Editing Sekai no Owari no Encore:Volume 2 Record.2

The steam and the terrestrial heat were gushing out.

The mountain path was filled with so much heat that it could cause a heat haze despite not being summer. It got hotter as you got closer to the summit, and by simply standing there you would have sweat fall from all over your body without showing any signs of stopping.

“Nothing much, just thinking it’s peaceful around here. I'm starting to feel like peace and quiet is the best after all.”

Back when they headed towards the volcanic crater where the Demon called Achendia, who was known as the Demon General of Blaze, awaited them. Ren himself still did not remember how they got up there.

Back then he was simply desperate to take action.

The ‘Demons’ were the supreme rulers of the Underworld. The other parties that continued to fall against the Demons.

Faced with such a situation filled with despair, Ren who was in a battered state continued to challenge Achendia who had shown him the difference in their power.

''……Even now I definitely can’t think that I won with my skills alone. ''

''……It was the result of a series of miracles. ''

But at the same time it proved that the training he did and believed in was not wrong.

The mountain path had been officially closed due to the appearance of one of the Five Great Disaster.

It was a shock even for Ren since the path only took two days to be re-opened.

Merchants headed towards the town of the blazing cliff, with the forwarding agency carrying mail. There was also a caravan going through the mountain path carrying a family. So the town of the blazing cliff must have been opened for entering and exiting now.

“I think it's good that people can enter and exit like before, though it happened much more quickly than I imagined.”

“Yes, indeed. I also didn’t hear about anything about Achendia and her subordinates damaging the mountain path. You could say they were using it as a barrier temporarily.”

“Ren, you probably don’t know about this, but the main cause of the destruction of the mountain wasn’t due to the Demons, but because of a certain Miss Angel.”

“Ah, that’s right. I was curious about that. Strangely enough, it did appear to be a crater that was made recently, and it did feel unnatural for it to have appeared in such strange location.”

The direction Fear pointed to was a volcanic crater located in a place that could only be seen by looking up from the mountain trail.

There were huge volcanic rocks all over the place around the path they were walking on, and there were still spots with thick trees and grasses.

But——that area alone was different. There were giant rocks seemed as if they had melted and turned into small pebbles, and the few remaining trees had been covered in white and had withered.

There were no signs indicating that that place had received any kind of impact or attack.

“That was the influence of Elise’s miasma. The black miasma which erodes and dismantles all kind of substances. It’s said that even a Demon would faint right away if he touches it carelessly. It’s the terrifying miasma that once ruled and covered the whole Underworld”

“Pardon me. I assume this is the party that defeated one of the Five Great Disaster at the town of the blazing cliff.”

One member of the party that passed by addressed them.

“Are all of you members of “the Knight of Reincarnation”?”

His gaze was filled with so much respect. He had a face filled with so much excitement; it was as if he was talking to someone who was far above him even though his age was no different from Ren's.

“So how was it? Was one of the Five Great Disaster strong after all?”

“Yes. She is a legendary great Demon after all. She is no opponent humans who only wish to raise their fame can challenge and defeat. First of all, you would need to know where you stand.”

Is it the reincarnation of the legendary Eleline Sword Emperor Brigade? It was a party name used to exaggerate the advertisement, but that name appeared to have spread even outside of Jio.

“Ask me anytime. Now, what spells should I teach Ren? I’m looking forward to it. How about super-wide destruction spells that had been used by all the historical Demon Kings? Or a forbidden spell which would turn everything within the horizon into dust without mercy. Though it would take you a thousand of years to master it.”

“What’s important isn’t about you being capable of using spells but to know the logic of spells itself. You will rarely encounter it, but divine beasts hiding in sanctuaries and belligerent Spirits would use spells more powerful than your average Demons.”

Once you take a step outside a wealthy town you would be inside a world with dangerous and large monsters lurking. It would be the survival of the fittest.

What would block the path between Jio and the Valley of the Dragons would be a range of mountains which has a height of four-thousand metres. Going around the mountain ranges would be the normal route. But the shortcut they chose was to go through the ancient tomb that Kyelse knows of.

“It’s like a tunnel made in a mountain. If we go through there the Valley of the Dragons will be quite close. You saw how my kin appeared in Jio, right? He most likely went past the mountain from the Valley of the Dragons and flew straight to Jio. So our route will also be a direct path like that. We would be travelling in a good pace……if we can go through the ancient tunnel in three days.”

The five continents of the world.

“For example, the Holy-ground of Canaan——”

“It was the location where they found the most habitat of the Spirits and the only land in the world to prosper the belief of the Spirits. The only {{Furigana|“Ancient Caster”|ANCIENTER}} in the current era who is officially recognised in the world. In other words, you would need a ship to go to the city where the Holy maiden, who is an ancient summoner that controls the Spirits, is residing in.”

The Holy maiden of the Holy-ground Canaan was called the last person in the world to be the successor of such spell.

“The Holy-ground Canaan, was it? I do want to go there one day. If I talk to that person called the Holy maiden then I might get a better grip of summoning the Spirit a bit.”

The ancient tree, which was so huge that you had to look up, had its roots sticking out from several locations of the ground. If you lowered your attention even for a moment, you would find yourself tripping on the roots.

“The forests of the Underworld isn’t this nice. The forest itself moves and will attack you. And there will be swamps all over the places. And the magnetic field is a complete mess so you can't use a compass. That’s why it has more thrills and is more fun over there. I will take you there one day as well.”

From the looks of it they didn’t have a map or compass. There were getting their direction by using the slight bit of sunlight which was coming from above, and they therefore had a complete grasp of where they currently were and where they were heading to.

