A flash of light.
All around her stood the broken stubs of stone walls, rooted deep in the earth. Fresh vines had clawed their way up through the scorched soil, scrambling over one another to claim the fallen pillars. The ground was a sheet of char. Before her rose the cracked remains of a stone stele — and the church itself, already a ruin long before she'd arrived, had in the passage of ages become little more than rubble.
"Back already?"
Nanoda lifted the arm that had been transmuted to gold — half of it, gleaming dully in the light. With her other hand she touched the broken stub of her horn. She could be certain now. This was her original body.
It felt like waking from a dream.
Every moment she had spent with him came back to her, vivid and unhurried.
"'Savour your new life,' he said."
Becoming human was no longer a dying wish she had to carry out on someone else's behalf. Nanoda was free, now, to pursue that quiet, ordinary life for herself.
But there were still people waiting for her. The road had been opened. There was nothing left to do but walk it.
"Mana-to-Gold magic..."
She had been on the verge of subduing Macht when that hooded schemer had blindsided her and broken her focus.
Now she had no way to undo the gilding. She was not Frieren — she didn't have a thousand-plus years of accumulated magical experience or that innate, once-in-a-generation gift for spellcraft.
Counting the time since she had crossed over, she had spent less than twenty years in this world altogether.
The most urgent thing now was to figure out the time displacement caused by the Return Magic, and to find out what had become of Gaderia while she was gone.
The old church stood at the far western edge of the border between the Central Lands and the Northern Lands. If she traveled northeast, she should eventually approach what had once been Gaderia's territory.
"Come to think of it — what happened to this stele?"
As Nanoda remembered it, the Goddess's stele should still have been intact a thousand years ago. Now all that remained was a broken base. The carved runes, along with the body of the stele itself, had vanished entirely.
She pressed her hand against the ruined base and probed it with her senses. No trace of Mana. It was utterly, completely ordinary stone.
Then a thought surfaced: the rune-carved fragment she had seized before, and the ones the hooded figure had used — perhaps they had all been chipped from this very stele? The resemblance, now that she considered it, was striking.
Just as Nanoda was preparing to set out again, something caught her eye.
A skeleton.
The bones had been worn down by centuries of decay until barely half remained, the outline just barely human — and warped, at that. Moss blanketed everything, and in the gaps between the bones, clusters of red-capped mushrooms with white stems had taken root.
The remains of the unlucky monk, the worse half of that unfortunate duo.
As for the foul-mouthed swordsman — Nanoda supposed he'd probably been eaten by an Imperial Prison Dragon.
That was her idle conclusion, anyway. Then she looked a little further and saw it: a thick Scripture lying quietly on the scorched ground nearby, and beside it — wedged into a crack between the flagstones — a single small white flower, growing right up against the tome that had lain forgotten here for a thousand years.
Nanoda walked over, picked the Scripture up one-handed, glanced back at the bones on the ground, then tucked it inside her cloak.
The last time she'd gotten hold of a Scripture, she'd swiped it off some Church envoy or other. This one had no owner left to speak of.
As a member of the Demon Race, she probably couldn't glean any of the magic within — but she could at least take it out now and then to play the part.
A wandering monk was a considerably easier figure to accept than a demon being chased through town with pitchforks.
Besides — what demon in their right mind would go around clutching a religious text, pretending to be a devout follower of the Goddess? Most of them would sooner die than give her so much as a polite nod.
Her golden arm made it impossible to press her hands together properly. Instead, Nanoda offered a silent prayer in the style of her old world — a different world's gesture of farewell — for the dead monk at her feet.
I've said a prayer for you. I'm taking the Scripture.
She shaped her Mana into a black travelling cloak and pulled it around herself, drawing the hood up to hide the broken horn on her head.
The gilded arm disappeared beneath the folds of the cloak. Her free hand tucked the Scripture under her arm.
She looked, for all the world, exactly like a wandering monk — or perhaps a wandering priest.
The moment she stepped out of the church, the craters scarring the earth came back into view — souvenirs from her battle with the Imperial Prison Dragons.
The surrounding soil still carried a faint rusty reddish-brown tinge, and only a few sparse tufts of yellowed grass had managed to grow back.
She looked down at her arm, still stubbornly refusing to move, and thought back to the Paradox Magic he had taught her. For some reason, Nanoda felt a distinct kinship with the classic lone swordsman who had emerged from years of isolated cultivation — except she only had the one working arm.
