The New Gate:Volume 1 Chapter 4

Shin, who left the restaurant, turned around on his foot toward the library. Even though the request was not completed yet, it didn’t have a time limit. So he didn’t need to hurry. From now on, because of his conduct during the last few days, he intended to carefully study the possible sense of an impending crisis.

“Is it here?”

Shin was at the middle point of the commercial and residential districts. Loud voices from energetic merchants could be heard occasionally. It was a quiet place compared to the commercial district.

And in front of Shin, there was a library standing tall before his eyes. The library, which was managed by the Bayreuth kingdom, was named the Royal Magic Library.

It seemed to have plenty of magic category books assembled together, but he was told by Tsugumi that the information about common knowledge that he didn’t understand, could be found here. Though there were books that couldn’t be read without permission inside, there was no problem, since Shin intended to only study within a readable scope at this time.

From the information desk, the chairs, tables, and the large quantity of bookshelves in the library, there was nothing special about it, nor were there features that could distinguish it from other libraries. Just in case, he received an explanation about the usage at the information desk, he summarized the matters that required attention, such as how he could only rent 3 books at a time, how there was a limit in amount of rental days, and how he was free to read inside the library, but how it would cost money if he borrowed one.

As for the rental cost, it was based on what kind of book it was, and how many days it was rented for. Of course, if a book was lost, there would be a fine. The general rule for the books which required permission to be read, was that it was prohibited to rent them, and there were books that couldn’t be read without certain social status and/or trust such as the senior adventurers and the court service officers.

If there was a valuable book, one would think that a thief would break into the library. But there were guards and soldiers who kept watch on the surroundings in the building. In addition, they also had the skill for crime prevention, so no fellow could act violently.

(Is it level Ⅷ 【Barrier】 and 【Wall】? So that’s why they are so full of confidence.)

Although he doubted that the skill barrier used was stronger than the rampart, he still admired that the barriers were never broken since from the very beginning.

After receiving the explanation, he was instructed where the books of which field were located at. Then, he gathered books around the library and sat down on a empty seat.

First, the history. After all, Shin thought that the first thing he had to do was to investigate about the ‘Dusk of the Majesty’, which seemed to be connected to the simultaneous logout from the death game. Because there was a chronology which listed the big events since the country was founded in the book, he opened it at once.

“First of all, from the recent events. Um, it’s the 511th years now from when the country was founded, huh? Because it’s said that the ‘Dusk of the Majesty’ occurred 500 years ago, and it was almost in the same time period as the founding of the country.”

He traced back the chronological table to the past while looking puzzled due to the strange coincidence. There were numerous things related to the national administration that were written, such as the conclusion of the alliance, the kings taking over, funerals, wars, large-scale constructions, and so on. As he looked at the end of the chronology, which was the part about the country’s founding.

“No info about the ‘Dusk of the Majesty’ is written here, not even a little.”

Only the founding of the Bayreuth kingdom was written about in the chronology, anything that happened earlier than that wasn’t written about.

“Well, it’s a chronology after all. I guess that it was written about in other books.”

He opened another history book while pulling himself together. However, most of the content in the opened books did not describe in detail the ‘Dusk of the Majesty’.

Though he read several history books afterward, the conclusion was still the same. Only one of the books seemed to have written about the event.

“The world has changed after that day…”

The king left, the country disappeared, and it was written that the world had changed, but it was not written clearly about what happened to the world afterwards. Apparently, after the ‘Dusk of the Majesty’, there was temporary chaos around the world, but the ‘Dusk of the Majesty’ was not described in detail. It seemed odd that there was so little recorded in the book about the players’ logout, where they were thought to have vanished.

He took out one of the books from the mountain of books while thinking that no book could provide him with the info he wanted.

It seemed to be a book about races, and each feature and characteristic was briefly described.

Human ―― They have the highest number in population, and there were a lot of countries, too. When a kingdom was established, the ruler was called a King.

Dragnil ―― Power and vitality were prominently high, have a long life. It can transform into the shape of a human. When an empire was established, the king was called a Dragnil King.

Beast ―― They have the highest number in population next to humans, they are keen and nimble, and have different characteristics in every tribe. When the tribe was gathered together and formed an alliance, the chief was called a Beast King.

Lord ―― There was a little bias about their ability, also no ability that seemed prominent, but as a whole, their abilities have the tendency to be high. When the empire was established, the king was called a Devil King.

Dwarf ―― They have skillful hands and are good at making armor and tools. They were scattered in every country and formed a guild which had the tendency to share their technique and craft. The best craftsman was called a Cave King.

Pixie ―― They are the longest living race, they excelled at magic handling. The pixies were divided between the ones who lived in this world, and the ones who lived in the fairy village in the other world, which exchange with each other. The king was called a Fairy King.

Elf ―― Their lifespans come 2nd after the pixies, not only magic, but also their crisis perception ability was high. They lived in the woods. Young elves often appeared outside the village. The village was called the garden, and the chief was called the Forest King.

There were no contents that differed from Shin’s knowledge. Although Shin momentarily felt a sense of incongruity for the dwarf’s best craftsman, who was called the Cave King, he remembered that there was a setting where dwarves originally lived in caves.

Because there was a chance that an Elf or Pixie might know about the ‘Dusk of the Majesty’, he made sure to memorized that part.

“Now then, what should I read next?”

He decided to investigate as long as the time permitted, and opened the next book.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

While Shin was doing the investigation in the library, executives, such as Barlux and Els, were preparing for a meeting in a room of the adventurers’ guild.

Of course, the agenda was the Skull Face. Even though the situation called for waiting for the appraisal of the jewel, the members that had some free time were gathered for the time being. There was a possibility that the information was accurate, because the one who reported was said to hold a letter of introduction. Since the Skull Face had already been defeated, the sense of urgency was not high, but the Shin’s personality in the report of Barlux and Els was raised to some extent.

Though the man called Shin seemed to be easily trusted, there was never a case where a dangerous person held the letter of introduction, so it gave the report some credibility.

“Well then, let’s start the special meeting.”

All the members in the room directed their attention to Barlux in response to his voice.

“Though there are people who have already heard this, the Jack • Skull Face that appeared in the northern forest was subdued. The one who subdued it only collected a jewel, which is currently under investigation.”

“The Jack class was subdued and neither the sword nor the armor were collected?”

All the members looked puzzled due to the words from Barlux, who reported plainly. The first one to speak was Ardi, who was just dispatched as a liaison from the kingdom. The mage Arad Royl, who was in charge of the appraisal of the jewel, nodded as he had the same kind of doubt. Kylie Ein, who was the sub-master, and Els, who knew about the circumstances, had no reaction. Then Barlux continued.

“The person told me that the sword and armor were not a big deal.”

