Roxy Migurdia finished her sea voyage and set foot in Wenport, a port town on the Demon Continent.
The moment she did, she stopped in her tracks.
Wenport's townscape bore a striking resemblance to Zantport, at the northern tip of the Millis Continent.
Even a first-time visitor would be struck by a certain sense of déjà vu.
But that wasn't why Roxy had stopped.
The air here was clearly different from the Millis Continent.
She could feel it.
(Nostalgic...)
A swell of nostalgia rose from the depths of her heart.
How many years had it been since Roxy had last visited here?
Fifteen years ago, perhaps.
Come to think of it, quite some time had passed since she'd left her village, enchanted by dreams of the human race.
When she'd boarded the ship from here, she'd thought she would one day return.
But after crossing to the Millis Continent, when she'd eaten the sweets humans had made in Millisium, she'd been so stunned by how delicious they were—by the realization that such food existed in this world, food she could never taste on the Demon Continent—that she'd sworn never to come back.
(I really was simple...)
True enough, Roxy had traveled from the Millis Continent onward to the Central Continent, and had never returned since.
She hadn't even thought about it.
There was so much on the Central Continent.
Everything she saw was fresh and exciting.
Before she knew it, she'd spent as much time on the Central Continent as she had living on the Demon Continent.
The Demon Continent had completely vanished from her thoughts.
Even when she delved into labyrinths and knew the terror of death, she never once thought of the parents she'd left behind on the Demon Continent.
And yet, here she was now, having returned.
You never know what life has in store, Roxy mused.
"Roxy! Come along!"
When Roxy stood rooted in place, a woman called out to her.
Long ears peeked out from between luxurious golden locks of hair, styled like a French baguette.
Tall and slender, with a taut waist and a pert, generous rear end.
Every time Roxy looked at her from afar, her heart was consumed by jealousy.
Even if it was something she couldn't help, given her race, she couldn't help but wish she had a figure like that.
Their bust sizes were roughly the same, but between the balanced, beautiful Elinalise and scrawny Roxy, the contrast was agonizing.
"Yes, I'm coming now..."
A sigh escaped her lips.
The name of that gorgeous woman was Elinalise.
Elinalise Dragonroad.
A warrior of the long-eared tribe who held the front line with an estoc—a thrusting sword—and a buckler.
She was a warrior whose techniques were as dazzling as her appearance suggested.
An estoc was not, strictly speaking, a weapon an adventurer would typically carry.
It was the kind of weapon nobles of the Asura Kingdom used in duels, or the kind worn by gladiators of the Northern Lands fighting in full armor.
Elinalise's was a magic-imbued item, obtained deep within a labyrinth.
It was far sturdier than any ordinary sword, and a single swing could generate a vacuum slash capable of felling a tree several meters away.
Her buckler, too, was a magic-imbued item, bearing an ability to absorb and mitigate the force of impacts.
"Oh, ohhh... land, sweet land..."
An old man of the coal-mining tribe tottered down the gangplank behind Roxy.
Heavy armor clanked with each step, a stern beard bristled, and a blue face clung desperately to a walking staff.
His name was Talhand.
Properly speaking, "Talhand of the Grim Peaks."
He stood about the same height as Roxy, but was over twice as wide.
Clad in heavy armor and sporting a formidable beard, this man was, of all things, a mage.
Roxy had initially wondered the same thing—why would a mage wear armor?
He was slow on his feet, with virtually no agility.
If monsters attacked, he had no way of dodging.
So instead, he armored up like that so he could cast magic while serving on the front lines.
"Are you all right, Talhand? Shall I cast a healing spell on you?"
"No, no need..."
Talhand shook his head while staggering, dragging his sluggish body forward.
He was usually much more spry than this, but the seasickness had him thoroughly weakened.
"My goodness, to be so helpless over a mere boat ride," Elinalise remarked.
"Wha— what did you say... you..."
Elinalise placed a hand on her hip and let out a light laugh.
Talhand's face flushed red with indignation.
These two would immediately start bickering, and putting a stop to it was Roxy's current role.
"Please save your argument for later. And Elinalise, you don't need to needle him about everything like that. Seasickness is just a matter of constitution."
Roxy had met the two of them at Eastport, a port town in the Dragon Kingdom.
