514 Tea Party, and Being Left Behind.

"Ugh, I guess it's impossible after all..."

Floating in the air above the castle using [Fly], I expanded my [Search] infused with divine power, but there was no way I could search the entire world.

A normal [Search] using magic utilizes the magical elements contained in the atmosphere, earth, or sea, allowing it to investigate most places not blocked by barriers.

On the other hand, a [Search] infused with divine power can penetrate even barrier-covered areas, but since it spreads out using my own divine energy, it can't cover a wide range.

Well, I can't do it now, but I guess I'll be able to as my divine rank increases.

According to Yakumo, these so-called "Apostles of the Evil God" are spreading a drug that turns people into invalids and seems to be plotting something.

Moreover, the source of that drug is said to be a mutated species.

I thought we had completely eradicated them during the battle with the Evil God, but did we miss some? Or did someone intentionally hide them? After all, a barrier can block [Search].

Well, I thought I'd try searching for the "Apostles of the Evil God" with [Search], but as you can see, I failed.

I also can't find the "Ark" they stole. Maybe it's hidden in the dimensional rift like with Farez.

Sneaking around in the shadows... what a pain. Why don't they just attack head-on? I'd crush them in seconds.

As I floated aimlessly above the castle, thinking such thoughts, I heard some excited voices below.

Looking down, I saw Yakumo swinging her sword in the knights' training ground. Her opponent was Yae.

A mother-daughter showdown. Just like with Frey. Speaking of which, Linze fought with Linne too... Roo and Asia also had a cooking showdown. Do we have some kind of family tradition where mothers have to fight their daughters?

"Kokonoe Secret Technique, Shiden Issen!"

"Kokonoe Secret Technique, Ryuuga Retsuzan!"

Two sword flashes clashed. They were using wooden swords, but those swords were reinforced to be sturdy, so they wouldn't break easily.

...Or so they should be, but it looks like the wooden swords are getting chipped. What kind of fight are they having...?

Feeling a bit worried, I descended to the training ground.

The training ground was already crowded with people. In addition to the knights, maids and officials working in the castle were also watching intently.

Spotting a familiar face among them, I called out.

"You're here, Juutarou-san."

"Ah, Touya... no, Your Majesty. I'm sorry for intruding."

In a corner of the training ground, watching the two's battle with a serious expression, was Yae's older brother and Yakumo's uncle, Kujou Juutarou.

Juutarou-san is currently staying in Brunhild under the pretext of martial arts training, along with his fiancée Ayane.

Occasionally, he trains with the knights or receives guidance from Moroha-nee.

By the way, Juutarou-san and Yae's parents have already been informed about Yakumo. Like the rest of the family, they were surprised but accepted it quite easily.

"How are they, those two?"

"Well... seeing Yae surpassed by her own daughter makes me wonder what strength really is..."

Juutarou-san said with a slightly slumped shoulder. Well, Juutarou-san is quite strong himself. He was already strong, but after receiving guidance from Moroha-nee, he's become even stronger. I think almost no one in our knight order can beat him. He might even be top-class in Eashen.

But the gap between Yae and Hilde is still large, so he might feel that way.

"Kokonoe Secret Technique, Housui Hiren!"

"Kokonoe Secret Technique, Hien Reppa!"

Once again, their swords clashed.

Yakumo's wooden sword, swung downward, was deflected by Yae's sword, which swept upward in an arc.

"That's it. The winner is Yae."

Moroha-nee, who was acting as the referee, raised her hand.

The surrounding crowd let out admiring sighs and gave generous applause.

"Hmm. It seems they've been training quite diligently."

"Ugh... I can't even match my mother in her youth..."

"I thought the same thing..."

Frey, who was watching nearby, agreed with Yakumo's muttering.

Well, your mother has become a subordinate god-level with the divine artifact wedding ring, so she's not exactly normal. And the fact that you guys can keep up with her means you're not normal either.

"Then, I'll be your next opponent. Is that okay, Yakumo-san?"

"Ah, yes... Please go easy on me..."

This time, Hilde stood in front of Yakumo with a wooden sword. It seemed she was itching to fight after watching Yae and Yakumo's battle.

After this, Yakumo would face a series of battles with Hilde, followed by a boss fight with Moroha-nee. Sorry, Otousan can't do anything for you...

At least I'll use [Refresh] to relieve her fatigue after all the matches are over.

Hang in there, Yakumo.

◇ ◇ ◇

"I'm... exhausted..."

After placing her order, Yakumo slumped onto the table at the café "Parent."

At the table, which had been combined from two smaller ones, a group of young girls had gathered. From the eldest, Yakumo, to the seventh, Linne, plus Alice, making eight in total.

Even though Yakumo usually maintains a dignified demeanor in front of her younger sisters, this time she couldn't keep it up.

Seeing this, Kuhn giggled and teased her.

"You were quite popular, Yakumo-neesama."

"I don't need that kind of popularity..."

After the earlier events, Yakumo had been challenged to spar by one knight after another, and Moroha, finding it amusing, had arranged a training session where Yakumo would face the entire knight order, resulting in a one-versus-many situations.

"It's punishment for wandering around as you please. You should reflect a little."