“Not a big deal?…”

Ardi had the expression of someone who didn’t understand. Arad was laughing “hohoho” while combing down his beard.

“To declare something like that, it seems that this man’s wealth is quite considerable.”

Although Arad’s hair and beard were white-colored because of his old age, due to his well-developed back muscles, which were tightly visible, he didn’t look as old as he was. The way he laughed suited the good-natured old man.

“The fellows who hold the introduction letter are generally thoughtless fellows. They don’t care about losing their life, especially the young ones.”

“Is that so?”

“Wait! Wait! Though I have no obligation to say this, we are not that thoughtless.”

“It’s not convincing when guild master says so.”

Ardi was about to believe Arad’s claim as common sense. But Barlux interfered, and was put down by Els.

“Well, let’s go back to the jewel case. I don’t know the details yet, but apparently there are no mistakes, at least about the story of its level being 359.”

“Still. It would be nice if the proof part was collected. The problem is whether or not a similar monster has appeared.”

It was likely a little joking, and the moderate tension became loose from Arad’s honest report. Because there was no one excelling Arad in jewel appraisal in the guild, it was decided that a Skull Face that had the level of at least a King class had appeared.

“The staff that’s skillful in searching has already gone out to investigate it. The information will be assembled tomorrow.”

Kylie complemented in a calm tone. Black hair held together with a barrette, light brown pupils and long-narrow eyes could be seen from the interior of her glasses. The secretary of Barlux had good looks and skill combined, and a sword could be seen at her hips.

“As usual, Kylie did her work fast. The guild master should follow her example.”

“Our sub-master is excellent, old man Royl.”

“Can Barlux-sama focus on your work a little more?”

“Urgh”

“She has no mercy.”

A few words from Kylie break the joke from Barlux. Barlux was not bad at office work particularly, but Kylie still seemed to be dissatisfied with him.

“…………”

“Hmm, were you surprised that this is different than you thought?”

“No, well you might say, because I thought that the feeling of tension should remain a little bit.”

Arad asked Ardi, who was taken aback by the dialogue of the three people. He seemed to have a serious personality. Ardi said modestly, and yet he showed a slightly perplexed expression.

“Well it’s a usual case. Besides, this is something like a petty liaison meeting, rather than a conference. If this was a state of emergency, each district chief and S rank adventurers would gather here.”

“Still, only one Skull Face has been reported, right?”

Ardi understood that it was not an emergency situation, because only five people gathered, but he thought he might be too optimistic. Arad, who read Ardi’s mind, complemented Ardi so he revealed his true feelings.

“It seems so. To be honest, there is no knowing how many such monsters are out there, and there is a reason to do an assessment.”

“Is it the barrier’s protection?”

“Yes. Do you know about it?”

“It’s the barrier against monsters. It is said that monsters from outside the barrier will not be allowed to come near.”

“That’s right, the first King erected the barrier. Therefore, even if a strong monster is born, they can’t come inside the barrier. It also has the effect of silencing strong dark magic. In addition, we are being vigilant ourselves, too.”

The technique from the time the kingdom was founded was still protecting the Bayreuth kingdom. That was the reason why the amount of strong monsters that had appeared so far, hadn’t increased.

However, neither the kingdom nor the guild considered the barrier absolute, no matter how well it defended. In response to the Skull Face report, the knights’ group was prepared, so they could sally out by the thoroughgoing condition in the kingdom. Also, the subjugation report was not confirmed at the moment, so the adventurers were still waiting for orders and were working hard to gather information.

“Skull Faces become active at night. Ardi, in preparation for the worst case, I want you to contact the knight leader and raise the alertness order by one rank.”

“Roger that.”

Barlux spoke during the gap of the conversation between Ardi and Arad. The flustered state just a while ago seemed hard to believe. Judging from Arad, Kylie and Els’ attitude, it was probably a usual thing.

“That’s all from me. Does anyone have any other opinions? If not, I assume we are done.”

Arad, Els and Kylie thought it was over regarding the main report of the Skull Face from Barlux. However, Ardi raised his hand and Barlux nodded to let him convey his opinion.

“The Skull Face this time had a different weapon from the information we obtained. I would like you to give me detailed information on the person who subdued the Skull Face, so the investigation about the weapon can become clear after this.”

“Hmm, though there is no intention to cover up information about the weapon, I can’t reveal anything about the person who subjugated it, as it was his wish. Still, if it’s alright, lets take responsibility for it. I wonder about why you are making a fuss about this, may I hear the reason?”

“Yes. Though the story changed a little, does everyone know about the sword that flew to the royal castle?”

Naturally all the members nodded back. If there was no disturbance by the Skull Face, it would have been a hot topic by now.

“The Skull Face was subdued on the day when the sword flew to the royal castle, furthermore, the Skull Face that appeared this time was equipping a greatsword that was different from the normal ones. There is only one person who can connect these together, I think.”

Everyone except Ardi imagined one person from his remark.

“May I hear what kind of sword it was?”

“There’s a condition you must adhere to, or I can’t disclosed the information.”

All members agreed on Ardi’s condition. There was no person that didn’t know the importance of the information in this place.

“The sword’s blade is about 2 mels long and the material is a demon steel mixed with an alloy of mithril. Moreover, the sword has permanent light attribute magic bestowed upon it. If it is put side by side with our country’s treasured sword, then the treasured sword seems to be poorly made.”

“!?”

Everyone couldn’t hide their surprise at his words. Speaking of the treasured sword of the Bayreuth kingdom, even at the lowest rank, it was a weapon that was classified as 《Legend》 grade. It was a national treasure grade of weapon that almost no person could forge, so there were no equal swords in existence right now. Let alone that a person thought that the Skull Face held it.

Because he was in the middle of a fight, Shin didn’t notice as he did not use the appraisal skill. He thought the greatsword of the Skull Face was of the lowest grade, but it had a self-restoration ability which was higher than 《Rare》 and 《Unique》.

“If it’s assumed that the Skull Face had the greatsword, then the person in question is indomitable, as the enemy had a weapon at the treasured sword level in addition to a high level was subjugated. But no need to worry, as it is impossible I think. Besides that, I was a little troubled by it…”

Though the worry about the strength of the person at hand was understandable, Barlux, who doubted the indescribably, indecisive of Ardi’s speech in the latter half, asked.

“Troubled by it?”

The content which Ardi recited was indeed true, although he had only guessed, and nobody came to have conclusive evidence, because there was no one who knew about the greatsword in detail. It was said that it was impossible for undead to have a weapon with the light attribute in this world.

“As for this, news may reach Barlux-dono soon, as it is likely to be announced grandly. Until then, please don’t tell anyone for the time being.”

“Hmm, understood. Should others leave this place?”

