◇ ◇ ◇
After freeing Oliver and the others in Tsutrail, I headed straight for the capital of the Nohitant Kingdom. From there, we used long-distance teleportation from the Downing Company to return to the Hitia Duchy.
"Are we seriously already in the Hitia Duchy?"
Not only Derrick, but Luna and Aneli too wore expressions of pure disbelief. Oliver, who already knew about long-distance teleportation, did not seem surprised.
We had been in Tsutrail just a few hours ago, and now we were in a place that would normally take nearly a month by carriage. Their reactions were perfectly normal.
"This is going to revolutionize logistics…"
"We're using it freely right now, but when you consider the cost, it's not something we can use casually. More research will still be needed before we can apply long-distance teleportation to distribution on a wide scale. …Anyway, good work everyone. Sorry for pushing you so hard with the forced march. I'll talk to Chris—the company president—and have guest rooms prepared, so rest up for today."
"Marquis Forgas is going to put you on the wanted list, right? We're escapees too, so we know we can't stay long in the Nohitant Kingdom. It's fine."
"Yeah. I'm not even that tired. So, what should we do from here on out?"
The two of them weren't just putting on a brave face—they really did not look exhausted. I had been worried their stamina might have dropped after being detained for a whole year, but it seemed that concern was unnecessary.
"There's nothing for you to do right away. But I'm expecting labyrinth overflows to happen all across the world in the near future. When that time comes, I want you to head out with Amuntsāsu's active units to subjugate the magic beasts in each region."
"Cooperating with Amuntsāsu… That feels a bit complicated."
Luna gave a wry smile as she spoke.
To her, Amuntsāsu had been an enemy organization until just a few hours ago. It would be unreasonable to expect her to switch her feelings that quickly.
"It's true that Amuntsāsu has been killing explorers all this time. That past won't disappear. But the organization as it is now does not approve of murder and is trying to move forward to save as many people as possible. …Still, Luna, I understand how you feel. Until you've sorted out your emotions, there's no need to force yourself—"
"No, it's all right. Sorry for sounding weak. I made up my mind on the way here."
I had been about to tell her she did not need to push herself, but Luna cut me off. Her eyes held a strong resolve, and I could tell her words were not mere bravado.
"…Understood. Aneli and Derrick, are you two okay with this?"
"Yes. Oliver already told us beforehand that we would likely end up cooperating with Amuntsāsu, so we finished sorting out our feelings a while ago."
"Same here."
"I see. Thank you, all three of you—"
"Orun, welcome back!"
While we were still talking in the room with the teleportation circle engraved into it, the door burst open and Shion came rushing in.
She immediately shifted her gaze beside me, spotted Oliver, and broke into a mischievous grin.
"Oliver, long time no see. I heard you almost killed Orun during last year's Festival of Gratitude?"
"Long time no see, Shion. From what I heard, you were trying to kill Orun before the festival too."
Oliver shot back without missing a beat. Knowing how these two got along, I could tell they were just teasing each other, but the content was way too dangerous.
No, technically neither of them was wrong…
"You two… Is that really the first thing you say to a friend you haven't seen in ten years…?"
"Past mistakes need to be properly remembered."
"Yeah. It's also a reminder not to do anything that stupid again."
As Shion and Oliver seemed to reach some kind of understanding, Luna's eyes widened in surprise.
"I've never seen this before… So many ice spirits gathered in one place."
Hearing Luna's murmur, Shion turned toward her.
She stared intently at Luna for a moment before speaking.
"…Could it be that you're a user of the special ability Spirit Domination?"
"Yes, that's right. My special ability is Spirit Domination."
"Hmm, so you're the one."
Shion gave Luna a meaningful look for a while, then suddenly smiled brightly and held out her hand.
"I'm Shion Nasturtium. Nice to meet you."
Luna shook her hand, looking a little flustered.
"Um, I'm Luna Flockhart. Nice to meet you too."
Luna had been the very first companion to join me and Oliver when we formed Golden Dawn.
Whether someone's will had intervened in this outcome, whether it was pure coincidence, or whether it was fate—I had no way of knowing.