...
One week later.
Inside a rowdy tavern, at a small corner table, Nanoda sat alone. She worked her way through a large, thick patty of minced meat while her ears quietly swept the room for useful chatter.
The patty was not quite like what she used to eat at the Golden Arches back home. For one thing, it came on its own — no bun, no lettuce — just a generous slather of fragrant sauce. The texture had more chew to it, and the seasoning was heavier, something like a juicy pan-fried cutlet. But the way the minced meat broke apart and melted together on her tongue told Nanoda clearly: this was no simple steak. This was a proper burger patty.
On the whole, she approved.
Compared to the rough, barely-seasoned cooking of a thousand years ago, the food of this era had come a long way.
Between bites, she caught wind of some rather unflattering news.
"Hey, heard the latest? The checkpoints heading north have been locked down tight again."
"What? I was just about to make a few runs up there — I've got a whole shipment of southern wheat!"
The man's voice was thick with regret.
"Apparently some city on the Northern border threw in its lot with the Demon Race and turned traitor on the Northern Empire. The lord of the place even sent a demon assassin to take out the old Emperor. The new Emperor and the northern nobles — to uphold the dignity of the Imperial House and rid themselves of demons and rebel lords alike — managed to bring several Central Lands nations on board. They're all marching together to crush the city!"
"What? Really? Aren't all those territories under the Northern Empire's thumb supposed to be fighting the Demon Race every single day — before the Hero cut down the Demon King, at least? How'd they end up tangled up with demons?"
"Look, I only just heard this myself, from merchants coming south. They all say it's a decree straight from the Northern Imperial House — so it's... probably not wrong."
The two men — seated just one table over from Nanoda — were clearly a drink or two past sensible, talking at full volume. Their voices spilled into the general roar of the tavern, picked up neatly by Nanoda's ears.
Then a third voice cut in.
"I saw it myself earlier — Northern envoys heading straight for the Southern Kingdom. There's a real chance the South sends troops too."
That brought the would-be wheat merchant up short.
"One border lord. One city. And he's supposed to hold off three separate national powers? Who in the world gave him that kind of nerve?"
The merchant who had opened the topic let out a short, scornful laugh and shook his head.
"Didn't you hear? The lord's in league with the demons. At their peak, the Demon Race nearly swept away half the human world. If the human nations are uniting against him, then the alliance with demons is as good as confirmed."
The third man, an adventurer, took a long pull from his wooden tankard and exhaled.
"Even so — that lord's no pushover. I haven't heard a single report of a major Imperial victory yet."
"What was that city called again? Something 'Free City'?"
"Who cares about the details — come on, drink up!"
After that, all three voices dissolved into the same formless slurry of grumbles and nonsense that filled the rest of the room.
As soon as her plate was clean, Nanoda left.
The night breeze stripped away the smell of ale and grease that had clung to her. The air tasted clean and sharp.
Nanoda found her head remarkably clear.
Over the course of her travels, she had pieced together a rough picture of what was happening in Gaderia.
While she had been away, things had changed dramatically.
Everywhere she went, people were talking about Gaderia conspiring with the Demon Race and betraying humanity — not about the Free City of Gaderia.
By rights, after the groundwork Macht and Weise had laid with their early cooperation — and Aura's work promoting it from within Gaderia — the Demon Race's reputation should have been nothing like its old stench.
As for exactly when the Return Magic had brought her back, she still couldn't pin it down with certainty. What she could say for sure was that at least a year had passed. Possibly more.
Under cover of night, Nanoda took to the air on a flight spell and pressed on.
Another week passed.
Stopping at a few small villages along the way to gather whatever scraps of information she could, Nanoda made it back to Gaderia's territory without incident.
From a distance, she looked out.
Gaderia had changed beyond recognition since she had left.
The city's footprint had doubled in size. Beyond the original inner and outer walls, a sweeping new outer district had been added, ringed by a full moat.
The walls themselves had been built taller and thicker than before. The soldiers manning them looked lean and seasoned — veterans, every one of them.
The whole city radiated a quiet, coiled menace.
A single narrow wooden bridge crossed the moat — barely wide enough for one cart.
The moment Nanoda set foot on it, she felt eyes lock onto her from the walls ahead.