“Because the permission is given, it doesn’t matter, as I follow the same condition as a while ago. Since there is a possibility that everybody will know, too.”

Though everyone except Barlux had a question about the announcement place, they nodded for the time being, and then speech was urged to be started.

“Actually…”

Afterwards, everyone who was present was perplexed about the content that leaked out of Ardi’s mouth.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

For several hours, he had been investigating things in the library. Somehow the library was closed when the sun was a little high in the evening. When Shin confirmed it with the menu screen, the time showed 4:50. Even though he didn’t know whether the time was accurate, Shin thought that every city hall and post office had their own way to keep track of the time. Rather, he was amazed to learn that they had about the same closing time.

He thought about returning to the south district for the time being, but his stomach was grumbling while looking around the stalls. It was early, but he bought yakitori for dinner which he saw was barbecued nicely in a stall he found by chance. It could be said that a similar yakitori wasn’t sold in Japan, as they were 30 cemels long skewers stuck into hearty chicken meat.

“This yakitori tastes good even in a different world…but did I buy too much?”

He took out a freshly cooked skewer from a bag while smiling wryly. He bought four yakitori. It was a quantity that could be said was too much to eat before dinner.

He sat down on the edge of the fountain in the center of the square to relax after walking and eating. He stuffed his mouth with meat while looking at the passersby for no particular reason.

After all, there were still many appearances of adventurers since the information regarding the Skull Face was published.

Although information regarding the subjugation completion was also made public, the adventurers seemed to be still on guard.

“…Tsu…tsu”

While looking at the hustle of the town and chewing on the yakitori, after he had investigated, he organized the information he had acquired in his head. There were three noteworthy things that he understood for now.

First, the book that had written about the ‘Dusk of the Majesty’ was rare.

Besides that, there was also a possibility that the book was banned or that it was stored in a place with reading restrictions. For now, Shin couldn’t enter that place, so it was put on hold. In the future, he couldn’t help but to feel prepared to visit villages of long-lived species such as Elves or Dragnils. Either way, he still didn’t have the intention to sneakily search for it.

Second, the geography of this world.

Originally, four continents existed in the world of THE NEW GATE, the 1st three continents were for beginner, intermediate and advanced level players. And the 4th continent became the area for players who had lost interest in the common fields.

Of course, Shin had almost conquered all four areas that were displayed on the map, but now the map function was no longer recognizable. The reason was simple, it was because the continental shape itself had changed due to a natural phenomenon that took place after the ‘Dusk of the Majesty’. Through movements and ground upheavals, the 4 continents turned into 5, and a lot of small island nations were scattered. This might be one of the causes for there being no documents about the ‘Dusk of the Majesty’.

By the way, the continent where Shin was currently at, was called the Continent of Eltnia.

Third, the big city that was formerly the headquarter base of adventurers.

Each continent had two or three big cities that became the headquarter base for the players. Each city featured an enhanced defense and the city’s trades were lively, it was also crowded although there was prejudice in certain races and jobs. One of the reasons why people gathered there was only because big cities have temples that could be used for reincarnation.

Those big cities were now called the ‘Sacred Place’, and were also seen as targets to be recaptured. Though the big cities that existed were mostly the same without being affected by natural disasters, after the ‘Dusk of the Majesty’, each city turned into a demon city dominated by high-level monsters. The investigation committee was sent on countless occasions, but the lowest level of monsters exceeded 500, and it was said that anyone who entered the ‘Sacred Place’ would never return.

For some reason, the high-level monsters of the ‘Sacred Place’ never came outside the cities, and the overflowing magical power caused the surrounding land and plants to mutate. In addition, the current conditions had also caused sudden mass outbreaks of low-level monsters.

“Then, the problem is?”

He contemplated while putting his hand on his chin. If the topography itself had changed, then his memory from during the time of the game was unreliable. The locations of Elf’s garden and the Pixie’s fairy village or the other places with long-lived species, were different from his memory, too. Information collection was likely to be difficult.

“Hmmph…?”

Just when he thought about asking Tiera and Els, Shin looked up because he felt someone’s gaze. Shin turned his face to the direction of the gaze and saw a cat-eared girl, probably at elementary to primary school student age, who was staring at Shin from 2 mels away.

“…………”

“…………”

“…Drool”

“Oi…”

Correction. The cat-eared little girl was intently staring at the skewer that Shin held. Somehow, her strong desire could be seen.

“…………”

“Uum…”

“…………”

“Errr…”

“…………”

“…Do you want to eat it?”

The little girl’s intense staring was interrupted by Shin. Besides her desire which were completely revealed, her innocent eyes caused Shin to feel bad.

Since he thought that he bought too many anyway, he took out a freshly cooked skewer from the bag while holding his half-eaten skewer in his mouth, and presented it to the girl.

Shin intended to say “Do you want to eat it?”, but only gave off the incomprehensible words “Fu fu ah it” as a result of having a skewer in his mouth.

Though it was not certain, was she able to decipher Shin’s pronunciation? Or was it simply because of the act of presenting the skewer to her. The little girl lightly ran toward Shin and with quick “Shu~batsu” sound effect, she took the skewer from Shin by force. She sat next to him as she began to stuff the yakitori into her mouth. The moment when their eyes met, her cat ears went “Syu~pin!”, even Shin was a little surprised.

“Mugumugu…Hamuhamu”

They ate the meat silently for a while. When Shin looked at the girl working hard to fill her small mouth, he was able to confirm her appearance. Somehow it made Shin feel heartwarming.

The words young vagrant and beggar appeared on Shin’s mind in addition from it. But, he denied those kind of words immediately when he saw the appearance of the girl.

Her clothes had been mended here and there, but she wore the clothes properly, and there was no emaciation either. Also, there was no sign of aiming at one’s wallet. There might be a person who raised her with at least a home to return to, Shin judged.

“Whew, thanks for the delicious meal.”

“Mm, you’re welcome.”

After she finished eating the last bit neatly, the girl bowed to Shin.

“Onii-chan, a good person.”

“Oh, thank you.”

Shin looked at the little girl with a small laugh. From the cat ears, he understood that the girl might be a beast which belonged to the feline family. Only the tips of her yellow hair were dyed light brown, and he wondered if she was a Tiger Type. Because 30% of the population of the Bayreuth kingdom were Beast as he learned from a chat with Tsugumi, it was not particularly rare.

“I, Millie. Onii-chan?”

“Name? I am Shin, just Shin.”

“Together with Millie”

“Together?”

“Millie too, just Millie.”

“Ooh, indeed together.”

‘Shin’ was not a surname because the name he used exactly his player name. Particularly, because it wasn’t pointed out and he didn’t see any problems keeping his name as it was during the registration in the guild. It seemed that the thought of a timid Millie had disappeared, and she seemed to be looking delightful.