"I already get it, so please spare me..."

Yakumo muttered in a small voice to Asia, who was pouting. She had been told the same thing by her mother’s multiple times after that.

"Hey hey, Yakumo-neechan! Were the 'Apostles of the Evil God' strong!?"

"Did you win!? Or did you lose!?"

Ignoring their sister's dejected state, Linne and Alice eagerly asked.

With a wry smile, Yakumo sat up and took a sip of the cold water in her cup.

"I fought two of them. A man in an iron helmet with a blue hand axe and a woman in an iron mask with an orange war mace. The man in the iron helmet escaped using teleportation magic. The woman in the iron mask... I was the one who ran away."

"Yakumo-neechan ran away?"

"There were others with me. They were in danger. There was someone called 'Professor,' who controlled golems..."

"P-professor!? Y-you, Yakumo-neesama, you met the Professor!?"

Kuhn, usually calm, stood up from her chair in shock. The other sisters and even the surrounding customers turned their attention to her.

"Huh? Didn't you hear? Professor went to the castle to visit Elka the engineer..."

"Really!? I-I need to excuse myself for a moment!"

Kuhn hurriedly left the café "Parent."

Even though it was a rare reunion of the sisters, they had already lost one member. Yoshino muttered in exasperation.

"She didn't even get her order yet..."

"It's fine. I'll take Kuhn-chan's share."

Frey said with a grin, already planning to take Kuhn's portion.

"...So, were the 'Apostles of the Evil God' strong?"

Ignoring the absence of the third sister, Kuhn, Yoshino brought the conversation back on track.

"I didn't fight them seriously, but they seemed pretty strong. Not as strong as our mothers, though. And they seem to have some troublesome powers. The woman in the iron mask had a power similar to Linne's."

"Similar to mine?"

Linne, who had been pointed out, blinked in surprise.

"It's a power that uses gravity, like [Gravity]. I think the man in the iron helmet's teleportation ability might be the same. That hand axe and war mace are suspicious. I felt a strong evil god's power from them."

"Ah, now that you mention it, the 'Apostles of the Evil God' who stole the 'Ark' also had a creepy red rapier."

Asia added, recalling what she had seen. She had only glimpsed it from behind.

"Perhaps they're evil god's divine artifacts... 'Evil God Artifacts,' I guess? What a troublesome bunch."

As Frey sighed, a waitress from "Parent" arrived with a tray of sweets.

"Sorry for the wait~. Here are your fruit parfait and Mont Blanc."

"They're here!"

The fruit parfait was placed in front of Linne, and the Mont Blanc in front of Asia. More sweets were brought out one after another. In front of Frey were a mille-feuille and a gâteau au chocolat, which Kuhn had ordered before leaving.

"When we got teleported here, I was worried about what would happen, but I'm glad everyone's safe."

"Yoshino-neechan can use [Teleport], so she was fine, but we had a hard time! I dropped my smartphone in a river right after arriving."

While munching on a shortcake, Linne pouted at Yoshino, who was speaking nonchalantly.

Yakumo and Yoshino, who both have teleportation magic, along with Kuhn, who happened to appear near Brunhild, and Asia, who appeared in the Panaches Kingdom with the blue crown 'Distortion Brow,' which allows teleportation, were the group that managed to return home without much trouble.

Frey also appeared on the island nation of Helgaia, and although it was a tough place, she had her smartphone, so she was able to reunite with everyone without much difficulty.

"The fact that Kuon and Steph haven't arrived yet, even after all this time, means they're probably in the same situation as us, right?"

Elna made this speculation while poking at a strawberry tart. Kuon, in particular, is a logical person, so if he had his smartphone, she would have contacted him immediately.

After finishing the mille-feuille and starting on the gâteau au chocolat, Frey laughed and replied.

"He's reliable, but he can be a bit absent-minded, Kuon-chan."

"That's what I like about him~."

"There it is. Alice's Kuon complex."

Linne gave Alice a look of exasperation. Being the same age, Kuon and Alice have been together since they were little. When exactly Alice started developing feelings for Kuon is something even her sisters don't know.

To begin with, Alice is so extraordinary that Kuon is the only boy of their generation who can keep up with her. In a way, it's a natural outcome.

From the sisters' perspective, Kuon also cares deeply for Alice. He's just not as open about it as Alice is.

"Alice really likes Kuon, huh..."

"Yeah! He's strong, kind, and cool, so I like him!"

Alice answered Elna's question with a smile. While the sisters found her words a bit hard to swallow, their father, Ende, would probably grind his teeth if he heard them.

By the way, Kuon and Alice's relationship is officially recognized by both sets of parents. Except for Ende.

Given that, it wouldn't be strange if the two were engaged, but due to Touya's policy of "letting the children decide their own marriage partners after they become adults," they haven't reached that stage yet.

Behind this policy lies a slightly twisted desire of "so I won't decide fiancés for my daughters either," but that's better left unsaid.

In fact, despite being princesses of a nation, none of the sisters have fiancés.

There have been inquiries from various countries, but Touya has turned them all down.

While there are some unexpected aspects to this, none of the sisters have anyone they're particularly interested in, so they've been letting it slide.

