NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 350: Takatsuki Makoto heads to the Moon Country
“Waa, they are doing a festival~.”
“Hm? Is there something happening today, Aya?”
“That looks so nice and fun.”
Me, Lucy, and Sa-san arrived at Laphroaig with Teleport.
*Pon! Pon!*
The smoke of fireworks spread in the sky.
There’s balloons…or something similar to that floating around, bringing color to the streets.
The residents of the Moon Country are all using brooms to move, and there’s only few people who are walking the streets.
There’s also people walking the main street while riding tamed Griffins and Pegasus.
The only ones walking normally are probably people like us who came from the outside.
(A city of mages…) (Makoto)
There’s a lot of mages in Highland and Rozes, but all residents being mages is a characteristic trait of the Moon Country.
And one more thing.
It must not be forgotten that all people from the Moon Country are devils.
They all would sometimes have blue skin, red eyes, horns, wings; a lot of variety in their outward appearance.
They apparently were spending their days in hiding, but all the people of the Moon Country are unreserved about it now.
“When was my meeting time with Princess?” (Makoto)
I asked Lucy and Sa-san.
The two looked at me and made baffled looks.
“The promise was to meet at 3:00pm, but…listen here, Makoto. Furi is a queen, you know?” (Lucy)
“Isn’t calling her Princess weird?” (Aya)
“But she told me it is okay to not change my way of calling her.” (Makoto)
Me and Furiae-san have formed a Guardian Knight contract, so the relationship has not changed.
There’s still around 1 hour and a half till the promised time.
Since we had the opportunity, we decided to explore the capital to enjoy the festive atmosphere.
I don’t know at all what we are celebrating here though.
We wandered around a district where curious magic shops and rare magic food stalls were lined up.
The ones checking the stores with interest are the merchants and tourists that must have come here from outside just like us.
I ordered a number of skewers made from monster meat I haven’t heard of before, and beers shining blue.
Lucy ordered rainbow cotton snacks.
Sa-san is eating a golden candy apple.
“This…is pretty good…” (Makoto)
The meat skewers that I ate for the first time had a stronger umami than bird meat, and it mixed well with the dense sauce.
“Hey, Makoto, give me a bite☆.” (Lucy)
“Me too, me too~!” (Aya)
Lucy and Sa-san bit onto my meat skewer before I gave them the permission to.
It was exactly what I thought would happen, so I was right in buying a whole lot.
We checked a variety of stores after that too.
I sat at a bench in the park a little to the side to get a short break.
Lucy was still energetic and went to where the stores are, saying: ‘I will go buy something!’.
Me and Sa-san sat on the bench and stared at the clear sky.
“Hey, Takatsuki-kun.” (Aya)
“”Hm?” (Makoto)
Then Sa-san spoke to me.
“You said you went to the country of the dead, right?” (Aya)
“That’s right. I met Pluto-sama in Hades and had him revive Momo.” (Makoto)
“Hades… Do you think my mother in this world, the Lamia Queen, and my sisters are there too?” (Aya)
“?!”
I was dumbstruck by what she said.
The chances are high that the souls of the mother of Sa-san and her sisters are in Hades where all the people who died gather.
“Alright! Then, once we greet Princess, let’s go to Hades and ask him to revive your mother and the othe—” (Makoto)
“W-Wait! Wait! Takatsuki-kun, that’s not what I meant!” (Aya)
Sa-san hurriedly grabbed my body tightly.
“But don’t you want to meet your mother, Sa-san…?” (Makoto)
“Yeah, but the Lamias would eat humans regularly, and I don’t think they would be able to live together with the current me. Also, there’s a lot of monsters fighting over their turf, and a lot of nests that have fallen due to this… I feel like it would be kind of wrong to just revive my Lamia family.” (Aya)
“I see…” (Makoto)
I nodded at what Sa-san said.
“Also…I wonder if our dead classmates were also there.” (Aya)
“Right…” (Makoto)
Me, Sa-san, and the classmates in our previous world got powerful skills in foundation, so there’s a lot who have survived.
That said, it is not like everyone is fine.
This is a world of the weak feed the strong where monsters and demons exist.
There’s people who we have lost contact with, and even some who we have been told have lost their lives.
“I wonder if Sumire-chan has come to this world~.” (Aya)
“Sumire?” (Makoto)
I tilt my head at what Sa-san said.
Who was that?
“Eh? Takatsuki-kun, you forgot about Sashiogi Sumire-chan?!” (Aya)
“…N-No, I of course remember her. Yeah, Sashiogi Sumire-san. Sashi-san, right?” (Makoto)
“She didn’t have a nickname like that though?!” (Aya)
I dug my grave.