Drawing closer, she could make out bloodstains and scorch marks on the stone, and patches of freshly laid mortar filling in breaches.
This city had weathered more than a few fierce sieges.
Nanoda alone was crossing the bridge toward the gate when a sharp challenge rang down from the walls above.
"Halt! Who goes there?!"
"Excuse me — is this the Free City of Gaderia?"
Nanoda kept her voice level. She tilted her head back toward the armoured sentries on the wall. As she did, a lock of white hair slipped free from her hood.
"It is. All entering must submit to identity verification."
One soldier nocked an arrow, drew his iron bow in a single smooth motion, and trained it on the black-robed figure below.
Northern Empire spies had been turning up lately, posing as travelling merchants or vagrants. The gate guard stayed on a war footing at all times.
Huh. Gaderia's grown some real teeth since she last remembered. Coming to the gate of her own city and having a bow levelled at her face — that was new.
Nanoda grumbled inwardly, then with her one free hand raised the Scripture she had tucked at her hip.
"I am a wandering priestess of the Goddess's Order. I had heard that this city is a place where humans and demons live side by side, and I wished to see it for myself."
She wasn't ready to reveal herself yet. Better to find Aaron quietly first, and talk things over.
Nanoda's answer clearly caught the gate guards off guard.
"Hand the Scripture up for inspection, then lower your hood. We need to confirm your identity."
The guard captain tossed a hemp rope over the wall, exchanged a glance with the man beside him, and that soldier swung himself over and rappelled down to the ground below.
Nanoda sized him up at a glance — this gate guard moved with quiet, practiced efficiency. She found herself curious about how Gaderia had trained them.
The soldier took the Scripture from her hands with careful wariness and opened it.
Just as expected — the contents were blank to him. Only a priest or priestess of the Goddess's Order could read what was inside. He saw nothing but empty pages.
He closed it and turned the cover over for a second look. It matched what he'd seen before — just considerably older.
"You — hood down. Final confirmation."
As he spoke, Nanoda reached up and pulled back her hood.
A wandering priestess of the Goddess's Order — and she was a girl?
Up close, that cool, arresting face stopped the soldier cold for a few seconds, Scripture still in hand.
He recovered with a dry cough and passed the book back.
"Ahem. Everything checks out. Miss, you may enter through the third wall. One thing to note — if you wish to pass through the second wall beyond, there will be an additional screening process."
With that, he spun on his heel and signalled to the sentries above with a brisk gesture.
The captain on the wall found himself puzzled. What on earth was the boy going red in the face for?
Nanoda was already pulling her hood back up.
Mildly entertained, she made a note of it internally and walked toward the slowly opening gate.
The moment she stepped inside, she felt it — a sweep of Mana Perception washing over her, scanning her from head to toe.
It retreated only once it was apparently satisfied she posed no threat.
Nanoda said nothing and kept walking. She wanted to see for herself what Gaderia had become in her absence.
Back on the wall, the guard who had been holding his iron bow at full draw finally lowered it and turned to grumble at his captain.
"Sarge, can we rotate someone else in next time? Holding that draw aimed straight down is genuinely exhausting... ow..."
A resounding clang as his helmet was knocked sideways by a fist.
"You little brat, stay sharp. Back when I was on the wall, I held position through an Imperial army and a Demon Race army both bearing down on us. A little effort now, and when the time comes you won't be whining like this."
Just then, the soldier who had gone down to check her identity came scrambling back up the rope.
His first words: "Sarge, I want to resign."
"...What?"
"I think I'm in love."
Another clang. A fist into an iron helmet, and knuckles swelling red.
The captain cursed through gritted teeth.
"Get it together!"
"But sir... ow... you didn't see her up close... If all the priestesses who serve the Goddess look like that, I swear I'm converting on the spot."
"[BLEEP]!"
Another punch landed.
Further down the wall, the other sentries caught the whole exchange and quietly buried their smiles.
"Everyone — heads up. This is a critical period. Behind us is our home. Guard that gate like your lives depend on it!"
The shout carried the length of the wall. And then, once more, the same coiled menace settled over the battlements.
____
👻🔥Seek: Walnut-chan🔥👻
🔥 New history: Danmachi: Summoning Ruri Gokou, And other Chuunibyou Brats
Let's hit these goals:
🎯 100 Powerstones = 1 extra chapter for the public!