Translator: Haruto.

This is a double release. Here’s chapter 6.

I cut down all the monsters coming my way in one fell swoop, and seeing them fall to pieces, the demon’s anger rises once again.

“You bastard… You’re just some old fart! What kind of dirty trick are you using?!”

“I’m not an old fart and there’s no trick,” I say exasperated, shaking my head.

In response, the demon yells angrily, “You’re lying! How else could you explain that kind of strength?!”

I kind of knew this was coming. There are some people that just outright refuse to believe that there are things they ignore or that they can’t understand. Well, it can’t be helped; he’s still quite immature.

“It’s not a good idea to make that kind of assumption, you know? Besides, these monsters aren’t even that strong.”

“N-Not even… I handpicked them! These are the best monsters I could find”

These guys?

Only one of the monsters dwelling near the village would be enough to take them all down. Maybe there’s something wrong with this demon’s appraising skills?

While I’m tilting my head in wonder, the demon decides to grab the staff hanging from his belt.

“Damn it… It seems I’ll have to beat you myself.”

“Come on, don’t throw your life away like this. You’ve got to learn to choose your battles more wise—”

And just as I begin to lecture the demon, I see her.

A young elf appears beside us all of a sudden.

“That’s enough, Gagaitas!”

Looking at her, the demon widens his eyes in surprise and screams, “Lulune?! Even Lulune’s here?!”

Lulune…? She has the same name as one of the girls I picked up long ago. I wonder if it’s a popular name among elves.

Although, she kind of resembles the girl I used to look after, but that Lulune wasn’t strong enough to venture into the Evil Forest…

“I’ll take care of this, Alize-san! I want you to see how strong I am now!”

Huh, looks like it’s actually her.  

She really has grown. I’m feeling proud for some reason.

“Ugh… There’s no way I can take on the two of them at the same time… I need to escape!”

“I won’t let you!” Lulune yelled but the demon Gagaitas used magic to disappear in an instant.  

Ohh! To think he can even use that kind of magic! I suppose he really must be famous. From what I’ve heard, teleportation magic is one of the highest forms of magic.

In contrast to my genuine amazement, Lulune stamps her feet angrily.

“Aah! Geez! He escaped! I can’t believe it!”

Her voice and manner of speech have remained the same. I stare at her for a bit, feeling kind of nostalgic, until she notices my gaze.

“…It’s been a while, Lulune.”

“A-Alize-san! It’s really you! It’s been too long!”

As soon as I talk to her, the frustration vanishes from her face completely and she beams in happiness.

“You’ve grown so much… And you’ve gotten more beautiful too.”

Being an old habit of mine, I start patting her head without thinking. I then realize that she’s too old for this kind of thing and I worry she might get mad, but she doesn’t seem to dislike it.

“Hehe… It’s been so long since you last patted my head like this, Alize-san.”

“I know. Ten years, give or take.”  

“Yes! Where in the world have you been, anyways?! We’ve been searching for you like crazy!”

So they’ve been searching for me. I feel kind of guilty, then. After all, there’s no way they could have found me while I was still living in that isolated village.

“I was living in a small village hidden in this forest,” I say and she tilts her head, visibly confused.

“There’s a village here?”

“That’s right. It’s located in a grass field, right in the middle of the Evil Forest.”

Hearing me say that, an expression of absolute surprise appears on her face.

“Huh?! You reached the center of the forest?!”

“Yeah, I did.”  

I’ve got no idea why she’s so surprised, but she quickly seems to reach a conclusion on her own…

“Well, I suppose it isn’t all that strange considering your abilities… Although, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone traversing this forest like that.”

I don’t know what she’s talking about but there’s something more important I want to ask her right now.

“Say, do you know what the other girls are up to right now? I’d like to see them again too.”

Hearing me say that, Lulune looks away for a second as though she’s thinking of something, and then says, somewhat suspiciously, “Those girls? I have no idea. They must be out somewhere doing their own thing.”  

“I see. That’s a shame. But well, I’m happy to see you again at least.”

We continue chatting as we walk through the forest until Lulune looks up at the sky all of a sudden and says, “Oops. It seems it’s time for me to leave. Alize-san, are you currently staying in Arcana?”

“Yeah, and I think I’ll stay there for some time.”

Lulune nods approvingly for some reason, breaks into a sprint, and leaves my sight. Hmm, I still wanted to talk with her some more. She knows where I’m staying, though, so I’m sure we’ll meet again.

Finally, I make my way back to the fortified city of Arcana.

***

The sky castle…

Lulune looks at the other four great heroes sitting at the round table and announces, “I drove the demon Gagaitas away. Arcana should be safe for the time being.”

Akane shoots her a doubtful glance and asks, “…Is that really what happened? I don’t think you have the strength to pull that off.”

“It just goes to show how much I’ve grown. Not to mention, I also had the sky castle’s blessing with me.”

They all doubt that what she’s saying is one hundred percent true, but none of them can figure out why she would even lie in the first place so they decide not to press the issue for now.

“However, I believe I should remain in Arcana for the time being since Gagaitas might just try something again.”  

Ayesha nods in approval.

“Great idea. It’ll be good for one of us to stay here. In the meantime, please leave the search for Alize-san to us.”

Lulune can’t help but feel guilty listening to Ayesha. Which is why she’s unable to look her in the eyes as she says, “Yes, I’m counting on you. Now then, I should take my leave.”

After exiting the room, Lulune whispers quietly, “I found him first so… it’s okay if I have him all to myself for a bit, right?”

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