“Now then, I have finished eating the meat and I have to go soon, but what will Millie do? Should I send you home?”

“It’s alright. Pick me up, came.”

“Huh? No way! Pick you up…?”

The direction where Millie pointed to, Shin was unable to hide his surprise about the figure that walked toward them.

When the figure noticed that Millie was with Shin, it quickened its pace to approach them.

“Oh! We meet again, Shin.”

“It’s been awhile since the lunch, Wilhelm.”

A raven-haired man who had the presence of a beast greeted Shin. So, when Millie said pick up, it was none other than Wilhelm Avis.

“Wil-nii!”

Millie ran and clung to Wilhelm. Shin was astonished at the unexpected development.

“No way, Wilhelm’s…child?”

“That’s not it! I am taking care of her at the orphanage!”

“Orphanage?”

“Ah, that reminds me, it hasn’t been that long since you came to this country.”

While patting Millie’s head, Wilhelm briefly explained. According to him, a church in the west district was doubling as an orphanage and seemed to be taking care of children who lost their parents in some kind of circumstances. Millie was one of them.

“This fellow skillfully sneaked out from the orphanage some time ago. I was searching for her like a fool.”

“Did you go out without permission? I can’t really admire that.”

“Uu, sorry, I am”

Millie, who was aware she had done a bad thing, apologized obediently. The cat ears also went “Shu~n*…” as one would expect in fantasy.

“Even so, it’s unusual for this person to not be afraid like this.”

“Afraid?”

“I don’t understand after what I have seen today, but this person is afraid of strangers. She doesn’t approach strangers at their first meeting.”

“Is that so?”

Only tempted by the meat, Shin thought, but Millie shook her head. Was she able to read Shin’s thoughts? It seemed likely he hit the bull’s-eye. And for some reason, it felt like she said “You must not say it”.

“Well, I don’t want to stay here for too long. Come on Millie, let’s go home.”

“Wait!”

Said Millie as she ran toward Shin.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ear, lend.”

“Like this?”

Shin squat down and brought his ear close to Millie’s mouth. Millie, who ran toward Shin in the same way as she did to Wilhelm, whispered words to Shin’s ear.

“Bye-bye.”

Shin saw Millie off as she was led by Wilhelm and disappeared into the crowd.

He walked toward Bear Point Pavilion while thinking about the words he was told by Millie.

After he returned to Bear Point Pavilion, Shin took a rest in his room as he had some free time before dinner.

He sat on the bed and recalled the words Millie whispered, in his head.

“Help the fox-san which is in the northern forest…huh?”

During the time of the game, he was able to determine what to expect from the area information, but unfortunately, he couldn’t make an inference now, since the topography had greatly changed.

He tilted his head in doubt about whether or not there would be a fox. At least, a fox type monster never attacked Shin. The monsters which were similar to a bear, a snake, and a dog were often found and occasionally a flight type appeared.

Other wild animals were extremely rare because there were a lot of monsters, and it was snakes and rats that he saw the most. A monster was a wild animal that mutated under the influence of magical power, so naturally there were common animals. Still, he didn’t remember seeing a fox before.

“It’s no good, I don’t know nothing about it.”

The answer didn’t appear no matter how much he thought about it. But she said “help”. That might be something imminent. Especially the area of the northern forest in the vicinity of the Bayreuth kingdom, where the risk was quite high.

She might have judged Shin as an adventurer because he was an acquaintance of Wilhelm’s, although it seemed strange that she requested Shin during their first meeting.

It was not something that he must do just because it was requested. However, if he didn’t do anything, it would leave a bitter feeling. Shin decided to plan for tomorrow as well as for Millie’s request. Incidentally, he intended to meet Tiera, and finish the message to Schnee.

“So I have decided…meal it is.”

The yakitori had already been digested. Shin went downstairs to eat dinner.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

Dawn of the next day.

Shin departed from Bear Point Pavilion and passed through the main street where there were crowded stalls towards the south gate. When he exited from the gate, there were people lining up to enter the country, in contrast to Shin who was leaving.

Shin moved along the rampart, while ignoring the people. Tsuki no Hokora was located between the south gate and the east gate, in fact, it was closer to the south gate. The place where trees opened came into view after walking for a little while.

As before, there were huge trees enclosing Tsuki no Hokora with about a 1 mel thickness, it gave off the impression that it was separated from its surroundings. It was because Tsuki no Hokora was originally built at the outskirts of the Arclid continent, which was one of the 4 continents. The ground where Shin lived, which was the Eltnia continent, might originally have been part of the Arclid continent.

The Arclid continent was an even more superior area than the Houzent continent, the area of advanced level players. Moreover, there were originally many quests and monsters which had a higher degree of difficulty than in the common areas of the other three continents. Besides, there were also quests that beginner and intermediate players could receive, but players who yearned for unusual quests, wanted to fight with strange monsters, had often visited there. In a sense, the players were mostly gathered regardless of their levels and jobs.

It could be said that the visitors who came to Tsuki no Hokora, due to being built in the outskirt area, were mostly advanced level players. Seldom there were players who sought shelter after escaping from monsters. By the way, the average level of monsters in the area where Tsuki no Hokora was built was around 600. Meanwhile the lowest slightly exceeded 200, and needless to say, the highest was 1000. It was in the past, but the store was set up casually near the habitat of a boss monster. Even the players replenished their items in Tsuki no Hokora before challenging the boss.

“If I think about it… I wonder what happened to the monsters that were in the Arclid continent. They certainly should have gotten on when the continents stuck together. Did they perish along with the natural disasters?”

Certainly, if the monsters still existed, the Bayreuth kingdom would be destroyed. Anyway, there was monsters with the habit akin to ants, too. The monsters’ levels exceeded 600 and appeared in random areas altogether. It was annoying to the advanced level players, the intermediate level players ran away or went around it, and beginner level players had no choice but to acknowledge death and return. A place where most of the people gathered, such as a country and so on, was unlikely to be targeted, but because of the rate of the encounters rose, the number of party members was increased.

However, he still didn’t know, no matter how much he thought about it. Since damage was not dealt, were some measures taken? Anyway, there might be a reason as to whether the monsters that perished appeared or not. He was convinced that one would not be able to establish the country and the roads if it was not so, and he stopped thinking about it for a moment. In fact, it might be possible that there were different continent grounds outside the surroundings of Tsuki no Hokora.

He kept his questions to himself and stood in front of Tsuki no Hokora. When he visited a few days ago, he was relieved that the store still existed and did not notice it, but a wooden tally about 20 cemels across vertically and 10 cemels wide hung at the door which was the entrance of the store. It had the letters 『The storekeeper struggles hard inside』on it. This expressed that Tsuki no Hokora was doing business normally. And it had the letters 『The storekeeper has left home』 on the back. This expressed the closing time for the store from material collecting or not being logged in and so forth.