She'd initially ignored them—they were fighting at the Adventurers' Guild.
But when she overheard that their dispute was about traveling to the Demon Continent to search for missing persons from the Fittoa Region, she'd butted in.
The two had been at odds because neither was familiar with the geography of the Demon Continent.
Talhand argued they should head for the Begaritt Continent or the northern part of the Central Continent, where he knew the lay of the land.
Elinalise countered that not knowing the roads didn't mean you couldn't find someone—you could always hire locals.
And then there was Roxy herself, from the Demon Continent, who would feel uneasy going alone.
They were destined to meet.
What's more, as Roxy listened further, she learned that both of them had once been in the same party as Paul and Zenis.
The "Fangs of the Black Wolf."
Even Roxy had heard of it.
It was one of the most famous adventuring parties on the Central Continent.
A motley crew of characters, each with their own quirks—they'd been the talk of the town.
They'd risen to S-Rank within a few years of formation, only to disband shortly after, but Roxy remembered it well.
Still, to think that Paul and Zenis had been members of the Fangs of the Black Wolf.
Roxy couldn't hide her surprise.
And the two of them were equally stunned to learn who she was.
Roxy Migurdia—she was the widely renowned "Water King-class Mage" in the outside world.
A blue-haired girl who had crossed over from the Demon Continent.
She'd enrolled at the Magic University, earned the title of "Water Saint-class Mage" within a few years, and conquered a twenty-five-floor labyrinth in the outskirts of the Shiron Kingdom.
After that, she'd taken the position of Court Mage in the Shiron Kingdom.
The early part of her adventure had been made into verse by a wandering bard, and it had gained considerable fame.
The story of a young mage who left her village, met three novice adventurers, traveled across the Demon Continent, and set out for Millis.
Her name, Roxy, did not appear in the poem.
But for anyone who'd been an adventurer when the poem started circulating, it was well-known that the young mage in question was Roxy.
The three of them hit it off...
Well, not exactly. But Roxy's goal of traveling to the Demon Continent to find Rudeus, and the other two's mission of finding Paul's family on Paul's behalf, aligned perfectly.
They formed a party on the spot and headed for the Demon Continent.
First, they boarded a ship to the Millis Continent.
At the port town of Westport on the Millis Continent, they spent a small fortune purchasing a pair of Sleipnir-breed horses and a carriage.
It was an expensive purchase, but all three had money, so it was no problem.
Neither of them got along well with Paul, so they didn't stop in Millisium, the Holy Kingdom's capital.
And since both had a reputation as troublemakers back home, they bypassed both the coal-mining settlements in the Azure Dragon Range and the long-eared tribe's villages in the Great Forest, heading straight for Zantport.
Their reasoning was that the rainy season in the Great Forest was about to begin, so it was better to move quickly.
The rainy season lasted a long time, and travel through the Great Forest was impossible during it.
But from their bickering and the way they drove the carriage through the night as if they couldn't bear to spend a single extra second on the Millis Continent, Roxy concluded that they simply didn't want to go home.
That said, as a result, they'd made it to the Demon Continent far faster than normal, so Roxy had no complaints.
"Let's head to the Adventurers' Guild first."
Roxy suggested, and the three of them set off for the Adventurers' Guild.
The guild first—that was the basics of being an adventurer.
"I do hope we meet a nice man!"
At Elinalise's words, Roxy's face tightened.
This Elinalise, for all her virtuous appearance, was a man-hunter.
It was impossible to imagine from her tall, slender figure, but she had already borne several children, by her own account.
She claimed she was cursed, but she showed none of the tragic reluctance of someone giving her body to strangers—she looked like she was doing it purely for fun.
It was beyond Roxy's comprehension.
"Elinalise, we're not here to look for men..."
"I know that."
She clearly didn't know, Roxy thought with a frown.
Elinalise said she'd be fine, but Roxy wished she'd put herself in her companions' shoes.
It was fine to do whatever she wanted during idle time, but this was an emergency.
And if she got pregnant, it would only delay their journey further.
Roxy wished she'd show at least a little restraint.
"Roxy, you should also enjoy the company of one or two men..."
"I can't."
Not with Elinalise's looks, Roxy thought.
But unfortunately, the men Roxy had found attractive had never once seen her as a woman.
Roxy was adored by children, but invisible to men.