Kyesle who was leading the party raised her voice right after Ren had wiped away his sweat.

It was made from an armful of huge rocks that had been piled onto each other and then had been hardened with clay. There was nothing which could be distinguished as a door. It was simply a widely opened entrance that led into a dark passage.

“I have high hopes for you.”

Ren started to walk into the entrance of the ancient tomb after the three girls push his back as if it was the obvious choice.

“The Holy-ground Canaan. The party, “Canaan Pilgrim, the Boat of the Sacred Teaching”, which is led by the Holy maiden. That’s who they are Ren.”

Canaan Pilgrim, the Boat of the Sacred Teaching —— the Holy-ground of Canaan which was famous for being the place of belief of the Spirits. It was an enormous party led by the Holy maiden who was the highest rank spellcaster as well as being the only {{Furigana|“Ancient Caster”|ANCIENTER}} of the world.

Ren stopped himself from sighing. He then looked around the gloomy dark passage that spread out in front of him.

——{{Furigana|Rh/ s|Sing}} {{Furigana|hec ele Selah|the door of the world}}——

Saint Elies who was the Holy maiden of the Holy-ground of Canaan. And Ren who was still inexperienced.

But this tomb was different.

They made the entrance easy to find even though it was inside a deep woodland.

“I don’t know how many hundreds of years has passed since this became the monsters’ lair but the right passage we walked through before seemed safe just as you all remember. The entrance was wide open as if it was saying that they welcomed all visitors and furthermore, if we take in account of the Canaan Pilgrim coming here could only mean——”

“That this might have been a shrine for worshipping the Spirits huh?”

Kyelse said it as she chewed her chocolate.

“Yeah. Though this is just my assumption. There are traps set on the left passage because there are important equipment used for rituals installed here and the traps are for prevention from it to be stolen.”

“That indeed makes sense. To tell you the truth I had also thought the same just now.”

Fear said it as she gently touched the wall with her fingers.

“And there’s also another reason to support it. Do you remember what those two from the Canaan Pilgrim said earlier? When we had been calling this place the ancient tomb or simply tomb several times, those two simply called this a “ruin” till the very end.”

“I see. So the reason why they were vague about it was to prevent us from knowing that this was a shrine to worship the Spirits.”

“Yes. And that {{Furigana|Fighter|FULLTYPE}} called Thyrus. Don’t you think it was strange, Ren?”

“Eh? ……Even if you say strange the only thing that comes to my mind is that he’s one of the rare men of the Canaan Pilgrim.”

“That is the answer.”

Fear winked at Ren and shook her head.

“I’m sure you have also learned it back at the academy but the trait of the Canaan Pilgrim which is led by Saint Elies is that it is mostly made up of women with high rank spellcasters. Among such party, having a {{Furigana|Fighter|FULLTYPE}} man is very rare even if he is the instructor of the trainee spellcaster. It means he has a very important role in the party—— in other words he must be very skilled.”

“Yeah. I also felt the same from him……”

His steel body with no flaws.

But what Ren paid attention to the most was the presence he felt from him when he came running with Premier.

He made no sound.

If he was that tall and muscular then he would have quite a weight.

It was natural for your body to be slower if you have more weight on your body. But the man called Thyrus did not make it feel like he was slow, instead it was elegant and light from Ren’s perspective.

——Mastering of the martial arts.

——The region that could only be reached by those who had offered everything into training their own body.

He was a man who the Canaan Pilgrim, that were mainly consisted of women, would go far to employ.

It must mean he was a skilled man befitting their demand.

“That man called Thyrus is most likely an executive staff of their party. There would be no way for a man of his calibre to be deployed for a mere investigation of the ruin, don’t you think?”

“I see. So that’s where it links with Elise’s words where she said “there is a Spirit” huh.”

Ren’s voice was filled with excitement without even trying to.

It wasn’t just Elise’s smell that caught the presence of the Spirit.

The ruin which was so important that they had to send Thyrus who would be an executive staff. That alone would be an enough fact for it to become an evidence to be a Spirit here.

“So it was like what Elise said after all huh. Nice one.”

“You see?”

Elise who was staring at the walls made from cubic stones.

“And another thing. This place worshipping the Spirits means that there is a possibility that a Spirit armament might be here. So don’t you think it was a right choice going through this passage?”

“Yeah, but the thing is I can’t use Spirit armaments. I have tried it many times at the Academy.”

“Ah, that’s right. It sure is strange that you can summon a Spirit but can’t use the Spirit armaments. Ren, did you lose all the possible potential you were supposed to have in exchange for summoning a Spirit?”

Elise said it as if she was finding it amusing instead.

She then pointed at Ren’s feet as she walked next to him.

“By the way, Ren, there’s a trap there.”

“Huh?”

What she pointed at was a small crack on the ground. If you had a quick look, it looked like one of the many cracks on the ground. But with a good observation you could see that this crack alone was unusually deep.

“Oh, I got it. If you walked here carelessly you might get the tip of your shoes stuck in here and then push the trigger to activate the trap.”

“Possibly so. You’ll find out if you push it.”

“Why are you giving me that option!? Listen to me and don’t touch it, okay? Don’t, okay?”

“Ah, sorry. I already pushed it.”

“Eliseeeeee!?”

Elise who had a big smile put her feet inside the crack with the trap. Few seconds later. A heavy quake and vibration shook the passage of the ruin.

Bang.

The sound came from behind them.

Something with heavy mass was coming behind from the passage they came from with intense speed——

“A cave-in? ……No, it’s a huge rock!”

His sight and the passage. A huge rock which covered both came rolling towards them.