He opened the door while admiring that the wooden tally was still being used and entered the store. When Shin stepped forward in the store by one step, a light “Chiri~n” sound of the bell was made. It would ring when someone entered the store. Apparently, the knights didn’t show up today.

“Welcome! Oh, Shin.”

“Yo, I came to leave a message I had forgotten about.”

When she saw that it was Shin who entered, Tiera’s expression changed from a smile into a happy face. The silvery hair that had returned to its original hair shined because of the light from the windows.

“That reminds me, I completely forgot about that.”

When she heard Shin’s speech, she did the expression “Ah!” as if she remembered something she had forgotten. Still, there was no help for forgetting about it when he thought about the previous event.

“Then, I want you to convey to her that I want to meet and talk if she remembers this.”

Shin said and placed an object, which he took out from his Item Box, on the counter.

It was a dark blue ninja sword, there were flowers engraved on the sheath and handle, which Tiera had never seen before. It was well engraved in such detail, which turned the ninja sword weapon into a work of art.

“…………”

“…Tiera?”

“…Oh!”

Shin called out to Tiera who was staring at the ninja sword. Tiera abruptly returned due to his voice.

“What’s the matter?”

“Hey Shin, This…is this by any chance an 《Ancient》 grade weapon?”

Tiera looked at the ninja sword with an ‘impossible’ face. As if she was seeing a dazzling thing, she squinted her eyes.

“You know? This guy is certainly an 《Ancient》 grade weapon. This is Schnee’s personal weapon, named 『Blue Moon』.”

“Master’s personal weapon?”

“That’s right, if I’m not mistaken, Schnee might not be using her personal weapon now, right?”

“Well, to begin with, I don’t know what a personal weapon is…”

“You don’t know?”

Shin, who thought it was certainly known, was surprised that the words personal weapon wasn’t known.

“The personal weapon was set…uh, it’s the weapon which only an authorized person can use. In the case of 『Blue Moon』, only Schnee or the companion whom she had permitted can use it, excluding me who is the maker. Because if I leave it, then even if it’s Tiera who is trying to, you cannot touch this guy without permission.”

It was a function in the game that was granted to items, and could be accepted as a reward in the time of an event so it couldn’t be snatched. It was granted to weapons he made as a symbol of the guild.

There were few people who were able to grant the function of personal weapon, because only the first-class of blacksmiths and alchemists could produce it.

“The user’s limitation…come to think of it, I have heard that some of the weapons excavated from ruins are not usable to anyone. Perhaps it’s because of that?”

“It was probably someone’s personal weapon. If that’s that case, even if the weapon was discovered, there’s no way to use or even research it. Only weapons that are higher than 《Legend》 grade can be granted the function of personal weapon, so it was definitely a high power. Even a guy with level 1 becomes able to defeat a Tetra Grizzly easily, but only if he is able to use the weapon.”

“…What an outrageous ability.”

Tiera couldn’t help but be amazed by the performance that was far beyond expectation. One would be dubious if they only heard the explanation, but when the ninja sword, which hid an absurd power, was placed before one’s eyes, they had no choice but to believe it.

Shin casually placed the ninja sword 『Blue Moon』 on the counter. However, to Tiera it looked like the『Blue Moon』 had a distorted appearance around it. Tiera understood how powerful it was, even if she didn’t have much battle experience.

“It is certainly a sword with remarkable power. But I don’t want to use it.”

“Oh, for what reason would you not use it?”

“Because it looks like it’s going to engulf me, I wonder.”

Tiera intuitively understood, and was convinced at the same time. This certainly gave the user a great power. But if there was no ability to correspond with it, it would undermine the user.

“Engulf…huh? It’s probably because of its materials.”

When Tiera’s words were heard, the first thing that came to Shin’s mind was the penalty generated when equipping weapons that did not correspond with one’s level. A necessary stats value was set for each weapon. In addition, status would be lowered when equipping a weapon in the state where one didn’t reach said necessary stats value. One portionof 《Legend》 grade, 《Mythology》 grade and 《Ancient》 grade were impossible for him to equip at all.

However, he thought that the phrase ‘to engulf’ was different, so he decided to explain what materials the weapon was made of.

“Really? What did you use?”

“The main alloy is called Chimeradite. And there is the tusk of a Black-Death Dragon, scales of a Sea-War Beast, and teardrops of an Element Tail, all which were fused together. The four materials I mentioned just now are the main ones, although there were various other essential materials. It’s a guess, but it’s probably caused by the tusk of the Black-Death Dragon or by the scales of the Sea-War Beast. Both monsters are the highest class.”

“…………”

“Tiera?”

Although Tiera heard the explanation from Shin, it could be said that she couldn’t comprehend it, as she put her hand on her forehead and wrinkles were seen in the area between her eyebrows.

“…No, I’m not surprised anymore. Yeah, for example, even if what I heard just now are the creatures of legends…I’m all right. Yes, it’s all right.”

“No, you don’t look alright at all.”

Shin instinctively retorted to Tiera who was shaking her head to the sound of the common sense in herself crumbling.

As usual, Shin still wasn’t accustomed to the norms of this world, although this time the common sense was even further out of place. Which wasn’t surprising, because the monsters Shin spoke of were currently nothing but names that held a mighty power and were remembered only in legends. One would think it was a joke when told that the material was made from monsters that had the power to induce natural disasters.

“Haa, my common sense seems to be shattered one by one whenever I talk to you.”

“Eh, because of me?”

“Of course. You casually take out an 《Ancient》 grade weapon, even impossibility has its limits, you know?”

“Even if you say so, whether or not Schnee remembers me will depend on this.”

Shin said while looking at the 『Blue Moon』. Schnee’s personal equipment was entrusted to Shin before he challenged Origin. This was done not only by Schnee, but by all support characters as well. It was considered something like a good luck charm before Shin fought against the final boss. Thus now, other support characters’ equipment were also waiting for their turn inside Shin’s Item Box.

Unless Shin met Schnee directly, there was also a possibility that the message wasn’t read by her. Since the name ‘Shin’ might be a common name, he thought about leaving an item.

“Though such things are handed over, the people who are able to meet master are rare. But with a person like you, master might…”

Similar with Shin, Tiera looked at the 『Blue Moon』 while nodding as she was convinced.

So far, expensive clothes, jewels, and various rare items were sent. Nevertheless, the figure of her master who didn’t show any interest appeared in Tiera’s mind. Because she could easily imagine, her master wasn’t interested even in items that were equivalent to 《Legend》 grade and would simply not look at the various expensive items.

Even though Schnee ignored the 《Legend》 grade items, Tiera slightly deviated a bit from her evaluation of her master’s interest for 『Blue Moon』.