---
The Adventurers' Guild on the Demon Continent.
Where parties of all manner of races came together—it had a distinctly different feel from the Central Continent.
When Roxy entered the guild, her eyes met with a group of adventurers who were obviously greenhorns.
Three boys dressed in warrior-style outfits.
They approached Roxy hesitantly.
"U-um, if you don't mind, would you like to form a party with us?!"
The boys blurted out with what seemed like a premeditated determination.
Roxy offered a wry smile.
"No, as you can see, I'm already in a party."
When she declined, the three boys withdrew sheepishly.
This wasn't the first time she'd been recruited into a party.
It had happened several times before.
Every time, it was a trio of boys.
The wandering bard had said he'd turn her story into a poem, but she never imagined she'd become this famous.
"Oh my, even Roxy gets invited by nice-looking men!"
Elinalise teased, tapping Roxy on the head.
It was the usual routine.
Roxy didn't bother engaging. She wasn't a child.
"At any rate, with our different ranks, we couldn't form a party even if we wanted to."
Roxy's current adventurer rank was A.
The average rank of those lovestruck boys, swept up by the bard's poem, was D.
She'd never seen one ranked higher than B.
The first time she'd been recruited, the boy had proudly claimed to be the hero of that poem—only to discover that the name "Roxy" itself wasn't famous at all, which was quite the embarrassment.
It was a memory Roxy preferred to forget.
Imagine—a wandering bard who didn't even know what a Migurd was, assuming Roxy had started her journey at around twelve and reached A-Rank in just two years.
On top of that, the poem's contents had been heavily dramatized to claim she'd traversed the entire Demon Continent in a year and reached A-Rank.
Yeah, right, Roxy thought.
In reality, it had taken about five years to reach A-Rank.
Three years just to build a solid foundation on the Demon Continent and reach B-Rank.
Then another two years, spending time with various parties.
Even so, that was remarkably fast by normal standards.
Now, if you were lucky, you might be able to go from F-Rank to A in about a year—but a party of clueless children doing it in a year? Not a chance.
"If they'd grown up a bit, they might have been my type, but what a shame."
If they'd grown up—those words made Roxy think back.
She remembered the three novice adventurers who had once approached her.
They'd called themselves "The Licaris Gang."
Three boys who had helped a clueless country bumpkin who'd just left the Migurd village and didn't know right from left.
One was a cynic who only told lies that lasted until the next moment, but he was surprisingly good at looking after people.
One was always grumbling and bad-mouthing others, but he had an unwavering core.
One was incredibly smart and served as the party's leader, but he died midway through their journey.
They had parted ways by the time Roxy reached Wenport, but...
Roxy wondered.
Are the other two still alive?
Having traveled on the Central Continent, she knew this much: adventurers on the Demon Continent had it brutally hard.
They were more likely dead than alive.
(I hope they're doing well... Nokopara and Blaze...)
And with that thought, Roxy let out a soft smile.
Twenty years had passed since then.
Neither of them had particularly long lifespans, so they'd probably retired from adventuring long ago.
She was the only one who hadn't changed.
(I'll save the nostalgia for another time.)
Roxy shook off the feeling.
She hadn't returned to the Demon Continent to visit home.
She was here to find Rudeus—or his family.
"Let's gather some information, then."
Roxy suggested to the other two, and began surveying the guild.
---
As they gathered intelligence, they learned that a group called "Dead End" was currently in this town.
Apparently, they were rising stars who'd made a sudden name for themselves recently.
On the Demon Continent, the name "Dead End" was universally known.
Among the Spelled tribe, Dead End was considered one of the most dangerous monsters—one that specifically targeted children.
Even Roxy had been frightened with tales of Dead End by her mother, many times as a child.
"A bad child will be carried off by Dead End."
Back at the inn, Roxy compiled the information she'd gathered about Dead End and frowned.
"This is unbelievable."
"What is?"
"To impersonate Dead End—no sane person would do that."
What made Dead End terrifying was the fact that it was real.
On the Central Continent, Dead End was unknown, but it genuinely existed on the Demon Continent.
Naturally, Roxy had never seen it herself, but every rumor she heard was horrifying.
It was probably the most feared monster on the Demon Continent.