But let's set that aside for now.

"Did Kuon and Steph both lose their smartphones?"

"That's easy to imagine... Steph has lost hers a few times and had our otousan find it for her..."

Asia took a sip of her tea and let out a tired sigh.

The youngest sister, Stephanie, is, to put it nicely, innocent and carefree, or to put it less nicely, reckless. Once she gets an idea, she acts on it immediately—she's a bundle of energy.

Asia thinks that her fearless personality might be due to her absolute defense ability, [Prison]. After all, with [Prison] activated, there's no danger. She can do anything reckless without worry. It's no wonder she's so carefree.

As Asia analyzed their youngest sister's personality, Linne spoke up.

"Who do you think will arrive first, Steph or Kuon?"

"If Steph's location isn't close to here, it'll probably be Kuon. He's efficient and would probably be heading this way already. But..."

"He's reliable, but he can be a bit absent-minded, Kuon-chan."

Frey finished Asia's sentence with the same line as before.

No one objected to that.

Kuon is excellent, but he can be a bit careless. Plus, he tends to get caught up in trouble. In that way, he's a lot like Touya.

"I hope he hasn't gotten caught up in something troublesome..."

Yoshino muttered softly, not directed at anyone in particular. Though unspoken, the others were thinking the same thing.

◇ ◇ ◇

"I've gotten into trouble..."

Kuon was stranded in the middle of the road leading to the imperial capital of Regulus Empire, Galaria.

Around her, the corpses of monsters were piled up like a mountain. Goblins, hobgoblins, goblin archers, goblin mages, goblin soldiers, goblin rangers, goblin generals, goblin lords, and even a goblin king—every type of goblin imaginable lay dead.

The reason was a stampede.

A sudden stampede had engulfed the carriage Kuon was riding on its way to the imperial capital, Galaria.

The driver, chased by the goblins, had been driving the carriage in a panic when one of the adventurer-like passengers had thrown Kuon off.

Kuon had been stunned for a moment, thinking, "Huh?" as she watched the goblins chasing the carriage when suddenly, he was pushed off.

The man who had pushed her had been irritable since boarding, constantly yelling at the other passengers and complaining about everything. Apparently, he was a genuine scumbag.

He must have thought that by throwing someone off, he could escape while they were sacrificed. Kuon was chosen because he was a child traveling alone and the easiest target. Cowards like him always go for the weakest.

The moment he was thrown off, Kuon thought, "Wait, what?" but immediately rolled to the ground and cast a spell her father had taught her at the approaching goblins.

"[Slip]."

"Gyaaaah!"

The goblins slipped and fell. Kuon snatched up a rusty copper sword one of the goblins had dropped and finished off the fallen goblin, then swung the sword at the others.

"Gigii!"

"Whoa."

Kuon narrowly dodged an attack from a goblin soldier. Her right eye glowed orange-gold.

[Foresight Eye].

One of Kuon's seven magical eyes, allows him to predict his opponent's movements.

It's similar to her mother Yumina's [Future Sight], but it only works for a very short time. However, it's perfect for dodging attacks.

Dodging attacks, defeating goblins, and taking their weapons when hers broke, Kuon continued to take down the goblins one after another. As a result, after several dozen minutes, he was the only one left standing.

Though he had been thrown from the carriage, fortunately, he had all his belongings in his backpack, so that wasn't a problem. The cheap bow and arrows he had been using as weapons had been taken away by the carriage.

Other than that, there was no issue, but...

"Do I have to walk from here...?"

He waited for about two hours, but there was no sign of the carriage returning. It seemed they had fled. Since there were other passengers, the man who had thrown him off would likely be held accountable based on their testimony.

"Probably thought I was dead..."

By now, the people in the next town were either fleeing or fortifying their defenses.

What to do... Kuon took out a map from his pocket.

It was a map she had bought from a regular store. After his father, Touya, started popularizing smartphones, rough maps began to be sold publicly, and as relations with the western continent improved, more detailed maps were produced.

They weren't cheap, but in his current situation without a smartphone, it was invaluable.

"If I started from Betan Town and my destination is Laib Town... If I go straight through this forest, I can reach a town near the imperial capital."

Kuon looked at the large forest to his left while checking the map. Cutting through the forest would be faster than following the road. It was a fairly large forest, but traversing it was possible.

The problem was the many magical beasts living there, but he could handle that.

He rummaged through the goblin corpses for usable weapons.

The sword the goblin king had been carrying looked sturdy, but it was too big for Kuon to handle.

"This one looks good."

He picked up a sword used by a goblin soldier and a dagger used by a goblin. Both seemed to have been used by adventurers and weren't too damaged. They must have been recently acquired.

He would have liked a sheath, but goblins didn't use such things.

He took a cloth from her backpack, wrapped it around the dagger's blade, and tucked it into his coat pocket.

The sword would have to be carried bare.

"It'd be helpful if I could find a magical beast to ride."

Kuon's [Servant Eye] could subjugate animals and magical beasts, but the conditions were strict, and it often didn't work. This was a matter of luck.

"Alright, let's go."

With that, Kuon casually walked into the forest.