The next day.
Oh no. I forgot to give the letter to Pakira.
W-well, next time I see her, that's when I'll hand it over for sure.
I'm sorry, Harsu.
Yesterday's Robin party was fun and enjoyable.
After that, Hoss, Ruma, and Bidd joined in too.
Ruma especially took a real liking to it, even saying she wanted to add Robin to the menu.
If it can be served at the Belk Dining Hall, I'd be honored, so I taught her.
I made dozens of them as practice, and Mineha ate every last one.
I mean, seriously — what is going on with her stomach? Is it a universe?
Pakira took some Robin home as a souvenir too.
So all in all, it was a blast.
Now then, today's goal is to go see Nekia.
She's living with a witch in Skia Coffin Ele.
Nekia's body was used by that vile woman Laada for ages.
So there's always a risk that anyone who knows about it might mistake her for Laada.
That part is hard to explain, which is why she's still being hidden away like this.
Even setting that aside, there are plenty of problems — observing the stabilization of her soul, studying the current world, and so on.
Fortunately, Nekia is smart.
She's been cooperative, picking up on everything and keeping to herself.
But the warehouse where the "Skear Coffin Ele" is stored is a bit of a walk.
The Berke Dining Hall is on the way there.
I make various robins in the kitchen of the "Skear Coffin Ele."
The pantry is well-stocked with ingredients, so there's room to vary things up.
Besides, only the witch and Nekia eat robins, and I thought it'd be lonely to leave them out.
Yesterday's robin was the one with cabbage added.
I also tried making a robin with cheese and tomato this time.
"...Isn't this just pizza?"
Yeah. This is basically thick-crust pizza. Or more like a pizza bun?
Anyway, it turned out fine, so I serve it to the two of them.
The witch and Nekia both clean their plates, going on about how delicious it is. Good.
After that, the witch leaves the room, and I'm alone with Nekia.
She's lying on the bed. A huge pile of books was stacked beside her.
Books the witch brought over. Apparently she's studying history and current common sense.
But I snuck a glance at the titles — weren't a lot of them romance?
And not just any romance — gooey court dramas, possessive love interests, tons of them.
Because she's a spider? Because she's a queen?
Hmm. Well, if I pointed that out, a snake — no, a spider — would probably come out.
I let it slide and asked about the Rank Up.
"The Relic plate for [Rank Up] — is it in the Forbidden Land?"
"Yes, it should be. Do you know something about it?"
"Come to think of it, I think I saw it on the list of offerings."
It was there. So it really existed.
I'd never seen anything like it before, so I hadn't really been able to trust it.
Offerings, huh. I see.
"Where do those offerings go?"
"...They should be in the vault. It's next to the temple."
"Thank you."
The building next door, huh. I'd only ever been to the temple.
I'd been in a hurry, so I hadn't explored the town either.
It wouldn't be surprising if some unexpected treasure was lying around.
There's dungeon creation too, but no — precisely because of that...
Isn't it important to take a proper look at this dungeon called Hydrangea as well?
Alright. Let's go. The Forbidden Land.
If that's the plan, then for party members — Torquetam's definitely in.
Hoss probably won't come. Helping Ruma takes priority for him.
What about Bitt? He'd said he was free, so maybe he'd come.
Mineha would probably go.
She'd said she wanted to test the Spiral Throne after adjustments and try out various modes.
The Witch would be staying behind — there was the matter of Neia-san to deal with.
Hmm. The group was turning out to be all girls.
This was awkward.
Right. I should invite Nabel-san.
That settled it.
"Oh my, what a lively conversation you're having."
The Witch came in.
Had she just gotten out of the bath? A faint wisp of steam rose from her body, and she smelled soft and fragrant.
I told the Witch about the rank-up and the Forbidden Land.
"Oh my, oh my. So there's a Relic that does that."
As expected of the Witch. She knew about it.
"So it really is rare?"
"Mm-hmm. It's certainly a precious Relic. Though in this day and age, it's not valued all that highly."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, yes. Right now, nobody cares about the rank of a Relic. Most people don't even know that Relics have ranks to begin with. And Relic Plates aren't exactly common knowledge either. So it doesn't get much attention."
"I see..."
"Of course, of course. For those who do understand its value, it's something you'd pay your entire fortune to get your hands on. Chive might fork over tens of billions."
"T-Tens of billions!?"
The Witch grinned and kept going.