“Use this if she says that she remembers. It should contact me wherever I am.”

He said and put a message card and writing paper with a simple design next to the 『Blue Moon』.

“I can contact you by using this?”

“Yes, though it’s only one-way. Write the name of the addressee on the writing paper and the message you want to send here. After that, you only need say ‘send’.”

Shin explained the usage while pointing at the writing paper and the message card. It was an item used often on birthday and Christmas in the game. There were people who made an elaborate card which induced a fancy special effect the moment it was opened.

The item was only used at certain times, because normally it was faster to email in the game, but it was certainly a convenient item, because in the first place, functions such as email and friend list were not usable in this world.

“Items as convenient like this exist too…”

“I do not use it too much and there are plenty left.”

The item was rarely used, even if he got many message cards and a lot of writing paper as quest and event rewards. Though they were not really useful in the ‘game’, the items were unexpectedly handy in ‘reality’.

“If this thing becomes popular, I think that would be amazing.”

“I guess so.”

It could reach the addressee wherever they were, if viewed from Tiera’s point of view, it was equivalent to a technology revolution.

Unfortunately, Shin didn’t have any interest in initiating a technology revolution. In the first place, the items now were the things that originally existed in THE NEW GATE. Someone might invent it sooner or later, Shin thought.

“…Hey, I think rather than requesting me to pass on the message, aren’t you able to contact master directly with this?”

Tiera said like someone who suddenly thought about it while holding the message card with one hand.

“Well, actually, I can only send this to someone I have met directly, but I was not able to send it to Schnee, whom I should have met, for some reason.”

Shin also thought it was a good idea to send it directly. However, for some reason, the message was not sent and he was not able to contact Schnee. To begin with, it was a mystery why a message card was usable but an email was not.

Was there a defect in the card? He ran outside to show it to Tiera in practice, and sent the message. Tiera was surprised at the writing paper which suddenly appeared in front of her, but at least he seemed to understand that the item was not defective.

(It looks like the list was reset.)

This would be the reason why he was not able to send it, Shin guessed.

There was one sentence, “Let’s send your feelings to people whom you’ve met in adventures”, in the explanation column of the message card. For example, he would not be able to send the message to a person he had never met before in this world, even if he had met them in the game era, Shin thought.

“Ne ne~, can I get additional ones if you have any more?”

“Though I don’t mind it in particular, I think you should not use it with someone who doesn’t know about this.”

“Rather than use it, I want to research it. Even though I may appear this way, I want to know the mechanism when I look at this unusual magic item, because I aim to be a mage.”

In fact, ever since he used the message card, Tiera had sparkling eyes like a child that had found a fun toy.

“Well, if that’s the case, it’s good then. So I will give you another five. Don’t use them all, since it includes the one for Schnee’s response, okay? And because I give you this, please make it an appropriate service for the message fee.”

Shin didn’t think it was a good idea to distribute the items just because they were in excess, he proposed that at least a trial run for the free message service was needed.

“I understand. Be relieved, because I have no intention to use it thoughtlessly. It will turn into a commotion if poorly used on someone. And I do not mean for you to give this to me for free. For the time being, the price for the message is free of charge. You can expect compensation for the rest, as well.”

The outcome seemed to gain him some privilege, in addition to the price becoming free. When he reconfirmed that it was valuable after all, Shin made a mental note to avoid using it in public places.

As for Tiera, she wondered what to test it on, and seemed to be happy. It was Shin who thought that she should aim to be an alchemist if she liked to research, but did not say it expressively, because a mage didn’t necessarily not engage in research. Actually, there were many players with job: mage, sub job: alchemist.

“Then, that’s all from me. My best regards to Schnee.”

“Leave it to me. I will have master see it first, when master returns.”

Shin exchanged goodbyes and left Tsuki no Hokora.

I could use the message card to send it right away! Tiera realized, shortly after Shin left.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

After leaving Tsuki no Hokora, Shin went straight to the northern forest. Since encountering the guild’s staff that came to investigate the Skull Face would be troublesome, he advanced while confirming that there was no one in the surrounding area.

He didn’t have the direction, so he depended mostly on his instinct. But he aimed at the depths of the forest first, because the depths of the forest felt somehow suspicious. Still, because he thought that the encounter with the investigators could not be avoided when he went to the place where the Skull Face appeared, he advanced toward the opposite direction of where the Skull Face was. It was the direction he did not walk when he came here before.

The position where the Skull Face existed was the southeast of the northern forest. Since Shin was aiming to advance to the depths of the forest, he took the west route near the center part of the northern forest. Trees grew thicker and shut out the daylight as he advanced farther into the forest. The darkness was like the night, and could not be compared to the eastern forest. The heights of the trees alone eclipsed those in the eastern forest, and with the dark and thick atmosphere he felt like it was refusing a person to advance to the its depths.

In fact, the deeper he advanced into the forest, the more Shin thought about not approaching in his mind. It was not perception or foresight. More precisely, there was something that was affecting his consciousness in this place.

(This, is this a barrier?)

Though he was not certain, the more Shin moved forward, the stronger he sensed the intention to obstruct him. It was some kind of protection barrier that was erected.

But the barrier or something was nothing to Shin as he moved rapidly. Even though he was going ahead like it was nothing, to begin with, if it were normal humans, it would not be possible for them to approach the barrier, as the feeling of avoidance increased as they got closer. However, the barrier was not effective against Shin, especially after he put some effort to strengthen against the mind interference system. Rather, it was notifying him ‘There is something ahead!’.

Shin walked earnestly toward the direction where the sense was getting stronger while observing his surroundings. None of the monsters appeared because of the effect of the barrier.

He continued walking for a while, and the moment he passed the side of a particularly big tree, the darkness was cleared before his eyes and a soft light gently shined upon Shin.

There was an open space with a diameter of about 30 mels as if it was cut into the ground in a circle. And a bright cinnabar red torii and a cozy Shinto shrine were built there.

“This place is the center of the barrier?”

Because of the mental interference that had been received when he first entered the forest abruptly ended when he set foot in the shrine, he guessed that it was likely he had come off from the barrier effect. Still, he did not think that there would be a Shinto shrine.

“Hmm～?…This Shinto shrine, I think I’ve seen it somewhere before.”

He felt like he remembered that he saw it somewhere before, and tilted his head. The Japanese style architecture was not rare at the time of the game, but there were not many enthusiasts who built a Shinto shrine. He thought that he could remember it instantly, but couldn’t, no matter what.

“For the time being, should I enter first?”

Because it was absurd to agree by himself, he passed through the torii at once and entered the Shinto shrine.

There was a road from the torii, straight to the main shrine. The only buildings were the torii and the main shrine, not even one of the essential parts of a Shinto shrine like guardian lion-dogs, a purifying basin and offertory box were present.

