Thump.

I had guessed that the Mist Cliff was no ordinary place, but I didn't know it was suspicious enough to block teleportation.

Thump.

Come to think of it, it's strange.

Thump.

There's no large lake below, so why is the fog on the cliff so thick?

Thump.

Could the Heavenly Demon falling into my head be related to that?

Thump.

Shushruta, who had been watching me, cautiously apologized.

"I'm sorry, Ashuban. It's clearly my mistake. Magicians are so secretive that it's not easy to get information related to magic..."

Thump.

"It's fine. Why are you apologizing?"

"But..."

Thump.

"Stop banging your head against the wall."

Thump.

Linda, who was clinging to my back, stopped me.

"Stop it, Devil. Your head must hurt."

Thump.

The Black Prince, who was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, swaggered and said.

"Who told you to keep your place of origin a secret? You reap what you sow."

Halt.

When I turned my head and looked at him, the Black Prince quickly hid behind his two knights.

"...."

Fluffy, with a bruised face, looked at his master silently. Since I couldn't beat up the king, I beat up Fluffy instead. Of course, this time too, I had put a generous amount of internal energy into it, so there could be no more appropriate farewell.

The Heavenly Demon asked.

[Then what happens? Do you have to walk there?]

"No. I'll have to teleport as close as possible and then go from there."

Of course, it couldn't be compared to teleporting directly to the Maia Kingdom, but it would still shorten the distance quite a bit.

The Black Prince, who had hidden himself behind the two knights, slyly interjected.

"Then you can go to the Hilden Kingdom in the Holy Empire of Hilka, which is just south of the Maia Kingdom. That's not much different from going directly to Maia. Isn't that right?"

"You shut up."

"...."

I thought for a moment, then sighed.

"I have no choice."

Just as I was about to sigh deeply and go back into the room where the teleportation magic circle was prepared, the outside became noisy.

"...What is it?"

A guard approached and whispered something to the Black Prince. The Black Prince looked at me for a moment, then nodded.

"Let them in."

"Yes."

I frowned and glared at the Black Prince.

"What is it?"

"You'll know when you see."

I looked at the slowly opening door with a very annoyed expression. Since I had said my goodbyes to everyone the day before, there was no one who would come to see me. I'm already in a bad mood, so which bastard dares to disturb me?

"Uncle!"

The moment I spotted Joy running in from the open door, the annoyance that had risen to the top of my head melted away like snow. Was Joy a magician, not an assassination captain? How could she... in an instant...

Thwack!

Joy body-slammed me. Fortunately, since she was just a little kid, I was able to receive it lightly.

Joy looked up at me with teary eyes.

"Were you trying to leave secretly?"

I laughed awkwardly.

"...You caught me."

When I raised my head, I saw Hans and Julia on the other side of the door with apologetic expressions.

"I know everything. You were trying to leave secretly because you thought I would cry and bother you, right?"

"No, how did you know?"

"Hmph."

Joy pounded my chest with her small fists.

"I'm all grown up now. I don't cry anymore."

And the way she put strength into her teary eyes was truly charming.

I smiled and patted her head.

"That's right. You're all grown up. As expected of assassination captain Joy."

"...This."

Joy took off the wildflower bracelet from her wrist and moved it to my wrist. It was fresh, as if it had just been made. The white wildflowers were truly beautiful.

Then she apologized to Shushruta and Linda, who were watching blankly from the side.

"I didn't have time, so I couldn't make one for you, Sister Shushu and Sister Linda."

Linda, who was looking at the wildflower bracelet on my wrist, muttered with envy.

"I want a bracelet too!"

Shushruta grabbed Linda, who was expressing her disappointment, and then said.

"We're fine. Didn't we play together to our heart's content yesterday? Isn't that right?"

"...."

Shushruta pinched Linda's side.

"Ouch!"

"Answer."

"...Yeah."

Joy, who had been worried that the two would be upset, had a relieved expression. Then she looked up at me and gestured with her hand for me to come down.

I had no choice but to kneel on one knee and meet Joy's eyes.

'...This is a big problem. The only one I kneel to is my master.'

I had already offered my knee to two people besides the Heavenly Demon.

The Heavenly Demon laughed lowly.

[Make this an exception.]

'Roger.'

Joy came over like a wildflower swaying in the wind and hugged my neck tightly.

"...."

I felt her small warmth and quietly hugged Joy back.

Joy's voice, as she hugged my neck tightly, was tinged with a suppressed tremor and moisture.

"Uncle. You have to come back, okay? You have to come back? You have to come back and see me become a great knight like you, Uncle. Got it?"

I patted Joy's back. Her back was trembling slightly.

"Yes, I got it. I'll definitely come back someday."

"You have to."

Joy let go of my neck, quickly wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, and then held out a hand.

"Promise."

"...Promise."

I hooked my rough finger with her small, wiggling finger and pressed my thumb down firmly.

"...Hehe."

Only then did Joy give a small smile. I was completely disarmed without being able to do anything.

"Hehe."

I held Joy's hand and entered the room where the teleportation magic circle was prepared.

Yes, what does it matter if I take a little detour? I have assassination captain Joy by my side.

I moved to the front of the teleportation magic circle, holding Joy's hand, then slowly let go of her hand and walked into the magic circle. Even though I had let go of Joy's hand, I could still feel its warmth. Because I have the wildflower bracelet that Joy gave me.

The wildflower bracelet is the best. Because it has the effect of warming the heart.