"And then sell it for hundreds of billions, I imagine."
"...Well, I suppose I could do that much. After that, I plan to properly explore the Forbidden Land."
"I see, I see. But here's the thing, young Wof. Right now, you need special permission to enter the Heisen Great Forest."
"Huh, really?"
That was news to me.
The Witch gave a faint, wry smile.
"Well, well. This Forest Wave was so different from anything before that they even resorted to a secret pact the Subjugator's Guild never wanted to use. Because of that, the Subjugator's Guild ended up cooperating with the Two Great Houses to investigate the Heisen Great Forest. So now you can't get in without special permission."
"Special permission... If I asked Seilan, could she... get me a pass?"
"Hmm, hmm. It does seem possible, but I think it'd be better to wait a little longer."
"What do you mean by that?"
"Heh heh heh. I got in touch with Alexander."
"Really?"
"Apparently he'll be arriving in four days. So you can take it easy until then."
"Take it easy... huh."
I grumbled a little. The Witch smiled softly and placed her hand on my head.
She gave it a gentle stroke.
"Hey, hey, young Wof."
"Y-yes?"
"My, my. Ever since you woke up, you've been rushing around far too frantically."
"I-I have?"
There had been a lot going on, to be sure, but she wasn't wrong — I did feel like I'd been in a constant rush.
The witch gently stroked my head.
"You can take it nice and slow, you know. The real show hasn't even started yet."
"Y-Yes…"
"But—when the time comes, you shall work like a draft horse for me, your queen."
Nekia chimed in from the side with something completely unnecessary. It's not like I'd be working for her, anyway.
Draft horses… That reminded me of my past life, toiling away as a corporate slave at some black company.
I was aware that some of that dogged endurance had seeped into me, and I let out a wry smile.
Three days later.
By pure coincidence, I ran into the crew of Cerberostarn at the Berk Dining Hall.
What they told me came as a shock.
"Wait—really!? Nabel, you're leaving Heisen today?"
"Yes. A letter I sent home during the Full Moon Bazaar finally arrived. Apparently I need to report back about Ulfeg's blade and a bunch of other things urgently. Sorry about this."
"Well, if that's the case, there's nothing you can do."
Nabel's family home.
From the fragments of information I'd gathered, they seemed to be some kind of clan or noble household.
"Since we're at it, we decided to swing by Nabel's family place before heading back to Hydrangea. Sorry about the rush."
"So, sorry to leave so suddenly, Wof."
Coran and Plansy both bowed their heads to me as well.
And just like that, I said goodbye to Cerberostarn.
We kept chatting over our meal.
After we finished eating, Nabell-san turned to face me.
"Wof-san, you've done so much for us."
"No, the pleasure was all mine."
"The weapons, the witch's water — and we even got more witch's water. Thank you really."
"Don't mention it. If you run out, just let me know. Well, after you get back to Hydrangea, that is."
"This robe. I'll treasure it."
"Of course. If it gets dirty, you can wash it with water."
Nabell-san. Coran-san. Plansy-san. I said goodbye to each of them.
Let's meet again in Hydrangea.
And just like that, Cerberostarn set off for Nabell-san's hometown.
A farewell for now.
Ah, another valuable spot in the guys' column gone — I kept that honest lament tucked away in my heart.
The next day.
The port of Heisen.
Ships of all sizes came and went along the horizon.
Fishing boats. Trading vessels. Passenger ships.
Looking at it like this, you'd never guess it was a lake.
In fact, it wasn't truly a lake since it connected to the Claudia Sea.
"…………"
I was the only one waiting for Alexander-san.
Ferry traffic means crowds, so I figured it'd be better to meet him alone.
"Nice weather..."
Clouds drifted lazily across the endless blue sky, and birds flew in formation.
The breeze carried a hint of salt as a sailing ship approached the pier.
That must be the next ferry. This one? Is he on this one?
As I waited, it docked neatly at the pier and the gangplank was lowered.
Passenger after passenger disembarked.
And then — a tawny-skinned gentleman with grey hair and glasses came down the ferry's gangplank.
A casual white shirt and black pants. Nothing out of the ordinary.
This gentleman.
He seemed familiar somehow, and when he spotted me, he raised his hand with a bright smile.
"Hello, Mr. Wof."
He waved cheerfully, called out to me, and came over. Ah, it's him.
"Ambrosius!?"
I was completely shocked to see such an unexpected person.