But one thing was certain.
The fact that I had been acting together with Luna was an incredibly huge advantage.
Her special ability, Spirit Domination, allowed her to perceive spirits and fairies. Even I, with my All Things in Creation ability, had unknowingly acquired Spirit Domination. That was why I had been able to perceive Titania's presence and speak with her. I did not know exactly which of the words I exchanged with Titania in the Reglif territory had struck a chord with her, but because we had met there, she had helped turn back the world's time—at the cost of offering up most of the magical power that made up her being.
Grandpa's existence was irreplaceable to me, but even that had not been enough as payment to rewind the world's time. It was only because Titania had cooperated that we were here now.
And the beings known as fairies—sometimes called magical lifeforms, conscious masses of magical power—would become extremely important in the coming battle between us and the church.
The fact that Luna could already use Spirit Domination was something I was deeply grateful for.
"So? What's your relationship with Luna and the other two, Orun? I thought you were only bringing Oliver back."
After shaking hands with Luna, Shion asked about Aneli and the others.
"These three are all members of Golden Dawn. They're going to cooperate with us."
"Golden Dawn… The Hero Party. Huh, so these are the ones…"
Shion looked at us with a surprised expression.
"Oh, I haven't greeted the two of you yet. I'm Shion Nasturtium. If you're going to cooperate with us, that makes you my comrades from now on. Nice to meet you both!"
Shion introduced herself to Aneli and Derrick the same way she had to Luna. They introduced themselves in return.
After the sudden first meeting between Shion and Luna's group ended, we called it a day and disbanded.
◇
Several days had passed since we returned to the Hitia Duchy with Oliver and the others.
Today was the 21st of April, Year 630 of the Four Saints Calendar.
In the previous world, this was the day the church had ravaged Tsutrail.
Fuuka and I stood on the roof of the Downing Company, looking down at the streets of Celest while quietly steadying our hearts as we waited for the moment.
Over the past few days, we had deployed Amuntsāsu's active units across the continent in preparation for the labyrinth overflows.
The future development we were anticipating was simultaneous overflows from labyrinths all over the world.
In cities where many explorers stayed, they would be able to fight back against the magic beasts relatively quickly. However, in regions with few explorers, there was a high chance the magic beasts would overrun them with no resistance.
We intended to use every ounce of Amuntsāsu's power to confront this threat and minimize casualties as much as possible, even in those places.
We had completed every preparation we could make by today.
All that remained was to do what needed to be done.
After some time, Telche and Chris came up to the roof.
"Orun-sama, we just received word from Hart and Luna, who were sent out as scouts. The Rakshasa and the Battle Ogre have arrived at the uninhabited island in question."
The uninhabited island that Luna and Hart had been monitoring as scouts contained a labyrinth similar to the one the church called a "farm," the same one Shion had attacked earlier this year.
In the previous world, the massive cyclops that had appeared when the church attacked Tsutrail had been a magic beast equipped with unusual mechanisms. I believed those creatures had been modified here.
"Have Luna and Hart already left the island?"
"Yes. Both of them have already withdrawn and are heading to their respective posts."
"Understood. Thank you for the report. Telche, please share this information with each unit captain through the messenger service."
"Understood."
Telche promptly left after receiving my instructions.
"Fuuka, are you ready?"
After seeing Telche off, I turned to Fuuka who stood beside me.
She gave a small nod.
"I'm ready anytime."
Her voice was calm and steady, without any tension.
"So the day has finally come."
Chris murmured with deep emotion.
"Yeah. From here on, the world will start moving all at once. The overflows could begin in less than half a day, so I'm counting on you to coordinate with the duchy, Chris."
"Yeah, I know. I'll do everything I can to save more lives than the ones I've taken. I don't think this counts as atonement, but even so, there's no reason not to do it. Don't die, Orun."
Chris, who must have truly wanted to stop me, said nothing of the sort and instead pushed me forward.
"Of course! Because what I'm aiming for is a future where I can smile and live happily!"
While I made my declaration, the makeshift teleportation circle was completed.
When it activated, my vision began to distort.