The Day of Departure

(Girls smell so nice…)

While being used as a hug pillow by Mako, Sei was experiencing pure bliss.

Sei and Mako had gotten into their lined-up futons. Just that alone was exciting, but then Mako spoke to her.

"Hey, would it be okay if we slept together?"

Of course it's okay. There's absolutely no problem.

After all, I'm a girl too!

Mako was breathing softly in peaceful slumber, but Sei was too nervous to sleep.

(D-Don't I have any mental resistance against this kind of thing?! Or maybe it's better that I don't?!)

Sei's heart was pounding wildly, but when Mako groaned and sat up, she became even more nervous.

Not seeming to notice Sei was awake, Mako left the room.

(M-Maybe she needs to pee?)

She waited for a while, but Mako didn't come back. Unable to suppress her curiosity, Sei quietly tried to leave the room.

… Mako was peeking into Ria and Carla's bedroom.

And Sei's now-sharpened hearing picked up Carla's faint moans.

"Ria, no… the other two will…"

"I haven't said this is off limits, have I?"

"But… mm! The baby…"

"That's why I'm being gentle, aren't I?"

… Yeah, she understood the situation now.

Well, they were married after all. Of course they'd have their nighttime activities.

But Mako-san! You're pleasuring yourself while watching, aren't you?!

Now completely wide awake, Sei hurried back under the covers just as Carla and Mako finished.

After a while, Mako came back, but as she embraced Sei, her body was giving off a completely female scent.

(I can't sleeeeep!)

The next day, Sei entered training while still sleep-deprived, and was killed once for starters. That cleared the head right up.

… She felt like she might be using her immortality wrong, but it was probably just her imagination.

Sitting down at the breakfast table. Ria and Carla were sitting side by side, looking close as always. Since the number of people had increased, they were using a table starting today.

From Carla, who had a sculptural beauty yet gave off a sense of gentleness, there was no hint of the lewdness suggested by that voice from last night.

Next to her, Mako reached for some bread as if nothing had happened.

"I'm not impressed by the two of you peeking and eavesdropping."

In a perfectly ordinary tone of voice, Carla froze the atmosphere.

"Well, they're in puberty, so it can't be helped. If you want, I could take care of you? Or better yet, all four of us could—"

At that moment, Carla shoved bread into Ria's mouth.

 

*

 

That day, Sei had a mock battle with Mako.

Mako's weapon was a spear. She could have used a sword, but apparently she chose the spear because fighting at close range was scary. A girly reason.

However, her strength was anything but girly. As expected of someone with stats on par with Sei's, she swung her spear around in a storm.

But mere speed and power alone weren't enough to match Sei.

Entangling her wooden sword with the spear, she moved into close combat.

Using hand-to-hand techniques as well, once both of them dropped their weapons, Sei threw Mako to the floor with a shoulder throw.

Of course, she held back since her opponent was a girl.

"Whew～, you're strong."

Mako was impressed, but she herself was far stronger than the knights.

"We don't have much time to spare. I'll focus on training you with the spear and short sword."

While Ria was teaching Mako, Sei faced off against Gantz.

He was as difficult as ever. His axe was one thing, but the attacks where he slammed his shield were troublesome.

Most of all, it was frustrating that damage didn't get through. Enemies fighting against an immortal self probably felt like this.

 

*

 

In the afternoon, it was Carla-sensei's magic class.

Mako listened attentively too. She actively asked questions about things she didn't understand.

That day, Carla taught them an important spell.

It was a spell to disguise and conceal one's own status. It was extremely effective when the opponent had Identify.

After class ended, Sei taught Mako what had been learned from Carla up until then.

Teaching others also served as review for herself. It was effective studying.

"It seems some of them were teleported together as a group…"

Ria and Carla were staring at a map at the kitchen table.

They were probably thinking about how to retrieve the next Hero. Since Sei didn't know the geography, she left it to the two of them.

Once the magic studies were finished for the day, the four of them gathered to watch TV together.

Mako had been surprised that there was a TV, but they convinced her it was also magic.

"In the Nihon Empire and Garhalt, they're even making progress on space development, you know."

At this point, it was unclear which civilization was more advanced, Earth's or this world's. Still, the reason swords and shields were useful in warfare was because of magic.

Ultimately, it was still ground forces that decided the outcome of wars.

"Ah～, so Neosis fell…"

Ria said regretfully. The news had reported that the country that performed the Hero summoning ritual had been occupied by the forces of the evil gods.

Mako looked pained. She had probably made some friends there. Still, they had teleported the Heroes away.

"But it seems the god was also defeated by a dragon's wrath."

"What idiots. They should have waited until the dragon returned to its nest."