No, it would be more precise to say it was sliding towards them.

As the surface of ground was slanted due to a slight slope, the huge rock increased its speed the more it rolled. So it scraped the walls and the ceiling as if it gouged it out. The way how it also brought in the sand and rocks made it appears as if it had turned into a debris flow.

“Damn, even if this was the sake of protecting the shrine this is going overboard isn’t it!? Anyway let’s run by going ahead. Kyelse, Elise, Fear-senpai——”

“Thou shall sleep.”

The rumbled stopped.

“Ren, there should be my candy inside your bag.”

The debris flow which had turned into a blue iceberg.

The Dragon Princess who had completely turned every single sand and rock into an ice with a spell that was activated with her power of words started to poke Ren on his flank.

“I want one. Is there still any left?”

“……There is, but I would rather have you explain what had just happened.”

“I froze it because it was on our way.”

Kyelse answered as if it was the obvious action.

She received the bag of candy from him politely and then put the small candy inside her mouth.

“Delicious.”

“I’m glad you are happy…… Well, I don’t even know if I should be happy to be safe. Instead I started to feel pity for those people from long time ago who had desperately set up a trap.”

“Hey, who’s going to step on the next trap? Ren, do you want to try it?”

“Give me a break……”

Ren endured it by making a heavy sigh to Elise who was looking at him with enthusiastic eyes.

“But there was that poisonous arrows and the debris flow just now. Both of them had been put with great effort so maybe there are only few more traps left after those two?”

“Yup. Even though I’m searching further ahead there are only few left. So I’m guessing there’s either one or two traps left. So unfortunate.”

“……It might be late asking you but do you like traps, Elise?”

“I love it!”

The former Demon King did a small jump.

“That’s because traps and cheating each other would be the greatest thrill. I love to come up with traps and even imagining just how it would succeed is also fun. ……But what I love the most is to see through traps someone else desperately made and to activate it on purpose to simply breakthrough it and laugh at them.”

“There’s a limit to how nasty you should get!”

“But it does become a good learning, don’t you think? What kind of trap is possible in what kind of places? It’s easier to learn by actually activating it and seeing it. Yeah, this is all for your training, Ren. So I am purposely activating the traps for your sake.”

“……Well, it’s a bit too late for you to say that to convince me.”

Too break through the trap made by evil intention without mercy with even a greater evil intent.

It certainly was a Demon’s way of doing things. Elise who said it with pride. It might be better to say that this was certainly expected from the former ruler of the Underworld.

“By the way {{Furigana|ancestral spirit of fire|SALAMANDER}}, are you okay? Are you feeling okay even though you’ve been out for so long?”

[……I go too.]

The Spirit that was still floating around his shoulder.

Even Ren did not know how long it was able to manifest in this state. But the crimson Spirit nodded with the same behavior as before.

——The passage lightened by the Spirit.

They did not need to worry about light. Though the smell of the wet earth and the smell of the mold became stronger as they went deeper inside so it would make you cough when you tried to breathe in the air.

“We went quite deep inside, didn’t we?”

“Yes we have. We would be merging with the path that the Canaan Pilgrim is taking somewhere along this passage. Even so, this passage will be the shortcut. We might have advanced further than them if they are having difficulties with the monsters.”

Fear had her usual smile.

Even the strong irritating smell which would make human start coughing with a single breathe didn’t affect her who was an Archangel.

''……If I think about it, Fear-senpai has her usual nice smell.''

''……Maybe the defensive shield of an Angel is purifying these kind of nasty smells as well.''

“Ren, is something bothering you?”

Fear made a bigger smile meaningfully.

“Eh? N-No, it’s nothing……”

“Oh, is that so? I would answer any question from you, Ren. If it’s just about me that you want to know, then I can answer anything for you without even hiding a single fact.”

“I-It’s nothing!”

“By the way, my BWH from top to bottom is——”

“I haven’t asked yet!”

“Oh that’s too bad. But do feel free to ask me anytime, okay? Even the secret about my good smell.”

The Archangel who had a seductive face waved her hands at him as if she was luring him for something. Ren looked away silently due to the embarrassment as she had completely read his mind.

“Leaving that aside. Hey, Ren? That jewel sure is beautiful isn’t it?”

“Jewel?”

“Over there, look. The crimson ruby which is graved on the wall over there.”

The direction where Fear pointed at was quite further ahead of this passage.

Within the distance where the light emitted from {{Furigana|ancestral spirit of fire|SALAMANDER}} reached by a margin. Ren didn’t realise it until being pointed out as the red light emitted from the Spirit and the red colour of the jewel had blended in colour.

The ruby graved into the wall of the passage.

It suddenly showed up in the path full of traps. The jewel that had been graved in the wall where it stood out.

“Seriously, this is out of the question……”

Ren glared at the ruby that was giving out a red shine as he walked just in front of the jewel.

It was a trap. It was clearly a trap from anyone’s perspective. There was no doubt that it was a trap which would activate by either pulling the ruby out or touching it.

“This is too obvious. Is there even a person who would fall for this after coming this far?”

“……Hmm. I’m also disappointed. I sure don’t feel like falling for it either.”

“It should be awarded for its disappointment. I am guessing the person who had set the traps lost creativeness.”

The one who was behind Elise who scratched the back of her head with a bitter smile was Fear who was making comments with face filled with sympathy.

But among this party.

“Wait! This is different!”

There was one girl. The one who put on a lively voice was Kyelse.

She brushed off her shining silver hair with her fingers. She then walked right in front of the jewel.

