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"…You're here."
When we arrived at the teleportation room, Oliver, who noticed us, spoke up.
"Sorry we're late. Were we the last ones?"
Everyone was already gathered in the room.
The members heading to the Kyokuto region were me, Fuuka and Hart from the Red Copper Sunset Glow, along with Katina and Huey, plus Shion, Oliver, Luna, and Telsche—a total of nine people.
In addition, Chris, who had come to see us off, and Rain, who would be sending us to the Kyokuto region, were also present.
"No, you're right on schedule."
It was Shion who answered.
However, her expression was unusually stiff.
The other members also seemed more or less tense.
Since we were finally about to confront the church in earnest, it was only natural that they would feel nervous.
I opened my mouth to say something that might ease everyone's tension when—
"The air is heavy. Everyone's too tense."
Fuuka, who was acting as usual, stopped eating her takoyaki and spoke up.
…Come to think of it, how did she manage to get takoyaki this early in the morning?
"Fuuka, you're way too normal."
Shion gave a wry smile.
Fuuka poked a piece of takoyaki with a toothpick and answered indifferently.
"We have this many people gathered, right? There's no way we're going to lose. So there's no reason to be nervous, is there?"
With those words, Fuuka thrust the takoyaki toward Shion.
"Here, you have some too, Shion. When you're nervous, you get hungry, right?"
"Eh, m-me…?"
Shion blinked in confusion.
Without paying any mind to that, Fuuka pushed the takoyaki even closer.
"Just eat it. Say 'ahh.'"
Urged on, Shion took a small breath, then resignedly opened her mouth.
"Ah… ahh…"
Fuuka brought the takoyaki to Shion's mouth.
"…Ah, it's hot, but… it's delicious."
While chewing, Shion showed a soft smile.
Seeing that, the heavy atmosphere in the room gently eased.
"Our princess is as steady as ever…"
Hart let out a comment in a somewhat exasperated tone.
I didn't know how much of this Fuuka had calculated, but it helped.
Thinking the members heading to the Kyokuto region would be fine, I turned to Rain, whose expression was still dark.
"Rain, thank you for coming today."
"No, it's fine. I promised Orun before. Besides, if this can be atonement for my sins, then there's no reason not to do it."
Rain smiled, but it was clear she was forcing herself.
I had told her when I left the clan that she had no sin, but it seemed the guilt inside her couldn't be wiped away so easily.
As the person directly involved, I couldn't find any more words to say to her…
"—Rain."
While I was searching for words for her, Telsche, who had been quietly watching, spoke up.
"W-what is it, sister…?"
Rain looked at Telsche with a frightened expression.
"I have not forgiven you."
At Telsche's words, the atmosphere in the room froze for a moment.
Rain looked down sadly and tightly gripped her clothes.
I started to open my mouth to say something when Telsche continued.
"Even though we are sisters, we have never once properly shown each other what is truly in our hearts. I feel like I haven't said enough to you until now. Don't you have things you want to tell me too?"
Her voice was cold, yet it carried a quiet determination.
"Things I want to tell you…"
Rain repeated the words softly.
"Yes. …It may not be possible right away, but someday, so that we can face each other properly."
Telsche looked straight into Rain's eyes.
"So, Rain… keep on living properly. I will definitely come back too."
It wasn't gentle words.
But there was a clear feeling contained within them.
"…Yeah."
Rain answered with a trembling voice.
While wiping her moist eyes, she still looked back at Telsche with all her strength.
The two of them had not completely reconciled yet.
But I think they had both begun to walk the path they should take.
Shion watched the exchange between the sisters with a happy smile.
"Then, Rain, can I ask you to do it?"
"Yeah. Leave it to me! Since it's from here all the way to the Kyokuto region, constructing the spell formula will take some time, so can you wait about a minute? I'll let you know when it's done."
Rain's expression looked refreshed, and I felt like the reliable older sister from the Silver Rabbit of the Night Sky had returned.
…Still, constructing a spell formula to teleport from the Hitia Duchy all the way to the Kyokuto region only takes about a minute?
The magic called Space Leap allows teleportation to any desired location, but the maximum distance is only about a hundred meters.
Amuntsāsu and the Cyclamen Church possess methods for longer-distance teleportation, but those are limited to moving from one fixed location to another, and if there is a teleportation-blocking barrier at the destination, teleportation becomes impossible.
However, the Space Leap that Rain uses has none of those restrictions.
"It's finally beginning."
While waiting for Rain to finish constructing the spell formula, Chris spoke up.
"Yeah. We'll be staying in the Kyokuto region for a while. I'm counting on you for everything else, Chris."
"Leave it to me. First, as planned, we'll spread information about ki manipulation throughout the world. Since the goal is conquering the Great Labyrinths, neither the church nor the guild will be able to suppress it."
"The church also wants to conquer the labyrinths, after all."
Until now, explorers had used support magic for body enhancement.
And in labyrinth battles, it was said that the level of the Enchanter who handled it directly determined the party's strength.
As long as conquering the labyrinths remained a pipe dream, that had been fine, but if we were going to seriously work toward conquering them, we couldn't keep depending on others for the lifeline of body enhancement.
Body enhancement at least had to be done by ourselves, or it wouldn't be worth talking about.
That was why Amuntsāsu planned to spread information about ki manipulation throughout the world in the form of rumors.
If explorers could learn ki manipulation, the overall level would rise dramatically.
"Also, don't worry about your disciples. I promise I'll protect them no matter what happens."
"It's reassuring to hear you say that, Chris. Basically, I want to let them do as they wish, but if anything comes up, I'd appreciate it if you could support them."
"Leave all that to me. You focus on your own matters, Orun."
"Got it."
Just as my conversation with Chris wound down—
"—Orun, the teleportation preparations are complete."
With Rain's voice, a magic circle rose up from the floor.
"Understood. Everyone, are you ready?"
When I asked the members heading to the Kyokuto region, they all nodded strongly.
"It's finally time. It feels like it's been both a long time and a short time…"
Hart murmured with deep emotion.
"Captain, you're getting sentimental too early."
"Yeah. We should do that properly after we've reclaimed the country."
Katina and Huey delivered perfectly timed comebacks.
"Haha, you're harsh. But yeah, that's true."
Hart scratched his head with a wry smile.
However, his eyes looked somewhat proud.
It seemed his resolve to fight was already firmly set.
"I'm looking forward to the Kyokuto region."
At Luna's murmur, Shion agreed.
"Yeah. There are lots of food stalls during the festival period, right? Show us around while we investigate, Fuuka."
"Leave it to me. There should be plenty of nostalgic flavors."
Fuuka's unchanging reply made Luna and Shion smile wryly.
As everyone solidified their resolve in their own way—
"—All right, I'm sending you now!"
With Rain's voice came a momentary sensation of floating.
And immediately after, the scenery before our eyes completely changed.
To a foreign land where jet-black, heavy rain poured down and people's screams echoed.