The Adventurers' Guild apparently hadn't issued a formal wanted poster out of fear of retaliation, but if a subjugation quest were ever posted, it would undoubtedly be S-Rank.
Moreover, the reward would be double the normal S-Rank bounty.
"I wouldn't know," Elinalise said.
According to the information Elinalise had gathered, the man calling himself Dead End was tall, pale, bald, and carried a spear.
And by all accounts, a strikingly handsome man.
"He's supposed to be quite the looker—so why don't I go ask him in bed?"
Talhand spat on the ground with a sour expression.
"That info don't matter one bit."
According to Talhand's intelligence, "Dead End" was a trio.
Each member went by:
"Mad Dog Eris"
"Guard Dog Ruijerd"
"Handler Rujerd"
The latter two were said to be brothers.
The Mad Dog had red hair, the Guard Dog was tall, and the Handler was short.
The Mad Dog used a sword, the Guard Dog used a spear, and the Handler used a staff-like magic-imbued item.
The trio's reputation was rather poor.
"The Mad Dog is a brawler through and through, and the Handler does nothing but cause trouble, apparently. But the Guard Dog seems like a decent fellow—he loves children and can't turn a blind eye to wrongdoing. A true justice-seeker."
Quite the bizarre set of evaluations, Roxy thought.
Somewhere along the way, the information had gotten distorted.
When even a villain does something even slightly good, it tends to be exaggerated in the retelling.
The Guard Dog being "a good guy" was probably born from that.
Or perhaps someone was deliberately spreading that information as a trap to deceive people.
They were cunning as well as violent.
"Dangerous company. We should steer clear."
"Indeed. If we draw the attention of villains while searching for people, we won't stand a chance."
"Then let's get down to business."
Roxy changed the subject.
The reason they'd come to the Adventurers' Guild was not, after all, to investigate Dead End.
"Have you heard any rumors about people from the Fittoa Region?"
"Nothing."
"Not a thing."
Maybe they'd been too slow, Roxy thought.
The Demon Continent was no place to survive for a year without equipment or preparation—certainly not without being teleported there.
Just staying alive for a year was difficult enough.
In the span of that year, the people who'd been teleported from the Fittoa Region might well have all perished.
"Of course, the ones we're looking for are Paul's family."
"Zenis, Lylia, Aisha, and Rudeus."
Roxy knew each of their characteristics and had already shared them with the two.
Aisha was the only one she knew about purely from Rudeus's letter, so the description was somewhat vague.
"Well, Zenis should be fine."
"Agreed."
Both of them knew Zenis personally.
So there was nothing to worry about, they said.
Roxy didn't know just how capable Zenis was, but both of them—the former Fangs of the Black Wolf—were guaranteed to be formidable.
If they said she'd be all right, she probably would be.
"Rudeus also stands out, so he should be easy to find."
Roxy thought of her disciple, who had shown overwhelming talent at the age of five.
Wherever that boy was, he would stand out and be the talk of the town.
Zenis and Rudeus.
The three of them figured that if these two were anywhere near civilization, they'd be found quickly.
And as long as they were near people, they'd have enough strength to survive on the Demon Continent.
So what they really needed to search for were Lylia and Aisha.
They'd decided from the start to gather information on the two of them first.
"Let's set a deadline. Two days to gather as much information as we can on Lylia and Aisha, then on the third day, prepare and set out to visit surrounding settlements. How does that sound?"
"Isn't two or three days too short?" Elinalise asked.
Roxy shook her head.
"There's a high chance they're already dead, and the Demon Continent is vast. First, we'll make the rounds of the major towns and post search requests at each Adventurers' Guild."
The Asura Kingdom would provide funding for the Fittoa Region search.
If they placed requests through the guilds in each town, the completion rewards would be covered by the Kingdom, and the adventurers would do the searching. Technically, Roxy needed to sign as the quest requester—they wouldn't accept the job without that.
Conversely, without that process, the Asura Kingdom wouldn't pay the guilds.
Roxy felt a simmering frustration at the Asura Kingdom's poor response to the disaster.
As a major nation, shouldn't they be taking more decisive action?
The only people actually out there searching were Paul and the others—the very victims of the disaster themselves.
(The rumors about corruption within the Asura Kingdom seem to be true after all.)
As the nation with the longest history, tradition and power had rotted from the inside, and were pulling strings behind the scenes.