“Listen up, Ren. You still lack in knowledge if you have assumed this was a trap because of the appearance. That way of thinking is poor indeed! Elise and Fear. The same goes for you two as well.”

“What do you mean?”

“Think carefully. Those other traps which were hidden very skillfully. But the location where this jewel is placed is too childish for a trap. It’s unnatural instead.”

“……Well, I certainly thought the same.”

Ren put on a confused look at Kyelse who said it with confidence.

“So what does this mean at the end?”

“Very well. Let me reveal the answer. This jewel itself isn’t the trap. They put the jewel on the position where it would stand out on purpose. So their aim was to take our attention away from the real trap. So that means that the real trap is hidden nearby and that was their true goal!”

The princess of Dragons who said that with pride.

“They might have schemed it by trying to trick us. But its hundred years too early for humans to trick my eyes. That’s why this ruby is a fake trap which they made it seem like a real trap.”

“H-Hey, Kyelse! Wai——”

“Just watch. I will prove to you that we don’t need to be frighten at this fake trap.”

Before Ren could even stop her.

She took out the ruby from the wall in an instance. Kyelse then chucked it away as if she wasn’t interested in it.

“Look. Nothing happened after all…………huh?”

Kyelse who had become astonished released a puzzled voice.

Of course she would. It was because the area of the ground the four of them were standing on disappeared instantly, even before the ruby which she threw away could hit the ground.

A trap hole.

Without having no time to avoid it, the four of them fell to the lightless hole upside down.

“It was a trap after all—— —— —— ——!”

“Hmm……it was a trap by making it appear as if it wasn’t. Trying to put on a decoy behind another decoy. Splendid.”

Kyelse who had become unusually satisfied while crossing her arms as she was falling.

Likewise, the former Demon King and the Archangel who were also falling had a confident expression.

“Leaving aside her theory, what’s right below here is……oh, it’s nothing serious. It appears to be a simple highly poisonous swamp.”

“That’s so plain. They should have at least put a burning hot magma down there.”

“It sure is a let-down. Did they think they could take us down with a mere poison?”

“It’s an instant death for me you know!?”

The dark purple swamp that Ren was just able to see while falling upside down.

The way how it was gushing out the bubbles as if it was boiling. The appearance of it could clearly be seen as a poisonous swamp due to the ominous colour it had.

And that swamp closing in right in front of their eyes——

“Oh my, I won’t feel good if we continue to fall like this and get our clothes soaked.”

The torrent of light.

The golden glow that was overflowing lightened every single spot of the trap hole.

“Please hold on to me tightly.”

The Archangel Fear who had a large pair of wing appear on her back.

The three of Ren, Elise, and Kyelse had their body stop falling instantly before falling into the poisonous swamp thanks to being supported by Fear’s hand. Kyelse and Elise had hold on to Fear’s hand respectively. Ren was barely holding onto Kyelse’s hand and……

“……Mm.”

Kyelse’s low voice.

“R-Ren, you idiot! You shameless man, where on earth are you grabbing!?”

Kyelse who was all red had her body shaking.

She used the other hand which wasn’t grabbing Ren to fix her clothes around her chest area——

“Y-You got it wrong! You are misunderstanding it! I was simply trying to grab Kyelse’s hand! And my hand slipped a bit……”

“Ren, you perv~”

“Oh my, Ren. That’s not fair. You are having the fun just by yourself, Kyelse.”

“I’m saying you all got it wrong!”

Ren had Fear pull himself back to the surface while he had the girls say things to him.

“……Phew. Ever since enrolling in the human’s academy it has been about four years since I actually used my wings. I almost forgot how to fly.”

[[Image:Sekai_no_Owari_no_Encore_V2_Non-colour_004.jpg|thumb]]

“Thanks, you were a life saver, Fear-senpai.”

“You are welcome. Though this wasn’t a big deal.”

The blonde Angel chuckled lively.

Like she said, it didn’t seem like she was having difficulties when she pulled the three of them up. Instead she was flying as if she still had plenty of energy left.

“Though it does seem like this was the last trap.”

Elise who went further into the passage by herself said that with sadness and sighed.

“This is unfortunate. It was quite lacking, wasn’t it?”

“I agree. It would have been more fun to take down the monsters in the other passage from before if this was what it had to offer.”

“Certainly this was a bit of a kill-joy.”

Elise, Kyelse, and Fear all started to say as they liked.

Traps that were supposed to be life threatening to the humans were no different to a child’s toy or a mere staving off boredom in front of these three girls.

“Hey, Ren. Let’s go to an even harder ruin next time! I happen to know this ruin which is supposed to be insanely difficult where none of the humans have overcame it before!”

“That definitely has my interest but I’m hoping you won’t activate the trap on purpose then.”

Ren shrugged his shoulders to Elise who had a lively voice.

Then——

“Hmm. A footstep?”

The curve that had appeared after walking through the passage.

The one who responded first to the presence approaching from the curve was Kyelse.

“This is a smell of a human. Ren, several humans are approaching. They are most likely a party.”

“A human…… Do you mean the Canaan Pilgrim from before?”

The party that were approaching.

What appeared in Ren’s mind immediately from Kyelse’s words were those two that wore a pure-white robe and garment who belongs to the world’s largest party.

The second encounter. The moment he felt a quick nervousness at such prediction.

“What the! What was that large sound just now?”

“Don’t tell me there are monsters in this passage too!?”

The two heavy armoured {{Furigana|Knight|MASTER}} that sprinted to the scene.