Sorry, from my classmates, I only spoke with Sa-san and Fuji-yan, and Sakurai-kun on rare occasions.
“I am impressed you can forget a girl as pretty as that! I was in the same group as her when we went to the ski camp. Me and Saki-chan got along well.” (Aya)
“Hmm, I feel like I have a faint recollection of her…” (Makoto)
I feel like there was a pretty brown haired girl with a fluffy airheaded atmosphere…
“But she wasn’t within the people that were transferred to this world, right?” (Makoto)
“…Yeah.” (Aya)
“But doesn’t that mean the chances are high that she reincarnated in this world just like you did, Sa-san?” (Makoto)
“Yeah, but if that is the case, the chances of reuniting are pretty low. The reason why I managed to meet you was because Noah-sama told you to go to Laberintos, right?” (Aya)
“Right…” (Makoto)
It would be one thing if they were human, but if she reincarnated as a monster like Sa-san did, it would be difficult.
Moreover, the place she would reincarnate is not limited to just the West Continent.
This world has: the North Continent = Demonic Continent, the East Continent, South Continent, Floating Continent, and Arctic Continent. They all have their respective cultures.
Moreover, the current state of things is that the continents don’t share information between each other that actively.
The Destiny Goddess Ira-sama may know, but she is always busy, so I don’t want to increase her burden even more.
Also, Ira-sama is in charge of the West Continent, so she most likely doesn’t have a grasp of the other continents.
“Well, let’s take our time and search for her.” (Makoto)
“Yeah, I would be happy to meet her again.” (Aya)
Sa-san and I nod while feeling a bit sad.
“Hm? What’s up with your sullen faces, you two?” (Lucy)
That’s when Lucy came back with a crepe and ice cream in both hands.
“Welcome back, Lucy.” (Makoto)
“Waah, Lu-chan, you bought too much.” (Aya)
“It looked tasty. Also, I got a discount☆.” (Lucy)
Lucy is a beauty with her usual clothes that expose a lot of skin, so there must be a lot of people who try to speak to her.
“Here, Makoto. Dragon Fruit crepe.” (Lucy)
“W-What?” (Makoto)
The crepe Lucy gave me had things resembling fire ants despite being fruits.
Do dragon fruits look like this?
I am definitely sure they don’t.
Is this the dragon fruit of an isekai?
“Is this…really edible?” (Makoto)
“Fufufu, looks crazy, right? Me and Aya were surprised at first, but it is really good.” (Lucy)
“Yeah yeah! Me and Lu-chan buy that often. Try it out, Takatsuki-kun.” (Aya)
Looks like the two have eaten it before.
I hesitantly took a bite and it was outrageously tasty contrary to its looks.
“So good!” (Makoto)
A burning sweetness and brutal complex tastes were spreading in my mouth.
A-A dragon…
This is a dragon fruit.
“Hey hey, what about mine, Lu-chan?” (Aya)
“This is the Sparkly Star Ice that’s trending recently. It is my first time trying it, so I was thinking about eating it together with you, Aya.” (Lucy)
The ice cream also had a novel appearance that didn’t lose to the crepe.
The ice cream was literally sparkling around it.
…That definitely has magic cast on it.
Is it something that’s okay to eat?
“Aya, let’s eat it together☆.” (Lucy)
“Geez, Lu-chan, always buying weird stuff.” (Aya)
Sa-san sighed at this, but she doesn’t seem to be bothered by it.
Lucy and Sa-san sat on the bench and faced each other.
And then, Sa-san put a hand on top of Lucy’s hand holding the ice cream cone.
“Let’s eat.” (Aya)
“Okay.” (Lucy)
“Aahn.” (Aya)
“Hnn.” (Lucy)
Lucy and Sa-san’s faces approached each other, and they both took a bite of the sparkling ice cream from opposite directions.
“Eh?!”
“Wa?!”
“W-What’s the matter?” (Makoto)
I ask the two who opened their eyes wide.
“What’s this?! It is so good!” (Lucy)
“Wow, my vision is flickering!” (Aya)
Isn’t that because of the weird magic? I was worrying about this as I observed the two eating the ice cream.
That said, they are eating the ice cream with great glee.
The ice cream isn’t that big though.
*…Lick…Nom…Kapu…Lick…*
I can hear the two eating the ice cream.
Obviously since they are right by my side.
*…Chu*
The lips of Lucy and Sa-san touch each other.
But the two didn’t seem to mind as they continued eating the ice cream.
Sounds that made me wonder whether they are eating ice cream or kissing.
This is a bench in a park a little bit away from the main street of the Moon Country’s capital, so there aren’t many people, but it is not zero.