"Then let's spend tomorrow continuing to gather information."
"Understood."
"Right then."
Roxy was not the type to waste time.
Even when staying somewhere, she avoided lingering, aiming to finish her business as quickly as possible and depart.
Her decision to immediately set off after imparting her secret techniques to her disciple Rudeus spoke to this very trait.
That decisiveness was her strength, though it was also what Rudeus called "reckless."
Still, no one pointed that out, and she herself was firmly convinced it was a strength.
That said, posting a request at the guild on the first day, doing a quick sweep themselves on the second, and departing on the third—that was efficient scheduling.
Though if she'd allocated even a week's stay, the results might have been quite different...
---
The second day.
Roxy, out of curiosity, went to observe Dead End.
They were easy to spot, given how conspicuous they were.
A man and a woman training on the sandy shore.
Just as the information described—a tall bald man and a red-haired girl.
The girl wielded what appeared to be a real sword in both hands, slashing at the bald man with terrifying speed, while he deflected each strike with ease.
Dead End was supposed to be a trio—one large one and two small ones.
(The short one, the so-called "Handler," doesn't seem to be around...)
Guard Dog and Mad Dog exchanged an extraordinarily high-level exchange of offense and defense.
Though it was really just the Mad Dog attacking and the Guard Dog evading—there was a level of skill far beyond anything Roxy could fathom.
Roxy watched from a distance, hidden behind the shadow of a rock.
It was like watching a professional baseball pitcher who fought with magic pitches as her weapon.
The two were strong.
Even by the standards of Roxy, who had traveled the world as an adventurer for years.
At a minimum, their strength couldn't have been gained through petty scheming.
(Maybe I should make contact...)
The instant the thought crossed her mind, the Guard Dog turned around.
(...!)
She clearly felt their eyes meet.
The gaze was intense.
Roxy felt a nameless terror wash over her.
She had the sensation of having become prey in a hunt.
She hurried away from the spot.
---
He had sensed the girl's presence from the very beginning.
Was she just watching, or was she up to something?
When he glanced over, a young woman was peeking out from behind a rock.
(No... she's not a girl.)
She was an adult woman of the Migurd tribe.
It wouldn't be obvious to most, but the Guard Dog's eyes could not be deceived.
However, she wasn't someone he recognized.
The Migurd didn't have just one village—there could be any number of them.
Perhaps she was simply curious. But as the Guard Dog watched, she pulled back and disappeared.
(Hm... did I frighten her?)
"There's your opening!"
The moment his attention wavered, Eris lunged in.
A strike charged with fierce determination.
"Gah!"
That day, the Guard Dog suffered his first lapse against Eris.
"I got you! It landed, right?! It landed, didn't it?! Yes!"
Eris raised both arms in triumph.
Recently, Eris's technique had been "clicking."
She would grow into a fine swordswoman someday.
But she was still young.
If she let success go to her head, it would lead to a bad end eventually.
The Guard Dog had seen many such warriors.
He hadn't intended to give her a point for a while yet, but that Migurd woman had been on his mind, and he'd let his guard down.
The Guard Dog quietly sighed, making sure Eris couldn't hear.
---
Roxy hurried back to the inn, looking over her shoulder repeatedly.
Were they following her? Would they ambush her?
Fighting back her anxiety, she made it to the inn.
If she were going to fight someone at that level, she'd need magic crystals at the ready.
She might even need to use a scroll inscribed with a magic circle.
She didn't think they'd actually attack just because she'd been watching, but these were self-proclaimed Dead End fanatics—she wanted to be prepared.
"Ahh! Oh! Oh my! More, more!"
Elinalise's moans echoed from the room next door, and Roxy slumped in defeat.
Instead of gathering information, that woman had brought a man back to the inn and was enjoying herself.
"Unbelievable..."
Roxy had heard from Talhand that Elinalise was quick to bring men in.
No matter the situation, if she found a man attractive, she'd fall for him instantly and spend the night.
She'd done it in Zantport, and according to Talhand, even in the depths of a labyrinth.
She had no sense of propriety whatsoever.
But at the same time, Roxy felt relieved.
She'd been dreading being alone.
If Elinalise was in the next room, all Roxy had to do was prepare for battle and wait for the affair to end.