Behind them were two men that appeared to be a {{Furigana|Caster|ARIA}} and a woman that was either a {{Furigana|Barrierer|ENCHANTER}} or {{Furigana|Curer|HEALER}}. An intelligent looking girl with a lamp came from behind their line and walked timidly. She was most likely the {{Furigana|Searcher|THIEF}}.It was easy to tell as she held a map and a measuring instruments on the other hand she was holding a lamp with.

A party of six. It was a common number for the number of members of a party. It was a very basic formation as it was concentrated on the formation {{Furigana|Knights|MASTERS}} and {{Furigana|Casters|ARIAS}}.

''……They aren’t wearing the white clothes.''

''……So that means they are a party different from the Canaan Pilgrim?''

“So what business do you have with us?”

The {{Furigana|Knights|MASTERS}} that were observing the surrounding in front of Ren who had asked them replied with a nervous expression.

“That’s what we like to ask you instead. It’s natural to become curious if a loud noise comes from behind. ……Let me confirm. It’s not like you encountered a monster right?”

The heavy armoured {{Furigana|Knight|MASTERS} who still held his sword.

Ren nodded silently to his question.

“I see, if it wasn’t a monster then that’s a relief. Right, Rien?”

“Y-Yes! It sounded different to the footsteps of a monster. So I honestly feel relieved.”

The {{Furigana|Searcher|THIEF}} with the lamp became relieved on the spot.

But that changed right away.

“P-Please hold still! The trap has been activated!”

The {{Furigana|Searcher|THIEF}} girl opened her eyes wide when she saw the huge trap hole behind Ren and the party.

“A-Are all of you okay!? Don’t tell me someone fell in the trap hole……”

“My apologies. It appears we have caused disturbance to you all.”

The one who spoke with a gentle voice to the girl was Fear. The sparkly glowing wings had already disappeared from her back and she had returned to her usual form.

And the {{Furigana|ancestral spirit of fire|SALAMANDER}} was hiding behind Ren right now.

“Just as you see, we fell into the traps due to our failures.”

“All of you fell into the trap…… If it wasn’t mishearing I believe I heard two very loud sounds consecutively.”

“Ah, I think you are referring to the debris flow from before. And together with the trap holes adds up to two traps. See how it is consistent with your claim?”

Elise said that in an easygoing manner.

“Oh, I see. There were humans that passed through this passage before us. So you evaded all of the traps till now. Good work.”

“Eh? Ah, thank you very much……?”

The {{Furigana|Searcher|THIEF}} nodded in confusion since she was praised by a small girl (Elise) who clearly looked younger than her.

On the other hand, the {{Furigana|Knights|MASTERS}} that were standing in front of her had a doubtful look.

“……All of you were safe after activating those traps? From what Rien said it was supposed to be quite a large-scale traps.”

“Large-scale? Was there such a trap, Ren?”

“Well, it’s about the debris flow and the trap hole.”

Ren shrugged his shoulders with bitter smile to Kyelse’s serious question.

“Well, all of us are fine anyway. Instead I apologise for causing noises. We certainly did cause troubles to you all because of Elise who fell into the trap on purpose……”

“Eh?”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Don’t mind what I just said.”

Ren waved his hand as the {{Furigana|Searcher|THIEF}} girl asked again.

“So who you guys? You don’t appear to be the Canaan Pilgrim.”

“We are veteran enough to be even compared to that famous party. We are still a small and weak party.”

The heavy armed man who didn’t hide his sour smile.

“This was the result of gaining experience around our hometown and challenging this place to test our strength. We escaped as the other passage was pretty much a monsters’ lair but this passage ended up being full of traps. We don’t even know what would have happened to us if Rien wasn’t here. It appears that you guys had activated the traps. But it appears you had a blessing in disguise and were safe from it.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

''……A blessing in disguise huh.''

''……You could say that it was natural for all of us to be safe.''

Elise chose this path because she thought the passage with the trap would be more interesting.

Ren didn’t have any intention of telling them this.

“Though it seems like you are all safe too. Did you end up fighting the monsters in the passage that was a monsters’ lair?”

“We sure did. Though the people from the Canaan Pilgrim wiped them out while we were having difficulties. ……It was so overwhelming that I was speechless. I felt as though we were shown what the party that represents the world were made up of.”

The {{Furigana|Searcher|THIEF}} said that in a blank amazement.

“Fortunately this passage appears to be safe from here so we are escaping from this ruin. It was a good investigation as we have learnt that we still lack experience. What will your party do?”

“Us? We are…..”

Having being asked that question, Ren turns around to the girls.

''——Can I answer her with the truth?''

Maybe his intention went through to them. So the girls nodded silently.

“We are going to investigate this ruin a bit more. To the furthest point we can reach.”

The Spirit that was somewhere in this shrine. They chose this path which was supposed to be a shortcut in order to find it before the “Canaan Pilgrim, the Boat of the Sacred Teaching”.

“So you guys are leaving then. I hope all of you a good luck till the end of your journey.”

“The same for all of you too. As a reference, there was this cave just a bit further from here where you can rest. It would a perfect place to take a short rest if you are planning to investigate here. ——So let the fortune fall on both sides.”

The party of six left in hurry.

You could feel from their backs that they wanted to leave this shrine quickly as they can even if they had to push themselves.

“I see. With this, it now means that the finding the Spirit has become a competition between us and the Canaan Pilgrim.”

“This was the situation we had already foreseen.”

The Canaan Pilgrim that were advancing through here while wiping out the average monsters.

On the other hand, Ren and the girls that were overcoming the passage with the traps.

Both parties were advancing through the ruin in order to find the Spirit——

“Hey, there’s that cave he just mentioned. It’s spacious so it’s just about right!”