“Did the air change?”

However, the moment he passed through the torii, the air which surrounded Shin changed completely to show that this was a holy place, although the building was only a main shrine.

Shin’s cheek was brushed by a refreshing wind that could make him forget that he was in the middle of a forest. Shin noticed much stronger mixed scents of various creatures that came through the middle of the forest. It made one realize that this was a special place.

Inside the Shinto shrine, it seemed to be well managed as it was not particularly rough. The main shrine had a higher floor, and few decorations. If seen by people who only knew a general Shinto shrine, they would feel uncomfortable.

A moment before Shin arrived at the main shrine, a “pishiri” sound reached his ears.

“What is that?”

It was the sound of something like glass cracking. There was a possibility that a barrier was cracked, he thought. And it was not a nice foreboding.

Is it probably because of me? He looked around, but there was no change in particular in the vicinity. The clear atmosphere didn’t change and the sacred air had not weakened either. To begin with, Shin hadn’t done anything.

The door of the main shrine was slightly open.

It was somewhat telling him to open it quickly. Though there was no gap for him to look through inside, it was really difficult to ignore his curiosity once he was interested.

“…Should I try to open it?”

While thinking that there was nothing much to say, Shin opened the main shrine door and was exposed to a full view of a gloomy room receiving light from outside.

The letters written on the floor were the first things he saw. The Sanskrit characters-like letters were lined up to form a circle. A big circle was wrapping around several smaller ones, and the appearance of it was just like a magic formation.

And in its center. One figure lay at the middle of the various-sized circles.

“…A fox?”

It was a young fox, which had a silver coat of fur, that was lying down on the floor exhausted, while its body was exposed to light.

“Isn’t it carefree being seen like this?”

When he confirmed there was no trap, Shin rushed over to the young fox. There was no visible injury, but the HP gauge of the young fox was in the red zone. Moreover, it was suffering from abnormality states 【Poison • Ⅹ】 and 【Curse • Ⅹ】. It was only a matter of time until it ran out of vitality if it was left unattended in this state.

“The fox that Millie mentioned, is it this fox?”

It was certainly not a common fox as it was in a place like this. He would think about it later as it was not the time for it. Shin opened the Item Box from the menu screen, selected the all purpose cure ‘Elixir’ from the list of items lined in a rows and took it out directly as an item, not the item card. Then he flicked the cap open with his thumb. The full phial of golden liquid could completely restore HP, MP, loss of body parts and remove abnormalities except one portion of it. When he tried to put it to the mouth of the young fox, a crashing sound reached Shin’s ears. The loud sound was like a large amount of glasses breaking all at once occurring multiple times in succession.

“What is it now!?”

Shin promptly activated【Sign Perception】 and perceived the state of the surroundings. 【Sign Perception】 was not the same with the monsters only type of detection, 【Search】. 【Sign Perception】 was capable of determining the position of monsters and players within a certain range. The disadvantage to 【Search】 was its narrow perception range, but it was more effective to investigate an area from the shadows of buildings or obstacles.

Shin confirmed that about roughly 50 monsters or more were approaching the main shrine. Apparently the sound a little while ago looked like the barrier was broken. He could see that red markers surrounded the main shrine and that the encirclement was gradually shrinking, like ants that gathered around sugar, when he looked at the map.

(Are they aiming for this fox?)

Shin thought while looking at the fox crying “Kuu…” weakly. He made the fox drink the elixir so its abnormals state was cured, and its vitality was smoothly recovered from the red zone to yellow and then green. Though its vitality had recovered, the fox still seemed to be in a weakened state, and a lot of time had passed since Shin restored it to its normal state.

“First, activate 【Barrier • Ⅹ】!!”

Shin deployed the highest level barrier before the enemies come closer. A barrier was formed around the main shrine and blocked the march of the red markers, and the enemies crowded outside the barrier.

To be honest, Shin didn’t fully understand the situation yet, but he didn’t even consider the option of abandoning the young fox here. It raised its head while trembling as it watched Shin. The young fox was lowered on the floor where the pattern-like magic formation was drawn, and after its head was patted, Shin stood up.

“Kuu…”

“Wait here a moment. I’m about to kick those intruders.”

He said and turned his back to the young fox and opened the main shrine door to go out. After Shin exited the main shrine, he saw the figures of Skull Faces’ which crowded on the outside of the barrier. They were wearing rusted swords and armor, and the skeleton soldiers had a dim light in hollow eyes, gathering around the barrier like sleepwalkers.

Because the Skull Faces couldn’t break the barrier, Shin calmly took in a view of the whole scene.

“If their quality is bad, then their quantity is endless?”

Shin muttered while looking at the crowd of Skull Faces that extended past his field of vision. An individual with unique equipment and level like the Jack class he fought last time was not found in the crowd of the Skull Face that were surrounding Shin, it was composed of Pawn class and Jack class that similar to Shin’s knowledge.

Shin, who understood that the Skull Face’s have surrounded him from 【Sign Perception】skill activation, switched to 【Search】 skill, which could cover a wider area. With the enlarged detection range by focusing only on the monsters as targets, he could pinpoint all of the Skull Faces.

It was the amount that became the problem this time. Thanks to 【Search】, he understood that the number of enemies was close to 3 digits. There was a possibility that the Bayreuth kingdom might received the collateral damage again, too, if he let them slip even a little.

It crossed Shin’s mind after he saw the pool of blood that spread on the ground and there were barely any human remains nearby. Though he had no intention to put on airs for justice now, it was about the disposition of trying to not deal unnecessary damage.

“You guys are evil. Not one of you will get away from this.”

While advancing one step toward them, Shin took out a new weapon from the Item Box. It was a spear which materialized in his hand. The handle shone in silver, the blade was vivid green as if a jade had been attached to the tip. Because magic had been bestowed, the whole spear was wrapped in a white radiance.

He rotated the spear with his right hand once and pointed the tip forward to the crowd of enemies, 【Limit】 was released to Ⅱ in one breath. He confirmed that his strength was released to a point where he could completely control it, furthermore, his combat abilities efficiency was risen, too. Shin kicked the ground forward and rushed at the crowd of Skull Faces.

“Here is the first blow!!”

Simultaneously, he invoked the spearmanship system martial arts skill, 【Furrow Pierce】 while dashing. The tip of the spear penetrated, by Shin’s physical strength, through several Skull Faces in a mass. An emerald green light was generated by the invocation of the skill, while at the same time forming a spiral along with the swords, armor, and Skull Faces spinning together. The Skull Faces were shattered to very small pieces by power rivaling a cannonball that had been fired in a horizontal path, and a furrow was formed made of bones and iron fragments in a straight line.

Shin was able to escape the encirclement of the Skull Faces without changing the momentum of his charge.