The people around must be curious about the two beauties eating ice cream, they are sneaking glances.
I obviously couldn’t move my eyes away from them either.
(Lucy and Sa-san get along well as always.) (Makoto)
(Can you call that getting along?) (Noah)
Noah-sama retorted to the thought in my mind.
(Oh, Noah-sama. Thank you very much for the letter to the God of Hades the other day. I safely managed to revive Momo. My apologies for the late report.) (Makoto)
(I was watching, so I know. I should be the one apologizing about Queen Proserpina. I completely forgot we fought a long time ago.) (Noah)
I am honored by the apology of Noah-sama.
It seems like she forgot about her connection with Proserpina-sama.
(It is nothing. I got slight chills at the Trash Monstrosity, but it was interesting.) (Makoto)
(…You go at your own pace as always, huh.) (Noah)
(Listen here, Mako-kun. It has become a bit of news in the Divine Realm that the familiar of Noah has already defeated a God, you know?) (Eir)
(Really?) (Makoto)
I was surprised by what the Water Goddess Eir-sama said.
The news in the Divine Realm spread fast.
(Once things have calmed down, show your face here, Makoto.) (Noah)
(You must not rampage in the mortal realm, okay☆, Mako-kun?) (Eir)
They said this and the thought transmission between Noah-sama and Eir-sama was hung up.
Lucy and Sa-san finished eating their ice cream just at that moment.
“Puha! That was tasty~?.” (Lucy)
“Haah~, that was an interesting ice cream, wasn’t it~??” (Aya)
They finished eating their ice cream and the two of them licked the ice cream on each other’s mouth before separating.
“Ah, sorry! I forgot to leave ice cream for you, Makoto!” (Lucy)
“Want to buy one more, Takatsuki-kun?” (Aya)
“Aah, no, I watched my fill there. Thanks for the meal.” (Makoto)
““?””
Lucy and Sa-san looked confused.
These two are like this without even being aware.
Right at that time…
A group of mages wearing extravagant clothes hurriedly appeared on brooms.
“I heard the two from the Crimson Fangs have come! Where are they?!”
“Yes, over here.”
Looks like they were searching for Lucy and Sa-san.
Or more like, how did they know we were here?
“Ooh, Lucy-dono and also Aya-dono! As beautiful as always! And is there no mistake in saying the one together with you is the Legendary Hero of the Water Country, Takatsuki Makoto?!”
“Y-Yeah, that’s me.” (Makoto)
I was overwhelmed by how high the tension of the man that was talking to us was while I nodded.
“Queen Furiae is waiting for you. We have been entrusted with a magic message from her!”
He said this and snapped his fingers.
—“Where are you dilly-dallying around, My Knight?!!! If you have arrived in the Moon Country, come to the castle at once!!”
“That’s all.”
It was so loud my ears were ringing.
By the way, she apparently learned ‘dilly-dallying’ from my conversations with Sa-san.
“Alright, let’s go, Makoto, Aya.” (Lucy)
“Right. Did she see us with Clairvoyance?” (Aya)
“We have prepared a vehicle for your comfort.”
They guide us amicably.
By the way, you apparently shouldn’t use Teleport to suddenly appear at the place of the queen.
We rode the magic carpet that the mages brought.
The magic carpet floated gently and flew above the capital.
Their prosperity could be seen remarkably from above.
“That said, the growth of the Moon Country is impressive. Even though it was like a graveyard a few years ago.” (Makoto)
“The residents are all mages that can use advanced magic and above. It is not rare to see monarch magic mages.” (Lucy)
“But I heard from Fu-chan that they are not good at acting in groups, so it is hard to coordinate them, right, Lu-chan?” (Aya)
“That hurts my ears.”
The mage must have heard our conversation, he chuckled.
“No, we were not talking about you guys! ……It is just that we have heard a not so good rumor lately.” (Aya)
Sa-san made a meaningful face.
“A…not so good rumor?”
“You have an idea about what it is, right?” (Lucy)
“Who knows…”
The mage feigned ignorance while clearly looking as if he knows.
“Just saying, but me and Aya know! Stuff like how the army of the Moon Country that had gained a drastic power increase would at times do military drills at the border between the Sun Country. Just for your information, the Crimson Fangs won’t help you out even if you begin a war, okay?!” (Lucy)
Lucy stated clearly.
(…Eh? Military drills? What’s this about a war?) (Makoto)
I couldn’t follow the talk and blinked several times.
“…Hahah. So strict. Queen Furiae also has her hands full with the army.”
The mage-san didn’t deny it.