Elise who had went ahead by herself showed her face from the corner of the passage and waved her hands at them.

“Hurry, hurry I say!”

“This is the perfect time. There won’t mean a thing if we miss the Spirit’s lair by pushing ourselves and rushing our search. Let’s take a break and progress here slowly.”

Fear agreed to Elise.

“You are right. I also want to relax and eat the snacks. Ren, let’s go.”

“I heard you so don’t rush.”

Ren power walked through the passage following behind the girls.

Sparks. It gave off spark as it made sounds.

The small sparks raised up and sparkled even more up in the air. It made a glitter for a moment and then disappeared into thin air.

The night watch.

Ren sat on the floor which was covered with dusts and then dimly gazed at the bonfire in front of him.

“……So it’s 10 o’clock at night now huh.”

Behind him was a tent.

It had been exactly two hours since Kyelse, Fear, and Elise went to sleep. You wouldn’t be able to tell the position of the Sun if you were deep inside a cave. Only the pocket watch within Ren’s hand could inform him the current time.

“But this place is amazing. This place really was a shrine.”

The storage space of the shrine—— the space where the ritual equipment and ornaments used for the rituals were most likely kept.

Sadly it seemed that most of the precious ritual equipment had been stolen. Though Ren was able to know just what kind of place this was thanks to the old candle stands and the ritual equipment which was cracked in half.

“What kind of shrine was this? Was this the shrine to worship the Spirits after all?”

[………..]

The {{Furigana|ancestral spirit of fire|SALAMANDER}} was floating in the air.

Maybe it preferred fire because it was the Spirit of fire. So right now it was floating right above the bonfire.

It appeared only few minutes ago.

It had disappeared once, but it suddenly appeared on its own when Ren was gazing at the bonfire by himself. It didn’t do anything particular but simply floated near Ren.

''……Though he had always been like this.''

''……It always appeared and disappeared on its own when I’m alone by myself.''

“I wanted to ask but were you feeling anxious of me?”

[——————]

“Yeah. I guess there was a leap in the way I said it. ……Hmm. Were you perhaps showing up to make sure I didn’t feel lonely?”

The Spirit was silent.

Except, it gazed at Ren as if it was thinking. And then.

[I stay?]

“Ah, so you were. Sorry about that. I even made you worry about me.”

Ren held his laughter and then shook his head.

He never thought he would have not a human but a Spirit worry about him.

“But I’m alright. We are just taking turns for the lookout only. You’ve been with us for the whole day today so aren’t you also tired? It’s safe now so go and have a rest. I’ll ask for your assistance tomorrow as well.”

[——————]

After a moment of silence, the {{Furigana|ancestral spirit of fire|SALAMANDER}} disappeared into thin air.

After he sent it off.

“It sure is attached to you.”

It was that time when a voice that ringed like a bell came from the tent behind him.

It was a silver-haired girl who was putting on a smile.

“Kyelse? Ah, did I wake you up because of my voice? Sorry.”

“I couldn’t sleep from the start…… It was a mistake to have Fear sleep in the middle. She continued to hug on to me and kept on shoving that huge breast of hers on my face. It was just too sultry.”

Kyelse started to rub her sleepy eyes.

“You can imagine it too, can’t you? Just how uncomfortable it is to have your face shove between those breast. I could barely breathe.”

“……Well, that’s something I’m having difficulty in answering.”

He didn’t know how to answer her so he just vaguely nodded to her question.

Then Kyelse gently sat right next to him.

“Leaving that aside, are you feeling tired at all?”

“Me?”

“You had been commanding the {{Furigana|ancestral spirit of fire|SALAMANDER}} for the whole time. A Dragon like myself can’t understand what an ancient summoning is very well. But does it put stress on the spellcaster for continuing to command a Spirit?”

“Ah, I get your question now. That’s how ordinary spells work after all.”

The attack spells of a {{Furigana|Caster|ARIA}} and even the barriers of a {{Furigana|Barrierer|ENCHANTER}}. The longer you use it and the more you use it, the more it wears the spellcaster’s body and mind corresponding to the usage of the spell.

“I’m fine. Instead I’m more worried if the {{Furigana|ancestral spirit of fire|SALAMANDER}} is tired.”

“I see, so that’s why you told it to “rest” just before.”

Kyelse looked at the empty space.

As she gazed at the space where the Spirit disappeared from just now.

“That really sounds like you.”

“Hmm?”

“For you to naturally tell the Spirit to rest. You had also been worried about the {{Furigana|ancestral spirit of fire|SALAMANDER}} even while we were heading for this location.”

“……Umm. Are you talking about the time when we had been continuously falling for those traps?”

''“By the way {{Furigana|ancestral spirit of fire|SALAMANDER}}, are you okay? Are you feeling okay even though you’ve been out for so long?”''

''[……I go too.]''

“You are quite the strange one.”

She took out the candy from her pocket.

Kyelse who had the candy in her hands softened her expression.

“Let’s say other humans besides you gained the ability to use ancient summoning. Those humans would boast their {{Furigana|“the lost spells”|ANCIENTS}} they had just learned till it would satisfy them. Don’t you reckon they would test how much power the Spirits they had summoned has and check its limit?”

“……That’s possible.”

“But you’re different. Instead you worry about the Spirit that you had summoned and what comes to your mind first is to restrain the Spirit from using its strength much as possible. I don’t know whether you would call that ‘kindness’, hence I called you the ‘strange one’. In the end, '''you are that kind of person'''.”

The {{Furigana|ancestral spirit of fire|SALAMANDER}} that was more of attached to Ren rather than being obedient to him.