“Next one. 【Star Mine】!”

Dozens of light orbs appeared around Shin while he invoked the skill, it was arranged to surround the groups of Skull Face.

Light technique system magic skill, 【Star Mine】. A skill with light attribute that could set up mine-like light orbs in the sky.

The generated light orbs was located further outside of the Skull Face’s that surrounded the main shrine, it was to cut off the way of retreat so the Skull Face could not escape into the forest.

After he made sure that the installation of light orbs had been completed, Shin relaunched his attack to the Skull Faces that still gathered around the barrier.

This time it was the skill of the spearmanship system martial arts, 【Spark Blossom】was used. Needless to say, the Skull Faces were shattered when receiving the direct hit from the spear that left a trail of emerald light in a horizontal line. Furthermore, pieces of crushed armor and swords were sent toward the Skull Faces that were outside the spear’s range. Those blown off by a single blow from the extraordinary power were Pawn class and Jack class, they were pierced without any regard. The Skull Faces situation were literally like buzzing in beehive.

Although the Skull Faces of Jack class raised their swords and tried to attack Shin, they were returned by Shin’s spear and the fragments of bones and irons became impromptu bullets that pierced their allies.

“Another one!!”

Shin wielded the spear freely with unimaginable speed in one hand. Nearly ten Skull Faces nearby were defeated in one blow when he used the skill. Moreover, the fragments, like a shotgun attack, further decreased the number quickly.

The place was so completely monopolized by Shin, that not even a single Skull Face could survive.

◆◆◆◆◆◆

Since Shin started the battle, the group of Skull Faces was completely wiped out in less than ten minutes. The remains of the Skull Faces were scattered in the area around the barrier and the ground couldn’t be seen. Because he didn’t have any intentions to clean up the remains, he ignored them and pretended he did not see them as he returned to the main shrine.

When he opened the main shrine door and entered inside, a young fox jumped at him as it was waiting for Shin.

“Kuー!!”

“Gee! Th-that’s a dangerous thing to do, you.”

He almost lost his balance while holding the young fox in arm, he rubbed its head while stepping down from the stairs and stood on the ground. Its physical condition was completely restored, too. The exhausted appearance that had improved since a little while ago was not felt in young fox as it constantly licked Shin’s face.

“By the way, what will you do from now on?”

He looked at the surroundings that were in a pitiful state while holding the young fox. In addition, the sacred atmosphere that he sensed until a while ago was not felt. The power protecting the Shinto shrine along with the barrier that broke might have vanished.

“Kuー?”

“Come to think of it, I don’t know much about you yet.”

Although he helped the young fox with the impetus of Millie’s request, unexpectedly, this young fox had a lot of mysteries. When Shin first found the young fox, he was being distracted by its low vitality, and he just noticed that he didn’t even confirm its name yet until now. He only knew that this young fox was a kind of monster, because only players and monsters had an HP gauge in the game.

“I completely forgot to check its name. After all, is it a Little Fox?”

While citing the name of the monster that was popular as a pet, he read the information about the young fox with 【Analyze】 . While being held by Shin, the young fox looked puzzled, not understanding the meaning of words.

“Uhm, name, nam…e?”

Shin’s gaze stopped at the position of the monster’s name. The name that was written there had gone far above the Shin’s imagination.

“E, Element Tail…seriously…?”

“Kuー!”

As if it totally agreed! The young fox’s reaction showed that it seemed to convey it was an Element Tail. It was no wonder that Shin became stiff. The Element Tail was a monster called Nine Tailed Fox, or Kyuubi among players, and was originally part of the highest class of monsters which boast Lv. 1000 in THE NEW GATE.

It was always in the top in the THE NEW GATE strongest monster ranking chosen by players, and Shin who did not considered the possibility that the name of such monster appeared, cannot help but to be at a loss.

“What should I do?…What should I do, seriously?”

The level of the Element Tail was 211 at the present time when he examined it in detail. It was a level already dangerous enough according to the residents of this world. It might not have a parents, as it was seen alone. If say incidentally, it was the life of Shin that was in danger. An Element Tail was an opponent that could be said was absurd to be challenged alone even if one were a maxed stats player. Shin might defeat it after releasing all 【Limit】, but at least the northern forest would be burnt down to the ground.

“What is an Element Tail doing in a place like this? Just like Arclid…that’s it!! That was Element Tail isn’t it!!”

The sensed that he had seen it somewhere before when he looked at the Shinto shrine. He remembered the cause and unintentionally raised his voice.

The quest related to the Element Tail of the Shinto shrine composed of only the main shrine and the torii, but it was a place that one went to visit in a.k.a. the Kyuubi quest. Actually there was a detached building separately from the Shinto shrine, but it might have collapsed from a natural disaster. The Shinto shrine itself was probably protected by the barrier that Shin felt. It was not strange even if the Element Tail was here if he thought about it that way.

Anyway, half of the visitors who came to Tsuki no Hokora were players who challenged the Kyuubi quest. In a sense it could be said that Shin was receiving in cooperation with the sales of the store during the game.

Shin understood that there was an Element Tail in this place, but there was the question remain, about what it would do from now on. There was only an adult form of the Element Tail that appeared in the Shinto shrine in the Kyuubi quest originally, and there was no monster such as the young fox.

“You, what do you want to do from now on?”

Though it was not possible to talk, Shin asked because somehow he felt like it understood him. Because a barrier was erected, it was safe, but the thought of leaving a young fox alone even for an Element Tail in this place was unbearable.

“Kuー…”

Though the Element Tail that had been lowered to the ground gazed at the main shrine, after a short time, it shook its body and turned around. Then, the fox jumped skillfully and climbed up Shin’s body, and placed itself comfortably on the top of Shin’s head.

“Why on top of my head?”

“Ku～!”

“No, I don’t understand it.”

The Element Tail on the head slapped him “pechipechi”. Was this fox’s resolve to leave this place?, Shin felt, it somehow was saying that.

“…Do you want to go together?”

“Kuー!”

“Is that so?…Dangerous! Claws! Your claws are painful!”

Shin somehow felt like it was saying: “I’ll go!”, but the violent behaviour of the happy young fox almost caused him to lose his balance.

Since its claws were not fully retracted, it was difficult for Shin to walk with the young fox scratching his face.

“Calm down!”

“Kuー?”

“What are you tilting your head for? You absolutely understand the meaning of my words!”

Even though it was young, it belonged to the race of the first-class monster Element Tail, there was no way it was not smart. Perhaps it was one of the young fox’s ways to distract itself from loneliness.

(You should become a full-fledged Element Tail before I return to the original world)

While thinking about that, Shin advanced toward the kingdom, while preventing scratches from its clawed paws with both of his hands.

Translator's Notes and References

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