someone else who will come. I have something I wanted you to see."
"Something you wanted me to see?"
"Yes, this."
Relic said and pulled out a black glass ball-like object from his pocket.
"It was previously excavated from an ancient ruin near the royal capital and was thought to be a kind of ornament."
"There's an ominous presence about it."
Leticia muttered in a sharp voice behind me.
"What in the world is it?"
"That's what I can't figure out."
Relic muttered in a troubled voice.
"At the time of its discovery, it was said to be an ornament. But last night, when Zogral came out, something strange happened."
"What happened?"
"Suddenly, it started glowing purple. It was the same color as the Zogral."
"That's strange."
I thought about it for a while, and then a thought occurred to me.
"Could it be a piece of Zogral's body? Maybe Zogral had visited this world in the past."
"No, that's unlikely."
Leticia shook her head and said.
"If Zogral had appeared in the past, this world would have been destroyed at that point."
"That's for sure."
The fact that this world continued to exist meant that the Zogral had not yet arrived.
"Why don't you try to use [Appraisal] for the time being?"
"I guess so."
I received the glass ball-like object from Relic and activated [Appraisal].
The Piece of Emptiness: The item contains the "emptiness" that constitutes Zogral. It uses technology from a world that is different from this world, a world that has already been destroyed.
Oh, man.
It really is a piece of Zogral, isn't it?
The fact that it glowed when Zogral came out may have been a reaction to the appearance of the main body.
What does it mean by technology from a different world being used in the first place?
I'm going to tell both Relic and Leticia about the results of the [Appraisal].
"In other words, it is not from an ancient civilization, right?"
"Yes. It seems to be from another world."
"Perhaps…"
It was Leticia who raised her voice.
"Perhaps they were brought here by people who fled to this world after their own world was destroyed by Zogral."
"How is that possible?"
"It's just a theory. But the ancient people were trying to summon beings from other worlds who could resist the calamity, weren't they? If so, it is not surprising that the technology to travel between worlds existed."
I see.
Certainly, if such technology exists, it would not be surprising if items from different worlds existed individually.
While I was convinced by this, Relic shouted loudly, "Ah!"
"I see! So that's what this is all about! I understand I understand!"
"What's wrong?"
I asked, and Relic answered excitedly.
"I've been thinking about this for a while now, but it seems that about a hundred years before the ancient civilization was destroyed, there was a great technological revolution. Perhaps the people whose world was destroyed by Zogral had come over from another world and provided the technology! If so, it would change the meaning of the ancient texts that we couldn't decipher until now…! Thank you, Kou-san! Kou-san is very much a benefactor of archaeology."
Relic said, gripping my right hand with both of his hands and swinging it around.
"No, I was just using my [Appraisal]."
"That's enough! I'm so glad I had you take a look at it! Oh, I can't stay like this. I have to go back to the academy and reread the literature! Kou-san, I'll be sure to thank you sooner or later! Excuse me!"
Relic said, flipping his shabby white coat and leaving the scene.
…When I thought that, he made a U-turn and came back and said.
"Oh, I'll give the piece to you, Kou-san! It might give you a chance to defeat Zogral, and you can treat it as you like! I still have more of the same in my lab, so if you need them, just let me know! See you later!"
Relic spoke this in a very fast voice and left the guest house this time in a hurry.
Let's see…
"Even at a time like this, Relic-sama is always the same, isn't he?"
Leticia giggled as she looked at the place where Relic was standing a moment ago.
"We can't lose so we don't let his research go to waste, can we?"
"Oh, yes."
I felt as if the tension had somehow eased thanks to Relic's visit.