It appeared front of Ren frequently even before he learned how to use ancient summoning. It stayed with Ren even during the time when he couldn’t hear its voice.

“Maybe your ancient summoning doesn’t have to do with talent or qualities. Instead that personality of yours’ that draws in the Spirit was your natural ‘specialty’. You don’t call the Sprits but the Spirits come to you. That’s the impression I have.”

“Is that a praise?”

“I simply said it because it’s a rare trait. Whether it is a praise will depend on what you and the Spirit will do from on.”

She had a mysterious smile. Just what kind of future appeared in her mind when she said “from now on”?

It felt as though Kyelse’s eyes was looking at not the present but the far future.

“And Elise did say that the Spirit’s lair is hidden somewhere in this ruin. My nose won’t work in terms of finding it. So this will be Elise and your job.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Another issue he was concerned about was regarding the Canaan Pilgrim.

They had the objective of finding the Spirit from the very beginning and they should have taken the different route as Ren and the girls. To add, it couldn’t possibly be just the two of Premier and Thyrus. Ren and the girls were still in a situation where they didn’t know how many of them there were deep within the ruin.

“I sure don’t want to get caught by the Canaan Pilgrim. They are completely alarmed at us now.”

“It won’t be a problem. If they oppose us then I will throw them out of the shrine. This kind of thing is common in the Valley of the Dragons since its one of the daily routines. So I’m familiar in dealing with the humans.”

“Wait, if you do that then we will be on the wanted-list in the Holy-ground of Canaan——”

Right after he said till there.

What unexpectedly flashed in his mind wasn’t about the concern with the party that they will compete with but a curiosity at what Kyelse just said.

“What kind of place is the Valley of the Dragons? I did hear at from the instructor when I was at the academy and know that it’s an unexplored region where the Dragons all over the world gathers, right?”

“Being called an unexplored region is far-fetched. It’s a simple lair. I was also born and raised there.”

Kyelse peels of the wrap around the candy.

She then puts the large one-bite size candy in her mouth.

“Delicious.”

“……You’ll get a decayed teeth if you eat sweets at night. Now, leaving that aside.”

The Dragon Princess had a big smile on her face.

Who could believe a girl who could make a smile like this with a single candy was a Princess of all the Dragons that were gathered in the unexplored region.

“Since you are even called the Princess of the Dragons, does that make you the most important Dragon in the Valley?”

“More than being important, it’s more like there wasn’t any Dragon that could oppose me. That’s simply it.”

Kyelse said it while rolling the candy inside her mouth.

She then gazed at the bonfire with her emerald green eyes.

“The society of Dragons mainly revolves around the seniority system. The longer the Dragons lives, the bigger and stronger it is. Though the irregular one that was born in the valley with such system was me. I was stronger than every single Dragon since the day I was born. So even the Dragon Elders had no choice but to obey me.”

“By force?”

“I did not do such thing. I......simply ‘stood there’ and my kins were afraid of me and worshipped me as their Princess.”

The tone of the silver-haired girl who said that was heavy. She had a shadow in her expression which she never had shown before.

“Though my time as a Princess continued for a bit more than dozen of years if we use the human’s way of counting years.”

“It’s because you joined Eleline’s party, right?”

“Yes. And I met comrades who I could talk to without hiding myself for the first time. Though it seems like the Earth, the Heaven, and the Underworld, were in quite a stir since it was an irregular party three-hundred years ago.”

Ren also looked behind when he followed Kyelse’s gaze who had turned around.

The quiet tent.

The ones sleeping inside were the Archangel Fear who was the strongest in Heaven and the former Demon King Elise who was the former ruler of the Underworld.

“I see. But I still wanted to ask. I wanted to ask you about your impression about the journey with Eleline. You travelled the world together with him, right? Was it fun?”

“……My strongest impression would be that I was happy. For me, who was even feared by my kins, to have comrades I can trust was a new experience.”

She then started to think for a moment.

Little by little. Kyelse continued to speak as if she was remembering the good old days.

“Not just Eleline. There were also times where I had a fight with Fear and Elise where we had an argument or a fist fight. But right after that, I simply had gratitude for them since I had comrades I can do that with. They argued back to me face to face without fearing me. Eleline, Fear, and Elise that gave their honest opinions. Thanks to that, I was able to understand for the first time what a humans, the Angels, and the Demons are like.”

“……In my case I’m also curious about the argument and the fist fight you mentioned.”

“We didn’t hold back or hesitate. Even for the fist fights and arguments, it’s better to go all out on the spot rather than dragging the negative emotion till afterwards. This is the opinion all four of us shared. Thanks to that it was a journey where we were always covered with new wounds. Don’t you think it’s rare to find a party that received most of their wounds from their comrades rather than from the enemy?”

Kyelse smiled pleasantly.

“Hmm……I’ll try to take that as that all of you got along so well that you could fight casually.”

“That’s exactly it. Fear had an upper hand at a pure fist fight but even so our strength were on the same level. I had a comrade whom I can share my thought with. That’s why it was so fun. The journey to go around the places of the world we never went to. I’m sure I would have had half the fun if I did that by myself.”

It was fun because she had her own comrades.

''——It wasn’t a party that just got along well.''

''——The human, the Angel, the Demon, and the Dragon at times had quarrel and fought while strengthening their bonds.''

Thanks to that bond, even now since three-hundred years have passed, all three of Kyelse, Fear, and Elise had their total trust to each other. That could be felt even from Ren’s perspective.

“……I get it.”

“What’s wrong? What’s that sigh as if you just saw something?”

“Well, I just thought how wonderful it is. That’s what I thought.”