{Sa-san, the talk just now is true?} (Makoto)
{It is just that there’s rumors like that. The Adventurer Guild tells us the fishy rumors at an early stage.} (Aya)
I asked Sa-san in a whisper and she told me.
Seriously?
Even though we went through so much trouble to defeat the Great Demon Lord and obtained peace.
But the Moon Country was discriminated against heavily by the Sun Country for many years…
I don’t really know what to say about that.
I changed the topic to shake off the weird atmosphere.
“By the way, it seems like it is a festival today, but what are they celebrating?” (Makoto)
“Eh?”
When I asked this to the mage-san, he made a shocked face.
“You don’t know?!”
“““?”””
Me, Lucy, and Sa-san looked at each other’s faces.
He said as if it should be natural for us to know, but the 3 of us don’t know.
“This is a celebration for Queen Furiae and the Legendary Hero Takatsuki Makoto meeting.”
“““………Hah?”””
We 3 opened our mouths wide and froze.
What…did he say just now?
“Uhm, does that mean this is a festival held for the sake of Furi and Makoto meeting?” (Lucy)
“Yes, that’s right. To be more precise, she ordered her close aides: ‘My Knight will be coming soon to meet me! Show him the best welcoming you can pull!’. But the ‘best’ has been taken in a magnified way.”
“Uwaah. The close aides…are pretty much the believers of Fu-chan after all.” (Aya)
Sa-san mutters.
“We will be arriving at the castle soon. Normally, there’s the need to enter from the castle’s gate, but you people are VIPs, so I will guide you directly to the 2nd floor’s balcony.”
The magic carpet landed on the big balcony of the 2nd floor just as he said.
“Over here please. Queen Furiae is awaiting.”
“O-Okay.” (Makoto)
I am a bit nervous after hearing that the festival was for my sake.
To think they would welcome me in such an exaggerated manner.
“Well then, this is as far as I go. Furiae-sama is waiting beyond these doors.”
The mage-san said this and left.
“Well then, let’s go.” (Makoto)
I said to Lucy and Sa-san, but…
“Pass.” (Lucy)
“Me too~. We will group up with you later, okay, Takatsuki-kun?” (Aya)
“Eh?” (Makoto)
Lucy and Sa-san stopped their feet.
“It has been a while since you have met Furi, right? We would feel bad getting in the way.” (Lucy)
“We can be together any time anyways. Lu-chan, where should we go?” (Aya)
“Hmm, should we return to the festival?” (Lucy)
“But my tummy is full, you know?” (Aya)
“Then, the tavern! We are chugging booze, Aya!” (Lucy)
“I am fine with that, but don’t get drunk and take off your clothes, okay, Lu-chan?” (Aya)
“You too, Aya, don’t get drunk and go berserk, okay?” (Lucy)
“That’s because men always try to pick you up immediately!” (Aya)
“But Aya always protects me?.” (Lucy)
“You are strong too, Lu-chan, so you can chase them away yourself.” (Aya)
“If I used magic, the tavern would be blown up too.” (Lucy)
“Geez!” (Aya)
“See ya, Makoto!” (Lucy)
“Later, Takatsuki-kun.” (Aya)
“O-Okay…” (Makoto)
The two held hands and…disappeared somewhere with Teleport.
I was left behind.
(Hmm, they were being tactful here, huh.) (Makoto)
That’s what I feel.
I decided to apologize to them later and knocked on the door.
“Who is it?”
I heard a beautiful voice from inside.
Of course, I know who it is without seeing her face.
“I am here, Princess.” (Makoto)
When I said this, footsteps rang and…
*Bam!*
The door opened with a loud sound.
“You are late!! How long were you planning on making me wait?!!”
The one who said this and jumped at me, hugging me with enough momentum to knock me down to the floor just like that, was a long black haired peerless beauty.
The one who rules the Moon Country, Queen Furiae.
■Comment Response:
>I thought the Momo arc would continue, so I was so happy, but it wasn’t the case. Too bad.
-I used 4 chapters for the Hades arc, so I wanted to write about a different heroine.
I will eventually write about the now human Momo.
>How is his adventurer rank treated by the explorers of the South Continent?
>Is the West’s Silver Rank the same as the South’s B Rank?
-The culture of the South and West Continent are different, so it can’t be compared.
The strength of the monsters is also completely different.
The monsters in the West Continent were most likely stronger before the Great Demon Lord resurrected.
※Aside from the Last Dungeon.
Right now the West Continent is the most peaceful.
The reason being that Makoto (a God) is living there now.
The stronger the monster, the more instinctively they can tell ‘there’s a dangerous dude in the West Continent’.
■Author’s Comment:
The flirting with Furiae-san will be in the next episode.
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