As I stood in the center of the magic circle with Shushruta and Linda, the old magician asked in the same tone as before.

"Your destination?"

I said calmly.

"The Hilden Kingdom in the Holy Empire of Hilka."

"Confirmed."

The old magician muttered some incomprehensible words as if inputting the coordinates and then infused mana into the magic circle.

In the meantime, I exchanged a smile with Joy, who was clutching her clothes tightly and holding back her tears, and Hans and Julia, who were looking at me with warm eyes with their hands on her shoulders.

Woooong—

As the magicians chanted in a group and raised their magic power, the magic circle began to activate. The light flowing out grew stronger, and my clothes fluttered.

The old magician said in a calm tone.

"The magic circle is not completely stable, so there may be a slight margin of error. It means you may not arrive exactly at the teleportation magic circle in the Hilden Kingdom, but may be dropped quite a distance away."

"Even better."

If I'm lucky, I might be dropped in a place closer to Maia.

The old magician, who had been muttering an incomprehensible language, shouted.

"...Teleport!"

Paaat!

I was engulfed in light, my eyes fixed on Joy, who had finally burst into tears.

Come to think of it, when I fell from the cliff, the first one to find me was Joy. The first clear eyes I met when I opened my eyes were also Joy's.

Yes, I'm starting and ending my time here with you.

I was truly grateful, assassination captain Joy.

—...Teleport!

Listening to the magicians' chant, which followed the old magician's.

Paaaat!

The whole world was filled with a dazzling light.

***

In a dark alley where darkness had seeped into every corner, a man who had been sleeping under a dirty rag, trying to get some sleep in the quiet alley, was startled awake by a dazzling light that struck his eyelids.

Paaat!

At the tremendous light that flashed in the air, the man felt as if he had gone blind and froze.

And then, a sound was heard.

"Kieeeek!"

Splat! …

Tatat!

"What the. Where is this? Why is it so dark?"

"The further west you go, the later the sun rises."

"Oh, really?"

"This is called a time difference."

"You, you're quite knowledgeable?"

"Hmph. Are you stating the obvious?"

The scene that met his eyes as he blinked and barely recovered his vision. The dazzling light had disappeared as if it were a lie, and in the dark alley, a man and a woman were looking around and talking to each other. It was dark, so he couldn't see their faces, but from their voices, they were definitely a man and a woman.

The woman, who had been looking up at the sky intently, said.

"By now... it must be almost sunrise."

"Aha. We came at a good time."

"Why is it a good time?"

"A new journey begins with a new day. The morning is the beginning of everything. The time when life is born, conceived, and moves. The early bird catches the worm. The early worm becomes a delicious meal for the early bird and becomes the driving force to start the day cheerfully. How can this not be the right time?"

"...What nonsense is this?"

The man immediately knelt before them and shouted.

"Oh, oh, Hope, the sun god of midday!"

"...Huh?"

At the man's words, the man and woman looked at each other.

"Please, please have mercy on me and bestow your grace upon me!"

Looking at him prostrated, the man and woman whispered softly.

"What's with this guy?"

"He must have mistaken the light of the teleportation. The main god of this place is Hope, the sun god of midday."

"Aha."

The man approached the man and said.

"Hey, human."

"Yes, yes!"

"I don't know where I've landed due to a sudden descent. Where is this?"

"This is a place called Novus."

"Novus?"

"Yes!"

The man asked the woman.

"Where's Novus?"

"I don't know, this is my first time here too. I'll have to look at a map."

The man said to the man who was still bowing his head.

"This place called Novus must be a village within the Hilden Kingdom, right?"

"Yes, that's right! It is the Hilden Kingdom, one of the vassal states of the Holy Empire of Hilka, which serves the glorious God Hope."

"I see. Then is Novus close to the Maia Kingdom?"

The man didn't know why the messenger of the sun god had come to the Hilka Empire and was asking about the Maia Kingdom, but he answered faithfully as he knew. No, he had no choice but to answer faithfully.

"Huh? Why isn't he answering? Do you want to receive some divine punishment?"

"N-no! I-I was just thinking for a moment."

"And the result of your thoughts?"

"W-well... I believe that if you head north through three or four villages, you will reach the border of the Maia Kingdom."

The man snapped his fingers.

"Bingo. We're lucky. See? What did I tell you?"

"...? What did you say?"

"Ah, did I tell my master? Master, what did I say?"

"...."

"...."

"What did he say?"

"He said to be quiet."

"I thought so."

The man shook his head and then pointed at the wriggling figure behind him and said.

"That one's having a nosebleed again. Go wipe her nose and help her up."

The woman sighed and approached it.

"You're a lot of work."

The man approached the man who was still prostrated without moving and said.

"Hey, human."

"Yes."

"Stay as you are. As a reward for answering faithfully, I will bestow upon you a fucking good blessing."

"Th-thank you for your grace!"

"You will fall asleep for a moment, and when you wake up, your whole body will be full of vitality and everything will go smoothly."

"Oh, oh...!"

"But, everything has a price. If you go around blabbering to other humans about what you heard and saw today, it will instead become a curse and swallow you up. Got it?"

"Yes, yes! I will keep that in mind!"

"Well then."

The man hung a brilliant light on the tip of his finger, then poked the back of the man's prostrated neck.

"Gak."

The man, after confirming that the man had fainted, left the alley with the woman.

"Let's go. It's the beginning of a new, exciting journey."

(End of Chapter)