Once it was over, she could grab Elinalise by the ear, and the two of them could resume gathering information.
It would also serve as keeping an eye on Elinalise—two birds with one stone.
(Well, she probably won't come to my room at least...)
With that thought, Roxy prepared for battle in her own room.
The walls weren't thin, but Elinalise's cries still came through.
Listening to them was putting Roxy in a strange mood.
(...Oh no.)
She caught her right hand, which was drifting toward her lower abdomen, with her left.
Now was not the time for that.
(Still... this is going on a while...)
Three hours.
Roxy waited quietly.
Elinalise's tryst showed no signs of ending.
And Dead End showed no intention of launching an attack.
Roxy grew exasperated.
She felt a quiet fury toward Elinalise—who was doing what she wanted instead of what needed to be done, while Roxy was gritting her teeth and restraining herself.
When her anger reached its peak, Roxy kicked Elinalise's door open.
"How long are you going to keep this up?! The information gathering—"
"Oh? Roxy? You're back?"
"Huh... what?"
The room contained five men.
"Would you like to join us?"
The thick smell of men, the crude grins on their faces, and atop them all, Elinalise wearing an expression of ecstasy.
Doing that—with multiple people, and consensually at that—was entirely outside Roxy's frame of reference.
"I—wh—"
The grotesque sight overwhelmed Roxy's capacity to process information, and she hit her limit in an instant.
"Waaaaaah!"
Roxy let out an undignified scream and fled the scene.
She burst into the next room, panting, and grabbed her staff.
"O great spirit of water, and prince of the Thunder Emperor who ascended to the heavens! Smite that one with a valiant sword of ice! Frost Strike!"
Half the inn was destroyed.
--
And then, on the third day.
They departed the town.
Because of what had happened, a great many things had been swept under the rug.
Their information gathering was half-baked, they'd forgotten to post requests at the guild.
They'd destroyed an inn and had to pay a painful sum for repairs.
"This is all Elinalise's fault."
"I couldn't help it. While I was gathering information in the back alleys, I received an enthusiastic invitation."
"That's no excuse for—five! There were five of them!"
"You'll understand in time, Roxy. Just imagine—the beautiful, powerful adventurer that is yours truly, toyed with by five riffraff until she's completely helpless. Just the thought of it is enough to make babies."
"I don't want to know."
Until her Magic University days, Roxy had been a child too, unaware of the joys of romance and marriage.
The first time she'd genuinely wanted a partner was when she saw Paul and Zenis living happily together.
She wanted a partner like that too.
But how? she'd wondered, and then she recalled the story of an acquaintance from Magic University.
This acquaintance had met her husband in the depths of a labyrinth, and after overcoming hardships together, they'd married.
Roxy had thought: This is it.
If I go into a labyrinth too, I'm bound to run into at least one.
Her fantasies grew wilder and wilder in her head.
A handsome, sharp-eyed, tall but still boyishly charming human youth—she'd "accidentally" save him deep in a labyrinth, and they'd fight their way out together, falling in love along the way, and at the moment they escaped, she'd learn of the death of his companion and comfort him. And then the nighttime hours would begin...
When she actually descended into a labyrinth, those fantasies were shattered in an instant.
Labyrinths were brutal places, all the adventurers were tough as nails, and the only one who was childish was Roxy herself.
By around the fifth floor, solo adventurers had vanished.
That was the moment she gave up on finding love.
Around the tenth floor, it was getting genuinely hard, so she tried forming a party, but her youthful appearance was mocked and she was laughed at over and over.
In the end, stubbornly solo, she'd cleared the labyrinth entirely.
It was youthful bravado.
She'd nearly died multiple times, and she'd been lucky. She never wanted to do it again.
"Well, first you need to find that one person, Roxy. How about next time you and I—"
"Absolutely not."
The fantasies had been crushed.
But the ideal remained.
Finding a handsome hero in the depths of a labyrinth was probably impossible, but falling in love like a normal person and marrying like a normal person—that should still be doable.
There was no way she was going to give her body to some nameless man Elinalise had randomly picked up.
And besides...
"Now is not the time to be getting distracted by that."
At the very least, during the time she spent traveling the Demon Continent, she had resolved to remain single.
And so, despite stumbling at the very first step, Roxy set off on her journey across the Demon Continent.