Kyelse who was looking into him.

Ren shook his head to the side at her and simply said that.

“Oh yeah, what happened while you were on your journey? It’s the same situation now but you had left the leadership of the Valley of the Dragons to another Dragon, right? So was that an old Dragon or in another words a Dragon that had lived long?”

“It was my younger sister.”

“Your younger sister!?”

His shout was mixed with a shocked tone.

“Eh, hold on, wait……your younger sister? That’s something which isn’t known at all.”

“The same could be said about the current Demon King. There are not even a dozen people in the world that knows that he is the actual younger brother of Elise.”

After she said that much.

Kyelse crossed her arm as if she was thinking of something.

“Saying that, I guess the way I said it wasn’t good either. The number of Heavenly Silver Dragons that are pure-blood like me is low. But the number of the Spirit King Dragons is also low due to a different reason. In Calra’s case, she’s not a pure-blood but a mixed-blood that carries the blood of every kind of Dragons. Among such mixed blood there are rare times when a bloodline called a miracle bloodline is born.”

“The Spirit King Dragon……that legendary Dragon huh.”

Ren himself had pretty much no knowledge regarding the Spirit King Dragon.

For example he was told many times that the Heavenly Silver Dragons were the oldest Dragon species. Kyelse who was one of the Three Great Princess of Eleline Sword Emperor Brigade was also a Heavenly Silver Dragon that had left quite a number of anecdote and legend.

But the humans didn’t know that much regarding the information of the Spirit King Dragons except for its existence.

''——The miracle bloodline.''

The number of the Spirit King Dragons were so low that Kyelse referred to them as such. And it was also because it rarely appeared outside the valley.

“Anyway you are saying that you have a younger sister called Calra who is the Spirit King Dragon and she is taking the leadership of the Valley of the Dragons on your behalf, right?”

“That’s how it is. She has the highest ‘rank’ at the Valley of the Dragons where her rank is equal to that of Heavenly Silver Dragons that are the oldest Dragon species. Except, I was too strong in terms of pure strength and thus I became the Princess of the Dragons. Even so, if something were to happen to me the Dragons would need a replacement, right? That was the reason why I made a sisterhood oath with Calra.”

“She seems to be a good younger sister. She’s fulfilling her role as your replacement, right?”

“……As a replacement, yes.”

Kyelse answered with a sigh that was similar to a sarcastic laugh.

She then crouched as she hugged her knees while next to Ren and then became silent. She didn’t behave like her usual self as she was putting on a weak and fragile gesture.

“It happened about two months ago. I had returned to the valley after I got out from the seal and when I said I was going to search for the Encore the one who was against it the most was Calra.”

“Eh!? Why was that?”

The Encore would be the greatest item left by the Brave Hero Eleline.

It wouldn’t be unnatural for Kyelse who was once his comrade to search for it. Instead, it wouldn’t be farfetched to say that she would be the most deserving person to obtain it.

“The humans and the Dragons have a different way of life and different way of thinking. Even if a human has a certain logic that would make sense to them doesn’t mean the Dragons does as well. That’s how I would sum it up in few words.”

“…………”

“Similar to that reason, I am actually troubled at returning to the Valley of the Dragons. To regain my powers and to find the reason for the Sword Saint Shion’s visit. It would be a place I wouldn’t go near and visit there if it wasn’t for having to go there due to being related to our objective which is to find the Encore.”

“……I see.”

''Kyelse seemed to have a trouble of her own.''

Ren kept the words from coming out of his mouth the moment he was about to say that.

''——She doesn’t just want words of sympathy.''

''——The girl who was sitting beside me has her eyes wavering and those eyes itself clearly told me so.''

“I’m sorry.”

“Huh?”

“Looks like our discussion ended up turning into my complaints. Though I didn’t have the intention to……”

Kyelse who had a bitter smile stood up while looking as though she felt uncomfortable at the mood. She swept away the dust on her clothe around her hip area. She then slowly turned around in an elegant manner.

“I’m returning to the tent. I feel bad to disturb your lookout time.”

“Okay. ……Ah, hold on Kyelse. Behind you. You haven’t got rid of all the dust yet.”

The fragments of earth that was on the edges of her skirt.

Kyelse might have thought she had swept all of them away but there were still dust on her skirt.

“There’s still some left?”

“Just a bit. I’ll clean it off so turn around.”

Ren made Kyelse turn around and got himself up. He tried to sweep away the small amount of fragment of earth on the edges of her skirt——

“Kyaaan!?”

His fingertips touched Kyelse’s buttocks by mistake as he was rushing it.

At the same time, the Princess of Dragons jumped by having her whole body twitch and released a sound which couldn’t be distinguished whether it was a scream or a shout.

“Ah……”

“Y-You idiot! Haven’t I told you before!?”

Kyelse turned around while covering her buttocks.

“This part……of a Dragon is usually hidden by the tail. So being touched there never happens. S……So……it’s a very delicate area!”

“I-I’m sorry! I’m serious, that really wasn’t my intention!”

“…………A-Anyway.”

Kyelse who covered her buttocks with both her hand had her face turn red and was wiggling her body.

“D-Doing this kind of thing……is too early for us. I still need to prepare for myself……”

“Yes?”

“<nowiki>~~~~~~</nowiki>I-It’s nothing!”

Kyelse turned her face away.

It wasn’t because she was angry. Instead you would get the impression from her panicked gesture that she wanted to hide her face that was all red.

“……I really don’t know what’s going on here.”

He was all by himself now.

The muttering simply came out of Ren’s mouth.

<noinclude>

</noinclude>