"From the human side, it was fortunate though."

Taking the still-wanting-to-watch-TV Mako along, the two got into their futons.

"I wonder if everyone's okay…"

Mako murmured in a small voice. There were probably friends among her classmates.

"They'll be fine, I'm sure. Heroes are strong, after all."

"Yeah… Can I come over there?"

"Sure."

Slipping into Sei's futon, Mako giggled.

"Still, I never thought Ria-san and Carla-san were in that kind of relationship. I wonder who the father of Carla-san's baby is?"

That's when Sei realized that Ria hadn't taught Mako about dragons.

Would it be bad to tell her? No, she hadn't been particularly told not to, and she didn't think there was any problem.

So when Sei explained dragon biology, Mako was naturally surprised.

"Huh, so Ria-san is the father."

"Father… or more like, she gives off an oyaji vibe, doesn't she?"

At Sei's words, Mako giggled.

"I wonder what it's like between two women?"

In the dim darkness, Mako gazed at Sei.

"I think it depends on the people involved. I quite like it, personally."

"Eh, you're okay with that, Sei-chan?"

She more than liked it, actually.

"Then, want to try it, just a little?"

At Mako's whispered words, Sei froze.

"Kidding, just kidding. It was a light joke."

"Eh, I'm actually kind of disappointed though."

Blurting that out without thinking, Sei gazed at Mako. Mako was gazing back too.

Mako moved her head forward and lightly pressed their lips together.

"Hehe, we kissed."

"That was my first kiss, you know."

"What a coincidence, mine too."

Sei lifted herself up a bit and leaned over Mako.

"Eh, what, are we going further?"

"I-Is that bad?"

"Mm～, I'm a little interested, but…"

Sei decided she should push forward here.

Mako's soft curves, the scent of her hair. Her trembling breath.

And then, completely ruining everything, the sliding door flew open with force.

"So this is where the naughty girls are doing lewd things in someone else's house～!"

Ria, standing there like a demon lord, had her ear pulled by Carla and disappeared toward the bedroom.

The two of them were left stunned. Eventually, Mako gave a weak smile.

"Let's just sleep. The mood's totally gone now, huh."

Sei was still in the mood, but Mako said "Night～" and immediately departed for dreamland.

While harboring genuine resentment toward her master for the first time, Sei obediently went to sleep. The fact that she was crying tears of blood was her own secret.

She had probably died over a thousand times by now.

That day, Sei succeeded in wounding Ria for the first time.

Her master grinned, then immediately counterattacked and killed Sei, but she looked truly happy.

"Twenty-eight days, huh… Well, this should be good enough."

That many days had passed since Sei was sent to this world.

Subjectively it felt like several years had passed, but in reality it had been barely a month. Also, Sei's appearance had hardly changed.

But this was understandable. It was because one of Sei's Gifts was 'Ageless Longevity'. Apparently it was a Gift that manifested from the Dark Dragon's Bloodline.

"There's no point taking too much time. Go kill the Heroes."

"No, I'd prefer to resolve things through discussion if possible."

Her travel companions were Mako, as well as Kukuri and Gantz.

The three of them would be riding together in Kukuri's covered wagon, and it was beneficial for everyone.

Sei and Mako could learn camping methods from the experienced traveler Kukuri. For Gantz, it was a training journey.

The three including Gantz would serve as guards for the journey. Also, luggage could be stored in Sei's infinite storage.

And Kukuri saw potential in this journey. The potential of a story before it began.

The four of them were equipped with gear that looked brand new. All of it had been prepared by Ria.

And that wasn't the only thing Ria had given them.

A Transfer Stone. A magic tool for returning if the journey to find the Heroes didn't go smoothly.

And as an extra, something was secretly given only to Sei.

Sei knew what it was. Though she had never used one before.

It was an item made of rubber that could be used as a water bottle at times, or as a sandbag at others.

"When you're able to do it, it's always going to be when the other person can get pregnant, so make sure you use it."

Sei nodded silently and put it deep into an isolated section of her folder.

"We're counting on you～"

"Take care～"

Besides Ria and Carla, many residents were waving from in front of the gate.

"Will they be alright, everyone?"

"We can only believe in them."

Ria and Carla murmured. The heroes they had heard about from Mako all had broken abilities. In the worst case, there was a high possibility they could reach godhood.

But Sei had been given strategies to counter that. The rest was how to deal on the spot with those who had unknown abilities.

Waving back to those seeing them off, the covered wagon set off down the road.

"Alright, the adventure begins!"

"Let's go!"

Sei and Mako's voices echoed across the grasslands.

It was early summer of the Unified Calendar Year 6004.

 

*

 

End of the Travel Preparation Arc